Let's Play Two!

[jksander]

AUGUST 4, 1953 . . . Don Newcombe came out to pitch tonight in game one against the Giants and gave up a homer on the first pitch. No, I’m not kidding. He got his subsequent three outs on just seven additional pitches, but it was unnerving how quickly we were in a one run hole. So seemingly arbitrary and capricious of the baseball Gods to do us like that. He then gave up a second solo homer on his first pitch of the SECOND inning, leaving our fans silently questioning -- did that really just happen TWICE? But Randy Jackson got us tied all up at 2-2 in the bottom of the second thanks to a two-run homer of his own, and like many things in baseball it just doesn’t pay to dwell too much on the absurdities. Newcombe settled in well after those first two innings, and Willie Mays hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the fifth to put us up 3-2! Sauer hit a sacrifice fly to right, driving Mays home to give us a two run lead, and Newcombe came in to pitch his sixth inning having thrown just 55 pitches all night. Sandy Consuegra came in for one final out in the top of the eighth, keeping the score at 4-2 to strand the runner Newcombe had left on base, and we went into the top of the ninth just needing three outs to seal the deal. Consuegra got them one, two, three and we won this one 4-2!

Newcombe improved to 6-3 on the year with a 3.79 ERA, giving up just four hits with four strikeouts and three walks. That two of those hits resulted in homers can now just be seen as a funny aside, since we came out of it with the win. Consuegra, in just his second appearance, went 1.1 innings and got the save, giving up just one hit and keeping his ERA perfect at 0.00 through four innings of work. Willie Mays led the offense with three hits for a run and an RBI, while Cavarretta, Jackson and Chapman each added a pair of hits as we outhit the Giants 10-5.

We have Hacker and Klippstein ready to go in the next two games which take place tomorrow, which should hopefully put us in a really good position to keep the wins coming.

AUGUST 5, 1953 . . . Willie Mays hit his 29th homer over the left-field ivy in the bottom of the first in the first game of today’s double-header, quickly putting us up 2-0 on the Giants. Ernie Banks hit a solo bomb to right just a few minutes later with two outs, making it 3-0. Hacker, who was incredibly efficient with just 15 pitches over the first two innings, hit a bit of a rocky patch in the third inning, giving up two runs in the process, and he gave up the tying run with two outs and two men on in the top of the fourth. Hacker stayed strong through the remainder of the game, however, and he got the final strikeout in the top of the ninth to send us up, tied 3-3, in the bottom of the inning hoping we could find a way to walk it off. But it wasn’t to be. Extra innings, everybody!

Hacker came into the top of the 10th having thrown 123 pitches, but he said he was fresh enough to stay in and try to finish this inning out, but I got Fear and Consuegra warming up in the bullpen just in case. Strikeout, flyout, flyout and the top of the inning was over! Hacker got a single in the bottom of the 10th, but Fondy hit into a fielder’s choice and they tagged Hacker out at second. Cavarretta walked, giving us two men on and one out. And then Willie Mays hit it deep enough into right field to drive Fondy home, giving us the 4-3 win in ten innings!

Warren Hacker won his 18th game, improving to 18-5 with a 2.53 ERA, pitching 10 innings of 10 hit ball, giving up three runs (one earned) with five strikeouts and no walks in 135 pitches. Willie Mays got four hits in five tries, scoring once and driving in three while bringing his average up to .370! Banks and Hacker each had two hits, and Hacker’s average has risen to .195 on the season.

Hey hey, let’s play two! Klippstein took the mound immediately following our 13th extra innings game of the year, and though he pitched as well as ever, his luck let out in the top of the second when he surrendered the game’s first run to the Giants, though he quickly got the third out via strikeout. And the Giants had good luck hitting up the gap in the third inning, giving Klippstein fits as he loaded the bases with just one out. He was able to get a fly-out to center that held all the runners in place, and Sauer slid to the side on one leg to make one of the most spectacular catches in left I’ve ever seen to keep the score 1-0 as we headed for the bottom of the inning. Fondy finally put us on the board in the bottom of the fifth, hitting a double with the bases loaded to give us a 2-1 lead before the inning ended on a double-play. Willie Mays hit a solo moonshot to right to add a run in the bottom of the sixth, his 30th of the season, but Klippstein gave up back-to-back triples to let the Giants back within one, and a sac-fly to left allowed the tying run in.

I brought Consuegra in for the top of the eighth, with Klippstein already at 100 pitches and looking faded. And though he gave up a hit, a flyout and two strikeouts got us to the bottom of the inning, at which point McCullough hit a run-scoring single to put us back in the lead 4-3, with two men still on and only one out! A double-play ended any chance of additional insurance runs, but we went into the top of the ninth ahead by a run and wanting this one to stay that way. Vern Fear came in to handle the frame, and he handled it flyout to right, groud-out to first ... and then he allowed a single to left and walked a batter, giving us two outs, two men on, and everyone on pins and needles hoping for the best. Another grounder to first and we were done, however, winning this one safely 4-3!

Klippstein pitched seven innings with eight hits and three earned runs, but it was Consuegra with the one-hit two strikeout no run eighth inning that earned our 32-year-old reliever his first win of the year. He’s now 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA after five innings pitched and looking like he may wind up being very valuable to us down the stretch this year. Vern Fear earned his second save in his eighth appearance as a Cub this year, giving up a hit and a walk but bringing his ERA down to 1.17 after 15.1 innings. Willie Mays remains red hot, hitting three times in four tries with a run scored and an RBI, while everyone else except Consuegra and Fear got hits as well (and they didn’t get hits because neither got a chance to bat, so who knows? Maybe they would have!)

Tomorrow we face the Giants for the final game of the series and we’re definitely on a roll. Paul Minner (7-9, 4.97 ERA) will get the start.
 
AUGUST 6, 1953 . . . Minner gave up a run in the top of the first, thanks to a triple and an RBI single, but Willie Mays slugged his 31st homer over the left field ivy and put us quickly back on top 2-1 in the bottom of the inning. But Minner got rung up in the second inning -- triple, RBI single, wild pitch -- and it looked like the inning was going to devolve quickly. But he recovered to get three flyouts in quick succession and we got out of the top of the second with the tie still intact. The Giants had a solo homer to start the top of the fourth, but Sauer hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning (his 14th of the year) to put us ahead 4-3.

Minner got through six innings but threw a ton of pitches and wore himself out to the point where I knew we’d be bringing in Consuegra, who is certainly durable as hell, for the seventh inning. Hank Sauer hit his second homer of the night in the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-3, and Clyde McCullough pinch-hit for Minner, driving Randy Jackson to third with two outs, but Fondy flew out to center to end the inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Willie Mays hit HIS second homer of the night, never one to be out-done, and then Kenneth Chapman hit his first homer as a Cub to make it a 7-3 lead! In the bottom of the eighth, Consuegra hit a double with two outs, and Dee Fondy then hit an RBI single to drive our reliver home, increasing our lead to five runs. Consuegra came out for the ninth, set them down three in a row, and closed out the 8-3 win still perfect!

Paul Minner got out of this one with a win, improving to 8-9 with a 4.95 ERA, but he only lasted six innings with seven hits, three earned runs and two strikeouts and a walk. Sandy Consuegra, now perfect through eight innings, lasted three innings with NO HITS, plus a strikeout and a walk as he’s quickly becoming a fan favorite. Willie Mays hit three times and walked once, scoring twice and driving in three more, bringing his average up to .377 with a .799 slugging percentage. Not to be outdone, Hank Sauer had two hits to score twice and drive in three, getting him to 51 RBIs this year, 15 homers, and a .234/.324/.391 slash line. Dee Fondy also had three hits with a run and an RBI, his 40th RBI of the season.

Having swept the Giants in four games, we now welcome Philadelphia into town -- we, at 61-47, have a half-game lead on the Phillies and we’re only half a game behind the Dodgers for second place. But we’re all trailing the Milwaukee Braves (73-38) by 10 to 11 games. We have three against the Phillies and four against Cincinnati (45-68) before the Braves come to town at the end of next week. I would very much like to be firmly alone in second place when that happens.

[jksander]

AUGUST 7, 1953 . . . Newcombe pitched tonight, starting on three days of rest, and he was looking really solid early in this one! Willie Mays put us on the board in the bottom of the third, batting in two runs with a single with the bases loaded and two outs to make it 2-0, and Ernie Banks immediately added three more with his 19th homer of the season! With five runs of cushion, Newcombe remained lights out, not giving up a run until the top of the fifth. He gave up a solo homer in the top of the seventh, making the score 5-2, but we got back a run in the bottom of the inning, and with a four run lead heading into the ninth, Newcombe stayed in to complete his game as we beat our rivals from Philly in game one by a 6-2 margin.

Newcombe improved to 7-3 with a 3.64 ERA, giving up ten hits and two earned runs with four strikeouts and no walks. Kenneth Chapman led the team with three hits, scoring a run, while Fondy, Cavarretta, Banks and Sauer each had two. Banks had three RBIs, while Mays had two.

AUGUST 8, 1953 . . . Ernie Banks batted in a run in the bottom of the first to put us quickly on the board, and Willie Mays hit a sac-fly to center that drove Fondy home to put us up 2-0 at the end of three. And Warren Hacker pitched so well early in the game it’s definitely easy to understand why he’s considered a front-runner for the NL’s Cy Young Award. The shutout was spoiled in the top of the sixth when Hacker gave up a solo homer to Johnny Wyrostek, but he got out of the inning leaving two Philly runners stranded and our 2-1 lead intact. Hank Sauer hit his 16th homer, a solo bomb to center that made it 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth, and Hacker drove in our fourth run in the bottom of the seventh to start a rally at the top of the order -- with the bases loaded and two men out, Ernie Banks drove in another run before the final out was secured, leaving us ahead 5-1 heading into the eighth. We added a run in the bottom of the eighth and Hacker dominated the ninth inning, sealing our 6-1 victory and sixth consecutive win!

With the win, Hacker improved to 19-5 with a 2.47 ERA< giving up just three hits and the one run, with seven strikeouts and three walks. Ernie Banks had two hits and two RBIs, while Cavarretta, Sauer and McCullough each added a pair of hits themselves.

AUGUST 9, 1953 . . . “Johnny K” Klippstein had two strikeouts before the end of the first inning of this one, and in the pitcher’s duel this one was setting up to become, he was going to need all the K’s he could get, with Curt Simmons (18-7, 2.56 ERA) on the top of his game. Kenneth Chapman put us on the board by batting Miksis home in the bottom of the third with two outs, and back-up catcher Bruce Edwards batted Sauer in to score our second run in the bottom of the fourth. Klippstein loaded the bases moments later with just one out, and Fondy hit a sac-fly to center that drove in a third run. Cavarretta added an RBI single, Chapman walked the bases loaded again, and Ernie Banks hit a bullet to left field, driving in two more! That’s when Sauer jacked one out of the park to score three additional runs, putting the pitcher’s duel to bed for good. Frank Baumholtz made it 10-0 with a solo bomb of his own, before Bruce Edwards (having batted around) finally flew out to left to semi-mercifully end the inning with us up by ten at the end of four. Philadelphia got on the board in the top of the fifth when a wild pitch allowed Willie Jones to score from third. And some sloppy fielding in the sixth inning allowed two more runs to score for the Phillies. They put a fourth run on the board in the eighth inning, but Klippstein closed it out in the ninth and we won this one in a 10-4 blowout to complete our second series sweep in a row!

Klippstein improved to 11-2 with a 3.57 ERA, giving up nine hits and four runs (three earned) with nine strikeouts and a walk. We outhit the Phillies 10-9, but that nine-run fourth inning was too much for them to recover from. Ernie Banks had a hit with a run scored and two RBIs, while Hank Sauer added a hit with two runs scored and three batted in, having walked as well. Frank Baumholtz had two hits and a run with one RBI as well.

Heading into the series against the last-place Reds of Cincinnati, we’re now 64-47 and just half a game behind Brooklyn, 9-1/2 games behind the Braves. But we’re on a seven game winning streak, the longest active streak in the majors, and the NL pennant race is setting up to be a three-team race to the finish.

[jksander]

AUGUST 11, 1953 . . . Hacker has told me he’s willing to go on three days’ rest the remainder of the season if it means we can stay in the hunt for the pennant, so he’s back up to go for his 20th win today in his 29th start! Cincinnati managed to score a run in the top of the first on a bloop single in the infield, but Hank Sauer hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning that scored him and Mays, giving us the 2-1 lead at the end of one. Cavarretta jacked a deep one over the wall at center to make it 3-1 in the bottom of the third, followed by a Mays double and a Sauer triple to add a run! Ernie Banks then drove Sauer in to make it 5-1 before the inning finally came to a close. The Reds got a run back in the top of the fifth to pull within three, but Kenneth Chapman hit a sac-fly to left that drove Sauer around from second to score and put us back up by four.

Hacker threw 120 pitches in seven innings, so we brought Consuegra in at the top of the eighth. And his run of incredible luck ran out via a series of base hits, with two runs scoring before Sandy could get the third out after getting two quick strikeouts to start the inning. Vern Fear came in to close the game out with us leading 6-4 in the top of the ninth, and two strikeouts, a base hit and a flyout later we had the win in the bag! That’s eight in a row for you all keeping count out there.

Warren Hacker got the win, improving to 20-5 with a 2.43 ERA on eight hits, two runs (one earned), a walk and a strikeout. Consuegra’s ERA now registers at 2.00, after a four-hit two run two strikeout inning. But Vern Fear shows absolutely none out there when he pitches, giving up just one hit with two strikeouts as he brought his ERA down to 1.10 for the year. Hank Sauer continues to ride his hot streak, hitting three times with three runs scored and three batted in, while Willie Mays hit twice and scored twice, though he added no RBIs (he is at 97 so far this year). The Reds outhit us 13-8 but couldn’t make anything happen when it counted.

Tomorrow we ride this streak into a double-header, with a chance to potentially eclipse our longest win streak of the season. We were 45-41 at the All Star break, and since then we’ve been on a real tear, winning 20 of our last 26 -- the only team hotter than us in the majors right now is Milwaukee -- they’ve gone 20-8 since the break.

AUGUST 12, 1953 . . . Johnny Klippstein came in to start the first game of this afternoon’s double-header, with Don Newcombe waiting in the wings to start game two. Cincinnati again scored first in this one, thanks to an error on a throw to home, but this time they added on, scoring a second on a slow throw to first that would have otherwise ended the inning. But Hank Sauer hit a triple to score two runs himself in the bottom of the inning, and Kenneth Chapman hit a two-run homer to clear the bases and make it 4-2! Sauer followed his triple with a third-inning double but we left him stranded. The Reds then got a run back in the top of the fourth to pull within one, but that was as close as they’d get. Fear came in at the top of the eighth and though he got into a jam in the ninth, he got a fly-out and then a quick throw to home to keep the tying run from scoring, securing the save and completing the 4-3 win!

Klippstein improves to 12-2 (3.52 ERA) with five hits tonight and three runs (two earned) along with four strikeouts and a walk. Fear earned his fourth save of the year, giving up one hit and two walks and bringing his ERA down to 0.98! Sauer had two hits, scoring a run with two RBIs, while Fondy, Mays, Chapman, Banks, McCullough and Jackson all hit as well. Chapman’s two RBI night brought his total to 13 on the year, and his average is still .364 after 20 games in a Cubs uniform.

For the third game in a row, the Reds got on the board first in the top of the first, but they blew a lot of chances to run the score up when we made a fielding error at first and bobbled the ball at shortstop, so heading into the bottom of the first down 1-0 hardly had us stressed. Willie Mays tied it up quickly, getting our second out at first while allowing Fondy to score from third. But our fielding overall continued to be atrocious early in this game, as Newcombe gave up four more runs in the second inning, putting the rest of his start in serious jeopardy. He got out of the inning ... barely ... and suddenly after just an inning and a half we were deep in a 1-5 hole against the worst team in the NL.

I brought Bob Rush in as a spot starter in the third inning and he calmed the flames. Randy Jackson got us a run back in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single, and Bob Rush drove in another, bringing up the top of the order with two men on and two outs. Fondy hit a line drive down the foul line at left, driving in another run to pull us within one, and Ernie banks got a hit to the left field corner, driving in the tying and go-ahead runs, giving us a 6-5 lead! The runs kept coming ... Willie Mays singled, again to left, driving in our seventh run, and Kenneth Chapman homered over the center field bleachers! By the time Hank Sauer flew out to right we were up 9-5 after an eight-run fourth! Cincinnati got a run back in the top of the fifth and another in the sixth, but Rush stayed sharp through the remainder of the game, staying in to close it out in the ninth. The Reds hit a solo homer to make it 9-8, but Rush got his three outs and we escaped this one with a win, our 10th in a row, in a slug-fest finish.

Newcombe owes Rush some beers, after saving him from what would have almost certainly been an embarassing loss. He gave up seven hits in two innings for five runs, with no strikeouts and a walk, dropping his ERA to 3.98 overall. Rush, however, salvaged things well by pitching seven solid innings of five-hit ball, giving up three runs (two earned) with five strikeouts. His ERA improved to 4.84 on the season and his win-loss record is now 8-10. Kenneth Chapman had three hits, scoring two runs and driving in two more, while Dee Fondy added two hits, two runs and an RBI and Bob Rush hit two doubles to score once and drive in his 9th RBI of the year, bringing his average to .203 ... not bad for a pitcher!

This win finally moved us into second place in the NL, a full game ahead of the Dodgers, though we remain nine back of Milwaukee. One more game against the Reds and then we get to welcome the Braves to our friendly confines, at which point we’ll see how good we actually are. Is this for real? It certainly FEELS real.

AUGUST 13, 1953 . . . Paul Minner got the start tonight as we’re saving Hacker and Klippstein for the Milwaukee series. For the fourth game in a row the Reds went up 1-0 in the top of the first, and they added a second run in the second inning. But Ernie Banks tied it up with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, his 20th of the season, and Willie Mays hit his 33rd homer in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs to put us ahead 4-2, same script, different game! Minner gave up a solo homer in the top of the fourth -- the wind is really carrying today! -- but Fondy batted in a run in the bottom of the fourth to widen the gap. Kenneth Chapman batted in another in the bottom of the fifth, and Randy Jackson added another with an RBI single and the bases loaded. Fondy drove in two more, giving him 45 RBIs on the year, and we had another rout on our hands, leading 9-3 at the end of five. Minner gave up two runs to the Reds in the top of the sixth, but Sauer got them back with a two run jack to left, making the score 11-5.

I brought Sandy Consuegra in at the top of the seventh with Minner wearing down, but he promptly loaded the bases and gave up a run, so I had to start warming up Bob Kelly. He wound up giving up two more before getting the final out, sending us up to bat in the bottom of the seventh still holding an 11-8 lead. And Fondy added to it, batting in a run with just one out, giving us a four run advantage. Bob Kelly came in for the eighth and ninth innings, getting the six outs we needed to cap the 12-8 victory and our third consecutive series sweep.

Paul Minner got the win, improving to 9-9 with a 5.05 ERA despite giving up 10 hits and five earned runs with only a single walk and strikeout. Consuegra had a rough inning, giving up four hits and three runs (only one earned) dropping his ERA to 2.70. Kelly pitched two innings of one hit ball, striking out two and walking one. Kenneth Chapman remains a solid addition to our lineup, hitting three times to score twice, driving in another. But Dee Fondy led the night with four hits with a run and four RBIs, bringing his average to .310 overall.

With an 11-game winning streak still intact, we’ll be welcoming Milwaukee (78-40) to town for a three game set. They lead the NL by 8-1/2 games, and we’ll be playing them seven times in the next ten days, so anything can and probably will happen. In the first thirteen games we’ve played against them they’ve gone 9-4, and as I predicted earlier in the month, how the last nine games of the season series go will likely determine who wins the pennant and who settles for having had a very good, but not World Series worthy, season.

[jksander]

AUGUST 14, 1953 . . . Hacker gave up an RBI triple in the top of the first, and gave up a second run on a flyout to center. And against Warren Spahn, that was a very, very dangerous thing to do. Eddie Miksis hit a sac-fly to center, driving in a run in the bottom of the fifth, and Warren Hacker then hit a line drive up the middle to score a run of his own, tying the game up 2-2! But Dee Fondy hit into a double play, keeping us from taking the lead. Hacker loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but was able to get out of it with no damage, leaving the score tied 2-2 heading into the stretch. Hacker made it through nine innings, but we were still knotted heading into the bottom of the ninth, with Spahn still on the mound. Hank Sauer reached first safely on a bobbled catch, then Jackson hit a single to left to give us two men on and no outs. Kenneth Chapman then walked, loading the bases, at which point a Bruce Edwards fly-out to center won the game by driving in the go-ahead -- that’s 12 in a row, we win this one 3-2, absolutely stunning the Braves and leaving Spahn completely gutted.

Hacker improves to 21-5 with the win, his ERA now at 2.42 thanks to just seven hits and two earned runs, to go with six strikeouts and a trio of walks. We outhit the Braves 9-7, with Sauer leading the way with three hits and a run scored. Cavarretta had two hits but was left stranded both times, and Bruce Edwards had a hit, scored a run and batted in one.

AUGUST 15, 1953 . . . Ernie Banks got this one going in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer to put us up 2-0! But Klippstein gave up a solo homer in the top of the top of the second, though he kept pitching like a demon with eight strikeouts through seven innings to keep our lead at 2-1. I brought Vern Fear in for the top of the eighth, but he gave up the tying run and then surrendered an absolutely staggering three-run homer to put us in a three-run hole, stunning the 20,000+ fans who were packing the grandstands. We got Bob Kelly warmed up in time to get the final out, but the damage was done ... we’d have two more at-bats to find our way back into this one.

In the bottom of the eighth, McCullough hit a run-scoring single to pull us within two, but two quick outs followed and we’d have to wait for one last chance in the ninth. Bob Kelly got us the outs we needed, but did we have any juice left in the tank? Frank Baumholtz pinch-hit for Kelly with one out, reaching first on a grounder to right, but Fondy flew out to left, giving us our second out. Ernie Banks hit it hard up the middle, reaching first and putting the potential winning run, Willie Mays, at the plate ... and he flew out to right, ending our streak and handing us a frustrating loss in a critical game. We’ll see how we bounce back tomorrow in the rubber match.

Klippstein only gave up six hits in seven innings, striking out eight batters and giving up the one earned run, but he threw 102 pitches and was quickly fading -- we couldn’t leave him in and risk injury. Vern Fear took the loss and his third blown save, lasting just two outs and giving up four hits for four earned runs, bloating his ERA all the way up to 2.84. Bob Kelly got our last four outs, gave up no hits, but our bats couldn’t do enough in the end to make up for the disaster that was our eighth inning. Ernie Banks batted well in the second spot in the lineup, scoring twice and batting in two, while Mays and Chapman each had two hits.

We fell to 69-48 with the loss, but considering we were below .500 for much of May and June, being 21 wins over .500 is still an achievement worth celebrating. But now we need to fight back and make sure this loss was just a blip and not an omen.

[jksander]

AUGUST 16, 1953 . . . Bob Rush got the start in this one as we hope to find our way to a victory against the Braves in game three. Frank Baumholtz hit an RBI double to get the scoring going in the bottom of the second, but we ended the inning with three consecutive strikeouts, preventing us from adding more runs. But Bob Rush was on his A-game from the opening pitch, and Willie Mays added a two-run moonshot to center to make it 3-0 in the bottom of the third. Clyde McCullough walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth with no one out, and Bob Rush then walked in his own insurance run to make it 4-0. Northey added a run on a wild pitch, and then Fondy doubled to make it 7-0, an incredible lead to have after four innings against the best team in the National League! We gave up a solo shot by Del Crandall to put the Braves on the board, but Eddie Miksis added an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to put us back up by seven, and Willie Mays batted in our ninth run with a single to right field to make it 9-1 after six. In the bottom of the eighth we quickly loaded the bases again with no outs, and Ernie Banks drove Fondy home with a sac-fly to center to make it 10-1, and Rush stayed in to complete his game on 139 pitches, winning this one for us 10-1!

With the victory, Bob Rush improves to 9-10 on the season with a 4.64 ERA, throwing a six-hit game with seven strikeouts, three walks and just a single earned run. Willie Mays dominated with three hits and a walk, scoring one and driving in three to reach 104 RBIs on the season. Miksis, Jackson, Baumholtz and Northey each added two hits, and Bob Rush hit once and walked once for a run and an RBI, bringing his average up to .210!

Our homestand is now complete, and we’ve got to spend the rest of the month on the road. We’ll start on Tuesday with three games at St. Louis, followed by four games in three days against Milwaukee, three at Brooklyn, two at Philly and three at the Giants, followed by one road game against Pittsburgh. We’ll then return to Wrigley for three games against Cincy from September 5-6 and two games against Milwaukee on the 7th. We’re currently 70-48 and just 7-1/2 games behind Milwaukee, but we’re only a half game up on Philly, so it’s not the time to get cocky.
 
AUGUST 18, 1953 . . . Tonight we decided to try something somewhat novel and, with Minner up to pitch in the starting rotation, we brought Sandy Consuegra out to “open” the game, which I felt would give Minner a better shot at going deeper into the game if Consuegra could get outs quickly against the top of the St. Louis rotation. Vinegar Bend Mizell came out to pitch for the Cardinals, and the game was predictably low on hits. Consuegra gave up a run in the bottom of the second and a run in the bottom of the fourth, but we got a run back in the top of the fifth when Kenneth Chapman belted a solo homer to left, at which point Paul Minner came in at the top of the fifth to take us the rest of the way. We went into the top of the ninth still trailing 2-1, but our batters couldn’t get anything going and we lost this one in a tight battle by a single run.

Consuegra took the loss, falling to 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA after four innings of three-hit ball. He gave up two runs, but struck out two batters and didn’t walk anyone ... it was just bad luck. Paul Minner pitched four innings and gave up three hits with three strikeouts and a walk, improving his ERA to 4.92. 23-year old St. Louis pitcher Vinegar Bend Mizell won his 15th game this year, and he was dominant throughout, as the Cardinals outhit us 6-4. Chapman led our batters with two hits in four tries for a run and an RBI thanks to his 4th homer since donning a Cubs uniform.

AUGUST 19, 1953 . . . This game was tight from the very start, with Warren Hacker facing off against Chet Nichols, who despite his 5-10 record was having a really solid outing tonight. Hacker gave up a triple and a single to left to start the bottom of the fifth, allowing St. Louis to take the lead after a scoreless first eighty minutes, but he got out of the inning without further incident and it was clear that Chet Nichols was wearing down while Hacker was still spry and ready to go. Dee Fondy opened the top of the sixth with a single through the gap, and Ernie Banks sacrificed himself at first to move Fondy to second. Willie Mays walked, but Kenneth Chapman struck out, sending Hank Sauer to the plate with two outs and two men on. And he sruck out too, keeping us scoreless. But we drove Nichols out of the game, as the Cardinals went to the bullpen for the top of the seventh. But Hacker got no run support AT ALL, and we went into the top of the ninth trailing 1-0, needing SOMETHING to get this game out of the pits, and it didn’t happen ... flyout, double play and Hacker’s ten game streak of wins came to an ignonimous end.

It’s not like he didn’t try. In eight innings, Hacker gave up six hits and just one run, striking out five and walking one as his record fell to 21-6 with a 2.37 ERA. Where were the runs, guys? We got outhit 6-5, but everyone got stranded. Cavarretta had two hits, while Fondy, Banks and Sauer settled for one each.

AUGUST 20, 1953 . . . Klippstein gave up a two-run homer to Solly Hemus to put St. Louis on the board 2-0 in the bottom of the first. And our bats have gone ice cold, leaving our pitchers out there to hang and dry on the line. Hank Sauer hit a homer in the top of the fourth to bring us within a run, but Klippstein gave up a run in the bottom of the fourth, preventing a second with a double play, and St. Louis, one of the worst teams in the majors, seemed to be having their way with us on their way to a sweep. We loaded the damned bases in the top of the sixth with three walks, and then blew it three times in a row to come out with NOTHING. All the while, Klippstein just kept pitching and doing everything he could to keep us in this one for when our bats might finally wake the f--- up. Clyde McCullough hit a solo homer to center in the top of the eighth, pulling us to within a run of the Cardinals, and Ernie Banks scored on a Hank Sauer double, reaching home from third on an error to tie things up 3-3. We failed to score in the top of the ninth, however, sending Klippstein out in the bottom of the inning needing to get three outs to allow us the privlege of extra innings, and it was too much to ask. He got two outs, but the men on base kept advancing and it wasn’t enough. This has been the story of our season .... we win a lot of games, but we also play down to the level we expect from our competition, and teams like St. Louis and Pittsburgh ring us up and keep us from staying in the race with the likes of Milwaukee. It’s hard to say this series cost us the pennant, but it damned well might have.

Klippstein gave it all he had, throwing 8.2 innings of five-hit ball, but giving up four runs (three earned) with four strikeouts and a walk, taking his third loss of the year. I’m absolutely livid because we outhit them 7-5 and just couldn’t get **** going when we needed it! It’s embarassing that our guys can throw up eight or nine run innings to back up our worst starters, but they go completely anemic when it comes to teams like St. Louis. Cavarretta and Sauer each had two hits and were our only real bright spots offensively. Cavarretta also walked twice, scoring once and batting in another, and Sauer walked once, scoring once and batting in one.

Let’s put this sweep behind us and hope it’s not a sign of how we’re going to treat the rest of this road trip. We have to suck it up and get ready for Milwaukee, four games in three days, and they’re ALL must-win. We should have Hacker and Klippstein ready for the August 23rd double-header, but we need to get something good going for the first two games or we’re sunk.

[jksander]

AUGUST 16, 1953 . . . Bob Rush got the start in this one as we hope to find our way to a victory against the Braves in game three. Frank Baumholtz hit an RBI double to get the scoring going in the bottom of the second, but we ended the inning with three consecutive strikeouts, preventing us from adding more runs. But Bob Rush was on his A-game from the opening pitch, and Willie Mays added a two-run moonshot to center to make it 3-0 in the bottom of the third. Clyde McCullough walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth with no one out, and Bob Rush then walked in his own insurance run to make it 4-0. Northey added a run on a wild pitch, and then Fondy doubled to make it 7-0, an incredible lead to have after four innings against the best team in the National League! We gave up a solo shot by Del Crandall to put the Braves on the board, but Eddie Miksis added an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to put us back up by seven, and Willie Mays batted in our ninth run with a single to right field to make it 9-1 after six. In the bottom of the eighth we quickly loaded the bases again with no outs, and Ernie Banks drove Fondy home with a sac-fly to center to make it 10-1, and Rush stayed in to complete his game on 139 pitches, winning this one for us 10-1!

With the victory, Bob Rush improves to 9-10 on the season with a 4.64 ERA, throwing a six-hit game with seven strikeouts, three walks and just a single earned run. Willie Mays dominated with three hits and a walk, scoring one and driving in three to reach 104 RBIs on the season. Miksis, Jackson, Baumholtz and Northey each added two hits, and Bob Rush hit once and walked once for a run and an RBI, bringing his average up to .210!

Our homestand is now complete, and we’ve got to spend the rest of the month on the road. We’ll start on Tuesday with three games at St. Louis, followed by four games in three days against Milwaukee, three at Brooklyn, two at Philly and three at the Giants, followed by one road game against Pittsburgh. We’ll then return to Wrigley for three games against Cincy from September 5-6 and two games against Milwaukee on the 7th. We’re currently 70-48 and just 7-1/2 games behind Milwaukee, but we’re only a half game up on Philly, so it’s not the time to get cocky.
 
AUGUST 18, 1953 . . . Tonight we decided to try something somewhat novel and, with Minner up to pitch in the starting rotation, we brought Sandy Consuegra out to “open” the game, which I felt would give Minner a better shot at going deeper into the game if Consuegra could get outs quickly against the top of the St. Louis rotation. Vinegar Bend Mizell came out to pitch for the Cardinals, and the game was predictably low on hits. Consuegra gave up a run in the bottom of the second and a run in the bottom of the fourth, but we got a run back in the top of the fifth when Kenneth Chapman belted a solo homer to left, at which point Paul Minner came in at the top of the fifth to take us the rest of the way. We went into the top of the ninth still trailing 2-1, but our batters couldn’t get anything going and we lost this one in a tight battle by a single run.

Consuegra took the loss, falling to 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA after four innings of three-hit ball. He gave up two runs, but struck out two batters and didn’t walk anyone ... it was just bad luck. Paul Minner pitched four innings and gave up three hits with three strikeouts and a walk, improving his ERA to 4.92. 23-year old St. Louis pitcher Vinegar Bend Mizell won his 15th game this year, and he was dominant throughout, as the Cardinals outhit us 6-4. Chapman led our batters with two hits in four tries for a run and an RBI thanks to his 4th homer since donning a Cubs uniform.

AUGUST 19, 1953 . . . This game was tight from the very start, with Warren Hacker facing off against Chet Nichols, who despite his 5-10 record was having a really solid outing tonight. Hacker gave up a triple and a single to left to start the bottom of the fifth, allowing St. Louis to take the lead after a scoreless first eighty minutes, but he got out of the inning without further incident and it was clear that Chet Nichols was wearing down while Hacker was still spry and ready to go. Dee Fondy opened the top of the sixth with a single through the gap, and Ernie Banks sacrificed himself at first to move Fondy to second. Willie Mays walked, but Kenneth Chapman struck out, sending Hank Sauer to the plate with two outs and two men on. And he sruck out too, keeping us scoreless. But we drove Nichols out of the game, as the Cardinals went to the bullpen for the top of the seventh. But Hacker got no run support AT ALL, and we went into the top of the ninth trailing 1-0, needing SOMETHING to get this game out of the pits, and it didn’t happen ... flyout, double play and Hacker’s ten game streak of wins came to an ignonimous end.

It’s not like he didn’t try. In eight innings, Hacker gave up six hits and just one run, striking out five and walking one as his record fell to 21-6 with a 2.37 ERA. Where were the runs, guys? We got outhit 6-5, but everyone got stranded. Cavarretta had two hits, while Fondy, Banks and Sauer settled for one each.

AUGUST 20, 1953 . . . Klippstein gave up a two-run homer to Solly Hemus to put St. Louis on the board 2-0 in the bottom of the first. And our bats have gone ice cold, leaving our pitchers out there to hang and dry on the line. Hank Sauer hit a homer in the top of the fourth to bring us within a run, but Klippstein gave up a run in the bottom of the fourth, preventing a second with a double play, and St. Louis, one of the worst teams in the majors, seemed to be having their way with us on their way to a sweep. We loaded the damned bases in the top of the sixth with three walks, and then blew it three times in a row to come out with NOTHING. All the while, Klippstein just kept pitching and doing everything he could to keep us in this one for when our bats might finally wake the f--- up. Clyde McCullough hit a solo homer to center in the top of the eighth, pulling us to within a run of the Cardinals, and Ernie Banks scored on a Hank Sauer double, reaching home from third on an error to tie things up 3-3. We failed to score in the top of the ninth, however, sending Klippstein out in the bottom of the inning needing to get three outs to allow us the privlege of extra innings, and it was too much to ask. He got two outs, but the men on base kept advancing and it wasn’t enough. This has been the story of our season .... we win a lot of games, but we also play down to the level we expect from our competition, and teams like St. Louis and Pittsburgh ring us up and keep us from staying in the race with the likes of Milwaukee. It’s hard to say this series cost us the pennant, but it damned well might have.

Klippstein gave it all he had, throwing 8.2 innings of five-hit ball, but giving up four runs (three earned) with four strikeouts and a walk, taking his third loss of the year. I’m absolutely livid because we outhit them 7-5 and just couldn’t get s--- going when we needed it! It’s embarassing that our guys can throw up eight or nine run innings to back up our worst starters, but they go completely anemic when it comes to teams like St. Louis. Cavarretta and Sauer each had two hits and were our only real bright spots offensively. Cavarretta also walked twice, scoring once and batting in another, and Sauer walked once, scoring once and batting in one.

Let’s put this sweep behind us and hope it’s not a sign of how we’re going to treat the rest of this road trip. We have to suck it up and get ready for Milwaukee, four games in three days, and they’re ALL must-win. We should have Hacker and Klippstein ready for the August 23rd double-header, but we need to get something good going for the first two games or we’re sunk.

[jksander]

AUGUST 21, 1953 . . . Our bats are ice cold and I’m struggling with how to shake things up and get the guys hitting again. We gave up a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to Joe Adcock and the way we’re hitting that almost seemed insurmountable right off the bat. But Willie Mays woke up and hit a three-run slam to right to put us up 3-2 in the top of the third, silencing the Milwaukee faithful very quickly. Still, Newcombe can’t be counted on in the clutch, and he struggled severely in the bottom of the third, giving up the tying run and then advancing a runner to third with two outs. Thankfully he got the final out at second to end the inning but he was already above 50 pitches after three innings. We had to bring Consuegra in from the bullpen to start the eighth inning with it still knotted 3-3, and he got the three outs we needed with Fear and Kelly ready in the bullpen in case of any insanity. In the top of the ninth, with Satchel Paige still throwing fire, Randy Jackson walked and we brought Frank Baumholtz in to pinch-hit for Consuegra. Baumholtz hit a sacrifice that got him out at first, advancing Jackson to second, but Dee Fondy flew out to center but not deep enough for our runner to advance to third. Two outs, Cavarretta at the plate, Mays on deck. Cavarretta singles to left, driving Jackson around from second to score the go-ahead run, before Willie Mays strikes out to end the inning. Vern Fear came in to close out the final inning, and he got three quick outs with no fuss or mess, allowing us to come out of this with a critical 4-3 come from behind win!

Newcombe lasted seven innings but gave up eight hits and three earned runs and threw 109 pitches, wearing out his arm too much to stay in this one. Consuegra went one inning with just a hit in 20 pitches, earning himself the win to improve to 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA. And Vern Fear earned his fifth save since coming up from the minors, giving up no hits and improving his ERA to 2.70. Cavarretta had three hits, a run and an RBI, walking twice as well. Willie Mays, meanwhile, had a hit and scored a run while batting in three thanks to homer number 35 on the season.
 
AUGUST 22, 1953 . . . Warren Hacker was ready to pitch today, and we need all these games against the Braves to go our way so I brought him out again on short rest. And Fondy opened the game on a good note, hitting a triple on just the second pitch of the game! Willie Mays sacrificed to center to drive Fondy home for the first run of the game, and we went into the bottom of the first leading 1-0. And in the top of the fourth, Hacker batted in some insurance for himself, sending Kenneth Chapman around to score and imrceasing our lead to 2-0, and Phil Cavarretta hit a solo homer in the top of the sixth to make it 3-0. Hacker’s no-no and perfect game bid ended in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a solo homer by Del Crandall, but strong defense in the seventh kept us from losing the lead, particularly a brilliant throw from Ernie Banks at shortstop to home plate to stop a run. In the bottom of the eighth with two outs, Vern Fear came in to get the third out, and we went into the top of the ninth still leading 3-1. Sauer doubled, Chapman singled and then Bruce Edwards batted in another run with a single, giving us a three-run lead. Fear let two runs score in the bottom of the ninth, but with two outs and men on the corners he got the critical third out to secure the 4-3 victory and keep our pennant dreams alive!

Hacker improved to 22-6 with a 2.34 ERA, giving up four hits in 7.2 innings with six strikeouts. Fear earned his sixth save of the season but gave up three hits in 1.1 innings, allowing two runs to score and bringing his ERA down to 3.38. Chapman and Edwards each had two hits, in a game where we outhit Milwaukee 9-7. Tomorrow’s double header will be critical as the Braves still have an eight game lead on us, and Brooklyn is now half a game up on us in 2nd place in the NL. We have a legitimate three-team pennant race going in the NL, while the Yankees currently have a 15 game lead on the Guardians in the AL -- they’re likely to clinch early in September unless Cleveland makes sudden, vast improvements in their overall play.

[jksander]

AUGUST 23, 1953 . . . Johnny Klippstein took the mound for us in the first game of today’s doubleheader, and he did so with a lead already in place thanks to an RBI single by Mays, an RBI single by Sauer and an RBI single by Banks. Not bad at all! Dee Fondy homered in the top of the fourth to score three more runs, and Kenneth Chapman added an RBI single in the top of the seventh and Ernie Banks added a three-run homer all in the top of the seventh, giving us a 10-0 lead! Hank Sauer added an RBI single in the top of the eighth, and Johnny Klippstein struck out the side in the ninth to seal it as we demolished the Milwaukee Braves 11-0!

Klippstein pitched a complete game two-hitter, throwing 11 strikeouts against two walks! The win improved his record to 13-3 on the season with a sparkling 3.23 ERA over 175.1 innings. We outhit Milwaukee 16-2, led by Cavarretta (four hits, two runs) and McCullough (4 hits, 1 run), while Ernie Banks hit twice and scored one while batting in four. Fondy hit three times to score three and bat in three more as well.

Willie Mays put us on board in the top of the first in game two with a run-scoring triple, so Bob Rush came out holding a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. He got into trouble thanks to a couple walks, but despite loading the bases Rush was able to get out of it and keep the Braves scoreless in the first, though he threw 24 pitches. But he gave up a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to tie things up. Hopefully we’d be able to get our offense going just a little more after the huge first game tally. Willie Mays got us back up 2-1 thanks to a second run-scoring triple of the night, driving Fondy home, and Hank Sauer hit a single to score the third run and give us some cushion, up 3-1 after six. Fondy added a run-scoring single in the top of the seventh, and Sandy Consuegra came in for the bottom of the eighth and was immediately on his game, shutting down the Braves through two innings to ensure we completed the sweep with a 4-1 win!

Bob Rush improved to 10-10 on the year with a 4.52 ERA, thanks to a four-hit three strikeout two walk game. Consuegra earned his third save of the year, giving up a hit with one strikeout and bringing his ERA down to 2.65. Fondy had another three-hit game, scoring twice and batting in one, while Willie Mays added two hits, a run and two RBIs to his resume. Hank Sauer batted in a run as well with two hits.

Sweeping the best team in the NL on the road is a huge deal, but there’s no time to rest on our laurels. Next up: a day off and then three road games against the Dodgers, and two this weekend against the Phillies. We’re currently half a game ahead of the Dodgers, only six games behind Milwaukee, and seven games up on Philly. We then have three games against the Giants, one against Pittsburgh, and then a three-game home set against Cincy before our final two games of the year against the Braves. Play our cards right and we could be neck and neck with Milwaukee in the pennant race by September 8!

[jksander]

AUGUST 25, 1953 . . . Warren Hacker came out uncharacteristically sloppy, giving up three runs on two hits and a walk in 19 pitches to open the bottom of the first before getting his third out at last. Fondy scored our first run of the game in the top of the third, driven home by a Wilile Mays single into a fielder’s choice, and Hank Sauer doubled to bring up Ernie Banks with two outs and two men in scoring position, but he flew out to center keeping the score 3-1 Dodgers heading into the bottom of the third. The Dodgers got their run back with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, and by the end of the third we were in a four run hole, down 5-1. Hacker hit a triple in the top of the fifth and Fondy hit a single to drive him home to cut the lead to three, but Hacker gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth on a wild pitch, clearly not having his best stuff tonight. Vern Fear came in for the seventh and gave up an additional run at which point the wheels pretty much fell off our chances of coming back. Dee Fondy hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to pull us within three runs with two outs, but that was as far as the rally went as we lost this one to New York 7-4. We hadn’t been sharp defensively at all, and it showed.

Hacker fell to 22-7 with a 2.49 ERA with six hits and six earned runs in six innings, his first time in nine games to not have a quality start. Vern Fear did what he could in two innings, but gave up a run on two hits, dropping his ERA to 3.47. Dee Fondy was sharp in the lead-off position, getting three hits with two runs scored and three batted in, bringing his average up to .312 for the year. Willie Mays hit once to bat in our only other run.

AUGUST 26, 1953 . . . Willie Mays hit his 36th home run of the year to put us up 1-0 in the top of the first, and Clyde McCullough hit a two-run bomb in the top of the second to make it 3-0! Klippstein struck out the side in the bottom of the second, but he gave up two doubles in the bottom of the fifth resulting in the Dodgers getting on the board. An RBI single with two outs made it 3-2, but he was able to safely get out of the inning with the least at least still intact, and Sauer added a solo homer in the top of the sixth to make the score 4-2. Klippstein then gave up a homer to Gil Hodges in the bottom of the sixth before striking out two in a row to get out of the inning. Sandy Consuegra came in with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, getting the final out to keep the score 4-3, and Phil Cavarretta drove in a run in the top of the eighth, sending Fondy home and giving us a 5-3 lead. But Sandy Consuegra gave up three consective hits to start the bottom of the eighth, leading us to rush Bob Kelly to start warming up. A fourth hit, driving in a runa nd keeping the bases loaded, required us to bring Kelly in immediately, but after just getting one out, Kelly surrendered a grand f---ing slam to George Shuba, completely blowing this one by giving up every single one of Consuegra’s runs. And the (s)hits kept comiong -- a two run homer by Roy Campanella sealed it. We came into the eighth with a 5-3 lead and left it trailing 5-10. Kenneth Chapman opened the ninth with a solo homer, but that was all she wrote -- we lost this one 6-10 when we should have had it in the bag.

Sandy Consuegra took the loss, falling to 2-2 with a 4.67 ERA after giving up four earned runs on four hits with just the single out from the end of the seventh. Bob Kelly blew his seventh save of the year and dropped his ERA to 6.67 with three earned runs on three hits. Klippstein had 95 pitches in 6.2 innings on short rest, but I wish we’d kept him in -- every time I put much trust in our bullpen it comes back to bite me. Cavarretta, Banks and McCullough each had two hits, and Mays, Sauer and Chapman had homers, but when six runs isn’t enough to win there’s not much you can really say.
 
AUGUST 27, 1953 . . . These Brooklyn games could prove pivotal in the playoff race, as right now we’re six games back of Milwaukee but only a game and a half behind the Dodgers. We only have tonight’s game left before heading to Philly, so we REALLY need to get this one to go our way. Bob Rush will be pitching for us, and he’s been red hot, winning three of his last five games, with quality starts in five of his last six appearances.

Rush walked Jackie Robinson in the bottom of the first and then gave up a hit to Campanella that drove Robinson to third, but a quick pick-off at first got us an out. A fly-out to center allowed Robinson to score, putting the Dodgers on the board, and the third out to right got us out of the inning with only minimal damage against the top of their formidable order. Preacher Roe had good stuff early, and Rush got into some trouble in the third, allowing Campanella and Snider to reach base with only one out, and then Fondy bobbled a ball to allow Gil Hodges to load the bases. A passed ball then allowed a second run to score, though we were lucky not to give up three or four. Hank Sauer hit a sac-fly to center in the top of the third to score Cavarretta, and then Kenneth Chapman hit a line drive to left, reaching third base and scoring Banks to tie the game. And on a wicked sharp infield hit that bounced off the grass just enough to keep the shortstop from getting it in time to go for a throw, McCullough was able to drive Chapman home from third to give us a 3-2 lead as we headed for the bottom of the fourth. In the top of the fifth, Willie Mays hit a deep drive to center, driving in our fourth run, and we brought Vern Fear in for the bottom of the sixth to help protect the lead, still at 4-2. With two outs and runners on second and third, however, he gave up a double to Jackie Robinson that tied the score up at 4-4. We just have no ability to count on our relievers to hold a lead when the starter gets worn down, and that’s been our achilles heel all season. Worse, Campanella then hit a two-run homer to put us in a 6-4 hole, completely destroying our momentum. Fear’s confidence was shot, but he got out of the inning. Now I’m looking at having to bring Bob Kelly in to finish the game, and he’s been ice cold all year. Can our bats get us out of this one?

The top of our order came up to start the seventh, and Fondy and Cavarretta each reached base on singles up the middle. Ernie Banks flew out to center, holding both runners, but Willie Mays hit one just over the head of the center fielder, allowing two runs to score, knotting this one back up at 6-6! Hank Sauer then walked, giving us two men on with only one out. Chapman singled into a fielder’s choice for the second baseman, but McCullough singled up the gap to load the bases with two outs. And Eddie Miksis hit a lightning bolt grounder to right field, scoring the go ahead runs to put us up 8-6, giving us all whiplash and sending the dugout into pandemonium. Bruce Edwards pinch-hit for Fear, driving a single to left and scoring another run, and Dee Fondy re-loaded the bases on a strange blooper of an infield hit. Cavarretta then hit a line drive to left, scoring another run on a Dodgers error to make it 10-6 before the final out ended the inning.

Bob Kelly loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and got out of the inning without a run, but he wore out his arm pretty quickly. With our bullpen worn down to a nub, I had few choices other than to leave him out there for at least another inning, with Consuegra an option on short rest. Ernie Banks helped us out by adding a solo homer in the eighth, and after a triple by Willie Mays, Sauer batted in his 70th run of the game with a double to make the score 12-6. McCullough singled to left, driving Sauer to third, and Eddie Miksis then walked the bases loaded. Bob Kelly then singled to left, driving in another run, and Fondy drove one to the left-field corner, quickly extending our lead to ten runs with a double. Banks got the second out of the inning, our team having batted around to completely destroy the Dodgers here in the top of the eighth, and Willie Mays struck out to end it. But we went into the bottom of the eighth with a 16-6 lead, something even Bob Kelly hopefully couldn’t blow.

Kelly surrendered a solo homer in the bottom of the inning with two outs, but got us out of the inning with no further damage and a nine-run lead intact. I then brought Consuegra in for the ninth inning with a nine run cushion and Kelly’s arm completely blown. And the wheels quickly started coming off after two quick outs to start the inning. A two-run homer pulled the Dodgers to within seven, and then a series of hits allowed the 10th run to score, with two men still on and two outs. I started warming up Dutch Leonard, but hoped Consuegra could dial in and get the final out. And thankfully he did, and we came out of this one with a 16-10 win and with me on the phone with my physician attempting to get more of my bloodd pressure medication.

Vern Fear wound up with the blown save and the win, throwing just the sixth inning with four hits and four earned runs in 23 pitches, improving to 2-1 but with a roughed up 4.81 ERA in the process. Bob Rush lasted the first five, giving up five hits and two runs (one earned) with three strikeouts and three walks on 83 pitches. In the end we got the win, but our three relievers combined for 97 pitches over four innings -- if we hadn’t managed to score 12 runs in the seventh and eighth, this one would have ended much differently.

Dee Fondy remains red hot, with four hits in six at-bats, scoring twice and driving in three, while Cavarretta, Mays and Miksis each had three hits. We outhit the Dodgers 23-16 in the end, a powerful statement from our offense that we deserve to stay in this pennant race despite our sometimes shaky pitching. We batted around in both the seventh AND the eighth innings, something I as a manager have never experienced.

Next up: Philadelphia (70-59, 11 GB) for games on Friday and Saturday, followed by games on the road against the Giants Sunday through Tuesday. The Giants, at 55-71, are now officially out of the pennant race mathematically at 24-1/2 games back. Pittsburgh (52-80) and Cincinnati (50-80) eliminated themselves by mid-August. On the South Side, the White Sox have won ten straight to still technically be in the race for the AL Pennant, though they will eliminate themselves from the race unless they can stay undefeated the rest of the way. With a 14-game lead over Cleveland, it’s the Yankees’ pennant to lose at this point. The Philadelphia Athletics, meanwhile, are competing to have possibly the worst AL finish of all time -- they’re currently 47-83 and 42 games back of the Yankees.

[jksander]

AUGUST 28, 1953 . . . Hank Sauer singled up the gap to drive in our first run in the top of the first inning, and with the bases loaded and only one out, Kenneth Chapman walked in the second run. Clyde McCullough then hit into a double play to end the inning, but we’d made a statement early. Dee Fondy batted in another two runs in the top of the second off a triple, and a Cavarretta RBI single made it 5-0 before the sun had even had a chance to set. Willie Mays hit a solo homer in the top of the fifth, his 37th of the year, and Hacker continued to pitch dominantly through this one as we held onto the shutout into the bottom of the ninth. He allowed a pair of hits in the final frame, but got the strikeout to end the game without Philly getting on the board, securing the 6-0 victory!

Hacker gave up eight hits in nine innings, improving to 23-7 with a 2.41 ERA, striking out five batters with only one walk. Fondy hit twice, scoring twice and batting in two runs as he improved to .317 in the leadoff spot. Willie Mays had two hits including the homer, scoring twice and batting in one, and Chapman batted in a run thanks to a walk, his 21st RBI of the year as he keeps his on base percentage well above .400 for the season.

AUGUST 29, 1953 . . . Philly got on board first in the bottom of the second, going up 2-0 on a single by Eddie O’Brien, as Klippstein was unusually chaotic from the mound, throwing 43 pitches in two innings and more than 60 through three. In the top of the seventh, McCullough pinch-hit for Edwards, getting a hit, and Randy Jackson, pinch-hitting for Miksis, got a hit as well, reaching first when the shortstop couldn’t get the ball out of the infield. I then hit Baumholtz for Klippstein, but he flew out on a line drive and they made the quick throw to second to get two outs on the play. That left Jackson alone on first, with Fondy up to bat and two outs. Fondy flew out to the shortstop and ended the inning with us again scoreless, down 2-0 with Vern Fear coming in to attempt to give us a comeback chance. McCullough took over at catcher, and Jackson took third base.

Fear got us out of the seventh with three quick outs, and then Willie Mays hit a stunner to deep left, SCORING ON AN INSIDE THE PARK HOIME RUN! That’s his 38th of the year in amazing fashion -- what amazing speed he has! Unfortunately that did not spark a rally, and we went into the bottom of the eighth still trailing 2-1. Fear again got three quick outs, giving us the chance to fight our way out of this one in the top of the ninth. But we went down one, two, three to end the game as a one run loss, outhitting the Phillies 9-5 but losing 2-1.

Klippstein took the loss, falling to 13-4 with a 3.26 ERA off five hits for two runs, striking out two but walking three. Vern Fear was hitless in two innings pitched, striking out one and bringing his ERA down to 4.44. Chapman led our offense with three hits but was left stranded every time. Dee Fondy went hitless for the first time in 13 games, only the third time in 25 games that he’s failed to hit in the leadoff spot.

AUGUST 30, 1953 . . . Onward to New York, where we have three games against the Giants to push our way into September. Newcombe took the mound for us today, and Fondy opened the game by ending his one-game slump with a standing double. Cavarretta grounded out to first, sending Fondy to third, but we weren’t able to drive him home ... scoreless heading into the bottom of the first. Newcombe gave up a tun in the bottom of the third to put the Giants on the board, but Ernie Banks got it back in the top of the fourth with a solo homer, his 24th of the year. Sauer then put us up 2-1 with a solo homer of his own, his 22nd, and Dee Fondy singled to prolong the inning with two outs by batting in a third run! Newcombe acquitted himself well, getting through the sixth inning on fewer than 90 pitches and holding our 3-1 lead, and Dee Fondy hit a solo homer in the top of the seventh to put us up 4-1, giving him his 9th homer of the season. Ernie Banks came up later in the frame and hit a three-run blast to left, his 25th of the year, to put us up 7-1 and comfortably in control. Dee Fondy came up to bat again in the top of the eighth and launched his second homer of the night over the right field wall, scoring two runs and completely muting the home fans. Newcombe remained strong late, though he gave up a solo homer to allow them some slight hope. Consuegra came in for the bottom of the ninth, and he wasn’t exactly lights out, giving up four hits and two runs on one out, but a double play ended the game with us ahead 9-4, so all’s well that ends well. Let’s go out there tomorrow and take game two!

Newcombe earned the win, improving to 8-3 with a 3.87 ERA through 125.2 innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs while striking out six and walking only a pair. Consuegra gave up four hits and two runs via 19 pitches, dropping his ERA to 6.52 through 19.1 innings over 12 appearances, having cooled significantly since his hot start. Fondy, however, remains completely en fuego, having four hits tonight including the two homers, scoring twice and driving in four runs. He now has 10 homers and 64 RBIs and a stellar .318/.348/.450 slash line in 584 at-bats! Ernie Banks also had four RBIs tonight off three hits, scoring twice on his own. His rookie season continues to go swimmingly, as he’s hiting .282 with a .340 on base percentage and .482 slugging.

One more day until the September 1st roster expansion ... who will our GM choose to bring up from the minors for the final month’s pennant chase?

AUGUST 31, 1953 . . . This game was deadlocked through five, with Bob Rush and Ruben Gomez each having solid nights from the mound, giving up just three hits each through the fifth inning. Both pitchers maintained the scoreless game through the sixth, seventh and eighth, so Willie Mays came up in the top of the ninth with the score 0-0 and us needing to get something going. He took the no outs walk, and Kenneth Chapman sac-bunted successfully to advance Mays to second. McCullough then hit a line drive to left, allowing Mays to move to third, at which point Max West walked the bases loaded. Hank Sauer came in to pinch hit for Baumholtz and take over in right field, and he successfully drove the ball into right field, driving in two runs to put us on the board in a big way! Eddie Miksis then flew out to right, and a strikeout ended the inning with us ahead 2-0. With Consuegra warmed up in the bullpen, we let Rush stay in to attempt to close out the complete game, and he earned the shutout with three quick outs as we took the second game against the Giants 2-0.

Rush improved to 11-10 on the season with a 4.24 ERA, giving up just three hits tonight with three strikeouts and two walks on 113 pitches. Fondy and Banks were hitless tonight, but McCullough came up big with two hits and a run scored, and Sauer pinch-hit to get us the two RBIs we needed in a game where we outhit the Giants just 6-3!

Kenneth Chapman was named Rookie of the Month heading into September, as we pulled to within half a game of the Dodgers and just 5-1/2 games back of Milwaukee with 22 games remaining in the season!

Our GM has brought up five players from the minors now that the rosters have expanded. Frank Baczewski (1-1, 4.79 ERA, 20.2 IP) returns to our roster, while Willie Ramsdell, with a 5-6 record and 3.64 ERA through 89 innings in AAA, will also join the rotation though he’s unlikely to be more than a long-relief stopgap. Bob Ramazzotti (2B) will be back up from AAA, along with Hal Jeffcoat (CF) and Gene Hermanski (RF). Neither of them is likely to be anything but a potential pinch-hitter -- I have no intention of upsetting the balance we’ve had in the roster since going on this run post-All Star break. I keep hoping he’ll bring up Elvin Stabelfeld from AAA Springfield -- Stabelfeld would be a key improvement in our bullpen, and he’s a high potential player we risk losing in the Rule 5 Draft if our GM isn’t smart enough to bring him up for protection. Here’s hoping ...
 
SEPTEMBER 1, 1953 . . . Ernie Banks hit a sac-fly in the top of the third, and they had a shot at picking Fondy off on the slide to home but committed an error on the throw, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Sauer flew out to first to end the inning with us up 1-0 midway through the third. Hacker was perfect through four innings, and Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to add to the lead in the top of the fifth, and Miksis added a third run on an RBI single. Hacker blew the shutout and his perfect game, however, by giving up a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to get the Giants on the board, though that was the only hit of his fifth inning. Ernie Banks hit an RBI double in the top of the seventh to make the lead 4-1, and in the top of the ninth Willie Mays got his second hit of the game, an RBI triple, to put us up 5-1! Hacker struggled a bit in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases, but he got the second out without any runners coming around before walking a run in to make it 5-2. The final batter of the night struck out, however, and he held on to win this one 5-3, completing the sweep!

Hacker improved to 24-7 with a 2.40 ERA, giving up six hits and two runs while striking out five and walking one. He has now thrown 278 innings this year and remains a frontrunner for the NL’s Cy Young award. Fondy and Cavarretta each had three hits and scored two runs, while Wille Mays added two hits and two walks for both a run scored and an RBI. Ernie Banks added two hits for three RBIs, reaching 90 RBIs for the season.

Tomorrow we play a single road game at Pittsburgh, before two well-deserved off days and our return to Wrigley for a three-game set Saturday and Sunday against Cincinnati. We then have our last two home games against Milwaukee on Monday, our only remaining head-to-head games against the NL leaders.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 2, 1953 . . . Cavarretta hit a towering homer to right to put us quickly up 1-0 in this one, and in the second inning he hit to deep right, batting in our second run of the game as well! Ernie Banks tripled to start the sixth inning, but Baumholtz batted out to third which made for an easy throw to home -- no score. I brought Willie Ramsdell in out of the bullpen for the eighth inning with the lead still 2-0, and he got three quick outs to keep the lead. Unfortunately he choked in the ninth inning, letting two men on and then surrendering a three-run walk off homer, ending this one in about the worst way imaginable. I’m still trying to wrap my head around how quickly it happened.

Ramsdell took both the blown save and the loss, falling to 0-1 with a staggering 20.25 ERA over 1.1 innings. Two hits and a walk were enough to completely unravel him. Klippstein lasted seven innings but was already over 100 pitches, so despite five hits I pulled him. In retrospect I should have brought Bob Kelly in to close the ninth inning, but it’ll be my job to handle the Chicago press about the managerial flub when we get back to the city. We outhit the Pirates 8-7, dominating the game until the final frame -- Cavarretta had two hits with a run and two RBIs, while Chapman and McCullough each added a pair of hits as well.

SEPTEMBER 5, 1953 . . . Today is our first of three aginst Cincinnati with a double-header tomorrow. We’re only six games out of first and two games out of second, so the Milwaukee games on Monday are going to be critical. So I have a tough managerial choice to make bearing in mind the double-header tomorrow. I want Hacker and Klippstein for the Milwaukee games, so the plan in place is to start Minner today, followed by Rush and Newcombe tomorrow. With the added depth in the bullpen (Ranmsdell’s vomitus three days ago nonwithstanding) we should have the arms to handle what the last-place Reds throw at us. And if not, I’d rather have Hacker and Klippstein pitching against Milwaukee regardless.

The Reds got on board tonight with a sac-fly to center that drove Bobby Adams home from third in the first inning, but we played the long game well and were able to tie it up in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice to center that drove Phil Cavarretta in to score. Minner was on his A-game, getting through five innings on barely fifty pitches. Eddie Miksis loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth with one out, and Hank Sauer walked in the go-ahead run for a 2-1 lead as we headed for the seventh. Minner remained dominant, until the bases were quickly loaded in the eighth inning (two errors contributing) and suddenly we were knotted 2-2 with three on and only one out. But he got out of it without further damage and we went into the bottom of the eighth with room to get the lead back. They dealt well with the middle of our order, however, and we went into the ninth needing a pitcher with ice in his veins. Minner got two outs but put a man on second, and I had the tough choice to make -- bring Vern Fear in to get the final out? Or let Minner finish what he started? In the end I chose the starter over our often leaky bullpen, and Minner got the third out to keep us tied 2-2. McCullough singled to start the bottom of the inning, and Sauer hit a shot to deep left, rolling to the corner and allowing him to reach second, sending McCullough to third. No outs, so a base hit wins this one ... Paul Minner took a shot to deep center, sacrificing himself but allowing McCullough to score, winning this one for us 3-2!

Minner threw 120 pitches tonight to complete the game, winning and improving to 10-9 on the season with a 4.70 ERA. He gave up seven hits for two runs (one earned) with four strikeouts and a walk. We outhit Cincinnati 9-7, with Miksis and McCullough each contributing a pair of hits. Cavarretta, Banks and McCullough scored runs, while Miksis, Sauer and Minner batted them in.
 
SEPTEMBER 6, 1953 . . . Double header day, day one of two ... gonna be wild playing four games in two days and trying not to sabotage our shot at staying in the playoff hunt. Bob Rush pitched the first game, and Willie Mays gave us a 1-0 lead in the first, thanks to his 39th homer of the year! Bob Rush pitched well early, getting four strikeouts in the first two innings, but he surrendered two runs off a double in the top of the third before getting out of the jam with a third out. But Fondy hit the equalizing solo homer, his 11th of the year, to make it 2-2 in the bottom of the third, and in the bottom of the fifth he did it AGAIN, soloing to left to give us a 3-2 lead! Bob Rush came out for the top of the sixth, getting an out and then putting men on the corners before Consuegra came in and got both outs without letting the runners move! Willie Mays then hit HIS second homer of the night, another solo blast to center that put us ahead 4-2, and Kenneth Chapman blasted one to left that made it 5-2! Six innings, five homers, five runs -- you’ve got to love the Windy City as long as you’re not a pitcher!

Consuegra came back out in the sixth and got a run, but then gave up three hits and a run, so Fear came in to try and calm things down, with one out and men on the corners. He promptly struck the next batter out, and then got a grounder to first to get out of the inning without blemishing Consuegra’s record or the scoreboard, and we got the homer party going again in the bottom of the seventh, when Fear came up to bat and hit his first solo homer, bringing our score to 6-3! Fear surrendered a run in the top of the eighth but held the lead allowing us to prep Bob Kelly to come in for the ninth inning save. And Kelly set them down one, two, three via flyout, strikeout, groundout, and we came out of game one with a 6-4 win!

Bob Rush got the win, improving to 12-10 with a 4.22 ERA on three hits, two runs and six strikeouts, though he walked five, a big reason I had to pull him after just 5.1 innings. Consuegra and Fear each got holds, giving up six hits and two runs between them, and Kelly took his 13th save of the year with a no-hit, one strikeout 11 pitch ninth inning. Fondy had two hits, both homers, to give him two runs and two RBIs, same as Mays (who also had a walk). In a game where both teams had nine hits each, the fact that the ball was flying out for us and staying in the infield for them made all the difference. Here’s to the wind carrying just as well in game two!

Fondy singled to open the second game, and Cavarretta hit a standing double that drove Fondy all the way around to score, putting us ahead 1-0 with no outs! Willie Mays then tripled to score a second run, and Ernie Banks hit a run-scoring double to make it 3-0! Chapman hit a fly-out to center that advanced Banks to third, Sauer walked, and then Miksis kept it going by nailing a ball to deep center, reaching second and scoring two runs to make it 5-0! Bruce Edwards flew out to center, advancing Miksis to third, and Newcombe flew out to right, ending the inning but ensuring the top of our rotation would be coming back up to begin the second inning! Newcombe got out of the first inning with only a dozen pitches thrown, while Max Surkont came back out for the Reds in the bottom of the second having thrown nearly three times that many. Banks hit a run scoring double that scored two, but he got picked off trying to make it a triple, and we went into the top of the third leading 7-0!

Newcombe gave up a run scoring double in the top of the third, but we’d rung the Reds up so badly they already had a reliever out in the bottom of the third who had thrown 22 pitches back in the second inning. The scoring calmed down, but we remained dominant offensively and defensively. Though he hadn’t thrown a strikeout heading into the sixth, Newcombe also hadn’t walked anyone, so he was fresh as a summer breeze having thrown just 42 pitches in five innings. He struck out two and pitched into a fly-out to get out of the sixth in even better shape, and it stayed that way the remainder of the night as the 27-year-old starter had one of the best games of his career and we held tough to beat the Reds 7-3 even after two ninth inning runs scored. We completed the sweep against the Reds and will head into the double-header tomorrow against the Braves with our best two pitchers ready to go!

Ninth inning letdown aside, Newcombe had a great night, improving to 9-3 with a 3.81 ERA thanks to ten hits, three earned runs and three strikeouts (no walks), throwing just 98 pitches all game. Eddie Miksis led the offense with three hits for two RBIs, while Ernie Banks added two hits for a run and three RBIs. Cavarretta and Mays each had two hits as well.

With the two wins today we are now tied with Brooklyn for second place in the NL, just four games back of Milwaukee. So tomorrow’s games could change A LOT. It’s still technically a four-team race here in the NL, with Philly (75-61) sitting 10-1/2 games back. But in the AL, everyone’s out but the Yankees and the Guardians, and the Yankees only need four wins or four Guardians losses to clinch.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 7, 1953 . . . Hacker (24-7, 2.40 ERA) and Spahn (22-6, 2.48 ERA) face off in the first game of this double-header, in a game that could decide the Cy Young race, since Hacker won the last matchup. We loaded the bases on Spahn in the second inning with no outs, and Miksis singled to drive in two runs! But we got to see how freakishly good Spahn is -- Hacker tried to get a bunt off, and wound up bunting into a double play between third and first, leaving only Miksis at second, and leading into a Fondy strikeout to end the inning. But Hacker was even better, not giving up a hit until the fifth inning, and an Ernie Banks solo homer in the bottom of the sixth put us ahead 3-0! Cavarretta drove Fondy home with a double in the bottom of the seventh, and Ernie Banks hit a run scoring double to make the score 5-0, with Spahn at 120 pitches by the end of the inning and almost certain to be pulled. Sure enough, they sent out reliever Ernie Johnson for the bottom of the eighth. I warmed up Fear just in case, but Hacker had earned the right to stay out and defend his shutout in the top of the ninth, Amd there was no need for Fear ... Hacker handled the final inning perfectly and we beat the Braves 5-0!

Warren Hacker only gave up four hits all game, throwing 133 pitches and walking two against seven strikeouts, improving to 25-7 and bringing his ERA down to 2.32, pitching his third complete game in a row! Ernie Banks had three hits for a run and two RBIs, while Eddie Miksis added three hits with two RBIs.

And to think, all you fans in the crowd got to see that game AND a second one! Of course this time the situation was reversed -- a two-run homer by the Braves opened the first inning, dinging Klippstein early but not breaking our spirits ... first innings can be crazy, we all know that by now. Kenneth Chapman proved it by hitting a two-RBI single to tie it up in the bottom of the first. Even, Steven. Ernie Banks added an RBI single in the bottom of the third to give us our first lead of the game, and Klippstein got out of the fourth without any damage, though he was nearing 100 pitches. He got through the top of the fifth but Consuegra was going to have to come in to pitch in the sixth, no question. Dee Fondy scored in the bottom of the fifth, driven in by a Cavarretta double, but Consuegra gave up two runs to knot it up in the top of the seventh, needing Fear to come in and get the final out. Fred Baczewski came in for the top of the ninth with us still knotted 4-4, and he got three quick outs to keep us primed in this one but we weren’t able to score, sending this one to extra innings.

And I can’t believe this ... on the first at-bat in the 10th, Baczewski gave up a deep fly to center, and due to some insane fielding choices combined with Del Crandall’s ridiculous speed, turned into an inside the park homer for the Braves. Unbelievable! He then gave up a solo homer with two outs, and Bob Kelly came out to get the final out only to give up a solo homer himself. What the absolute goddamned f---? So we came up to bat needing three just to prolong this exercise. Cavarretta doubled to start the bottom of the frame, but Mays and Banks flew out to right and center respectively. Kenneth Chapman took a walk, Miksis singled to left and suddenly we had the bases loaded, two outs, and Hank Sauer at the bat. But Sauer batted straight to the shortstop, who got the out at second and ended this one as a 4-7 extra innings loss.

Klippstein had only six hits in five innings with two earned runs, but he walked two, struck out four, and simply threw too many pitches. Consuegra blew the save, his first of the year, but it was Baczewski who took the loss, falling to 1-2 on the year with a 5.24 ERA. This was just a bad luck game all around, a game that turned unexpectedly into a bullpen game and then went to extra innings when our batters were dealing with their fourth game in two days. Not much you can say really except move on to the next game. Cavarretta was practically a God out there, hitting five times in five at-bats, scoring twice and batting in one. Banks and Miksis each had two hits, while Fondy and Chapman had one apiece. This was Klippstein’s first time in SEVENTEEN STARTS to not throw a quality start.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 11, 1953 . . . We are now 3-1/2 games out of first, a full game behind the Dodgers in the pennant race. In the AL, the Yankees (95-44) have officially clinched, while the magic number for Milwaukee is still 12 games, so even Philly, 9-1/2 games back in fourth, is still technically in the conversation. Thankfully we’re all rested following three days off, and with 11 home games left and just four on the road we’re in a good position to grind things out and stay in the race to the bitter end.

Today we start a two game set against the Giants. Bob Rush took the mound, and we took the lead 1-0 in the second inning on a throwing error by the Giants that allowed Miksis to reach second. Rush gave up a run of his own in the top of the third, keeping things tight as we went into the bottom of the third with the top of our lineup batting. Willie Mays hit a groundout to second that drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the third, but Rush couldn’t buy an out in the fourth, giving up two runs to flip-flop us yet again. Rush gave up a solo homer in the top of the sixth. We got one back with a solo bomb by Willie Mays in the bottom of the eighth, and Consuegra kept us in the game by getting six outs in the eight and ninth, so it all came down to the bottom of our order in the bottom of the ninth. We pinch hit Max West for Baumholtz but he grounded out to first. Randy Jackson came in to pinch hit for Miksis, and he hit a hard fly to left, reaching second! Hank Sauer then came in to pinch hit for Consuegra, with Vern Fear warming up in the bullpen, but he struck out. So it all came down to Fondy ... who also struck out. Another hard-to-swallow one-run loss.

Rush took the loss and fell to 12-11 with a 4.25 ERA, thanks to nine hits and four runs in seven innings, striking out four and walking no one. Consuegra had two excellent innings, with two hits two strikeouts and no runs, but he wasn’t able to turn things all the way around. Fondy had three hits in five at-bats, scoring once. Chapman also hit twice and scored a run, while Willie Mays had a single hit for a run and two RBIs.

SEPTEMBER 12, 1953 . . . Hacker gave up a two-out three-run homer in the top of the first in this one, setting our offense up for a struggle right from the word ‘go’ as we seem intent on collapsing here in September. In the bottom of the inning Ernie Banks walked the bases loaded with one out, and Max West sacrificed himself to center in order to bring Cavarretta home to put us on the board. Hacker doubled in the second with two outs, and Fondy added a double to drive him home and make it a one-run deficit. Hacker gave up a solo homer in the top of the sixth, and he gave up another run in the eighth to make our job even more difficult. Vern Fear came in to get the final out of the inning and we went into the bottom of the eighth trailing the Giants 5-2. Chapman singled to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and Ernie Banks scored moments later on an error that allowed McCullough to reach first safely and keep the bases loaded. Randy Jackson then hit a line drive to left that almost went to the corner, scoring a run, though the potential game-tying run, Chapman, was tagged out at home. Baumholtz came in to pinch hit for Fear with two men on and two outs, driving it hard to right, just by the ear of the first-baseman, tying it up 5-5 before Fondy grounded out to third to end the inning.

Fred Baczewski came in and got three quick outs, bringing the top of our order up to bat with a chance to walk it off! Cavarretta walked, then Willie Mays was hit by an errant pitch, and Banks hit into a fielder’s choice, making it to first and sending Cavarretta to third with just one out. Hank West hit a single that almost made it past the shortstop, but he was able to catch it and throw Cavarretta out at home. But Chapman got himself a hit to deep left, driving the go-ahead run in and winning the game for us in dramatic fashion 6-5! What a comeback win, just when we needed one.

Baczewski took the win, improving to 2-2 with a 5.01 ERA, with no hits in his one inning. Hacker lasted 7.2 innings but gave up nine hits for five runs, with four strikeouts but also three uncharacteristic walks which ran up his pitch count. We outhit the Giants 13-9, with Mays, Chapman, McCullough and Jackson all winding up with two hits apiece.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 13, 1953 . . . Johnny Klippstein gave up a line drive to deep right with the bases loaded in the top of the first, a maddeningly familiar thing for us this year but an unfamiliar move on his part, scoring three runs on what became a triple. But we loaded the bases ourselves in the bottom of the inning, and with two outs Kenneth Chapman hit one deep to center, getting us back two of those runs, and then Clyde McCullough hit a three-run homer to get us the rest and then some! We went into the top of the second with a surprising 5-3 lead after a chaotic first inning for both teams. Willie Mays added a solo homer in the bottom of the second to make it a 6-3 lead and Hank made it back to back jams, driving one over the left field ivy to put us up 7-2! “Johnny K” got two more strikeouts in the top of the fifth after surrendering a fourth run, bringing his total through five to seven K’s. Klippstein gave up a fifth run in the top of the seventh but got out of it with the lead intact with a well-timed throw to home to prevent further damage. And Kenneth Chapman bought us two runs worth of insurance with a slam over the center-field wall, making it a 9-5 lead!

Sandy Consuegra came in to pitch in the top of the eighth and aside from a single hit, he got out of the inning with three quick outs! Cavarretta shot a bullet to deep right, grabbing himself a double to start the bottom of the eighth, and Jackson grounded down the left field line, driving in our 10th run of the game. Consuegra stayed in to finish, getting two strikeouts and a flyout to end the game with us up 10-5!

Klippstein got the win, improving to 14-4 with a 3.26 ERA with seven hits, five earned runs and nine strikeouts against five walks. Were it not for those walks he probably could have completed the game himself, but instead he had 118 pitches after seven and I had no choice but to pull him out. Consuegra was solid with two innings of one hit ball, striking out three batters and improving his ERA to 5.88.

SEPTEMBER 14, 1953 . . . Gil Hodges botched a catch, allowing Fondy to reach base safely to open our half of the first inning, and that started us out on a nice note. Cavarretta promptly singled, and the runners advanced to second and third thanks to a wild pitch, giving Ernie Banks time to settle in before slamming a three-run homer, his 27th of the year! Gil Hodges tried to get something going in the fourth, reaching first on a line drive to right, but Rush set the next three batters down with two flyouts to center and a catch himself, keeping the shutout alive. Kenneth Chapman batted a run in with a single in the bottom of the seventh to increase our lead to 4-0, and Bob Rush completed the shutout in the top of the ninth with a solid double play, cementing the 4-0 victory and giving us a 12-10 record against the Dodgers this year.

Rush improves to 13-11 on the season with a 4.07 ERA thanks to this one, a four-hitter with two strikeouts and a pair of walks. Ernie Banks had three RBIs thanks to his homer, but they walked him intentially late in the game when he had the chance to potentially get his 100th RBI of the year; he’s sitting at 99 now, with 27 homers and a .290/.349/.500 slash line. Dee Fondy had two hits and scored a run, while Kenneth Chapman had two hits and batted in a run.

Milwaukee started winning again, so we’re now tied with Brooklyn but 2-1/2 games back of first heading into the three-game Philly series. Philly leads us 10-9 in the season series so far, and a sweep here would feel mighty nice especially with us fighting this tightly for the shot at the pennant. We should have Hacker, Klippstein and Rush for the series, or if Rush isn’t ready to pitch on short rest we have Newcombe ready.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 15, 1953 . . . It’s a dreary grey day at Wrigley, and they’re calling for rain so let’s get this one in quickly. Willie Mays batted in a run to put us up 1-0 in the bottom of the first, and Ernie Banks hit a sac-fly to right, driving in Cavarretta for his 100th RBI of the year! So we led 2-0 at the end of one, and aimed to keep it that way. Hacker let runners reach the corners in the top of the third, but silenced the Phillies with two strikeouts in a row to end the inning safely. Hacker got his 900th out of the season with the first out of the sixth inning, and while he did surrender a run in the top of the seventh, the lead remained secure. We failed to get any insurance in the bottom of the eighth, sending us into the ninth with a 2-1 lead. Vern Fear came in to close, with Hacker having thrown 134 pitches in the first eight innings, and he went base hit, flyout to left, double play to end the inning and win the game! We got the 2-1 victory in before it could even rain a drop, tying the season series at 10-10 against Philadelphia.

Hacker improved to 26-7 with this win, his ERA a sparkling 2.35 thanks to a four-hitter with only one run, with four strikeouts and four walks. Fear’s 7th save of the season brought his ERA down to 4.11 with an 11 pitch effort. Mays hit twice for an RBI, while Banks was blanked at the plate but still batted in a run with his sacrifice. Fondy had a hit and a run and Cavarretta added two hits and a run scored as well.

We officially eliminated Philadelphia from the pennant chase with this victory, which makes it even sweeter. We’re still 2-1/2 games behind Milwaukee, but we’re alone in second, a game up on Brooklyn.

The draft pool came out today, and there are some good looking young players available for next year, including a bunch of players like Roberto Clemente, Joe Cunningham, Harmon Killebrew and Don Drysdale who I know we won’t be drafting since we’ve exceeded expectations this year. Here’s hoping our GM has his eye on some under-the-radar guys we can keep winning with.

SEPTEMBER 16, 1953 . . . Still cloudy today, but at least they’re not calling for rain, though here in the Windy City that’s never a guarantee. “Johnny K” Klippstein came out to play today, and he faced Philadelphia’s best starter, Curt Simmons, who has a 22-9 record and a sub-3.00 ERA. McCullough hit a triple in the bottom of the second that batted in a run and gave us the early 1-0 lead, and Sauer drove a shot to right and brought home a second runner, helping break this one open a bit. Klippstein gave up a solo blast by Del Ennis to cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth, but two strikeouts and a groundout ended the inning quickly after that. Unfortunately he did it again in the sixth inning and suddenly we were tied 2-2 thanks to two homers out of only four this to that point. Ernie Banks drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, Kenneth Chapman walked the bases loaded, and then Randy Jackson hit a single that drove in a run when the shortstop for the Phillies bobbled the ball ... two run lead! And Cavarretta added an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to make it a three-run lead. Vern Fear came in to protect the lead in the top of the eighth, and though he got into a jam, he did not surrender any runs. I brought him back out in the top of the ninth with a three run lead, but he gave up two hits and a run and we had to bring in Willie Ramsdell to close it out. Ramsdell threw a strikeout for out number one and got a groundout to second for the second out, but the Earl Torgeson single drove a run home to make it 5-4. He then walked a batter and allowed a single to left, but he got the final out and we were able to escape with a 5-4 win by the skin of our teeth.

Klippstein took the win and improved to 15-4 with a 3.24 ERA on five hits with two earned runs and six strikeouts against a single walk. Vern Fear got his second hold despite four hits, two earned runs and a walk, and Ramsdell escaped with a save, though he gave up two hits with a strikeout and a walk. The run he gave up counted against Fear, however, so he brought his ERA down to 11.57 though I’m still leery about using him again -- way too little control over the pitches he selects. Each team had 11 hits, but Sauer was particularly solid with three hits with an RBI, and Chapman added a pair himself with a run scored. Six other Cubs had hits, so this was a team effort to keep our streak going.

Milwaukee keeps winning. Right now the magic number sits at six ... they need either six more wins to clinch, or for us to lose six. With them on a four-game winning streak and us on a five-game winning streak, the question remains who’s going to blink first? We’re still 2-1/2 games back, so we don’t have a lot of room left for error.

SEPTEMBER 17, 1953 . . . Clear skies today and mid-sixties temps as Bob Rush took the mound today for a 2:05 start at Wrigley. And Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead thanks to a wild pitch in the top of the fourth, as this one was turning into a pitcher’s duel. Randy Jackson and Bob Rush each got hits in the bottom of the fifth, and it was Rush’s RBI double that tied the score 1-1! Unfortunately Dee Fondy flew out to left, ending the rally before it could really get going. Mays got a single to start the sixth, and Chapman singled deep enough to allow Mays to reach third with two outs. But Hank Sauer grounded out to first and ended the inning with us still knotted. Phil Cavarretta singled up the gap with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to send the go-ahead run across home plate, and Willie Mays managed to get past an infield single and reach first safely, driving in a third run! We went into the top of the ninth with the lead intact, and Bob Rush got the three outs we needed, cementing the 3-1 victory, the sweep over the Phillies, and keeping our six-game win streak alive!

Bob Rush improved to 14-11 with this win, bringing his ERA down to 3.95 thanks to a five hit one run complete game with one strikeout and two walks over 106 pitches. Willie Mays had two hits and an RBI, while Randy Jackson added three hits for two runs scored. Six other Cubs got hits, including Bob Rush, who had one non-sacrifice hit for an RBI, his 11th run batted in this season.

We have a day off and then three road games at St. Louis, followed by a day off and a road game at Cincinnati. We then have a final off day before returning to Wrigley for a four-game series against St. Louis, including the rain-delayed finish to our game from way earlier this summer. Eight games left against the worst two teams in the NL. Meanwhile, Milwaukee has just six games left, also all against St. Louis and Cincinnati. So every win counts, and even if we win out, it’s quite possible they could too.

At least you know it’ll be a hell of a finish!

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 19, 1953 . . . Willie Mays hit his 43rd homer of the year to drive in the first two runs of the game in the first inning! Jackson added an RBI double in the top of the second to make it 3-0, and Vinegar Bend Mizell helped us walk the bases loaded just in time for Willie Mays to come back up for the second time ... but this time he flew out to center, ending the inning. Jackson batted in another run in the top of the sixth to make it 4-0, and in the top of the seventh Ernie Banks hit a sac-fly to center, allowing Cavarretta to score our fifth run. And Clyde McCullough sealed it with a three-run homer to put us up 8-0. Hacker spoiled the shutout in the bottom of the ninth, but he got three quick outs after the run scored to seal the 8-1 win and keep our pennant hopes alive.

Hacker improved to 27-7 with a 2.31 ERA, giving up just seven hits with an earned run, with six strikeouts and no walks. Cavarretta had three hits with two runs scored, while Randy Jackson added three hits with two RBIs and Clyde McCullough racked up two runs and three RBIs thanks to a hit and a walk. Willie Mays also hit twice, scoring two and batting in two thanks to his home run.

SEPTEMBER 20, 1953 . . . This afternoon St. Louis got on the board first, as Klippstein had trouble finding his rhythm. But he got two strikeouts to end the inning and we had to hope he’d settle in after that. Ernie Banks scored a run on an error to tie it up in the top of the fifth, with Hank Sauer managing to make it to second with just one out, but we weren’t able to get the go-ahead run. But we gave up the go-ahead ourselves in the bottom of the inning thanks to a ridiculous wild pitch. Klippstein kept us in the game, but our offensive struggles were real this afternoon, and we simply could not get that run back. St. Louis shut us down and beat us 2-1, ending our winning streak and putting our pennant dreams in doubt.

Klippstein fell to 15-5 with this loss, though his ERA remains strong at 3.20 thanks to eight innings of four-hit two run ball. He also had seven strikeouts against just one walk, throwing 110 pitches. St. Louis outhit us 4-3 in a real duel -- Sauer had a hit and an RBI, Banks had a walk and a run scored, and Fondy and Mays each added a hit. That was all we could muster.

Milwaukee’s win streak remains intact as we fell to three games back. Brooklyn officially has been eliminated from the pennant race, and Milwaukee now controls their destiny. They can clinch with three more wins, and for us to win they’d need to lose three of four remaining games and we’d need to win out.
 
SEPTEMBER 21, 1953 . . . Willie Mays hit a sac-fly to right, driving Dee Fondy in to score our first run of the night in the top of the first, but Bob Rush gave up a two run homer in the bottom of the third to give the Cardinals back the lead. And our bats were dead silent the rest of the way. The Cardinals scored a third run in the bottom of the eighth, and we left two runners stranded in the ninth as we lost this one, our second in a row, by a 3-1 margin. And that, folks, should pretty much end any hope of us getting the pennant this year.

Rush fell to 14-12 on the year with a 3.94 ERA, giving up six hits and three runs with a strikeout and four walks. Consuegra came in to get the last two outs of the eighth inning, giving up a hit and a walk but it was already too late regardless. Our bats have gone silent at exactly the wrong time. Willie Mays had our only RBI of the night with a single hit, and Dee Fondy got a hit and scored that run. Insanely we were able to outhit the Cardinals 8-7, but six of those hits were left stranded and we never managed to get any walks either, adding to the pressure on Rush to be perfect (or close to).

SEPTEMBER 22, 1953 . . . Milwaukee didn’t clinch because they lost this afternoon to St. Louis 3-4. But now they can clinch with just two wins out of their final three games. We have five games left and no margin for error.

SEPTEMBER 23, 1953 . . . Don Newcombe came in to start this final game at Cincinnati. The Reds got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning, going up 1-0, but Sauer hit a two-run blast to right in the top of the second to put us up 2-1. Cincinnati tied it up 2-2 in the bottom of the third, and Paul Minner came in with no one out in the bottom of the sixth with two men on, getting us out of the jam with a double play and a strikeout to keep it tied up. Minner kept us locked in, but we still couldn’t string together any hits. Top of the ninth, still tied 2-2, we came up with the top of our lineup. Finally Fondy got a single into left field, but Cavarretta hit into a double play to erase it like it never happened. Willie Mays singled to right with two outs, but Ernie Banks struck out. But again Minner kept us in the game, forcing extra innings with three quick outs.

We loaded the bases in the top of the 11th with two outs and then Ernie Banks flew out to right. Sandy Consuegra came in to pitch in the bottom of the inning and got a strikeout, gave up a base hit, and then got a force-out at second. A flyout to left later and we were heading for more.

Top of the 13th: Randy Jackson gets a single to right and Consuegra, still in it, sac-bunts to get Jackson to second. Dee Fondy flies out to first, driving Jackson to third, and ... OH MY GOD! FINALLY! Jackson gets home thanks to a wild pitch, and we’re up 3-2! Cavarretta walked, then Willie Mays got hit by a pitch while they were trying to throw low and inside, but then Ernie Banks grounded into first to end the inning with just the one run lead. Would it be enough? Sandy Consuegra got a quick out in the bottom of the 13th, but then let two runners reach base, so I had to bring Fred Baczewski in to stop the bleeding. He got the second out, catching the runner advancing to second on a fielder’s choice, leaving runners on first and third with two outs. A fly out to right and we did it! We won this one in 13 innings by a 3-2 margin!

Newcombe threw five innings of six-hit ball, giving up two runs with three strikeouts and a walk, while Minner then came in to throw five innings with no hits, three strikeouts and a walk to get us through the tenth inning still tied. Sandy Consuegra wound up taking the win, making it through 2.1 innings with three hits a strikeout and a walk, and Baczewski got his first save of the year, getting two outs with no hits, walks or strikeouts to close the game out. Cincinnati outhit us 9-8 but we kept fighting and wore them down in the end. Sauer was, of course, the hero with his one hit, one run scored and two RBIs, and Chapman and Jackson each had a run themselves. Fondy, in the leadoff position, kept his hit streak alive with two hits in six at-bats but never made it around to score.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1953 . . . Today we had a double-header, starting with the resumed game which began months ago against the Cardinals. We start out in the bottom of the seventh knotted 1-1, leading the Cards 6-3 in hits to this point. Warren Hacker gets to first on an error, and Fondy takes the perfect opportunity to put us up 3-1 thanks to a two-run homer, his 11th of the season! Cavarretta and Mays each singled, and then Ernie Banks loaded the bases with a single of his own, setting up Sauer at the plate with just one out. Sauer flew out to left but allowed a fourth run to score, and Randy Jackson was hit by a pitch which allowed another! By the time McCullough flew out to end the inning we were now up 5-1 in a game that had been sitting tied up for months! Warren Hacker closed out his game perfectly and we won in the end 5-1, improving Hacker’s record to 28-7 with a 2.30 ERA. In this game, including the stats that had held over, he finished with a complete game seven hit one run record, with 10 strikeouts against a pair of walks. Cavarretta, Mays and Banks each had two hits, and we out-slugged the Cardinals 10-7.

Klippstein came out to pitch in our one full game of the double-header, and in that game the Cards got out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a triple off the second pitch of the night putting them in scoring position. Klippstein kept us in the game, but it was as if we’d used up all our allowed runs on the three-inning first game and had nothing left to get back in this one. But FINALLY in the bottom of the seventh, Randy Jackson delivered a solo homer to center field, tying the score 1-1. Vern Fear came in with one out in the ninth after a half-hour rain delay that finally ended Klippstein’s night, and he successfully got a double play to end the inning with the score still tied 1-1. In the bottom of the ninth, Mays and Banks eached safely reached their base, bringing up Kenneth Chapman with no outs and a chance to walk this one off. But he hit into a double play, leaving it to McCullough to safely single through the gap to drive the winning run home! We beat the Cardinals 2-1, earning our 93rd win and still staying in the hunt for the pennant until someone says they won’t let us anymore.

Klippstein finished with 8.1 innings and only seven hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks, bringing his ERA down to 3.13 for the year. But Vern Fear took the win, improving to 3-1 with a 4.45 ERA, giving up a hit but getting two outs successfully. We outhit the Cardinals 8-6, but it was a team effort, with Fondy, Cavarretta, Banks, McCullough and Jackson getting hits.

We have two games left against St. Louis here at home on September 26 and 27. Milwaukee has two games left against Cincinnati on the road September 26 and 27. We trail the Braves by two games, meaning they need to lose both and we need to win both in order to force a playoff game to determine a winner.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 26, 1953 . . . Kenneth Chapman hit a homer out to left in the bottom of the second to put us up 1-0, but Hacker got sloppy in the third inning (and our fielding sure as hell didn’t help) allowing the Cardinals to tie it up 1-1 in the top of the third, an unearned run but a run nonetheless. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth but couldn’t drive anyone around. Bob Rush came in for the top of the seventh and got three outs to keep things tied up heading into the stretch. And in the bottom of the eighth, Randy Jackson hit his 13th homer of the year, putting us up 2-1 and I thought for sure there was a bomb going off in this place! Bob Rush closed it out expertly in the ninth and we won this one 2-1 staying alive long enough for us to find out for sure what happened tonight in Cincinnati.

Hacker lasted six innings for four hits and just the one earned run, getting himself a quality start with six strikeouts and three walks. And Bob Rush came in for the three-inning win, improving to 15-12 with a 3.89 ERA, giving up just a single hit with three strikeouts and a walk. Randy Jackson had two hits with a run and an RBI (thanks for the homer, Randy!) while Cavarretta hit twice and walked but never scored, and Kenneth Chapman’s homer played a huge role as well (his eighth of the year!) Fondy went hitless, snapping his 20-game hitting streak.

Milwaukee won their game at Cincinnati today 6-5 in 11 innings, officially clinching the NL Pennant. We can be proud, however, of the fact that we’re heading into our last game of the year with a 94-59 record in a year we were expected by our owner to just be fighting to stay above .500 ... and if we win our final game we’ll have won 50 games after the All Star break. Whether management keeps much of this core together for next year, no one can take this season away from us.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 27, 1953 . . . More than 21,500 people showed up at Wrigley today to celebrate our team on a cool party cloudy Chicago late September afternoon. Bob Rush took the mound for the final start of the year. The Cardinals went up 1-0 in the top of the second on an RBI single by St. Louis pitcher Harvey Haddix, and both teams went scoreless for a good while. Bob Rush had a triple in the bottom of the sixth with one out, but Fondy singled up the gap to the second baseman who cut Rush down at home plate, allowing Fondy to reach first. But Cavarretta came up next and hit a double to deep right, allowing Fondy to score all the way from first, tying the game at 1-1. And in the bottom of the eighth Dee Fondy singled to deep right, driving in runs from second and third to put us up 3-1! Vern Fear closed it out efficiently in the ninth and we won the last game of the year, beating the Cards 3-1, to finish with 95 wins on the season.

Bob Rush lasted 7.2 innings with six hits and just the one earned run, striking out nine batters with no walks, finishing the season with a 3.81 ERA. Vern Fear came in for the last four outs, giving up three hits with a strikeout in 20 pitches, earning the win to imrprove to 4-1 on the season, his ERA at 4.28. The Cardinals outhit us 9-5 but we pulled out the win in the clutch. Fondy had a hit and a run scored with two RBIs, Cavarretta added a hit and an RBI, Jackson hit and scored a run, and Vern Fear scored a run after reaching base on an error.

Willie Mays won the NL batting title, with 208 hits in 575 at-bats over 148 games. He hit .362/.432/.677 with 24 doubles, 14 triples and 43 homers along with 130 RBIs. Mickey Mantle won the AL batting title and the triple crown, with 189 hits in 553 at-bats over 142 games, hitting .342/.459/.702 with 25 doubles, six triples, 54 homers and 138 RBIs. He was also walked 124 times, significantly more than Mays’ 73 walks.

Warren Hacker led the NL this year with a 28-7 record and a 2.28 ERA, both league bests. He threw 319.2 innings over the course of 40 starts, posting a 1.01 WHIP and a 9.3 WAR, giving up just 81 runs all year with 194 K’s against 69 walks.

The World Series between Milwaukee’s Braves (97-57) and New York’s Yankees (107-47) begins tomorrow with two games in New York, followed by three at Milwaukee and two at New York if necessary. Best of four wins -- go National League!

OCTOBER 4, 1953 . . . If you were rooting for the NL in the World Series this year, the Milwaukee Braves were a complete disappointment, disappearing in the Yankees’ shadow in a four-game sweep, scoring only seven runs over four games, losing 5-2, 9-2, 4-2 and 7-1. Mickey Mantle was named Series MVP as the 21-year-old center fielder completely dominated the competition. He’s going to be a star for sure!

In other huge news, our owner John Hollingsworth brought me down to his offices to discuss a change in management. He’s decided to pass on Mike Quirk and name me as the full-time manager and GM of the Cubs going forward! He said Quirk was overlooking a lot of the key managerial duties and that he could see I was the one handling much of the day to day work, including getting 95 wins out of a team many expected would have struggled just to reach 70 wins, let alone the break-even point.

My first key duty is to resign some key potential free agents to avoid having them wind up with other teams. The problem is, Quirk has done a lot of damage -- Elvin Stabelfeld, our best minor league closer, who should have been called up at the very least in September, basically told me not to let the door hit me on the way out when I tried talking to him about extending and moving up to our major league team. I got that response from a LOT of players. I did manage to offer extensions to a few pending Free Agents, however, and we’ll see in the coming days if they accept. Beyond that I’m aiming to offer extensions to current players I want to be the face of our organization, and I intend to hit free agency hard this winter to ensure we can do more than just fight to be in the pennant race. We want to be playing in that World Series instead of listening to it on the radio.

[jksander]

OCTOBER 8, 1953 . . . The fans are ecstatic that I’ve reached an agreement with Willie Mays to play another season for us while earning $85,000 while we work out a potential long-term solution that works out for everyone.

Offseason goals involve being able to build a legitimate bullpen. We want to keep Hacker and Klippstein as our starting anchors, while hopefully adding a couple additional starters who can go the distance. I’m willing to trade Paul Minner, Don Newcombe, Bob Rush and Bub Kelly in any combination if it means we can find the right pieces to the puzzle. We also need to build up our minor league prospect pool which is absolutely abysmal (no one in the top 90 overall). We also need to find a legitimate replacement for McCullough, who was starting to show his age throughout the latter months of the season, and aside from Willie Mays, our fielders are rapidly aging as well. Cavarretta and Baumholtz are still doing well into their mid-to-late 30s, but I think we need to start thinking youth in gneeral so we can build for the long term. We could also use a solid third baseman to back up Randy Jackson, and a backup for Fondy at first base so he doesn’t have to play 153 games again (though I love a good iron man, especially with his skills in the leadoff position being what they are).

Aside from the pitching upgrades I want to make I’m not seeing this as a big rebuild or anything. We have the pieces here to make a playoff run again in 1954, but I want to bring in the guys who can give us the depth to make it happen throughout the year, rather than just in a late-season push. We’ll see what I can puil off!
 
NOVEMBER 9, 1953 . . . I spoke with Hollingsworth, our owner, and he seems pretty laid back about what he wants. As long as we’re in the hunt for the pennant each year he’ll be happy if we make the World Series by the end of the decade -- not me, I want to get us there quicker than that! But we’re expected to win during the year, he wants us to acquire a top-tier starter to join the rotation, he wants attendance to be a lot better than it was this year (we only averaged 14,372 people per game, though most of our home games pre-All Star break were fairly abysmal so I get it). So increasing fan interest is a huge deal, and a big part of that will be building our farm system up from the bottom to be a top three development hub. This year I believe we’re 12th overall, so that’s going to take a lot of work to basically grow a farm from bare soil.

He’s giving us a budget of $1,660,000 for total team expenses, which should allow us to have a team payroll of $1.6 million. Right now as it stands we’re projected to spend $900,000 on player payroll, so we have room to work to bring in key free agents and such. I plan to double our development budget to $83,000 for the coming year, while raising our scouting budget to $40,000, a significant bump. We have our draft budget set at $36,300 which should allow us to offer the requisite bonuses for any of our draftees this winter and spring.

To put butts in seats this year I’ve decided not to raise ticket prices -- in fact, I plan to drop prices from $1.51 per game to $1.40 to spur season ticket orders and show we’re building a team you’ll want to bring the whole family to see as often as you can!

I have reached deals with the following players to stick with us in the long term:

- Warren Hacker has signed a deal which will keep him in Chicago through at least 1958. He’ll make $85,000 in 1954, increasing to $88,000 next year, $90,000 in 1956, $95,000 in 1957 and $100,000 in 1958. He has a no trade clause as our staff ace, and will receive $15,000 if he wins the MVP and $15,000 if he wins a Cy Young.

- Johnny Klippstein will play in Chicago through 1956, earning $65,000 this year, $75,000 next year and then $80,000 in 1956. That will keep him in our starting rotation through his 29th birthday.

- Dee Fondy signed a four year extension, for which he’ll earn $56,000 in 1954 building up to $70,000 in 1957 when he’ll be 32. He played in almost every game last year, and I believe that should be rewarded ... plus he’s a clubhouse leader and the whole team loves him.

- Walter Derucki, a member of the Springfield Cubs last year at 3B, signed an extension to earn $14,500 this year and stay in Chicago through 1957 when he’ll be 31. Derucki isn’t a particularly great batter, but his potential lies in his fielding. Randy Jackson played in 138 games last year at 3B, but Derucki will give us a legitimate backup at the position who can field as well or better than Jackson. It was one of our weakest positions for depth and I think this will help.

Dutch Leonard, Bob Ramazzotti and Willie Ramsdell have officially retired.

NOVEMBER 10, 1953 . . . In my first major trade as GM of the Chicago Cubs, I’ve agreed to a deal with the Cincinnati Reds to acquire our closer of the future, Frank Smith, in exchange for Bob Kelly and Paul Minner. Smith, at 25, had a 7.50 ERA playing for one of the worst teams in the majors, and he STILL went 6-2 with 4.8 K’s per nine innings. I think he can be groomed to be a consistent arm out of the bullpen right away so I’m willing to make the move. The fans aren’t happy to see Kelly go, but they’re also never happy when he comes in and blows games -- he’s just not a player I’m willing to build a bullpen around anymore. Smith is still coming to grips with the end of the miserable season in Cincinnati, so I’ll give him time to adjust to our team and see we’re serious about getting behind him as a bullpen leader before we start any longer-term talks.

I’ve also made a free agency offer for Hy Cohen, a 22-year-old three-star reliever who has just returned from Korea after serving his country for two years! Cohen had a 16-10 record in 1951 at AA with a 2.86 ERA, pitching 236 innings, and I’d like to be able to bring him to the Cubs as a potential long reliever / spot starter in training. We’ve submitted a four year offer starting at $16,000 and building to $17,500 in the final year of the contract.

NOVEMBER 23, 1953 . . . The 1953 Season Awards list came out today, and we did pretty damned well if I do say so myself -- which obviously I do! Here’s the list of key winners on our Cubs roster:

- Most Valuable Player: Willie Mays
- Cy Young Award: Warren Hacker
- Rookie of the Year: Ernie Banks
- Silver Slugger: Willie Mays, Phil Cavarretta
- Gold Glove: Hank Sauer

Right now the whole league wants to offer me the moon for Ernie Banks, and I’m not interested. Fans are already calling him “Mr. Cub,” and I think they’d riot and burn down the bleachers if we traded a young player like him at this point in his career.

It looks like the Hy Cohen deal is progressing nicely -- he’s said ours is the best offer he’s seen.

We’ve traded 29-year old backup 2B Tod Davis and 19-year-old minor league 2B Billy Consolo to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for three star starting pitcher Saul Rogovin, who went 6-12 last year for the Sox with a 4.52 ERA. He has good stuff and movement and should make a solid contribution to our rotation as a fourth or fifth starter at this point.

[jksander]

DECEMBER 14, 1953 . . . At the winter meetings I made a huge trade with the Philadelphia Phillies that could wind up blowing up in my face, but I think it helps us build both for the present and the future:

Chicago Sends: SP Don Newcombe (Ret: 50%), SP Bob Rush (Ret: 50%) and 3B Randy Jackson and $20,000 in cash
Philly Sends: 3B Ken Boyer, LF Bob Addis, RF Roy Weatherly, LF Jack Graham and SP Karl Drews

Ken Boyer is their top prospect, having averaged .306/.367/.455 with 28 doubles and 14 homers in AA before going to Korea. He’s progressed nicely and should be a solid fit in the place of Jackson in the starting lineup, with a ton of upside and he’s just 22 years old. Karl Drews will be able to step into our starting five, with Hacker and Klippstein leading the way, Saul Rogovin in the fourth spot, and 20-year-old up and comer Herb Score spot starting from the fifth spot. Addis and Weatherly will start out in AAA Los Angeles, giving us depth at their positions. But Jack Graham is ready to jump into the main roster at LF as Baumholtz’ main backup. They’re both on the old side, but experience matters when we’re going to be playing as many young players as we will be. We’re still looking for our young left fielder of the future, but I think this deal helps us in more than enough areas to be worth what we gave up.

That doesn’t mean the fans (or the owner) are convinced yet, but it’s my job to take the risks needed to push our program where we need to go. I’m willing to take the heat.