Let's Play Two!

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 12, 1954 . . . Two games today, and then we only have six games left to play over the next two weeks! We have Hy Cohen (22-6, 3.08 ERA, 245.1 IP, 135 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) set to go in the first game, up against Carl Erskine (19-11, 3.54 ERA, 238.2 IP, 134 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Gil Hodges got a double in the bottom of the first with one out, giving the Dodgers two in scoring position, but Cohen was sharp and got a strikeout and a flyout to right, getting us out of the inning safely. And Erskine walked Banks and Rosen in the top of the second, but we left them both stranded, struggling to get a hit when we needed one. Just what you’d expect in a game featuring two pitchers with Cy Young-level talent. Erskine in particular was all but unhittable, which made for a rough situation for Cohen -- carrying a two-hitter into the fourth, Cohen gave up a walk and a pair of hits, and just like that the Dodgers had a 1-0 lead. Elston Howard doubled in the top of the fifth, spoiling Erskine’s no-no, and Cohen drove him to third with a sac-bunt, however, and Kaline was able to drive a grounder through the gap to tie things up with an RBI single! Phil Cavarretta then took the perfect opportunity to drive a two-run blast into the right field bleachers, giving us a 3-1 lead in a tight battle, his 14th homer of the season. Elston Howard drove in a run in the top of the sixth in what would have been a sacrifice, were it not for a throwing error on a fielder’s choice, allowing both runners at first and second to be safe, though Cohen eventually batted into an inning-ending double play to keep us from really blowing the lead up. Roger Maris increased the lead to 6-1 in the seventh, driving in two runs with his 29th homer of the season, at which point the Dodgers had to go to the bullpen. Cohen stayed in to finish the game, ending things with a flyout and a double play as he likely cemented both Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young in one swoop!

Cohen improved to 23-6 with a 3.01 ERA, throwing 135 pitches and surrendering seven hits with five strikeouts, two walks and just one earned run in the complete game. It’s crazy that the Dodgers outhit us 7-6, but Erskine walked four batters and that made the difference. Six Cubs had hits tonight, with Cavarretta scoring once and driving in a pair, same as Maris, though his homer certainly put the dagger in.

I want to rest up our starting rotation, so in the second game I decided to give Bob Porterfield (2-0, 3.65 ERA, 12.1 IP, 7 K’s, 1.54 WHIP) a start from the bullpen. He has spot-starter stamina, and he threw 267 innings for Washington last year, going 14-11, so I think this is a perfect opportunity to see if he can give us four or five innings and give our starters a rest. Brooklyn’s Johnny Podres (22-3, 2.43 ERA, 222.0 IP, 123 K’s, 1.00 WHIP) took the mound for the Dodgers. Brooklyn scored a run in the bottom of the first on a groundout by Gil Hodges, and a second run scored on a flyout by Jackie Robinson. Cavarretta drove in a run for us in the top of the third with an RBI single to make it a 2-1 Dodgers lead, but Carl Furillo, red hot, hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-1. McCullough added a run in the top of the fourth, an RBI single that he turned into two bases thanks to a wild pitch, and Porterfield got three quick outs in the bottom of the inning to keep us in it!

Bob Shaw came in for the bottom of the sixth, but Gil Hodges hit a homer off him on the fifth pitch, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 4-2. Tom Ferrick got us three outs in the seventh, and then Al Rosen hit a solo blast to center, pulling us within a run with one out in the top of the eighth. Vern Fear came in for the bottom of the eighth, setting down the heart of the order, and with Sandy Consuegra warming up in the top of the ninth, Grady Hatton came in to pinch hit for Fear, unfortunately hitting one straight to the left fielder -- out number one. Gene Baker grounded out to first for our second out, and Carmen Mauro struck out swinging. That was the end of a 4-3 loss, though it does little to stop our momentum heading into the final games of September. We still win the season series against the Dodgers 12-10, and we’re the team representing the NL in the World Series, not them.

Porterfield took the loss, falling to 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA, but he gave us five solid innings and only gave up three hits and two walks, making the three runs scored on him more of an aberration than anything. Shaw, Ferrick and Fear each gave us an inning apiece, giving up two hits combined, with two walks, a strikeout and an earned run between them. We outhit the Dodgers 8-5, with Roger Maris leading the team with two hits, while McCullough had two hits and an RBI. Cavarretta and Rosen batted in the other runs, while Baker, Banks and Rosen each scored runs on the ground.

Our backup catcher Al Evans has decided to retire after the season, and with McCullough not likely to make our roster next season, finding a capable backup for Elston Howard is going to be a top priority, with fielding ability the key emphasis.

SEPTEMBER 14, 1954 . . . Today we played our final game against Pittsburgh on their field, having beaten them 19 out of 21 times so far this year. Joe Dobson (10-5, 3.39 ERA, 116.2 IP, 65 K’s, 1.35 WHIP) took the mound against Pittsburgh hurler Bob Friend (14-14, 2.68 ERA, 269.0 IP, 97 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Pittsburgh took an early 1-0 lead when Gene Baker was slow on a pickoff throw in the bottom of the second, but Dobson got three quick outs to keep them from adding to it. Dobson gave up a second run in the bottom of the fourth, then a second. A third run scored when Ernie Banks bobbled a catch, which went down as an error, and we felt lucky to get out of the inning trailing 4-0 rather than by a lot more. We got our first hit of the game in the top of the fifth, a blooper of a single by Ernie Banks, but two amazing outfield grabs by the Pirates ended the inning with the four-run lead still intact for Pittsburgh. The Pirates scored twice again in the bottom of the seventh, at which point Dobson completely melted down as we warmed up Bob Shaw. Shaw came in with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh with the score now 8-0, and he managed to get the final two outs while only giving up one of Dobson’s runs. At this point the game was a lost cause, one of the worst performances of our season. Phil Cavarretta at least got us on the board in the top of the eighth with an RBI single, and Shaw had a really nice double play to end the eighth. But they sat down the heart of our order in the top of the ninth and we lost this one badly 9-1. Get it out of our system now, I say, rather than in October, but we need to play with at least a sense of urgency. Tonight’s offensive performance was a joke.

Joe Dobson fell to 10-6 with an 11 hit one strikeout three walk embarrassment that wound up giving up nine runs (eight earned) and blowing his ERA up to 3.80 in just 6.1 innings of work. Shaw was impressive, pitching 1.2 innings without a hit, walking just one batter, and he improved his ERA to 2.13. Pittsburgh outhit us 11-4, with Cavarretta’s RBI (run scored by Elston Howard) our only blip on the offensive radar.

We have three days off before two games this weekend at Cincinnati, and then we’ll return to Wrigley for one against the Cardinals and two against the Redlegs to end the season.
 
SEPTEMBER 18, 1954 . . . Cleveland (87-59) still hasn’t clinched the AL Pennant, but they have a five-game lead on Washington (82-64) and their magic number is four. The Guardians have eight games left, all against the Tigers (76-70) and the White Sox (75-71), while Washington has eight games left, all against Boston (69-77) and New York (76-70). So things should stay interesting in that race down to the wire!

Tonight Hy Cohen (23-6, 3.01 ERA, 254.1 IP, 140 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) took the mound against George Susce (8-7, 3.40 ERA, 145.2 IP, 62 K’s, 1.20 WHIP). Cincinnati got on the board with a solo homer by Bobby Adams to put the Redlegs up 1-0 in the bottom of the second. But Al Kaline hit a two-run homer in the top of the third, his 22nd of the year to put us right back in control. In the bottom of the sixth the Redlegs tied the score up 2-2, thanks to a George Susce double, the pitcher driving in a run by Bobby Adams who scored from third. Cohen got us through the seventh without further damage, but we started warming up Vern Fear as Cohen was nearing 120 pitches. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Roger Maris hit his 30th homer of the year, a run which gave us a 3-2 lead and kept Cohen in the running for the win. Cohen wanted to stay in, but with the World Series looming, I don’t want to risk injury, so we brought Fear in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth.

Fear got a strikeout and got a runner out via bunt, but leadoff man Whitey Lockman hit an RBI single that drove in the tying run, though Fear got us out of the inning with a second strikeout. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Roy Sievers pinch hit for Fear, taking a base on balls, and he used his speed to reach third on a single by Kaline, sending up Cavarretta with a chance to retake the lead, with Consuegra warming up in the bullpen. Cavarretta hit a low-velocity infield blooper and managed to beat out the throw to first, allowing Sievers to score while keeping our rally alive! Mays batted out at second, however, and we went into the bottom of the inning with a one run lead and the best closer in the came on his way in. Robert Broome doubled to start the frame, reaching third on a groundout to first. A pitch to Bobby Adams dropped in the dirt, but Elston Howard smothered it, keeping the runner at third. Consuegra struck Adams out, giving us our second out, and Charlie White hit one straight to Mays in center, ending the game as a 4-3 victory!

Vern Fear got the win after blowing his third save of the season, improving to 6-1 with a 1.88 ERA, with two hits, two strikeouts, a walk and an earned run. Consuegra took his 26th save, improving his ERA to 2.33 with one hit and one strikeout. And Hy Cohen had seven excellent innings of work, giving up eight hits with three strikeouts -- his four walks kept him from completing the game, as he only gave up two earned runs. The Redlegs outhit us 11-9, but Kaline had two hits, scoring a run and batting in a pair, and Roger Maris hit once and walked twice, adding a homer to his tally. Baker added two hits and scored a run on the ground as well as we improved to 109-41 on the season.

SEPTEMBER 19, 1954 . . . Robert Diehl (15-4, 2.65 ERA, 204.0 IP, 97 K’s, 1.09 WHIP) pitched today in the final road game against the Redlegs, taking on Bob Kelly (4-5, 3 SV, 3.32 ERA, 57.0 IP, 24 K’s, 1.26 WHIP). Diehl struggled in the third inning, loading the bases and giving up a run, but we got the three outs and they only had the 1-0 lead heading into the top of the fourth. They added a second run in the bottom of the fifth to go up 2-0, and our bats were silent yet again in the top of the sixth and again in the seventh. But Phil Cavarretta hit his 15th homer of the season, a solo blast over the centerfield wall, to make it a 2-1 ballgame in the top of the eighth. Diehl got us through the eighth inning without any runs scoring, bringing up Roger Maris to start the top of the ninth with us needing at least a run to survive. Maris popped out to second, Banks flew out to right, but then Al Rosen got a hit into right field, getting the tying run on base. But Elston Howard popped out to right field and ended this one as a 2-1 loss.

Diehl took the complete game loss, falling to 15-5 with a 2.55 ERA, giving up just five hits tonight with five strikeouts and two walks, leading to his two earned runs. We just were sluggish again on offense, outhitting them 7-5 but doing very little with the baserunners we got. Cavarretta’s homer wasn’t enough to do it, and he was our only player to hit twice.

We’re off tomorrow and Tuesday, and then will be playing a single home game against St. Louis on Wednesday afternoon. We’re then off agin until Saturday and Sunday, when we’ll host the Redlegs for our last two games of the season.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 22, 1954 . . . Cleveland’s Guardians won their 90th game last night, clinching the AL Pennant and setting up a World Series where we’re expected to be heavy favorites based on our offensive performance throughout the season. Hy Cohen (23-6, 3.00 ERA, 261.1 IP, 143 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) pitched tonight against St. Louis’ Bob Grim (9-16, 3.05 ERA, 256.2 IP, 134 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) in our return to Wrigley. The Cardinals scored first in the top of the first inning, an unearned run by Ray Jablonski, who reached first on a fielding error by Cavarretta and made it around to score thanks to a base hit by Stan Musial to put St. Louis up 1-0. Maris got a great hit in the bottom of the second inning, but he spoiled it by trying to turn a double into a triple, getting tagged out instead. And that run in the first inning haunted us through what turned into quite the poor night for hitters, as we went into the bottom of the sixth still trailing 1-0 with just six hits between the two teams. Cohen got one through the gap to start the bottom of the frame, but we couldn’t get anything else to fall, going into the seventh still trailing by the one run. Cohen threw a great game, getting us into the bottom of the eighth without any scoring beyond that first inning run, and we pinch hit Roy Sievers for him in the bottom of the eighth, Sievers eking out a double to bring up the top of the order! Kaline got absolutely robbed of a hit, when their right fielder made a spectacular sliding catch to give us two outs. And Phil Cavarretta got a great hit that the wind pushed back in, making for an easy left field catch in the corner. Vern Fear got three quick outs with just one player reaching base via a walk, bringing up Willie Mays with a chance to get something going in the bottom of the ninth. He batted out to center, however, and Roger Maris struck out swinging. Ernie Banks reached first on a walk, but Al Rosen batted out to center, ending the game as a 1-0 shutout loss.

Hy Cohen took the loss, falling to 23-7 on the year with a 2.91 ERA, giving up four hits and just the one unearned run, striking out four and walking one batter through 115 pitches. Vern Fear pitched a no-hit inning with a walk, but we weren’t able to get any runners across home plate. We outhit them 6-4, and Al Rosen had a pair of key hits, but they shut us down completely with numerous assists by the chilly September wind off the lake.
 
SEPTEMBER 25, 1954 . . . We have two games left against the Redlegs here at Wrigley to finish the season, and we’re trying to get that 110th win of the season, though at 109 wins we’ve already got the second best record in team history, behind only the 1906 Cubs, who won 116 games that year but lost to the White Sox in a Crosstown World Series. This afternoon Robert Diehl (15-5, 2.55 ERA, 212.0 IP, 102 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) took the mound against Tom Poholsky (15-12, 2.86 ERA, 277.1 IP, 103 K’s, 1.09 WHIP) in front of nearly 25,000 Cubs fans on a sunny, windy, 62 degree afternoon here on the North Side. But on a day that should have favored batters, neither team could get anything going early, and the hits were rare indeed. Cincinnati drew first blood in the top of the sixth, first with a grounder by Ted Kluszewski, who reached first on an error by Cavarretta, and then with an RBI triple by Gus Bell to put them up 1-0 on just Diehl’s third hit of the night. A second run scored on a flyout to left, but Diehl did get out of the inning without melting down. But our bats were completely silent, just one hit through the first six innings, and it’s hard not to worry that we’re slumping at the wrong time.

Willie Mays finally hit his first homer in I can’t remember how long, his 35th of the season, to get us on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning, trailing 2-1. Ernie Banks then hit a triple, and Elston Howard got a bouncing double into left field, driving Banks around to score the tying run! Gene Baker got a hit through the gap to drive in two more runs, giving us a 4-2 lead out of nowhere! That’s the offense we’ve been missing. Vern Fear came in to pitch in the top of the eighth, quickly getting us out of the inning with a flyout and a double play after letting his first batter reach base on a single. He stayed in with the two run lead in the top of the ninth to close things out, completing the win with three quick outs as we broke this one open in the seventh, winning 4-2!

Diehl improved to 16-5 with a 2.47 ERA, giving up just four hits with three strikeouts, three walks and two unearned runs through seven innings, while Fear threw two innings of one hit one strikeout ball to earn his fourth save and bring his ERA down to 1.80. We outhit the Redlegs 6-5, with Baker leading the team with a hit and two RBIs, while Mays added his homer.

Tomorrow we close out the regular season, and then can focus on planning for the Cleveland World Series.

SEPTEMBER 26, 1954 . . . Bob Turley (5-2, 3.75 ERA, 62.1 IP, 1.62 WHIP) got to start our final home game, against Cincy’s Bobby Shantz (21-10, 2.93 ERA, 288.1 IP, 125 K’s, 1.31 WHIP). Willie Mays batted in a run from Al Kaline to put us up 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Maris loaded the bases, and Ernie Banks then hit a sac fly to right, scoring a second run. Cincy got a run back in the top of the third via an RBI single by Gus Bell, and Ted Lepcio doubled to drive in the tying run. Turley gave up a third un in the top of the fourth, thanks in part by Willie Mays bobbling a catch in the outfield. Bob Shaw came in with two on and one out in the top of the fifth, giving up one of Turley’s runs via a flyout to right, but getting us into the bottom of the fifth without any further runs scoring, the Redlegs leading 4-2. Roy Sievers pinch hit for Shaw with Porterfield warming up in the bottom of the fifth, batting out via a foul ball. But Kaline and Cavarretta hit back to back, a run scoring on a flyout by Mays to right field to make it 4-3 with Maris up and two outs. The wind was not to his advantage, blowing what could have been a homer right into the glove of the left fielder, ending the inning and sending us into the top of the sixth with Porterfield coming in to throw.

The Redlegs increased their margin to two runs with a groundout to first by Charlie White in the top of the seventh. Harry Dorish came in to pitch in the top of the eighth, trailing 5-3, getting three quick outs to send us back up to the plate. But we couldn’t buy a hit! The best hitters in our lineup kept flying out in the outfield, the wind stealing everything from us constantly. Dorish kept us in the game, getting three more fast outs in the top of the ninth, but we went down one, two, three in the bottom of the inning, losing this one 5-3 and finishing our season with a 110-44 record.

Turley fell to 5-3 with the loss, giving up six hits in 4.1 innings, with two strikeouts against five walks ... KILLER. His ERA as a Cub slipped to 3.91. Our three relievers gave up just three hits in 4.2 innings, but our bats just weren’t there. The Redlegs outhit us 9-7, with Cavarretta’s four hits and a run keeping us in the game, alongside Kaline, who added two hits for two runs while Mays batted in two runs without getting a hit.

The World Series will begin on September 29th, with two games here at Wrigley, before we head to Cleveland for games three, four and (if needed) game five. If it gets that far, we’ll have games six and seven back here at Wrigley on October 6th and 7th. Playoff rosters are set, and we’re ready to take on the challenge! Hy Cohen, Robert Diehl and Joe Dobson will be our three go-to starters, with Rob Turley and Bob Porterfield as long relief options out of the bullpen. Dorish, Fear, Ferrick and Konstanty will be available as short or middle relif, while Consuegra will be available to close out tight affairs. Their closer, Bob Alexander, started out as a Cub earlier this year, and since joining Cleveland he’s gone 5-2 with a 1.51 ERA, 16 saves and an 0.95 WHIP, so that’s certainly going to be an interesting matchup. We got Al Rosen in the deal that sent him to the Guardians, though, and I think that’s been a win for us, easily.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 29, 1954
WORLD SERIES, GAME ONE
Cleveland Guardians (0-0) at Chicago Cubs (0-0)

1:00 PM -- Wrigley Field ... Attendance: 38,388
Weather: Clear, 65 Degrees, Wind blowing in from right, 9 miles per hour

CHICAGO STARTER: Hy Cohen (23-7, 2.91 ERA, 269.1 IP, 147 K’s, 1.07 WHIP)
CLEVELAND STARTER: Early Wynn (21-12, 2.61 ERA, 296.1 IP, 171 K’s, 1.14 WHIP)

Cleveland’s Bobby Avila got a hit in the first at-bat of the game, reaching first safely, and Hy Cohen struggled early on, giving up two more hits to load the bases, with only one out. A sharply hit drive into right field by Ray Boone allowed him to reach second and drive in three runs. Oof! He got the last two outs we needed, but we went into the bottom of the frame trailing the Guardians 3-0 in front of 38,000+ agitated Cubs fans. Kaline got a quick double to start things off for us, and though Cavarretta and Mays each batted out, Kaline was able to advance to third, with Roger Maris coming up to the plate. A flyout to right ended the inning with us trailing still by the three runs. Cohen got three quick outs to bring us back up to the plate! Banks and Rosen each took walks, but Elston Howard batted into a double play, advancing Banks to third. Gene Baker got a weak infield hit, nearly beat out the throw, but was tagged out to end the inning, Cleveland still ahead 3-0. Two flyouts and a strikeout for Cohen, bringing us back up to the plate with another chance to do some damage. Cohen struck out swinging, but Kaline singled into deep left, and Willie Mays hit one all the way to the Ivy in center field, doubling and giving us two in scoring position with two outs. But Maris batted out to first, and the score stayed the same. Ray Boone hit for the second time in the game, reaching first safely, but Jim Hegan bunted poorly, hitting it straight to Elston Howard for the first out. A flyout and a strikeout ended the frame and brought us back up for the bottom of the fourth inning. Ernie Banks hit a solo blast into the bleachers to make it 3-1, but Elston Howard hit into a double play to end the inning and we went into the fifth inning trailing by a pair.

Cohen got a great double play in the top of the fifth after giving up his sixth hit, getting us back up to the plate with a chance to narrow the gap, but we couldn’t’ find a hit. Maris walked in the bottom of the sixth, and Ernie Banks came up and slammed a double deep into center, driving Maris all the way around to make it 3-2, but Banks was picked off at third moments later, in an ill-conceived attempt at stealing a base. Al Rosen hit a two-out double, but Elston Howard hit one out to Lary Doby in center field, and we went into the top of the seventh trailing by a run. But Bobby Avila hit a two-run homer over the head of Roger Maris in the top of the seventh to expand their lead to three runs. Cohen got us through the top of the eighth without any further runs scoring, but we were running out of time to find some offense. We did not find any in the eighth, leaving Cohen to keep us in the game by getting the three outs we needed in the top of the ninth. He did just that, but we had the bottom of our lineup coming to the plate and we (and our fans) were feeling desperate. Three flyouts and it was over, game one went in the toilet as Cleveland took one from us 5-2.

Cohen gave up nine hits in his complete game, with five strikeouts, a walk and five earned runs. Cleveland outhit us 9-8, with Ernie Banks showing real poise in getting three hits for a run and two RBIs. Kaline had two hits but was left stranded each time, and we’re going to have to rally and take game two here or it’s going to be rough heading to Cleveland.

[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 30, 1954
WORLD SERIES, GAME TWO
Cleveland Guardians (1-0) at Chicago Cubs (0-1)

1:05 PM -- Wrigley Field ... Attendance: 38,449
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 56 Degrees, Wind blowing in from center, 9 miles per hour

CHICAGO STARTER: Robert Diehl (16-5, 2.47 ERA, 219.0 IP, 105 K’s, 1.08 WHIP)
CLEVELAND STARTER: Mike Garcia (19-11, 2.80 ERA, 279.2 IP, 151 K’s, 1.15 WHIP)

Diehl got us going with three quick outs in the top of the first, but we left two stranded in the bottom of the inning as the score stayed knotted at zero. Cavarretta committed a fielding error, allowing Ray Boone aboard in the top of the second, and Cleveland went up 1-0 off an RBI line drive single by Mike Garcia. Avilla drove in a second run, and our defenses crumbled; Al Rosen missed an easy grab at third and a third run scored as a result, all three runs having come with two outs. Diehl gave up a fourth run an RBI single by Lary Doby, and then we mercifully ended the inning trailing 4-0 as we watched our World Series hopes begin to crumble. Roger Maris hit a hard shot out into left field in the bottom of the sixth, a double that drove in a run and put two in scoring position. But Ernie Banks flew out to short, and Al Rosen flew out to center, ending the inning with us still in a 4-1 hole. Vern Fear came in for the top of the seventh, and it did not go as planned. A walk by Mike Garcia and then a perfect bunt by Avila, and then suddenly a pair of hits and we’re down 5-1 with just one out thanks to a fielder’s choice. Fear got us the last two outs, but the damage was done.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Vern Fear got off a hit into right, reaching base safely, and then Al Kaline beat out an infield throw, giving us a man in scoring position with Cavarretta coming up to hit. But he batted out to short, ending the inning with two more stranded. Fear got us three outs in the top of the eighth, and we were able to get a run back in the bottom of the eighth on an Al Rosen RBI single that drove in Mays from third, but it was on two outs, and we couldn’t sustain a rally. Elston Howard batted out to second and we were running out of chances. Harry Dorish got us three outs to get into the bottom of the ninth trailing by three. Ray Sievers hit a towering homer over the center field Ivy to make it 5-3, and then Al Kaline hit a solo blast over into right field, pullig us to within a run, down 5-4 with one out! Cavarretta took a walk to first on balls, but Willie Mays batted out to the shortstop, bringing up Roger Maris, two outs, one on, all the marbles on the line. He struck out, swinging, and the Cleveland Guardians beat us by one. We head to Ohio day after tomorrow trailing two games to none and things are feeling bleak here on the north side.

Diehl lasted six innings, giving up four UNEARNED runs on seven pitches, striking out five but exiting with his confidence shot. Fear lasted two innings with just two hits, a strikeout and a walk, surrendering a run, while Dorish got through his inning perfect in nine pitches. We even outhit the Guardians 12-9, but left so many damned runners stranded I just can’t figure it out! Sievers and Kaline kept it close with their homers, but really the game was never close. Kaline hit four times to score twice and bat in a run, and Mays and Maris each had a pair of hits. But we’re not gelling as a lineup, and as a result the Guardians are running all over us.

We cannot afford to go down 3-0, so it is very likely we’ll be pitching Hy Cohen as our starter when we get to Cleveland.

[jksander]

OCTOBER 2, 1954
WORLD SERIES, GAME 3
Chicago Cubs (0-2) at Cleveland Guardians (2-0)

1:05 PM -- Cleveland Stadium ... Attendance: 40,105
Weather: Clear, 65 Degrees, Wind blowing in from right at 10 miles per hour

CLEVELAND STARTER: Bob Feller (17-8, 3.13 ERA, 229.2 IP, 87 K’s, 1.25 WHIP)
CHICAGO STARTER: Hy Cohen (23-7, 2.91 ERA, 269.1 IP, 147 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) -- 0-1 in the Series, 5.00 ERA

Roger Maris hit a triple in the top of the first that sent Mays all the way around from first base to score a run, putting us up 1-0! The triple came on two outs, with Mays only on base because of an error by Cleveland first baseman Stan Lopata, so we were really glad to finally capitalize on a Guardian mistake. Hy Cohen pitched around men on the corners to start the bottom of the second, getting three consecutive outs to strand the runners and keep our 1-0 lead intact. We scored a second run on an error at third, Cavarretta’s single scoring Kaline from first base while allowing Cavarretta to take second on the errant throw. Cavarretta advanced to third on a sac-fly to right by Mays, but Maris flew out to the shortstop, sending us into the bottom of the third leading 2-0. Cohen stumbled in the bottom of the fourth, giving up three hits in a row with one out, allowing two runs to score and tie the game thanks to a Ray Boone triple. A strikeout and a groundout to first ended the inning knotted two-all. Al Rosen hit a two-run blast into the right field bleachers in the top of the sixth, giving us back a 4-2 lead, but Cohen gave up a two-run blast to center by Ralph Kliner to tie it up 4-4 in the bottom of the inning, denying us all momentum. Cohen got us out of the inning but his night was clearly over at that point, nothing left in the tan, as we went into the seventh tied up at 4-4.

Gene Baker hit a single in the top of the seventh and was then driven to second when Roy Sievers batted himself out at first as a pinch hitter for Cohen. Kaline flew out to center, but Cavarretta reached first base on balls to bring up Willie Mays with two on and two outs. But Mays flew out to center, ending the inning still knotted up. Harry Dorish came in to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, getting three quick outs without the ball leaving the infield, but we did nothing in the top of the eighth, and Dorish -- who had gotten out of the seventh inning on FOUR PITCHES, gave up a solo homer to Larry Doby on his second pitch of the eighth, giving Cleveland a 5-4 lead, though he got us three fast outs to get out of the rest of the inning. Bill Serena pinch hit for Baker in the top of the ninth, striking out swinging. Joe Collins hit for Dorish, struck out swinging. And Al Kaline flew out to the first baseman, ending the inning and sending us into a 3-0 hole, dropping this game at Cleveland 5-4 and virtually ending our hopes of contending for a title.

Cohen lasted six innings and gave up six hits for four earned runs, striking out three but walking four as he continued to have rookie jitters as our top playoff starter. Dorish, however, took the loss, despite only giving up one hit and one earned run with a strikeout through two innings. Each team had seven hits -- Maris led our offense with two hits for a run and an RBI, while AL Rosen hit once for two RBIs and a run scored on the ground. It’s frustrating continuing to lose this way in the postseason when we dominated the NL so thoroughly, but baseball is that kind of game. A 154 game season decided by the luck of a seven game series against a team we haven’t faced all year. We’ll go into game four at least hoping to find a way to extend the series, but no one has ever come back from three games down to win the whole thing.

[jksander]

OCTOBER 3, 1954
WORLD SERIES, GAME 4
Chicago Cubs (0-3) at Cleveland Guardians (3-0)

1:05 PM -- Cleveland Stadium ... Attendance: 40,129
Weather: Clear, 62 Degrees, Wind blowing in from center at 12 miles per hour

CLEVELAND STARTER: Steve Gromek (14-12, 3.77 ERA, 227.0 IP, 107 K’s, 1.35 WHIP)
CHICAGO STARTER: Joe Dobson (10-6, 3.80 ERA, 123.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.39 WHIP)

This one was tightly contested from the earliest moments, as Cleveland fought to complete the sweepa nd we fought to prove we’d deserved to be here, that our domination of the NL meant something. Cleveland toyed with us for a couple innings, and then Dobson melted down quietly in the bottom of the third, loading the bases and then surrendering a grand slam to Ralph Kiner, and we were completely demoralized. Ray Boone hit a solo blast to center seconds later, and our 5-0 hole was deep enough to bury us in. Meanwhile, we literally could not get a hit -- Gromek had a no-hit one walk game going through four. Al Rosen finally got a hit in the top of the fifth, but no one else joined him. Vern Fear came in for the bottom of the seventh and promptly loaded the bases for us, though he then got back to back to back outs to get us out of the inning, no runs, but our bats were completely neutered. We tried to rally in the top of the ninth -- Cavarretta got a single, followed by a Willie Mays double to give us two in scoring position, but Roger Maris popped up to the pitcher, and Ernie Banks flew out to left. Swept AND shut out, we lost this one 5-0 -- the same team that put up a +275 win differential let the Cleveland Guardians outscore us by ten runs over four games. And I’m at a loss to explain just what happened.

Dobson gave up eight hits in six innings, with five runs against three strikeouts and two walks. Fear had three hits and one strikeout, no runs, and Dorish pitched a near-perfect eighth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Guardians’ pitcher holding us to three hits as a team. Over the length of the series, Banks, Howard and Baker were held to .200 or less, with only Mays and Rosen managing to hit consistently. We’ll have to regroup in the offseason and figure out how to bolster this team to make sure if we make it back this kind of thing doesn’t become our identity.

- - - - -

OCTOBER 5, 1954 . . . It’s important to note that the season was more than just our World Series meltdown. We did win 110 games in the NL, dominating the league. We did build up our fan base, increasing home attendance by 26.2% to average over 18,100 fans per game in the friendly confines of Wrigley. We made it to the World Series five games ahead of schedule -- our owner had been more focused on building our farm system and looking toward consistently winning and bringing fans into the seats. And we did it while battling injuries amongst our starting pitchers, and we made trades down the stretch to ensure we’ll be a contender long term. So I made an effort to tell the guys they needed to think toward the future and not dwell on how miserable the last week has been.

Saul Rogovin officially was able to come off the IR today, and he will begin his winter rehab so as to be ready to return to action next season. Even at 30, Rogovin is still one of the best pitchers in the game, and we’re all hopeful he’ll be able to return to form. He was 9-1 with a 1.85 ERA through 97.1 innings this year before the injury, with 60 K’s and a 0.96 WHIP. He is arbitration eligible this year, and would be expected to get a bump to $35,000 on a one year extension, but we’re working on keeping him here longer term than that. I suspect he may want to take what he can get in arbitration and eventually hold out for free agency.

Johnny Klippstein, meanwhile, has suffered a setback in his recovery from a torn labrum. He has to have another surgery, and will now miss the entirety of the 1955 season. We still have the soon-to-be 27-year-old hurler on contract to earn $75,000 next year and $80,000 in 1956, He is extremely popular locally, and with his contract being guaranteed, I’m at this point willing to hold out hope he can return to form in ’56. It’s harder to wrap my head around the idea that, if this surgery fails, his career’s over before it really began.

[jksander]

OCTOBER 25, 1954 . . . With Klippstein out long term, it was more important than ever that we get Saul Rogovin signed and happy with his role on our team heading into next year. He was not, however, interested in signing anything long term. After several rounds of negotiations, we were able to get him on board with a two year deal, worth $55,000 for the 1955 season and $65,000 for the 1956 season, at which point he’ll be 32. He will also get solid bonuses for any awards he might win, as well as for reaching 250 innings pitched in a season. He was a player I actively pursued in the trade with the White Sox last year, and I feel he’s our perfect veteran ace heading into the new season, with Hy Cohen right there with him.

NOVEMBER 6, 1954 . . . The offseason has officially begun! Our owner has kept our budget relatively static, at $1.78 million, giving us room for about $1.4 million for payroll -- ours currently sits at $1.39 million, second in the majors, and we’re clearly in ‘win now!’ mode. Our fan interest has jumped off the charts, and we’ll be bumping ticket prices up this year as we are clearly no longer rebuilding. The product we’ve been putting on the field is more than worth a $2 ticket. Awards voting begins today, here’s looking forward to how that turns out over the next couple weeks.

NOVEMBER 14, 1954 . . . NL Gold Glove winners were announced today, and Willie Mays was given the award for center field performance! Several other Cubs were in contention for awards at other positions, but the young center fielder is by far our best in the outfield.

NOVEMBER 15, 1954 . . . Sandy Consuegra was named the NL’s Reliever of the Year, thanks to his 2.33 ERA and 26 saves over 47 relief appearances. He struck out 39 batters while walking only four, and opponents hit just .244 against him. Not bad for a 34-year-old veteran!

NOVEMBER 16, 1954 . . . Duke Snyder narrowly edged out Mays for the Platinum Stick award among center fielders, but Ernie Banks did win as a shortstop, having hit .303/.351/.498 with 23 homers, a pair of stolen bases and 4.9 WAR.

NOVEMBER 17, 1954 . . . Al Kaline won the NL’s Rookie of the Year award, with Robert Diehl, Roger Maris and Gene Baker finishing in the top six among vote getters as well, showing how young our team that dominated so much of last season truly was! Kaline hit .322 through 131 games, getting 182 hits, 17 homers and 64 RBIs, scoring 90 runs in the process. Way to go, Al! Glad we’ve got him locked up long term to stay with us here in Chicago!

NOVEMBER 18, 1954 . . . I was officially named NL Manager of the Year today, which is a huge honor, but also a tough act to follow. I’m hoping the last two seasons weren’t as flukeish as they seemed to me as they were happening. Can I keep this going and become one of the better managers in Cubs history? Can I keep the fans’ trust by getting us back to the World Series again and breaking the nearly five-decade curse? I’m certainly going to do my best!

NOVEMBER 19, 1954 . . . No Cy Youngs coming to Chicago this year. Brooklyn’s Johnny Podres won the award in the National League, having finished with a 25-4 record through 252.2 innings, striking out 143 batters and crafting a 2.49 ERA, with teams batting just .204 against him. Hard to beat that, though we did have Robert Diehl and Hy Cohen who finished in the top four in votes.

NOVEMBER 20, 1954 . . . Willie Mays won himself a huge honor, taking home the NL’s MVP award, thanks to a .328 average, 26 doubles, 16 triples , 35 homers, 127 RBIs and 108 runs scored, accounting for 10.5 WAR, and he’s put up 23.7 total WAR over his first four seasons in the major leagues. This is his second consecutive NL MVP, and he’s earning every penny of his $102,000 contract for the upcoming season.

DECEMBER 1, 1954 . . . We signed ourselves a backup catcher -- Bob Durretto, 27, a two-star prospect who hasn’t played above AA level since 1945, but who has loads of experience in the minors and some ability as a pitcher as well. He’s on a one year deal worth $15,000, but will start out in AAA as an option down the road, should McCullough, who is making $35,000 this year in the final year of his contract, not pan out. Whether McCullough’s bat still outweighs his defensive deficiencies will remain to be seen this year in Spring Training.

DECEMBER 15, 1954 . . . The Draft wasn’t much of a deal, as most of the best players went in the upper levels of the first round, while our pick was dead last in every round. I’m pretty happy with our first rounder, Deacon Jones, a first baseman with great eye, contact and power, who knows how to use his speed well on the basepaths. He’s a solid three stars plus at this point, and could be ready to get playing time right away, once we see how our roster shapes up. Beyond that, I don’t see any impact players coming straight out of our draft, but I’ve made big moves in the past, and I’d love to find a way to convince the now-in-Kansas City Athletics to give up their studly draftee, a young hurler named Sandy Koufax. It seems doubtful they’ll want to move him, but we have some trade pieces they may find useful, and once everyone has signed their bonus deals I can start making some calls.

DECEMBER 20, 1954 . . . We decided to use a Rule 5 Draft pick on Chicago White Sox second baseman Danny Lynch, an incredible infielder with excellent skills in the field at 2B or 3B, while passable as a backup at short. He’s currently on a minor league contract,, has great morale, and will be ecstatic to be a bench player and utility infielder for us. At 28, he’s been around the block in the minors, and I think he’s ready for a chance to show he can do well at the major league level. Committing to keeping him on our active roster for the season seems like a small risk to take.

JANUARY 14, 1955 . . . We’ve made a huge trade with Kansas City. We are sending four-star veteran reliever Vern Fear, three-star veteran right fielder Phil Cavarretta, and 21-year-old starter Bob Shaw, who is listed as a top nine prospect, in exchange for the first-rounder we wanted all along, Mr. Sandy Koufax, who was taken sixth overall in the draft this year! Koufax’s BNN ranking has not been issued yet, but the 19-year-old from New York, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has the stuff and movement to play immediately at the major league level as a reliever, with the potential to develop quickly into a top-of-the-rotation starter. We took a risk getting rid of Vern Fear, but I’m not afraid of going younger in the bullpen if it means giving a kid a chance to develop and become a star at this level. Our pitching is going to be a question mark this year anyway, Rogovin and Cohen are our top starters, with Diehl, Dobson and Porterfield likely to be the rest of our five-man rotation, but the bullpen are up in the air, . We’ll learn a lot in spring training, but I see no reason to believe Koufax can’t come in and make it work right away.

[jksander]

JANUARY 19, 1955 . . . Catcher Bill Dickey was the only player inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, receiving 97.2% of the vote in his second year of eligibility. An 11-time All Star, Dickey accumlated 56.5 WAR over his career, averaging .313/.380/.486 through 17 full seasons in the majors, hitting 343 doubles, 72 triples, 202 homers and batting in more than 1,200 runs.

JANUARY 26, 1955 . . . Interesting! We’re not the only team out making crazy moves for rookie players. The Yankees sent 32-year-old veteran left fielder Gene Woodling to the Milwaukee Braves, in exchange for an iffy minor league reliever (Paul Menking) and for this year’s #8 pick in the first round, starting pitcher Stan Williams! That’s a huge move for the Yankees, who clearly weren’t happy finishing second in the AL last year. I’m not sure Milwaukee didn’t just get fleeced, but time will tell. Williams certainly has a long way to develop to meet his potential, but that potential is VERY high.

In news on the Cubs front, our owner, very pleased with the moves I’ve made, decided to bump our budget up by $1.2 million! Our player payroll has dropped to $1,286,255, and we have over $600,000 available for extensions. We are also considering getting in on the free agent bidding for 21-year-old starter Camilo Pascual, who put up 6.2 WAR and threw 230+ innings last year for AAA Havana! He’d be another strong arm for our arsenal, and as much as I love our power bats, pitching is setting up to be my bread and butter as a manager. We’ll keep you all up to date!

FEBRUARY 17, 1955 . . . We went big on our offer to Camilo “Camile” Pascual, offering a seven-year deal worth $375,000, starting with $25,000 this year and building through the 1961 season when he’ll be making $90,000 for the season. He has no other guarantees in the deal for bonuses, or requirements of a starting role, etc. But he’ll be moving into our starting rotation as our fifth starter, and I know our fans are as excited as I am about his prospects.

FEBRUARY 21, 1955 . . . With our pitching rotation starting to shape up, with him on the outside looking in, we found an opportunity to upgrade at the catcher position with one of the few truly solid defenders in the game, trading “Bullet Bob” Turley to the Milwaukee Braves, in exchange for 24-year-old catcher phenom Del Crandall, who also has the benefit of being a power bat. We’ve in turn chosen to part ways with 37-year-old Clyde McCullough, choosing to release him rather than submit to waivers, since no teams had expressed any interest in him at all on the trade market.

I think we’ve made the moves we needed to make, and should have a really strong team going forward. Bring on Spring Training! We’re ready for some spring baseball in warm weather before we all head back to Wrigley for some cold April action.

[jksander]

APRIL 10, 1955 . . . Opening Day at long last! We had a fantastic spring, winning more games than we lost in the time of “standings don’t matter,” but now it’s time to officially trim our rosters down and get ready for real baseball. The top 100 prospects list has come out via the Baseball News Network, and Sandy Koufax is listed 7th overall, with Deacon Jones ranked 56th. As expected, the rest of our draftees wound up ranked in the mid-100s overall, so we’ll see if any of them pan out.

Tomorrow when we open the season on the road against Cincinnati, we expect to start Saul Rogovin, with the following lineup card:

1. Al Kaline (RF)
2. Deacon Jones (1B)
3. Willie Mays (CF)
4. Roger Maris (LF)
5. Ernie Banks (SS)
6. Al Rosen (3B)
7. Del Crandall (C)
8. Danny Lynch (2B)
9. Saul Rogovin (SP)

Bench: Elston Howard (C), Joe Collins (1B), Gene Baker (2B), Grady Hatton (3B), Jerry Bunyard (SS), Roy Sievers (LF), Frank Ernaga (CF)
Bullpen: Bob Porterfield (Long), Harry Dorish + Tom Ferrick (Middle), Sandy Koufax (Setup), Sandy Consuegra (Closer)

We’ll open the season at Wrigley on the 12th against the Cardinals, and then we’ll play a six game stretch on the road at Cincy, St. Louis and Milwaukee before we get a five game stretch at home. Typical April scheduling.

[jksander]

APRIL 11, 1955 . . . Today we got things going in Cincinnati, with Saul Rogovin making his long awaited return to the majors up against Bobby Shantz, who won 22 games for the Redlegs last year with a 2.91 ERA, 127 K’s and a 1.30 WHIP through 297.1 innings. After discussions with my bench coaches, we decided to give Roy Sievers the start today at 1B, batting him sixth, and we put Maris in the two spot, batting Kaline / Maris / Mays / Banks / Rosen / Severs / Crandall / Lynch. First base is our weakest spot right now defensively, and I expect Sievers and Jones to trade off starts early in the season until we get a sense of who is stronger overall. But post-Cavarretta, I’m open to a trade or free agency move if it means shoring up the position as the season progresses.

Kaline got a hit in his first at-bat of the season, and Ernie Banks blasted a homer to deep left, giving us a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning! Sievers and Crandall got back to back hits in the top of the second, and Saul Rogovin got a grounder into right, scoring two more runs quickly, sending us into the bottom of the second with a 4-0 lead in front of the audibly frustrated home crowd. Things settled down from there, but we were clearly in control, our lineup clicking as though last season had never ended. Rogovin got into his first jam in the bottom of the sixth, giving up hits to put runners on the corners, but Whitey Lockman popped up to Crandall to get our first out. Back to back hits scored three runs combined for the Redlegs, however, pulling Cincinnati to within one, with a runner on third and just the one out. He pitched to contact, getting a flyout to right that was not deep enough for the runner at third to move, but a grounder to center field allowed the tying run to score, Rogovin getting us out of the inning but with the score knotted now 4-4. We’re going to go to the bullpen in the seventh to protect his arm, being so early in the season, but at least they didn’t get the lead -- and we had the top of our lineup batting to start the next inning.

Still tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh, we brought in rookie phenom Sandy Koufax for his major league debut. He walked his first batter, then made an excellent double play, easily getting the third out off a grounder and throw from Lynch to Sievers, keeping us in this one. Del Crandall got a hit into left with two outs in the top of the eighth, and Deacon Jones came in to pinch hit for Danny Lynch, but he flew out to left to end the inning. Koufax came back out for the bottom of the eighth, with Harry Dorish warming up in the bullpen, and he got two quick outs, Dorish coming in to close things out from there. Harry walked a batter but then Robert Broome popped one up to Del Crandall to end the inning still knotted 4-4. Top of the ninth, three quick outs for us and it was going to come down to shutting them down and taking this one to extras. A grounder to third with a quick throw to Sievers got us out number one. Grounder to Banks with a throw to Sievers, out number two. Dorish walked Bob Elliott, bringing up pinch-hitter Wayne Terwilliger, who grounded it to Baker who made the easy throw to Sievers for the third out -- we’ve got ourselves extra innings in our first road game of the season!

In the top of the 10th, Willie Mays got us a triple right off the bat, a deep shot into the left corner, and Ernie Banks drove him home with a grounder into right field, giving us a 5-4 lead! Rosen flew out to left, but Roy Sievers blasted a homer into the right field bleachers, driving in a pair to make it 7-4! Crandall and Baker got hits to prolong the inning, but Al Kaline batted out to third for our third out, sending us into the bottom of the inning with Sandy Consuegra coming in for his first save opportunity of the season. Leadoff man Nelly Fox beat out an infield blooper to reach first safely, but Frank Robinson batted into a double play, at which point Consuegra struck out Ted Kluszewski swinging to end the game as a 7-4 victory for your Chicago Cubs!

Saul Rogovin did well in his first game back, throwing 61 pitches through six innings, giving up seven hits and four earned runs with just one walk against three strikeouts, giving him an inflated 6.00 ERA to start the year. We could have kept him in longer but he and I were both concerned about not overworking his shoulder when we could give our bullpen arms a shot and stay in this one -- no need to put everything on the line in our first game of the season. Sandy Koufax was excellent in his debut, throwing 1.2 innings without a hit, with just a single walk through 22 pitches, setting up Harry Dorish very nicely. Dorish took the win, throwing 1.1 innings without a hit while walking two, and Consuegra got his first save of the year with one hit and one strikeout. It’s good to know I have a bullpen I can trust in games like these -- four innings of relief work and no one gave up a run!

The game never should have been so close -- Rogovin’s sixth inning collapse gave them most of their hits and all of their runs -- but we did outhit the Redlegs 15-8, and we dominated in the 10th inning when it counted. Banks, Sievers and Crandall each had three hits, with Banks scoring twice and driving in three! Sievers scored twice and batted in two, and Kaline and Crandall, Mays and Kaline each scored a run on the ground. It’s early in the year but I can tell we have a brutal hitter’s lineup here in Chicago, and teams are going to fear us. With so many guys who can hit at any time, it should be possible for us to survive any individual slumps.

So hey, 1-0 and we’re heading into opening day at Wrigley! Let’s keep ‘em coming!

APRIL 12, 1955 . . . Opening day at Wrigley is like Christmas for me. This year we have St. Louis in town for the occasion, with a healthy crowd of 23,971 in the stands despite it being cloudy, 47 degrees and with a stiff 13 mile breeze blowing in from the right making the air feel incredibly chilled. Hy Cohen is taking the mound for us, facing down St. Louis’s Bob Grim, who went 10-16 last year with a 2.95 ERA through 265.2 innings for the Cardinals. Deacon Jones, batting second, and Gene Baker, batting eighth, will be making their first starts this season.

Kaline again got a hit in his first at-bat, but he got picked off at second on a fielder’s choice that put Willie Mays on first with two outs in the top of the first. Roger Maris hit one deep into center field, safely reaching first while allowing Mays to move to third, but Ernie Banks batted out to first so we did not score right away like we did in Cincinnati. Hy Cohen gave up a solo homer over the left field wall in the top of the second, Ray Jablonski going deep for a solo run to put St. Louis up 1-0. But Gene Baker hit a blooper into the outfield, the wind dropping it early and forcing the fielders to run for it, allowing him to beat out what should have been an easy out and loading the bases in the process. Kaline got a hit into center left moments later, driving in the tying run, and Deacon Jones walked in the go-ahead run to keep the bases loaded with just one out! Willie Mays BARELY missed out on a grand slam, hitting it off the wall at center to drive in three with a double, and this one was opening up for us. Maris and Banks batted themselves out, but we still went into the top of the third with a sudden 5-1 lead.

Cohen struck out the side in the top of the third and continued to dominate from there, giving up just the one hit through the first five innings of work. Homers are his weak link, however, and in the top of the sixth he gave up another solo blast that barely stayed in at left, giving Frank Bolling HIS first homer of the season as the Cardinals pulled within three runs. He gave up another run on an infield single, but got two strikeouts to end the inning with us ahead 5-3. And Cohen proved he’s one of the best young pitchers in baseball by staying true to his gameplan and holding the Cardinals scoreless in the seventh and eighth to maintain our 5-3 lead! AL Rosen got a hit in the bottom of the eighth, stole a base, and then made it to third on a single by Del Crandall. Gene Baker hit into a fielder’s choice, making it to first and scoring Rosen to make it 6-3. With two outs, Al Kaline hit his first homer of the season deep into the bleachers at left, making it 8-3, and Cohen stayed in to finish what he’d started, giving up a run on a two-out double but getting the final out via a flyout to left as we beat St. Louis in our home opener 8-4!

Hy Cohen pitched a nine inning six-hitter, giving up four earned runs while striking out eight and walking no one through 103 pitches. We got 10 hits to their six, led by leadoff man Al Kaline who had three hits with two runs and three RBIs. Willie Mays hit twice and batted in three as well, and Gene Baker hit twice for two runs on the ground and one batted in.

See you next week, Wrigley! For now we have a road game at Cincy on Thursday, followed by a three-game set in St. Louis on Saturday and Sunday. We then have two games at Milwaukee on Monday and Tuesday.

[jksander]

APRIL 14, 1955 . . . Today we’re on the raod at Cincinnati for the second time, with Robert Diehl ready to take to the mound. He’ll be facing down George Susce, who went 8-8 for the Redlegs last year in 161 innings, striking out 65 with a 1.24 WHIP and a 3.63 ERA. And for the first time this year we found ourselves in a hole early == Robert Diehl threw a fastball to Hal Keller in the bottom of the second, giving up a three-run homer to put us back 3-0. A fourth run scored on a flyout to left in the bottom of the fourth inning, We got a run back in the top of the fifth, when Al Kaline got a groundball single to right, sending Del Crandall from first to third with Al Rosen coming around to score the run, making it 4-1 Redlegs heading into the bottom of the fifth. Against the top of the order for the third time through, Diehl struggled a bit, putting a runner in scoring position, but he got a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning without damage. In the top of the sixth with one out, Banks hit a single to right, reaching first and driving Maris around to third, and Al Rosen singled, driving Maris home on a headfirst slide, making it 4-2, with Banks moving into scoring position at second. Roy Sievers walked the bases loaded, and Del Crandall snuck one past the third baseman in to left fielder, a slippery grounder that allowed him to reach second base while scoring three to put us ahead 5-4! Diehl singled, reaching first and sending Crandall to third, bringing up the top of our lineup with just the one out! Kaline flew out to center, but Crandall had enough speed to make the slide safely into home to make it 6-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Kaline and Baker walked with two outs in the top of the eighth, bringing up Willie Mays who hit a RBI single into right field to add a little insurance. We brought Koufax in with two outs and a man on second in the bottom of the eighth, and he got the final out on a 4-3 grounder off a ball hit off the third pitch at 105 miles per hour, sending us into the top of the ninth up 7-4. Koufax gave up a hit to start the bottom of the ninth, but it should have been an out if Banks hadn’t bobbled a catch. No matter -- He got Bob Elliott out on an E9 flyout, got the second out by a popup to Banks, and then walked Nellie Fox to give them a man in scoring position with two outs. The young pitcher then walked Bobby Hofman, creating his first bases loaded jam, before securing the final out via a 4-3 grounder that ended this one as a 7-4 victory! We improve to 3-0 with the win, heading into a day off and then the three game road-set in St. Louis this weekend.

Robert Diehl made it through 7.2 innings and 84 pitches today, giving up ten hits with four strikeouts and no walks, accounting for four runs (three earned) and giving him a 3.52 ERA to start his season. Koufax then came in for 1.1 innings in relief, coming out with his first career save in a one hit two walk no run effort. He has gone three innings without a run scoring, but has walked three and has yet to notch his first major league strikeout. The control will come, right now it’s about harnessing his stuff, which is already there, and building up his endurance over the next few years. He’s prime for an excellent rookie season as a key piece in our bullpen.

Cincinnati outhit us 11-8, but we made ours count, taking control with the five runs in the sixth. Al Kaline is a perfect leadoff man, hitting twice, scoring a run and batting in two more to give him 5 RBIs in his first three games of the year to go with a .429 average. Del Crandall got a hit and drove in three runs while scoring once himself, keeping his average at a solid .455 through the first three games as well.

APRIL 16, 1955 . . . So far it’s a small sample size of games, but we, Brooklyn (3-0) and Philadelphia (2-1) all are off to fast offensive starts with lots of runs scoring, while over in the AL Washington and Detroit, both 4-0, have been putting up good numbers on offense as well. Way too early to think much about standings though, particularly not until teams have seen all their league rivals both home and away. But it’s going to be interesting to see how teams like the Giants (1-3) and the Cardinals (0-2) overcome an early lack of offense. The Giants in particular have been outscored by 16 runs in their first four games -- coming out of their abysmal 35-win season last year, their GM needs to make some moves or their rebuild is going to take longer than the fans are going to be willing to wait. They have good prospects coming up from the farm, with six players in the BNN Top 100, but they’re clearly a long way away from their 1951 World Series appearance (98 wins!) and their championship in 1933.

With a single game today and a doubleheader tomorrow while in St. Louis, we’re back to the top of our rotation, with Saul Rogovin (0-0, 6.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 3 K’s, 1.33 WHIP) pitching on five days’ rest against Cardinals starter Dean Stone, who last year finished 4-9 with four saves, a 4.07 ERA, 46 K’s and a 1.61 WHIP through 128.1 innings of work. We’ve put up seven or more runs in each of our first three games while surrendering four runs per effort, so we should be undefeated. But if we’re going to continue our dominant run we’ll have to see how we handle games with less offense, where our pitchers have to be the dominant force. Getting Rogovin into top form at the top of the rotation is going to go a long way in making that happen.

This game started out as exactly that kind of pitcher’s duel. We got a hit from Mays in the first inning, and they got a hit from Robert Shawver in the bottom of the third, but no one advanced past second base, and the game was knotted 0-0 with those two hits after three innings. Roger Maris led off the top of the fourth, grounding into left field for a single, but we popped out three times in a row to end the frame, and Rogovin was perfect in the bottom of the inning, keeping it locked up. We had our best opportunity in the top of the fifth, when Sievers got a base hit and then Gene Baker took a one-out walk. Rogovin flew out to deep center, allowing Sievers to use his speed on the basepaths to advance to third. But Kaline flew out to right and ended the frame still scoreless. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Rogovin gave up back to back hits for a base each, putting a runner in scoring position for the Cardinals for only the second time in the game. But their pitcher batted out to left and added another zero to the scoreboard. This is one of those games that should be sponsored by Rolaids!

Rogovin faced the top of their order for the third time to start the sixth, and things got dicey. Andy Carey and Wally Moon got on base with back to back hits, and the Cardinals finally broke it open with an RBI single by Stan Musial, to put the Cardinals up 1-0, two men on, no outs. Two more runs scored on a one-out double by Jablonski, and though he got us out of the inning efficiently from there, it was yet another sixth inning struggle for our ace starter. Sievers got another hit in the top of the seventh, reaching third on a single by Gene Baker, and I had to make a move to the bullpen by bringing in a pinch hitter for Rogovin with two outs, trying to find a way to get something going. Deacon Jones came in to hit, and Jones got a great hit on the sweet spot, driving the ball deep into the left field corner to drive both runs in, reaching second standing up. That brought Kaline in to restart the order, but he popped it up to their catcher, sending us into the seventh inning stretch trailing 3-2 with Harry Dorish coming in to throw.

Dorish got us through the seventh and the eighth, and with Sandy Consuegra warming up in the bullpen, we went into the top of the ninth trailing by a run and needing something good to happen. Roy Sievers made great contact yet again, driving a scorcher into right and reaching base safely, and Del Crandall hit a feisty one that bounced funny in the infield, allowing Sievers to beat out the throw to second and then Crandall made it safely to first inches ahead of the throw. Both safe! Gene Baker flew out to deep center, leaving just enough time for Sievers to advance to third, and Jerry Bunyard came in to pinch hit for Dorish, allowing Sievers to score the tying run while Crandall advanced to second on the fielder’s choice! Al Kaline got a great hit into center field, allowing Crandall to come around to score, and suddenly we held a 4-3 lead! Maris popped out to right, but we had our chance, and Consuegra was coming in to close it out. Three quick outs via soft contact and we’d done it, improving to 4-0 with a one-run victory!

Saul Rogovin survived his six innings having given up seven hits and three earned runs with a pair of strikeouts, improving his ERA to 5.25 through two games. Dorish improved to 2-0 with a no-hit one walk two inning sprint, and Consuegra earned his second save with a perfect final inning. So far in four games our bullpen has yet to surrender a run! We outscored the Cardinals 9-7, led by Roy Sievers who hit three times to score twice on the ground. Deacon Jones sparked the rally that finally awoke our offense, hitting in his one at-bat and driving in two runs. This was a great team effort! Tomorrow’s doubleheader will be a test, but I think we’re ready to pass.

APRIL 17, 1955 . . . Brooklyn lost a game yesterday, so we’re the only undefeated team left in the NL, though in the AL both Washington and Detroit are off to 5-0 starts. Hy Cohen (1-0, 4.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 8 K’s, 0.67 WHIP) pitched today in the first game of the afternoon, up against Bob Grim (0-1, 12.27 ERA, 3.2 IP, 2 K’s, 2.45 WHIP). St. Louis got on the board 1-0 in the bottom of the first, thanks to a Ray Jablonski RBI single that wouldn’t had happened if Gene Baker hadn’t botched a pickoff moments earlier at second by dropping the ball, getting his first error of the season. It was Musial, who should have been our third out, who scored the run. Cohen got a hit in the third inning, bringing up the top of the order, and Deacon Jones got a hit into the outfield that drove him all the way around to score, tying things up 1-1 with one out. Willie Mays kept the hits coming, getting a grounder through the gap to bat in a second run! Maris got a hit into left as well, but Ernie Banks flew out to left and Gene Baker flew out to center, ending the inning with us leading now 2-1. Al Rosen got a hit in the fourth, snapping a bit of a skid offensively for the third baseman, advancing to second on a Hy Cohen sac bunt. But Kaline batted out to first to end the top of the fourth without Rosen being able to score. We got our secondo out of the inning on a flyout to center, but Crandall couldn’t make the tag at home quickly enough and the tying run scored.

Cohen gave up two hits in a row to start the bottom of the seventh, but he got three quick outs to keep either of the runners from scoring, so the score remained knotted up at 2-2 heading into the eighth. And we should have pulled him out at that point, but I trusted him when he said he still had something in the tank -- instead he gave up a triple and an RBI single to start the bottom of the eighth, with Koufax fighting to warm up quickly and get in this one. Then Cohen showed why he’s a great starting pitcher -- he made a successful pickoff throw to second, when the runner started to lead, and then on the NEXT THROW he used a successful pickoff throw to get the runner leading at first as well! So we headed to the top of the ninth needing a run to stay alive. But we had the bottom of the order coming up, and even with Roy Sievers coming in to pinch hit for Cohen, we couldn’t get a hit out of the infield. St. Louis held tough and won this one 3-2 as we endured our first loss of the year.

Cohen lasted eight innings but fell to 1-1 on the year with a 3.18 ERA, giving up eight hits and three runs (two earned) with three strikeouts and a walk through 100 pitches. We hit successfully nine times but couldn’t find a run at the end when we needed it. Deacon Jones had two hits with a run scored and another batted in, Cohen scored a run from the pitchers’ spot in the lineup, and Willie Mays had a hit and an RBI as well. But this is a game of random outcomes piled up on each other, and you’re not gonna win them all. We’ve just got to play the averages and know we’ve got a team that can take us places.

In game two of the doubleheader, Cuban rookie hurler Camilo Pascual got his first start of the season, up against Ron Kline, who last year was 5-12 with five saves, a 3.51 ERA, 47 K’s and a 1.23 WHIP through 159 innings. Al Kaline reached first on an error to start the game, and Deacon Jones singled, followed by a Willie Mays grounder into a double play that sent Kaline to third. Roger Maris hit a flyball single to right that allowed Kaline to come around and put us up 1-0, and Ernie Banks singled to send Maris safely from first to third! Al Rosen then hit one sharply into left, driving Maris home with a single, though Banks tried to steal third unsuccessfully, ending the inning with us up 2-0. Pascual gave up a hit and a walk to start his first inning in the majors, but he got out of things with a flyout to left and a nice double play, giving him some time to breathe and settle in. Duncan Jones botched a catch at first, allowing Ron Kline to reach second in the bottom of the third, and Pascual walked his third batter of the game to put himself in a no-outs jam. But Banks made a great popup catch at short for out one, and we made another impressive double play to end the inning with the Cardinals still scoreless, though Pascual had now thrown 50 pitches through three innings. Rosen doubled to start the top of the fourth, and Elston Howard drove him to third with a single, but Gene Baker hit a flyout to center and Rosen was tagged out trying to get back on third base, and Pascual batted out to end the inning still up 2-0. In the top of the sixth, Al Rosen hit a two-run homer to left with one out, increasing our margin to 4-0, his first homer of the season, and moments later Gene Baker hit HIS first of the year, another two-run blast that increased our lead to six runs.

Sandy Koufax came in to relieve Pascual to start the bottom of the sixth, and he got through that inning with just a single hit, surrounded by a flyout to center and a double play! Al Rosen got a hit up the middle in the top of the seventh to drive in another two runs, ekeing out a double to put us up 8-0 -- he now has a single, two doubles and a homer in this second game of the day! Koufax got his first major league strikeout in the bottom of the seventh, dominating their hitters for the second inning in a row. Koufax stayed in for the eighth inning, getting an easy flyout and then, on what would have been a double for Larry Jackson, Al Kaline made a brilliant throw from deep right to third base when he saw Jackson try for third, nailing the out! That was one of the best throws I have EVER seen. Koufax got his ninth out of the game safely, and capped a really solid third appearance in relief. In the top of the ninth, Ernie Banks joined the homer parade, hitting a two-run blast into deep left, his second of the year, to make it 10-0. Al Rosen got another at-bat in the process, but couldn’t get a triple or he’d have finished with a cycle. Instead it was a blooper pop to the catcher. Koufax stayed out to finish the game, getting three quick outs to end this one as a 10-0 shutout victory and keeping our bullpen scoreless streak going through our sixth game.

Pascual got his first win, starting out 1-0 with a two hitter through five innings, one strikeout, three walks and no runs. But Koufax was a firework out there, staying in for four innings of two-hit ball himself with just a strikeout and a walk through 51 pitches. He doesn’t have the endurance yet to start, and we’re going to have to give him some resting time now that he proved himself in long relief, but my God, this kid’s got stuff. He’s pitched seven innings in three relief appearances with a 1.00 WHIP and opponents batting just .150 against him! Defensively we were impressive as hell tonight, turning FOUR DOUBLE PLAYS, while outhitting the Cardinals 15-4. Rosen had four hits with a run scored and four batted in, improving his average to .280 after a brutal slump to start the season. Elston Howard added three hits with a run scored, and Maris added two hits for three runs scored on the ground and an RBI, walking once as well. Ernie Banks hit twice for a run and two RBIs, capping a great day for us even though we dropped game one.

We have three against Milwaukee (1-4) to start the week, two on the road and then a game back at Wrigley, with four games against the Redlegs (4-2) in Chicago Friday through Sunday. Then next week we’ll get two at Pittsburgh (4-2) and then our first three of the year at Brooklyn (3-3). Philadelphia (5-2) has surged, winning three in a row, We’ll face them to start the month of May, as part of a brutal 15-game stetch on the road that begins with the Pittsburgh games. Sounds like some fun!

[jksander]

APRIL 18, 1955 . . . We’re going to stick with a four man rotation from here on out, with Joe Dobson moving into the bullpen as a long relief option. So Saul Rogovin (0-0, 5.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) will be taking on Milwaukee’s Ray Crone, who will at age 23 be making his major league debut! Last year in AAA he was 4-7 with a 3.59 ERA, 55 K’s, and a 1.40 WHIP through 95.1 innings of work. He is currently ranked in the top ten among BNN prospects, having rapidly improved over the last season from the lower rankings of the top 100. So he is clearly Milwakee’s big hope to move toward the future.

Rogovin told the newspapermen before the game that he’s finally started to feel like his shoulder’s back to normal, that he can throw the way he sees things in his head for the first time since the injury, and he showed it early in this one, getting through the second inning with two strikeouts and a walk, no hits, keeping Milwaukee on their heels as they tried to figure him out. But the Braves were on their A-game themselves, and this one looked to be a real nailbiter of a defensive effort, until Al Kaline got himself am RBI double to finally put us up 1-0 in the top of the third, Del Crandall advancing from first via a wild pitch and coming all the way around on the hit by Kaline. Gene Baker then hit a triple to drive in Kaline. Willie Mays hit a flyout to center field for our second out, scoring a third run via Baker, bringing up Roger Maris with two outs and the bases empty. He flew out to left for the final out, and we’d broken this one wide open, leading 3-0 heading into the bottom of the third. Rogovin came in and just stunned the home crowd into silence by striking out the side, and we were clearly in full control of this one. He gave up a hit in the bottom of the fourth, spoiling any chance of a no hitter, but the runner they stranded on base was left rudderless.

Del Crandall scored two runs with a homer in the top of the sixth, his first of the year, to extend our lead to 5-0, and Rogovin stayed sharp through the sixth (and the third time through the start of the order) still carrying a one hitter in what was clearly setting up to be his best start since before he was injured last summer. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the eighth, his third homer in seven games, and Braves reliever Taylor Phillips then loaded the bases with two outs, setting up Gene Baker with a chance to blow this one up. A lightly hit ball that rolled just past the shortstop left their fielders reeling as two more runs scored. By the time Willie Mays batted out to first, ending the top of the eighth, we held an 8-0 lead! Rogovin stayed in to finish what he’d started, dominating them down to the final out, at which point he gave up an errant fastball to Hank Aaron, who hit it out of the park and spoiled the shutout. But he held tough for the final out as we won this one 8-1.

Rogovin pitched one of the finest games of his career, throwing a complete game two-hitter through 128 pitches, with 11 strikeouts against three walks and the single earned run, which drops his ERA down to 3.43! EIGHTY of his 128 pitches were for strikes! We, meanwhile, scored our eight runs on 11 hits, and everyone got one including Rogovin. Gene Baker hit twice for a run and three RBIs, while Ernie Banks added two hits including his homer. Del Crandall hit once and walked THREE TIMES, scoring three times and batting in two.

APRIL 19, 1955 . . . Robert Diehl (1-0, 3.52 ERA, 7.2 IP, 4 K’s, 1.30 WHIP) pitched today against legendary Braves pitcher Warren Spahn (1-0, 5.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) in the second game of this three-game road-and-away series. Wilie Mays hit an RBI double in the top of the first that allowed Al Kaline to score a run, and then Spahn threw a wild pitch that bounced off the backstop and Mays was able to score from third to make it quickly 2-0. Robert Diehl hit an RBI double in the top of the second, driving Roy Sievers home to make it 3-0, and Roy Sievers batted in a two-run double in the third as Milwaukee looked to be melting down. Milwaukee had two in scoring position with two outs in the fifth, but they couldn’t get anyone around to score. They pulled Spahn with two men on and no outs in the top of the seventh, and Maris scored moments later on a flyout to center by Rosen, giving us a 6-0 lead with the Braves showing no signs of fighting back. In the top of the eighth Gene Baker hit a solo homer, his second of the year, to make it 7-0, and we scored three more in the top of the ninth off a Del Crandall homer to left, his second of the year as well. For all appearances, the Braves do not look any more likely to compete this year than they did last year, though only the season will tell. Diehl stayed in to complete the game, finishing out the 10-0 shutout as we continue to dominate in the early going.

Diehl was exceptional this afternoon, giving up just four hits with a walk and six strikeouts through 108 pitches, improving to 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA through two starts. We hit ten times ourselvs, led by Ernie Banks with two hits and two runs scored, alongside Roy Sievers who added a hit with three walks, scoring twice and driving in two more. Willie Mays only got one hit, but he walked three times as well, scoring twice and driving in another. Only Al Rosen didn’t join the hit parade today, but he got an RBI on a sacrifice play, so even he got to enjoy the moment.

We improved to 7-1 with the win, while the Braves slid to 1-6. We’ll play the third game in the set back at Wrigley tomorrow afternoon. The Washington Senators dropped a pair early this week, leaving the Detroit Tigers, at 6-0, as the only undefeated team left in the majors. Our +37 run differential through our first eight games is by far the best in the league. It’s more impressive, I feel, that we’re 6-1 away from Wrigley. That has to bode well for our ability to continue to strive for that elusive World Series title through whatever adversity we come up against.

APRIL 20, 1955 . . . This afternoon Hy Cohen (1-1, 3.18 ERA, 17.0 IP, 11 K’s, 0.88 WHIP) pitched against Milwaukee pitcher Johnny Antonelli (0-1, 4.15 ERA, 17.1 IP, 5 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) on a clear day at Wrigley where the wind is almost certain to wreak havoc -- at first pitch our radio guy reported a stiff “breeze” blowing in from right at 17 miles per hour, adding a real chill to the 46 degree temperatures. Al Rosen got a great hit into the outfield through the gap to drive in a run from Roger Maris. But Ernie Banks tried to advance from second to third and was caught up in a rundown, getting himself tagged out to end the inning up 1-0. But after that first flurry of action, neither team got much going offensively, as both pitchers were locked in and throwing fire. Antonelli stumbled in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases and giving up a sharp hit into right to Roy Sievers, who reached first while driving in two runs to give us a 3-0 lead. Sandy Koufax came in to pitch in the top of the ninth, getting his three outs on just a dozen pitches, completing the 3-0 shutout as we swept the Braves and improved to 8-1.

Hy Cohen improved to 2-1 on the year, improving his ERA to 2.16 with a three hit five strikeout three walk ballgame, throwing 117 pitches in eight innings. Koufax earned his third save, striking out a batter and getting two flyouts, and the bullpen stays perfect for another day! We know it’s bound to end sooner than later -- and if history proves the rule, it’ll be in an ugly game -- but it’s comforting to know that we have bullpen pitchers who can get outs when we need them, and we can trust them in almost any situation. We outhit them 7-3, spoiling Antonelli’s six strikeout night, led by Al Kaline who hit twice for a run on the ground, while Maris and Banks also got hits to score runs. Roy Sievers got a hit and drove in two runs, giving him a .409 average and a .636 slugging rating through 22 plate appearancs. A late bloomer, he’s finally showing at the plate what the scouts have been saying he would.
 
APRIL 22, 1955 . . . Another cold, blustery, wind blowing in day with just over 16,000 fans in the stands despite clear skies. Camilo Pascual (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1 K, 1.00 WHIP) took the mound against Redlegs pitcher Tom Poholsky (0-0, 5.68 ERA, 6.1 IP, 3 K’s, 1.58 WHIP) as Cincinnati tries to keep their recent upswing going -- they’re 5-4 heading into today’s game. Pascual struggled in the early going, giving up two hits to the first two batters, Cincinnati going up 1-0 on a groundout to first in the top of the first inning. But he got a pair of flyouts to keep the game from spiraling so early, and we went into the bottom of the inning trailing by the one run. Pascual loaded the bases in the top of the second, but he got an out at home as the bases stayed loaded on a grounder to first, and then a bullet to center field was caught for out number two while the runners were unable to advance. Unfortunately the third time was not the charm -- Elmer Valo hit a double right on the safe side of the right foul line, driving in three more runs and putting us quickly in a 4-0 hole. And Pascual’s nerves were looking very frayed as he came into the dugout. He calmed down coming in for the third inning, and whatever the pitching coaches said to him seemed to do the trick, but it didn’t get our bats going until Willie Mays got a hit to lead off in the bottom of the fourth, a double that seemed to spark things in the dugout. Ernie Banks got a hit into right field, driving Mays to third, and Al Rosen hit one that rolled to the warning track, reaching second base and driving in a run! That sent us into the top of the fifth trailing by three.

Duncan Jones got a base hit with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, stole second, and then came around to score on a Willie Mays double. But Roger Maris struck out to stop the rally before it had any time to forment. Pascual stayed in his rhythm, however, getting us through the seventh inning with the score still 4-2 Redlegs. Sandy Koufax entered in the top of the eighth, letting two men into scoring position but getting us out of the frame with a strikeout. Duncan Jones and Roger Maris got base hits in the bottom of the eighth, and Jones advanced to third on a flyout by Ernie Banks to give Al Rosen a real chance to make something happen. He got a blast up the middle, driving Jones in to score while Maris advanced to third. But Del Crandall batted out to third, sending us into the top of the ninth with the score now 4-3. Harry Dorish came in to pitch, getting two quick outs and then letting Nellie Fox barely beat out an infield squib. But he got the final out on the next pitch, sending us into the bottom of the inning needing a run to stay alive. Roy Sievers came in to hit for Gene Baker, but he struck out swinging. We brought Frank Ernaga in for Dorish, and they walked him, setting up Al Kaline nicely at the plate. But Kaline hit a lazy fly to deep center for out number two, putting pressure on Duncan Jones, who rose to the occasion, getting a clutch hit into left field to give us a runner in scoring position. But the wind robbed Willie Mays of a homer that would have given us the win, instead keeping it juuuuuuust in bounds for the center fielder to snatch up. Redlegs win this one, 4-3.

Camilo Pascual recovered well from his first two disastrous innings, but the damage was done. He lasted seven innings, giving up only six hits and striking out six, but he walked three and gave up four earned runs. He’ll slip to 1-1 on the season with a 3.00 ERA. Our bullpen kept us in this one once beyond that, two innings combined of two hit ball, with Koufax striking out one and walking another. Still no bullpen runs scored! We just didn’t have a rally in us this time.

[jksander]

APRIL 23, 1955 . . . Big news this morning, just in time for the early editions -- Sandy Koufax has signed an extension destined to keep him in Chicago for the long haul as we work to develop him into the mound leader we know he can become. This year he’ll earn the league minimum of $9,900, but he’s signed a ten year extension worth $825,000 over the life of the contract -- $20,000 next year, rising in $15,000 increments through the 1960 season ($80,000) at which point it rises to $100,000 in 1961 and 1962 and then $125,000 for 1963, 1964 and 1965. He also has a no trade clause, and will receive $25,000 bonuses when he wins a Cy Young. Since taking over as General Manager in the fall of 1953, I’ve made it clear I believe in bringing in players the fans are going to love, building the team of the future, and paying those players to stick around, and I think this deal puts our money where my mouth is. And if all goes well, by the end of the deal he’ll be at the top of his game and we’ll have a bargain on our hands at $125,000. It also puts him in the league of Maris, who is also signed long term. With this core, including Willie Mays, Elston Howard, Maris and Al Kaline all signed at least into the start of the new decade, I think we’ve laid a solid foundation for the team’s winning future. Ernie Banks has chosen not to sign long term at the moment, but is likely to soon sign a one year extension at $83,000 to stay through next year, at which point I am hopeful we can finally hammer out a deal that keeps him here long term as well.

This afternoon we have Saul Rogovin (1-0, 3.43 ERA, 21.0 IP, 16 K’s, 0.96 WHIP) pitching against Redlegs starter Alex Kellner (1-0, 1 SV, 1.74 ERA, 10.1 IP, 8 K’s, 1.06 WHIP). Still cold, still clear, brisk April wind still blowing in at 10 miles an hour. Al Kaline completely ignored the wind, just choosing to hit the first good pitch he got as hard as he could, slamming a homer into the bleachers to put us up 1-0, his second homer of the season, in the bottom of the first. But Cincinnati tied it up with an RBI double in the op of the second, and Roy Sievers took one all the way into the bleachers to put us back up 2-1 in the bottom of the second -- pitcher’s weather be damned -- with his second four-bagger of the season. Maris and Mays got hits to start the bottom of the third, and then Ernie Banks blasted one out of the park to right, his fourth homer this year, to put us up 5-1 and break this one open. And Banks wasn’t done by a long shot -- in his next at bat, in the bottom of the fifth, he hit a solo shot to center, his second of the game and fifth of the year as we increased our margin to five runs! His pace this year, even in cold weather, has been incredible. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth and Willie Mays walked in a run to make it 7-1. Banks struck out and Al Rosen flew out to right or this could have gotten blisteringly ugly. Rogovin hit a blast into left field, the ball rolling into the corner and giving the pitcher an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to add to the carnage. Ernie Banks doubled to start the bottom of the eighth, and Roy Sievers drove him home for our 9th run with an RBI double. Del Crandall doubled to drive in a 10th run, at which point Rogovin came in to finish his game. He did it with two flyouts and a strikeout, as we crushed the Redlegs 10-1.

Rogovin improved to 2-0 with a five hit seven strikeout one walk outing, throwing 122 pitches and bringing his ERA down to 2.70. We outhit the Redlegs 17-5 in this one, a complete and total bloodbath. Ernie Banks dominated with three hits for three runs and four RBIs -- with his two homers today he’s now on pace for a staggering 70 homers this year ... look out Bambino! Kaline, Maris, Mays, Sievers, Baker and even Rogovin hit twice -- the pitcher is batting .364/.417/.455 through 13 plate appearances, with four hits and a double alongside a walk and just three strikeouts!

Interestingly, Willie Mays and Roger Maris are the two players on our main lineup who have yet to hit at least one homer. Maris has been interesting this year, hitting for average significantly better than last year at .267, but his slug has all but disappeared. It could be interesting when the outdoor temperatures warm and he starts hitting for contact AND power.
 
APRIL 24, 1955 . . . Today’s a double-header afternoon at Wrigley, with the 6-5 Redlegs here for two more shots at the apple. We’re now 9-2 and our offensive output has been significant, a league high +48 Run Differential keeping us ahead of the Phillies, who are on a five-game winning streak with a 10-3 record, essentially tied with us for the NL lead. The Tigers and the Guardians lead the AL at 7-3 apiece, with the Boston Red Sox at 7-5 and the New York Yankees holding a 6-6 record.

In the first game of the afternoon, Hy Cohen (2-1, 2.16 ERA, 25.0 IP, 16 K’s, 0.76 WHIP) pitched against George Susce (1-1, 4.80 ERA, 15.0 IP, 7 K’s, 1.07 WHIP). Ernie Banks committed a throwing error on the first hit of the game, turning an out into a double, which you could tell set Cohen’s teeth on edge, but he got out of the inning with three quick outs and no hits or unearned runs on his tally. AL Kaline got hit by a pitch, and wound up getting picked off while leading off too far, a crazy turn that distracted Willie Mays, who batted out to end the inning. That was a fun ten minute stretch, did you all have time to get your beers? Susce hit Maris in the bottom of the second, and if the umpires don’t get him under control, the next one’s gonna start a brawl I fear. By the end of the second inning we’d had, combined, an error accounting for two bases, two hit by pitches, three baserunners, no hits. It’s been crazy here at Wrigley and I feel like we’re just getting started!

You like pitching? This one had pitching! Cohen gave up his first hit in the top of the fifth, a blooper of a grounder by a guy with the unfortunate name of Dick Groat. Groat was slow as hell, so on a fielder’s choice we got him out at second, letting Hal with Hal Keller safely at first, and a simple groundout to short sent us into the bottom of the inning knotted still 0-0. Incredibly, Susce hit Ernie Banks to send his third runner to base on a hit by pitch, and somehow the umps STILL haven’t warned or pulled him. But Al Rosen got the last laugh, hitting a two-run homer out into the bleachers to put us up 2-0 while spoiling Susce’s no hitter at the same time! It was his second homer of the year, and you could see it on his face the whole time how glad he was to draw first blood. Duncan Jones took a base on balls to start the bottom of the sixth, and Willie Mays got a hit into the outfield to drive Jones to second. But Ernie Banks batted out to the second baseman and ended the inning without a score. Elston Howard hit his first homer of the year, a solo slam into center field, to make it a 3-0 game in the bottom of the seventh, and Cohen stayed in to complete the game, a popup to Banks at short preserving the 3-0 shutout as we earned our 10th win of the season!

This game was tightly fought and almost led to a few boxing matches, each team getting four hits. But Susce got pulled after seven innings, and though former Cub Paul Minner kept us from adding to the damage, he couldn’t un-Cohen Hy Cohen, who pitched a complete game shutout four-hitter, with five strikeouts and no walks, bringing his ERA down to 1.59 as he improved to 3-1 on the year. Mays, Rosen, Baker and Howard got our hits today, with Rosen getting a run and two RBIs, while Howard’s homer gave us insurance for the stretch run. Howard has only played in two games this year, but he’s hitting .571 through seven plate appearances.

The second game got going just after 3:00, with Robert Diehl (2-0, 1.62 ERA, 16.2 IP, 10 K’s, 0.90 WHIP) taking on Corky Valentine (0-0, 5.14 ERA, 7.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.57 WHIP). Roger Maris hit a double that drove home a run from Willie Mays to give us a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Diehl gave up a pair of hits in the top of the second but we came out of it unscathed. And though he gave up what should have been an RBI double in the top of the third, Elston Howard made an incredible catch-and-tag at home plate to keep them scoreless and end the inning. This game wasn’t as low on hits as the first game of the day, but the game stayed at 1-0 into the seventh inning, with both pitchers having solid outings. Cincinnati got a solo homer out of Gus Bell in the top of the seventh, however, knotting things at 1-1 and getting the fans on edge. Diehl got a strikeout to end the inning, and we warmed up Harry Dorish, planning to send him in for the eighth inning to close this one out.

Mays beat out an infield throw to reach first safely, but Maris and Banks flew out to center. Mays stole his first base of the year, taking second, but Al Rosen struck out and sent us into the eighth inning knotted still at one run each. We brought Dorish in to start the inning, and he set all three batters down quickly, but Valentine did the same to us in the bottom of the inning. Dorish loaded the bases in the ninth but got us out of the jam without anyone scoring, and we went into the bottom of the ninth with a chance to walk it off, with Koufax and Consuegra warming up in the bullpen in case of extras. And that’s where we went, as Kaline and Jones batted out to third and first respectively, and Mays struck out swinging.

Koufax came in for the 10th inning, and he got through it admirably, with a strikeout, a caught stealing and a groundout through an economical ten pitch count. Roger Maris got a hit to lead off the bottom of the inning, but Ernie Banks hit into a double play, and Al Rosen batted out to left. Koufax got a quick out, then gave up a double and we brought Consuegra in with the one out and a man in scoring position. Flyouts to center and left ended the top of the 11th, with the bottom of our order up. With one out, Elston Howard got a hit into left, but was only able to get a base out of it. Roy Sievers came in to hit for Consuegra, with Joe Dobson warming up in the bullpen, and he got a slow grounder just into right field, giving us a man in scoring position with Kaline at the plate and just the one out! He got the ball deep into center, and that did it! Elston Howard came home to score and we pulled the win out 2-1 in the 11th inning!

Three bullpen pitchers, four full innings pitched, and we STILL are perfect in relief this season! Sandy Consuegra took the win, improving to 1-0 with two outs, giving him 2.2 perfect innings this year. Robert Diehl pitched seven excellent innings, giving up seven hits but only one earned run along with seven strikeouts and no walks, bringing his ERA down to 1.52 on the season. Harry Dorish came in for two innings, giving up two hits a walk and two strikeouts. And Koufax gave us 1.1 innings under pressure, giving up two hits and notching a strikeout, now having thrown 10.1 innings of no-run baseball in six appearances. We outhit the Redlegs 11-10, led by Mays who had three hits with an RBI. Kaline hit twice, scoring one and batting in another, while Maris hit twice and was unable to score. Elston Howard hit and scored the winning run, giving him two great moments in today’s doublehader.

With the win we maintained our tie with the Phillies in the standings. But now the tough part of our schedule begins. Starting on Tuesday we have a long road stretch: two games at Pittsburgh (7-7), three at Brooklyn (5-8), three in two days at Philly (12-3), three at the Giants (4-10) in New York, and then four in three days at Cincinnati (6-7) before we return to Chicago on May 10th for a nine game stretch. Hy Cohen was the NL’s player of the week for his 10 K’s and two wins in 17 innings without an earned run.

[jksander]

APRIL 26, 1955 . . . Today in Pittsburgh we get a matchup of red-hot pitchers! Saul Rogovin (2-0, 2.70 ERA, 30.0 IP, 23 K’s, 0.87 WHIP) is taking on Pittsburgh’s Roy Face (1-0, 0.69 ERA, 13.0 IP, 11 K’s, 1.08 WHIP). And hell, you think Chicago weather is bad in April? ****tsburgh says “hold my beer!” Today 10,386 hardy fans showed up in 36 degree partly cloudy weather, with an 8 mile per hour wind blowing in for the left, making it feel sub-freezing. Forget the beer, make sure you have a flask of whiskey in your pocket to go with some hot coffee, because with an 8:05 first pitch, it’s only gonna get colder from there.

This was a pitcher’s duel like I’ve never seen! Roy Face struck out the side in the top of the third, giving him five strikeouts through 44 pitches, and then Rogovin turned around and added a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to first, giving him 4 K’s through 46 pitches, with three hits between the two pitchers combined in the 0-0 snowball fight. It was something to behold, really, if you didn’t miss pitches because you were trying to keep your face and hands warm -- two young pitchers at the top of their game, each dreaming of taking their team to the top. And the strikeouts kept coming! The bats were so ice cold, any contact sent pain all up the arms of the hitters when they did get anything going, and mostly it was take your swings and then head to the dugout and try to stay warm before you actually had to go out and catch something. In the top of the sixth, Roy Face came out having thrown 73 pitches with a stunning 10 K’s, and just for fun he got three outs that time via flyouts! Rogovin came out for the bottom of the inning with six strikeouts notched through 70 pitches, and the question became who would blink first? Rogovin had a flyout and a strikeout, then Dale Long hit a triple into deep left to give us the first runner in scoring position of the ENTIRE GAME to that point. Three strikes, though, and Rogovin notched his eighth K of the night and left the Pirates’ runner stranded.

Rogovin notched his 9th and 10th strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh, pitching around two baserunners to keep the game scoreless heading into the eighth inning, but he’d thrown 116 pitches. I was going to have to consider pulling him -- we warmed Harry Dorish up just in case, with Rogovin insisting he’d be ready to stay in. Roy Face was still out there in the top of the eighth, 10 K’s, no walks, just one hit given up the entire night through 92 pitches. Ernie Banks dropped a high flyball into deep center, opening the inning with a triple, and things suddenly were very very interesting! They played the fielders in close, and Al Rosen stunned the crowd by hitting a light grounder straight up the middle, getting to first and driving Banks in to score the go-ahead run, giving us a 1-0 lead! Roy Sievers hit into a double play, and Del Crandall batted out to first, sending us into the bottom of the eighth with Dorish coming in to protect what Rogovin started. With the temperature dropping well into the middle 20s, Dorish wasted no time -- strikeout, groundout, strikeout, and we were out of the inning with two hours elapsed in this frozen trundra of a game. Face stayed in, struck out Dorish, but Al Kaline got a hit into the outfield and reached first, Gene Baker flew out to left, and he walked Mays, giving us a runner in scoring position with Face facing Roger Maris. He struck him out swinging, his 13th of the night, but his team still trailed by a run. Dorish stayed in to stare down the heart of their order, getting a flyout and two strikeouts to end this one as a 1-0 Cubs victory!

This was a game where both starters deserve to be noted. Roy Face threw a complete game four hitter with 13 strikeouts, one walk and one earned run through 127 pitches, and he took the loss, falling to 1-1 but keeping his ERA at 0.82 for the year. Saul Rogovin couldn’t go the distance, but he lasted seven innings with four hits, 10 strikeouts, one walk and no earned runs through 116 pitches, bringing his ERA down to 2.19 on the year. Harry Dorish got his first save of the year, a two inning no-hit effort with four strikeouts through 25 pitches. And honestly, I hope we are lucky enough to get another matchup between these two pitchers this year, but in weather that is a little more palatable. Al Rosen was the leader of our offense, getting two hits in a game where hits were as good as gold, driving in the only run of the game, via Ernie Banks.

APRIL 27, 1955 . . . It almost feels a shame to play another game after the insanely good one we had last night, but there you go. Tonight Hy Cohen (3-1, 1.59 ERA, 34.0 IP, 21 K’s, 0.68 WHIP) faced down Pittsburgh’s Don “The Weasel” Bessent (0-0, 1.38 ERA, 13.0 IP, 2 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). A warm front came through this afternoon, and it’s a positively balmy, if windy, 53 degrees at the 2:05 p.m. first pitch. And this time Pittsburgh wasted no time, getting on board with a solo homer by Dale Long in the bottom of the first to go up 1-0, though Cohen got us two strikeouts to get out of the inning. Al Kaline tied things up with an RBI single in the top of the fifth, sending Joe Collins all the way around from second, and we went into the bottom of the inning knotted, with Cohen pitching an incredibly efficient game. Del Crandall got a blast into center field, driving the go-ahead run in via Willie Mays, and we went into the top of the seventh still holding a 2-1 lead thanks to Cohen’s calm, poised pitches from the mound. Roger Maris then added his first homer of the season, a two-run blast to make it a 4-1 game in the top of the eighth! Roy Sievers hit a two-run homer to left, his third of the year, and put us up 6-1, a lead we carried with us into the bottom of the eighth. Willie Mays, not to be outdone, hit HIS first homer of the year in the top of the ninth, increasing our lead to 7-1. We loaded the bases, no outs, and Crandall added a two RBI double to increase the margin to eight runs. Joe Collins got a single, and then Hy Cohen joined the hit parade, slamming a grounder into deep center for a double that scored two more. Kaline batted in another with an RBI double, and (having batted around) Mays finally ended things with a pop up to center, putting them out of their misery. Cohen gave up a three run homer to Joe Garagiola in the bottom of the ninth, so I guess the insanity wasn’t completely over. But he got the final two outs to close this one out as a 12-4 Cubs victory. Sorry Pirates, better luck next time.

In nine innings, Cohen only gave up five hits, with seven strikeouts and a walk, so the three-run homer to end the game shocked us all. He took the win, however, improving to 4-1 with a 2.09 ERA, putting together 43 innings of work in five starts. That’s about as good as you can get from a stamina perspective. We outhit them 14-5, led by Willie Mays with three hits three runs and an RBI, and Del Crandall with three this for two runs and five RBIs. Crandall has jumped into the lead with 14 RBIs on the season, and the fact that he bats seventh in the lineup shows how insanely deep our lineup is. The win, our fifth in the row, keeps us at a solid 13-2, but we’re just fighting to stay up on the Phillies, 13-3, who are riding an eight game winning streak, sitting half a game behind us.

[jksander]

APRIL 28, 1955 . . . Brooklyn has been on a downward slide the last week or so, so they’ve got a 5-9 record as we come into town for a three game set. But over the last couple years they’ve been one of the teams we’ve struggled against, so I’m not taking them lightly. Robert Diehl (2-0, 1.52 ERA, 23.2 IP, 17 K’s, 0.93 WHIP) is up in the rotation against Dodger starter Billy Loes (1-1, 4.12 ERA, 19.2 IP, 10 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Brooklyn got a couple hits in the first two innings but was unable to get anywhere, and Loes shut us down completely in the first three innings, so the game was knotted 0-0 heading into the bottom of the third. Diehl gave up a pair of hits, a double and a single to Reese and Hodges, and Brooklyn got on the board 1-0 thanks to a groundout to first by Snyder. Campanella grounded out to third, moving Hodges to third, and Carl Furillo batted out to cener to end the inning with just the one run. Willie Mays got us a double with one out in the top of the fourth, our first hit of the game, but Loes struck out Maris and Banks to end the frame scoreless. A Del Crandall walk in the top of the fifth turned into a stranded runner thanks to a double play. But Diehl pitched admirably for us and kept it a 1-0 game heading into the top of the sixth. Alas, Loes was just having a much better time of it.

We had a grand total of four baserunners through seven innings, and only one came via the bat, and we went into the bottom of the seventh still trailing by the one run. Harry Dorish came in for the bottom of the eighth, the Dodgers still up 1-0, and he got us the three outs we needed to still give us a shot in the top of the ninth, and he was up first to bat in the inning. With Sandy Koufax coming in to warm up in case we prolonged the game, Roy Sievers came in to hit for Dorish, and Loes walked him! He walked Kaline as well, and Joe Collins came in to pinch hit for Deacon Jones as the Dodgers went to the bullpen, bringing in Russ Meyer (0-1, 7.71 ERA, 7 IP, 4 K’s, 1.39 WHIP) to try and save this one. Collins, with the count 2-2, took a line drive all the way into the left field corner, eking out a triple and stunning the home crowd by driving in two runs! Suddenly just like that we had a 2-1 lead! Mays flew out to center and Collins was picked off trying to make it home, but Roger Maris singled into left and then Banks flew out to center to end the frame. But we now had a chance! Collins stayed in to play first base, and Koufax came in to close it out. Frank Thomas got on base with an infield grounder, beating out the throw from third, and then he advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Bobby Morgan flew out to left for out number one. Jackie Robinson flew out to Banks at shortstop, bringing up pinch-hitter Solly Hemus, who flew out to Roger Maris in left, who made a spectacular diving catch to secure the ball -- Cubs win this one 2-1!

Diehl lasted seven innings with just five hits, two strikeouts, three walks and the one earned run, but he’d thrown 98 pitches and the pressure of trailing had him gassed. Harry Dorish came in for one inning and got the win, improving to 3-0, getting three outs via just FIVE PITCHES, and Koufax gave up a hit but kept it locked down as usual, earning his fourth save of the year as our bullpen remained perfect through 16 games! Dorish and Koufax have combined for 20 innings of work and have given up just 10 hits combined between them.

The Phillies kept chase, shutting out Milwaukee 9-0 this evening, to win their 14th game as former Cubs starter Don Newcombe pitched a five hitter. The Phillies have now won nine straight, and our upcoming series on their turf is starting to look like a hell of a set! In other news, we’ve signed lead scout John Dupuis to a four year extension, giving him a raise to $11,460 per year through 1959, and our team trainer Chris Dickey to a five year $8,380 extension that keeps him on staff through the 1960 season. Our Bench Coach and our 1B and 3B coaches are still in their contract year, but negotiations continue ... we may look for outside replacements in the offseason if contract talks continue to stall.

APRIL 29, 1955 . . . Camilo Pascual (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 12.0 IP, 7 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) got his third start of the year, facing Brooklyn starter Connie Johnson (2-1, 3.47 ERA, 23.1 IP, 10 K’s, 1.41 WHIP). Rosen and Kaline each hit doubles to start the top of the first, with Kaline making it around to home via an error, putting us quickly up 1-0. Mays and Maris flew out to center, but Rosen made it to third on the Maris out, with Ernie Banks up to the plate. Banks rocked the place with a two-run blast to left, putting us up 3-0 with his sixth homer of the season, and this one was definitely going our way! Carl Furillo doubled and then Frank Thomas hit a two-run blast to left in the bottom of the fourth inning to pull the Dodgers within a run, amd then Jackie Robinson hit a homer into the right field stands, tying the game 3-3 heading into the top of the fifth. Del Crandall put us back on top with a two run moonshot to left, putting us in the lead 5-3 in the top of the sixth, his fourth homer of the year. Pascual gave up a hit and then an error at short allowed Frank Thomas to reach second safely on a base hit by Bobby Morgan. A passed ball allowed Thomas and Morgan to both advance, putting two runners in scoring position, and we brought Harry Dorish in with just one out to try and save us in the high leverage situation. He loaded the bases by walking Jackie Robinson on purpose, then walked Monte Irvin on six pitches, driving in a run of Pascual’s which goes down as unearned for Dorish. He then struggled some more, walking in the tying run, Pee Wee Reese taking his base and sending Morgan in to score. That’s two “unearned” runs, but now Gil Hodges was at the plate, and Dorish was not looking good. A flyout to center got us out second out, however, and Roger Maris made a spectacular throw to Crandall at the plate, getting Jackie Robinson out by a nose. So we headed into the top of the seventh knotted 5-5, and Dorish will get a blown save despite not giving up a run of his own, with Tom Ferrick warming up to take over in the seventh regardless of the outcome of our at-bats.

Deacon Jones came in to hit for Dorish, striking out swinging. Kaline struck out as well, and Al Rosen batted out to right, sending us into the bottom of the seventh still tied 5-5. Ferrick came in for the first time this season, getting two outs, but he gave up a hit to start the inning and then Frank Thomas hit a two run blast to right, putting the Dodgers up 7-5 and ending our scoreless bullpen streak. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Ernie Banks singled to reach first, and Roy Sievers doubled to send both runners into scoring position. And Del Crandall hit a towering blast into the left field stands, his second high leverage homer of the game, giving him five homers on the year -- that trade’s paying off in spades! -- and we took an 8-7 lead, with Koufax warmed up in the bullpen! Danny Lynch got a hit into left to prolong the inning, and we brought Gene Baker in to pinch hit for Tom Ferrick, but he was unable to add any insurance, batting out to first to send us into the bottom of the inning. Koufax threw eight pitches and then gave up a double to Jackie Robinson, and then got a quick flyout from pinch hitter Sully Hemus, bringing up the top of the order. Pee Wee Reese took another walk, but Hodgess popped up to Koufax for out number two, bringing up Duke Snyder with two on and two outs. Koufax then slipped up, his slider not sliding and allowing Snyder to blast a line drive to right, scoring two to blow the lead, reaching second as the Dodgers took a 9-8 lead. Roy Campanella doubled to drive in a 10th run for the Dodgers, Furillo batted in another with a double, and then finally Koufax got the final out -- all this happened so fast we weren’t able to activate anyone else in the bullpen, he had to handle the damage himself. We went into the top of the ninth trailing by three, But this one wasn’t over! Kaline got an infield single and reached base safely, then Al Rosen doubled to put two in scoring position, with Willie Mays up to bat and no outs! Mays singled into left field, driving in a run to pull us within two, and then Maris and Banks flew out to right and center. Roy Sievers came to the plate with men on first and third, two outs, and flew out to left, ending this one as a 9-11 defeat featuring all the offense you could handle and then some.

Pascual only lasted 5.1 innings in this one, giving up eight hits with four strikeouts and five earned runs to start the bleeding, dropping his ERA to 3.63. Dorish blew the first save attempt but got us two outs -- still no earned runs for him, but he walked three and looked completely out of it. Tom Ferrick gave up two hits and two runs in his first outing, giving him a staggering 18.00 ERA, and Sandy Koufax blew his save attempt and fell to 0-1 on the season, giving up four hits and a walk for four earned runs, dropping his ERA to 2.92 through 12.1 innings of work. We were bound to have a game like this -- his WHIP is still 1.38, he just needs to work on putting fewer balls into play. The Dodgers outhit us 14-13 in this one. Del Crandall did his best to keep us fighting, hitting two homers for 5 RBIs, and Ernie Banks added a pair of hits for three runs and two RBIs. Al Kaline was solid as well, hitting three times and scoring twice. Kaline is hitting .311 in the leadoff spot, and Crandall has a spectacular .294/.368/.647 slug line through 51 plate appearances, with 0.8 WAR through his first 14 games, putting him on pace to more than double his best season’s output.
 
APRIL 30, 1955 . . . Our loss last night dropped us to 14-3 and allowed the Phillies, who beat Milwaukee 6-5 for their 9th win in a row, to move half a game up on us in the pennant race. Saul Rogovin (3-0, 2.19 ERA, 37.0 IP, 33 K’s, 0.84 WHIP) pitched this afternoon against Brookyln’s Sal Maglie (0-1, 1.62 ERA, 16.2 IP, 6 K’s, 0.78 WHIP) in another game we fully expect to be a pitcher’s battle. We shuffled the lineup around a bit today, and it paid off early, with Al Kaline getting a single in his first at bat, followed by an Al Rosen RBI double to put us up 1-0! Willie Mays hit a solo blast to right, his second of the year, to make it 3-0. Maris walked, and then Del Crandall hit a two-run blast of his own, homer number six on the year and his third in two days, to make it 5-0 and leave Maglie rocked -- 15 pitches, four hits, two homers, five runs, no outs. He got two strikeouts and a flyout with just one more hit to get out of the inning, but the damage was extensive and Rogovin getting a five run cushion seemed fatal from the start.

Whatever the coaches said to Maglie must have worked -- though his pitch count in the fourth inning was up into the 60s, he’d settled in well and had four strikeouts with just six hits, almost all the damage coming in the first inning. But Rogovin was on fire, none of the Brookyln batters could hit off him. And in the top of the fifth, Del Crandall hit ANOTHER two-run homer into the bleachers, making the score 7-0 and putting him alone in the lead for Cubs homers, with seven -- four of them in the last two games! If he keeps this up, Willie Mays has competition as he fights for an MVP threepeat. Maglie didn’t even make it into the sixth inning, but it didn’t matter. Rogovin blew his no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth with a hit by Jackie Robinson, but that didn’t matter much either. Willie Mays homered in the top of the seventh, his second this afternoon, and I don’t know what he’s eating, but get Del Crandall on a Wheaties box ... he hit a third homer, this one a solo to right, to make it 9-0! Ernie Banks hit his seventh of the year immediately after, making it 10-0 as the fans started throwing things onto the field in disgust. In the inning that wouldn’t end, Gene Baker hit a two-run homer to make it 12-0, before the exhausted Dodgers reliever finally got a strikeout to send us on our way. Seventh inning stretch, Cubs 12, Dodgers 0.

They got smart and walked Crandall in the top of the eighth, even though it meant loading the bases, and they got out of the inning without adding to the bloodbath. And in the bottom of the eighth, Jackie Robinson hit an RBI double to at least get the Dodgers on the board, but you could see he’s visably frustrated with the prospects of this team. Pinch hitter Sandy Amoros got an RBI single to make it 12-2, and they added a third run on a Pee Wee Reese flyout to center. But Duke Snyder struck out to end the rally, and Rogovin set them down quietly in the ninth to end this one as a 12-3 blowout win.

Rogovin pitched a complete game yet again, giving up just three hits with eight strikeouts and a pair of walks, his three earned runs bringing his ERA to 2.35 through 46 innings. But the real story of the night was the offense. We “only” outhit the Dodgers 12-3, but the home runs were flying like bombs into the outfield. Mays had two, Crandall had three, and Banks and Baker added one apiece, giving us seven four-baggers in one game ... that’s got to be some kind of record. Crandall and Banks have 15 homers between them, and Crandall is doing it while hitting for contact as well, with a .327/.403/.818 slug line and 24 RBIs. Tonight he drove in five RBIs on his own, while Mays added three and Baker two.

We now head to Philadelphia, where we have a doubleheader tomorrow and a third game on Monday against the 16-3 Phillies. Can we find a way to snap their 10-game win streak and get ourselves back into the NL lead? Here’s hoping our bats have something left to offer, because these Phillies are coming to play. They last made it to the World Series in 1950, and they’ve finished with 80+ wins in the last three seasons, never finishing above third place. Something about their team seems different, however, and I think this battle’s going to be fierce this year. Our boys getting back to the World Series is far from a given.

[jksander]

MAY 1, 1955 (!! TRADE UPDATE !!) . . . Absolutely huge trade news as we head into Philadelphia! We’ve had this in the works since winter meetings, as the Dodgers were ready to admit they’re fully in rebuild for the future mode, and Jackie Robinson was not interested at all in extending his time in New York. He’d like to compete for a title, and he’d zeroed in on us as a team he’d like to play for! Today I can officially announce that we’ve signed paperwork on a deal that sends four prospects to the Dodgers -- 21-year old second baseman Deacon Jones (#56, BNN), 17-year old catcher Jim Pagliaroni (#129, BNN), 19-year old center fielder Anthony Pint (#128, BNN) and 23-year old right handed starter Sam Mayer (#88, BNN), in exchange for Robinson, who at 36 remains a stone-cold legend. Our plan is to put Robinson in our lineup as a third baseman, moving Al Rosen over to first base, giving us one of the most brutal hitting lineups I can remember. We have a four year, $510,000 offer on the table to extend Robinson through his 40th birthday, giving him the chance to retire in Chicago. We’ll be able to announce that as soon as he gets the chance to thoroughly vet it! We gave up a lot of youth in the trade, but I’m confident the move is going to give us leadership in the clubhouse as we strive to win multiple championships for the Cubs faithful, and I’m not afraid to keep doing these moves in the trade market even if it means not stockpiling a ton in our farm. And it’s a win for the Dodgers, who now have five top 100 prospects and 11 prospects in the top 200, including 1B Grady Coleman, RHP Ralph Terry and RHP Don Kaiser. They had to get some value for Robinson, and even the New York press has seemed to stand behind the deal.

[jksander]

MAY 1, 1955 (Cont’d) . . . We got into Philadelphia late last night with Jackie Robinson in tow, ready to begin his new era as a Chicago Cub. This afternoon we had Hy Cohen (4-1, 2.09 ERA, 43.0 IP, 28 K’s, 0.67 WHIP) ready to pitch against Philly’s Don Lemon (3-0, 2.67 ERA, 27.0 IP, 6 K’s, 1.00 WHIP), with Elston Howard behind home plate to give Del Crandall an afternoon off after all of his weekend heroics. Willie Mays got a two-out grounder into right field to take first base, and Robinson, in his first at-bat as a Cub, beat out a throw from third base to come out with an infield hit! Too bad Ernie Banks batted out to center to end the frame scoreless. Jim Dyck got Philly’s first hit, a single in the bottom of the third, but Granny Hamner hit into a double play, and Bob Lemon flew out to left keeping things tied at zero. Mays walked to start the top of the fourth, but Robinson couldn’t beat out a weak infield hit this time, though a wild pitch allowed Mays to move to third moments later. Lemon walked Banks, then got Rosen to fly out to center, though Mays was then able to beat out the throw, sliding into home headfirst ... Cubs up 1-0! Earl Torgeson got a hit to start the bottom of the inning, and Ritchie Ashburn tied things up with a one-out RBI triple, getting the Philly fans going big time. But Cohen struck out Ennis, and Burgess hit into Mays’ glove in center, and we had ourselves a 1-1 tie after four. Willie Mays hit a two-run blast into left field in the top of the sixth to put us up 3-1, his fourth of the year, and they walked Robinson, struck out Banks and then walked Al Rosen, striking out Howard and getting a groundout from Baker to escape the inning without putting the game out of reach.

Philly got a chance in the bottom of the seventh, when Smoky Burgess got himself a double off Cohen, and Red Schoendienst got a line drive into left to advance Burgess to third. Howard made a great catch at the plate to tag Burgess out when Don Newcombe got an infield hit that put him on first, with Schoendienst now in scoring position with two outs. But Cohen stopped the rally before it could start, striking out pinch-hitter Eddie Waitkus to end the inning with the Phillies still trailing by a pair. Bob Lemon stayed in for the top of the eighth, showing his incredible stamina by getting three outs despite having thrown 123 pitches by the end of the inning. But Cohen was just as good, getting two K’s and a groundout to first to get through the bottom of the inning with the score unchanged. Lemon stayed in for the top of the ninth to complete his game and he remained magnificent, striking out Rosen and then getting out of the inning on a double play after allowing Howard to take a base. Cohen stayed in to complete the game as well, and he pitched to contact, getting two flyouts and a groundout to end the game as a Cubs 3-1 win!

With the win, Cohen improves to 5-1, throwing a six hitter with six strikeouts, one earned run and no walks, bringing his ERA down to 1.90 as he continues to prove his success last year as a rookie was no fluke. Lemon, though taking the loss and falling to 3-1, had a six hitter himself with six hits four walks and three earned runs, dropping his ERA to 2.75. Walks were the difference, and Cohen threw 133 pitches and Lemon threw 132. Though the Iron Man pitching sucked up most of the air in the place, Willie Mays led our offense with two hits for two runs and two RBIs, while Maris added two hits for a run on the ground. In his Cubs debut, Jackie Robinson hit once and walked once but was left stranded on base both times.

MAY 2, 1955 . . . We now have a half game lead on the Phillies heading into this afternoon’s two-game set, with Robert Diehl (2-0, 1.47 ERA, 30.2 IP, 19 K’s, 0.98 WHIP) pitching against Phillies pitcher (and former Cub) Bob Rush (2-0, 0.93 ERA, 19.1 IP, 9 K’s, 0.93 WHIP) in the first game.

Schoendienst got the first hit of the game for either team in the bottom of the second, a lightly hit ball into left that barely went over Robinson’s head at third base. And then Jim Dyck hit a 430-foot bomb into the left field stands, his third homer of the season, to put Philly ahead 2-0. Roger Maris doubled to give us a scoring chance in the top of the fourth, and Rush walked Robinson to give us two on with one out. But Banks flew out to right, and then Rosen batted to short, and though Maris advanced to third, Robinson was picked off at second. Gene Baker hit a 358 foot homer into left, his fourth of the year, to put us on the board down 2-1 in the top of the fifth, and Mays doubled with one out in the top of the sixth, this time getting sent all the way around by a Robinson single, tying things up at two! Banks and Rosen batted out to end the inning, but we were right back in this one! And Bob Rush collapsed in the top of the seventh, loading the bases and walking Maris to give us a 3-2 lead with just one out. Mays flew out to center and they made a killer pickoff throw to get the third out at the plate, however, and this one remained tight when it easily could have just become a blowout, 3-2 Cubs heading into the stretch. Robinson got a base hit and then a stolen base to start the bottom of the seventh, and Rosen walked with Howard loading the bases with a weak grounder. Gene Baker got a low flyball into right, reaching first and driving in a run by Robinson, and Diehl pretty much repeated the same hit, driving in another! Kaline hit into a double play, however, so we went into the bottom of the eighth leading by a solid 5-2 margin. This is a good team, they just kept Rush in too long and we took advantage. Burgess went deep in the bottom of the ninth, a solo blast of at least 410 feet into center that pulled the Phillies to within two. But Diehl got the final two outs with relative ease as we beat Philadelphia for the second time in a row, this time by a 5-3 margin.

Diehl improves to 3-0 with the victory, an eight hitter with four strikeouts for three earned runs, blowing up his ERA a bit to 1.82. We had 12 hits ourselves, led by Gene Baker with four hits for a run and two RBIs, and by Robinson who hit twice and walked twice for a run and an RBI.

In the second game of the afternoon, Camilo Pascual (1-1, 3.63 ERA, 17.1 IP, 11 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) matched up against another former Cub starter, Don Newcombe (4-0, 1.54 ERA, 35.0 IP, 19 K’s, 0.83 WHIP). Pascual pitched very confidently in this one, but Newcombe was on his A-game as well, and Pascual wound up being the first to blink -- with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Smoky Burgess hit an RBI single, driving Richie Ashburn in to score from third to put the Phillies up 1-0. But Roger Maris answered back for us in the top of the fifth via an RBI single that drove Gene Baker in to score and tie it 1-1. With two outs, Mays singled to send Maris over to third, and Robinson drove one up the gap to put us up 2-1! Pascual got us through the sixth inning, and we brought Harry Dorish in to throw in the seventh, still up by a run. In the top of the ninth, Willie Mays hit one 452 feet completely out of the park at center field, buying us two insurance runs and giving him his fifth of the season! Koufax came in to close things out in the bottom of the inning, getting three outs with ease to complete the 4-1 victory! That’s three in a row, all in incredibly tight fashion!

Pascual took the win, improving to 2-1 with a six hit seven strikeout one walk game, giving up just the one earned run to improve his ERA to 3.09! Harry Dorish pitched two innings with four strikeouts and no hits, keeping his ERA at a perfect 0.00 through 12 innings and eight appearances. And Koufax earned his 5th save in a one hit effort, improving his ERA to 2.78 on the season. We outhit the Phillies 11-7, led by Willie Mays who had four hits for a run and two RBIs, while Gene Baker continues to hit well too, getting three hits for a run scored, keeping his average at .315 through 73 at-bats. Mays is now hitting .360, just shy of the .362 mark he set back in 1953, and he’s already at 1.7 WAR through 21 games.

We improved to 18-3 on the season, now sitting 2.5 games up on Philly, but they’re clearly a well-built team. These were close games with lots of good pitching, and they’ll still play us 19 more times. For now we head on to face the New York Giants (9-12) who are currently nine games back and sitting in fifth place in the NL.

[jksander]

I only get to play this on the weekends, and this weekend I kind of went to town. Any of you keeping up with it, you've got some time now to catch up while I take a break lol ...

[TC Dale]

Enjoying it as usual. Keep it going, lots of fun stuff happening. Great stories and vision.

I read this everytime I see it pop up.

Thanks for doing this!

[Pelican]

I like it that you are both taking chances [Koufax early in his career] and going for broke [Jackie Robinson late in his career]. I think I recall that you play with recalc off and development on in your sim. If so, you bear the risk that the wild early Koufax will never develop into the devastating SP of the 1960’s. His first few seasons were up and down. That said, he throws so hard and so well, in short bursts, at this point, he should continue to be an effective RP. With that long contract, you are gambling he develops as IRL - maybe sooner. Jackie had a pretty rapid decline in the late 1950’s, so you also bear the risk of that; although with decent TCR he could stay more at the top of his game. There’s also the risk that Pint, Pags, Jones, or Mayer become dominant players; but you really don’t care about that. What a stacked lineup! The poor Phillies.