The L.A. Browns Domino Effect

[Summers76]

American League All-Stars



National League All-Stars

[Summers76]

1943 American League - Batting Leaders

[Summers76]

1943 American League - Pitching Leaders

[Summers76]

1943 National League - Batting Leaders

[Summers76]

National League - Pitching Leaders

[Summers76]

1943 All-Star Break Standings

[Summers76]

[Summers76]

CARDINALS CURRENTLY THE TEAM TO BEAT

1943 All-Star Break Power Rankings

[Summers76]

The 1943 All-Star Game
at Ebbets Field (Brooklyn, NY)

[Summers76]

The Detroit Tigers' Dick Wakefield is one of the many reasons the Tigers find themselves just 1.5 games back of the New York Yankees.

[Summers76]

Dodgers Selling During Quiet Trade Market

The Brooklyn Dodgers said goodbye to a few of their key pieces from their 1942 N.L. Championship Team, with the league rival New York Giants acquiring most of those players.

Veteran outfielder Joe Medwick was acquired off waivers by the Giants.

Brooklyn traded 1B Dolph Camilli & RP Johnny Allen to the Giants in exchange for 1B Joe Orengo, RP Bill Sayles & SP Bill Lohrman.

The Washington Senators acquired pitcher Bobo Newsom from the Los Angeles Angels. Newsom was acquired by the Dodgers late in 1942 from the Senators, and started the season with Brooklyn until the Angels acquired him earlier in the season.

[Summers76]

The New York Yankees (62-37, .626 PCT) have broken out to a considerable 7-game American League lead over the Cleveland Indians (55-44). The Yankees are either 1st or 2nd in every A.L. hitting & pitching category. The rotation has been great, led by Spud Chandler (18-6, 2.09 ERA, followed by Tiny Bonham (10-7, 2.81 ERA), Hank Borowy (10-7, 3.22 ERA), Butch Wensloff (11-4, 2.96 ERA), and Atley Donald (8-1, 2.45 ERA). The most impressive part is that Borowy, Wensloff & Donald were all strictly relievers during the Yankees' 1942 World Championship Season.

The Indians and the Detroit Tigers are heading in the wrong direction since the All-Star Break. For Cleveland, their lineup is lacking power compared to last season -- 1B Roy Cullenbine, who was acquired from the Yankees in the offseason is still hitting, but only has 5 HR & a .373 slugging percentage... while last season's A.L. RBI Champion Ken Keltner's power has also been down as well. Keltner only has 3 HR, 49 RBI & a .398 slugging percentage compared to last season's 20 HR, 123 RBI & .460 slugging percentage. The team lucked out on a career year by Les Fleming (.294 AVG, 20 HR & 118 RBI) last season, but he was unfortunately obtained by the U.S. Military, so his bat has certainly been missed.

The Tigers' starting pitching has kept them in games this season, but the team really has no bats outside of LF Dick Wakefield (.311, 5 HR & 46 RBI) and 1B Rudy York (.309, 11 HR & 46 RBI). The team's inconsistent bullpen (4.26 ERA, 6th) has certainly not helped.

The Boston Red Sox have been quietly climbing upward, while they have all 3 spots for July's Players of the Month Awards that help reflect their improvement. The Red Sox' Tex Hughson might currently be the best starting pitcher outside of the Yankees' Chandler in the A.L. at the moment. Boston has won 8 of their last 10 games.

The Los Angeles Browns' SP Nels Potter (10-7, 3.30 ERA & 72 K) has quietly put together a good season, while the Browns have been playing better of late.







The St. Louis Cardinals (65-31) currently have the best record in the Majors, and are currently on an 8-game winning-streak. The Cards are dominating every statistic imaginable, while they have a +201 run differential at the moment. RF Stan Musial (.325, 4 HR & 58 RBI) and C Walker Cooper (.333, 4 HR & 60 RBI) were expected to be strong as usual, but the emergence from Johnny Hopp, Whitey Kurowski & Ray Sanders has helped this team forget that they are missing Enos Slaughter. Their brightest spot may be their bullpen ranked 1st in ERA with the insanely-low 1.52 ERA to show off.

We can't say enough about the Cincinnati Reds' #1 ranked starting pitching (2.38 ERA), or the fact that 1B Frank McCormick is looking like circa 1940 McCormick at the moment, batting .310 with 15 HR, while leading the Majors with 70 RBI... but we can say, it still won't be enough to catch the Cards. The Reds (59-38) trail St. Louis by 6.5 games, which may not look much, but there is a considerable-sized gap between the two ballclubs.

When you look at the Chicago Cubs' rosters and the stats that each of those players are putting up, you wouldn't think that they would be this far back (52-43, 12.5 games out). Their pitching has been strong for the most part, and their top-half of their lineup can hang with anyone (other than St.Louis) in the National League... but for some reason none of it has been enough.

The Brooklyn Dodgers have lost 9 of their last 10 games, and will likely lose many more after selling before the trade deadline. The Boston Braves with their Al Javery & their young pitching, should be able to pass the Dodgers for 4th place in the standings.

The Pittsburgh Pirates (45-55) have won 7 of their last 10 games, and may move up the Circuit as well.

The Philadelphia Phillies' winning percentage may have doubled since the end of May, but they are still well on their way to a historically bad season.

[Summers76]

The only real potential Pennant race remaining is in the American League between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees are ahead by 6 games, and should be the favorites to pull this thing out. The Indians' hitters are starting to show more life, but it may be too late.

Cleveland's Mel Harder won the August A.L. Pitcher of the Month Award, while he is 11-1 with a 1.79 ERA (118.2 IP) for the season. Harder's teammate, Jeff Heath had a huge month (winning for best hitter), rounding out great season numbers with a .297, 16 HR & 81 RBI line.

The Detroit Tigers' 2B Jimmy Bloodwirth had a strong August, and has raised his numbers to a .278 AVG with 12 HR & 69 RBI, after a slow season start. The Tigers are in a distant 3rd place with a 66-59 record.

The Los Angeles Browns (63-61) are 14.5 GB, while their pitching staff is 2nd in the A.L. with 484 strikeouts. While the Boston Red Sox are barely clinging to a .500 record in 5th place.







The Chicago Cubs are currently on a 6-game winning-streak, the only problem is they didn't really make any ground on the St. Louis Cardinals, as both teams were 8-2 during their last 10 games. The Cubs pitching has tired down the stretch.

The Cardinals swept the August monthly honors, while Stan 'The Man' Musial has been getting better as the season moves forward. Musial is batting .382 with 6 HR & 50 RBI over the past two months, and may very well be on his way to N.L. MVP honors. His teammate, ace Max Lanier has recorded his 23rd win of the season, and may have a shot at 30 wins.

The Cincinnati Reds (7 GB of 2nd, 7 1/2 games ahead of the Braves) will likely finish in 3rd place, without going up or down in the standings. The Boston Braves are hovering around .500 with a 60-62 record, while Al Javery (18-9, 1.62 ERA) is having a season to remember on the mound.

It's been nothing but a disappointing 1943 campaign for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were hoping to get another shot at the World Series this season. The loss of Pee Wee Reese and Pete Reiser was too much for their lineup to miss.

[Summers76]

1943 final standings





The Cleveland Indians (89-64) made a fast dash at the A.L. Pennant, but fell short as they faded over the last week of the season. The Indians got within 1 game of the Yankees, but fell to 5 games back at season's end. The New York Yankees finished with a 94-59 record.

Former Yankee Roy Cullenbine had a strong last month for Cleveland, and finished the season with a .288 AVG, 12 HR & 68 RBI. Teammate Jeff Heath finished the season batting .296 with 16 HR & 96 RBI.

The Yankees' Charlie Keller finished the season with a .273 AVG, 20 HR & 83 RBI. Keller cooled off at the end of the season, after starting the season batting .318 through the end of June.

The Boston Red Sox (79-74) snuck into 3rd place, and finished with a winning record. The team's rough patch of the season was in May & June, in which they were a combined 25-36 during those months. The Detroit Tigers slid into 4th place, finishing the season on a 24-30 skid.

The Los Angeles Browns finished on a positive note, recording their 1st winning record (77-76) since their 1929 season, 14 years ago back in St. Louis.

The Washington Senators didn't have much to cheer about, but were happy with the season that CF Stan Spence had for them. Spence built off last season's breakout year, by finishing with a .311 AVG, 11 HR & 71 ribbies.

The Chicago White Sox finished in 7th, but were encouraged with the direction that their pitching is heading. The Sox' Eddie Smith finished strong with a 13-17 record, 2.31 ERA & 109 strikeouts. The team once again lacked power on the hitting end, finishing dead last in HR once again (27).

The Philadelphia Athletics finished last again, finishing 8th for the 7th time during the last 9 season. The once-proud franchise has not had a winning season since 1932.







The St. Louis Cardinals are heading for the 1943 World Series currently on a 15-game winning streak, and are the overall favorites to win it all. The Cardinals owned nearly every statistic in pitching, hitting and fielding, while the team finished with unbelievable record of 117-36 (.765 PCT).

The Cards' Max Lanier is the clear favorite for N.L. Cy Young, and may even have a shot at MVP if they don't give it to Stan Musial. Lanier fell short of 30 wins, by going 28-4 with a 1.83 ERA & 192 strikeouts through 309.2 innings. The Boston Braves' SP Al Javery, who went 22-12 with a 2.05 ERA & 129 strikeouts would have a shot at the Cy Young if it was any other season.

Lanier is a combined 48-12 with a 2.08 ERA & 401 K through 612 inning, the past two seasons.

The Chicago Cubs win 90 games, and still finish 27 games out of 1st place.

The Cincinnati Reds finished just behind the Cubs at 89-64, going 7-3 during their last 10 games. Although the Reds would have loved to get more support from their lineup around Frank McCormick's comeback year, he did get support in rookie RF Nick Polly (.273 AVG, 11 HR & 79 RBI). The Reds would be making a great jump in the league if they can add some hitting to that pitching staff of theirs.

The Braves had a fun start to the season, but ended up with their 5th straight losing season (74-79), losing 8 of their last 10 games to end the season.

The N.L's two New York teams struggled all season, with the Brooklyn Dodgers finishing 5th, and the New York Giants finishing 6th. The Giants' Mel Ott heard the whispers and his doubters, and answered by smacking 32 home runs for best in the Majors -- his biggest HR total since 1938.

3B Bob Elliott finished 3rd in the Majors (and N.L.) in batting average (.342) while hitting 10 HR & 80 RBI for the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Philadelphia Phillies finished with the worst record in the Majors at 46-107, just making it over the 30% thresh hold. The Phillies played much better during the 2nd half, going 34-51 over their last 85 games.

[Summers76]

[Summers76]

[Summers76]

CARDINALS WIN SERIES IN DRAMATIC FASHION

The 1943 World Series had plenty of drama, despite being a short series. The American League had home-field this season, and helped the Yankees stun the Cardinals with a walk-off RBI single by RF Johnny Lindell in the bottom of the 10th. The Yankees jumped on Max Lanier early, taking advantage of an outfield error by Musial to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. The Cardinals scored on a balk in the 9th to tie the game in the 9th inning, but couldn't get Whitey Kurowski in from 3rd base on a tired Yankee RP Johnny Murphy. Lindell's game-winning hit in the 10th gave the Yankees a 4-3 win.

The Cardinals bounced back in Game 2, as the Yankees' SP Spud Chandler's postseason troubles (dating back to last season) continued -- allowing 6 runs (5 earned) & 7 hits in only 4.2 innings. The Cardinals only up 6-5, padded 4 extra insurance runs in the 9th, to help give St. Louis a 10-6 win, even the series, and send it back to St. Louis for 3 straight home games.

During Game 3, the Cardinals surrender a 3-0 lead, as the Yankees score two runs during the top of the 8th to tie the game at 3-3. Bottom of the 9th, the Cardinals' 2B Lou Klein smacks a walk-off single off Yankees' Murphy to win, 5-4.
SP Harry Brecheen batted 1-2 with 2 RBI, while on the mound he allowed only 3 hits, 1 ER, with &K & 4 BB through 7.2 innings of work.

Game 4 was a bizarre game in which the St. Louis faithful witnessed the Yankees implode during the bottom of the 8th. The Yankees looked as if they had the game locked up with a 4-1 lead, but then the Cardinals erupted for 8 runs. During that inning, the Cardinals' Stan Musial smacked a 3-run homer. Walker Cooper finished with 4 hits & a RBI. Relievers this series are earning most of the decisions with Murray Dickson (2-0) earning the win, and Johnny Murphy (1-2) earning the loss.

Game 5 ended in much the same way as two other World Series games this series has ended, in walk-off fashion. The Cardinals called on pinch-hitter Danny Lithwhiler (in for RP Dickson), who hit a game-winning single off Bill Zuber during the bottom of the 12th! RP Murray Dickson won his 3rd game in relief duty this series. 1B Johnny Hopp batted 5-for-6 with 2 doubles in the series-clinching win.

Walker Cooper earned MVP honors, batting 11-for-22 (.500) with 1 RBI & a .524 OBP, while I would argue that it could have also went to Stan Musial batted .333 (7-for-21) with a HR & 5 RBI (.462 OBP) or even Whitey Kurowski who batted .348 (8-for-23) with a HR & 5 RBI (.348 OBP).

[Summers76]

Cardinals Dominate N.L. Awards, Lanier Repeats






A.L. Gold Glove Awards
P - Spud Chandler (NYY)
C - Edward Yarmul (PHA)
1B - George McQuinn (LA)
2B - Joe Gordon (NYY)
3B - Ken Keltner (CLE)
SS - Lou Boudreau (CLE)
LF - Ralph Hodgin (CWS)
CF - Thurman Tucker (CWS)
RF - Johnny Lindell (NYY)

N.L. Gold Glove Awards
P - Whit Wyatt (BRK)
C - Bob Brady (BSN)
1B - Dolph Camilli (NYG)
2B - Lonny Frey (CIN)
3B - Pinky May (PHI-N)
SS - Eddie R. Miller (CIN)
LF - Johnny Hopp (STL)
CF - Tommy Holmes (BSN)
RF - Nick Polly (CIN)

A.L. Platinum Stick Awards
P - Dizzy Trout (DET)
C - Bill Dickey (NYY)
1B - Roy Cullenbine (CLE)
2B - Joe Gordon (NYY)
3B - Ken Keltner (CLE)
SS - Lou Boudreau (CLE)
LF - Charlie Keller (NYY)
CF - Stan Spence (WSH)
RF - Wally Moses (CWS)

N.L. Platinum Stick Awards
P - Paul Derringer (CHC)
C - Walker Cooper (STL)
1B - Ray Sanders (STL)
2B - Lou Klein (STL)
3B - Bob Elliott (PIT)
SS - Marty Marion (STL)
LF - Johnny Hopp (STL)
CF - Peanuts Lowery (CHC)
RF - Stan Musial (STL)

A.L. Reliever of the Year - Johnny Murphy (NYY)
N.L. Reliever of the Year - Murry Dickson (STL)

[Summers76]

Notable Transactions

Prior to the end of the 1943 MLB Season, the Philadelphia Athletics purchased 3B George Kell from Lancaster (Interstate). Kell was featured in last season's Prospects Pipeline (Preseason) feature, as the #9 Top Prospect as a member of the Giants.

OF Al Simmons officially retires with a career batting average of .336 with 306 home runs, 1,813 RBI & 2,897 career hits. Simmons last played in the Majors with the Athletics back in 1941. Simmons was playing in the Boston Red Sox' minor league system, in which Boston released him a week ago.

SP Carl Hubbell released by the New York Giants. Hubbell has a career record of 261-177 with a 3.02 ERA & 1,772 strikeouts during his 16-year playing career, all with the Giants.

The Boston Red Sox purchased LF 'Indian Bob' Johnson from the Washington Senators. Johnson, a lifelong Athletics star, played his first season with a different team last season. During the 43' season, Johnson had a productive season, batting .305 with 8 HR & 87 RBI (.834 OPS). For Johnson, it was his highest batting average and first season with a .300 average since 1939.

The Giants traded 1B Dolph Camilli to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. Camilli batted .248 with 11 HR & 56 RBI for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and was acquired mid-season by the Giants, in which Camilli played only 1 game. Camilli was traded in to the Oaks, in exchange for 2B Bill Rigney.

SP Bobo Newsom keeps bouncing around the Majors, as the Senators traded Newsom to the Athletics in exchange for SP Roger Wolff. Newsom split time with 3 teams last season -- with the Dodgers, Browns & Senators. The 36-year-old Newsom went 16-12 with a 4.00 ERA in 241 IP & 35 starts last season. Wolff, 32, pitched 256.2 innings in 34 starts for the A's, in which he went 10-19 with a 3.75 ERA.

The Philadelphia Phillies traded 1B Babe Dahlgren to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for C Babe Phelps and cash. The Phillies turned around and released Phelps.

The Los Angeles Browns signed RP Tex Shirley.

The Browns and Athletics made a deal involving C Frankie Hayes. The L.A. Browns sent Hayes to Philadelphia in exchange for RP Sam Zoldak and OF Barney Lutz.

The Browns traded veteran C Rick Ferrell to the Senators in exchange for C Tony Giuliani. Giuliani refused to report to the Browns, in which the Senators sent RF Gene Moore Jr to complete the trade. The Senators released Giuliani soon afterward.

The active Browns took a flyer on RF Frank Demarre. Demaree last played in the Majors during the 1941 season, splitting time with the Braves and the Giants, while batting only .216 through 64 games.

The Browns made a big purchase in SP Jesse Flores and RP Joe Berry. Flores has a career record of 22-19 with a 3.56 ERA , 1.370 WHIP & 3.8 WAR over two seasons. Flores was a ROY nominee as a member of the Chicago Cubs during 1942, and was purchased by the Athletics prior to the 1943 season. The cash-strapped Athletics sold Flores to the Browns, despite winning 13 games for Philadelphia. The 39-year-old Berry was a minor purchase by the Browns.

The Athletics signed RF Nick Polly and SP Ray Prim. Polly was a surprise rookie for the Cincinnati Reds last season, batting .272 with 11 HR & 79 RBI. Prim had a solid season as a reliever for the Chicago Cubs, sporting a 1.86 ERA in 53.1 innings, the A's are giving him a shot in the rotation.

[Summers76]

The next 3 players that came closest to punching their tickets to the HOF, were C Mickey Cochrane (72.5%, 2nd year), 2B Frankie Frisch (69.8%, 2nd year) and Carl Mays (61.3%, 1st year).

Goose Goslin got 77.2% as a 1st ballot Hall of Famer.