The L.A. Browns Domino Effect

[Summers76]

WAR RAGES ON, ALLIES FIGHT BACK



Early on in 1942, the news seemed to get worse each day, as the Axis powers threatened the Allies all over the world. But starting in the summer of 42', significant victories by the United States, plus European resistance and Russia's determination and strength to push back in Stalingrad -- started showing signs of hope for the Allies.

After the Russians held off Germany from overtaking Stalingrad, the Russians launched a massive counterattack during the winter of 1942-1943, forcing an entire German army to surrender in February.

Meanwhile, in every European nation which was conquered by Adolf Hitler's armies, small groups of people worked in secret to resist the Nazi occupation. They resisted by ambushing truck convoys, blowing up bridges, engaging in sabotage. Each occupied European country had small military forces, such as the Free French and Free Dutch, made of occupation escapees working together to fight alongside with the Allies.

The Allies began bombing raids over German industrial centers and cities in a conquest to start chipping away at the Axis powers.



In North Africa, the Germans' German Africa Corps led by 'The Desert Fox' Erwin Rommel (Field Marshal, pictured at top) by using hundreds of tanks, waged war and conquered all of North Africa. The Allies struck back on November 8th, 1942 in which British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery launched Operation Torch, aided by 500 American tanks. American General Dwight D. Eisenhower launched a large invasion force, landing in Algeria.

The war rages on.

[Summers76]

The Prospects Pipeline (February 14th, 1943)



Ray Boone currently is a member on the Triple-A Baltimore Orioles team of the International League. Boone has plus power potential. He is considered one of the best defensive fielders in the league at his position. He has a quick bat that handles most fastballs, but offspeed stuff can really challenge him. Boone will hit at a higher productive average and has the potential has the potential to be a cornerstone player as a catcher.



The Cleveland Indians' farm system is solid with 4 prospects inside the Prospects Pipeline's Top 10. Al Rosen currently plays in the Eastern League for the Wilkes-Barre Barons. His power potential grades out as a plus-plus. The ball simply explodes off his bat. He has a lot of talent, and grades out as a plus contact hitter. He has good recognition of balls and strikes. Rosen has good potential and a very promising future.



The Brooklyn Dodgers' right fielder Carl Furillo is a 20-year-old right-handed hitter, who shows plus contact ability which should translate into a solid batting average. He has tremendous power potential. He provides average defensive value, while he showcases a strong arm. Furillo can be a second division starter at right field, and could be a contributor to a Dodgers team coming off a World Series.



The Detroit Tigers' center fielder Hoot Evers is a 22-year-old right hander. He has a good swing. He won't likely set records, but could hit a .350 batting average. He has some pop in his bat which should result in above average power. He's a sure-handed center fielder position with the ability to pick the ball up off the bat. Evers is a reliable hitter in the organization's scheme.



Tommy Glaviano currently plays in the Southern Association (AA) for the New Orleans Pelicans. He has decent power now and has the chance to have above average power in the future. As a second baseman he should be able to provide above average defense. He's fast and can steal 15 bases each year. Glaviano's bat and hustle should make him a frontrunner for an audition for second baseman.

[Summers76]

Another Cleveland prospect, Gene Woodling ranks 6th on the Prospects Pipeline, playing for the Baltimore Orioles (AAA) of the International League. He has a great stroke and projects to hit for a high average in the big leagues. He has plus power potential and has shown an advanced approach at the plate. He is very sure-handed and reliable left fielder. Woodling has the potential to develop into a big league regular for the bulk of his career.



Mike Garcia is a 19-year-old starting pitcher who was born in San Gabriel, California. Currently pitches for the Single-A Wausau Timberjacks of the Northern League. He projects to throw a decent fastball with two lesser pitches. As he matures he'll need to cut down on his walks. If everything comes together Garcia has the talent to pitch at the top of the rotation.



The Buffalo native, Warren Spahn, like many others, is currently serving in the Armed Forces. Spahn was just reaching the MLB level as a reliever for the Boston Braves. The 21-year-old lefty has six pitches in his repertoire, the best likely to be his sinker, although none are plus offerings. He has strong control that should limit the number of free passes he surrenders, and his stuff and movement are average. Spahn could rise to the level of a solid #3 starting pitcher or better.



George Kell is a 20-year-old third baseman who was born in Swifton, Arkansas. Currently playing third for the Jacksonville Tars in the South Atlantic League (A). He gets high marks for plate coverage, particularly in his ability to find the opposite field. He is a solid defensive contributor at the hot corner. His speed is slightly below average, but is above average at stealing bases. Kell is a respectable hitter who fits in with the New York Giants way of doing things.



Cincinnati Reds prospect, Ewell Blackwell is a 20-year-old starting pitcher who was born in Fresno, California. Currently pitching at the Triple-A level for the Syracuse Chiefs. He projects to throw a decent sinker with three lesser pitches. His stuff should play well above average once he's finished developing. Has such great command of his pitches that he'll rarely give up the long-ball. Blackwell has the makings of a starter who can anchor a rotation.

[Summers76]

Rounding out the remainder of the Top 100 prospects...

[Summers76]

MLB Uniforms for the 1943 MLB Season

AMERICAN LEAGUE





NATIONAL LEAGUE




Not many changes with the jerseys entering 1943...

I jumped the gun on the Chicago Cubs updating toward their normal Cubs -shaped C, composed to the Cincinnati-style C.

I added a WWII patch logo to the set of Los Angeles Browns jerseys.

Updated the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs logos.

The Boston Braves go with a block B on their caps.

The Philadelphia Phillies home and road jerseys say 'Phillies' now, instead of a 'P' and 'Phils'.

The Chicago White Sox' home jerseys went from 'White Sox' to vertical block-style S-O-X.

The New York Giants sharpened the logos on their caps, while the team started using the new logo that was represented during this time.

[Summers76]

DiMAGGIO, WILLIAMS LATEST NAMES TO JOIN THE FIGHT

The New York Yankees' Joe DiMaggio and the Boston Red Sox' Ted Williams, possibly the two biggest stars in Major League Baseball are now in the U.S. Armed Forces, joining the fight against the Axis powers.



Other stars to recently join are SS Pee Wee Reese (Dodgers), SS Phil Rizzuto (NYY), SP Red Ruffing (NYY), RF Enos Slaughter (Cardinals), Charlie Gehringer (Tigers), Gil Hodges (Dodgers), Ralph Kiner (Pirates), SP Ted Lyons (White Sox), 1B Johnny Mize (Giants), and plenty more.

They join the likes of Braves prospect Warren Spahn, Indians ace Bob Feller, Tigers slugger Hank Greenberg and others who already missed the 1942 MLB Season.

[Summers76]

The New York Yankees won the 1942 World Series over the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees nearly surrendered a 3-1 series lead to the Dodgers, but held off the Dodger comeback.

[Summers76]

Not sure if I agree 100% with these predictions. I can't say I thoroughly looked at each roster, and yes, I do know that both the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals kind of dominated the 1940's... but I have a hard time thinking that each team will win the pennant by 30+ games.

The Brooklyn Dodgers should still be pretty good at the beginning at least, keeping with real transactions during the war years, so I do know they sell and get rid of some pieces as the year moves on.

The Chicago Cubs were a surprise in the National League last season, and I feel they only got better with some additions for 1943.

The American League is definitely rough, but hopefully we have pennant races, otherwise it's going to be a long boring season, with the World War II stuff possibly being the more exciting content...

We'll see.

[Summers76]

[Summers76]

Harder Makes it Harder for Detroit with No-No

[Summers76]

A BRAVES NEW WORLD?

The Boston Braves started the season on a great note with a 6-3 start. For the Braves, good news definitely doesn't come easy or come around often. The Braves have only one pennant and one World Series title (both in 1914) to show for in its Major League Baseball history. The great stretch also included a 12-0 beat down on April 29th of the New York Giants, in which the Giants were held to 5 hits, while the Braves logged 19 hits.

The team hasn't been a regular consistent winner since their days in the 1870's and 1890's in which they had consecutive league titles.

But on this date, for now, the Braves sit on the top spot of the Power Rankings.



The Braves' #1 and #2 starting pitchers Al Javery (1-1, 0.98 ERA & 7 K) and Jim Tobin (1-1,0.48 ERA & 6 K) have been excellent so far.

[Summers76]

FIRST SIGNIFICANT LOSS FOR GERMANY IN NORTH AFRICA

Working in tandem the Allies led by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower launched invasions into North Africa (between November 1942 and April 1943) to counter the strength that the Germans built up there.

On May 7th, 1943, the Axis forces in North Africa (250,000 German and Italian troops) surrendered, giving the Allies a huge victory, while handing Adolf Hitler a devastating loss. The Allies' newfound acquisition of North Africa gave the Allies a place to prepare for an invasion of Italy. With the invasion of Italy, the Nazis found themselves fighting the Allies on two fronts, one in Russia and the other in Italy.

Below, British Forces celebrate in Tunis.

[Summers76]

Joost Hitting Streak up to 20 Games Straight

Part of the Boston Braves' early success (13-6, 1st place) can be contributed to their 3B Eddie Joost, who currently has a 20-game hitting-streak for the Braves.

Joost was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in a straight-up one-for-one shortstop trade for Eddie R. Miller. Miller was coming off a Gold Glove Award season for Boston, while Joost won a Platinum Slugger Award with the Reds at the position. Joost, who has third base experience has moved over to the hot corner for Boston.

[Summers76]

Mid-May Madness in Heavily Contentious N.L.

[Summers76]

The New York Yankees made a clean sweep of the Players of the Month Awards with Charlie 'King Kong' Keller (Player), Spud Chandler (Pitcher) & Snuffy Stirnweiss (Rookie). For Chandler, he picked up where he left off from his 1942 A.L. Cy Young Award-Winning campaign winning his last 7 consecutive starts while logging a 1.04 ERA over his last 60.2 innings of work.

The Yankees won 9 of their last 10, while the Indians and the Tigers were stuck in idle through that stretch (both 5-5).

The 3rd place Detroit Tigers (23-20), have had a surprisingly strong start thanks to pitchers Hal Newhouser and Dizzy Trout anchoring the top of the rotation, while Rudy York is hitting for average to go along with that power (after struggling last year). The Tigers' rookie Dick Wakefield has been the story so far in the Motor City, batting .313 with 3 HR & 22 RBI.

The Cleveland Indians are in 2nd place at 26-18, 1.5 games back of the Yankees. The Indians' Al J. Smith was a revelation last season, while starting strong early on in 1943, going 6-2 with a 1.62 ERA (1.060 WHIP). The middle of the Tribe's lineup is not a fun task for opposing pitchers, facing Lou Boudreau, Jeff Heath & last season's A.L. RBI champ Ken Keltner.

The Boston Red Sox (20-23) aren't expected to do much with the absence of Ted Williams (A.L. MVP) and Johnny Pesky (A.L. ROY), both big highlights from the 1942 MLB Season. There was also no expectations on Skeeter Newsome (no relation to teammate Dick), but he started the season with a 5-hit night, and has continued to hit well over the first month-and-a-half of the season (.317 AVG, 25 RBI).

The Philadelphia Athletics traded their star player LF 'Indian Bob' Johnson to the Washington Senators in exchange for 3B Bobby Estalella, who appeared to be a breakout star after hitting .274 with 14 HR & 76 RBI. While he is still showing pop (5 HR & 17 RBI through 42 games), Estalella is only batted .229 this season.

The Senators (19-25, 8.5 GB) have the pitching to competer, but Mickey Vernon and 'Indian Bob' are the only two hitters that have delivered so far. Starting pitchers Dutch E. Leonard (3-5, 2.21 ERA) and youngster Early Wynn (6-3, 1.74 ERA & 31 K) have been great at the top of their rotation. Wynn was 11-11 with a 3.81 ERA in his first full season last year.






The Boston Braves, the feel-good story of Major League Baseball in the early weeks of the 1943 season has run its course and are starting to fade to the background. The Braves (23-20, now tied in 4th place, 7 GB) have gone 10-14 since their 13-6 start. The Braves' ace Al Javery is still rolling at 8-3 with a 1.60 ERA & 31 K.

The St. Louis Cardinals predicted to win the N.L. Pennant this season, started off slowly at 7-8, but then went on a 10-game winning-streak, going 14-2 since.

The Cincinnati Reds (26-15, 3 GB) sit in 2nd place, once again with a strong rotation to boot. Bucky Walters (7-2, 1.66, 21 K) won N.L. Pitcher of the Month honors, while Johnny Vander Meer (6-2, 1.39 ERA, 51 K) has also been red-hot. The Reds plugged in Clyde Shoun, who hasn't started on a regular basis since 1940, has been pitching excellent (4-2, 1.89 ERA & 0.90 WHIP) through 7 starts. Once again hitting is a problem, but their N.L. Rookie of the Month, RF Nick Polly has been a huge plus.

The Chicago Cubs (23-18) are currently on a 6-game winning-streak, while N.L. Player of the Month 3B Stan Hack, last season's N.L. MVP Bill Nicholson & 1B Phil Cavarretta are having very productive seasons. The Cubs' rotation is pretty decent, but will need to do more to hang with the Reds even, maybe it's a good thing they talked SP Paul Derringer out of retirement and into a deal.

The Pittsburgh Pirates sit in 5th place (22-20, 8 GB), and just found out that Ralph Kiner will be going into the war. Kiner batted .273 with 4 HR & 33 RBI through 38 games. The Pirates desperate for starting pitching, plugged in Bob Klinger who has only started 12 games combined over the past two seasons. The move paid off, and Klinger has a 6-2 record with a 1.94 ERA.

Last year's National League Champions, the Brooklyn Dodgers are an even 22-22 while on a 5-game losing skid. What has gone wrong continues to go wrong. Their three strong starting pitchers from last season in Whit Wyatt, Kirby Higbe & Curt Davis have not come close to repeating their 1942 performances. They lost Pee Wee Reese, Pete Reiser from their lineup due to war service, while Billy Herman and Dolph Camilli have been flat.

The New York Giants franchise (19-26, 12.5 GB) is probably going through their worst stretch in the early 1900's (before their breakout 1904 season). The Giants have not won 90+ games since their 1937 N.L. Pennant season, while the team has not won 80+ since 1938. The team's attendance has not been over 800,000 since 1937 (926,887 that season).

The good news for the Giants are the fact that they are not the Philadelphia Phillies who are currently pushing the record book for the wrong reason. The Phillies are currently 6-39 (.133 winning pct) and on a 6-game losing streak, if they keep at this rate they would finish at 21-136, definitely a Major League record.

[Summers76]

LONGEST HITTING STREAKS (1943 MLB Season)



With Dick Bartell's 25-game hitting streak coming to an end against the White Sox on May 14th, here's a look at this season's longest hitting streaks so far.

25 games - 3B Dick Bartell (NYG)
21 games - 3B Eddie Joost (BSN)
20 games - 3B Billy Johnson (NYY)

[Summers76]

SENATORS ROOKIE CANDINI NO-HITS RED SOX





The Washington Senators' SP Milo Candini was acquired by the Senators along with 2B Jerry Priddy from the New York Yankees in exchange for SP Bill Zuber.

[Summers76]

The New York Yankees (43-26) hold a narrow 2 game lead over the Cleveland Indians and 2.5 lead over the Detroit Tigers. The Yankees' 35-year-old ace Spud Chandler could win back-to-back Cy Young Awards if he keeps it up. Chandler has a 13-4 record and 2.16 ERA.

Cleveland (41-28) has the top ERA (3.02) for starting pitching at the moment, led by Al J. Smith (10-4, 2.40 ERA). Rookie Allie Reynolds has done well in the 5th slot, sporting a 4-3 record and 2.79 ERA.

The Tigers have been surging, winners of 6 straight, and 9 of their last 10 games. 22-year-old Hal Newhouser appears to have turned a big development corner, as he owns a 8-4 record with a 2.78 ERA & 87 strikeouts. Virgil Trucks (6-4, 2.91 ERA) and Dizzy Trout (7-3, 2.84 ERA) are solid in the 2-3 slots of the rotation. The Tigers unfortunately don't have a bullpen (5.19 ERA, 8th).

The Los Angeles Browns (33-35, 9.5 GB) keeps hanging around the middle of the American League pack. Their pitching is pretty good with a bullpen that ranks 3rd. Their pitching WAR (9.8) ranks 3rd, along with strikeouts (263).

The Boston Red Sox (31-38) are hurting, their lineup lacks punch with their best overall hitter being 2B Bobby Doerr (.274, 5 HR & 38 RBI). Boston's Tex Hughson is following up his 20-win season in 42' with possibly a better season (although he will likely lack in the wins department) in 1943. Hughson has a 2.54 ERA, 61 strikeouts, and a 139 ERA+

The Chicago White Sox once again lack power with 14 home runs (7th), while the team ranks dead-last in runs scored (225).







The St. Louis Cardinals rank near the top in every batting, pitching and fielding categories, while they sit at #1 on the Power Rankings as well. The Cardinals (44-23) currently have the best record in the Majors. The Cardinals are getting big seasons from 25-year-old 3B Whitey Kurowski (.283 AVG, 23 HR & 80 RBI) and 26-year-old Johnny Hopp (.339 AVG, 9 HR, 55 RBI & .421 OBP). SP Hal Lanier (13-1, 1.91 ERA & 92 K), who won the 1942 N.L. Cy Young Award, may be having an even bigger year in 43'.

The Cincinnati Reds' starting pitching (2.21 ERA) is lights out, with 3 starting pitchers with a 2.14 ERA & lower. The Reds are 3.5 games out of 1st place, but if they can't get any hitting going, the Cardinals will likely win the N.L. Pennant. The Reds' 1B Frank McCormick (.311, 10 HR & 55 RBI) is having his best season since his 1940 N.L. MVP season.

The Chicago Cubs (38-38) sit in 3rd place, trying to fend off the surging Brooklyn Dodgers (winners of 6 straight). The Cubs lineup is lousy once you get past the #5 hitter Stan Hack (.335, 2 HR & 40 RBI). The Cubs' pitching staff keeps the team in games, led by Bill C. Lee (12-3, 2.22 ERA).

The Dodgers acquired SP Rube Melton (from the Phillies) in the offseason, in which he has rewarded Brooklyn with a 7-1 record and 2.00 ERA.

The New York Giants' Mel Ott (.271 AVG, 12 HR & 40 RBI) is still among the leaders in home runs this season, but scouts recognize that his skills may be in decline. Ott currently has a streak of 7 consecutive years with at least 100 RBI (He is currently on pace for 91 RBI).

The Boston Braves' starting pitching ERA (2.95) ranks 3rd in the National League -- Thanks particularly to Al Javery, who is 10-5 with a 1.75 ERA. The problem is the team literally has no lineup.

Joltin Joe's brother Vince DiMaggio currently leads the Pittsburgh Pirates with 7 HR & 56 RBI (also leading the Majors). The Pirates' mid-twenties hitters 3B Bob Elliott, LF Jim Russell & 1B Elbie Fletcher help balance out the lineup.

The Philadelphia Phillies are 12-56 with no real prospects in the farm system, and nothing but has-beens for the most part on the big league roster. Sad days for Phillies fans.

[thehef]

An interesting thread that includes details on what was apparently pretty close to happening (before the bombing of Pearl Harbor) can be found here: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=316323

In particular, the 3rd thread in the post includes a bunch of detail on how it was about to play out, from a SABR article on Browns ownership that I had stumbled upon at the time.

Of particular interest to me was how scheduling would've played out. A few options were considered (and are part of the post referenced above).

Hope you find it interesting

[Summers76]

Originally Posted by thehef

An interesting thread that includes details on what was apparently pretty close to happening (before the bombing of Pearl Harbor) can be found here: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...d.php?t=316323

In particular, the 3rd thread in the post includes a bunch of detail on how it was about to play out, from a SABR article on Browns ownership that I had stumbled upon at the time.

Of particular interest to me was how scheduling would've played out. A few options were considered (and are part of the post referenced above).

Hope you find it interesting

Thanks, I will have to check it out. I find all these articles quite fascinating...

For example, I just found out the other night listening to the Baseball Tonight Podcast that the Cleveland Indians considered moving to Minnesota (trying to beat Washington from doing it) but the city fought hard to keep them in Cleveland. Houston and Toronto were also potential landing spots.