 |
 Home | Webstore
|
|
Latest News:
OOTP 26 Available
- FHM 11 Available
- OOTP Go! Available
Out of the Park Baseball 26 Buy Now! |
|
|
||||
| ||||
01-03-2022, 11:59 AM
|
#321 |
|
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,772
|
July 1, 1940
 July 1, 1940 SURPRISES AS SEASON APPROACHES MIDWAY POINT As the calendar turns to July and the all-star game, the traditional midpoint of the season, is just a week away it is starting to look like both the Philadelphia Keystones and Cincinnati Cannons are for real. Neither club was given much of a chance by most of the pundits although BNN did place the Keystones third in the Federal Association in it's preseason predictions and a few other publications did feel that Philadelphia could sneak into the first division. Meanwhile, BNN called for another last place finish for the Cannons, which would have been their 6th consecutive season in the Continental Association cellar and none of the major newspapers had Cincinnati pegged to finish higher than 6th. But here we are with over 70 games of the 154 games in the books and the Cannons are perched atop the Continental Association while the Keystones are just a half game back of Pennsylvania rival Pittsburgh for the Federal lead. The story in Cincinnati has been a combination of newly acquired veterans adding stability and many of the young players starting to live up to their lofty potential. The former includes Moxie Pidgeon (.338,12,56), who has been the clear leader of the newfound Cincinnati offense, along with Jack Flint (.320,1,28) and pitcher William Jones (8-5, 3.32). In the latter category we have the emergence of pitchers Butch Smith (10-4, 2.51) and Deuce Barrell (9-4, 2.92), although to be fair both actually began looking very good last season, as well as young shortstop Jim Hensley (.251,0,21) and outfielder Mike T Taylor (.302,0,24) who was blossomed after initial struggles caused him to be sent to AAA for a spell. The New York Stars have contributed greatly to the Cincinnati turnaround as in addition to Pidgeon and Jones, pitchers Larry Brown (1.66, 9 sv) and Glenn Payne (8-6, 3.62) have also arrived from New York over the past year and a half. In Philadelphia the youth movement is in full swing with only 29 year old Bobby Barrell (.273,13,49) having spent substantial time in Philadelphia among the regulars. Herman Patterson (8-2, 279) and Gene White (4-3, 3.30) are the 'old men' of the Keystones rotation at the ripe old age of 26 with fellow starters Lloyd Stevens (9-7, 3.46), Pepper Tuttle (6-5, 2.70) and Jim Whitely (3-4, 5.02) all just 24 years of age. Outfielders Hank McKay (.278,5,29) and Chuck Hood (.339,3,38) are both just 24 while first baseman Hans Wright (.255,8,32) is 25. Infielders Hank Koblenz (.281,16,45) and Billy Woytek (.285,8,50) are 23 and 21 respectively so Federal Association foes are likely quite worried about the Keystones going forward. It might be too much to expect Philadelphia and Cincinnati to hold their positions for the second half of the season but it is clear both organizations are on the upswing and likely won't be overlooked by prognosticators in the future.  TWIFB CASTS ITS ANNUAL ALL STAR BALLOT With the all-star game fast approaching it is time once again for This Week in Figment Baseball to announce the list of players it deems worthy of starting in Detroit on July 9th for the 8th annual All-Star contest. You might recall the stars of the Continental Association doubled the Federal heroes 6-3 in Cleveland a year ago with Toronto Wolves first baseman Fred McCormick being named the top performer for the second consecutive season. The Federal side still holds bragging rights in the series, with a 4 games to 3 lead but the Continental boys have prevailed each of the past two seasons and three of the last four. So let's start with the Continental Association, who will act as the visitors for the game. CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION CATCHER: Jack Flint (.320,1,28) is having a very solid season in Cincinnati as is Clarence Howerton (.289,1,36) with Toronto but the dean of catchers in the Continental Association remains Adam Mullins (.311,2,28) of Montreal. Mullins has been an all-star each of the last three seasons and there is no reason not to make it four straight. FIRST BASE: It really doesn't matter what veterans Dave Trowbridge (.319,5,22)of the Stars or the Cannons Joe Perret (.331,5,28) are doing, nor does another solid year out of Ray Ford (.286,6,32) matter in Chicago. There is, both now and likely for the next several years, just one right answer to represent the Continental side at first base. Fred McCormick (.325,3,31) might not be off to his best start with Toronto this year but it's plenty good enough to allow him a to play in his 7th all-star contest and try to win his third straight player of the game award. SECOND BASE: Philadelphia's Bob Smith (.321,2,20) has been two consecutive all star games and will likely make it three straight but he will have to be named as a reserve. The starter spot should belong to Toronto's Tom Frederick (.320,0,25) as the 24 year old is enjoying a breakout season with the Wolves. THIRD BASE: This was probably the toughest call in the CA. Mel Carrol (.373,8,38) is having his usual outstanding season with the Cleveland Foresters but 37 year old John Lawson (.388,6,50) is having the best season of an exceptional career and putting an exclamation point on his Hall of Fame candidacy at some point in the not too distant future. The Chicago Cougars veteran gets the nod for what will be his 7th all-star selection (he missed only the 1938 game) but Carrol will be on the team as a reserve. SHORTSTOP: Joe Angevine (.301,1,41), Charlie Artuso (.273,2,29), Jim Hensley (.251,0,21), Frank Davis (.330,3,26), Rip Lee (.305,1,47). There are a lot of very good young shortstops in the CA but as much as we considered Davis of Montreal, our vote goes to Brooklyn's Harry Barrell (.274,0,22) - the best defensive shortstop in the game. Like third baseman Lawson, if selected it will be Barrell's 7th all-star appearance. Hard to believe he has been in the league that long and is still just 26 years of age. LEFT FIELD: More than anyone else Moxie Pidgeon (.338,12,56) has led the Cannons resurgence in Cincinnati. It will be Pidgeon's 6th all star appearance and come with his fifth different team. Larry Vestal (.295,2,35) of Toronto and the Cougars Leo Mitchell (.298,5,33) deserve consideration for backup spots. CENTER FIELD: Another Cincinnati Cannon gets the call in center as Fred Galloway (.310,2,42) is the pick despite the fact after a tremendous April and May he has struggled this past month. Still Galloway showed enough to nose out Chink Stickels (.284,8,50) of the Stars and the Sailors Don Homer (.286,3,23). RIGHT FIELD: One of the more difficult calls but Montreal's Red Bond (.343,14,44) gets the nod despite the fact that like Galloway, he has struggled this past month. Bill Barrett (.325,7,50) is going to start a lot of All-Star games in his career but for this one the young Stars outfielder will have to be content to backup Bond. PITCHER: Only three starters can go on the actual ballot but there are probably half a dozen who deserve serious consideration to be the starter. You have Bernie Johnson (9-4, 2.77) and Joe Hancock (8-5, 3.29) in Toronto; Deuce Barrell (9-4, 2.92 and a CA leading 69 K's) along with his Cincinnati teammate Butch Smith (10-4, 2.51) and then there is Art White (8-4, 2.92), who was the winning pitcher in last years game, along with Stumpy Beaman (7-4, 2.32) of Brooklyn. You also have Dick Lyons (10-3, 2.85) of the Cougars, who is pitching better at age 40 than he did a decade ago. But if it is up to TWIFB we are giving the game ball to Walt Wells (10-4, 2.75) to start the game in Detroit.  FEDERAL ASSOCIATION CATCHER: The injury woes that the Chiefs Tom Bird (.311,9,28) has dealt with this season allows George Cleaves (.297,5,26) of Pittsburgh to be the clear choice to appear in his 6th all-star game. Special mention should also go to Heinie Zimmer (.298,3,29), who is quietly one of the few having a good season in St Louis. FIRST BASE: With apologies to Boston's Bob Donoghue (.247,12,33), the Red Johnson (.315,17,55) era is here as Detroit's 22 year old is a clear number one choice. I would love to see veteran Bud Jameson (.312,6,23) make the all-star team. The heart of the New York Gothams has only started half of his teams games this season but it seems a shame that such a talented player has never played in a Midsummer Classic. SECOND BASE: We favour the veteran here in taking Hank Barnett (.272,16,42) of the Chiefs over the Keystones rising young star in Blue Collar Billy Woytek (.285,8,50). There was a lot of back and forth on this choice and both deserve to be on the team. THIRD BASE: The young guys are coming here with Mack Sutton (.276,13,33) and Hank Koblenz (.281,16,45) both enjoying strong seasons and Billy Dalton (.257,6,21) will be in a number of all star games before his career is done but not this one as the Gothams youngster has been hampered by injury this year. The choice is the old man of the group as Detroit's Frank Vance (.310,11,35) gets the nod after missing last year's all-star game - the first time he was not selected. SHORTSTOP: Hard to see any of the names on the ballot as all-stars this season, especially when you compare them to the crop of Continental Association shortstops but we have to pick one so it will be 24 year old Mule Monier (.256,3,23) of the Gothams making his all-star debut. LEFT FIELD: He has definitely slowed down over the past couple of seasons but after a two year absence Bobby Barrell (.273,13,49) gets our vote. The 29 year old face of the Philadelphia Keystones edges Boston's Pete Day (.306,1,18), Joe Owens (.318,4,31) of Pittsburgh and Washington's Dilly Ward (.284,1,31) on our ballot. CENTER FIELD: We don't care what Pablo Reyes (.329,6,41) in Pittsburgh or the Chiefs Bill May (.319,6,38) are doing. Nor can we make the call to take the feel good story of the season in the Keystones Chuck Hood (.339,3,38) over Sal Pestilli (.270,19,54) of Detroit. Just pencil Pestilli in as your starting center fielder for the Fed side for the next decade and be done with it, although we do hope that each of the other three mentioned get selected as backups. RIGHT FIELD: We would love to be able to shift one of those center fielders over to right on our ballot but since we have to take a right fielder lets go with Cliff Moss (.306,7,25) of the Chiefs. He has had a rough June, struggling at the plate and bothered by a hamstring injury but he gets our vote over Boston's Bill Burkett (.267,3,28) and Philadelphia rookie Hank McKay (.278,5,29). PITCHER: Unlike the CA, it was very easy to pick the starting pitcher for the Federal side. Sergio Gonzales (12-4, 2.55) leads FABL in wins and has really stepped up with the injury to Detroit teammate Frank Crawford. Gonzales is the clear choice for starter but that is not to say there are not plenty of other outstanding pitchers in the Fed. Lefty Allen (11-5, 3.17) of Pittsburgh, Washington's Del Burns (10-3, 3.71), the Boston duo of Ed Wood (11-4, 2.83) and Art Myers (9-5, 2.22), Herman Patterson (8-2, 2.79) of Philadelphia and Rabbit Day of the Chiefs (8-5, 3.06) all warrant inclusion on the final roster.   The 'them' that Wilson speaks of are the players who compromised the top of the 1925 draft class, widely considered one of the best of all-time. Few remember it but Wilson was one of them. A slick hitting outfielder at Grafton College back then, Wilson finished the 1925 season in the top ten in the AIAA in all three triple crown categories as he helped the Scholars come to within a game of a National Championship, before falling to Bayou State in a best of seven College World Championship Series Final that went the distance. Flash forward to the FABL draft day that year and the names of future FABL stars, even potential Hall of Famers, started rolling off the tongues of eager General Managers, each making their first big decision as the modern (human GM) era kicked off that very month. Detroit took Al Wheeler. The Wolves followed with pitcher Eddie Quinn, certainly a controversial pick at the time but the Caveman sure turned out all right eventually. Then came Bud Jameson, Bill Ashbaugh, Eddie Wilson and Doug Lightbody to round out the top six with Jack Cleaves shortly after. Wait a minute! Hold up, who was the player taken after Ashbaugh and ahead of Lightbody? Eddie Wilson still hears the occasional catcalls about his draft position as he steps to the plate in one of the rundown ballparks of the Lone Star Association, a loop full of has-beens and never-were's that couldn't cut the mustard with the big boys back east. Wilson though, is very happy where his baseball life has taken him. He has been a member of the Dallas Centurions for 8 seasons, married a local girl and bought a ranch just outside of his adopted home. He has done well on the diamond too - his 1,090 hits are 6th most in Lone Star history and he is the Centurions career leader in virtually every offensive category. Still it is not quite how Wilson envisioned things going when he was drafted a decade and a half ago. He doesn't think about the past much he claims, but when a news item like the expected retirement of Doug Lightbody hits the wires, he can't help but think back to what might have been. Wilson was born in Lock Haven, a city in the middle of Pennsylvania about 175 miles away from Pittsburgh. It seems a lifetime away now for Wilson, but he was on top of the world in December of 1925 after hearing the Pittsburgh Miners had selected him fifth overall in the FABL draft. Unfortunately that moment would turn out to be the highlight of his FABL career. He spent three years in the Miners minors, logging time in exotic locales like Birmingham, St Paul and Gary. Acquainted himself quite well at each stop and in September 1928 he got an opportunity with the big club. It wasn't much, just a small taste as he appeared in 8 games for Pittsburgh but went just 3-for-20 so the next spring it was back to AAA St. Paul. Wilson tore the cover off the ball in 97 games with the Disciples, hitting .364 with 11 homeruns in just 90 games. He would get 15 more games with Pittsburgh that season but again failed to take full advantage of the opportunity, batting just .243 but he did hit a pair of doubles. The story was the same in 1930 - decent numbers in St Paul but only a brief chance to show what he could do in a crowded Pittsburgh outfield that featured Jim Renfroe and a young Frank Lightbody, drafted 4th overall two years after Wilson by the Miners perhaps in hopes of correcting the mistake they made in bypassing his big brother. Wilson appeared in 9 games and had his best big league showing, batting .304 in 26 plate appearances, but it would also be his last trip to the majors. He was now 27 and by then had gained the reputation as a solid AAA player but not a FABL regular so he spent the next two seasons in St Paul and was bypassed for promotion to Pittsburgh in each of them. At the conclusion of spring training 1933 the Miners informed Wilson his services were no longer required and he was released, his FABL dreams gone for good. Dallas came calling as the Centurions were the only club to offer him a contract. It was about as far off the baseball path that Wilson could get, a struggling team (they finished 6th in 1932) in a fledgling farmland league that was about to embark on it's 5th season as a professional loop. With no other options, Wilson packed his bags and headed to Texas. He started slow, going hitless in his first two games as perhaps the shock of where his career had landed took some time to sink in. However, in Wilson's third game with the Centurions he broke out big time, going 5-for-5 and never looked back. He hit .318 that first season and quickly became one of the Centurions fans favourite players. In 1934 he helped lead Dallas to it's first, and so far only, Lone Star pennant and to this day remains a key piece of the Dallas club. With a vast baseball knowledge and the smarts one would expect from an Academia Alliance alum Wilson looks and acts like the type of player who may one day make it back to the big leagues as a coach or manager but for now he is very content with the turns his baseball life has taken him. Comparisons to Doug Lightbody? About the only one Eddie will admit to is they were both college outfielders. They were also part of one of the greatest draft classes in FABL history, even though Wilson is a mere footnote or perhaps even worse than that - just a bad memory of a terrible decision - for Pittsburgh fans. AROUND THE LEAGUE In honour of the Eddie Wilson selection by Pittsburgh ahead of Doug Lightbody in the 1925 draft, this time in AROUND THE LEAGUE we take a look at the worst first round selections of the human era by each of the 16 FABL clubs: BOSTON- Barney Meeker. Taken 11th overall in 1928 out of Commonwealth Catholic three years after he was drafted in the 8th round and failed to sign with St Louis. Meeker was a first team All-American his draft year and had some good years in the minors, hitting 25 homers at AA as a 24 year old in 1931 for example. He spent over 3 seasons in AAA but never got the call to the big leagues and retired in 1937. To be fair to Boston, 1928 was one of the weaker draft classes. BROOKLYN- Brooklyn has actually had pretty good luck with their first round picks but while the jury is still out, 24 year old Dan Rogers is looking like their worst blunder. Selected 14th overall in 1934 after just one season of high school ball, the outfielder has played just 5 big league games and is nothing like the power hitter the Kings were hoping they would get when they chose him. Word is the Kings were hoping to land Bob Donoghue that year but Boston grabbed him 3 picks ahead of Brooklyn. Looking for a power bat they would have been much wiser to take a middle infielder instead as Jim Hensley and Joe Nichols were the next two players selected. CHIEFS- The Chiefs have had more than their share of first round busts so it's hard to pick just one. Candidates include Fred Nader in 1925, Vallie Turner in 1927, Bolivar Jim Smith and Tom Eggleton both were 1930 first rounders, a pitcher by the name Joe Hunt in 1931. Of those five only Nader and Eggleton ever made it to FABL and that was just for a combined total of 31 games. Fortunately the Chiefs have drafted much better since then with Bob Walls, Al Miller, Bennie Griffith and Billy Dalton being among their more recent first rounders. COUGARS- The Cougars have enjoyed some great success in the opening round of the draft through the years with names like Bill Ashbaugh, Fred Barrell, Mike Murphy, Tom Barrell, Billy Hunter and Pete Papenfus being among the highlights perhaps that makes up for the decision to take Harry Humphrey out of nearby Whitney College third overall in 1927. Humphrey peaked at AA while the player selected immediately after him was also a college outfielder, someone by the name Frank Lightbody. CINCINNATI- The Cannons have picked so high most of the past decade it is almost impossible to get a dud but they made more than their share of mistakes in the 1920s. It started with the 1925 draft which had players like Jack Cleaves available when they chose a pitcher (wow that trend did start early for the Cannons) by the name of Earle Charlton 8th overall. Charlton was 8-16 over parts of 6 FABL seasons before the Los Angeles native found a home on the west coast with AAA indy Sacramento. Other Baltimore picks in the late 1920s made the majors and played a little but as it turned out in nearly every case there were several far better options available. CLEVELAND- I hate to beat a dead horse as it has been addressed often before but quite likely the worst first overall selection of all-time is Karl Stevens. The top pick of the 1926 draft ended up with exactly 42 days of FABL experience for his career and makes fellow Foresters first rounders Dick Kennon, Leo Clark, Amos Leblanc and Johnny Turner look like draft day steals in contrast. Needless to say after looking at those names it is clear that the first round was not very kind to the Foresters for a number of years. DETROIT- Harry Meek was taken 14th overall by the Dynamos in 1927 after a college career at Pierpont. The good thing is Meek was healthy, never spent a day of his baseball life hurt. The bad thing, he was not a very good pitcher and never advanced past AA before retiring in 1925. We also could have suggested 1928 first round Fred Keller but that might have been more a case of the organization ruined him by sitting the former high school first base on the bench in class C for six years, during which he started a grand total of 62 games. MONTREAL- The Saints selected an infielder by the name of George X Johnson with their very first human GM pick in 1925. He lasted 49 games and was probably the least successful of the many George Johnsons to appear in FABL over the years. Most of their other first rounders, with the exception of 1926 choice Lee Griffin, panned out fairly nicely. NY STARS- The Stars did get FABL service out of all of their first rounders, but there were far better options than the choices of George Williams (15th overall, 1926), one of the many Billy Smiths (7th overall, 1927), Nellie Dawson (13th overall, 1929). Art Haynes (11th overall, 1931) or Lou Barker (10th overall, 1934). None were completely terrible picks but none were especially impressive either. NY GOTHAMS- 1927 6th overall selection Huck Moore who was coming off an 11-0 season when he helped lead Commonwealth Catholic to the AIAA title back in the feeder league era. Moore had an outstanding college career, going 29-6 for his 3 seasons as a Knight. The 29 wins was at the time an AIAA record equaling the mark set by Ralph Ohler in 1919-21 and equaled by Walt Palmer (1924-26). Perhaps it was foreshadowing of what was to come from Moore as Ohler never played a big league game and Palmer who just 7 games for Pittsburgh in his career after being the second overall pick a year ahead of Moore. As for Moore he pitched in just 1 FABL game and has for the past 5 seasons resided in the Lone Star Association. No major injuries, it appears Moore was just an excellent college pitcher but simply not a good professional one. KEYSTONES- The Keystones have drafted very well of late landing among others Gene White, Jim Whitely. Billy Woytek and Davey Robicheaux in the first round. They also had some big picks in the early days including Frank Crawford, Bobby Barrell and Rip Curry but one they missed on was Roland Kumm. Not a terrible miss as Kumm was just the 16th overall pick in 1927 but aside from a few brief stints in AAA never came close to being considered a big leaguer. He is still in the Keystones system, playing AA at the age of 33. SAILORS- For a little while there it looked like the Sailors were focused on filling out Lone Star Association rosters with their first round picks. 1926 we had Ed Juergens taken 9th overall. 1927 it was Jack Bates as the 11th pick. Next it was Ed Scott taken 16th in 1928. None of the three ever made the big leagues but all spent substantial time in the Texas loop. Floyd Spencer (16th in 1930) is still active but another Sailors first round selection unlikely to ever make it to the majors. To pick one I guess Juergens would be considered the worst choice since Frank Crawford and Frank Huddleston were the next two picks immediately after him. PITTSBURGH- We picked on the Miners enough with the decision to take Eddie Wilson over Doug Lightbody in 1925. ST LOUIS- Give the Pioneers credit. It likely took a lot of effort to find a first round pick in the 1925 draft who never made it to FABL but selecting third baseman Brad Crawford 9th overall certainly filled the order. Crawford spent most of his career in the Great Western League, first with the Pioneers AAA club in Oakland and later with independent Seattle before retiring following the 1938 campaign. Crawford and Leo Gorski, taken 15th overall by Washington, were the only 1926 first rounders never to play a big league game. Oh, and Jack Cleaves was taken immediately after Crawford. The early days of drafting were not kind to the Pioneers organization. Other first round gems included 3B Jack Rogers (14th overall 1926, 105 FABL games), OF Bert Harrison (8th overall 1927, 58 FABL games), OF Frank Shropshire (3rd overall 1928, 4 FABL games) and AIAA pitching phenom Tom Blalock (4th overall 1929, 0 FABL games). TORONTO- The decision to trade up and select pitcher Eddie Quinn in 1925 was widely panned but Quinn certainly proved his worth in later years, although it was well after he had moved on from Toronto. In truth, the Wolves did pretty well with their first rounders back in the day: Frank Huddleston, Bill Anderson, Chuck Cole, Sam Orr and Bennie Johnson were all players who ended up providing decent value. One major exception is Jim Harris, a pitcher out of Northern California that was selected second overall in 1930. Perhaps a 1933 forearm injury that dragged on a bit impacted his career but aside from a brief stint at AAA Buffalo in 1936 Harris never got past AA and retired following the '36 season at the age of 27. A number of high 1930 picks failed to amount to much but the gaffe was especially costly to the Wolves as they had traded away their 2nd-thru-5th round picks that year. WASHINGTON- The Eagles did draft Andy Carter, Wally Flowers and Jim Beard with first round picks but there have been a lot of missteps through the years starting with Leo Gorski in 1925 and Bill Whiting the following year and continuing with names like Gorver Carson, Bill Kirby, George Gilliard, Bobo White and Tommy Trott. Injuries likely played a role in the failures (at least so far) of Gilliard, White and Trott so I am not sure how much of the blame lies with the Eagles staff on the decision to select White over his St Blane teammate Gus Goulding first overall in 1934. Missing on first overall picks can certainly set a franchise back but since Goulding is just finding his form now perhaps there is still hope for White to turn it around although his list of injuries is much greater than Goulding's. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/30/1940
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
|
|
|
01-04-2022, 11:20 AM
|
#322 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
July 8, 1940
July 8, 1940 COUGARS ON THE PROWL With 10 wins in their last 13 games the Chicago Cougars are starting to make their move in the Continental Association race. Considered by many at the start of the season as the team to beat, the Cougars had a tough time getting going this season and as late as June 10th they were 5 games under .500 at 24-29. Since they they have gone 19-9 and head into the break as the CA's hottest team but they still trail the first place Toronto Wolves by 6.5 games. The Wolves had a strong week of their own highlighted by a 3-game sweep of Cincinnati that allowed Toronto to overtake the Cannons for top spot. Cincinnati has been the surprise club of the season but the Cannons may be coming down to earth after suffering through a 6-game losing streak last week. There must be something in the air in Chicago right now as, just like the Cougars, the Federal Association Chiefs have also been on a roll of late, winning 12 of their final 15 games heading into the break. The Chiefs, who are looking for their third title in the past five years are second in the Fed, 2.5 games back of the Pittsburgh Miners who just so happen to also be looking for their third title but it would be within the last four seasons if they are successful this time around. The Philadelphia Keystones have managed to hang around with the big teams in the Fed but one wonders if that will change after the devastating news that pitcher Herman Patterson (8-2, 2.72) is done for the year after suffering an injury to his elbow last week. Detroit is still in the mix but the Dynamos are now 5 games out despite a decent 4-3 showing last week.  CHIEFS LEAD THE WAY AS ALL-STAR TEAMS REVEALED The Chicago Chiefs will be well represented at Tuesday afternoon's All-Star Game in Detroit. A total of 7 Chiefs were selected to participate in the game including second baseman Hank Barnett and outfielder Cliff Moss who were both selected as starters. The other Chiefs who will be on the home team for the 8th annual game will be pitcher Al Miller and Red Hampton, catcher Tom Bird, first baseman Ron Rattigan and outfielder Bill May. The host Detroit Dynamos placed five players on the squad including starters Red Johnson and Frank Vance. It had been widely expected that Dynamos hurler Sergio Gonzales would get the start in the game but he pitched yesterday in a 4-3 loss to the Chiefs so his status for Tuesday is unknown at the moment. The Philadelphia Keystones placed 4 players on the team while Pittsburgh and Boston each had three. Rounding out the 24 man Fed roster is one player each from St Louis and Washington while no one was selected from the New York Gothams. The first place Toronto Wolves lead the way among Continental Association clubs with 6 of their players including starters Fred McCormick and Tom Frederick making the grade. The Cincinnati Cannons had 4 players selected with outfield starters Moxie Pidgeon and Fred Galloway among them while Montreal was next with 3 but all three of the Saints were named to the starting lineup. They are catcher Adam Mullins, shortstop Frank Davis and outfielder Red Bond. Rounding out the team will be two players each from Brooklyn, Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia.  Three players will be making their record 7th appearance in the All-Star game. Here are the players to have been named to the All-Star teams the most often: Code:
MOST ALL-STAR SELECTIONS 7 John Lawson Cougars 7 Fred McCormick Toronto 7 Frank Vance Detroit 6 Bobby Barrell Keystones 6* Harry Barrell Brooklyn 6 Tom Bird Chiefs 6 Moxie Pidgeon Stars 5* George Cleaves Pittsburgh 5* Freddie Jones Cougars 5 Sergio Gonzales Detroit 5 Ron Rattigan Chiefs *not selected this year ALL-STAR GAME NOTEBOOK The first all-star game was played in 1933 at Whitney Park, longtime home of the Chicago Chiefs. The Federal Association prevailed in that game by an 8-5 score with Pete Asher, then of the Pittsburgh Miners but now with the Cincinnati Cannons, claiming the MVP award after a 3-for-4 day that saw him drive in 3 runs while scoring once. Freddie Jones, then of the Pioneers but now with the Chicago Cougars, also had 3 hit's for the winners. 19 year old Harry Barrell, a rookie with the Brooklyn Kings at the time was the youngest player on the field and Barrell played the entire game, going 2-for-4. Hall of Famers Max Morris and Rankin Kellogg both played in that game. The Federal Association would win each of the next two games as well and at one point led the series 4 wins to one before the Continental side closed the gap with wins each of the past two seasons. Code:
PAST ALL STAR GAME RESULTS YEAR LOCATION RESULT WINNING PITCHER MVP 1933 Whitney Park Federal 8 Continental 5 Ben Curtin STL Pete Asher Pit 1934 Riverside Stadium Federal 11 Continental 7 Chick Stout Pit Tom Taylor Cougars 1935 Broad Street Park Federal 5 Continental 2 Art Myers Keystones Freddie Jones StL 1936 Pioneer Field Continental 6 Federal 4 Tom Barrell BKN Dick Walker Sailors 1937 Dominion Field Federal 2 Continental 2 (19) Don Attaway Keystones Don Attaway Keystones 1938 Bigsby Oval Continental 5 Federal 4 (13) Bob Cummings BKN Fred McCormick TOR 1939 Forester Stadium Continental 6 Federal 3 Art White BKN Fred McCormick TOR 1940 Thompson Field ? FUTURE HOST TEAMS 1941: Brooklyn Kings 1942: Pittsburgh Miners 1943: Montreal Saints 1944: Washington Eagles 1945: Chicago Cougars 1946: Boston Minutemen 1947: Philadelphia Sailors 1948: Chicago Chiefs 1949: Cincinnati Cannons 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FABL APPROACHES The 1941 season will be the 50th anniversary of FABL, which traces it's beginnings back to 1892 when William Whitney managed to unite the three struggling major leagues into a new 16 team format that brought about the creation of the Federal and Continental Associations. There was no World Championship Series that initial season but it did make it's debut the following year and has been contested ever since. To recognize the 50th anniversary of FABL, TWIFB's Jiggs McGee thought it might be something for the league to announce an All-Time All-FABL team, perhaps in conjunction with the All-Star Game festivities next July. We asked Jiggs who he would take as his All-Time FABL team and while he felt a bit more research was probably necessary, off the top of his head Jiggs gave us this lineup. CATCHER: T.R. Goins - Goins played for Washington and Cleveland in a career that spanned from 1923-1938 and included a pair of World Championship Series titles, two Whitney Awards and 4 all-star game selections. His 2,622 hits and 270 homers are both high water marks for catchers, in fact he tops catchers in pretty much every career offensive stat. FIRST BASE: Rankin Kellogg - One day Fred McCormick just might surpass him but Kellogg is the choice here, especially considering nearly all of the Keystones other great first baseman, Zebulon Banks, career took place before the creation of FABL. The tragic end due to health reasons of Kellogg's amazing 14 year career is well documented and his quick entry into the Hall of Fame is well deserved. 3 Whitney Awards, 4 all-star game selections, two World Championship titles and 3 triple crowns are just some of the accomplishments for Kellogg. SECOND BASE: Ed Ziehl - The current Gothams manager played 24 seasons for the club and his 3,496 hits are the fourth most all-time. The Hall of Famer was a member of 4 World title winners and won 7 Federal Association batting titles and is FABL's all-time leader in stolen bases. SHORTSTOP: John Waggoner - Another Hall of Famer from New York but most of his career was spent with the Stars although he did finish off with the cross-town Gothams. 3,207 career hits, 3 World Championship Series Rings and while his offensive ability get much of the credit Waggoner was also an exceptional defender as well. THIRD BASE: Joe Ward - John Lawson perhaps deserves some consideration as well but I will give the nod to the Hall of Famer Ward. He made his FABL debut in 1908 as a teenager and was a long-time Montreal Saint except for a brief spell in Chicago with Cougars, Ward amassed 3,127 hits in his career and claimed a pair of Whitney Awards as well as winning two World Championship Series. He has two more rings as well courtesy of his post-retirement job as manager of the Chicago Chiefs. OUTFIELD: Max Morris - Of course the all-time homerun king gets a spot. 711 homers and 3,651 career hits. 8 Whtiney Awards. 2 WCS rings and, like Kellogg, 3 triple crowns. I hear he could pitch a bit too. Debuted with Cleveland in 1914 as a 19 year old and had stops in St Louis and with the New York Gothams before returning to the Foresters and helping them win their first WCS title. Finished his career in 1937 with a season as player-manager in Detroit before moving from the ballpark to the political arena. OUTFIELD: Powell Slocum - The greatest hitter the game ever knew. The Hall of Famer had 4,144 of them in FABL. 15 batting titles, 7 seasons hitting over .400 and 4 Whitney Awards. Debuted with Baltimore in 1905 and finished his career 21 years later as player-manager in Brooklyn. Won 3 WCS as a player and a fourth one as the Kings skipper, a job he still holds today but in his second go around at that post with the Kings. OUTFIELD: John Dibblee - 3,913 career hits for the Hall of Famer who played his entire career with the Cougars from 1906-1931. Won the first ever Whitney Award in 1911 to go along with a pair of batting titles and 3 WCS rings. PITCHER: Charlie Sis - I might be convinced to change my mind a select Double Al but right now I am leaning towards Sis just because he accomplished his incredible career entirely under the FABL umbrella, debuting in 1903 with St Louis before moving to Toronto in 1909 and staying with the Wolves until his retirement following the 1921 season. Yes, Double Al had more wins - even when you remove the seasons prior to the formation of FABL but Sis' career was in an era much closer to today's game than what existed when Double Al was in his prime. Regardless of which pitcher you prefer that is quite a collection of talent if they all could take the field in their prime. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/07/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-04-2022 at 12:44 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-05-2022, 11:49 AM
|
#323 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
July 15, 1940 All-Star Game Recap
July 15, 1940 YOUNG GUNS LEAD FEDERAL ASSOCIATION TO ALL STAR WIN Billy Woytek and Red Johnson were both barely teenagers when the first all-star game was played 8 years ago but thanks to the two of them the Federal Association has reclaimed superiority in the annual meeting of the stars of FABL. Woytek, the 21 year old second baseman who is a key reason for the Keystones success in Philadelphia this year, was named the game's Most Valuable Player after he delivered a pair of hits including a 3-run homer that turned the tide of the contest while the 22 year old Johnson delighted his hometown fans as the Detroit slugger also had a pair of hits with the big one being a 2-run blow in the 8th inning that cemented the first win in 3 outings for the Federal side. The 7-4 victory at Detroit's Thompson Field gave the Feds a little breathing room in the annual series as it extended their lead to 5 games to 3 and stemmed the wave of Continental success that had seen the CA boys win 3 of the last 4 contests. It looked like it might be shaping up to be a third straight loss for the Feds as the Continental Stars jumped all over Detroit's Charlie Wheeler in the top of the third inning, scoring 4 runs and forcing Wheeler to the showers after retiring just one batter. Things started well enough for Wheeler when the first batter he faced, Toronto's Tom Frederick, grounded out. But then John Lawson singled and Red Bond worked him for a walk setting the stage for Toronto's Fred McCormick to lay the groundwork on a potential third straight MVP award. McCormick delivered again on this occasion, slapping a single to left field to plate Dawson with the game's first run. Cincinnati's Moxie Pidgeon followed with an rbi single and Pittsburgh manager Dan Andrew, guiding the Federal side, had seen enough of Wheeler. Andrew called on Boston's Ed Wood but that did little to shut down the CA bats as two more runs came in, one on an Adam Mullins single and the other on a ground out from Fred Galloway. Wood eventually got out of the inning by inducing a groundout from CA pitcher Joe Hancock with runners on the corners but the CA still led 4-0. In hindsight, not lifting Hancock for a pinch-hitter might have been the key moment in the game for the CA as those extra runs another base hit could have provided would be sorely missed by the Continental nine. The score remained 4-0 until the bottom of the 6th when McCormick, the two time MVP, was front and center once more but this time for the wrong reason. He booted a ground ball from Lew McClendon that prolonged the inning and gave Billy Woytek his opportunity. Woytek, who had singled in his first All Star at bat in the fourth inning, gave the Federal Association life with a 3-run homer off of Deuce Barrell to cut the Continental lead to a single run. In the 7th inning the Federal bats picked on the oldest player in the all-star game, roughing up the Cougars 40 year old hurler Dick Lyons for 2 more runs and taking a 5-4 lead thanks to a triple from Bill May of the Chiefs that scored his teammate Ron Rattigan and another young Keystone in Hank Koblenz. Red Johnson, the young Detroit slugger, added insurance in the bottom of the 8th when, after Woytek reached on an error, he swatted a 2-run homer to make it 7-4 in favour of the Feds. The CA did make it interesting in the ninth inning as Clarence Howerton led off with a single off of Bill Ketterman and moved to second when Mel Carrol worked the Miners hurler for a walk. Up to the plate stepped McCormick with a chance to make amends for his 6th inning gaffe. He ripped a solid line drive but right into the waiting glove of Chuck Hood - yet another one of those young Keystones - and two easy outs later it was all over and the Feds had their victory. GAME NOTES- John Lawson of the Chicago Cougars, one of three players appearing in a record 7th all-star game, had a nice day, going two for four and scoring a run.....Woytek becomes the second Keystones player to claim the MVP award, following pitcher Don Attaway who earned his in the 1937 19-inning marathon in Toronto....Dick Lyons, who took the loss, was one of 6 players who also played in the first all-star game in 1933. Others were Moxie Pidgeon, Frank Vance, Fred McCormick, Bill Ketterman and Bobby Barrell.....Next year's All-Star game will be played in Brooklyn.  MINERS, KEYSTONES STAY HOT The Pittsburgh Miners and Philadelphia Keystones both started the second half of the season on the right foot. The first place Miners took two of three from Detroit and then beat the New York Gothams in 10 innings yesterday. Pittsburgh has now won 9 of it's last 11 but they lost a little ground on the Philadelphia Keystones over the weekend as the Keystones won all 4 of their post-All Star game contests in an effort to assure the league the loss of ace pitcher Herman Patterson will not slow down the young Philadelphia side. One team that may be slowing down is the Detroit Dynamos. Losers of 9 of their last 14 games, the Dynamos had promised shakeups and one came last night with news that Detroit has sent infielder Ed Stewart back to Pittsburgh in exchange for a second round draft pick. It was a rough week for the Dynamos, dropping 3 of 4 including that big series with the Miners, who they now trail by 7 games. JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE ON THE TRADE: It does seem like an awful lot to give up a second round pick for a 31 year old infielder, who while he once was very good and was very good while playing in Pittsburgh, now looks like he may be on his last legs as a FABL player. I get where Pittsburgh is coming from. They are in win now mode and have been for a couple of years as they try to get every last win out of a mostly aging pitching staff and a Pittsburgh second round pick is bound to be at best 28th overall next season. There is also plenty of worry in Miners country about the health of Jack Cleaves, there just has to be with all the times he has been banged up in recent seasons. Even if Cleaves is healthy there is a good chance the Miners will give Stewart a shot in the starting lineup as their second base man. I am not shocked at all Detroit made the move and rather impressed with the way they managed to get a second round pick for a 31 year old hitting .209. However, it is a surprise they would deal him back to Pittsburgh. Maybe it is an elaborate attempt to sabotage their rivals, and Detroit knows Stewart will be a liability in Pittsburgh just as he was in Detroit. In fact the Dynamos GM hinted at such by being quoted by Detroit World columnist Freddie Farhat as saying the following "Besides the way they were hitting for us, maybe (trading Stewart) can inflict that damage to the contenders. Sometimes addition is by subtraction, that might be the case here." The Miners are counting on Stewart resembling at least something like the hitter he was in his first run with the team and if he does break out of his slump it will make it that much harder for Detroit to claw back in the race. I don't think I could turn this deal down if I was Detroit - Pittsburgh certainly overpaid in my opinion - but this move sends all the wrong messages in the Dynamos clubhouse. By all accounts Stewart was a hard worker and a great teammate and moving him without getting a piece that can help you this year in return seems to tell the Dynamos players that management has thrown in the towel on this season. Yes, they are 7 games back but if they get hot Detroit has one of the most explosive offenses in the game, and even without the injured Frank Crawford, some outstanding pitching. It's only July, but it just feels like Detroit has turned it's attention to next year and that is sure to cause Dynamos new owner Powell Thompson, who has never been described as a patient man, to turn up the heat on his management team. CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION The Brooklyn Kings have certainly been a thorn in the side of their former General Manager the past few weeks. For the second team in less than a month the Kings swept a 3-game series from the Cincinnati Cannons and have dropped the Cannons 2 games back of the front running Toronto Wolves. The CA is starting to tighten up as they now have 6 teams over the .500 mark when just a few short weeks only the Wolves and Cannons were above the breakeven point. The Cannons, who were being fitted for a glass slipper early, have been on a nose dive since that first sweep at the hands of the Kings. Cincinnati was 38-17 on June 11th but since then they have gone 11-18.  DYNAMOS MAKE ANOTHER DEAL - SEND PESTILLI PACKING LATE BULLETIN: The Detroit Dynamos made another move that seems to reaffirm the looking to the future theory as they sent Sal's brother Alf Pestilli (.213,8,43) packing to Chicago where he will join the Chiefs. Yes like the previously traded Ed Stewart, Alf has been struggling of late but this will likely not sit well with Sal. Maybe this wakes up Sal and the rest of the Dynamos, but it could just as easily send the club into a further spiral. This was supposed to be the year Detroit finally won it's pennant after a pair of second place finishes but instead it is feeling like the second division may be the Dynamos ultimate destination. In return Detroit receives Class C pitcher Jim Bob Jones from the Chiefs. The 1939 5th round pick out of high school was 5-9, 5.86 for Waterloo so far this season and was ranked 216th by OSA on the top prospects list. Pestilli was acquired by the Dynamos from Brooklyn last season and hit .299 with 23 homers between the two clubs a year ago. JUST HOW SPECIAL IS LEFTY ALLEN'S 100TH WIN AT AGE 26 Pittsburgh Miners ace Lefty Allen beat the Philadelphia Keystones 5-2 a week ago for his 100th career victory. The win was only slightly tarnished by the fact that Allen could not complete the game as a minor injury forced him out in the top of the ninth inning. With the All-Star game, to which Allen was invited for the 4th time in his career, braking up the week Allen will likely not even miss a start because of the injury. While he did suffer a couple of serious injuries in the minors for the most part Allen has been healthy and pitching in a 4-man rotation with the Miners he averages about 40 starts a season. So while that certainly gives him an advantage over other pitchers who work in a 5-man rotation, to win 100 games (with just 56 defeats) by age 26 is quite a special accomplishment. How special? Well, out of the 27 active pitchers (including those in the minors or free agents) only Milt Fritz was younger than Allen when he won his 100th. Fritz, who was pitching in the big leagues as a 19 year old with the Chicago Chiefs, was just in his age 24 season when he reached the century mark, so two years ahead of Allen. Fritz did hit some potholes along the way after that but seems to be back on track with the Chicago Cougars and is now, at age 30, just one victory shy of 170 for his career. If Allen stays healthy and keeps up his current pace he could certainly be caught up to Fritz' pace by then or perhaps even ahead of him. After Fritz and Allen the next fastest to 100 wins are Rabbit Day and Jim Lonardo, who each were 28 when they hit the century mark. Day got even better with age and now, two months after his 36th birthday is at 259 victories. Lonardo also very recently turned 36 and he has 208 wins under his belt. 200 seems very easy for Allen to accomplish, again dependent upon health, but what about being the first pitcher to reach 300 (assuming Day does not get there) since recent Hall of Fame inductee Big George Johnson got there in 1925? Well, let's now compare Lefty Allen to every FABL pitcher who tossed at least one inning after 1921 and recorded at least 180 career victories. How many wins did each of them have by the end of their age 26 season? Only three pitchers who fit that criteria had more wins by the end of their age 26 season that Allen's 100 (and counting because he still has half a season left). Those pitchers are Charlie Sis, Phil Miller and Ike Wetzel. Sis had 133 of his 395 career victories by the end of his age 26 season while Miller (288 wins overall) and Wetzel (277) each had 112. No one else was within 10 victories of those four and Allen has won 24 each of the past two seasons so if he repeats that this season he will be tied with Miller and Wetzel. Does this mean Lefty Allen will win close to 300 games or perhaps even surpass that magic number? Certainly an awful lot can happen over the next 10-15 years but he does seem to be on the right track. Below is the list of all pitchers who pitched at least one game after 1920 (to remove many of the deadball era pitchers from this comparison) and finished with at least 180 career wins:   Note this is Johnny Bologna's July 8, 1940 column It was a busy day at the Keystones offices today while the players left the clubhouse for a three-day All-Star respite. In fact, it was a busy week. The tendency of a team who has had the unexpected first half the Keystones have had to overreact on a few losses, threatening the upstarts to fall from a race in which some believe they have no business taking part. But, the All-Star Break gives us all a chance to take stock of the first half of the season and the stock of the Keystones is rising.The Keystones are young. The team has a youthful pitching staff that has fallen back to the pack, but the first half was led by Herman Patterson, whose left elbow needs to be put together again. More about him in a minute. Lloyd Stevens becomes the new de facto ace of the staff, who captured his tenth win of the season on Independence Day in a 5-3 victory over Boston. Pepper Tuttle and Jim Whiteley slot in right behind Stevens and the trio are all only 24 years old. The Keystones are also young in the field. Billy Woytek and Hank Koblenz were named to their first All-Star teams at 21 years old and 23 years old, respectively. Woytek has already scored 51 runs and driven in 50 runs in 77 games this year, all while striking out only eight times all year. Koblenz has hammered 17 home runs and batted home 47 runs. His hard-boiled exterior is hard-earned, combining for 52 home runs in the minors and majors last season. Chuck Hood owns the best batting average in the Federal Association, hitting .339, and made his play for the All-Star roster by hitting .373 in May and driving in 23 runs in June. Patterson's season-ending injury kicked off the week that just transpired, so panic could have easily been the order of the day. In Patterson's 16 starts, he was nothing short of spectacular. Patterson went 8-2 with a 2.72 E.R.A. with 81 strikeouts, which is tied for the team lead and tied for second place in the Federal Association. Scotty Thomas received a spot start in a doubleheader later in the week against Boston and he was tattooed in an 8-0 loss. Back to the bullpen for Thomas. Next up will be Henry Shaffer, another rookie who impressed in his nine starts, pitching to a 3.68 E.R.A. with the senior club while honing his craft on the farm in Louisville, winning three of four decisions and carrying a 3.29 E.R.A. But, while Patterson's injury marked the start of the week and tough losses pockmarked the week, specifically a blown 6-3 ninth-inning lead, a barren 8-0 loss in the second game of a doubleheader in Boston, and a 13-1 thrashing at the hands of first-place Pittsburgh, the week ended on two positive, hopeful notes. One is the arrival of the All-Star Game and a chance for the Keystones to take a breath from an overachieving first half that saw the team reach 10 games above the .500 mark. The second positive note was the claiming of Doug Lightbody on waivers from the Cincinnati Cannons on Sunday. Lightbody is not what he used to be. He has been beset by injuries, totaling about 24 months on the shelf in a 15-year career. Six of those 15 seasons produced a season of less than 100 games played. But, boy, can he hit. Lightbody is a career .341 hitter, though he has not broken .300 since his last "great" season in 1935 when he batted .356. The Keystones are hoping the two-time batting champion can provide some hitting off the bench, but it is so much more than that. For such a young squad, Lightbody can regale the kids with tales of great Brooklyn teams of the past, culminating in a championship in 1937. The feeling may be mutual. Lightbody might be able to tap into the youth to bring his game back to earlier times. After all, he is 33 hits shy of 2,000, and fellow graybeard, Carl Ames, can tell him a story of what it was like to reach the plateau. It may be a marriage of convenience for both sides, but the Keystones and Lightbody are rooting for the chance of a romantic ending in October.  GOTHAMS OWNER: "IT'S TIME TO DO SOMETHING" Leland Winthrop is generally quiet as far as big league owners go. He has mostly listened to his advisers who have preached patience. "The young guys are on the way", "We're about to turn things around". Instead the Gothams are in danger of finishing at the bottom of the FA, again. A man's patience can only last so long. So when in the normally quiet Gothams offices a directive comes from the big office overlooking Manhattan, everyone listens. The missive started with a new refrain - "DO Something". Below that were details of lower attendance, a grumbling fan base and a sad listing of the team's past four records. Sure, one could always preach patience. "Wait for Bowman" or some other promising kid. But sometimes you need to make a move. And when the big man demands something be done, all bets are off. Expect to see players and/or draft picks on the move. And while it's doubtful any of the "Infield of the Future" will go anywhere, a shaken GM might just do anything, or something. AROUND THE LEAGUE Let's take a look at how the first and second round picks are doing from the most recent draft. Where does OSA rank them and more importantly, are they signed yet? BOSTON- Both Andy Howell and Hal Pratt are signed and playing Class C. Howell, the 18 year old pitcher selected 11th had a very nice debut last week. Neither cracked the top 300 prospect list with OSA listing Howell 312th and Pratt, a 17 year old outfielder selected in the second round, at 349th. BROOKLYN- The Kings have not as of yet signed any of their top picks. John Moss, cousin of Chiefs outfielder Cliff Moss was taken 4th overall and shortstop Tom Landowski was the 13th pick. Second round Wiley Bowens, a high school third baseman is also not signed. CHIEFS- Joe Rutherford and Bob Crowley both agreed to contracts this week. Each debuted in the top 100 with second round pitcher Crowley at 78th, ten spots ahead of outfielder Rutherford who was the 7th pick of the draft. Despite that the Chiefs minor league system still ranks last in the league. COUGARS- Second rounder Don Lee signed a couple weeks ago and is off to a decent start in Class C while first round selection Mel Haynes, an 18 year old pitcher taken 12th overall just agreed to a deal. Haynes debuts at #57 on the OSA list while Lee just sneaks into the top 200 at #190th. CINCINNATI- While the week was a tough one on the field for the Cannons it was a huge success off the field. Top picks Dick Blaszak, a high school outfielder, and Bill Sohl, a pitcher from Lane State are both now signed and in the organization with both debuting in the top ten of the OSA prospects list. They were taken 1-2 overall in the draft as for the first time in FABL history one team owned both the first and second selections. CLEVELAND- The new GM in Cleveland got to work quickly and signed both of his top two picks. Richie Hughes is a high school pitcher selected 14th overall while shortstop George Bray, also out of the high school ranks, was their second rounder. Both ended up in the low 200s according to OSA with Hughes clocking in at 289th and Bray 9 spots lower. DETROIT- Without a first round selection the Dynamos top pick was former Grange College third baseman Eddie Barkley. Ranked 260th by OSA, Barkley hit .333 through his first 4 games at Class B Chattanooga. MONTREAL- The Saints top pick was George Wynn, a pitcher out of tiny Williamette Valley College and OSA loves him, ranking the 8th overall pick as #15 on the top prospect list to make a solid Montreal farm system even stronger. Hi Penley, a high school first baseman selected in the second round, did not fare so well in OSA's eyes. He slots in at #375 on the prospect list. NY STARS- Faced with a money crunch the Stars have been so far unable to get either of their two first rounders or the first of their three second rounders under contract. They did sign their other two second round picks in Bill Grove and Don Bitters. Grove is a 17 year old third baseman ranked #274 by OSA while Bitters, who won the Christian Trophy as the AIAA's top player this past season, was the final pick of round two. Bitters slots in at #248 on the OSA list. However, if the Stars cannot get 5th overall pick Bill Barnett to come to terms, it will make the dealing of Moxie Pidgeon to the Cannons for that pick, look even worse. It appears they are resigned to the fact that second round Newt Cooper is going to return to American Atlantic for his senior year but the jury is also still out on Wally Hunter, the high school pitcher the Stars selected at the end of the first round. Hunter has committed to Ferguson College in North Carolina. NY GOTHAMS- Without a first or second round pick the Gothams top selection was outfielder Bill Payne in the regional round. The 17 year old is signed and at Class C. He is ranked 292nd by OSA. KEYSTONES- Local high school pitching star Joe Quade signed quickly with the Keystones and tossed a 3-0 complete game shutout at Class A in his pro debut. OSA has him settled in at #13 on their top prospect list and he looks like another of the great young pieces the Keystones have collected in recent years. Catcher Lou Beyer was their second round pick and he is also signed and playing, in his case at the Class B level. Bayer ranks 193rd on OSA's list. SAILORS- Top pick Jimmy J. Walker, a high school outfielder with a commitment to Northern Mississippi is not yet signed but being a Pennsylvania native you have to think he will eventually accept the Sailors offer. Second round pick Joe Lund, an 18 year old from Vermont, did agree to a deal in the last few days but OSA does not feel he belongs in the top 500 prospects. PITTSBURGH- Both Miners high picks are signed. Bill Traylor, a 20 year old pitcher from Coastal State just agreed to a deal while second round pick Gordon Carter, an 18 year old second baseman, signed early and is playing at Class C. Traylor debuts at #73 on the OSA list while Carter is a respectable 150th according to the league scouting service. ST LOUIS- The Pioneers are fast tracking first rounder Tucker Ness as they assigned the 21 year old directly to AAA Oakland, where the 9th overall pick did not look out of place. Ness is ranked 51st overall and number 3 among all catchers by OSA. Frank McNeil, a middle infielder from Daniel Boone College, is also signed but just inked the deal and has not been assigned to an affiliate level yet. OSA slots him in at 141st. TORONTO- Toronto selected John Graves, an outfielder from Detroit City College 6th overall and stayed in the college ranks for round two with former Chesapeake State righthander Tommy Anderson. Both are signed and Graves, who OSA ranks 36th overall, had a solid debut in Class B. Anderson slots in at 432nd according to OSA and will make his pro debut at Class C. WASHINGTON- The Eagles traded their first round pick and it is looking like second rounder Johnny Thacker is not going to report. Thacker seems set on serving his country should the United States be drawn into the war in Europe as he plans on attending Columbia Military Academy rather than pursue a baseball career at this time. The Eagles did sign regional round pick John Dickerson, an outfielder out of Eastern State and he nearly cracked the top 100, landing at 113th on the OSA list. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/14/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
01-06-2022, 11:45 AM
|
#324 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
July 22, 1940
JULY 22, 1940 SLUMPING GOTHAMS DROP 10 STRAIGHT It's the same old story in New York as Gothams fans are suffering through yet another losing season. Things are getting especially bad since the all-star break as the New Yorkers have lost 10 straight and are quickly sinking back to the bottom of the Federal Association. A week ago club owner Leland Winthrop, who rarely speaks publicly about the team, issued an edict that many Gothams fans have been urging for a couple of seasons as the owner told his management staff in no uncertain terms to "Do something." We do not believe that go out and lose 7 more games this week was the 'something' that Winthrop had in mind. In the Gothams defense, half of those 10 consecutive losses were by a single run including 4 of the last 8 games in extra innings so the Gothams are coming close, but in baseball close does not get you much. This is shaping up to be the 5th straight season New York has failed to win even 70 games and the way things are trending recently it might be their third last place finish in that stretch. So what has gone wrong since the Gothams tore the team apart and decided to rebuild midway through the 1936 campaign, just months after celebrating the franchise's 4th World Championship Series victory? For starters pitching remains a huge problem, especially the rotation. Gus Goulding, acquired from Cincinnati over the winter, was supposed to help solve the issue and for a spell he did. Goulding was outstanding in the early going, winning his first 4 starts and posting a 1.00 era in that time. However, he got progressively worse over each of the ensuing 3 months and after absorbing a 7-6 loss in Philadelphia yesterday Goulding's record has dipped to 8-10 with a 4.04 era. Then there is Nate Spear, who looked so good when he was healthy a year ago. The Gothams expected big things from the 24 year old if he could remain injury free, and he has for the most part this season, but his record is 3-8 with a decidedly ordinary 4.02 era. Neither Goulding nor Spear has pitched poorly as their numbers are certainly adequate, but not for your top two starters. Bob Adams (2-5, 4.12) has looked good at times but he has been bitten by the injury bug nearly as badly as Spear was a year ago. Fred Ratcliffe (7-5, 3.72) has shown signs of being a solid addition to the rotation but others like Bunny Edwards (1-6, 6.10) just haven't figured out how to pitch in the big leagues yet. There is hope, of course, there always seems to be hope in the next top prospect coming up in the Gothams well respected minor league system. In this case it is Ed Bowman, a 20 year old doing a decent job in Class B who is considered the best prospect in the game right now and has been for over a year. Turning prospects into big league stars has been an issue of late in New York. The so-called Million Dollar infield has collectively taken a step back this year with Walt Messer (.270,5,24) reduced to a platoon rule, Billy Dalton (.234,7,26) bothered by injuries early in the season while Roosevelt Brewer (.264,1,27) and Mule Monier (.261,3,28) have been merely adequate so far. Catcher Pete Casstevens (.250,3,35), another one of those great prospects, is slowly coming along and maybe the pressure in New York is unfair for these players. One has to remember Brewer is still just 20 years old, Casstevens 21 and Messer 22. Another top 100 prospect in 22 year old Fred Vargas recently made his debut in the New York outfield but he, too, is struggling to find his way. The New York problems can be blamed on their lack of offensive production nearly as much as their pitching. There is little doubt a big bat or two in the outfield would help the offense immensely but that is something that their system does not really have. There usually are plenty of talented veteran corner outfielders available so perhaps it is time the Gothams invested in one or two. Right now the club is young and perhaps should be cut some slack, but the issue is the Gothams are running out of rope, in year five of a rebuild that has not shown any real signs of finally ending. There are always plenty of good prospects on the way but for some reason none of them, at least so far, have been able to take charge and turn the franchise around. Patience is running thin in New York and when owner Leland Winthrop makes a rare public statement, Gothams management would be wise to listen. The trade deadline is a week away, perhaps now it is time for the Gothams brass to listen to their owner and "do something."  TRADE DEADLINE CLOSING IN Despite the fact that 11 of the 16 teams are within 7.5 games of top spot in their association - or perhaps because of it - there has been surprisingly little chatter regarding big moves as the trade deadline approaches. With just over a week remaining before the July 31st cutoff date there have been just two trades made. Those came late last week as the Detroit Dynamos dealt away a pair of veterans in second sacker Ed Stewart (.209,5,17) and outfielder Alf Pestilli (.213,8,43), getting a pick from Pittsburgh for Stewart and a young pitching prospect from the Chicago Chiefs in return for Pestilli. There is a good chance this might be one of the slowest deadline days in recent memory simply because of the fact there are so many teams in contention and few marketable veterans that the non-contenders have or would be willing to part with. Let's take a look at the five teams one would consider non-contenders and see what might be available. CLEVELAND FORESTERS: A big decision for the new Cleveland GM right away as veteran pitchers Dave Rankin (7-10, 3.02) and Dean Astle (7-10, 4.80) might be the two most attractive arms available should the Foresters decide it is time to start stocking the prospect cupboard. A more likely scenario might see 36 year old Rube McCormick (7-9, 3.81) moved as the price would be far lower for him than the other two. I can't see the Foresters parting ways with 29 year old shortstop George Dawson (.253,0,14) or 28 year old third baseman Mel Carrol (.354,9,48). If Cleveland is shopping someone it would more likely be Dan Fowler (.239,7,48) but the 32 year old outfielder has had a real drop off the past couple of seasons. MONTREAL SAINTS 35 year old Ed Baker (8-9, 4.35) is still somewhat effective and would provide pitching depth for a contender. Vic Crawford (.260,4,38) was Dan Fowler's teammate at Commonwealth Catholic so many years ago and like Fowler, could be on the block and likely would be the more attractive option to a team considering either of the pair. The New York Gothams could use a veteran outfielder, in their bid to avoid the Federal cellar and Crawford might be a fairly inexpensive fit. Montreal's most marketable player is Adam Mullins (.292,3,33) and the Saints could likely draw quite a bidding war from Boston, Detroit and the New York Stars should they ever decide to shop him. The Saints have gone on record saying Mullins and 27 year old outfielder Red Bond are untouchable however. NEW YORK GOTHAMS The Gothams insist they are buyers rather than sellers and are willing to part with some prospects for an established pitcher or possibly a power hitting outfielder. It's desperate times in New York, would they move one of their many good young players for some established veteran(s) to help them at least make a push towards .500? ST LOUIS PIONEERS This has been a nightmare season for the Pioneers and the question facing their management team is whether or not it is just a one year anomaly or do they need to blow things up and start from scratch? Sam Sheppard (5-6, 3.91) had a great start to the season but the 32 year old has shown the inconsistency that plagued him in past years over the last month. St Louis is shopping him and may yet find a taker but he is too risky a pickup to allow the Pioneers to receive much of value in return. Likewise, 30 year old Jake Smith (1-7, 6.30) has little trade value at the moment. Buddy Long (4-14, 4.72) is just 25 and not pitching as poorly as his record might indicate, and he was so good last year, if the Pioneers are tearing it down and starting over he is their best chance of getting a solid return for one of their pitchers. Outfielder Gail Gifford (.279,3,27) might also draw some limited interest as could Al Tucker (.251,3,37), Art Cascone (.208,2,11) or first baseman Zip Sullivan (.247,0,21). The problem is all are suffering through very poor seasons. WASHINGTON EAGLES Not a lot of teams are in need of outfielders (aside from the Gothams) but 29 year old Sam Brown (.281,6,36) might draw some interest as could first baseman Harry Shumate (.246,5,38) but the 30 year old is in the midst of following up a career best season with his worst one. Jack Elder (6-14, 4.63) is having a rough year but the 29 year old won 20 games last season. Would a team take a chance on him and if so, how much would the Eagles want in return. Leo Proctor (4-3, 3.22) is 37 but might be a cheap alternative for a club looking for depth in their bullpen. What about Bobo White (8-9, 4.27)? The former first overall pick is 26 now and this is actually shaping up to be the best season of his disappointing career to date. Do the Eagles see if there might be a market for him in an effort to recoup some of the draft capital lost last year with the decision to send the 5th overall selection to the Gothams in exchange for Jim Birdwell (2-7, 6.14), who has actually been even more of a mess in DC than he was in the Big Apple. SUMMARY- There really is not a lot available if a contender is looking to deal with a team that is out of the race but there is always the possibility of two of the 'contenders' hooking up on a deal, or one of the teams still in the race deciding they are better off making a move with the future in mind. That being said here are some possible fits I see. Not saying either team would be interested in any of these moves but some things I feel that might be of benefit to both clubs involved. 1-New York Gothams send Bunny Edwards to Brooklyn in exchange for Tiny Tim Hopkins - New York might need to throw something else in the deal with the way Hopkins (.282,9,28) is hitting right now and while your initial reaction might be this makes no sense for either team let's look closer. The Gothams are desperate for a power bat and Hopkins certainly fits the bill and could step in at first base and provide that right now. What about Walt Messer you ask? Well, Messer could shift to the outfield or perhaps be flipped by the Gothams for a pitcher. On Brooklyn's side of things the Kings have other first base options such as top prospect Chuck Adams or maybe even making Jim Lightbody a permanent first baseman. Tom Barrell is struggling and the Kings could use another good young arm, but then who couldn't. I am not sure Edwards will ever be the top of the rotation guy the Gothams had hoped but he could be a solid #3-5 starter and maybe he just needs a change of scenery. 2- Brooklyn shops Al Wheeler: Speaking of change of scenery is it perhaps time the Brooklyn Kings and Al Wheeler part ways? Wheeler is having another bad season (.260,10,40), at least by his standards, but the Kings could still land quite the haul in return for him. Likely nearly every contender in the league would be interested in discussing Wheeler and Brooklyn has some outfield depth to withstand the deal short term. The Chicago Cougars for one would be all in on Wheeler as I expect the Miners, Wolves, Chiefs and Keystones may be as well. 3- Detroit sends Mike Murphy to the Philadelphia Keystones or Sailors - Not sure the Dynamos would move to Murphy to the Keystones but he might be the perfect safety net for them to help withstand the loss of Herman Patterson. So far Keystones pitching has been okay without Patterson but it is a long season and I can't help but think the Keystones would feel a lot more comfortable about their situation with a veteran starter. Likewise the Sailors might also be one to pull the trigger on another pitcher. Their rotation is good but one more quality starter might be enough to put them over the top. 4- Montreal sends catcher Adam Mullins and Ed Baker to Boston for catcher Bill Van Ness, Duke Hendricks and Boston's first round pick. I saved the biggest for last. Van Ness is not there yet but the 23 year old will be a very good big league catcher and Hendricks would give the Saints another great pitching prospect who is likely ready for the majors. Add in the first rounder and the Saints are gathering assets for their rebuild. In return Boston gets the upgrade they desperately need behind the plate and add a depth arm to help with their stretch draft. Initial reaction from both teams might be "not a chance" but to me this looks like a move that can help both. It might not be quite enough to lift Boston to being right there with Pittsburgh but it could come very close and the Saints, well they lose an all-star catcher but gain a very good replacement while also adding two more young pieces (Hendricks and a first rounder) in an effort to help dig them out of a decade long second division rut. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/21/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-06-2022 at 11:48 AM. |
|
|
|
|
01-07-2022, 11:21 AM
|
#325 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
July 29, 1940 Trade deadline approaches
JULY 29, 1940 ALL QUIET ON TRADE FRONT With the trade deadline just two days away very little appears to be happening but that is not for the lack of trying on the part of several clubs. A number of teams are reported to be desperately trying to add pieces at the deadline but each appears to have been stonewalled, at least so far. The New York Gothams are not by any stretch of the imagination a pennant contender but the Gothams might just be the club most anxious to do something over the next two days although that has changed somewhat after New York reeled off 5 wins last week. Owner Leland Winthrop has demanded something be done and there are fears in the Gothams front office that if something positive does not happen soon long-time manager Ed Ziehl may be out of a job and there is a good chance other members of the club's brain trust might not be that far behind the Hall of Famer and Gotham legend. The big question is does the 5-1 week signal a positive trend for New York side going forward or is it merely just a brief patch of smooth pavement in what has been a pothole filled season for the Gothams? The Gothams have said their January first round pick and the number one ranked prospect in the game, 20 year old pitcher Ed Bowman, are both in play if New York could somehow land a power hitting outfielder. On the surface it seems like that is an offer that might interest a number of teams but the problem is those with power-hitting outfielders of the sort New York would target are few and far between, and even the club's that do possess them seem unlikely to want to make a move. At the time of this writing only 20 players had hit at least 10 homeruns so far this season and of those 20 just 8 are outfielders. Of the eight you can rule out most of them because they will not be dealt. Detroit will not move Sal Pestilli, the Keystones plan on hanging on to Bobby Barrell for his entire career. I would be very surprised if the Chiefs would consider trading Cliff Moss or the Cougars parting with Leo Mitchell. Cincinnati has said they are not dealing anyone so Moxie Pidgeon is staying a Cannon although late word out of the Queen City has the Cannons possibly reconsidering after a horrid July. Assuming the Cannons come to their senses and decide not to sell any assets that leaves only 3 players left. Montreal's 27 year old all-star Red Bond and a pair of Brooklyn Kings in 32 year old Al Wheeler and 24 year old Joe Herman. Red Bond seems like a viable target but Montreal appears to have no plans of parting with the 2-time all-star who is batting .334 with 20 homers and 55 rbi's. Bond would be a great fit in New York and as was mentioned in this newspaper last week it really makes sense for the Saints to move either Bond or catcher Adam Mullins as they have a lot of holes and those two are marketable trade pieces that could bring multiple assets back in return. However, Saints management has said neither will be moved, but perhaps New York is just desperate enough to make an offer Montreal cannot refuse. The other option is Wheeler. The Kings are likely unwilling to part with young Herman (.351,11,43), who is having a breakout season but Wheeler (.260,10,41) seems close to wearing out his welcome at Kings County ballpark. He is a 5-time Whitney Award winner but has had 2 very ordinary seasons so going after him would be a bit of a risk for the Gothams, not to mention the fact they usually avoid players over the age of 30 but with desperate times and all, New York may just be willing to make an exception. It was also suggested last week that young Brooklyn first baseman Tim Hopkins (.282,9,28 in just 46 games) could be an ideal target for New York as well. It is believed the Gothams have reached out to Brooklyn but so far nothing appears to be in the works. Expect Gothams brass to be working the phones like their lives depend on it over the next two days, and judging by recent developments their baseball lives certainly appear to indeed depend on it. PITCHING A lot of talk around the league last night about Cleveland's Dave Rankin perhaps being a good fit in Pittsburgh. Lefty Allen has been a workhorse but got banged up a bit last week and will miss a start or two which led to some talk about concerns for the Miners health on the mound. It is usually position players in Pittsburgh we get worried about in that regard but Allen has been sidelined with 3 minor ailments this year and Charlie Stedman, Karl Johnson, Bill Ketterman, Roger Perry, Gene Stevens and the often-injured Chick Stout are all on the wrong side of thirty so there is speculation the Miners are playing with fire if they do not add another veteran arm. Detroit is dangling Mike Murphy but despite the Dynamos insistence they are willing to deal with anyone you have to believe that if Murphy is on the move the Dynamos would much prefer to see him go back to the Continental Association, where he had spent his entire career before joining Detroit last July. Of course a strong week for Detroit that saw them move to within 2 games of front-running Pittsburgh might have instantly flipped the Dynamos from sellers to buyers. The Keystones are another team one has to think is anxious to add a pitcher since talented 24 year old Herman Patterson is done for the year. CHIEFS NEED A SHORTSTOP The ongoing search for a shortstop continues for the Chicago Chiefs and sources out of the Windy City indicate they may be targeting George Dawson (.247,0,16). The long-time Cleveland Forester is struggling at the plate this season but his work in the field is steady as always and with the offense that would surround him in Chicago, the Chiefs would gladly trade some production with the stick for the steady glove Dawson might provide. MOVES SO FAR Only two deals have been made so far, both over a week ago and both involved the Detroit Dynamos sending a struggling player away to a Federal Association rival while adding nothing that will help their pennant chances this season. Both Alf Pestilli and Ed Stewart made their debuts with new teams this week and neither went well. Pestilli started 6 games for the Chiefs but went just 1-for-18 while Stewart did manage a triple and scored two runs against his former club in the Miners 12-5 win over Detroit on Tuesday, that would be the only one he got as he finished his first week with Pittsburgh by going 1-for-12. WILD RIDE AHEAD FOR BOTH PENNANT RACES Great races are shaping up in both Associations this season as 11 teams are presently within 5.5 games of top spot. In the Federal Association Detroit has new life after the Dynamos won 5 straight games including a pair over front-running Pittsburgh. Detroit is just 2 games back of the Miners with Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago also in the mix. The Cincinnati Cannons continue to slide in the Continental Association but even with a 4-game losing streak the Cannons are still just a game back of the Toronto Wolves. With the slumping Wolves dropping 7 of 9 the Continental has quickly become a 6-team race. The third place Philadelphia Sailors are 11-4 since the All-Star break while the Cougars, with 8 wins in their last 10 games, and Brooklyn, sporting a 10-6 record since the break, have also closed in. The hottest team in the CA at the moment just might be the defending champion New York Stars, winners of 6 straight and 7 of their last 8. All the excitement at the top has left just 5 teams with little chance of contending. None of those remaining five squads are closer than 16.5 games off the pace in their respective Associations. Those five aside, it looks like we could be in for two really fantastic pennant races this season.   The problem is finding places for him in the lineup. Joe Owens has had left field locked down in Pittsburgh the last 8 seasons and Lew Seals is an excellent defensive right fielder with power, speed and patience that is hard to keep on the bench. First base is manned by Mahlon Strong, who has finally stayed mostly healthy this year, but his bat isn't quite at the level it has been the last few years, but he's not a guy who is going to be taken out of the starting lineup if he's healthy. Don't expect a move this week before the deadline but the development of Pierce could give the Miners options going forward, and allowing them to move a Lew Seals or Joe Owens this offseason to bolster their pitching staff or the the minor league system.  GOTHAMS BRASS BREATHES SIGN OF RELIEF FOR NOW What a difference a week makes! Certainly no one is expecting the Gothams to continue to go 5-1 each week, but only a week ago GM Tom Ward was pulling out his hair dialing GMs across the league desperately looking for a trade. And just a week ago manager Ed Ziehl could be heard mumbling in the tunnels under the new stadium, wondering if his time in New York was nearly over. Then, like magic, a week of solid pitching, timely hitting and the emergence of Pete Casstevens has Ziehl smiling and Ward putting aside his rolodex. As for Casstevens, his contact numbers have been improving, but if his habit in the minors at each new level is any indication then his .412/.474/.529 week is cause for celebration. Level after level Casstevens would struggle, only to eventually break out in plus .400 weeks that showed he was comfortable at the plate. In minor league news, Ed Bowman and Ed Funkhouser have been promoted to A level Albany where they will join recent acquisition Billy Seawood and last week's minor signee Ray Kirchner in a solid rotation. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/28/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
01-07-2022, 09:18 PM
|
#326 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
JULY 30, 1940 - SPECIAL TRADE DEADLINE UPDATE  Actually the Gothams acquisition of Leon Drake (.197,7,26) may turn out okay. Perhaps Drake just needed a change of scenery as it was clearly not working out for the 31 year old with the Chicago Cougars. Drake was an outstanding hitter in 1937 & 38 with Detroit and very good with Cleveland prior to that before taking a step back last season. The Dynamos moved him to the Cougars for a solid outfield prospect in Tony Mullis and a journeyman pitcher in Cy Sullivan. Chicago hoped Drake might challenge for a third 20-20-20 (2B-3B-HR) season but he had a rough start to the season and never got going in Chicago. In return for the opportunity to allow Drake to try and salvage his season the Gothams parted ways with 1936 first round pick Fred Vargas, a 22 year old top 100 prospect who projects to have a bright future but likely not as the power hitter the Gothams feel they need. Adding Drake was an awful lot cheaper than what the Gothams would have paid should they have gone after Moxie Pidgeon. They were close to deciding to give up their first round pick and OSA's top prospect in 20 year old Ed Bowman to get the power bat but a 5-1 showing in the final full week prior to the trade deadline made the Gothams feel they are on the right track and did not need to send a big piece of their future away. Whether that turns out to be the case or not remains to be seen. A potential move the Gothams likely should look at if they want to add power to their lineup is find a way to play Walt Messer(.277,5,25) every day. Presently Messer is platooning at first base with veteran Bud Jameson (.294,8,33) and Jameson is doing quite well but Messer is a power bat, likely the one the Gothams crave, so perhaps it is time to try him in the outfield if they insist on playing Jameson against righthanders. CASH STRAPPED STARS Despite winning the World Championship Series a year ago the New York Stars just don't have any money. They also had 5 draft picks in the first two rounds and it has been a struggle to get them all signed. Four are inked now but outfielder Newt Cooper is playing hardball with the club, threatening to return for his senior season at American Atlantic University unless the Stars meet his bonus demands. New York waived several fringe players last week in hopes some might get picked up and free up some cash but even that was not enough so the Stars made a pair of details with the entire focus being on saving money. Shortstop Floyd Briscoe , outfitted with a $10,000 contract to play AAA ball, was sent to the Detroit Dynamos in exchange for an 8th round pick and a marginal prospect on a minor league contract by the name of Bill Jenkins. The Stars also sent 26 year old AAA outfielder Dick Earl to the Chicago Cougars in exchange for another player on a minor league contract in Izzy Sevilla and $5,000 cash. The Stars feel they now should have enough money to get Cooper under contract. Cooper is seen as a potential heir to Chink Stickels in centerfield for the Stars. UNSIGNED PICKS Cooper is one of three players selected in the first three round who have yet to sign a contract. Jack Bullock, the Stars regional pick in the third round is the second one and it appears the New York area high schooler will be enrolling at Bayou State instead of joining the Stars although he is said to be very willing to sign a deal so perhaps New York club will have enough money left over once they get Cooper under contract. The other player is catcher Johnny Thacker who has been unwavering in his commitment to Columbia Military Academy. The 17 year old West Virginia native was Washington's second round pick, 21st overall. It will be a tough loss for the Eagles, who did not have a first round selection after the decision to move that pick to the Gothams prior to the draft in exchange for pitcher Jim Birdwell. The 25 year old Birdwell (2-7, 6.14) was a mess in Washington and did not look very good in his first start in Kansas City following a recent demotion to AAA. Interestingly enough that pick was moved two more times and ended up belonging to the New York Stars, who got into their draft bonus mess because they needed to pay B.B. Barnett, the talented high school first baseman they selected 5th overall. NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING The deadline has been extremely quiet but not because no one was trying to get something done. The Boston Minutemen have been probably the busiest as they are said to have approached Montreal, Brooklyn, Cincinnati and others in an effort to get that final piece or two they feel they need to perhaps end a 25 year pennant drought. The Gothams are also reported to have attempted to land young slugger 'Tiny Tim' Hopkins from Brooklyn but the Kings, just 5.5 games out of the lead are standing pat in hopes they have one more pennant left in them. It is no secret the Chiefs need a shortstop - they have had 7 different players lead the team in games played at that position in the past 8 years - and Ducky Jordan (.189,1,16), this year's experiment, is clearly not the answer. Cleveland's George Dawson looks like a possible solution but, and quite understandably, the new Foresters General Manager might not be willing to make any moves until he has had more time to assess his club. If not Dawson, there are not many choices left for the Chiefs - perhaps Gothams backup infielder Jim Jenkins is a possibility. FREDDIE FARHAT SPEAKS Detroit World writer/ on-again, off-again alcoholic Freddie Farhat has some updates from Thompson Field. Somewhere next week P Ed Whetzel will get his first start and with Boston and Philly coming up it will be in a very important game. Whetzel has made 2 relief appearances so far for the Dynamos and has pitched 5.1 IP giving up just 3 hits and no runs. He picked up a 4 inning save in his debut July 23rd against Pittsburgh giving up just 2 hits and a walk. We will see if the #15 prospect is up for the challenge this coming week. SP Cy Sullivan is going to get a chance here pretty soon as well. Oscar Morse is hanging on by a thread but has picked up 3 straight saves in his new stopper role for now. He hasn't been DFA yet as we continue to cling to him as insurance if another SP goes down until we have seen what Whetzel and Sullivan can do. The Dynamos have had a solid run of late again, but we have seen 2 week runs before this season. The issue has been Detroit's lackluster play on the road. This week would have been exactly what the doctor had ordered if the Dynamos didn't stink it up against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Losing 12-5 is just a ridiculous outcome in a game where they were hoping to start off the series on the right foot. Fortunately the boys rebounded nicely on Wednesday with a 15-0 drubbing of the Miners which must have been equally as frustrating to Miner fans. 6 at home this week against Boston and Philly. If Detroit is going to do anything this season they need to sustain this two-week run of good form. Detroit is sitting on 4 picks in the top 32 for the 1941 draft. Will they keep them all and try to rebuild the minor league system or will they try and add pieces to the puzzle for a run in the 1941 season? Word is they would pay dearly for a top line starting catcher, but none seem to be available. Word is also out that they are looking for left side of the infield pieces that could eventually replace veteran Frank Vance when he decides to retire or upgrade the SS position. 2B is the other glaring position that they have tried to address in the past. They had traded for Chick Wilhelm at the deadline last year but the 26 year old hasn't put together enough in the teams eyes to merit the promotion from AAA just yet. 2B Dale Robbins was a top 100 prospect but they haven’t given him the keys either yet. Multi positional 3B Constantine Peters is getting his break and tackling 2B but might be better suited to replace Vance when that time comes. Time is running out to make a deal before the deadline, but most likely the players they are discussing wouldn't have a big impact this season. Will there be a big last minute deal for a quality catcher or at he other spots? Time will tell. REMINDS ME OF 1927 This pennant race is shaping up to potentially rival the greatest multi-team race of all-time. That happened in 1927 when the Continental Association finished with 4 teams separated by just 2 games and fifth team just 5 off the pace. The Brooklyn Kings held off both the Philadelphia Sailors and Toronto Wolves by a single game to win that year with the Cleveland Foresters two back. The Federal Association also had quite a battle that season with the Philadelphia Keystones needing a 1-game playoff to defeat the Detroit Dynamos and the Chicago Chiefs finished only 2 games back.  "We did get an attractive preliminary offer from two Federal Association clubs," admitted Assistant General Manager Red Franklin. "Both were promising and certainly caught our attention but after further discussions we decided to stand pat as while we would like to set this team set up to be a powerhouse for years to come, the most important thing for our fans is to show them this club is committed to winning." It is believed that internal 'discussion' came in the form of normally very reserved manager George Theobald telling his bosses in no uncertain terms they were out of there tree if they moved Pidgeon. When asked to comment on his morning meeting in the General Manager's office the 77 year old Theobald was, as usual, very diplomatic. "The possibility of adding that kid Bowman to the collection of young arms we have here would have been tempting of course," Theobald admitted. "But as a group we quickly decided that even with the bad month we have had this pennant is certainly a possibility. I have been around a long time and chances to play in October do not come up every year. We have one here. We have one now and Moxie (Pidgeon) is a big reason why. Besides New York had a change of heart and maybe that brought us back to our senses. Plus, it would be shame not to let this group try and finish the job, especially with where so many of them have come from." Theobald was of course referring to the five consecutive last place finishes for the club while based in Baltimore. It has been a rough month (Cannons are 9-17 in July) but with how strong May was (24-5) this club certainly has the potential to to get hot again and complete a miracle turnaround from last season. It sure would be something if in the end it turned out that the Gothams 5-1 showing last week proves to be the greatest thing to happen to the Cannons organization in years. It kept Moxie a Cannon. Now let's see if the team can complete the dream-like start to their first season in Cincinnati. BIG MOMENT FOR DEUCE BARRELL: Last week was special for Deuce Barrell of the Cincinnati Cannons as he finally got a win over his uncle, Brooklyn's Tom Barrell. He and Tom have faced each other 3 times, once each year. Deuce(11-5) went the distance on Wednesday, allowing 4 earned runs on 9 hits in a 6-4 victory over Tom (7-11), who pitched 7 2/3 allowing all 6 Cincinnati runs on 13 hits including a pair from Deuce. The previous two meetings were both wins for Tom and the Kings. In May of 1939 Brooklyn won 5-4 with each going 7 innings in that contest. Tom allowed 10 hits on 4 runs but only 2 earned. Deuce also allowed 10 hits but 5 earned runs. Deuce went 1-for-2 at the plate vs his uncle but Tom lit up Deuce going 3-for-3 including an rbi double. Their first meeting came in Deuce's rookie season. August 12, 1938 and the Kings won 5-2 as Tom went 8 2/3 allowing just 2 runs on 8 hits. Deuce went 7 innings allowing 5 runs on 9 hits. Tom again had his way with Deuce at the plate, going 2-for-3. Deuce did get 1 hit off of Tom. Fred Barrell has faced Deuce quite a bit and is batting .242 (8 for-33), which is slightly above his overall average this season but below Fred's career totals. Harry, the third Barrell brother on the Kings, has had a little better success, hitting .303 vs his nephew (10-for-33) but Tom is 4-for-8 vs Deuce. None of the three have ever homered off of Deuce. SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING We will have to wait and see if the Gothams deadline trade is enough "Something" to satisfy Leland Winthrop. More likely a couple more 5-1 weeks will help. The Gothams went out looking for an outfield bat, preferably one that would add some power to the line-up. For a while they were dangling top end prospect Ed Bowman and their top pick in the offseason draft. Maybe given a night to think it over, cooler heads prevailed and sights were set a little lower. Or perhaps the pickings were a bit slimmer than GM Tom Ward had hoped. So with the clock running down and Winthrop's demand ringing in his ear, Ward worked out a deal with the Cougars for a player who would have been a very exciting addition just over a year ago. Leon Drake will be coming to New York with his big bat, and .197 batting average. Coming into last season Drake had strung together 5 c0nsecutive 20 homer seasons. Two of them of the 20-20-20 (D-T-HR) variety. Then in 1939 he fell off in all categories, was dealt from Detroit to Chicago and has struggled even more this year. The Gothams are hoping a change of scenery with help Drake turn it around. The cost to take this chance? AAA OF Fred Vargas, one of the top outfielders in the Gothams system and their upcoming 2nd round pick. Rounding out the trade the Gothams will also receive SP Walker Pearce, a former 2nd round pick. Pearce is having a solid season at AAA and is likely to get a shot in NY this season. One other note of interest. As suggested in the local and national press, manager Ed Ziehl has said he is not opposed to giving 1B Walt Messer a run in leftfield in order to get his and Bud Jameson's bats in the lineup together. When asked about trading in his 1B mitt for a fielder's glove Messer replied, "Anything I can do to help the ball club. Compared to 1B, the outfield will be like a day off."
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-07-2022 at 10:54 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-09-2022, 10:08 PM
|
#327 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
July 31, 1940 Trade Deadline Edition
JULY 31, 1940 DEADLINE DAY COMES AND GOES WITH A FIZZLE There were plenty of rumours leading up to the July 31st FABL trading deadline but when the dust had settled it was all talk and very little action. Big names were bandied about over the past two or three days but in the end the biggest, and only, late move saw the Chicago Chiefs add shortstop Frank Davis in a deal with Montreal. While there were several teams after Davis he was clearly not the prize most contenders were looking for at the bottom of the Saints crackerjack box. Montreal catcher Adam Mullins was the one it seemed almost everyone wanted but in the end perhaps we can blame the lack of a big move this deadline on T.R. Goins. Why Goins? Well the Montreal General Manager was burned before dealing the top catcher in the league, that was the aforementioned Goins back when he was running the Washington Eagles, so you can understand why he might be gun shy about parting with the 27 year old Mullins, who may not be the best catcher in the game right now, but is certainly well entrenched in the top five. Should Montreal, with a lot of holes to fill and a lot of losing seasons in their recent history, have put Mullins or even fellow 27 year old Red Bond up for auction is a matter of debate. It would have been interesting to see how high a team like Detroit, Boston or the New York Stars would have bid for Mullins' services but in the end the price any of the contenders was willing to pay did not matter as Mullins was remaining in Montreal. Cleveland's George Dawson was also a hot commodity as it is believed were Forester pitchers Dean Astle and Dave Rankin but the brand new head man in town decided to stand pat rather than make a move in haste he might regret. It makes sense as those three will likely not lose much value should the Foresters decide to trade them in the off-season or even at the deadline next year. We also had big bats in Cincinnati's Moxie Pidgeon and the Kings duo of Al Wheeler and Tiny Tim Hopkins drawing some interest but in the end both clubs decided to stand pat. The Cannons in a spot no one expected them to be at this point of the season: just one game out of first place, and the Kings, at 5.5 games behind front-running Toronto, feeling they needed to give their veterans one more chance to get hot and perhaps claim a 4th pennant in the past 5 years. In some rare cases we had players being shopped that quite likely could have helped someone only for their current club's to find there were no takers. Detroit, which was bitterly disappointed not to land Davis, was also shocked no serious offers were made to take Mike Murphy off their hands. The 32 year old struggled last season in Brooklyn before his trade to the Dynamos but his performance this season seems to indicate he would be a nice bottom of the rotation addition for someone. Whether Detroit was simply asking too much for Murphy, or other teams were scared off because they figured if the Dynamos would move him while they were in a pennant race and without Frank Crawford there must be something wrong with the lefthander, is unknown but the bottom line is Mike Murphy (8-10,3.77) is still in Detroit. The lack of urgency to add an arm may well prove to be the undoing for a club like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia or Boston in the Federal Association and, who knows, perhaps Detroit's inability to find a trade partner to take Murphy might just be the thing that helps the Dynamos end their two year run as bridesmaids and finally claim the ring. Enough focus on what didn't happen, even though speculating about the moves that were not made is a lot more interesting than the two deals that were actually consummated. The trade of a struggling Leon Drake (.197,7,26) from the Chicago Cougars to the New York Gothams was addressed in these pages last issue leaving only the Davis deal as untrodden ground. At first glance one really has to question why the Montreal Saints would be unwilling to deal Mullins or Bond but would part with a very talented 23 year old shortstop in Frank Davis (.307,5,39). Mullins perhaps one can understand because of the bad experience that trading Goins ended up being, and because the Saints did not have a good young catcher in their system but they do possess a solid replacement for Davis in 24 year old Hank Grant. Grant, a 1934 4th round pick who is having an outstanding year at AAA Minneapolis, was also targeted by at least one Federal Association team before the Davis deal was announced. Grant might not have the elite upside potential Davis possesses, but he also lacks the ego and selfish reputation that the youngster Davis has already been saddled with. That, more than the on field presence, was the reason the Saints were so willing to move him despite the fact Davis is already in his fourth full season, has four 5-hit games on his resume, and is hitting .307 while playing elite level defense and making the All-Star team this year. The Chiefs are banking on their solid core group of veterans, led by 38 year old captain Bill Rich, being enough to turn Davis' attitude around, despite the fact the 23 year old is already on to his fourth FABL organization. On the field the hope in Chicago is that Davis puts an end to the revolving door that has been the shortstop position since 1929, which is the last time a Chief led the club in games played at shortstop for two consecutive seasons. The cost to the Chiefs was perhaps a little more than they wanted to spend - Chicago is sending it's 1st and 4th round picks along with promising Class A middle infielder Monte Sawyer to Montreal. Sawyer is a 20 year old former sixth round pick who seems best suited for second base and projects to be an average big leaguer one day. He was the 4th best prospect (109th overall) in the depleted Chiefs system according to OSA. JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE ON THE DAIVS DEAL: While the price was higher than the Chiefs had hoped, especially considering Davis' reputation, a Chicago source did indicate it was the only deal they had available that would not have involved their top prospect, 19 year old lefthander Bob Crowley. "All the trade discussions we had with various teams, including Detroit with Alf Pestilli, the conversation started with Bob Crowley," explained the Chiefs executive. "Frank Davis was rather expensive, but (the) thinking was that he is just 23 and OSA has him as the #6 shortstop, and Rube Carter thinks he is a "premier" shortstop. The fact that we got the deal done without giving up Crowley, Wes Parks, or Joe Rutherford (Chiefs top 3 prospects) is a win to us." The question now is will the addition of Davis be enough to lift the Chiefs to the top of the Federal Association? They are the only contender that took a step forward this deadline and if the recently acquired Alf Pestilli can get untracked it will be two steps forward with each addressing the two biggest needs for the club. Davis should make an immediate impact both with his bat and his glove. Ducky Jordan, Tony White, Rabbit Mudd and Bill Rich have all started games at shortstop this season for the Chiefs and to be quite frank, none of them were very good. Jordan and White, who combined to start 81 of the 95 games this season, managed to hit just .178 between them and it is a good chance that if you put both of them on the field at shortstop at the same time they would still get to less balls than Davis will retrieve alone. It is a great pickup for the Chiefs, but I am not sure if it will be quite enough to win their third pennant in 5 years but they certainly get an 'A' for effort. George Dawson of Cleveland was reported to be number one on the Chiefs list but there is nothing wrong at all ending up with Davis. The Chiefs need to just make sure they keep his locker as far away as possible from fellow malcontent Andy Carter, although Carter is hitting and looking happy to be in Chicago. Maybe that bodes well for Davis also. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the day of 7/31/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
01-10-2022, 01:14 PM
|
#328 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
August 5, 1940
August 5, 1940 DYNAMOS CHARGING HARD With all due respect to author Samuel Clemens it is very easy to state that reports of the Detroit Dynamos demise were greatly exaggerated. Many, including several within the Dynamos organization, had counted the team out and pronounced this season a failure when the Dynamos had dropped 7 games behind front running Pittsburgh shortly after the all-star break. On the morning of July 15th after dropping 3 of their last 4 games including a pair to the Miners, there was talk in Detroit of being sellers as the trade deadline approached. Detroit did move a couple of underachieving players in Ed Stewart and Alf Pestilli but bigger moves involving some of their veteran pitchers, most notably Mike Murphy did not come. That proved to be very fortuitous as Detroit immediately caught fire and with 16 wins in their last 19 games the Dynamos have erased that 7 game deficit and now actually sit atop the Federal Association, although by a mere percentage point, over the Pittsburgh ballclub. Murphy has gone 3-1 over that span although the loss he suffered was at the hands of the Miners. There is plenty of baseball left to be played and the Dynamos certainly have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to finally take the next step and win the Federal pennant after two straight seasons as the bridesmaid but they are by no means out of the race as the doom and gloom crowd in Detroit intimated just a few weeks ago.  AROUND THE LEAGUE It seems a number of teams rarely get mentioned in This Week in Figment Baseball so a new column from Jiggs McGee will be a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. Just whatever catches Jiggs eye: BOSTON- Mixed results this week for the Minutemen. Things started poorly when Boston was run over by the runaway train that is the Detroit Dynamos, dropping 3 straight in the Motor City. Fortunately the New York Gothams were much more hospitable as Boston swept the Gothams to even out their week. Art Myers (13-7, 2.41) continued his impressive season with a 3-2 win on Friday. Saturday was a 10-3 laugher as 19 year old rookie infielder Buddy Schneider (.283,3,33) continues to shine, delivering his first career 4-hit game while also driving in 4. Pitching was the story again yesterday with John Edwards (13-7, 3.04) tossing a 3-hit shutout and 3B Mack Sutton (.291,21,55) taking his turn with a 4-hit game. Despite just breaking even this week the Minutemen are 16-7 since the all-star break, second in that regard behind only Detroit. BROOKLYN- Not sure how long Brooklyn can continue to bat Walt Layton in the lead-off spot and hope to stay in contention. The 31 year old Layton is very good with the glove but has never been much of a hitter. Layton is batting just .216 this season with a .251 on base percentage. Meanwhile 23 year old Jim Lightbody is hitting .275 with a .378 on base percentage but has been benched since Tiny Tim Hopkins took over at first base. Lightbody, a natural second baseman, certainly is not the gloveman that Layton is, but you have to think the Kings would be much better off starting Lightbody at second and using Layton as a late inning defensive replacement. Despite my concerns about Layton the Kings are 14-8 since the all-star break, tied with the Cougars for the best mark in the CA. CHIEFS- Dropping 2 of 3 at home to Pittsburgh to start the week hurt, but then proceeding to allow lowly Washington to also take two of three games over the weekend at Whitney Park certainly stung for the Chiefs. Next up is 3 games vs Detroit so things could get even worse for the club, which now sit 6.5 games out in the Fed. So far so good but there may be cause for concern with Andy Carter and Frank Davis in the same clubhouse. Both have a much less than stellar reputation for fitting in with a team. COUGARS- The Cougars were my preseason pick in CA and starting to show why as they are on a 12-3 run. They were just at .500 (37-37) a week before the all-star break but a month later are 11 games over the break even point. One key reason for the resurgence of late has been veteran pitcher Milt Fritz (14-6, 2.45). The 30 year old was named CA pitcher of the month after going 6-1 with a 2.39 era in July. CINCINNATI- I have a feeling Cannons will regret not picking up the phone and calling Boston back about Moxie Pidgeon offer. Maybe not quite as much as Gothams might regret not going after Pidgeon but it really feels like Cannons overachieved the first half of the season and will slide back towards the .500 mark. It will still be an extremely successful first season but I can't help but feel they missed the boat and could have turned Pidgeon into 2 or 3 very good young players to add to an already impressive young core. The Cannons were 46-26 on July 1 but limped into all-star break by getting swept in successive series by Sailors and Wolves before beating Cleveland twice just prior to the break. They have struggled ever since going 11-21 since the beginning of July. CLEVELAND- The Foresters have dropped 9 of their last 11 as the fade to the bottom of the Continental Association continues. Even the very consistent Mel Carrol could not avoid the recent stumbles that have hit the Foresters. Carrol hit just .247 in July, the second worst month of his career, surpassing only the .245 he averaged in July of his rookie 1935 season. Last time he hit under .300 in any month was June of 1936 when he batted .276 DETROIT- Since getting swept in a 2-game series in Chicago to end June that prompted calls of wait until next year in Detroit the Dynamos have gone 21-9 including their current stretch of 16 wins in their last 19 games. MONTREAL- It was another losing week (2-4) in Montreal but the Saints have to be thanking Brooklyn for the gift that was Eddie Hite. The 37 year old, waived by the Kings recently despite a 5-1, 1.99 start to the season, pitched 4 scoreless innings in his first two appearances with Montreal. Hite looked very good in a few starts for the Kings just prior to his release and perhaps warrants that opportunity in Montreal. NY STARS- A doubleheader sweep of Philadelphia yesterday gave the surging Stars 10 wins in their last 12 games. Lou Robertson (7-2, 2.19) continues to shine, earning rookie of the month for the second time this season. NY GOTHAMS- The 5-1 week just before the trade deadline gave some hope to Gothams fans, but successive 3-game sweeps at home courtesy of Philadelphia and Boston quickly took deflated last week's excitement. Despite the 0-6 showing there was some excitement as Walt Messer(.285,6,28) seemed to enjoy playing leftfield. Or maybe it was just playing every day. Regardless, the 22 year old former two-time National High School player of the year hit .368 with a homer and 3 RBI for the week, all starts in the outfield. He looked comfortable out there making the plays on what he could get to. KEYSTONES- The Keystones are a very acceptable 6-6 on the road the past couple of weeks but if you want to point to one thing that has hurt them this season it remains their road record. At 22-30 they are the worst of the 5 contenders for the Fed title in winning away from home. On the flip side, their 37-14 home mark remains the best in either Association but Detroit (37-15) is closing fast. SAILORS- It has been a streaky year for the Sailors. They started slow, going 7-12 to open the season but then got hot in early May riding a 20-9 stretch into June but shortly after that streak ended the Sailors proceeded to drop 10 of 12 games which left them back at .500. The club heated up again in July, winning 16 of 23 before collapsing against Brooklyn 8 days ago, blowing a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 9th in a game the Kings would ultimately prevail in 12 innings by a 4-3 score. Counting that loss the Sailors are heading the wrong way again, losing five of their last 6 heading into an important week in which they have a pair with Toronto followed by 3 against Cincinnati, all at home. PITTSBURGH- No slowing Lefty Allen (15-8, 2.78) down. Despite a couple of minor injuries this season Allen earned the Federal Association pitcher of the month for July. That marks the third time in his career the 26 year old has been so honoured. ST LOUIS- The Pioneers played spoiler over the weekend by taking two of three from Pittsburgh to help drop the Miners out of first place (by mere percentage points). Friday was a bad showing, falling 9-3 but St Louis pitching came up big on the weekend. Jake Smith (3-7, 5.72) and reliever Russ Peeples combined on a 2-0 shutout Saturday in yet another morsel of proof that the Miners Charlie Stedman's (12-12, 3.90) career is filled with limited run support. Saturday Del Thomas (1-6, 5.30) notched his first win of the season in style, tossing a complete game 2-1 win over the great Lefty Allen (15-8, 2.78). TORONTO- After much debate, upon the advice of medical staff, the Wolves decide to DL both Juan Pomales and Larry Vestal. Both injuries are DTD but the length of DTD status is a long period so there is hope that 2 weeks of rest may allow both players to return in full health in a more timely manner. Vestal's bat will certainly be missed but better to let him try and fully heal than the possibility of a nagging injury hampering him the rest of the season. WASHINGTON- The Eagles have to be pleased with the progression of last year's second overall pick Wally Fuller. The 19 year old third baseman is hitting .320 with 13 homers in 84 games at the Class B level and also did not look out of place during a brief stint in A ball. At the big league level the Eagles pulled back into sole possession of 6th place with a 3-3 week that included taking two of three in Chicago from the Chiefs. Sunday's game was especially satisfying as Washington trailed 7-3 entering the 8th inning but rallied to tie before winning it 8-7 in 10 frames. QUICK HITS
KEYSTONES SET TO FACE MINERS IN KEY SERIES NEXT WEEK The young Philadelphia Keystones have dominated their cross-state rivals from Pittsburgh this season, winning 8 of the 12 contests between the two Pennsylvania rivals. The Keystones will face another tough test next weekend when the Miners invade Broad Street Park for a 3-game set before doing it again the following weekend at Fitzpatrick Park. Perhaps the Federal Association lead is on the line, assuming the two don't beat up each other over the next two weeks and Detroit runs away with things.  The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/04/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-10-2022 at 01:19 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-11-2022, 10:05 PM
|
#329 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
August 12, 1940
AUGUST 12, 1940 SEEING STARS The New York Stars are suddenly the hottest team in the Continental Association. After limping through the early stages of 1940, perhaps nursing a World Championship Series hangover, the Stars suddenly seem well equipped to repeat as champs of the Continental. Everything seems to be going right for New York as the Stars aligned perfectly the past couple of weeks. New York won 14 of it's last 17 games and moved from 8.5 games out of first place to within 3 games of the front-running Toronto Wolves. Things were not only going right for the Stars on the field, but off it as well thanks to some tricky financial wrangling and use of the waiver wire the Gothams braintrust managed to free up enough cash to sign their remaining draft holdouts including the first of their three second rounders Newt Cooper, who had demanded a whooping $15,000 to forgo his senior season at American Atlantic University. Cooper, the Stars are relieved to say, is finally under contract and according to OSA the 21 year old outfielder debuts at #49 on the top prospects list. That makes for quite a draft haul for the Stars, with two first rounders Bill "B.B." Barnett (26th on OSA list) and Wally Hunter (38th) and two more second rounders joining Cooper in Bill Grove (250th) and Christian Trophy winner Don Bitters (258th) plus third rounder Jack Bullock (199th) all added to the organization, which now has the 7th deepest minor league system according to the league scouting service. With Cooper under contract and the club on a roll things seem to be shaping up much like they did last year for the Stars, who ended a four year exile to the second division with a surprising World Championship Series victory over the heavily favoured Pittsburgh Miners. Ageless wonder Dave Trowbridge (.356,7,39) and budding superstar Bill Barrett (.319,8,66) are one again the key pieces of the Stars offense while Billy Riley (13-9, 3.58), George Phillips (12-9, 3.17), Chuck Cole (9-9, 3.06) and sensational rookie Lou Robertson (7-2, 2.34) lead the way on the mound. Toronto still leads the way as the Wolves, who came close to ending a pennant drought that stretches back to 1911 two seasons ago, try to hold off New York. Toronto has had some success in that regard, thanks to victories in 7 of their last ten games, but a 2-game sweep at the hands of the Stars a couple of weeks ago certainly cut into the Wolves lead. Toronto finishes up a long road trip with a pair of games in Cincinnati to start the week before beginning a 15 game homestand that will include a big 3-game set with the Stars just under two weeks from now. Cincinnati, to the shock of nearly everyone familiar with baseball, is right in the mix too, with the surprising Cannons sitting in second place at the moment but the feeling is the clock has struck midnight on the young Cannons, who have gone 13-17 since the All-Star break. The next couple of weeks will tell the tale for the upstart Cannons as they, armed with the best home record in the Continental Association, begin a 17 game homestand that will see them play every team in the CA at Monarchs Park over the next 3 weeks. That time frame also poses a crucial test for the rising Stars, as they embark on a 20 game road swing that gets underway tomorrow in Chicago. FEDERAL ASSOCIATION The runaway train that is the Detroit Dynamos was slowed last week, but only slightly. The Dynamos, winners of 16 of their last 19, heading into a 3-game series at Whitney Park to begin last week ended up limping out of Chicago following three straight losses to the Chiefs. Rabbit Day (13-8, 3.05) proved he still is at the top of his game with a complete game 2-hitter in a 6-1 win to open the series. Detroit bats did wake up for the next two games but in each case the Dynamos fell a run short, dropping a 6-5 decision Tuesday thanks in no small part to Hank Barnett's (.306,27,72) 3 rbi game for Chicago and then falling 7-6 in 11 innings Wednesday courtesy of a walk-off homer from Cliff Moss (.273,15,43). Happy to get out of the Windy City the Dynamos returned to their winning ways in St Louis with a 4-game sweep of the Pioneers. It was not enough to allow Detroit to hang on to top spot in the Fed as the Pittsburgh Miners went 4-2 during the week, sweeping Washington before settling for just one victory in 3 games against the young Philadelphia Keystones. Like the Cannons of the Continental Association, the Keystones are hanging around, at just 2.5 games back, but have to be a little disappointed to have taken just one of three from Boston before their solid showing against the Miners. Of course the Minutemen games were on the road and the Keystones will have a chance to settle the score with a 3 game series at home against Boston starting today but then they face another stiff test next weekend when Philadelphia will need another strong showing against the Miners. The Keystones have handled their in-state rivals quite nicely this season in winning 10 of 15 contests, but unlike last weekend when they were in Philadelphia, this time the games will be played at Pittsburgh Fitzpatrick Park.  1941 DRAFT PREVIEW SLIM PICKINGS AMONG COLLEGE CROWD The most recent FABL draft saw 6 college players selected in the first round highlighted by #2 overall Bill Sohl and #6 John Graves. The year before that half of the first round was from the AIAA led by #1 overall Vic Carroll, #3 Bill Greene and #3 Rats McGonigle. Drafts prior to that also included a large chunk of college draftees but if OSA's early impressions on the 1941 class are to hold true it does not look like the AIAA will be very well represented in the opening round come January. There presently are 74 AIAA players in the 1941 draft (more will come as the class still needs another 59 players to complete it) but at this point it was very difficult finding 10 players that OSA felt could be solid FABL players one day. Here is TWIFB's annual preliminary ranking of the top college talent available for the next draft. As is the case each year this list relies primarily on the OSA scouting report but also takes into account the player's stats from his college career to date. 1: LF HANK EASON - HUNTINGTON STATE Only Cincinnati fifth round pick Vern Wilson hit more homeruns last season than the 14 that Eason belted. Eason slashed .294/.386/.564 in a breakout season as a sophomore after hitting just 2 homers his freshman year. The son of longtime Montreal Saints and Philadelphia Keystones outfielder Hal Eason, Hank is not quite as tall as his father but looks like he may have that same powerful swing that helped the elder Eason hit 269 career FABL homeruns. A first team All-American selection, the Montreal born Eason projects to have above average power and contact potential and should certainly be in the running for the first college player selected. Huntington State has never had a player selected in the first round, in fact the only Miners player ever drafted in the human GM portion (rounds 1-10) was Bill Hayes, a shortstop chosen by Toronto in the 10th of the 1939 draft.2: P HANK BURNEY - BAYSIDE UNIVERSITY The Chicago native headed south to play his college ball in Corpus Christi for Bayside. This was his first season of AIAA ball and the sophomore went 7-5 with a 3.57 era against good competition. TWIFB feels Burney needs to show a lot more to warrant a first round draft selection but OSA feels Burney possesses great talent and seems destined to break out in a starter's role. His four pitch aresenal includes a great slider, decent change and curve but only a fringy fastball. Only one Bayside player has ever been drafted before - that was pitcher Wally Anderson, a 1934 17th round pick of St Louis who never advanced past A ball and is now retired.3: SS JIM DICKINSON - CALUMET CATHOLIC Illinois native plays his college ball close to home at Calumet Catholic and has started each of the past two seasons. OSA does not see him as a star player but feels his above average defensive skills and solid batting eye should be enough to make Dickinson a product regular. He has slashed .270/.379/.331 over his two seasons of AIAA action. Power is non existent but if he can make regular contact stands a chance of sticking around long enough to show off his elite glove. He is also one of two Missionaries to make the top ten AIAA prospect list.4: P WALLY REIF - PIEDMONT UNIVERSITY Reif tied with second overall pick Bill Sohl for the second most wins in the AIAA last season, trailing only Christian Trophy winner and New York Stars second round selection Don Bitters. It was a breakout season for the Bridgewater, Virginia native after he struggled (4-8, 4.96) as a freshman at Piedmont. This past year he was 10-5, 3.09 and more than doubled his strikeout total to 120 while walking just 27 in 134 innings of work. Piedmont is not a premier school, it plays against good but not great competition, however OSA feels he can start in FABL one day. Reif won't be an ace, likely closer to the bottom of the rotation but he has good control to go with average stuff and a 5 pitch repertoire highlighted by an above average change up. Current Cincinnati third baseman Frank Covarrubias is a Piedmont alum. 5: 2B BILL CADY - WISCONSIN STATE Wisconsin State has a long history of providing quality big league talent and Cady is the latest to shine for the Brewers. he hit .300 his freshman year and followed that up with a .290 season this time around. OSA loves his hustle and feels he could hit for a .330 batting average if he reaches his potential. Add in good, consistent defense and Cady looks like a frontrunner for an audition as a second baseman.6: P JUNIUS DAVIES - TALMADGE STATE 7: 3B MULE RICHMOND - ST. PATRICK'S St. Patrick's is another school with a deep tradition in the AIAA tracing back to the feeder league days. Richmond is the first Shamrocks player ever to be recognized as an All-American twice, making the second team each of the past two seasons. His .307 batting average last season placed him in the top 15 of the entire AIAA. OSA says he has average speed, but good instincts on the base paths. He is a line drive hitter with a repeatable swing but while OSA thinks he can contribute at the FABL level one day, it will likely be more as a supplemental piece than a star.8: CF GLENN SHEPPERD - CALUMET CATHOLIC The most famous Calumet Catholic ballplayer presently is Washington Eagles outfielder Jim Hanshaw, a second round selection in 1935. That might change one day as Shepperd joins #3 ranked Bill Cady as Missionaries players on this year's prospect list. Shepperd hit .264 last season but OSA sees the Council Bluffs, Iowa native as potentially a .290 hitter in FABL one day. A strong runner, the 21 year old stole 77 bases over the past two seasons of college ball. OSA thinks he can contribute at the FABL level but won't be a star. 9: P LEE RICHARDSON - OPELIKA STATE A groundball specialist out of college power Opelika State, the Virginia born lefthander went 7-5 with a 3.45 era in his first season of college ball as a sophomore. While not impressed with his stuff, OSA feels Richardson more than makes up for it with pinpoint control. That command is his ticket to the majors, and he projects as a possible fifth starter. Not so much in recent years but during the feeder era the Wildcats produced some pretty good pitchers led by current Chicago Chief Charlie Bingham and retired stars Jimmy Clinch and Pete Scanlon. The school also won a pair of AIAA World Series in the late 1920s.10: SS VERLIN ALEXANDER - AMERICAN ATLANTIC The Missouri native hit a solid .308 last season in his second year with the Pelicans where he was a teammate of this year's second round selection Newt Cooper. There was a good chance they may be teammates again but Cooper just agreed to a contract with the New York Stars so he won't be returning to the Florida school. Alexander is also no stranger to the post draft contract negotiating process. He was selected by Toronto after his senior season at Lexington (MO) High School in the 6th round of the 1938 draft but had his heart set on a college education. His best attribute might just be his work ethic as Alexander is described as a 'baseball rat'. He possesses great speed and is not afraid to take a walk if he doesn't get the pitch he likes. However, OSA is not sold on Alexander ever being starter despite the fact he was a first team All-American selection in June.We should give honourable mention to a pair of second team All-American outfielders in Eddie Heaton of Amarillo Methodist and Redwood University's Mike Opsal. OSA is not a big fan of either of them but perhaps that will change as each did put up solid numbers in their sophomore season. Next time we will take a look at who OSA sees as the top high school players available in the 1941 draft.   HIT #1: April 14, 1931 After striking out against Jim Lonardo in the second inning of what would end up being a 13-0 Opening Day loss at home for the St Lois Pioneers against the New York Gothams and then grounding out his second trip to the plate, McCormick slapped a 2-out single in the bottom of the 7th inning for his first FABL hit. It would be the second of only 4 hits the Pioneers would get that day but McCormick would get 212 more hits that season and bat .350 as a rookie. HIT #500: July 16, 1933 After missing 6 weeks with a sprained ankle (the only injury of more than a week in duration so far in his career) McCormick got hot batting .385 in June that year and continued the torrid pace into July which allowed him to earn a spot in the very first all-star game. McCormick grounded out against Tommy Wilcox as a pinch-hitter in that game but just over a week later he had 3 hits in an 8-2 win at home over Washington. The last of those three hits, a 6th inning single off of George McMannis, was the 500th of his career and came while he was still just 23 years old. HIT #1,000: September 18, 1935 Another 3-hit game for McCormick led him to reach the 1,000 hit mark just over 2 years following his 500th. This one was a third inning rbi double off of Bill Ross in what would end up being a 14-10 loss for the Pioneers to the Philadelphia Keystones and occurred during a pennant race in which the Pioneers would come up just short, finishing 2 games back of the Gothams, who would go on to beat Cleveland to win the World Championship Series that season. St Louis won 7 of it's last 10 games that September but the Gothams did the same to hold the lead. McCormick was a big reason for the Pioneers success down the stretch, hitting .450 in the final 10 games of the season. In fact McCormick, who finished with a .369 average that season, hit .413 over the final two months of the season. HIT 1,500: May 24, 1938 McCormick's 1,500 came as part of yet another 3-hit game. This one was less than two months into his time in Toronto and was the middle of three McCormick hits in the Wolves 5-3 victory over the Saints in Montreal. Hit #1499 came in the first inning off of Montreal's George Thomas and was part of a 3-run rally to stake the Wolves Joe Hancock to an early lead. McCormick flew out to lead off the third inning before hitting a one-out double off of Thomas in the fifth for his milestone marker. McCormick would come around to score, putting Toronto up 4-2 at the time. Just for good measure he would add a lead-off single, again off Thomas, in the top of the 7th for hit number 1,501. After finishing second or third three times in Federal Association Whitney Award voting McCormick would finally win his first trophy that season (and add a second one last year) while also claiming his first batting crown as he led the Continental Association with a .367 average. CAN HE REACH 3,000? 3,000 will be a challenge for McCormick but he is showing no signs of slowing down so it is quite conceivable he could get there, perhaps as early as 1946 which would make him 37 years old. Only 10 players have reached 3,000 for their career and only 8 if you discount pre-FABL (which began in 1892) stats. Here are the active players with over 2,000 career hits and a pair that are close to that mark and perhaps still might have a shot at 3,000. Code:
ACTIVE CAREER HIT LEADERS
NAME TEAM HITS AGE
John Lawson CHC 2,662 37 yrs, 290 days
Jim Hampton CHI 2,430 38 yrs, 351 days
Dave Trowbridge NYS 2,388 42 yrs, 4 days
Frank Vance DET 2,327 38 yrs, 74 days
Al Wheeler BKN 2,325 32 yrs, 283 days
Charlie Barry BOS 2,323 41 yrs, 193 days
Bob Martin CHI 2,297 33 yrs, 155 days
Moxie Pidgeon CIN 2,117 33 yrs, 219 days
Bud Jameson NYG 2,037 36 yrs, 146 days
Jack Cleaves PIT 2,031 33 yrs, 80 days
Carl Ames PHK 2,018 37 yrs, 189 days
Lou Kelly * 2,009 38 yrs, 196 days
Fred McCormick TOR 2,006 30 yrs, 314 days
Dick Walker PHS 1,935 33 yrs, 338 days
Bobby Barrell PHK 1,928 30 yrs 21 days
*Kelly is a free agent, released by the Cougars
earlier this season.
Bobby Barrell of the Philadelphia Keystones might be the player with the next best chance of reaching 3,000 but the fear is Barrell is starting to slow down. Barrell averaged around 200 hits a year for the first seven seasons of his career, but he has averaged 168 hits over the past two seasons and may not even reach that mark this year. Like McCormick, Barrell has been healthy so given enough time he might get to 3,000 but, while neither are a sure thing, McCormick is likely the much smarter bet. Moxie Pidgeon is a long shot, but does have a chance but will need longevity. At the beginning of last season Al Wheeler might have looked like as safe a bet as McCormick but the Wonder Wheel has fallen off the tracks the last couple of years and chances now seems remote that he will get to the 3,000 mark. The same can be said for Jack Cleaves as a recent spat of injuries have really slowed him down. His brother George already has 1,116 and is just 26 years old but being a catcher one has to think that there is little chance his body will stand up long enough to get to the 3,000 mark and perhaps even 2,000 will become difficult. Only 2 catchers - TR Goins (2622) and current Keystones catcher Carl Ames (2018) ever recorded even as many as 1800 career hits. It is too bad that Cleveland's Mel Carrol did make his debut until he was 23 years old. Carrol, who will turn 29 in November, has 1,244 career hits so far while averaging well over 200 a season. McCormick had a 2 year head start on Carrol, debuting at 21, and recorded 421 hits during those two seasons. Add that to his total plus assume the pace continues the next couple of years and Carrol could have been in the exact same situation as McCormick now finds himself, with over 2,000 hits before his 31st birthday. Starting at 21, staying healthy and consistent as a long as possible are key to making a run at 3,000. McCormick still has a long ways to go, but his pursuit of 3,000 will be one of the interesting stories to follow over the next half dozen seasons. 
 BIG MONTH AND A HALF AHEAD FOR SURPRISING CINCINNATI CANNONS This has been an incredible season for baseball in Cincinnati. Heck, just having FABL finally right a nearly half century old wrong and place a club in the Queen City would have been good enough. I say would have been because, while expectations were practically nil when the Cannons officially escaped the purgatory that was Baltimore and came to Cincinnati, no one expected the Cannons to be a .500 club, never mind a pennant contender as we approach the middle of August. But here we are. The former laughing stock of professional baseball found a new lease on life on the banks of the Ohio River and shocked the baseball world by leading the Continental Association, after 5 consecutive last place finishes, as late as Independence Day. Things of course have not gone well since then, the team has stumbled thru a 13-17 stretch since the All-Star break, but the Cannons are still within 2.5 games of first place as they return home to the friendly confines of Monarchs Field for the next 17 games. With a 33-19 record at the ballpark named after the AAA club that vacated the city to make room for the Cannons, they own the best home record in the Continental Association. With 2 games against the front-running Wolves first up on a docket for a home stretch that will see the Cannons face all 7 of their CA rivals this feels like a perfect opportunity for the club to prove the first three months of the season, and especially that amazing 24-5 month of May, were not a fluke. Finishing off an 8-10 road trip with 4 victories in their last 5 contests perhaps gets the club in the right mindset to regain the lead. It won't be easy, that is for certain as Toronto is hot and the defending champion New York Stars, who are in town for a pair next week, are on fire but this season has been an improbable dream come true for Cincinnatians - who's to say it can't continue. In order for it to do so the Cannons will need their bats booming once again. The offense has cooled, especially Moxie Pidgeon, who is so crucial to the club's success. Pidgeon (.333,17,78) is homerless since July 25th and batting just .160 for the month of August. Fortunately the pitching has been strong including recently promoted rookie Jim Anderson (1-1, 1.89). Deuce Barrell (13-6, 3.04) is healthy and pitching better than he ever has and the same can be said for Butch Smith (14-7 3.01), who celebrated his 29th birthday on Saturday. Both attribute their success this season to the outstanding work that pitching coach and FABL Hall of Famer George Johnson has done. With the Cannons amazing turnaround this season they are playing with house money as even a .500 finish would greatly exceed preseason expectations but veteran manager George Theobald and his staff have the club, and the Queen City, desiring much more than merely a .500 season. For that to happen the Cannons needs to finish this month strong as they have a tough September schedule that will see them play 18 of their final 26 games on the road including 3 in Toronto to end the season. Wouldn't it be something if those 3 games decided the Continental Association pennant?   So off to Chicago with hopes of winning at least 1 game but they were quickly washed away losing all 3 and the last 2 by just 1-run. Dropping the road record to 23-30 and I must admit sitting on the train to St Louis for 4 games, things were not looking good. But somehow the Dynamos went in and reversed their road woes by sweeping the free falling Pioneers. The 4-3 record for the week means they have just 20 road games left on the season as they head back home for games against New York, Chicago (ugh they've been a pain all season) and Washington. Currently in the middle of a 35 straight day period of games (playing 36) without a day off. With travel such a stretch can exhaust even the best of teams. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/11/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
01-12-2022, 01:36 PM
|
#330 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
August 19, 1940
AUGUST 19, 1940 KEYSTONES, CHIEFS FADING FROM FED RACE The Federal Association seems to be slowly weeding out the pretenders as both the Philadelphia Keystones and Chicago Chiefs are in danger of falling out of the race after each endured a prolonged losing streak. The Chiefs lost 5 straight before righting things on the weekend with a pair of wins over the hard-luck New York Gothams, but the damage was severe as Chicago, which won pennants in 1936 and 1938, dropped 8.5 games behind front running Pittsburgh following the skid. Things are even worse in Philadelphia where the young Keystones ran into a pair of brick walls named Boston and Pittsburgh. The Keystones have lost 7 in a row starting last Sunday when they fell at home to Pittsburgh and continuing with 3 losses at Broad Street Park to the Minutemen before heading to Pittsburgh and getting swept by the Miners over the weekend. The result is the Keystones now find themselves facing a real uphill battle, trailing the Miners by 6.5 games with Detroit and Boston also sitting between them and first place. While the Fed was separating itself a bit, the Continental Association race got even tighter as the Toronto Wolves stumbled slightly, going 3-4 on the week. Cincinnati, back at home after a long road trip, went 5-2 and actually passed the Wolves for top spot on Saturday before falling back to second with a loss yesterday. The Chicago Cougars, winners of 5 straight and destroyers of Brooklyn's title hopes with 5 wins in 6 games against the Kings over the past week and a half, are just a game and a half back with the New York Stars and Philadelphia Sailors also both still very much in the mix.  1941 DRAFT PREVIEW HIRAM STEINBERG HIGHLIGHTS STRONG GROUP OF HIGH SCHOOL HURLERS For more than two years FABL scouting directors have been counting the days until Hiram Steinberg is finally eligible for the FABL draft. That day will come in January and it seems almost a foregone conclusion that the 6 foot tall New York City 17 year old will be the first name called when the draft begins. It is pretty difficult to match the hype generated prior to Deuce Barrell being selected first overall in 1935 but Steinberg, who already owns 2 Adwell Awards as National High School player of the year and stands a good chance to claim a third one next season, might just surpass the excitement level for Barrell, who can boast of only one Adwell Award in his trophy case. While Steinberg is the prize jewel in a pretty solid group of top end pitchers there are plenty of others OSA is very high on. The present feeling from the scouting service is as many as six or seven from this crop of high schoolers could be at the very worst middle of the rotation starters. Here are the top ten compiled by This Week in Figment Baseball based on the OSA scouting reports and 1940 stats. 1: HIRAM STEINBERG: Washington High School, New York City Steinberg is a 3-time High School All-American from New York City's Washington High School and appears likely to join fellow New Yorker and 1939 second overall pick Wally Fuller as the only 4-time selections. 'The Undertaker', as he is know, has not lost a game in 3 seasons of high school ball, going 35-0 with a 0.69 era and 632 strikeouts while walking just 52. He seems a lock to set the new National High School record for career pitching wins and strikeouts. Only 6 pitchers, including the aforementioned Deuce Barrell, have won 12 games in a high school season and Steinberg is the only one to do it twice. He also has a pair of 200-strikeout seasons under his belt, something Minnesota senior Donnie Jones, now in the Chicago Cougars organization, is the only other player to do even once. Perhaps underselling his talents, OSA simply says the righthander "has a chance to be an ace." Steinberg is certain to be the third Washington High School student to be drafted joining Bill Buff, a first baseman selected in the 20th round this past June by Brooklyn, and outfielder Ralph Lane, who was the Gothams 22nd round pick in 1935 and is presently playing in the Pittsburgh Miners system. 2: TOM BUCHANAN: Waterloo (IA) High School 3: BERT CUPID: Wilson High School, Youngstown, Ohio At 12-0 Cupid was the only high school pitcher to win more games than Steinberg did this season as he compiled just the 8th 12-0 record in High School history (including feeders) but despite that only received honourable mention status for the High School All-American team. He is 22-1 for his two seasons (Cupid did not pitch as a freshman) after striking out 194 while walking just 16 this year to go with a sparkling 0.79 era. Nicknamed "The Buckeye Bullet" he already tops 88 mph with his fastball and should improve on that once he fills out his lanky 6'0" frame. OSA lauds his ability to locate his pitches and feels Cupid is a future #2 starter. Cupid hails from Youngstown, Ohio who's representative in Congress right now is a former player by the name of Max Morris. While Morris is the only Hall of Famer to call Youngstown home there are a couple of other players hailing from the city who had very productive big league careers. They are catcher Harvey Reese, who played nearly 2,200 FABL games for Washington, Cleveland and Brooklyn at the turn of the century, and 1890s outfielder Lewis Kendrick who spent most of his decade long career with Baltimore.4: GENE MADISON: Sacred Heart High School, San Francisco, CA Another groundball pitcher with imposing size, the 6'3" righthander known as "Mean Gene" features a plus slider as the best of his three pitches. A real worm killer who lives on the corners, OSA feels he has shown flashes of the potential to be a top of the rotation arm. He was 9-0 with an 0.86 era last season and is 19-1, 1.07 with 308 strikeouts and 33 walks in 210 innings over his two seasons of high school ball.5: HARRY PHILLIPS: Ashley (MI) High School, born in Grand Rapids, MI Lacks the numbers of some of the players ranked ahead of him with a 28-5, 1.45 showing over three seasons. 399 strikeouts and 49 walks in 347 innings of work. OSA likes his control and expects it to get even better as he matures. Called a 'useful arm' the scouting service says while he won't be someone pitching in a big game, if his is the worst arm in the staff it means you have a very good rotation. The best known player to come from Grand Rapids is Nat Spruce, an infielder who played over 1,500 games for the Miners between 1907 and 1917. While he never made it to FABL, pitcher Bobby Love was a second round pick of the Chicago Cougars 1927 but injuries derailed his career. 6: JOE BECKSTROM: Lowell High School, San Francisco, CA He has had some epic duels with Gene Madison in the San Francisco high school loop and while a step down from his rival, OSA sees Beckstrom as a solid piece of a big league rotation. His stuff and movement are seen as just average but his solid control and ability to induce ground balls are his ticket to the big leagues. Very consistent numbers over his two seasons of play in which he posted an 18-4 record with a 1.35 era, while fanning 308 and walking 41 in 234 innings of work. As a freshman Beckwith was a teammate of Hank Artrip at Lowell High. Artrip was a 12th round pick of the Washington Eagles and is in his second season at Class B Everett of the COW League.7: LARRY GREGORY: University High School, Chicago IL Called 'The Pope of Chicago' the 17 year old righthander is on the smallish side (5'11", 155 lbs) but gets by on off-speed stuff that is highlighted by a plus sinker that induces a lot of groundballs. He has limited exposure to scouts, pitching just the one season in which he went 8-1 with a 1.39 era while fanning 112 and walking 20 in 90 innings of work but OSA sees Gregory as a solid back end of the rotation starter. Always a hot bed of baseball talent, Gregory is bidding to become the 10th player born in Chicago to be a first round draft pick. The others are Dick Mannheim and Eddie Gasser (both 1915), Dwight Becker (1916), Oscar Morse (1924), Bill Kirby (1929), Levi Redding (1932), Bob Cummings (1933), Bud Canfield (1935) and Richie Hughes (1940).8: CHARLIE TODD: Torrington (CT) High School Another of a good number of ground ball pitchers, the 18 year old Connecticut native lives on his off-speed stuff with a curveball being his money pitch but also a solid sinker. He won't overwhelm you but OSA feels Todd projects to be a solid starter at the back end of the rotation. Teams might be wary of using a January selection on Todd as he has very limited high school experience, starting just 8 games as a junior and not playing prior to that. He was 4-1 with a 1.76 era and 64 strikeouts in 61 innings of work. Todd will become the second Torrington High grad to be drafted, joining outfielder Eddie Chamness, who was 25th round pick of the Chicago Cougars in 1938 and is presently playing in the Washington Eagles system.9: ANDY LYON: Redondo Beach (CA) High School, born in Los Angeles Another of the west coast arms that have impressed OSA. Lyon has pitched all 3 seasons at his school and is a perfect 16-0 with a 1.32 era. He also has fanned 262 batters while walking 41 in 205 innings pitched. His solid command and advanced control should limit the free passes he offers and Lyon projects as a fifth starter. A couple of former feeder league players from the college ranks grew up in Redondo Beach and would have played their high school ball at the school. Billy Nash was an 18th round pick of Boston out of St Pancras but never advanced past AA while pitcher Johnny Cox attended Mississippi A&M before also being selected by the Minutemen, in round 8 of the 1932 draft. Cox is now in AAA in the Chiefs system and made two appearances with the big league club in 1938.10: BOB DAVIS: Eagle Lake (TX) High School, born in Galveston, Tx[/b] Like Lyon, Davis did start a lot of games despite lettering all three seasons at his high school. He had 42 appearances over that time but just 18 starts, posting an 11-1 record with a 1.21 era. He fans better than 1 an inning (216k's in 170 IP) while walking 36. He has not allowed a homerun so far in his high school pitching career. He has 4 pitches and OSA likes his command enough to feel he should avoid giving up longballs at the pro level but because his stuff is solidly below-average Davis projects to have a ceiling of a fifth starter. No pitcher born in Galveston has ever played professional baseball but this draft will have two Galveston natives as George Fitzgerald, who went 9-2 last season for Liberty (TX) High School also was born in Galveston. Outfielder Tom Miller, who was Cleveland's 1937 4th round pick out of Portland Tech is the highest drafted player born in Galveston. AROUND THE LEAGUE A quick look around the league from Jiggs McGee, focusing on whatever might catch his eye about each FABL club this week. BOSTON- It was a perfect time for a 5-game winning streak as the Minutemen stayed in the hunt in the Fed race by sweeping the Keystones in Philadelphia before returning home to take 2 of three from Washington. Boston faces a big test starting today with a 3-game set against Detroit at Cunningham Field. The Minutemen will have their work cut out for them as they are just 4-12 against the Dynamos this season. Pittsburgh has also given Boston fits, with the Miners winning 9 of their 13 meetings so far. BROOKLYN- The Kings are about done with 8 losses in 9 games as the Cougars beat them up pretty good the past week and a half. Brooklyn is now 9 games off the pace and 2 games under .500. There July charge and August fade is very reminiscent of last year when they went 17-9 in July but finished the season with just 19 wins in their final 58 games. Brooklyn is 4-10 so far in August this year. Tom Barrell's (7-13, 5.15) nightmare of a season continued to fall off the rails last week when he lasted just 6 innings and allowed 6 earned runs on 11 hits in an 8-2 loss to the Cougars. That came after his best start of the season when he beat the Cougars 2-1 the week before. This will likely be the third straight season the 3-time Allan Award winner has finished with an ERA+ below 100. CHIEFS- Big series for the Chiefs starting today against Pittsburgh. A sweep here seems to be almost essential if Chicago is going to get back into the mix for the Fed pennant. The Chiefs are 10-6 against the Miners this season, the only team they have had more success with this year was the Gothams, against whom Chicago is 12-6. On the flip side we have the Boston Minutemen, who are 12-5 vs Chicago. COUGARS-It's high time we follow up on the Schneider boys. The 19 year old triplets drafted with 3 consecutive first round picks in 1938 are all doing quite well. Shortstop Skipper is now a fixture in the Chicago Cougars lineup, batting .307 with a homer and 34 rbi's in 79 games while providing more than adequate defense. Buddy is also playing a lot in Boston where the second sacker is hitting .281 with 3 homers and 33 rbi's in 71 games. Bart, the pitcher in the group, might have been considered a bit of a reach when the Cleveland Foresters grabbed him with the 9th pick right after his brothers were taken, has moved up to Class A and is 8-5 with a 4.28 era in 18 starts at that level. CINCINNATI- The Cannons with a big 5-2 week, as they are getting the job done at home. Cincinnati was in first place again following Saturday's game but a Sunday loss dropped them a half game back of Toronto once again. The last time the Cannons were in first place after the All-Star break was actually before there even was an all-star game. They were in first on September 7,1931 before dropping their next two games to fall out of top spot. They have never led the CA after mid-July since then, until two days ago. Rookie Jim Anderson is impressing Cincinnati management. The 24 year old is 2-1, 1.29 after a complete game shutout of Cleveland in his start this week. Bad news is first overall pick Dick Blaszak is struggling at Class C now after his demotion from Class B. Batting .111 in 13 games at that level after hitting just .103 in 19 games at Class B. The only small positive is 3 of Blszak's 9 pro hits have been homeruns. CLEVELAND- Looks like Foresters have all but clinched the Hiram Steinberg sweepstakes. Although Otto Christian might have something to say about who should go #1 in the 1941 draft. The Foresters are 36-78 on the year and on pace for just 49 victories. Cleveland has never won less than 50 in a season with the low water mark of 54 being established in 1913. Cleveland is all but assured of finishing in the second division for the first time since 1931, when they were also last in the CA with a 60-94 record. That was prior to them selecting Harry Barrell first overall, ahead of Freddie Jones, Bernie Johnson, George Cleaves and Bill May. A pretty solid top five in that draft class. DETROIT- Joe Shaffner (15-8, 3.69) is quietly having a very good season in his first full year in Detroit. Often overshadowed in Brooklyn by Tom Barrell and Mike Murphy, he twice won twenty games for the Kings and did capture the Allan Award in 1937 when he helped Brooklyn to the second of three straight pennants. With Sergio Gonzales (16-8, 2.83) and Charlie Wheeler (10-4, 2.25) getting most of the attention in Detroit, Shaffner once again quietly goes about his business. Shaffner has won his last 8 starts for the Dynamos and is a big part of the club's recent strong play. MONTREAL- Things may not be going well in Montreal but the Saints AAA affiliate is having a fantastic season. The Minneapolis Lumberjacks are 77-36, leading the Century League 10.5 games with a lineup comprised primarily of young prospects. The Lumberjacks seem well on their way to winning their first pennant since 1933. The Saints are also thrilled with the start to his pro career for first round pick George Wynn. The 21 year old from Willamette Valley College is 3-1 with a 3.05 era in 6 starts at Class B Mobile. With 3B Spud Bent sidelined for 3 weeks on injury, AAA 1B/3B Dunk Scott been promoted to share play as a backup to 1B Vic Crawford and 3B Mark Burns. Also a chance to prove he can play at the higher level. NY STARS- The Stars have feasted on the weak sisters of the CA this season, going 13-2 against last place Cleveland and 12-6 vs Montreal. The team New York has had the most trouble with? That would be the Toronto Wolves who won 11 of their 17 meetings so far. The Stars have a crucial series against the front-running Wolves in Toronto, 3 games beginning Thursday. NY GOTHAMS- I can't imagine Leland Winthrop is too happy right about now. Are Ed Ziehl’s days with Gothams coming to an end? The Gothams only winning month this season was an 8-7 showing in April. They were 11-19 in May, improved slightly to 12-16 in July but after a dismal 9-17 July during which Winthrop demanded the club "Do Something" they have further collapsed with a 5-12 record to start August. Yes they have had worse luck that most with pitchers going down, but the club has been awful since management blew it up in 1936, just months after winning a World Championship Series. It has been said before but there is no way the Gothams would be in such a sorry state had they hung on to the likes of Rabbit Day, Jim Lonardo, Mahlon Strong and Moxie Pidgeon. KEYSTONES- Joe Quade is certainly getting a lot of work. The 18 year old, selected third overall in this year's draft, is 6-1 with a 2.88 era in 9 starts at Class A. Looks like there are no worries about pushing him as Quade, fresh off 10 2/3 innings in Scranton last Monday came back Friday to pitch a 14 inning complete game 3-hitter in a 2-1 win over Springfield. Not all was rosy as he tied a Middle Atlantic League record for walks in an extra innings game with 13 free passes. Quade has walked 48 batters while fanning just 4 in 81 innings. SAILORS- The Sailors started slow this season but really turned things around with an 18-12 May and then rebounded from a losing June with a 16-9 mark in July. Now we are in the middle of August and, while they are just 8-8 on the month, you can't help but feel the Sailors are very much in the CA pennant race and are just waiting to get hot again. With 10 of their final 23 games of the season against either Cleveland or Montreal you have to think the schedule might just be setting things up for a big pennant push in the final weeks from Philadelphia. PITTSBURGH- The Ed Stewart gamble appears to not have paid off for the Miners. They brought back Stewart, who enjoyed the best seasons of his career in Pittsburgh, in July when they sent a second round pick to Detroit for the slumping 32 year old. Stewart was hitting just .209 with the Dynamos at the time of the deal. He has not played much in Pittsburgh, just 40 plate appearances, but he has given manager Dan Andrew no reason to count on him as Stewart is batting just .114 since the deal. His one bright moment was hitting a 3-run homer in the 9th inning of a July 30th game with the Chiefs, providing insurance in a contest the Miners would win 9-7. ST LOUIS- A season the Pioneers would rather forget is mercifully approaching it's final month. I am not sure if there is anything the club can take as a positive out of this year. The offense is awful. The pitching ravaged by injuries and career worst seasons. One has to wonder how much the defense, particularly an exceptionally bad season in the field from rookie shortstop Ivan Cameron has negatively affected the pitching. OSA still has plenty of confidence in Cameron's glove at short, but the Pioneers have a lot of big decisions this off-season, perhaps none bigger than deciding whether or not they feel Cameron can handle the duties at shortstop. TORONTO- You have to wonder if the Wolves are starting to feel the pressure. The club has gone the longest of any FABL team without a pennant (since 1911) and they came oh so close two years ago, before a final week collapse caused them to drop to second behind Brooklyn. Last year was a write-off, as they got off to a slow start and never recovered but here were again with the Wolves nursing a lead as the season approaches it's final month. In 1938 Toronto won just 13 of it's final 30 games to let things get away from them. They have 36 games remaining in their season and 4 teams hot on their tail. Will the experience gained two years ago be the difference and allow Toronto to finally end the pennant drought? WASHINGTON- The Eagles have not had a winning month since going 16-13 in June of last year but they are 8-8 so far in August and with 5 of their final 13 games this month against either New York or St Louis perhaps they can end that streak. It does look like their streak of second division finishes is destined to continue. Last time the Eagles finished in the top half of the Federal Association standings was 11 years ago when they went 77-77 to come in fourth. QUICK HITS
 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/18/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
01-13-2022, 11:49 AM
|
#331 |
|
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,772
|
August 26, 1940
AUGUST 26, 1940 WOLVES EXTEND LEAD WITH 6 STRAIGHT WINS The Toronto Wolves players have been subjected to derisive chants of 1911! 1911! in enemy ballparks for as long as most of them can remember. Why? Well, 1911 was the last time the Wolves won the Continental Association pennant and despite the fact that half the team was not even born by 1911 and none of the other half were over 8 years old the current crop of Wolves have been forced to wear that pennant drought like a scarlet letter. While none can be faulted for much of the nearly 3 decades of futility, if truth be told many of the current crop of Wolves do have to live with the fact that they have been in this position before - sitting atop the Continental Association as the season winds down - only to come up short. Two years ago it was shaping up to be a dream season for Toronto when, with 9 games to play and a 3 game lead on second place Brooklyn, it quickly transformed into a nightmare. The Wolves endured one of the worst collapses in FABL history by losing 8 of those final 9 contests and ending the season 2 games back, once more prolonging the longest active pennant-less drought in either association. So here they are again. With a second chance to get things right and much like two years ago the Wolves find themselves in first place and with momentum in their favour thanks to an impressive 6 game winning streak that encompassed most of last week. Among the Wolves recent victims was the previously hot New York Stars, fresh off sweeping a pair from second place but fading Cincinnati. The Stars came into Toronto riding an 11-4 stretch but limped back across the border with their tails between their legs after being swept at Dominion Park. That is nothing new for the two clubs this season as Toronto, almost inexplicably, is an astounding 14-6 vs New York this season. Only Cincinnati, with it's 15-3 head to head mark vs Ohio rival Cleveland, has had a more one-sided relationship in the CA this season. The question is can Toronto keep it up? 32 games to go. A 3 and a half game lead and 3 decades of disappointment to vanquish. It will be a tense month in Toronto.  FEDERAL ASSOCIATION Like Toronto in the Continental Association the Pittsburgh Miners turned up the heat on the Federal Association rivals with 8 wins in their last 10 games and have now moved 2 games ahead of the Detroit Dynamos. Pittsburgh won 5 of 7 games last week while Detroit slipped another game back after having to settle on just 4 wins in their last 7 contests. Boston took care of Detroit by winning two of three to start the week but then the Minutemen shot themselves in the foot allowing the New York Gothams to sweep them over the next 3 days. All of the games were close, with Boston dropping two by a single run and the third in extra innings by two runs but they are now 6 games back and one can't help but full this season is going to end like so many others in recent memory, with the Minutemen staying in the race until the final month only to fade as the weather cooled and the pressure heated up.  1941 DRAFT PREVIEW HIGH SCHOOL HITTERS In the final section of our 3-part look at the top prospects eligible for the 1941 draft we focus on high school hitters, and like the high school pitchers, there are several very good ones available. Here are the players we feel OSA presently ranks as the top ten high school position players for 1941: 1: OTTO CHRISTIAN - Third base : Walla Walla (WA) High School The slugging third baseman is drawing comparisons to fellow Pacific Northwest product Red Johnson or Walt Messer, who's non-feeder league record for homeruns in a season Christian equaled with 15 last year. Christian may challenge New York pitching sensation Hiram Steinberg for the number one overall draft slot and, like Steinberg, is already a 3-time High School All-American selection. He has already hit 40 homeruns in 3 years of high school, most of anyone in the post-feeder era and when his career is done next June he likely will be second all-time behind only Roger Landry's 62 between 1913-15 for the most homeruns ever hit by a high school player feeder or draft class created. Before you go and think Christian (.468,40,123 in 74 HS games) is strictly an all or nothing slugger you should be aware OSA feels he has above average contact potential and could hit for a .310 batting average. The only knock on him is his work ethic is questioned at times plus he can be quite moody. Christian's power will be his ticket to FABL success and you won't find a better high school slugger in this draft class then the 17 year old known along the west coast as 'The Walla Walla Walloper'. 2: JESSE ALVARDO - Outfield : Canarsie High School, Brooklyn NY. Born in Hidalgo, Mexico Overshadowed in the New York City area by pitching phenom Hiram Steinberg, Alvardo certainly deserves respect as well. He hit 12 homers last season and has 33 in 3 years at Canarsie High to go along with a career .518 batting average. Like Steinberg and Otto Christian, Alvardo has already made the High School All-American team 3 years running as the 3 look to join Wally Fuller as the only player to make the team all four years of his high school career. He has finished among the top high school hitters in the nation each of his four seasons highlighted by a .540 batting average as a freshman. Born in Mexico but moved to New York City as a young boy, Alvardo is more than just an elite bat. OSA considers him one of the best defensive fielders in the nation. Alvardo is seen as being very quiet and shy but certainly let's his bat do the talking and OSA feels he can be above average as both a contact hitter and a homerun threat. He will be the third player drafted out of Canarsie High following Ron Sexton, a pitcher/1B selected by Pittsburgh in the fifth round of the 1938 draft and 1940 11th round pick Sam McCrae, selected by the Toronto Wolves. 3: GORDIE PERKINS - Shortstop : Trumbauersville (PA) High School. An elite hitter, Perkins has played just two seasons of high school ball but boasts a slash line of .517/.563/.820 over that period. As good as his hitting projects to be, Perkins might even be better with the glove as OSA projects him to be a 'defensive marvel' after he matures. Projected to be an elite shortstop but the knock on Perkins is he doesn't not always put a full effort in and requires plenty of guidance. Whether that is simply because he is bored at the high school level or signs of a bigger problem remains to be seen. Perkins was a High School All-American this past season. His Trumbauersville High teammate, Bill Elicker, a center fielder is also expected to be drafted but certainly much later than Perkins.4: MAURICE CARTER - First base : Meridian (MS) High School If there is a trend beyond the incredible talent of the top high school hitters it is questions about their work ethic as Carter is another one who perhaps does not always give his all. He is not afraid to speak his mind and while that works in the high school environment where he is 'Big Moe' there perhaps may not be the same tolerance in a big league clubhouse. That penchant for speaking his mind certainly did not hurt another player who made his mark in the state of Mississippi in former A&M legend Doug "The Mississippi Mouth" Lightbody so perhaps Carter will have the same result. Carter has a quick bat and some feel it might come close to comparing to Lightbody's but the comparison ends there as Carter is also blessed with above average power potential. Off-speed stuff challenges him at times right now but OSA feels he could hit .330 in FABL once he matures. He was honourable mention each of the last two seasons for the High School All-American team and was born on Halloween.Meridian High School has a great history as it was one of the feeder league schools and even won a National High School title back in 1921 but surprisingly only one player born in Meridian has ever made it to FABL. That would be Joe Chain, an outfielder selected out of college in the first round of the 1911 draft by Pittsburgh. Chain played just 474 FABL games but won a batting title when he led the Fed in hitting with a .332 average in 1916. 5: FRED LONEY - Shortstop : Totowa (NJ) High School Add Loney's name to the list of those with questionable work ethic but despite playing just one season of high school ball he likes like he has outstanding potential at the plate. Loney hit .500 as a junior with a .596 on base percentage that ranked 4th in the nation this past season. One OSA scout remarked he could see Loney hitting .350 one day and adds he has a plus-plus eye ceiling. Totowa High also produced 1937 Cleveland 13th round pick Al Cash, a pitcher who spent two seasons in Class C before retiring.6: FORD WOOD - Second base : Wenona (IL) High School Finally a guy with a work ethic scouts drool over. Wood always seems to be in the training room after games doing calisthenics and is clearly focused on being the best player he can be. Shows plus contact ability which OSA expects to translate into a high batting average and he is expected to do a good job working the count at the next level. He is 6'0" tall and the scouting service feels power should come and he has 9 homers along with a .431 batting average in 64 career high school games.7: HAL RENARD - Outfielder : Pittsfield (ME) High School, born in East Machias, Me. A natural leader with tremendous work ethic, Renard is described as a player who, when the game is on the line, wants to make a difference. He has been a very consistent hitter all three seasons of high school ball and after finishing 6th in the nation as a freshman with a .543 batting average, Renard hit .553 each of the past two seasons and led the nation in that category both seasons. Perhaps surprisingly, he was not named to the High School All-American team his first two years but did make the squad as a junior this past season. After finishing second to current New York Stars outfielder Bill Barrett as a freshman, Renard led the nation in on-base percentage each of the past two seasons and his nickname "The Walking Man" is well earned. He led the nation in walks in 1939 and was second this past season. In fact Renard's three season of high school ball each fall in the top 13 for free passes earned in a season and his 83 for his career already rank 6th all-time in the post-feeder era with him just needing 14 more as a senior to surpass Wally Fuller's record. They played a lot more games back in the feeder era but if Renard simply equals the total of the lowest of his previous 3 seasons he will be number 3 all-time in high school walks, including feeders. He projects to be just the third player ever to walk over 100 times in their high school career, joining Howie Shifflett (1918-21) and Don Summers (1922-24) who each had 121. OSA sees Renard as an everyday left field who can make an impact on a top-tier team and his shrewd perception and meticulous mechanics should translate into a high batting average. It is expected 3 players from the Pittsfield High team will get drafted this season as catcher Frank Reichardt and centerfielder George Murray are both on OSA's radar. The school is establishing quite a reputation in the state of Maine as pitcher Kip Singleton was an 8th round pick of the Keystones in 1938 and is presently pitching for independent AAA San Diego while outfielder Morrie Matthews was taken in the 19th round by Washington in 1939 but was recently released after suffering a shoulder injury. 8: EDDIE HOWARD - Catcher : St. Joseph (LA) High School, born in Bastrop, La. The top rated catcher available this season according to OSA, which projects him to be a very sure-handed and reliable player who could hit .330 while drawing 40 walks a year. While scouts do wish he would be just a little more competitive on the field they do love his .535 career high school batting average, which has been good enough to earn him two straight High School All-American nominations after he was honourable mention as a freshman. How good is he at the plate? Here are the top ten single season batting averages for a high school catcher:Code:
HIGH SCHOOL CATCHERS NAME YEAR AVG Cal Morgan 1936 .553 EDDIE HOWARD 1939 .551 Ken Vance 1934 .551 Woddy Stone 1934 .541 EDDIE HOWARD 1938 .535 Pete Casstevens 1935 .527 Bill Van Ness 1934 .525 Bill Bowen 1934 .521 EDDIE HOWARD 1940 .520 Bill Van Ness 1935 .516 9: BOB MONTGOMERY - Shortstop : Snyder (TX) High School Last year's draft had very few elite middle infielders but by now you realize that is certainly not the case this time around. Montgomery is possibly one of the most intelligent players in the draft and his high school coach noted "Bob doesn't just listen. He takes notes." He did not play baseball his first two seasons, focusing instead on basketball but gave that up as it became he clear he was not going to grow much past his current 5'7" height. With his small frame (weighs just 145 lbs) Montgomery will have to make a living as a slap hitter but OSA sees that happening as scouts compliment his "loose, quick stroke that works inside the ball." He had no problem making contact against high school pitching as Montgomery's .552 average was second highest in the nation, trailing only fellow junior Hal Renard. That showing at the plate plus a sure-handed glove was good enough to earn the shortstop a spot on the High School All-American squad. Montgomery is following in the footsteps set by Don Reynolds, who is the only Snyder born player to be drafted. Reynolds, a third baseman, was selected in the third round by the New York Gothams in 1926 but advanced only as far as the AA level.10: LORENZO SAMUELS - First base : West High School, Cleveland, Oh 'The Cuyahoga Crusher' as Samuels is known has the potential to be a middle of the batting order force according to OSA. Outstanding work ethic, the Cleveland native is described as relaxed and confident but aggressive when needed. OSA says he can already handle most fastballs but off-speed stuff can challenge him. He looks like he his trending in a very positive direction as after a middling .434/.524/.657 sophomore campaign in his high school debut, Samuels was an All-American last season following a .488/.571/.905 season that saw him increase his homerun total from 2 to 8. By no means are we comparing Samuels to the legendary Max Morris but the two Cleveland high school products both exhibited similar power growth over their high school careers although so did Doc Dill, another Cleveland high school slugger with similar trajectory but the former 5th round pick never advanced past Class B before retiring in 1935.A pair of West High players proceeded Samuels in being drafted. Bob U Smith was a first baseman selected in the 19th round by Pittsburgh in 1935 but played just 56 Class C games before retiring while Hank Spiller was selected in the 14th round in June by the Chicago Chiefs. The 18 year old outfielder is presently in Class C but has had only 3 at bats as a pro so far. HONOURABLE MENTION  Fred McCormick seems to be heating up for the stretch run .366/.469/.476 in August. Walter Pack has bounced back from his early season woes with the bat but is still struggling at the hot corner. Charlie Artuso has responded nicely to his contract extension with a OPS+ of 169 in August. Toronto also extended George Garrison in an attempt to give the team some cost certainty going forward in the '40s. Now if the team could quit rolling over to the f!@*ing Kings! Toronto is 5-12 vs Brooklyn this season. It is bringing back memories of the 1938 September collapse, which is not discussed but is in the back of everyone's mind in the clubhouse. Hopefully it was a learning experience and the team has grown, matured over the last two seasons. QUICK HITS
A BALLAD OF THE BARRELL BROTHERS COMPANION PIECE For anyone not familiar with the Ballad of the Barrell Brothers dynasty story by legendsport I suggest if you are following this report you absolutely have to check it out. It chronicles the life and times of the first family of Figment sports, the Barrell clan. The latest installment provided a detailed account of a national amateur baseball championship game involving one of Rufus Barrell's grandchild and several other plyers who eventually went on to play pro ball. It is 1935 in at the time of that report so here is some information on career progression of each of the players mentioned in the write-up. You should all be very familiar with Deuce Barrell and Red Johnson if you are reading this but because Jiggs McGee loves his prospect reports here is some info on the players mentioned (including Deuce and Red) that participated in that 1935 NAU championship series between the Farmers Union club of Atlanta and the Columbian Club of Oregon. FARMERS UNION OF ATLANTA DEUCE BARRELL: Deuce did indeed get drafted ahead of Red Johnson, going first to Johnson's second selection, and to his grandfather's dismay it was the Baltimore Cannons that selected him. Certainly that choice likely played a key role in the Barrell patriarch's decision to come out of a very brief retirement and take the role as scouting director for the Cannons following their sale to Cincinnati businessman John E. Tice. As for Deuce, he was a High School All-American in both 1934 & 1935 (the first two years the team was named) and won the Adler Award as the National High School player of the year in 1935, beating out Red Johnson for honour. He had a rough start in the minors as he was hurt his first season but progressed to A ball in 1937 as a 19 year old and by the following season he was in Baltimore. It was a rough beginning with a bad Cannons team as Deuce went 1-9 with a 6.15 era in 11 starts as a rookie. His first and only big league win that season came against Chicago on August 7th, a 10-3 victory in which the 20 year old allowed just 2 earned runs on 7 hits and went 2-for-3 at the plate with an rbi and 2 runs scored. Last season was much better for Deuce as he posted a 15-11 record with a 4.03 despite the fact the Cannons once again finished last - for the fifth consecutive season - in the Continental Association. This year brought a move to Cincinnati, a number of new players, a new Hall of Fame pitching coach and a legendary manager as well as his grandfather as Scouting Director of the club. The Cannons are challenging for first place in late August and Deuce is a big reason why with a 14-8 record and a 3.48 era plus a CA leading 112 strikeouts. He made his first All-Star game appearance this year as well. TOM HENDERSON: Deuce's old high school rival was drafted the same year as Barrell (1935) but lasted until the third round when the New York Stars selected him. After a couple seasons in the Stars system he was dealt to the Gothams in the off-season prior to the 1939 season along with Jim Birdwell (who would later be traded to Washington for a first round pick) in exchange for infield prospect Constantine Peters (who has also been on the move since by being dealt to Detroit). Now 23, Henderson is ranked 173rd on the OSA list and is presently at AAA Toledo after a promotion from AA earlier this season. He has yet to make his FABL debut but it is likely just a matter of time before the Gothams give him a shot, although his 5-11, 5.89 showing at Toledo this season has not helped his case. DAVEY ROBICHEAUX: The #7 overall prospect took a while to get there but did finally get into college, spending one very productive season at Bay State where he earned All-American honours and then was selected 6th overall by the Philadelphia Keystones in the 1939 draft. The third baseman hit .360 in half a season at AA New Orleans last year and has spent this year in AAA with Louisville, batting .243 with 6 homers in 117 games. The challenge the Keystones have is where to play the 23 year old when he gets the call to Philadelphia. They have Hank Koblenz at third base and Hans Wright at first so Robicheaux is learning the outfield in hopes the big league call will come soon. EDDIE COBB: The Tennessee born first baseman elected to play college ball at Springfield State and after three fairly productive seasons with the Tigers he was drafted in the 8th round in 1938 by Boston. Not a highly touted prospect according to OSA (he did not crack the top 500 list) Cobb has nonetheless proceeded nicely through the Minutemen system. He spent most of the second half of 1938 in Class A, moved up to AA last year where he hit .284 with 17 homers. That prompted Boston to advance Cobb to AAA this season and while he has struggled with a .223 average he has shown some pop with 10 homers and 36 extra base hits in 119 games. With Bob Donoghue ahead of him it will be tough to see much action in Boston at any point soon. COLUMBIAN CLUB Manager ENOCH WEST: The Eugene, Oregon native played just one season of FABL, going 17-18 as a 24 year old righthander for the 1905 Washington Eagles. He did won 20 games the following season but it was at Class A Wichita. West did get a couple of tryouts with Baltimore but never pitched in the big leagues again although he did spend over a decade bouncing around the minors. RED JOHNSON - Selected one slot after Deuce by Detroit in the 1935 draft. There were plenty of rumours, although much of it brought on by writers such as Jiggs McGee pleading for the Cannons brass to trade down with Detroit and grab Johnson plus another asset since they had so much pitching and so little young offensive talent at the time. Perhaps it was at the silent nudging from Rufus Barrell, who privately did not want his grandson stuck in the mess that was Baltimore at the time, that prompted Jiggs to be so vocal about the need for a move. Although Jiggs proposal that the Cannons select Barrell and then trade him to Detroit for Johnson and the Dynamos first round pick the following season might have been a very sound move for the Cannons. That of course did not happen and Johnson, along with Sal Pestilli who was the player the Dynamos selected with their first round pick the following year, have lifted Detroit to the role of serious pennant contender with two straight second place finishes and they are right there as we approach the final month of this season. Johnson was good right from his FABL debut as a 19 year old with Detroit - he went 2-for-3 with 2 walks in his first game and 2 games later hit his first career homerun (off future teammate Frank Crawford). Since then he has led the Fed in walks twice, hit 73 homers and just collected his 500th career hit in only 433 games. With a month to go in the season he is leading the Fed in batting with a .345 average so I guess the Detroit Dynamos are very happy with the trade they didn't make, regardless if they were ever considering it or not. DON SCHNEIDERMAN - Hailing from Salem, Oregon Schneider spent just 1 season at Rainier College where the third baseman hit .258 this season as a junior before being selected by Detroit in the 11th round recently. He started his pro career at Class C Biloxi two months ago and is doing quite well to date, batting .313 with 2 homers in 49 games. Smallish for a third baseman at 5'8", 160 lbs OSA does not see him being more than a journeyman and, as Detroit's 70th ranked prospect, Schneiderman sits well outside the OSA top 500 at the moment. VIC FRAZIER - Another Portland native, the now 22 year old went to Kit Carlson University before being selected by the then Baltimore based Cannons in the 4th round of the 1939 draft. He has not yet joined Deuce on the big club but was recently promoted to AA Erie and is ranked 119th on the current OSA prospect list. BILL SOHL - A 16 year old pitcher at the time, the Portland native who outdueled Deuce 1-0 in that game will soon become a teammate of Barrell's as he was drafted second overall by the Cannons last January. He is presently with his old Columbian club teammate Vic Frazier at AA Erie and is off to a nice 6-3 start with a 3.84 ERA after 9 professional starts. He had an impressive college career, pitching 3 seasons at Lane State and was a first team All-American selection as well as a finalist for the Christian Trophy this past season. OSA presently has the 21 year old ranked as the #4 overall prospect. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/25/1940
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 01-13-2022 at 02:45 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2022, 03:58 PM
|
#332 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
September 2, 1940
SEPTEMBER 2, 1940 MINERS, WOLVES EXTEND LEADS The Pittsburgh Miners and Toronto Wolves each extended their lead's atop FABL's two Associations last week but neither is feeling overly confident as the schedule enters it's final month. Pittsburgh swept a two-game series from Detroit last week and despite the fact the Miners then dropped two of three to Boston over the weekend the defending Federal Association champs enter Labour Day with a 3 game cushion on the second place Dynamos. The story is similar on the Continental side where the Toronto Wolves are 3.5 games ahead of the second place Chicago Cougars. The Cougars won 4 of 6 games last week to gain a game on the Wolves and move past slumping Cincinnati which, after being swept at home by Montreal could only manage a split of 4 games to finish off the week against Brooklyn and Cleveland. Neither lead feels secure as the schedule seems to favour the second place club in each Associations. The Miners must play 18 of their remaining 24 games on the road while the Dynamos are home for 18 of their last 24. Pittsburgh and Detroit do have three games remaining head to head, in two weeks time and all will be contested in the Motor City. The Miners are 11-8 against Detroit so far this season but have won just 3 of the 8 games played at Thompson Field. Detroit also has the benefit of playing Federal Association doormats St Louis and New York a combined total of 11 times this month and each of the Dynamos final 6 games of the season will be against the Gothams. Despite a lot of positive signs pointing to Detroit having a strong chance to finally claim top spot after two straight second place finishes, there is also one big bright warning signing. That would be the play of Sal Pestilli, who is coming under fire from some in the Motor City for what is shaping up to be a second straight subpar stretch run. In 1938 when Sal won his Whitney Award and the Dynamos fell just short of Chicago, Pestilli had an incredible September as he hit .317 with 12 homers and 35 rbi's that month. However, last he fell apart hitting just .187 with a single homerun in September after struggling much of August as well. In his defense the September swoon a year ago could be blamed to a great extent on a nagging shoulder injury. However, this season there is no such excuse but Sal has hit just .142 since August 1st and is hitless in his last 5 games, during which the Dynamos lost 3 of them. It is too early in Pestilli's career to say his late season slumps are a trend but there is growing concern among the Detroit brass that if he does not turn around things very quickly the Dynamos will come up short once again. Coming up short is a big worry in Toronto as well. The Wolves have gone 17-10 since August 1st and despite the Chicago Cougars slowly creeping up on them, Toronto has to feel good about it's position and even more so today after news broke that Cougars lost their top pitcher for the season. Milt Fritz (18-7, 2.84) suffered what is being described as a very serious shoulder injury in Saturday's win over Montreal, one that certainly ends his 1940 season and leaves him questionable for Opening Day next year. You never want to see a player injured but that might just be the break the Wolves need to end the longest pennant-less drought in baseball stretching back to 1911. Toronto plays 15 of it's final 26 on the road while the Cougars, with 27 games remaining, will play 17 of them at Cougars Park. Circle September 17th and 18th on your calendar as that is when the two clubs will meet in the Windy City for the final time, with the Wolves holding an 11-9 edge in victories so far. Can Toronto erase the memory of their terrible 1938 collapse in the final week of the season and hang on to the Continental lead? There are certainly several other teams in each Association that could conceivably come back and make a push for the pennant but each Association seems to have narrowed down it's serious contenders for a World Championship Series berth to two.   BREAKING DOWN WHY SOME REBUILDS WORK AND OTHERS FAIL A great question came up in the newsroom last night centering on rebuilds that work vs those that just seem to cause their team to struggle in perpetuity. More specifically, why did the New York Gothams rebuild fail, at least so far? Why did the Cannons take so long to improve with all of those years of first and second overall draft picks yet some other teams, most notably Detroit, but also to a lesser extent new GMs with new approaches in Toronto and with the Stars succeeded in becoming competitive fairly quickly? It warrants much further research but my initial reaction is Detroit, the Stars, Toronto and finally the Cannons once they relocated to Cincinnati did something New York and the Baltimore based Cannons failed to do. That was trade some of that young potential talent for veterans with already realized talent. Detroit 'lucked in' if you will in drafting Red Johnson and Sal Pestilli in back to back years but the success they are enjoying now came in no small part because they dealt some prospects away to add veterans Frank Crawford, Ed Stewart, Frank LeMieux and a couple of others that arrived in 1938. The Stars made an instant turnaround certainly because the new GM cared about the team and put players where they should be but also because he made deals for some veterans like Moxie Pidgeon, Ray Cochran and Robert Curry. The Wolves had a lot of good young prospects but vaulted to contender status only after they acquired Fred McCormick for some of that young pitching talent in '38. This year's Cannons club is much the same. Yes, I moved some guys around on a team that was for the most part ignored by it's old GM last season but I also dealt some of the talent the Cannons acquired through the draft (most notably Gus Goulding, and then followed the Stars script from the previous season -almost exactly- by bringing in Pidgeon to be the big bat, plus dependable vets like Jack Flint, William Jones, Donie Scheuermann and Doc Love. Only then did the organization turn around. I have no idea if my conjecture is correct without researching the matter in much greater detail but my initial reaction is that the reason the Gothams have not yet turned it around is partly bad luck with pitching injuries but also because, aside from Bud Jameson, there was very little veteran presence with proven ability to lead the way, to
It takes an element of luck certainly to get the right draft picks, have them develop and most importantly stay healthy but I would say in the winter of 1937-1938 the Detroit Dynamos set the bar on being able to identify when the right time is to move good young players (Pete Casstevens, Hank Koblenz) for the right veterans that will help you contend immediately. It was very much the same for the New York Stars last season. Clearly there was a big element of good fortune, or luck, to help them win the WCS last season, but because the new GM in New York was willing to deal some of those talented prospects the organization had accumulated (Jim Douglass, Johnnie Jones) at the right time for the right pieces it put them in position to take advantage of the good fortune and as a result won them a title. It is important for every successful organization to accumulate quality young talent, but in many cases it might lead to more success if some of that potential is moved at the right time for the right established player or two in order to allow the club to take a big step forward. From where this writer is sitting I would say that is the difference in what Detroit or the New York Stars have accomplished, while the New York Gothams, with an equally large cache of prospects but perhaps too much fear, or at least hesitation to move them for the right veteran pieces is why Ed Ziehl's job is on the line and owner Leland Winthrop may be close to making major changes throughout the organization. ARE THE DYNAMOS REALLY CONTEMPLATING A CHANGE It seems like every time you read a comment in the paper from Detroit Dynamos owner Powell Thompson it has something to do with firing his entire front office if Detroit does not win a pennant this year after consecutive second place finishes. At times it also sounds like the Detroit GM feels that he will be gone if they can't beat the Pittsburgh Miners this season. I find it almost unbelievable that in the same issue of this magazine that we are praising the Dynamos for a tremendous rebuild we are also reporting talk that a change is needed in the organization. And TWIFB is not the only ones that feel that way. Reaction from around the league was quite vocal about the expectations of ownership and some General Managers. Here are some of the reactions: PERCY SUTHERLAND: CHICAGO HERALD EXAMINER - I was talking to an old-timer recently and something he said really stood out to me: "if it's all about winning, then baseball may not be the game for you." There is a lot of losing--and failure--in baseball. The famous quip is that the best hitters fail 70% of the time. Same with teams and winning. All things being equal, there is a 12.5% chance a club wins a pennant. And so only a 6.25% chance of a championship. Winning a pennant and a championship is always the goal, but it's not the way I take the measure of a season. To be within 5 games in September is where you want to be. Anything can happen at that point. If that is considered a failure and disappointment in Detroit, then I don't know what to say. JOHN BRINKER: NEW YORK DAILY MIRROR - That's an excellent point. There is far too much of a "if you're not first you might as well be last" mentality around here. We all like to win, I get that. But for me, as someone without a (rooting interest in a) team, I get a lot of enjoyment from the universe itself and usually the interactions with the guys in the league. The stories, rooting for individual players, all of that is what I get out of it. I hope some of the club executives have that approach too. Over time I feel like most guys will win, but the journey should be the main thing. ARCHIE IRWIN: CHICAGO DAILY NEWS - I think we all get too hung up on success and failure sometimes. Sure, everyone wants to win the pennant every season, but only one team can do that. And with just two playoff teams, it's absurd to consider that 88% of the league is "failing" by not making the playoffs. The only time you are really failing is when trying to compete and the team falls way below .500. And when a GM knows his team is bad, the disappointment only comes from top prospects/youngsters getting hurt. Sure, it's disappointing if your team doesn't win the pennant, but I wouldn't consider not winning the pennant a failure. Or what has happened in Detroit the past two seasons. I think fans realize you can't win a pennant every season, and I'm sure the Detroit fans still love Sal. Their disappointment is shown in fan interest, which I'm sure is still high. And after four seasons with 75 or fewer wins, I think Dynamo fans are fine with 75 at the start of September ERNIE HERR: CINCINNATI POST - Detroit won a series just over a decade ago and several before that plus endured 3-4 years of awful baseball. There has to be far more optimism than disappointment even if they end up second again. Dynamo fans could simply glance east to NYC for a look at just how disappointing things could have been. If Martin is not safe in the big chair in Detroit, no one is safe anywhere. AROUND THE LEAGUE In light of the talk out of Detroit about ownership and fans demanding wholesale changes, Jiggs McGee provides a quick tour around the league and how he, if he was a supporter of that club, would be reacting right now. BOSTON- I like a lot of things about this team. Donoghue and Sutton are great to watch. Myers and Wood are pitching well and Edwards looks like he was well worth the price we paid but what is going on with Dick Higgins this season? He is not as bad as his record but I was hoping for more. But that sums up my whole assessment of the club as a Minutemen fan. Yes we are decent - always seem to be right around the middle of the pack but it's been 25 years since we last played in October. How do we take the next step? BROOKLYN- It was fun finally ending that curse and winning 3 pennants and a Series. Yes it should likely have been more like 5 pennants but I am probably getting greedy asking for that. Aside from last year it has been a while since we were really bad but, despite the young talent we still have, I can't help but feel lean times may be coming again. CHIEFS- I supported this team through all of the lean years at the turn of the century and the 19 year wait between Series titles seemed like an eternity but Rabbit Day was our savior, and I will forever have a soft spot for the New York Gothams because of that. '36, '38, this was supposed to be our year again here in 1940 and it looked like that for a while. Hopefully we can get back to the top but Pittsburgh, Detroit and Philly are tough. In the meantime I will keep heading to the stadium to watch some great players like Day, Al Miller, Barnett, Bird and Moss. It is a good time to be a Chiefs fan. COUGARS- Just put together a winning streak. How many 3-3 weeks must I put up with. TWIFB has been saying our time is coming but we just can't catch a break. It looked like it was perhaps coming this season but now we lose Milt Fritz. What did the Cougars do to tick the fates off? Still, it's Toronto. They haven't won anything in decades and as long as we keep reminding them of 1938 we might still pull this off. CINCINNATI- The Monarchs were great but there is nothing like big league baseball. This team has done so much more than advertised. They certainly don't seem to be a team that finished last 5 years in a row. Must have been the crabcakes or something. If things go right we will be in first place quite a bit over the next few summers, and plan on staying there this time. Rufus Barrell, Vic Carroll and Bill Sohl. My grandmother could be the fourth starter and we might still win 80 games once those guys all peak. CLEVELAND- How do I cancel my season tickets for a couple of seasons? This is not going to be fun unless the new management team puts a plan in place and sticks to it. The club is old, but there are some pieces we can deal to get some good young talent, maybe even turnaround quick like the Stars and Cannons did following their management changes. DETROIT- We have all heard plenty about Detroit but the attendance is through the roof again, although perhaps down slightly. The team is exciting to watch and is right in the hunt despite missing their best pitcher for over half the season. Our time will come. If only Pittsburgh would hurry up and age. MONTREAL- How do you say mediocre in French? Yes, we are not Toronto bad as it has only been since 1921 for us to hoist a cup, or whatever that trophy is called, but there has been an awful lot of losing years - this will be the 10th straight season below .500. There are some pieces like Mullins and Bond but when are these prospects going to start turning into something, especially the pitchers? And you better draft Hal Eason's kid. NY STARS- Well last season sure was fun and unexpected and it was nice not to have to look at the Kings in the Series for a change. Can Trowbridge play until he is 50? Glad I am not a Gothams fan. Oh, and Bill Barrett is better than Sal Pestilli. NY GOTHAMS- Why couldn't I have been born a Stars fan. We were sold a bill of goods when the club said they had to deal Day, Lonardo, Pidgeon, Strong and everyone else a way or we would never win a Series. Is there any former New York Gotham that hasn't won a World Championship Series title somewhere else since 1935? KEYSTONES- This was a lot less painful than I feared after Rankin had to retire. Koblenz is a great replacement and if Patterson didn't get hurt who knows what we might have done. The challenge now is to get enough of us Keystones fans to go to every road game and cheer loud enough to make the club feel like they are playing at home. Even the Gothams have won more on the road than us. SAILORS- We sure do win a lot in the minors. Why can't we do that once those guys get here. Yes, maybe I am spoiled but it has been a decade since we last won a pennant and no those two very close but no cigar second place finishes do not make it any easier to take. Our front office sure is quiet, but boy do they always seem to have us in the first division. We have only finished as low as fifth twice since 1924. PITTSBURGH- Yes these pennants are fun and all but we have 8 of them already. I get we need to win another one to get back to the Series but really that is all that matters. 1-7 in World Championship Series and our win came way back in 1901. Hard to be the best team in the Fed 2 out of the last 3 years (maybe 3 out of 4- fingers crossed) and still have an inferiority complex about the post-season. How did the Stars sweep us and how did Brooklyn, which loses the WCS almost as often as we do, somehow beat us? ST LOUIS- Make it stop. This is a nightmare. When I said I was sick of finishing fourth (4 straight years) this was not what I had in mind. Can any more pitchers get hurt? And please stop talking about Fred McCormick. TORONTO- Don't do this to me again. Please, don't. Just let this be the year. In 1938 I convinced all my friends to start coming back to the park and what a season - well, season less about 9 days - it was. You did make us forget about hockey briefly in 1938 and almost won a pennant for the first time since pretty much before the formation of the NAHC. WASHINGTON- Do we still have a team? Oh, it was Baltimore not us who lost there club. I did not know that. Remember the roar'in twenties? Talk about a depression, I have been in one from watching these guys since 1929. And I still miss T.R. Goins. TOM TAYLOR RETIRES One of the most exciting players in the game and for a 2 year stretch quite possibly the best player in FABL has decided to retire rather than continue in the minor leagues. Tom Taylor is just 35 year old and was cut loose by the Chicago Cougars organization recently after hit .294 in limited action at AAA Milwaukee of the Century League. Taylor's career had a meteoric rise but crashed nearly as quickly. He would win the Whitney Award as the Continental Association's top player each of his first two seasons and be a part of 5 World Championship Series winning ballclubs despite the fact that by the age of 31 his career was basically over. He hit 82 of his career 234 homeruns in those first two seasons and finished with 1,527 hits and a .296 career average in 1,301 FABL games. Born in British Columbia, Canada, Taylor somehow found his way to Houston where he played high school ball in the old feeder leagues. He blew out his knee and missed half of his senior season at Houston High but that did not deter the Philadelphia Sailors from selecting the then 18 year old outfielder with 4th overall pick in the 1923 draft. He would have 4 uneventful seasons in Class A, rarely standing out. Midway through his age 22 season the Sailors promoted Taylor to AA and it was there he first showed signs of the power to come, hitting 16 homers in 83 games but batting just .232. It was on to AAA San Francisco for the start of the 1928 campaign and his legend grew quickly as Taylor swatted 10 homers and hit .288 in 30 games which prompted a call from the Sailors. He made his big league debut three weeks into the 1928 season and his performance that year quickly became the stuff legends are made of. Taylor hit .342 and led the Continental Association in both homers (44) and rbi's (126) to win his first Whitney Award as a rookie. He homered again in the World Championship Series, drove in 5 runs and batted .333 as they Sailors knocked off the Chicago Chiefs in 5 games to win their first pennant and WCS this century. What would Taylor do as an encore? In 1929 he helped lead Philadelphia to a second pennant, again led the CA in homers and RBI's while hitting .351, numbers plenty good enough to claim his second straight Whitney Award. On and on August 2nd of that year Taylor became just the second player in FABL history to hit 3 homers in a single game, tying the mark established 6 years earlier by Hal Eason. Just for fun, because he was Tom "The Canadian Club" Taylor and seemingly could do anything, Taylor hit 3 more homers in a game 4 days later. Others have done it since but only Lou Kelly has been able to enjoy a pair of three homer games although Kelly's came 5 years apart, not within a week of each other. The Sailors lost the 1929 WCS to the New York Gothams in 7 games but you could not blame Taylor as he smacked 2 homers and batted .312 in the series. We move on to 1930 and everyone was waiting to see what Tom Taylor could possibly do next. Hit hit .365 with 5 homers and 19 rbi's in 15 April games. No one could stop him, until it turned out that Tom Taylor's elbow figured out a way to slow him down. He was 5-for-11 through the first 4 games of May but in his fifth game he was hit by a pitch from a young Montreal hurler by the name of Walker Moore. It caught him right on the elbow but Taylor remained in the game. Taylor still got his hits, but had not homered since the hit by pitch as the days rolled by. He insisted the elbow was fine but then in the opening inning of a May 24th game against Chicago everyone realized something was certainly wrong with Taylor's right elbow. Vince York smacked a 1-out single to right field with John Kincaid on base. Taylor cut the ball off and in one motion fired a strike to Sailors third baseman Woody Crow. Everyone was watching the play at third as Kincaid was called out, but in right field Taylor was bent over clutching his elbow. He left the game and while he did return a couple of weeks later he was not the same player. One could easily argue he was never the same player again. After hitting 7 homeruns prior to May 5th, Taylor would hit just 8 more the rest of the season and finished with a .261 batting average in 123 games. He would be in and out of the lineup several times that season and while the Sailors did win the pennant, and their second WCS in 3 years, Taylor did not play in the Series as the elbow woes had flared up again in mid-September. Perhaps sensing he would never be the same the Sailors shocked FABL by announcing they had traded Taylor to the Chicago Cougars for three players that winter. It looked like a colossal blunder by the Sailors as Taylor was indeed back! Not quite what he was prior to the injury but he still hit .290 with 29 homers and 107 rbi's in his first season with the Cougars and helped them dethrone the Sailors and win the World Championship Series. Taylor even finished second in the Whitney Award balloting that year. He would be on another pennant winner with the Cougars two years later, would have a couple of 30 homerun seasons and even led the league in that category in 1934 when he hit 31 and made his first and only All-Star Game appearance. As you might expect of Tom Taylor, he didn't just play in the All-Star Game, he starred in the contest going 2-for-4 with a homerun and 3 rbi's and despite his Continental side losing by an 11-7 count, Taylor was named the game's Most Valuable Player. The elbow would not bother him again for a couple of years, at least not enough to sideline him, but other injuries of the nagging type did crop up. By 1935 the power he was possessed seem to be deserting him and the Cougars sent him to the New York Gothams in a trade deadline deal. The Gothams had won the Federal Association pennant in 1934 but lost to Cleveland in the WCS and felt Taylor might be the player they needed to provide a key hit or two down the stretch. He hit .272 with 6 homers in 61 games for the Gothams to help them repeat as Fed winners. New York would avenge the previous season loss by topping Cleveland in the '35 series but Taylor struggled mightily, going just 2-for-22. Still it was his 4th WCS ring with his third team. Now 30 years old and a shell of himself, Taylor hit just .167 for the Gothams in 1936 and was released in July of that year. The Sailors, in a tight pennant race with Brooklyn, decided to give him another chance. Taylor spent much of August in the minors but was up in September and hit a pair of homers down the stretch but Philadelphia fell 3 games short of the Kings. In the final game of the 1936 season Taylor led off for the Sailors, went 1-for-2 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. It would be his final game in a Philadelphia uniform. He was waived by the Sailors and claimed by Brooklyn the following season but was immediately dealt to the Chicago Chiefs. Taylor would hit 7 more homers over the next 3 seasons with Chicago but rarely played. He did earn another WCS ring as the Chiefs downed Brooklyn in a thrilling 7 game series. Taylor appeared in 2 games in that series, flying out in the 9th inning of a 2-1 loss in Game Three and being a defensive substitute in right field for the 9th inning of a wild 11-10 win in Game Seven. The following season, 1939, Taylor would get 13 at bats for the Chiefs, primarily as a pinch-hitter, but after going 0-for-13 with a walk the Chiefs released him in May. He would sit out the rest of the 1939 season but signed with the Chicago Cougars over the winter as they attempted to give Taylor one more chance to squeeze a little more out of his big league career. He spent this season in AAA seeing some action for the Cougars Union League affiliate in Milwaukee but when the parent club was faced with a roster crunch a couple of weeks ago they were forced to waive Taylor. He was not claimed and decided it was time to retire leaving fans to wonder what might have been had Walker Moore never hit him with that pitch in on May 5th 1930.  The mood in the clubhouse seems one of quite confidence with the phrase "One day, one game at a time" becoming a common greeting amongst the players. There was talk of bringing highly touted third base prospect Ockie Holliday (.349,15,105 at AAA) up to the big club but manager Hank Lietzke didn't think he would get much playing time. Lietzke's deal will expire at season's end so he knows September will go a long way to deciding his future with the Wolves. Front office staff only answer to questions on the manager's future is a terse "No comment". 1941 DRAFT PREVIEW ELIGIBLE PLAYERS WITH FAMILY TIES TO PRO BALL A dozen players eligible for the 1941 FABL draft are the sons of former pro or feeder league ballplayers including four who will have a tough time living up to the reputation's established by their famous fathers. Let's start with the one father who is still active in the game: Jim Hampton is actually still with the Chicago Chiefs although it is unlikely he will stick around long enough to play alongside his son Joe, should Joe ever advance that far. Jim is 38 and a veteran of nearly 2,000 games with the Chiefs. Unlike his dad, Joe is a pitcher and went 16-4 for a Chicago high school team over the past two seasons. OSA says the 17 year old righthander will need to improve his control and his ceiling is likely just as a journeyman. He does have some good velocity, clocked at 88 mph and still may improve on that. It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs elect to use their regional round pick on Jim's son. The name you will want to know is Hank Eason, who's dad is Hal Eason. Hal was a long-time Montreal Saints outfielder who also spent some time with the Philadelphia Keystones. He played 2,279 big league games(19th most all-time) and had 2,173 hits (49th most all-time). Eason had pretty good pop in his bat back in his heyday, enough to rank 6th all-time with 269 homers although Cincinnati's Moxie Pidgeon is just one behind him at the moment. Hal Eason is also one of only ten men to hit 40+ homers in a season after he belted 43 for the Keystones in 1923. His son Hank has big shoes to fill but the outfielder, just like his dad, and a highly touted one at that. Hank Eason may just be the first college player selected in January. Coming out of Huntington State in West Virginia, the Montreal-born Hank was a first team All-American and finished second in the nation in homeruns this past season. Alex Diaz was a fixture as the Philadelphia Sailors catcher for well over a decade and won a pair of World Championship Series with the club. The Massachusetts native attended Lynn High School in the old feeder league system and was selected 10th overall by the Sailors in 1921. He retired following the 1937 season and left with 1,674 career hits. He helps coach at West Catholic High School in Philadelphia where the starting catcher for the past two seasons has been his son George Diaz. George put up some decent numbers and projects to have pretty good contact skills. He certainly won't be a first round pick, and almost assuredly won't go in January unless the Sailors decide to use their regional round pick on Diaz. Jim Wilson is well known to Cleveland Foresters fans as he was the team's manager for 6 seasons before his surprise retirement. He led the Foresters to a pair of pennants and will be forever remembered as the skipper who guided Cleveland to it's first, and so far only, World Championship Series victory. Prior to his managerial career Wilson was a highly touted pitcher, selected 12th overall by the Foresters out of Garden State in 1923. He once fanned 16 hitters in a Class A game and was 13-8 in his best and only full big league season. A career ending injury at 26 sent him into the coaching ranks. One of the beneficiaries of his coaching skills was his son Jim Wilson Jr. who was 8-2 with a 2.02 era for a Cleveland area high school in his first season playing school ball this spring. OSA is not sold on Junior ever being able to hold a spot in a starting rotation but thinks he still may have a shot at a brief big league career. Those are the four players with very well known fathers. Here are the remaining eight with family ties to FABL. JOHN BAKER JR.: John's dad is the former manager of the Mobile Monarchs of the Southeastern League. Born in Oregon, John Sr. spent 8 seasons as an outfielder with a number of minor league teams, peaking with 1 game at AAA Denver in 1909. He managed six seasons in the SEL, 5 with Montreal's farm club in Mobile but his contract was not renewed after last season. John Jr. is a centerfielder at Baker High School in Mobile who is said to have a good eye and could be an ideal lead-off hitter if he develops more patience but OSA looks to him as more of a minor league talent similar to his father. PINKY BISCHOFF: Pinky is an 18 year old centerfielder from Kenner (LA) High School. He is a three year starter at his school but OSA feels he is well below average and the expectation is, barring a breakout senior campaign, he will be a very late round draft choice. His dad Don Bischoff played 3 seasons at Dickson University and was a member of the school's 1918 College World Championship Series winning club. He saw limited action with the Maroons and after being undrafted, left the game and returned home to Louisiana. TOM HOLMES JR.: Tom Jr. projects as an emergency call-up at best. The 17 year old outfielder has played the past three seasons for Big Spring (TX) High School. His dad Tom Sr., was an Academia Alliance college player at Grafton before spending three seasons as a first baseman at the AA level. Tom Jr will have bragging rights on the old man as Senior was a 26th round pick of the Keystones in 1918. The draft is capped at 25 rounds today so Jr. will be picked ahead of his father. ED MONTAGUE: Eddie Montague had a decent career as a big league second baseman, playing in 898 games with the Toronto Wolves between 1916 and 1929 while hitting .325. He was a 1914 third round pick of the Wolves out of Rainier College. His son Ed is also a college second baseman who played just one season for St Blane. The Toronto born youngster has a chance to be a bench player according to OSA. ALLEN SMITH The number of players named Smith certainly increases this year with 3 of them who are sons of former ballplayers. First up is Allen, who's dad Beals played his college ball at Garden State before being a 19th round pick of St Louis in 1917. The second baseman never made it to FABL, peaking with one season for AAA Cincinnati before retiring in 1926. Allen 'Bee Bee' Smith is also a college infielder, playing for Maryland State near the family home in Washington DC. Allen was a first team All-American as a freshman with the Bengals but his numbers dropped off last season. A strong junior year might see him taken early in the June portion of the draft as OSA likes his defense and thinks he should hit for average at the next level. JIMMY SMITH: Jimmy is an 18 year old outfielder who has hit .509 in two seasons at Florissant (MO) High School, the same school 1937 second round pick David Molina attended. OSA feels Jimmy can make hard contact which should translate into a .310 batting average. He has good speed but is not necessarily a base stealer. His dad, also named Jimmy Smith, was a high school second baseman at Nashville in the old feeder era but despite being a 4 year starter did not get drafted and never played pro ball. PETEY SMITH: Like his dad Pete, who played sparingly for Coastal California due to several injuries and was never drafted, young Petey is also a pitcher, playing two seasons for Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tennessee. Petey was 9-2 this past season with a 2.98 era but control problems, below average stuff and a propensity to give up a homer makes him a long shot for a big league career. EUGENE WATKINS: Gene Watkins spent 3 seasons patrolling the outfield for George Fox University and was a first round pick of Boston (8th overall) in 1918. He spent 4 seasons at Class A Springfield and parts of two of them he played the majority of his games at the AA level but he never advanced beyond there and retired in 1922 at the age of 25. Eugene was born in Springfield, Illinois but grew up in the family hometown of Durham, North Carolina. Like his father he is an outfielder, a 3 year starter at Durham High but is not considered much of a prospect so likely will be a late round selection. That concludes our early look at the 1941 draft candidates. Next draft update will be a look back as we check in on how the 16 FABL clubs did with the drafting a decade ago, when we revisit the first round selections of the 1931 draft. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/01/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
01-17-2022, 04:44 PM
|
#333 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
September 9, 1940
SEPTEMBER 9, 1940 CONTINENTAL PACK CLOSES IN ON WOLVES Shades of 1938 perhaps? Toronto Wolves fans well remember the collapse two years ago when their heroes blew a 3 game lead by losing 8 of their final 9 games, costing them the pennant. Flash forward to this season and the Wolves entered the week with a 3.5 game lead on the Chicago Cougars and 4.5 up on the Cincinnati Cannons. Seven straight losses later including a pair at home to Cincinnati and that lead was gone as the surprising Cannons took over top spot. Cincinnati's stay in first was very brief as Toronto finally stopped their skid yesterday with a 6-4 win over Philadelphia but even that wasn't easy as the Wolves needed 5 runs in the bottom of the ninth to salvage one game from the week. At the same time the Cannons were losing in Cleveland to the Foresters, the same last place club that had swept Toronto 3 straight to start the week, dropping the Cannons back to second place a half game back of Toronto. As a result with 3 weeks remaining in the schedule the Continental pennant race is wide open.  FEDERAL ASSOCIATION The race in the Federal Association is also far from decided. The Pittsburgh Miners still are in control, with a better than 50% chance of prevailing according to the bookmakers, but the Miners did not do themselves any favours last week by splitting their six games. The big moment was a Labor Day doubleheader in Philadelphia when the surprising Keystones swept both ends of the twin bill and did so in dramatic fashion. Each was a 2-1 win and each required extra innings. The opener saw Lefty Allen (21-10, 2.72) spin a 4-hitter but lost on a Bobby McHenry sacrifice fly in the 10th inning. The nightcap went 13 innings with Hans Wright (.268,16,55), who's single in the 10th inning of the opener was key to that win, took care of business with a solo homerun off of Gene Stevens with two out in the bottom of the 13th inning. The Keystones, who struggled on the road all season, were clearly energized by the big wins at Broad Street Park over Pittsburgh. They headed out on the road but finished the week strong, taking two of three in Washington and then winning a pair in Boston. With 13 wins in their last 15 games the Keystones are just 2 games back of the defending champion Miners. Detroit is also in the mix, but now 2.5 off the pace after a pair of disappointing defeats at the hands of their nemesis from Chicago.  AROUND THE LEAGUE Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. Just whatever catches Jiggs eye: BOSTON- Mack Sutton has improved on both his strikeout frequency and BB frequency. He is also slowly improving at the hot corner. Is next year the breakout year for the "Arkansas Artilleryman"? Boston looks like it will come up short once again but the Minutemen have a good young team and their time should come. BROOKLYN- Kings are not entirely out of the race yet but there chances are very slim. Still Brooklyn is playing a role as spoiler, taking both ends of a doubleheader from the Cougars last week before winning 2 of three against the Stars. Joe Herman was never a top 50 prospect (peaked at #64) but he is quietly having a breakout season in Brooklyn. The 24 year old former lottery pick out of Grange College is batting .329 with 13 homers and 65 rbi's. He slowed down a bit in August but is picking it up again this month. CHIEFS- Unfortunately a little too late but the Chiefs are back on track, winning 7 of their last 8 including taking all 3 games with Detroit this month. It's just too bad Chicago encountered a 4-17 stretch to close out August and with it their pennant hopes. COUGARS- The veteran arms have been doing their job as the Cougars try to catch Toronto for the CA lead. Jim Lonardo (11-11, 3.28) is 5-0 with a 0.75 era since August 1st while Dick Lyons (17-8, 3.09) has allowed one earned run or less in 3 of his last 4 starts. CINCINNATI- The Cannons offense slumbered through much of July and August and as a result the team struggled. That changed in a big way to start September as the Cannons put 17 runs on the board in the opener of a Labor Day doubleheader and ended up scoring 48 runs in their last 6 games. Unfortunately they lost two of them, both starts from rookie Jim Anderson (2-4, 2.84) who has pitched well but was the victim of some untimely errors behind him. With the schedule winding down Anderson may not get another start as the Cannons are dropping to a 4 man rotation. CLEVELAND- Don Hallam is making a bid for a roster spot next season. The 29 year old is hitting .311 with 2 homers in the 45 at bats he has been given since his promotion from AAA. He had a game winning rbi on a walk-off single to beat Toronto last week and is hitting .450 in his last dozen games. He was a 5th round pick of Toronto's way back in 1929, spent some time in the Indy Leagues after being released by a couple of organization. He did get 9 big league games with Montreal in 1934 but has been in AAA ever since, until the Foresters gave him shot this year. DETROIT- Sergio Gonzales might miss a start this week for Detroit. Dynamos dropped two to nemesis Chicago on weekend and fail to gain ground on Miners but did they did sweep New York earlier in the week so are still just 2.5 games back. Detroit is 12-4 vs the Gothams this season and with 6 more games remaining against New York you have to think that helps Detroit's chances in the Fed race. MONTREAL- Red Bond (.343,26,91) is certainly not slowing down. The 27 year old outfielder is batting .526 with 2 homers in his last 9 games and was recently named player of the week for the fourth time this season. He has a chance at a triple crown this year. NY STARS- Stars management is blaming their bullpen for much of New York's troubles of late. They certainly have had their share of extra inning losses and tight games that got away late recently. New York is 0-4 in extra inning contests the past two weeks after winning 8 of their first 9. NY GOTHAMS- The Gothams have owned Washington (13-6) and St Louis (13-9) but against the other 5 Federal Association teams New York is 25-68 including just 4-12 against Detroit and 5-15 vs both Pittsburgh and Boston. KEYSTONES- Pepper Tuttle (14-8, 2.98) has stepped up of late for the Keystones. The 24 year old is 3-0 in his last five starts with a 1.90 era over that stretch. With 3 extra innings games all resulting in wins, plus a pair of 1 run victories, you can't help but start to get the feeling maybe the Keystones are destined to win the Fed this season. They are even winning on the road now, but that will need to continue with an important series against Detroit starting tomorrow. SAILORS- At 14-22 this season only the last place Cleveland Foresters (14-25) have had less success in one run games among Continental Association teams. Add in a 3-10 extra inning mark, worst in either association, and it is easy to assume the Sailors, with a couple of breaks, could be in first place right now. PITTSBURGH- A big opportunity missed to put away their cross-state rivals last week when the Miners dropped a pair of 2-1 extra innings games in Philadelphia on Labor Day. Pittsburgh did rebound with a pair of wins in Boston but the Keystones are on a roll and making more than a few people in Steeltown nervous. ST LOUIS- Is the season almost over? Another losing streak is underway for the Pioneers, this one at 5 games. And another pitcher is hurt. This time it is 31 year old Jake Smith (6-8, 5.26) who was having a terrible season to begin with. Now he is sidelined a week with a dead arm. TORONTO- Larry Vestal (.280,2,46) is finally pronounced fit and back in the lineup after missing over a month with a sore knee. Maybe he can give the slumping Wolves a spark. You can't blame Fred McCormick (.338,10,76) for Toronto's recent struggles. McCormick has been steady as usual, batting .386 with 3 homers in his last 11 games, during which Toronto has gone 3-8. WASHINGTON- Sig Stofer has injected some life in a lackluster Washington team. The Boardwalk Bopper is hitting .283 with 5 homers and 16 rbi's in just 53 at bats since being acquired from the Philadelphia Keystones. Looks like he will be given every opportunity to be the starting first baseman next season as Harry Shumate's (.242,5,44) days may be numbered in the nation's capital. TOP DEFENDERS IN BASEBALL Defense is vastly underrated in baseball but Percy Sutherland of the Chicago Herald-Examiner wants to change that. The long-time baseball columnist has always acknowledged great glovemen in his writings and recently he penned a column outlining who he felt were the best defender at each position in both the Federal and Continental Associations. Here is what Sutherland had to say: FEDERAL ASSOCIATION C - John Wicklund (DET) -- The old man still has it. 1B - Ron Rattigan (CHI) -- Red Johnson is getting close to supplanting Rattigan. P - Red Hampton (CHI) 2B - Buddy Schneider (BOS) -- the 19-year-old has only played half a season, but I had to give it to him--he's that good. 3B - Tommy Wilson (STL) SS - Jack Bush (WAS) -- yes, Bush can field, but that's about all he can do. LF - Dilly Ward (WAS) -- This is what you get when you put a good center fielder in a corner. CF - Sal Pestilli (DET) -- The competition is strong in the Fed, but Pestilli just gets to more balls than anyone else. RF - Bill Burkett (BOS) -- Burkett's a natural centerfielder, see Dilly Ward. CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION C - Fred Barrell (BRK) -- Adam Mullins in Montreal is a very, very close second. P - George Phillips (NYS) 1B - Ray Ford (CHC) -- Ford has Ron Rattigan type range at first. 2B - Clark Car (NYS) -- Great range and excels at turning the double play. 3B - Mel Carrol (CLE) SS - Harry Barrell (BRK) -- The standard-bearer at short but Charlie Artuso (TOR) is close. LF - Hub Parks (NYS) CF - Carlos Montes (CHC) -- Like Buddy Schneider, the youngster didn't begin the season as the starter but he is that good. RF - Bill Barrett (NYS) -- Almost a dead heat between Barrett, Lou Balk (CLE), and Orlin Yates (CHC). Sutherland and the Chicago Herald-Examiner were instrumental in creating a trophy presented by the Chicago Sportswrtiers Guild to the top rookie a couple of years running. Al Miller of the Chiefs claimed the award the first year it was presented in 1936 and the following season it went to Sal Pestilli of the Detroit Dynamos. They did not announce winners each of the past two seasons but word is they plan to make it an annual award starting this season. Perhaps if Sutherland really wants to see fielders with golden hands get their due perhaps he should see if he can also drum up support for an annual award presented to the top defenders of the diamond as well. 1941 DRAFT PREVIEW A LOOK BACK AT THE 1930 DRAFT A decade ago in his annual mock draft Jiggs McGee felt this was a very weak class and time has certainly proven that to be the case. Here is what Jiggs said leading up the 1930 draft: "It is unusual for several reasons and all of them centering around a dearth of high end college talent. This college portion of the draft pool, at least aside from 3 time All-American Jack Flint, who may have had the best college catching career of all-time, is simply not very deep and lacks high profile star power. Maybe it is the lack of a Barrell brother in this pool- Fred went 3rd overall in 1926, Bobby 6th in 1928 and Tom first last year with young Harry not eligible until next season. Perhaps it is the lack of a dominant pitching prospect such as Tom Barrell and Chick Stout a year ago or Tommy Wilcox in 1928 but this draft appears to be lacking the high end can't miss prospect of years gone by." Only one player from the 1930 draft has reached the 1,000 hit milestone, Keystones outfielder Rip Curry who was the 13th selection of the draft. Compare that with the draft the previous year (1929) which has 5 players with over 1,000 career hits and the year after (1931), which has 4 of them. Likewise the crop of pitchers was not very strong in 1930. Only Chuck Murphy, who was selected 12th by Montreal and presently owns a 60-62 record while pitching for his 5th FABL club, has won at least 40 games out of the 4 pitchers taken in the first round. 1929 also had one but he is Tom Barrell and has 130 wins and 3 Allan Awards while 1931 had two pitchers taken in the opening round with at least 40 wins. Below is a comparison of first round picks over the first seven human GM drafts. It is plain to see the top crop of players available in 1930 pales in comparison with the other years: Code:
FIRST ROUND PICKS WITH 750 CAREER HITS OR 40 CAREER WINS 1925 Al Wheeler 2,345 hits Bud Jameson 2,044 hits Bill Ashbaugh 1,420 hits Doug Lightbody 1,978 hits Jack Cleaves 2,050 hits Eddie Quinn 121-127 record Art Myers 132-100 record Lou Martino 104-91 record 1926 Fred Barrell 1,447 hits Frank Huddleston 1,117 hits Woody Armstrong 795 hits Frank Crawford 118-79 record 1927 Cliff Moss 1,683 hits Frank Lightbody 1,695 hits Andy Carter 1,400 hits Jim Watson 1,123 hits Rabbit Mudd 762 hits Bill Anderson 84-101 record 1928 Bobby Barrell 1,946 hits Wally Flowers 1,186 hits Tommy Wilcox 91-84 record Mike Murphy 135-90 record Chuck Cole 93-109 record 1929 Vic Crawford 1,427 hits Sam Orr 1,194 hits Dan Fowler 1,363 hits Jake Shadoan 1,223 hits Lou Williams 1,079 hits Tom Barrell 137-78 record 1930 Rip Curry 1,198 hits Jim Beard 947 hits Jack Flint 764 hits Chuck Murphy 60-62 record 1931 Harry Barrell 1,400 hits Freddie Jones 1,509 hits George Cleaves 1,140 hits Bill May 1,154 hits Bernie Johnson 60-84 record Dixie Lee 41-58 record 1929 in comparison gave us George Dawson, Joe Owens, Mel Carrol, Gail Gifford, Johnny McDowell and quite a few other position players plus 4 pitchers with at least 10 wins highlighted by George Phillips. 1931 was not quite as strong as '29 but certainly far better than the 1930 class beyond the first round when you have Leo Mitchell, Red Bond, Al Tucker, Joe Rainbow, Ed Reyes, Jake DeYoung, Billy Stall and Glenn Payne leading the way. So, yes it is pretty obvious the 1930 draft class was very weak, quite likely the weakest class of the feeder league era. Here is a look at each of the first round selections: 1-JACK FLINT - Catcher ST LOUIS PIONEERS: In his final mock draft Jiggs McGee had this to say about Flint, who he placed number one on his list after briefly debate the merits of infielder Johnny Turner: There has never been a catcher who posted the kind of college numbers that Jack Flint put up during 3 All-American seasons at Lubbock State. The closest is probably Dick York, the long-time Detroit catcher who played for Georgia Baptist from 1915-17. Flint is the career leader among catchers in virtually every AIAA offensive category and the single-season record holder among catchers in OBP, hits and runs scored. Here is a comparison of Flint's career college stats to 4 prominent FABL catchers who also played college ball. (Note TR Goins and Joe Welch are excluded as they did not play college ball) Code:
TEAM NAME SLASH OPS+ WAR ? JACK FLINT .356/.449/.546 159 8.3 DET Dick York .336/.417/.547 150 4.3 CHC Fred Barrell .331/.427/.462 141 4.0 PIT Jim Pool .301/.410/.486 139 5.6 BKN Mike Taylor .299/.381/.520 126 4.3 As it turned out Flint is not going to have a better pro career than Dick York and although he is 3 years younger so still has time, will likely not outperform Fred Barrell as a big leaguer either. What St Louis did get in the draft was a steady catcher, a 2-time all-star who remains, at least at this date, a .300 career hitter. He spent six years with the Pioneers but they seem to do such a great job finding and developing catchers (Tom Bird and Clarence Howerton have also passed through St Louis) that Flint lost his job to Heinie Zimmer. He spent one season with the Gothams, just babysitting the spot until Pete Casstevens was deemed ready and moved on to his third FABL club last winter. He appears to have found a home in Cincinnati and at 31 should have some productive years left. A solid pick for the Pioneers, who likely wish they held out for more than former 11th round pick Del Thomas, when they traded Flint to the Gothams. Thomas, incidentally was a first round pick as well, just not in baseball as the Boston Americans of the American Football Association drafted him in the first round 7th overall in 1937. 2- JIM HARRIS Pitcher Toronto Wolves: This draft class was so weak it is hard to blame any team that did not land a future big leaguer but at pick #2 you have to hope you do better than this. Jiggs McGee had just 3 pitchers in his mock first round (Mel Ennis, Ike Joyal and Donie Scheuermann) but none were higher than fifth on his list. In fact a short time earlier when Jiggs listed his top ten pitchers available in the draft Harris was again absent(red flag #1). Harris was originally a 6th round pick out of high school by Cleveland in 1927 but failed to sign and went to Northern California University, for whom he was primarily a relief pitcher.(red flag #2). His ERA+ was 87 as a sophomore and 84 in his junior season (red flags 3&4). Simply put he was not a very good college pitcher so his scouting report must have really said something amazing to the Wolves at the time. It should have stated "don't draft me" but they did and while he did have some decent seasons in the minors, they were all in Class B and when the Wolves moved him up (likely a little late as he was still in A at the age of 25) it was too late. He was decent between AA and AAA in 1936 as a 27 year old but was released the following spring and retired before ever making it to FABL. 3- JIM BEARD Infielder Washington Eagles: Shortstop, especially of the high school variety was something that seemed plentiful in this draft. Jiggs McGee felt there were close to a dozen high school shortstop that impressed him and felt half a dozen could go in the first round. Beard was not at the top of Jiggs list: that would have been Lee Porter who ended up going to the Sailors in round three but, while still active, has yet to advance past AA ball. Beard proved to be a pretty solid pick for this draft group and is now in his 6th big league season. The Eagles traded him to the Sailors a couple of years ago and he has found third base is better suited to his skill set but Beard is a steady infielder with some speed- he led the Fed with 55 steals in 1937. 4- JOHNNY TURNER - Third Base Cleveland Foresters: First team All-American at George Fox his draft year and briefly considered by Jiggs to place him #1 on the mock before deciding to drop him behind Jack Flint. Maybe it was the serious ankle injury he suffered as a rookie pro. Maybe it was because most of his teammates disliked him for the lack of effort and penchant for disrupting the clubhouse. Or maybe it was just the fact he could not hit big league pitching. Turner had a couple of chances with the Foresters, but batted just .234 in 420 career plate appearances. He hit fine in AAA and that's where he found a home, signing with the independent Sacramento Governors after both the Foresters and the Chicago Cougars gave up on him. 5- JOE SCHNELL - Pitcher Pittsburgh Miners: This is right about the time period when the 'draft pitchers early' craze took off and the Miners seemed to be an early adapter taking Walt Palmer, Chick Stout, Schnell, Lefty Allen and Nate Spear as first round picks between 1926 and 1933. Certainly Allen made all the other misses worthwhile - not that I would call Spear or Stout misses - but Schnell certainly was. Schnell had a decent sophomore season at College of San Diego but was terrible his draft year. The Miners felt they saw something and who knows, if he stayed healthy perhaps Schnell could have made more than 4 career FABL starts. However a torn rotator cuff in 1934 just as he seemed on the verge of being a FABL regular derailed him and there were more shoulder troubles a couple seasons later. He is still active at age 31, or at least thinks he is, but is sitting in the free agent pool hoping someone will call him. The Chicago Cougars, who seem to give every failed first round pitcher a shot, tried briefly and he looked okay in spring action but was not offered a contract. 6- BOLIVAR JIM SMITH- Shortstop Chicago Chiefs: The name conjures up memory of what was not one of Jiggs McGee's finer moments. The Chicago Chiefs had recently landed a new General Manager at the time and he was feeling a little overwhelmed trying to get on the same page as his scouting staff. He ran into Jiggs at the winter meetings shortly before the draft and point blank asked Jiggs who he liked for the Chiefs picks, which were back to back at 6 and 7. As Jiggs recalls he was told by the GM he needed infielders so Jiggs suggested shortstop Bolivar Jim and third baseman Tom Eggleton. The two combined for 7 FABL games and I am not sure the GM ever trusted another draft article Jiggs wrote. Jiggs had never revealed that story until this column and I doubt the now-former Chiefs GM ever wanted to revisit it. In Jiggs defense, Boliver Jim Smith had a terrific couple of seasons at Cumberland with the glove and was pretty good throughout his minor league career but he just couldn't hit. 7- TOM EGGLETON- Third Base Chicago Chiefs: The high school third baseman showed a little more promise than Bolivar Jim with the bat in the minors, but never got much of a chance in the big leagues and is now playing in the Lone Star Association. If only the GM and Jiggs had talked about outfielders as Rip Curry might have been a Chief. 8- ART MCMAHON- Outfield New York Stars: You know it is a weak draft class when we say Art McMahon was not a bad first round draft pick. Maybe it was because fellow Honolulu native Vic Crawford looked like such a star when he was picked the previous season, but the Stars decided McMahon was the best outfielder available. Obviously Rip Curry was the right pick but at least McMahon has played over 300 big league games. 9- BUTCH WALDRON - Outfield Boston Minutemen: Waldron had a great first season at Lincoln College and was very good the next year as well. His draft stock dropped somewhat with career lows in every offensive category in his draft season but, the class being what it was, he was still a first round selection in Jiggs McGee's mind, and the Boston Minutemen concurred. He made his Boston debut three years later and hit .288 in a 96 game stretch which led to him being a starter in 1934 where he also hit close to .300. He really struggled in the big leagues in '35 but did well in AAA Columbus after his demotion and even had a 26 game hitting streak at AAA that year. Other than a 21 game stretch in 1938 he never made it back to the big leagues and retired last year with a .276 batting average in 303 FABL games. 10- JAMES DEMASTUS - Catcher Chicago Cougars: Bill Ashbaugh, Fred Barrell, Mike Murphy, Tom Barrell, Ed Reyes, Billy Hunter. The Cougars had some very nice first round picks in those feeder era drafts. But they messed up on a pair of them. One was Harry Humphrey, an outfielder out of Whitney College they took third overall in 1927 and the other was high school catcher James Demastus. Combined those first round picks accounted for 3,306 FABL games as position players and 272 career pitching wins. Humphrey and Demastus together added a grand total of 0 to those amounts. So it was feast or famine for the Cougars in the feeder draft era and Chicago fans went hungry at the 1930 draft. After doing little the first two seasons of his high school career, Demastus did hit .361 as a senior. Not good enough to crack the top ten catchers in Jiggs McGee's positional mock and as it turned out, not good enough to get out of the low minors. He peaked with 6 games at the AA level as a 23 year old and was out of the game by age 25. 11- DONIE SCHEUERMANN - Pitcher Detroit Dynamos: Scheuermann has actually had one of the better careers out of this draft class. He was up and down with the Dynamos for six seasons, good enough to earn a spot in their pen during the awful years but not quite good enough as the team got better, but he did land in Cincinnati this season as a waiver claim and provided decent work out of the pen. He lived up to his billing as Jiggs McGee put Scheuermann number 11 on his final mock draft. Of Scheuermann Jiggs offered "The safest bet among the top pitchers in this draft. Scheuermann should be good enough to pitch in the major leagues but I am not sure that he will be any more than a bottom of the rotation guy. He was consistent for most of his college career, but like so many others was just a little less productive in his draft year." 12- CHUCK MURPHY - Pitcher Montreal Saints: Only 13th round pick Jake Smith had a better pitching career among the 1930 draftees, although Murphy may just surpass Smith as he seems to be a late bloomer, having won 25 of his 60 career victories in the 2 years since he turned 30 years of age. It took a while for him to find his place as he had stops in Montreal, Brooklyn and with the Chicago Chiefs before finally getting a real opportunity in Detroit and then was moved to the Philadelphia Sailors prior to the 1938 season. He has been traded for some pretty solid players in pitcher Milt Fritz and young shortstop Gil London but also waived once (by the Chiefs) so his value has certainly gone up and down over the years. The Sailors seem to have good success in squeezing production out of pitchers others overlook and Murphy just might have a home in Philadelphia now. 13- RIP CURRY - Outfield Philadelphia Keystones: Here he is, the class of the 1930 draft. His best season at George Fox was the year before he was draft eligible, batting .474 and being named a second team All-American. Curry's production dipped somewhat his draft year but he remained the top outfielder on Jiggs McGee's draft board and Jiggs felt he had another talent that should perhaps be explored: "The corner outfielder has been a three year starter for the Reds and hit .414 for his collegiate career including .398 this season. No other draft eligible outfielder with 150 or more career plate appearances has a higher OBP and his 7.2 career WAR ranks third among all draftees. I am concerned about his lack of power - just 19 homers in 143 games- and his small frame (5'10", 160 lbs) makes one wonder if the power will ever come. One other note is Curry is a two-way player and may actually be a better prospect as a pitcher. He was 11-1, 3.05 in 1929 but struggled on the mound this season." The Keystones never explored the possibility of Curry being a pitcher but he worked out just fine as an outfielder and put on some muscle so he has hit 13 homers in a season twice in his career. It is the .326 batting average and steady play (Curry has never hit below .300 in a FABL season) that makes Curry look like the best pick of the 1930 draft. He was dealt to Detroit last winter and, aside from missing a nearly two months with various injuries, has been his usual productive self, batting .331 this season. 14- AL HORTON - Outfield Baltimore Cannons: Jiggs McGee liked the College of San Diego outfielder and had him second at his position behind only Rip Curry on his final mock draft. Horton "was among the top five in draft eligible outfielders in WAR, slugging percentage, ops+ and stolen bases with 26 in his 100 game career," wrote McGee at the time. Baltimore was just about to become an awful team as Horton matured so his 386 career big league games are likely more than he would have received with another organization. Not a bad player, he did steal 23 bases and hit .314 in 1934 -his only season as an everyday player - but also led the CA with 108 strikeouts. He never quite cut it after that, getting a few games with the big club each year but not establishing himself as a big leaguer. With the move to Cincinnati and the influx of better talent Horton found himself spending the entire season in AAA Indianapolis and it is highly unlikely he adds to his big league totals anymore. 15- JIM MASON - Outfield New York Gothams: Mason was drafted in the third round by the Chicago Cougars in 1929 but failed to sign so he returned to Ellery College for his senior season. It was a good one, he hit .393 with 11 homers in 50 games but not good enough to crack Jiggs McGee's top ten outfielders on the mock draft. His claim to fame will always be he was traded for one of the greatest pitchers of his era - going from the Gothams to Baltimore (along with Rusty Petrick, Oscar King, Billy Marshall and a bunch of picks) in exchange for Rabbit Day. That will, of course, be the only time Day and Mason will be mentioned in the same sentence but Mason's 1935 season was actually pretty good. He played 146 games for the Cannons as a 26 year old rookie that year, hitting .343 with 11 homers and was one of the few bright spots on a team that won only 65 games and finished last for the the second year in a row. He hit just .275 the following season and was demoted to AAA for a good portion of it but rebounded in 1937 by batting .323 with 12 homers as an everyday player. Consistency was an issue as he struggled in 1938 and again was demoted to AAA. That would appear to be the end of Mason's days as he was taken by the Stars in the rule 5 draft prior to the 1939 season but returned to the Cannons, who promptly released him when he refused a minor league assignment. Mason insists he is still an active player but has not stepped on the field since 1938. 16 FABL General Manager's and a host of independent clubs feel otherwise so expect Mason to get the hint and eventually tell us what we already know - his baseball career is over. 16- FLOYD SPENCER - First base Philadelphia Sailors: Originally an 8th round pick of St Louis out of Frankford State, Spencer did not sign and was rewarded the following season when the Sailors picked him in the first round. He did crack the OSA top 100 prospect list but just barely (100th in July of 1932) and being part of the best minor league system in baseball means Spencer did win his fair share of pennants in the Sailors organization but he never made it to the big leagues and only managed to appear in 43 games as high as the AAA level. He could hit for average in the minors but Spencer just did not have the power one would like to see out of a first baseman. The Sailors did have some first round misses in those days such as Everett Juergens in 1926, Jack Bates in 1927, Ed Scott in 1928, Spencer in 1930 and Fritz Bach in 1932. No major league experience for any of them but before you go thinking the Sailors seemed to excel at reaching for future Lone Star Association players in first rounds of the past, stop and remember Jack Cleaves (1925) and Lou Williams (1929) were also in that mix. The last one from that time frame is 1931 first rounder Marcel Boismenu. He has played 136 FABL games but is 27 years old so he will likely end up closer to the first group than being on the Cleaves, Williams side of the ledger. SUMMARY So there you have it. The dumpster fire that was the 1930 draft. There was not a lot to choose from. Long-time Scouting Director Rube Carter, who was in his final season with the Brooklyn Kings before moving on to the Chicago Chiefs kindly shared his ranking of the top 45 pitchers and hitters on his personal draft list. Why 45? Well that is what easily fit into a screen shot. Here they are. A lot of names no one will remember and that phrase might well be the best way to describe the 1930 Draft Class.  QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/08/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-17-2022 at 04:45 PM. |
|
|
|
|
01-18-2022, 02:25 PM
|
#334 | |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
September 16, 1940
SEPTEMBER 16, 1940 MINERS TAKE CONTROL OF FED, CA GOING DOWN TO THE WIRE A three game winning streak at just the right time has put the Pittsburgh Miners in the drivers seat as they attempt to win the Federal Association pennant for the second straight season and third time in the last four years. When they took the field last Friday against Chicago, the Miners were just a single game ahead of the second place Detroit Dynamos and three up on the Philadelphia Keystones. Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia won all 3 games over the weekend as the Dynamos were losing theirs, and dropped to 4 games back with just 2 weeks remaining in the season so the Miners have a 3 game cushion on the second place Keystones with 2 weeks remaining in the season. Pittsburgh's first two wins came over the Chicago Chiefs, a team that took the opener of their three game set and had swept the Dynamos in Detroit the previous weekend. While Pittsburgh was beating the Chiefs, the Dynamos lost twice to the Boston Minutemen setting up a crucial game on Sunday between the Miners and Dynamos, co-favourites to battle for the pennant this season after waging a tough fight a year ago. It was the opener of a 3-game set at Thompson Field and the visitors pulled out a 6-4 win, thanks to a 2-run homer off the bat of Pablo Reyes (.323,12,77) in the top of the ninth. It was the fourth Pittsburgh homer on the day and came after Detroit's Sal Pestilli (.254,32,122) had hit a 3-run shot in the bottom of the eighth to knot the score. Detroit hosts Pittsburgh for two more games beginning today, and they are crucial contests for the Dynamos, who have 8 games remaining after that with all of them against either Washington or the New York Gothams. The Miners have some tough games left including a pair with the Philadelphia Keystones and 4 against Boston next week. You can't count the Keystones out yet either but a 3-game losing skid to start the week before they rebounded with 3 straight wins certainly hurt their playoff chances. CONITNENTAL ASSOCIATION The Cincinnati Cannons are two weeks away from completing an incredible turn around as, if successful, they will snap a 6 season stay in the Continental cellar with their first pennant since 1914. Cincinnati is a game and a half up on both Toronto and Chicago thanks to a 5-1 week that included a pair of victories, both in extra innings, over the Cougars. Cincinnati still has 6 games remaining against the Wolves, who's pennant drought is even longer than that of the Cannons but before Toronto and the Cannons can get together the Wolves face the Cougars twice to start the week. Toronto did sweep a 3-game set with Brooklyn on the weekend but that was not until after the Wolves dropped a pair to their Canadian rivals from Montreal. The oddsmakers feel the Cannons are overwhelming favourites to meet the Miners in the World Championship Series, but there is a lot of important games remaining before either association is decided.   In truth no one really knows if the former braintrust of the Cannons ever seriously considered the move that this writer was saying at the time was the key to turning the club's fortunes around. No one from Baltimore ever addressed it publicly but Jiggs pleaded in print and in conversation at league meetings for the Cannons to broker a deal with the Detroit Dynamos. The Cannons had just finished dead last in the Continental Association for the second straight season but still were not that far removed from a record attendance season and a second straight runner up finish just 4 years prior. We all know what happened as the franchise drafted pitcher after pitcher in the first round, usually raw high schoolers who were not yet ready to help, and ignored the many young hitting stars that were available. Eventually after 6 straight last place finishes played in front of mostly empty seats they loaded up the their belongings and drifted off to Cincinnati. Detroit was in an even worse state in 1935 as the Dynamos had lost a franchise record 111 games and were in a full fledged rebuild. Detroit was desperate for pitching and badly wanted Rufus 'Deuce' Barrell, widely considered to be the best high school pitcher anyone had ever seen. The problem was the Dynamos picked second that year, right after Baltimore. The Cannons already had John Edwards and Gus Goulding, two good young pitchers they drafted in the top three picks the previous two seasons, as well as highly touted Rusty Petrick, who they had acquired from the Gothams in the deal that sent Rabbit Day to the Big Apple and a rising young star in Pinky Conlan. What Baltimore did not have was much in the way of offensive talent. It seemed like power hitting first baseman Red Johnson would be the ideal fit for the Cannons young club but the problem was Deuce was the clear #1 choice in the minds of everyone at the time. So it was proposed in TWIFB on a number of occasions that the Cannons should trade down: From the September 9, 1935 issue: [quote] Moving the first pick might be the better move in the long run for the Cannons should they win the Barrell Cup. Baltimore's top three prospects are all highly touted pitchers and they could likely land quite a haul by dealing the first pick as there would be no shortage of suitors. An ideal situation for the Cannons, who could use offensive help, is to trade down either with Detroit, who will pick second, or the CA club that finishes seventh. This would allow them to select second or third as any trade would certainly include getting a first rounder back. He won't go first overall as whoever picks first will take Barrell but I really like Red Johnson. The slugger from Central Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon has hit 21 homers in 41 games and was a High School All-American as a Junior, followed by earning honorable mention status this year. Barrell has the makings of being a generational talent but so does Johnson, who has drawn some comparisons to Max Morris. We have seen injury derail the path of many talented young arms over the years and for a rebuilding team like Baltimore Johnson looks like a safe bet, and when you add in the haul dropping down in the draft would bring it may be more beneficial to the club in the long run. [quote] As the draft approached and it became official that the Cannons and Detroit would pick 1-2 I suggested the following during the league meetings: Quote:
Regardless of who they picked with that second pick the middle of the Baltimore batting order would have been Sal Pestilli and Red Johnson. With what they have done in Detroit you have to think at the very least Baltimore could have contended for the CA crown last year and that would likely have been enough to save the franchise. I spoke with the Detroit General Manager and he confirmed as we all know, no offer from Baltimore ever came, but he admitted he would have entertained the idea. "I probably wouldn't have agreed to our first round pick the following year without something else coming back. Trying to put myself back to that time. We needed everything but I was desperate for good pitching." Baltimore certainly had the young arms to spare with John Edwards, Rusty Petrick and Gus Goulding all ranked in the top 19 by OSA and others such as Ben Watkins and Lee Marshall in the 200 and both considered potential middle of the rotation options by OSA at the time. Baltimore also had Pinky Conlan, who was pre all of his injury woes at this time, and at 26 years of age might have been the second piece the Cannons could have dangled to land Johnson and the pick that would lead to Pestilli. So imagine if you will, Red Johnson and Sal Pestilli batting 3-4 in Baltimore last season. Because they never added Deuce it is likely the Cannons would have held on to Edwards rather than moving him to Boston so they would still have a pitching staff of Goulding, Edwards and Petrick plus imagine if they also had Walt Messer or Billy Woytek (the players they could have grabbed right after Pestilli in 1936 instead of making another terrible blunder and trading down - thinking Woytek would still be there at 5- and getting stuck with Al Jennings.) It is quite conceivable had that day played out differently the Baltimore Cannons would have been a pennant contender, and maybe a pennant winner, a year earlier and they would still be the BALTIMORE Cannons. As for Detroit, what would have come of the Dynamos rebuild if that move was made? Yes they would have had Deuce Barrell and a now injury ravaged Pinky Conlan, but no Pestilli, no Johnson and likely a lot of the trades that they made would not have happened. Frank Crawford might still be in Philadelphia because Detroit never dealt Hank Koblenz so the Dynamos might still have ended up okay but likely not as strong as they are now. Perhaps Detroit does not acquire Charlie Wheeler from the Gothams, deciding to hang on to Pete Casstevens. Would Wheeler now be the ace of a much improved Gothams staff or would he have suffered from whatever malady seems to affect anyone who throws for the Gothams? How different things might have played out had one day went a little differently. QUICK HITS
 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/15/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
|
01-19-2022, 12:32 PM
|
#335 | |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
September 23, 1940 - Both races going down to the wire
SEPTEMBER 23, 1940 NOTHING SETTLED WITH A WEEK TO GO It is going to be a wild final week of the season with both pennant races still wide open. The Continental Association remains a 3 team affair although last week's leaders, the Cincinnati Cannons, stumbled badly with a 4 game losing streak that included a pair of extra innings losses to Toronto. The Wolves needed extra frames in three of their 4 victories last week and the 4-1 showing, which included a split of a 2-game set with the Chicago Cougars allowed the Wolves to vault past the Cannons and into a tie with the Cougars for top spot. Cincinnati is 1 game back with 7 left to play but included in those 7 remaining games are 4 against Toronto. The Cougars perhaps now have the best chance to emerge from the Continental this season, especially if the Wolves and Cannons can knock each other out. The oddsmakers, however favour the Toronto side, giving the Wolves nearly a 50% chance of ending FABL's longest active pennant-less streak. Toronto last won the CA crown in 1911.  The Federal schedule maker threw a real wrinkle in to add some drama to the final 7 days. The Miners have a full slate of games after an off-day today as Pittsburgh hosts Boston and Philadelphia for two each before ending the season with a pair of games in Boston on the weekend. Detroit, on the other hand, gets a 4-day vacation before the Dynamos play their 3 remaining games, against the New York Gothams starting Friday.   SHADES OF 1927 The outstanding pennant races we are seeing this season are very reminiscent of the amazing 1927 campaign.  Quote:
AROUND THE LEAGUE Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. This week with the minor leagues now done for the year Jiggs talks minor league systems and prospects: BOSTON- Duke Hendricks finally got the call to Boston. After 3 seasons in AAA Columbus the former Baton Rogue State pitcher made his big league debut last week. He has had some control problems in the minors and they showed up in his 7 innings against St Louis as Hendricks walked 9 while allowing 4 runs on 7 hits in a 4-2 loss. The 24 year old has been considered a top 50 prospect ever since joining the Minutemen organization. He has gone 33-32 with a 4.31 era for the AAA Titans, including 13-13, 3.84 this season. Next one in Columbus waiting for the call is Ray Dalpman, a 23 year old who has spent a year and a half in AAA and is a top 70 prospect. Word is Dalpman will be promoted and given a start against Washington this week. BROOKLYN- You have to wonder if the Kings are going to move Chuck Adams over the winter. Adams has made little secret of the fact he is unhappy after finding himself demoted from the big leagues all the way down to Class A in June. Yes, playing time was sparse for Adams with the Kings collection of first baseman and corner outfielders and his .250 average with 0 homeruns in 20 games did not turn any heads but Class A just seemed extreme, and it adversely affected his production, as he hit just .283 with 13 homers in 89 games as a 23 year old top ten prospect who should have tore up the Heartland League, had he wanted to be there. CHIEFS- The Chiefs have sacrificed much of their system over the past couple of years, but it was well worth it with WCS titles in 1936 & 1938. They are paying the price now at the minor league level as four of their affiliates finished 7th or 8th with AA Memphis' 5th place showing in the Dixie League being the only exception. It hasn't hurt the big club yet as they have done very well picking up veteran cast offs from other teams. COUGARS- Another solid season for the Cougars minor league system as none of their five affiliates finished worse than third place. Class B San Jose won it's third straight title in the COW League while La Crosse just missed winning a third consecutive pennant in the Upper Mississippi Valley Association, ending up two games off the pace. The Jones brothers both had decent seasons at AA and perhaps will step up to AAA together next season. 22 year old Johnnie went 8-10 with a 4.66 era while little brother Donnie, age 20, was 10-10, 4.32. Both were acquired in deals last season and both were high first round picks. CINCINNATI- Mixed results for the Cannons top two draft picks in their pro debut. 1st overall selection Dick Blaszak had a terrible time, hitting just .103 in 19 games at Class B before being demoted to C ball, where he did not fare much better as the 18 year old outfielder hit .191 with 1 homerun in 40 games. However, former Lane State pitcher Bill Sohl had a decent season at AA Erie as the 21 year old righthander went 6-6 with a 3.82 era. He needs to cut down on his walks and longballs, but the Cannons see Sohl starting at AAA next season and perhaps being a mid-year callup to the big club. CLEVELAND- Despite little success at the big league level this season, the Foresters may have some hope for the future with a first (Class C), two seconds (AAA and B) and a third and a fourth place finish for their 5 feeder clubs. Despite the strong showings the Foresters are currently considered the weakest team in terms of prospects, with only pitchers Dick Lamb (33rd) and Connie Upchurch (99th) ranked in the top 100. DETROIT- It was a nice season for most of the Dynamos system with the highlight being AAA Newark winning it's second Union League crown in the past three seasons. Three other affiliates finished 2nd with only Chattanooga of the Class B Southeastern League failing to finish over .500. MONTREAL- While most of the Saints affiliates struggled the same can not be said for AAA Minneapolis as the Lumberjacks won their first Century League pennant in 7 years. Bill Greene, the Saints second highest ranked prospect spent part of the season with Montreal but also hit .271 for the Lumberjacks. Much of the attention on the Saints farm system was focused on Class B where their top two pitching prospects spent a fair amount of time. 20 year old Pat Weakley, taken 8th overall in 1938, split the season between B and Class A Evansville. Weakley was very impressive in 5 starts at the higher level, posting a 2-1 record and a 2.87 era. George Wynn, who was also taken 8th overall but this year, was 4-3, 2.73 in 9 starts for Class B Mobile. Weakley is considered the #2 prospect overall by OSA and Wynn slots in at 12th. NY STARS- The Stars had 5 draft picks in the opening two rounds last January. It took some work to get them all signed so they did not all play a lot and results were mixed: The 3 high school kids all debuted at Class C as 18 year old First baseman Bill 'BB' Barnett, the 5th overall selection, led the way by hitting .279 in 47 games. Bill Grove, one of three Stars second rounders, hit .250 in 42 games but pitcher Wally Hunter, also 18 and taken with the final pick of the opening round, struggled at the C level posting a 1-8 record and a 5.71 era. 21 year old Newt Cooper taken with the first selection of the second round debuted at Class Scranton and hit .281 with a pair of homers in 33 games while Christian Trophy winner Don Bitters, out of Hamman University, was 4-4 with a 5.65 era at Class B Salem of the COW League. NY GOTHAMS- Ed Bowman, the young man being counted on to help resurect the Gothams pitiful pitching, is getting closer to New York despite being just 20 years old. Bowman pitched at 3 levels this season, looking very good at Class B and A before struggling a bit in limited exposure to AA hitters. Overall, Gothams brass has to be very hopeful for his future following a 16-14, 3.49 season at the 3 stops. KEYSTONES-With all of the great young talent in Philadelphia already - players like Hank Koblenz, Hank McKay, Chuck Hood, Billy Woytek and all of the their young pitchers you would think the pipeline must be drying up. You would be wrong. First off there is 23 year old Davey Robicheaux, ranked 5th by OSA, who got his feet wet in AAA while learning a new position as the Keystones hope to make an outfielder out of the natural third baseman. He struggled a bit, batting .236 with 6 homer after his big season in AA a year ago but has a very high ceiling. Bud Canfield is another of the solid young group of pitchers and he was outstanding in his debut in the big leagues this season, going 5-2 with a 1.16 era in his first 7 starts. Joe Quade is the one everyone is watching as the 18 year old came fresh off the West Chester High School diamond to go 8-4, 3.46 in half a season at Class A Allentown. The 3rd overall pick in the January portion of last year's draft has the makings of a future ace according to OSA and did nothing to dissuade anyone from that opinion over the summer. SAILORS- Once again the Philadelphia Sailors minor league system is the class of baseball. Not in the top prospect rankings although they are a very solid 5th in that category led by 22 year old 3B Johnny Zeidman (20th), 22 year old OF Jimmy Chase (27th) and 20 year old pitcher Slick Wesolowski (30th). I am referring to actual success on the field where the Sailors once again completely dominated with each of their 5 affiliates winning a pennant, led by the Gulfport Sailors of the Class C Gulf States League, who won 100 out of 140 games. The only other organization with more than one affiliate to finish first this season was the Philadelphia Keystones, who had AA New Orleans and Class A Allentown come out on top. PITTSBURGH- Miners first round pick Bill Traylor, a 20 year old taken 15th overall out of Coastal State, started at Class B but after 3 solid outings was bumped up to Class A Gary where he did not look out of place. He was 7-6, 4.04 between the two stops. ST LOUIS- 21 year old former Boston State catcher Tucker Ness spent most of his first pro season at AAA Oakland. The Pioneers have had great success finding catchers and while this was clearly an adjustment period, Ness did not look completely out of place in AAA, batting .200 in 38 games while also throwing out 47% of would be base stealers. Much of the attention in Oakland was focused on the Pioneers top two prospects in pitchers Mel Bianco (6th overall according to OSA) and Carl Roe (21st). Bianco, a 23 year old lefthander who played his college ball at Maryland State and was the 10th overall pick in 1939, started the season in Class B but worked his way all the way up to Oakland, for whom he went 3-2 with a 4.83 era in 5 starts. OSA sees him as perhaps a future ace and there is likely a good chance he will see time in St Louis next year. 25 year old Carl Roe, the Pioneers first round selection in 1936, had some time with the big club in 1939 but spent all of this season in Oakland, posting a 17-14 record with a 3.77 era. It is a bit of a surprise, given all the Pioneers problems with pitchers this season, that Roe did not make it to St Louis at all. TORONTO- No Toronto affiliate finished with a record of .500 or better this season but that does not mean the Wolves do not have some very good prospects in the minors. Heading the list is outfielder Hank Giordano, a 19 year old selected 13th overall in 1939. Giordano spent much of the season at AAA Buffalo, hitting .292 with 5 homeruns. 1940 first round John Graves, a 21 year old centerfielder out of Detroit City College, had a bit of an adjustment to pro ball, batting .237 but did smack 3 homers for Class B Vancouver. Second rounder Tommy Anderson, a 21 year old righthander out of Chesapeake State, went 4-5, 3.34 for Class C Tuscaloosa. WASHINGTON- Each of the Eagles three highest affiliates finished in last place this season. The club was without a first round pick due to a trade and their second round pick, catcher Johnny Thacker, elected to attend a military college rather than start a pro career so the Eagles top pick was 3rd rounder John Dickerson, a 21 year old outfielder out of Eastern State. Dickerson had a nice start at Class A Trenton and even spent some time in AA after signing in June. The 120th ranked prospect on OSA's list ended up playing in 55 games between the two levels and fared quiet well, batting .279 with 8 stolen bases. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/22/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
|
01-20-2022, 01:32 PM
|
#336 |
|
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,772
|
1940 Season comes to an end
SEPTEMBER 30, 1940 WHAT A FINISH! The Continental Association race promised to be a special one and it did not disappoint as Toronto and Chicago entered the final week tied for first place with the surprising Cincinnati Cannons just a game behind. The Cannons bowed out of the race early, dropping five of six games to the Wolves over the final 9 days of the season but they did not go quietly as four of the Toronto wins required extra innings and the fifth, the one that would ultimately seal the pennant and end a 29 year drought, was decided by a single run. Entering the final weekend the Toronto lead on Chicago was a single game as the Wolves hosted Cincinnati in 3 to end the year while the Cougars would finish with a home game against Brooklyn on the Friday followed by 2 games in New York against the Stars. Cincinnati was still in the race at the time, but just barely as the Cannons trailed Toronto by 3 games. That deficit would be down to two and both Toronto and Chicago would be tied for top spot after the Cannons beat Toronto for the first time in 4 games, claiming a 10-7 victory on Friday. At the same time the Cougars pulled into a first place tie thanks to a dramatic 5-4 walk-off win over the Kings. It was literally a walk-off win as Brooklyn's Stumpy Beaman issued a bases loaded free pace to Orlin Yates to plate the winning run. With two games to play the Wolves and Cougars were tied for first place and it remained that way after both won on Saturday. More drama for Chicago as the Cougars took a 3-0 lead in the first inning over the New York Stars but did not score again until the top of the 14th when Aart MacDonald was the hero with an rbi single to give the Cougars a 4-3 victory. Pete Papenfus (8-10, 3.40) has had his ups and downs but on this day the 22 year old brought his A game as he went 11 and 2/3 innings while allowing just 3 runs (2 earned). Papenfus also fanned 6 which allowed him to overtake Cincinnati's Deuce Barrell for the Continental Association lead in that category. The two clubs remained tied for top spot as the Toronto Wolves outlasted Cincinnati in a game that also need extra innings. It looked like Cincinnati had the win when Moxie Pidgeon hit his 21st homer of the season, a solo shot in the top of the 12th, to put the Cannons up 5-4 but Walt Pack's 2-run single when the Wolves were down to their final strike proved the difference in a 6-5 Toronto win. So we went to the final day of the season with Toronto and Chicago tied and the possibility of just the 4th tie-breaker playoff being needed in FABL history. It was not to be as the Cougars came up short in New York, watching with despair as the Stars put up 8 runs in the 7th inning to blow open a tight game and hand Chicago an 11-5 defeat. The Cougars were still alive as word filtered in from Toronto that Cincinnati had tied their contest at 4 in the top of the 8th inning. That flicker of hope in the visitors clubhouse in New York was quickly extinguished when the telegram gave word the Wolves had plated 3 in the bottom of the 8th and although Cincinnati gamely scored twice in the top of the ninth to pull within a run but with runners on the corners and two out Toronto reliever Lou Jayson, who had blown the save the previous inning, got the ground ball he needed to end not only the game but also the Cougars faint hopes for the need to play on Monday and 29 years of pennant frustration for the Wolves. FEDERAL ASSOCIATION - NO STOPPING PITTSBURGH The Detroit Dynamos did everything they possibly could over the final week in sweeping the New York Gothams but the Dynamos, with off-days Monday thru Thursday, could only watch in frustration as the Pittsburgh Miners won game after game, 6 in all, to end the season with their second consecutive pennant and third in four years. For Detroit, a team clearly on the rise, it is yet another year of being the bridesmaid and not the bride as the Dynamos finish in the runner-up slot for the third year in a row. FINAL 1940 STANDINGS AND LEAGE LEADERS   Except when a wonder team like the mid-twenties Stars comes along, it is sheer guesswork to favor either WCS club. Superior pitching, as a rule, is a good bet. Still it doesn't always come through, either, case in point Lefty Allen and the Pittsburgh Miners took one on the chin from the surprising Stars about this time a year ago. Hurling form is often uncertain, even with the best of moundsmen. Heavy clouting outfits have been held in check where they expected to shatter series pitching, as Brooklyn fans know all too well from the Kings experience with the Chicago Chiefs in 1936. Pennant season form is frequently askew in a World Championship Series due to the nervous strain imposed on the players. Look no further than Doug Lightbody's disastrous ordeal that was the 1927 Series against the Philadelphia Keystones when the Continental Association MVP that season suddenly forgot how to hit and went 1-for-17 that October. Perhaps that is why the so-called 'goats' of the Fall classic are usually players of glittering reputations. Because of their reputation they feel an extra responsibility of living up to it. By the same token lesser lights, with everything to gain and nothing to lose, should better be able to give their best. There have been many examples through the years of lesser lights rising to the occasion. Just last year Johnny Hopper had 9 hits in 4 games to help the Stars sweep heavily favoured Pittsburgh or John Langille who almost single-handedly carried Brooklyn to the 1937 crown thanks to a 4-rbi showing in the deciding contest and hits in each of the 5 games as Pittsburgh was once again the victim of a borough club. Or going further back few expected Glenn Morrison to be the offensive force for the Washington Eagles in 1923. But there was Mr. Morrison, a 23 year old with less than 100 big league games under his belt at the time, going hit for hit with legendary teammate T.R. Goins as together they buried the Kings in 5 games. Morrison had 9 hits in the 5 games, including 4 for extra-bases and drove in 9 runs to lead the Eagles and was rewarded with the Series MVP that year. Morrison would go on to have a few decent seasons as an everyday infielder for Washington but was out of the big leagues at age 28 and never did ever recapture the glory he gained over that one special week in October. The bottom line is the Series outcome can be extremely difficult to predict. Sometimes great players will rise to the occasion, but other times someone you might least expect would be the one to claim the glory. Perhaps the best course of action upon contemplating a World Championship Series outcome is to have no preconceived notion of what is likely to happen. That way you won't be disappointed.  WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREDICTIONS Despite the advice of the Brooklyn Eagle's Ed Hughes, you can't stop newspapermen across the country from taking a stab at correctly predicting the winner of the World Championship Series. Last year very few successfully predicted a sweep for the New York Stars over the Pittsburgh Miners but history would tell you the Miners, despite looking to have a much better lineup a year ago, seemed destined to tumble quicker than oak leaves on a windy fall day once the calendar shifted to October. The Miners, you see, have an 8 game losing skid going in the WCS, stretching back to Game two of the 1938 classic, and as far as Series go, Pittsburgh has dropped 4 in a row and their only series victory in 8 tries came in 1901 when they topped Cleveland. Toronto, on the other hand, is 2-2 in WCS play including a win over the Miners but that was way back in 1898 when the club wa known not as the Wolves but rather the Toronto Provincials. All the talk of Toronto WCS play is ancient history as the club had not won a pennant since 1911, of course that all changed yesterday and the slate is wiped clean. Who will prevail? Here is what the so-called experts say: WILLIAM 'DOC' SHAW: BOSTON GLOBE - Pittsburgh murdered right handed starters this season. Toronto is very balanced against either handed arm as well as home and away. They had a winning record against lefties but it wasn't as good as it was against right handers. I think Pittsburgh's lefty starters as well as their success against right handed pitchers gives them the edge. I'll take Miners in 6. ARCHIE IRWIN: CHICAGO DAILY NEWS - I want to pick the Wolves, but I think it will be Miners in 6. Eventually they'll have to win one. PERCY SUTHERLAND: CHICAGO HERALD EXAMINER - It should be a close, tightly contested series. Pittsburgh in 7. ERNIE HERR: CINCINNATI POST - I think it has the potential to be a great Series. Two outstanding pitching staffs but also plenty of offense on both sides. Lefty Allen came back strong last week after I was very worried his arm was close to falling off. When you throw as many innings as he does there is always the potential to run out of gas down the stretch and that certainly happened to him last October. I like Toronto's pitching about as much as Pittsburgh's so I am going to call that a wash, or big advantage Toronto if Allen is worn out. Fred McCormick may well be the best active player to never appear in a WCS. That changes this year and McCormick shows why he is so talented. It will be tight but Toronto wins in 6 hard fought games. FREDDIE FARHAT: DETROIT WORLD - If I did my numbers right this is Pittsburgh’s 9th World Series. Currently they have gone 1-7 in the previous World Series matchups. They are on an 8 game World Series losing streak. Before his last 2 starts Lefty Allen (who pitched on Sunday) was looking tired in September (he went 18IP with 5 runs in winning those 2 games). So what does that add up to for Fast Freddie? A couple of things. 1.) The Miners will stop the consecutive games losing streak. 2.) Lefty Allen will likely only get 2 starts instead of 3. 3.) The Miners track record in the series suggests Toronto wins. 4.) I was burned badly by my "Miners in 4 or 5" prediction last year. So that adds to to Toronto wins in 6 MONTREAL STAR: Toronto to win in 6 games. JOHN BRINKER: NEW YORK DAILY MIRROR - This is a tough one to predict. I think Pittsburgh is more talented overall (particularly offensively), but the Wolves have been very clutch of late and had a tougher road to the pennant. Largely on the basis of being the more "tempered" team due to fighting off both the Cougars & Cannons, I would predict the Wolves in... six games. NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE - Toronto in 6. They have so much talent. Sorry Pittsburgh, the drought continues. JOHNNY BOLOGNA: PHILADELPHIA INQUISITOR - While both teams have explosive offenses, Toronto has a bit more pitching. Toronto also has home field advantage. Johnny Bologna thinks Fred McCormick opens his Series account with an MVP Award. Wolves in 6. DENTON FOX: PITTSBURGH PRESS - Miners will win in 7 TORONTO MAIL & EMPIRE - Toronto in 6. BOB STEWART: WASHINGTON TIMES HERALD - Wolves in 5. It should be noted that Stewart was one of the few who correctly called the Stars victory a year ago.  With cautious optimism, I predict that Washington will, for the first time of their current management team, finish with a record above .500. Overall, the trend will be younger players taking a step up, while veteran bats like Brown, Miller, and Elder will return to their previous forms. With that said, the line-up on the field will probably look something like this in '41. 1B - HARRY SHUMATE/SIG STOFER/BILL DOWNS No position is as much in doubt for the Eagles as first base, with three credible candidates contesting the position. Each of the three offers something different pros and cons, and it isn't inconceivable that those not picked will carve out good careers elsewhere in the league once a choice is made. 2B - Karl O'Reilly One of the few returning players from 39 to fulfill all expectations, Karl O'Reilly is the epitome of a pure contact hitter, posting a .316 AVG while only striking out 23 times this season. And though his defense is cause for concern, the 25 year old will have time to work on his glove in Washington. SS - Jack Bush/Offseason Trade Acquisition One might question the wisdom of starting the league's worst hitter on a regular basis, especially when he's shown little signs of improvement over the last season, but, for now, there is not a shortstop that can combine even an average glove with a good bat in the Washington system. 3B - Leon Blackridge/Bill Downs Whether this position goes to Blackridge or Downs is entirely on the back of the former's bat. Washington would much prefer the slick fielding Blackridge over the stone gloved Down, but it cannot accept the mediocre bat he provided in 1939. LF - Sam Brown Please, God almighty, let this be a 1 year slump. Brown went from .303,18,85 in 1939 to .282,11,62 this season with a similar drop in his slash line of .303/.359/.450 in '39 to .282/.321/.386 this time around. CF - Dilly Ward Though he started the season as a bench OF for another club, the Warden has made his mark in Washington. The 26 year old journeyman is an elite defensive outfielder capable of maturing into one of the league's best hitters, should he stay healthy. RF - Don Miller It's hard to believe that the Don is only 26, but with his ability to hit, throw, and steal, he should be able to hold a lock over an outfield position for another half decade. GOTHAMS SET TO BRING FORMER TOP PROSPECT PETRICK HOME While it can not be officially confirmed until after the World Championship Series has concluded TWIFB has learned the New York Gothams have made a deal they hope will help address their desperate need for pitching. The move will bring Rusty Petrick back to the Big Apple club as the Cincinnati Cannons will part with the 24 year old righthander in exchange for the Gothams first selection, fourth overall in the January portion of the 1941 FABL draft. New York had pretty good success with Gus Goulding (13-16, 3.63), who was acquired from the Cannons last winter in a package that also included New York's first round from last season. The Gothams hope Petrick will enjoy similar results once he arrives in New York. As an 18 year old Petrick was originally selected by the Gothams 10th overall in the 1933 draft. He never actually pitched in the New York system as the following spring he was sent as part of a package in the huge trade that brought Rabbit Day to New York and eventually led to a WCS win for the Gothams in 1935. Petrick, who threw a no-hitter against the Gothams Class C club shortly after that 1934 deal, has had mixed results to date in his big league career posting a 33-56 record with what was clearly a very bad Cannons club for a number of seasons. This year he was 6-7 with a 4.81 era in 19 appearances with Cincinnati. The Cannons have a logjam of pitchers with youngsters Vic Carroll and Jim Anderson already arrived at the big league level and last season's #2 overall draft pick Bill Sohl not far away from joining them. Speaking off the record since the trade cannot be made official yet, a high ranking Cannons official admitted they hated to part with Petrick but felt they had little choice. "The kid has been nothing but positive throughout his tenure with the Cannons, no matter how bleak things were at times," observed the official. "We don't want to lose him just as he appears to be ready to hit his prime but we have a real roster crunch on the mound, which is obviously a good problem to have....but Rusty had some trade value and this gives us the opportunity to perhaps add another talented young offensive piece in the draft." NEWEST GOTHAM RUSTY PETRICK  PENNANT FACTS Courtesy of Johnny Bologna of the Philadelphia Inquisitor
QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/29/1940
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2022, 12:15 PM
|
#337 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
1940 WCS Games 1 and 2
OCTOBER 4, 1940 MINERS END OCTOBER DROUGHT, EARN SPLIT IN TORONTO The Pittsburgh Miners put to bed their 8 game World Championship Series losing streak by taking the opener of this year's classic by a 3-2 score over Toronto. The Wolves did come back with a 5-2 victory over Lefty Allen the next day to even the series, which now shifts to the Steel City for the next 3 contests. GAME 1: PITTSBURGH 3 TORONTO 2 A big sign of relief out of Miners fans upon hearing news that their club snapped an 8-game postseason losing streak that stretches back to game two of the 1937 WCS when after winning the opener, Pittsburgh proceeded to drop 4 straight to the Brooklyn Kings. The stretch of futility continued last year when the Miners were swept by the New York Stars. That could finally be forgotten and the Miners could take a breath and celebrate a Series victory that seemed long overdue. Karl Johnson, winner of 15 regular season games, was the hero of the day by tossing a very impressive complete game 8-hitter in which he kept the Wolves off the scoresheet until the final inning. The Miners took an early lead, plating a run in the first on a Mahlon Strong sacrifice fly to score Joe Owens. Toronto starter Joe Hancock giftwrapped a run for the visitors in the second inning when he uncorked a wild pitch with two out and his opposing number Johnson at the dish. The errant toss allowed Jack Cleaves, who had doubled earlier in the inning to trot home with the game's second run. For good measure, and as it would end up necessarily so, the Miners picked up another run in the fourth inning when Johnny Guzzo tripled in Cleaves to make it 3-0. The damage for Toronto could have been worse but Pablo Reyes, who had singled before Cleaves came to the plate, was thrown out trying to go from first to third on Cleaves hit. Toronto had a few chances against Johnson but failed to score. In the bottom of the third the Wolves got back to back singles from Levi Redding and Fred McCormick with two out but Walt Pack grounded out to end the threat. The Wolves had one base runner most innings but each time Johnson would bear down and get out of the inning. That changed in the ninth when Larry Vestal led off with a single and moved to third on a pinch-hit double off the bat of Hal Wood. Pittsburgh manager Dan Andrew decided to stick with Johnson, who induced a groundout from Charlie Artuso but it did score Vestal with the first Toronto run. That brought Clarence Howerton to the plate. Howerton has had pretty good success through the years against Johnson (he is 10-for-37) and he delivered this time with a rbi single to score Wood and cut the Pittsburgh lead to 3-2. Andrew showed faith in his veteran lefthander, either that or a lack of confidence in his bullpen, as he remained stoic in the dugout and left Johnson on the mound. Andrew was rewarded as Johnson retired the final two batters without incident and the Miners had drawn first blood in the series.  GAME 2: TORONTO 5 PITTSBURGH 2 The Wolves evened the Series with a 5-2 victory thanks to a 2-run single in the bottom of the seventh from pinch-hitter Hal Wood. That snapped a 2-2 tie and allowed the Wolves to head out on the road with a split of the two games at Dominion Field. It also perhaps freshly watered the seeds of doubt that must still exist in the minds of Miners fans, if not the players themselves. Pittsburgh has a rich history of Federal Association pennants, 9 of them in all counting this season which is tops in the Fed and ties them with the New York Stars and Chicago Cougars for the most World Championship Series appearances. Unfortunately for the organization the Miners have won only once in their previous 8 title series. That victory came way back in 1901 and the club has been to 4 since, losing each of them. Little of that would normally matter to Miners players, none of whom were alive when the club last celebrated a Series title, except for the fact that the last two defeats - in 1937 and again last season - hit a little closer to home and most of the current group was around for each of those failures. So one has to wonder when ace Lefty Allen failed to get the second victory on the road, which would have put a hammerlock on the series for Pittsburgh, how that might play in the minds of the Miners. Certainly Allen has to be wondering what is wrong as he is 93-51 against Federal Association opponents the past four seasons but 1-4 with a 5.02 era in WCS play during that time. Allen now has a personal 4 game losing streak going against Continental clubs. The early story in the series is Johnson and Johnson. Pittsburgh Karl took control of game one while in the second game it was the Wolves Bernie Johnson (no relation to Karl) who carried the mail on the mound. Bernie went the distance, scattering 9 hits to earn the victory in his first career post-season appearance. Toronto got to Allen early when Levi Redding singled with one out in the first, moved to third on a Fred McCormick single and scored on a Walt Pack ground out. Later in the inning Tom Frederick would drive in McCormick to make it 2-0. It would stay that way until the 7th when the Miners evened the game thanks to a pair of doubles off the bats of Wally Flowers and Pablo Reyes and an rbi single from Pittsburgh pitcher Allen. It did not stay tied for long as the Wolves took the lead for good in the bottom of the 7th thanks to Wood's second pinch-hit of the series which scored Charlie Artuso and Clarence Howerton. Artuso would drive in Larry Vestal with an rbi single in the 8th to add an insurance run and complete the scoring in the 5-2 Toronto victory.  ARE THE MINERS PLAYING WITH FIRE USING LEFTY ALLEN SO MUCH? No pitcher has been busier than Pittsburgh's Lefty Allen has over the past four seasons as he has averaged over 337 innings of work per year during that time, not counting WCS games. Allen led FABL in starts with 40 this season and in innings pitched with 329.2. He has led the Federal Association in each of those categories three out of the past four years. Could that be why he has struggled in WCS play? Is Allen burned out? Looking at his September/October regular season performance the past four years one would argue against 'burnout'. Code:
LEFTY ALLEN SEPT-OCT W-L ERA 1937 7-2 3.14 1938 3-4 4.06 1939 7-1 1.54 1940 3-4 4.94  The press box talk during Allen's 4th straight Series loss naturally centered around overwork and the Miners habit of going with a 4-man rotation all season. Here is some of that conversation: JOHN BRINKER (NY Mirror): I just wonder if Lefty could post a Rabbit Day circa '36-type season if he made, say, 37 starts instead of 40+. "Would that 23-13 turn into something like 25-7 and that ERA drop into the mid 2s? I think it's possible." JIGGS MCGEE (TWIFB): With 3 pennants in 4 years it is hard to question Miners usage of Lefty but the risk of a greatly shortened career is there. On one hand I like that he pitches so much as it would be great to see him win over 300 games but on the other I would not want to see it harm his career. PERCY SUTHERLAND (Chicago Herald-Examiner): The interesting question is: does he have a better chance of winning 300 by pitching less? BRINKER: I think the answer might be yes. Looking at Rabbit Day, his usage was somewhat similar to Lefty's when he was on the Cannons (slightly less but three straight 300+ IP seasons). Both his win percentage and ERA improved when he left and was used in a more 5-man type rotation. To me, Rabbit's 36 season when he went 25-3 with 2 saves, a 2.41 ERA pitching 276.1 IP with 41 appearance but "only" 31 starts is the epitome of what this era's ideal pitcher looks like. MCGEE: I wonder if Tom Barrell is an example of what could happen to Allen. Brooklyn used Barrell for an average of about 308 innings a year during his 3 Allan Award winning seasons at age 26-28. The Kings were using a 4-man rotation for much of that but most other guys I subbed around a bit so he was the only one pitching that much. Interesting to note is they did not win a pennant in the first two seasons of his big numbers but did win in the two years after his starts were reduced and they went to a 5 man rotation. A big reason for the switch to the 5-man was Tom started getting hurt and the injuries, while not every season, have been pretty severe when they hit. He has also not been all that effective since 1937 so I wonder if the overuse in 34-36 is a contributing factor to the injuries and subpar play since then. SUTHERLAND: I think Barrell is a perfect example, as well as cautionary tale. Jiggs mentioned that the Chiefs have had success with pitcher who are veteran castoffs. There is a reason for that, I think (the fact they spread the starts out so much to keep everyone fresh.) The Chiefs typically go into a season with starters 1 through 6, and with 7-day lineups, any given sim week could see a 4, 5, or 6 man rotation depending on doubleheaders, off days, matchups, etc. BRINKER: I guess the question that needs to be asked if you're Boston or Pittsburgh is if you're better off with a 4-man with each guy being slightly worse, performance-wise and/or having a higher risk of injury than you would be spot-starting a lesser guy as a 5th starter? With how competitive the league is...as evidenced by the deep pennant races in both associations this season, I can see why guys would ride their horses so hard. But long-term it looks like it's likely a bad move. Is 85-90% of Lefty Allen better than 100% of someone else? It might be, but then again, it might not. And just think of how ridiculous he could be if his usage was trimmed back by 3 to 5 starts. And there's always the war. If Lefty gets through '41 without burning out, then goes away for three seasons, it'll have been worth it, I would think. He could come back in '46 and stink for all we know. SUTHERLAND: Just scanning Lefty's game log, you notice a trend. Game scores in the 90s, 80s, 70s are prevalent, and then they are not. 71 on August 29th, 79 just 3 days later and then that's it. No more 70s. BRINKER: (nodding) Yes, his performance certainly dropped off by a fairly noticeable margin down the stretch (with a few outliers). DENTON FOX (Pittsburgh Press): When the Miners had long stretches with no off days, (Manager Dan) Andrew would move a 5th guy in there, Speed Brown or Gene Stevens, but they definitely use any off day as a reason to keep it at 4. But, the perceived drop off to that 5th guy in the Miners' rotation was pretty heavy. The Miners are certainly shopping for another steady starter (or maybe two) this offseason, I expect with all this in mind. QUICK HITS
The Week That Was Current events from 10/04/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
01-24-2022, 09:17 AM
|
#338 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
1940 WCS Games 3 & 4
OCTOBER 8, 1940 MINERS TRAPPED IN ANOTHER OCTOBER NIGHTMARE There is just something about October baseball that brings out the worst in the Pittsburgh Miners. A regular season powerhouse, the Miners have won 3 of the last four Federal Association pennants, compiling a 357-259 record over that time. However, they are now 2-11 in World Championship Series games during that span and in danger of losing the WCS for the 5th straight time since they last won one back in 1901. Pittsburgh is 1-7 all-time in WCS and one more victory for the Toronto Wolves this October will drop the Miners to 1-8 in post season series and 12-32 all-time in games. The Toronto Wolves are on the verge of their first World Championship since 1911 after ending a 29 year Continental Association pennant drought, what was the longest active streak by any FABL club to go without a pennant. The Wolves have been a bad team most of those 29 years and spent much of this decade near the bottom of the CA, but after a spirited run that fell just short two years ago the Wolves captured the heart, and the pocketbooks of Canadians, and finally won that elusive 5th franchise pennant. They also drew over one million fans for the first time in team history and clearly saved a franchise that six short years ago saw barely 200,000 paying customers and seemed on the verge of moving out of town. GAME THREE TORONTO 9 PITTSBURGH 1 Only Mother Nature could do what the Miners pitching was unable to - slow down the Toronto bats. A 30 minute rain stoppage in the ninth inning only delayed the inevitable as the Wolves scored 3 times in the first inning off of Pittsburgh starter Charlie Stedman and built a 7-0 lead through 4 innings in what quickly turned into a rout as the Miners dropped their 4th straight postseason game at Fitzpatrick Park. George Garrison was outstanding on the hill for Toronto, scattering 5 hits while fanning 5 and allowing just one run.  GAME FOUR TORONTO 6 PITTSBURGH 4 Once again Toronto took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning and although the Miners did battle to make it close, Wolves starter Joe Hancock and his mates proved once again to be too much for the struggling Pittsburgh side.  CAN LEFTY ALLEN PROLONG THE MINERS SEASON The Miners team has plenty of October demons to contend with and perhaps no player is feeling the pressure more than Lefty Allen. A regular season ace, the 26 year old may just win his second career Allan Award this season, but in the WCS there has been little to cheer about for Pittsburgh fans when Allen is on the hill. He won his WCS debut against Brooklyn in 1937 but since then has lost 4 straight starts including a 5-2 decision in Game Two to the Wolves. Allan's career WCS era is 5.02 and unless he improves upon that mark it almost assuredly will mean yet another Miners post-season failure.  AROUND THE LEAGUE Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. Since we are in a World Championship Series mood let's take a quick look at pennant and WCS history for each of the FABL teams, and maybe a quick word on their chances of adding to their title collection in the near future: BOSTON- The Minutemen were the class of the Federal Association at the turn of the century, winning a record 5 straight pennants starting in 1902 and a pair of WCS titles. Two more pennants and another Series win came in the early teens but that is it, nothing since 1915 in the way of hardware for the Minutemen. They have not finished higher than third place since then and for much of the modern era (human GM 1926-today) the Boston entry has been good, but never quite good enough bouncing around between 3rd and 6th most years. There is talent, and the Minutemen regularly make strong runs for much of the season only to fade in the stretch drive. With Pittsburgh still such a power plus the Dynamos and Keystones clearly on the rise a pennant in the next few years to end what is the Federal Association's longest current pennant-less drought at 25 years may be a tough streak to snap. Code:
LAST PENNANT WIN FEDERAL ASSOCIATION Pittsburgh 1940 Chiefs 1938 Gothams 1935 Keystones 1933 Detroit 1929 Washington 1925 St Louis 1921 Boston 1915 CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION Toronto 1940 Stars 1939 Brooklyn 1938 Cleveland 1935 Cougars 1933 Sailors 1930 Montreal 1921 Cincinnati 1914 CHIEFS- The Chiefs own the best record in the Federal Association over the course of the modern era and won 2 WCS titles in the past five seasons. They also won a pennant in 1928, 11 years after winning their first pennant and WCS title back in 1917. They made a run for much of this season but an August slump dropped them out of contention. They are getting a little older but still certainly capable of a first division finish, although without some upgrades a pennant might be a big ask considering the strength of the big three (Miners, Keystones and Dynamos) in the Fed. COUGARS- The Cougars are tied with the New York Stars and Pittsburgh Miners for the most WCS appearances with 9. The first four came before 1901 but they also won pennants in 1910, 1918 and 1922 before adding 2 more in the modern era thanks to a WCS win in 1931 and a pennant two years later. One of 9 teams over .500 in the human GM era, the modern Cougars started slow with two 7th place and two 8th place finishes in the first four seasons of modern baseball, but they have not finished that low since. Three straight 90+ win seasons to start the thirties before the Cougars had a bit of a downswing following their '33 pennant. Chicago is a team to be feared now, especially after finishing just a game off the pace in 1940. CINCINNATI- With Toronto finally getting a CA crown, the Cannons organization is now the one with the longest active pennant drought, last winning in 1914 when Powell Slocum was still in his prime and the club was known as the Baltimore Clippers. They did win 4 pennants and 3 WCS between 1907 and 1914 but there have been a lot of lean years since then. In 1930 & 1931 they had back to back second place finishes on a team led by Rabbit Day but since trading Day prior to the 1934 season the Cannons finished dead last in the CA 6 straight years. That finally ended with the winter move to Cincinnati and after a third place finish there is finally hope for the franchise again. CLEVELAND- A powerhouse in the middle of the decade after bold moves to add veterans Max Morris and T.R. Goins, the Foresters finally won their first ever WCS title in 1934 when they beat the Gothams in 7 games. They had a rematch the following season but came up short against New York that time. The club spent nearly the entire 1930s in the first division including a surprising second place finish in 1939 but the roof caved in last year when they finished with the worst record in FABL. Cleveland has won 5 pennants but just the one WCS title and judging by the roster mix at the moment it might be a few years before they can even be considered in contention for another crown. DETROIT- Detroit has won 7 Federal Association pennants and 5 World Championship Series titles with the most recent one coming in 1930. They spent close to a decade as serious contenders until everything fell apart in 1934 and then came the dismal 43-111 1935 campaign. A new GM entered the scene and after a couple of lean years the club was transformed thanks in no small part to the drafting of Sal Pestilli and Red Johnson. With three straight second place finishes you just know the Dynamos time will come, perhaps as early as next season. Only the Chiefs and Keystones have won more Federal Association games in the modern era than the Dynamos but Detroit has just one pennant during that time, compared to three for each of the other two squads. MONTREAL- 1915-21 was the glory years of the Saints, with all four of the franchises pennants and 2 WCS wins coming in that span. The modern era has not been kind to Montreal as the Saints are one of five teams to not win a pennant since the human-GM phase began, joining Boston, St Louis, Washington and Baltimore/Cincinnati. Montreal has been a second division club for 12 of the last 15 seasons and only had one year since 1926 they finished less than 10 games out of first. There are some quality building blocks but coming off a 7th place finish, and five straight seasons of finishing either fifth or seventh it does not look like the Saints will be raising another pennant in the near future, although seeing turn arounds like Cincinnati, Toronto and the New York Stars enjoyed recently perhaps gives Quebeois fans some hope. NY STARS- While the 1939 WCS title came as a real surprise after a 6th place finish the previous season, the Stars have been a FABL power over the years. They are tied with the Chicago Cougars and Pittsburgh for the most WCS appearances with 9 and their 8 WCS wins are 3 more than any other team. They have had two distinct 'dynasty' phases, winning 4 pennants and 3 WCS titles in a 5 year span between 1902-1906 and then their record 3 straight WCS wins from 1924-26. For good measure they also added in a title in 1930. They slipped to fourth this year in a tight Continental Association race but there is no reason to not expect the Stars to be pennant contenders for the next few seasons. NY GOTHAMS- No FABL team has won more pennants than the 5 the Gothams claimed in the modern era but few teams have been worse than the Gothams the past five years. New York was a power in the very early days of FABL, winning 3 of the first 4 World Championship Series in FABL history. That was followed by a long drought that did not see the Gothams win again until the first season of the modern (human GM) era in 1926. Four more pennants would come over the next decade but only once did they prevail in the WCS, that was in 1935 as they won a rematch with Cleveland after losing to the Foresters in 7 games the previous year. They had also lost in 7 to the Sailors four years earlier. Since 1935 little seems to have gone according to plan for the Gothams and they appear to be no closer to winning a 9th pennant now then they were when they sold off most of the pieces that won a title the previous year following a slow start to the 1936 season. KEYSTONES- The Keystones won the very first Federal Association title back in 1892. There was no WCS that year (it started the following season) and Philadelphia fans had to wait 35 years for the Keystones to participate in one. That was in 1927 when Rankin Kellogg led the 'Stones to a Fed pennant, winning by the narrowest margins in needing a tiebreaker to defeat Detroit and then a week later celebrating their first WCS win. They would win 2 more pennants and the 1933 WCS while being quite competitive most seasons. Kellogg's sudden retirement in 1938 sent the club spiraling but it was a very short downturn as the Keystones made a spirited run at a pennant this season and the future looks very bright for their young club. SAILORS- Sailors fans still cherish the memories of 1928-30 when their heroes won 3 straight pennants and a pair of WCS titles. Before that it was a long drought as you had to go all the way back to 1897 for a pennant and their only other WCS win. The Sailors slipped to 5th this season - although only 8 games out of first - for the first time since 1932. They have been a very good club during the human GM era (1926-today) and as the image below shows the Sailors have been the winningest regular season team during that period as well. In addition to their three pennants the Sailors have had some very close calls as well, finishing just a game back twice including 1937 when they lost the only Continental Association playoff tiebreaker of the modern era. Never a team you can count out, the Sailors always seem to be competitive so it is quite conceivable they win another pennant in the next couple of seasons.  ST LOUIS- Surprisingly the Pioneers only own 2 Federal Association pennants and one WCS title. They came in 1920 & 1921 - the first two season of the Max Morris era in St Louis. For the most part the Pioneers have been pretty competitive in the modern era although there was a down period from 1928-31 when they finished 7th or 8th for four consecutive seasons. A management change around that time got the team on track and they spent 7 straight seasons in the first division including a pair of second place finishes and were in some good pennant races. That all changed this season as the club collapsed with little going as planned. Injuries played a big role, especially to the pitching staff but there also should be concern about the lack of offensive production. If the pitching can bounce back they may get back into the first division next season but a pennant seems a long, long ways away right now. TORONTO- No more chants of 1911. The Wolves put an end to the longest active pennant drought last week with their 5th Continental Association crown but first in 29 years. They won the WCS in 1911 (and also in 1898) and are looking for their third one right now against Pittsburgh. There were a lot of lean years - nearly three decades worth - and the franchise probably came closer to moving out of Toronto then they care to admit but fan support is back, winning is back and the Wolves should be contending for at least the next few seasons which hopefully will allow them to improve upon what is currently the worst record of the modern era at 1050-1260 since 1926. WASHINGTON- It may be hard to believe but the Eagles were once a dominant team. 7 pennants and 2 WCS titles highlight their history and from 1921-26 they were a Federal Association power led by T.R. Goins. The 1930's were not kind to the Eagles as they never escaped the second division and after back to back 69-85 seasons in '39 and '40 the future, at least in the short term, still does not look all that bright in Washington. The Eagles are paying the price for a lot of questionable drafting and trades over the past decade and a half. No team in the Fed has been worse than Washington since the human GM era began, and at 1061-1249 they are 70 wins behind the 7th place Gothams in that regard. 1941 DRAFT PREVIEW: TWIFB PROVIDES A MOCK FIRST ROUND Based on the latest reports from the OSA scouting service here is a mock first round for the upcoming January draft. The list below primarily factors in the quality of assessment on the OSA report but also to small degree looks at team need and past trends in drafting history. Note - it is very important to keep in mind TWIFB is working with an incomplete list as there will be additions made as the remaining 59 prospects are added to the pool in the new year so while this is a fun exercise, it will almost assuredly turn out to not be an especially accurate representation of the actual first round. There is no change at the top of the list and likely none expected to be as New York High School righthander Hiram Steinberg remains to be the odds on favourite to be selected first overall by the Cleveland Foresters. Code:
1941 MOCK FIRST ROUND DRAFT # TEAM PLAYER POS SCHOOL 1 Cleveland HIRAM STEINBERG RHP Washington High School, New York City 2 St Louis TOM BUCHANAN LHP Waterloo (IA) High School 3 Montreal GORDIE PERKINS SS Trumbauersville (PA) High School 4 Cin(fromNYG) MEL FRANKLIN C Moberly (MO) High School 5 Brooklyn OTTO CHRISTIAN 3B Walla Walla (WA) High School 6 Washington FRED LONEY SS Totowa (NJ) High School 7 Sailors GENE MADISON RHP Sacred Heart HS, San Francisco, CA 8 Boston HAL RENARD OF Pittsfield (ME) High School 9 Stars BERT CUPID RHP Wilson HS, Youngstown, OH 10 Mon(fromCHI) HANK EASON OF Huntington State 11 Cincinnati LORENZO SAMUELS 1B West HS, Cleveland, OH 12 Keystones GIG TAYLOR OF Roosevelt HS, Washington DC 13 Cougars FORD WOOD 2B Wenona (IL) High School 14 Detroit BOB MONTGOMERY SS Snyder (TX) High School 15 Toronto JESSE ALVARDO OF Canarsie HS, Brooklyn NY 16 Pittsburgh MAURICE CARTER 1B Meridian (MS) High School The Week That Was Current events from 10/05/1940 thru 10/07/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports |
|
|
|
|
01-24-2022, 06:06 PM
|
#339 |
|
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 9,772
|
Cleveland Foresters looking for a General Manager
 FORESTERS SEEKING NEW GENERAL MANAGER A few weeks back I posted that we had an opening as the Cleveland Foresters General Manager had to step down for personal reasons. Someone quickly asked for the job but after one or two exports they simply vanished, ghosting the league. (Why someone can't simply send a message saying "I tried it but stats-only is not for me" is beyond me, especially when this person in question claimed to run an online league of their own. I get it. Some leagues are not a right fit for whatever reason but how hard is it to simply say that instead of leaving everyone guessing.) Anyway, on to much better things as the positive is the new GM was here such a short time his inactivity did nothing to hurt the franchise. The Foresters have had 4 GM's since the Human-GM era began 15 seasons ago. The first spent a decade on the shores of Lake Erie and the Cleveland portion of his career culminated with a World Championship Series win (the first in franchise history going back to 1892) followed by a pennant the next season. He then moved on to Detroit, which was the worst team in the league at the time and over the past 5 seasons has turned the Dynamos into a contender. The second Cleveland GM spent 3 seasons at the helm and while he did not win a pennant, he did guide them to a first division finish each of those seasons. He left Cleveland to take a job with the New York Stars and in his first season in the Big Apple took the Stars to a WCS title after finishing 6th the year before he arrived there. GM #3 in Cleveland took the team to a second place finish a year ago (1939) but had to step down part way through this season which takes us to where we are now. So Cleveland is a club that has been well cared for over the years. There is still a lot of talent in Cleveland including 28 year old 3B Mel Carrol - the last player to hit .400 in a season - and 29 year old George Dawson who, while he may have lost a step is still one of the best shortstops in the game. There are a couple of very good veteran arms led by Dean Astle (career 121-96) who is now 31 and might be a terrific trade chip to jumpstart the franchise. Cleveland fell on hard times this past season, falling from second place in the Continental Association to the worst record in the game but the consolation prize for that is quite possibly a very special one as the Foresters will own the number one pick in the draft - which should began just a couple of weeks from now. That #1 pick is widely expected to be Hiram Steinberg, who just celebrated his 18th birthday. Nicknamed "The Undertaker" the New York City high schooler has won 3 straight Adwell Awards (yes we have high school and college player of the year awards and All-American teams) and when his senior year is completed he will own just about every prep pitching record available. Steinberg appears to be a can't miss ace - a future award winner. Of course this is a stats-only league and players can and do fail to live up to expectations which makes our draft probably the most fun out of any online league. In stats-only 10th round picks can and do become superstars and every draft pick means something. That is one of the things that makes Figment Baseball unique. We are stats-only, so no visible ratings. Instead GMs must rely on in-game written scouting reports, their intuition and statistical performance on the field to assess their talent. We have full minor league levels, some nice wrinkles to make the draft interesting including a regional round, independent teams you can acquire talent from, a Japanese League, a league newspaper (you are reading it now) and best of all a deeply involved commissioner who does not run a team but rather oversees the league and gives us some incredible storylines to deal with. These primarily involve different family connections such as the much talked about Barrell Brothers but the GMs are about to get hit with a huge challenge. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the entrance of the US into WWII is not far away and we have been warned that, just like real life, a good percentage of big leaguers and an awful lot of minor leaguers will be joining the war effort. Because the commissioner does not run a team there will be no accusations of bias, and he has promised it will be a random method to determine which of our favourite players might leave us for 1-3 years. We have a group of 15 really good people running our clubs. The slack channel is very active and while not everyone posts there regularly those that want to are always able to participate and learn from some great discussion about our league. I might be the one who compiles this league 'newspaper' but it is truly a group effort as much of the content comes from those slack discussions. If a new GM wants to contribute he certainly can but there is no pressure to do so. All we ask is you make an honest effort to run your team and if you need help, just ask, as our GM's (the majority of whom have been around for the entire 15 seasons) are more than willing to pass on some tips or advice. Stats-only can be a challenge getting up to speed but there is plenty of help doing so and the payoff, in my opinion, is for a much more enjoyable experience than any league with visible ratings can provide. Judging by the view count it seems a far number of people outside our league are following this thread. So why not consider being a part of it? If you have never played in an online league and prefer solo projects and reading dynasty reports you are likely a perfect candidate for this league. I was a long-time dynasty writer who never really enjoyed online play but the rich history of the baseball world our commissioner Legendsport had created drew me in. Discovering just how much fun stats-only is added to the enjoyment immensely. If you are straddling the fence on online play, consider jumping over and joining us. We have been fortunate to not have very many open teams (average I believe is well under 1 a year) so here is your opportunity to join in and be a part of all of the fun you have been reading about. PM myself or the commissioner Legendsport for details. 
__________________
Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles |
|
|
|
|
01-25-2022, 02:04 PM
|
#340 |
|
All Star Reserve
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 677
|
1940 WCS winners crowned
OCTOBER 10, 1940 OH CANADA! WOLVES WIN SERIES Champs of the baseball world are the Toronto Wolves as they downed the Federal Association pennant winning Pittsburgh Miners in convincing fashion, claiming both Game Five and the Series by identical 4-1 margins. With three WCS losses in the past 4 years there likely will be a tendency to make this all about how the Pittsburgh Miners failed once again in an October pressure situation - for the 8th time in 9 appearances in baseball's ultimate series. However, that would do an injustice to a Toronto squad ripe with talent, much of it still quite young, throughout it's roster. As much as one might be tempted to say Pittsburgh lost another WCS, the story should be how the combination of pitching and Fred McCormick, perhaps the most talented hitter in the game, willed the Wolves to the World Title. McCormick, who hit .500 in the series and was justly rewarded with his first post-season MVP award to go along with the two Whitney Awards he claimed over the past couple summers spent on the shores of Lake Ontario, was once again key to the victory. Toronto, as it did in all four of it's victories, struck quickly with a pair of runs in the opening frame when McCormick, with lead-off man Juan Pomales on base, took Pittsburgh starter and regular season ace Lefty Allen deep for a 2-run homer. In their 4 wins Toronto outscored the Miners 10-0 in the opening inning and as it turned out on this day McCormick's homerun was all the offense Wolves starting pitcher Bernie Johnson would need. However, McCormick would drive in his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly to score Pomales and make it 3-0 in the third inning. Johnson, who topped Allen 5-2 in Game Two, was at his best on this day, scattering just 4 hits and allowing one run, unearned, in going the distance. A case could easily have been made that Johnson was the one deserving of the MVP bauble after the 30 year old tossed a pair of complete game victories, beating Allen both times. Johnson sat down the first 10 Miners batters in order before Pablo Reyes singled. It got dicey for a moment as George Cleaves followed and worked Johnson for his only free pass of the day but the veteran Toronto lefthander struck out Mahlon Strong and induced a fly ball from Ed Stewart to keep the Toronto lead at 3-0. Pittsburgh also had an opportunity in the bottom of the fifth when Jack Cleaves hit a lead-off double and moved to third on a one-out ground out by Wally Flowers. Pittsburgh manager Dan Andrew elected to leave Lefty Allen in the game at this point, rather than lift him for a pinch-hitter and Allen popped out to Toronto shortstop Charlie Artuso to end the inning with Pittsburgh once again unable to get on the scoresheet. Pittsburgh finally scored a run in the 6th inning as dropped fly ball by Larry Vestal allowed Joe Owens to reach base as the lead-off man. He advances to second on a Pablo Reyes single and then scored thanks to back to back deep fly ball outs including Mahlon Strong's run scoring sac fly. That run cut the Pittsburgh deficit to 3-1 but it only served to make Johnson more determined on the Toronto mound as he retired the next 8 Miners in order. Mahlon Strong ended that streak with a one out single in the bottom of the ninth but he was still standing on first base when pinch-hitter Whit Williams popped out to Toronto second sacker Tom Frederick to end the series and a Toronto title drought that had last 29 years.  JIGGS MCGEE'S WCS THOUGHTS
 CHICAGO HERALD-EXAMINER HANDS OUT DEFENSIVE AWARDS While FABL itself does not recognize defensive achievements Percy Sutherland of the Chicago Herald-Examiner has been a long time proponent of the importance of quality glovework. Sutherland often identifies players he feels excel with the leather and this season convinced his employer to officially sponsor an award for the top defenders at each position. As a result we have the first of what may become an annual presentation of the all defense team. Code:
CHICAGO HERALD EXAMINER PREMIER DEFENDER AWARD WINNERS POS WINNER HONORABLE MENTION C - John Wicklund (DET) (Honorable mention: Pete Casstevens (NYG), Woody Stone (NYS)) 1B - Ron Rattigan (CHI) (Honorable mention: Ray Ford (CHC), Bob Donoghue (BOS)) 2B - Clark Car (NYS) (Honorable mention: Charley McCullough (CIN), Walt Layton (BRK)) 3B - Tommy Wilson (STL) (Honorable mention: Hank Koblenz (PHI), Frank Vance (DET)) SS - Harry Barrell (BRK) (Honorable mention: Charlie Artuso (TOR), Rip Lee (PHS)) LF - Hub Parks (NYS) (Honorable mention: Bobby Barrell (PHI), Bert Lass(MON)) CF - Sal Pestilli (DET) (Honorable mention: Carlos Montes (CHC), Fred Galloway(CIN)) RF - Leon Drake (NYG) (Honorable mention: Hank McKay (PHI), Bill Burkett (BOS)) P - Milt Fritz (CHC) (Honorable mention: Al Miller (CHI)) CHIEFS SEND MOSS CROSS-TOWN TO COUGARS AS TRADING IS UNDERWAY It did not take long for the first trade to be made following the conclusion of the WCS. The Toronto Wolves were still on the train from Pittsburgh back to Canada, likely nursing championship size hangovers, when word came from the Windy City that the Chicago Chiefs were sending veteran outfielder Cliff Moss across town to the Chicago Cougars in exchange for a pair of 22 year old pitching prospects in Lou Eaker and Ralph Kendall. Moss finishes his 6-year run with the Chiefs with a line of .295/.377/.495 (OPS+ 132) and 116 home runs. Chiefs skipper Joe Ward admitted it was difficult to trade Moss but "if we are trading our draft picks (Chiefs already dealt their first and second rounders for Frank Davis and Alf Pestilli), then we need to get new talent in the system somehow. I'm rolling the dice that between Jim Hampton, Alf Pestilli, and converted third baseman Bill Jones we can absorb the loss of Moss" in the Chiefs outfield. Ward added that " Jones is the key. He looked okay out there in a trial run last September. And it doesn't look like Hampton is quite ready to pack it in yet." It seems to be a growing relationship between the two Chicago clubs as they made a deal a year ago that brought veteran pitcher Jim Lonardo to the Cougars in the deal that sent Ducky Jordan the other way. They had not traded with each other much before that although there were a pair of big deals in 1935 that sent veteran Chief Joe Masters to the Cougars and another that moved Dave Rankin to the Continental side. JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE: Eaker would be the big prize for the Chiefs in this deal. A top 60 prospect he went 10-8 with a 3.54 ERA this season at Class A after starting the year in B. A 1939 fifth round pick out of Miami State and a groundball specialist, which is something the Chiefs always covet. Moss put up some pretty good numbers this year (.278,23,69) and is a .295 hitter over his six seasons with the Chiefs. The Chiefs do need to get some young talent, as Ward correctly pointed out, but they are banking heavily on a 39 year old Jim Hampton still being a valuable contributor. The Chiefs are also counting on local product Bob Jones to hit like he did last season when the 29 year old batted .298 with 7 homers in 79 games. As for the Cougars they continue to use their wealth of prospect talent to help in their quest for a pennant as they add another talented veteran and it is easy to see Moss replacing Orlin Yates (.228,2,26) in the platoon with Rich Langton (.266,3,34) in right field or perhaps winning the job outright. GOTHAMS DEAL FOR PETRICK MADE OFFICIAL As previously reported the New York Gothams have sent their first round draft choice to the Cincinnati Cannons for the second year in a row. Last year it was pitcher Gus Goulding who made the trip east while this season it is another pitcher and former first round selection in Rusty Petrick joining the Gothams. Petrick was originally drafted by the Gothams 10th overall out of high school in 1933 but was dealt to the then Baltimore based Cannons 3 months later in the trade that brought Rabbit Day to New York. Petrick had loads of potential, and at just 24 likely still does, but he never seemed to put it together in Baltimore, going 33-56 over 4 seasons with the organization including 6-7, 4.81 in Cincinnati this year. PERCY SUTHERLAND'S TAKE:I like Petrick, the hard throwing right hander who has struggled with control issues so far in his career. But Petrick is just 24 and particularly with hard throwers, you need to have patience while their control develops. The Gothams organization is not particularly well known for its patience with young pitching. But overall I like the pickup for New York. With Goulding, Sutton, and Petrick the Gothams have a young rotation with some good potential. As for Cincinnati, with their deep collection of young arms the Cannons are dealing from a position of strength, so getting a first round pick back for Petrick is good. TRADE RUMOURS
FUTURE WATCH - EARLY LOOK AT THE 1942 AND 1943 DRAFT CLASSES LOOK AHEAD TO THE 1942 DRAFT CLASS At an early glance the 1942 draft appears to have much more college talent that the '41 class is expected to produce. The player everyone will be talking about as the draft approaches might well be Bob Arman. The 19 year old has elite command and control, with OSA feeling Arman has "the makings of a future ace." A Brooklyn native, the righthander went 9-2 with a 2.80 era in his freshman season at Bluegrass State. Arman is one two Bluegrass State players who crack TWIFB way-too-early top ten for the 1942 draft as he is joined by outfielder Ernie McCoy, who was a second team AIAA All-American selection as a freshman. In all, half of the top ten comes from the college ranks which is quite a departure from the recent 1941 mock draft, which had just one AIAA player among the 16 projected to go in the first round. Other All-Americans include Three Rivers State third baseman Johnny Weisz, who hit .317 with 8 homers as a freshman and was named first team AIAA All-American. Bob 'Crab' Crowley was a high school All-American selection last season as a sophomore at Framingham High in Massachusetts. A Rhode Island native, Crowley heads a deep crop of catchers, one which features a very familiar name in Roger Cleaves. The Hoboken (NJ) High Schooler might not belong in the top ten based on current OSA scouting reports but we slide him into the tenth spot due to his pedigree. He is the half brother of current Pittsburgh Miners Jack and George Cleaves, and his grandfathers are George Theobald and Rufus Barrell so certainly a royal baseball lineage with the youngster. Code:
WAY TO EARLY 1942 DRAFT TOP TEN RANKINGS # NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN 1 BOB ARMAN 19 RHP Bluegrass State Brooklyn, NY 2 HOWIE HARRIS 17 RHP Ross HS, Hamilton,OH Hamilton, OH 3 CRAB CROWLEY 16 C Framingham (MA) HS North Providence, RI 4 JOHN JACKSON 16 RHP Salem (NJ) HS Baltimore, MD 5 ERNIE MCCOY 19 CF Bluegrass State Albion, NE 6 PETE WOODWARD 19 CF Cleveland College Lansing, MI 7 MILT RADER 16 LF Stroud (OK) HS Seminole, OK 8 JOHNNY WEISZ 19 3B Three Rivers State Morristown, NJ 9 NELLIE WALTERS 19 SS Oklahoma City State Philadelphia, PA 10 ROGER CLEAVES 16 C Hoboken (NJ) HS West New York, NJ 1943 DRAFT PREVIEW This one is mainly just a look at the high school players that will be eligible as the only college players presently in the pool are ones that refused to sign with a team following the 1940 draft. That group does include a player who was selected in the second round in 1940 and might just be the first college player taken in 1943. He is Johnny Thacker, a catcher that decided to pass up a big signing bonus from the Washington Eagles and enroll at Columbia Military Academy. Of course if the United States ends up entering the war in Europe it is quite likely Thacker will not sign in'43 either and join the war effort instead. Thacker is one of two very highly touted catchers with Ed Haynes Jr, who was an honourable mention for the High School All-American team as a freshman, being the other. His dad played 4 years of feeder league ball at Austin High but was not drafted and never played in the pros. There are very few pitchers that are highly touted and certainly no one at this point projected to challenge for the first overall selection with Ted Davis, a high school lefthander from Pittsburgh, perhaps being the best available at this point. There is one dominant talent in this draft and that is Sid "The Kid" Kling, a 15 year old who is already 6'4" tall and OSA feels if he fufills his potential, the Buffalo born outfielder "could make multiple trips to the All-Star Game." Here is a very early look at the potential top ten of the 1943 draft. Code:
WAY TO EARLY 1943 DRAFT TOP TEN RANKINGS # NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN 1 SID KLING 15 LF McKinley HS Buffalo, NY Buffalo, NY 2 ED HAYNES JR 16 C Austin (TX) HS Austin, TX 3 JOHNNY THACKER 18 C Columbia Military Acad. Charleston, WV 4 BILL GALLMAN 15 RF Perry HS, Massillon, OH Canton, OH 5 RUDY MINTON 15 3B Pana (IL) High School Pana, IL 6 TED DAVIS 15 LHP Northgate HS, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 7 JOE DAVIS 15 1B Copley (MA) HS Medford, MA 8 IRA KENNEY 15 CF Texico (NM) HS Texico, NM 9 BENNY EVERIDGE 15 CF Samdusky (OH) HS Sandusky, OH 10 DIXIE WHITE 15 SS Mooresville (NC) HS Mooresville, NC The Week That Was Current events from 10/10/1940
__________________
Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal
The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-25-2022 at 02:05 PM. |
|
|
|
 |
| Bookmarks |
|
|
