Jochen "The Joker" Fontaine: The Road to Glory

[jksander]

My name is Jochen Fontaine. My friends call me Joker, since it’s easier to pronounce than my given Swiss name. My parents migrated from Bern, Switzerland with their families around the turn of the century, as part of the “Swiss Colonization Society,” a group that originally had settled in Cincinnati but soon purchased land in southern Indiana in the 1850’s, a town which became known as Tell City, named after William Tell. You know about him, the apple and all. I grew up in a happy family, my father working in the fledgling furniture industry, and my mother raising us kids.

I was born in Tell City on October 8, 1910, and I always figured I was going to spend my life there, like my brothers and sisters, either working with my hands building furniture, or perhaps down the river in Cannelton, working on the locks and dam there as a Riverman. But when I was young, I learned I could throw. I could make an apple core spin and spin before it hit whatever target I threw it toward. And when kids in the neighborhood picked up that game of base ball, I caught on like a fever ... a bad joke, I know, since I am one of the many who managed to survive the flu outbreak of 1918, but hey, it’s true. And they do call me Joker, I told you.

I played ball for my high school, though our games were overshadowed by that other new game, Basketball, which drew the bigger crowds especially in the cold months. But I liked the power I could build up throwing the small ball and keeping someone from hitting it, rather than bouncing a ball and throwing it into a net. So I stuck with baseball, and when I graduated I had the grades to go to college, but I had saved up some money working for my father during the winters, and when I told him I wanted to see what I could do with this baseball skill, I was surprised to see a gleam in his eye.

“You’re young,” he told me. “This may not be your future, but if it’s your present you owe yourself a chance.” So, with his blessing, I joined a traveling barnstoring team, the Huntingburgh Raiders, up in Dubois County, a good thirty mile ride from home. We played a bunch of other pop-up teams in the region, traveling from small town to small town, playing in front of whatever local crowds we could roust between farm chores, trying to see if we could take our skills in this “children’s game” and make more of them, make the feeling on the field when that ball hit a bat or whiffed last just a bit longer before “real life” took over.

And that’s where I was playing when my life changed forever.

- - - - -

I remember seeing a man show up to watch us play during a handful of games on a stretch from Paoli down to Loogootee, but I couldn’t put a finger on him. He’d show up and sit in the makeshift stands, popcorn and binoculars in hand, just watching. For a few days he was gone, and then he came up and caught me after we put a whupping on the Shoals Miners and were ready to head back home for a few days’ rest. It’d been a warm spring, so we’d gotten to start play back in the middle of February, and after a few weeks of vigorous baseball action, I was really starting to feel good. So this interesting stranger had me intrigued.

“I’ve been watching you pitch,” he said, shaking my hand. “My name’s Don Ehrlinger, and I’m a scout with the St. Louis Cardinals. You got a few minutes to talk?”

The St. Louis Cardinals. Talk about a team I know something about! They’re about the one baseball thing people around here pay attention to, especially after they won the World Series in 1926! The guy running the team, Helmut “Hal” Fischer grew up around these parts, so we were all amazed when owner D.H. Devereaux put him in charge of the club.

“Sure, sir, I’d be glad to!” I told him, signaling a teammate as he lugged his bag of bats over toward the team bus. “How can I help you?”

“Well, son,” he tilted his head, putting his cigarette in his mouth. “Like I said, I’ve been watching you pitch, and I’ve talked to the bosses. We think you have the stuff for our minor leagues. And if you play your cards right, you should have a real good chance of making the bigs.”

He paused to let it sink in, then continued. “You have a lot of pitches, but what I like about you, Joe ...”

“It’s Jochen, sir, like a good joke ...”

“Ah, okay, Jochen, what I like is you look like you know how to get the ball where you aim, but you also haven’t built up a bunch of bad habits. Do you know what I mean?”

“Honestly, no, I’m not sure.”

“Well, you’re raw. Raw talent, with a ton of potential. And we don’t like to sign players just to bring them up and throw them to the wolves, son. We want to teach you the Cardinal way, and you’ve got movement on that ball and all the pitches that definitely get a guy like me thinking. But ...”

I knew there was a catch.

“You need to work on your control, so that stuff you’ve got doesn’t get wasted getting hit all over the park,” he said, puffing on that cigarette as he spoke. “And that’s where we can help you. You aren’t going to get there playing in tiny towns like this” -- he waved his arm around, impatiently -- “to crowds of nobodies. You have to pitch against the best. And we have the best.”

I gave him a second to see if he was done talking -- I know not to disrespect my elders.

“So you want me to play for the Cardinals?” I finally ask, sounding to myself like I was barely whispering, though I feared I may have blurted it out in an embarassingly loud fashion.

“No, not the Cardinals,” he said, shaking his head. “Like I said, we start our prospects out in the minors. Right now we only have a couple teams, one in upstate New York and one in Houston. We’d like to offer you $750 as a signing bonus to play double-A ball for the Buffaloes down in Texas.”

Texas, I thought to myself. I’ve never been farther from home than I am right now. But it also means playing real baseball, as a professional. I didn’t let myself overthink things.

“You want me to sign a deal now” I ask, reaching again for his hand. “Because all I need to do is grab my bag, I’m ready to go!”

- - - - -

I learned a lot on the way down on the train from Evansville to my temporary new home in Houston. For one, the Texas League, the Double-A minor league in which our team participated, features eight teams across the state, including in Beaumont, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Shreveport (Louisiana), Waco and Wichita Falls. The league’s been around since 1902, which is amazing to me, but they can trace the league back as far as the late 1880s if you count earlier leagues that folded in. Apparently the league is so entrenched around here that to call a blooper that bounces past the infield and into the grass has been called a “Texas League” hit for years. Something about that amused me from the first time I heard about it. Houston’s been a part of the league since the earliest days, when they were known as the Houston Mud Cats, winning a title in 1892, and after becoming the Buffloes for good they won again in 1896, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1913, 1914, and then after quite a drought they picked up number eight last season, when they beat Wichita Falls in the championship game.

So it’s not just St. Louis that knows how to win, I’ve been telling myself. They build minor league teams that win too, and I’m on one of those teams.

We start play on the upcoming season in just a few weeks ... I signed my contract with the ballclub on March 19th, and we play Waco to start the 1929 Texas League season on April 9th, so I’ve just got a couple weeks to get my arm warmed up and ready, because I’ve already heard word from the higher ups around the clubhouse that I’m likely going to be the opening day starter.

“It can be a lot of pressure,” Leo Miller, our right fielder, told me when I got here. “I’ve been around the league a while, and I’m past my prime, but I’m hearing good things about you, kid. They must like what they see, or you wouldn’t be here. So yeah, you’re going to need to perform, and do what the coaches and managers ask of you. But if you put in the work, don’t be afraid to take a breath and enjoy it too.”

I just keep soaking it in, I can’t believe this is my life.

[jksander]

As I stood on the mound in front of hundreds of fans at Buffalo Stadium, I had to keep asking myself how did I get here? It wasn’t the ballpark itself, this one looked like all the others I’d played in over the years except for the larger grandstand and the bigger crowd. But my stomach was churning and until I felt my arm going through its motions I wasn’t fully sure I’d actually be able to go through with it ...

Then their leadoff man hit a pop-fly out to short and I realized I had, and I could.

It got a bit easier from there, to focus on my windup, the throw, and silently communicating with my catcher. My second batter, a guy named Rye, hit a double, and then took third on a groundball single that got past my first baseman, but another pop-fly and a groundout play got me through my first inning.

I can do this.

Way too quickly I found myself back up to pitch in the top of the second, but after a leadoff single got by me, I shut their next three batters down and felt like I could have done it blindfolded. Is this it? I can handle this! They went down three in a row in the third, but I should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy. Their catcher doubled in a run in the top of the fourth, and their first baseman singled in a run pretty quickly after that, and my head was spinning. That guy from the first inning scored one in the fifth off a groundball single, and our manager pulled me for a bullpen arm at the start of the sixth, our team in a 3-0 hole.

We did our best to climb back in, scoring off a sac-fly in the bottom of the sixth and a solo homer from our left fielder Jim Hunt in the eighth, but that wasn’t enough, so we had to settle for an opening day loss, and it was on my shoulders ... five innings, eight hits, three walks and three runs. I struck out three too, but it would have felt better if I had kept my cool under pressure and won the game.

One game behind me, I told myself. I’ll pitch a lot more than that this year, and it’s a long season.

Hopefully they weren’t wrong about me.

- - - - -

I need to stop reading the papers. Somebody slipped me a copy of the Sporting News after my second loss of the season, and showed me the article that listed me as the top prospect in the Cardinals’ system, ranked third in the country. Me, the guy who had given up eight runs in his first twelve-and-a-third innings ... how does that make me a top prospect? I can barely get my head around Double-A ball! But the team’s been friendly, and most of the pressure’s been self-inflicted. I just have to stop dwelling on things I can’t change.

It’s been new being on the road with a baseball team, but I’m learning that when you’re on a team you really have to focus on the whole and not on your own ups and downs. After my second loss, a 5-2 beatdown on the road in Beaumont, the guys saw I was really down on myself, so they dragged me out and we had a good time playing cards and just forgetting about baseball for a bit. And then, crazy thing of all things, we started winning! We beat Beaumont 3-2 in the next day’s game, and then swept Shreveport as our bats started to heat up!

That set me up back in Houston for my third outing as we hosted Fort Worth.

I got through the first inning and a real jam when we got their shortstop to ground into a 5-4-3 double play with the bases loaded. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest, but I survived it ... and in the bottom of the inning we got ourselves a lead when Ray Cunningham, our third baseman, scored off a groundball single by our first baseman, giving me a 1-0 lead to work with!

That calmed me down, and we added on two more in the bottom of the second as the pressure evaporated. Suddenly I was pitching like I pitched back at home, and I guess our manager could sense it. He kept me out there in the sixth, leading 3-0, and didn’t pull me even when I got into a jam and let them on the board with a sac-fly on two outs with two on. They loaded the bases, but we got the final out to keep the lead. But maybe I looked too confident. He kept me out in the seventh too, and that time they got an RBI single on one out, loaded the bases again, and scored the tying run when I gave their right fielder a fat fastball to hit ... what was I thinking? ... though we went into the bottom of the seventh tied, but not broken.

We got the lead back in the bottom of the inning, when our shortstop Vernon Deck hit an RBI triple to drive in a pair and give us back the lead, and mercifully our manager took the ball from me at the start of the eighth inning because I was gassed and felt that any pitch I might throw was gonna break our streak. I watched from the dugout as the bullpen got us through the rest of the game, barely breathing until the 5-3 victory was in the bag ... but we got the win! It wasn’t pretty ... I allowed ten hits, walked three batters and only struck out one guy, but I also only allowed three runs, not letting them all the way back in, giving our offense a chance. An ERA of 5.12 through 19.1 innings isn’t going to turn many heads, but it proved a lot to me tonight that I can stick with this. Nothing good comes easy, my dad would say. And he’s right ... if I thought it was going to be easy to just show up and win my way onto the Cardinals’ starting roster, I needed the attitude adjustment now, rather than when it was too late to pick myself up and start learning.

It’s April 20th and the win brought our record above .500, so now the real season can begin. There’s a ton more baseball to be played before this league wraps up in late September!

[jksander]

We came into the last day of April and a home game against the Waco Cubs with a 12-8 record, our team having clicked completely since the early rough start. I’ve continued to gradually improve, and in that game I made it through 5.1 innings with four hits, walking six and striking out four to get through with five runs against me, four of them earned. My ERA has improved to 4.68 through my first five starts, and I now have a 2-3 record overall which I’m feeling good about. Our 13th win of the season got us into second place as the calendar flipped to May, trailing Fort Worth’s Panthers by just a game and a half.

On May 6th I had my best game of the season so far, lasting through eight innings before Ira Smith came out of the pen to earn a save as we beat the Beaumont Explorers 4-1 ... I allowed nine hits and a walk, but struck out four and only gave them one run, so I got my second win in a row to improve to 3-3 with a 3.98 ERA. My pitching coach was definintely pleased I had better control over where I aimed my pitches, and though I’m still giving up plenty of contact, my infield bailed me out plenty and I kept my free passes to a minimum.

The Cardinals this year have been struggling and are off to a 10-11 start up there in the major leagues. But that could’t seen farther away to me. It’s clear I have to keep working every day and the improvements will come, but I know I’m not ready to face National League batters ... or even their pitchers for that matter, as I’m only hitting .077 so far through my first six starts.

Our team, meanwhile, is chugging along and we have a real chance to compete in this league. At 15-11 we’re tied for second with Waco, and are just half a game behind Fort Worth. But everyone in the league is within three and a half, except the San Antonio Indians, a haphazardly built team that has struggled to a 5-21 start, 10.5 games back and fading fast.

[jksander]

The season progressed from there as baseball seasons tend to pass, constant series of travel days, a game almost every afternoon as our team -- such as it was -- made the best of a rough situation. Clearly we’re not as good as we looked early in the season, and even as I continued to show improvements on the field, we lost a lot more games than we won. From mid-May through the end of June I started ten more games, and during that stretch our manager started using me more for longer stretches, counting on me to be able to stay in games and make the best of whatever situation I found myself in.

Seven of those games saw me pitching at least seven innings, and twice I completed games on the road, going the full eight innings ... though we lost both of those. I’m still allowing a lot of hits, but I’ve been controlling the ball’s movement better and have been walking fewer batters on average, so I feel confident on a daily basis that I can keep from giving up too many runs ... and it’s shown well in my stats. Through sixteen starts I’ve got a 3.47 ERA and I’ve thrown 109 innings of work, and I’m starting to feel better about my abilities, though I clearly have a long way to go to get to the big leagues.

We’re 30-46 heading into the month of July, which has us just three and a half games out of last place and 16 games out of first, so unless something changes and our whole team suddenly becomes incredible, it’s looking like we won’t be making a return trip to the Texas League championship series. The biggest issue is we’re simply not putting up enough runs, as the worst team in the league for offensive production. So I and our other pitchers will have our work cut out for us to try to pitch our way to wins when the bats aren’t supportive. With a couple weeks left before the midseason break, and three months left in the season, almost anything can happen, so we’ve just got to keep our heads up and remember we’re getting paid to play this game. How crazy is that?

[jksander]

“Hey, Jochen, got a few minutes?”

I step off the mound as our manager comes out to talk to me during practice. It’s hot, steaming actually, and I am grateful for the opportunity to breathe for a minute. Late July in Houston’s really not something my body’s used to yet ... and to think, I thought southern Indiana was humid!

“Sure,” I say, as we walk toward the dugout. “Is there anything I need to be doing?”

“It’s not that at all,” he says, taking a second to spit his tobacco juice into a nearby spitoon. “I’ve been talking to everybody. We have to stay focused on getting better, not on whether we’re winning or losing.”

“Haven’t I been doing that?” I ask, confused. That’s all I’ve been doing, is trying to get better.

“You’re working hard, we all see it, kid,” he says, grabbing the ball out of my hand and spinning it. “But the whole clubhouse has been playing like we’re under a storm cloud, and I want to see you guys out there working on your skills but having some fun too. It’s a long year, and it hasn’t much gone our way. But you learn more from your losses than you do from your wins.”

“We’re learning a lot then,” I laugh ... and then I worry I said too much, relaxing only when he laughs back.

“That’s what I’m saying, Joke, we’re losing so we clench up and get pissed off which can be good. But it’s starting to create a bad training atmosphere. You’re wanting to make the bigs, and you have a great chance of doing it. But you have to take the rough patches like you do the good streaks, and learn from them. But at the same time you have to learn to let them go too.”

I nod my head, it makes a lot of sense. “I’ll work with the other young guys and see that we take ourselves less seriously,” I say.

“Good, good. Now about that splitter of yours,” he says, as he tosses the ball I was holding into the air. “I think it’s a good idea that you let that one go, son, it’s not really working for you ... but that slider and curve you’ve got have real potential. I’d like to see you working on those the rest of the season with your coaches, see if we can get those up to major league level between now and the end of the offseason.”

“I can do that, sir,” I grin. “Whatever it takes!”

“That’s the spirit. Go on and get back out there, kid, I’ve gotta go catch some of the vets and give them the same spiel.”

And that’s the end of that. He walks off, and I’m left thinking about the end of the season coming up like a freight train. It’ll be good to get through it and focus, I tell myself. Then we’ll see what I can really become. I’ve had a rough month, a lot of it coming from the long breaks betweeen outings because of our mid-month break. But I feel like I’m getting back into my groove. We’re so far out of the Texas League race, it’s time I take all that advice in stride and work on what’s in my control.

[jksander]

I sat in the dugout trying not to fume as, trailing by just one run to nothing, our manager pulled me and brought out a reliever despite my having allowed just a pair of hits, the run being unearned. We went on to give up six runs in the top of the eighth to make any comeback attempt a failure, and I got tagged with a loss in a game I felt we had held in our grasp. Why’d he pull me? I kept asking myself. Did he not trust me to keep it at one run? Completely ignoring, of course, the fact that our bats hadn’t put up a fight either.

I was drying off after a shower, when our manager signalled me to come into his office. He didn’t waste any time.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I didn’t keep you out there,” he said, drumming his fingers on his desk. I was smart enough not to say anything. “You’ve done everything I’ve asked, and you’ve been pitching well, kid, and that’s why. Got the call this afternoon, they want you up in Rochester.”

“They do?” I’m incredulous. “I didn’t think they’d need me, they’ve been doing well enough.”

“That’s why they need you,” he said. “They’re actually competitive this year, and though he says he’s not sure you’re ready for the bigs, Hal Fischer wants to see what you can do in a pennant race, so he wants you in Rochester. So pack your bags, kid, train leaves first thing in the morning.”


My train left Houston at six in the morning on August 10th, and we got to Rochester in upstate New York in the morning on the 11th, in time for me to be at the ballpark to watch the team take on Toronto’s Maple Leafs in the first of three games we had on our home field. Rochester’s got a great team, with a 78-33 record heading into this series, and I’m still reeling a bit from the callup -- am I good enough to pitch for this team? Am I going to make them worse? -- wondering if I’m upsetting the balance on a contending team just by showing up.

But the guys are friendly, and they didn’t seem shocked to see me in the clubhouse. I hung out in the bullen for today’s game despite knowing I wasn’t going to pitch, and just got a feel for the team dynamics. We built an early 3-0 lead and held tough to win the game 4-3 as the Maple Leafs rallied. Jeff Turner, the team’s 26-year-old veteran ace, won his 13th game of the season, and if he was upset to see me here when he’s yet to get his call-up to the bigs, he certainly did a good job of keeping it to himself. Jim Lindsey, the Red Wings’ closer, saved his 40th game of the year as well, and you could tell he was hoping to get a call from the Cardinals before too long, with the major league team sitting just three games out of first at 62-47. But until that call comes, we’re all here dominating the International League and trying to look good doing it.

On the 12th of August we steamrolled the Maple Leafs 12-5, and I got word from our manager that I’d be starting the third game as we went for a sweep ... at 80-33 and leading the entire league by nine games there really wasn’t any “pressure” on me to do well, but I really wanted to go at Toronto early and show why I’d been called up ... to prove I deserved it.

Twenty four hours to go and I make my first mark on AAA baseball!

[jksander]

The first inning went very well for me, a pair of groundouts and a flyball to left to set them down quietly. Red Worthington, our 23-year-old first baseman, doubled in the bottom of the first and came home to score when right fielder Pepper Martin hit a single into deep right, an E7 error giving him the room to skip past third. Their batters kept getting decent contact off me, but our fielding was far better here than I’m used to from my time in Houston, and we were able to keep them scoreless deep into the game. I made it into the seventh with the game still ours 1-0, but with two outs I allowed a double into left and our manager pulled me for veteran reliever Hal Haid, who kept the shutout intact. Thankfully we added on a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh, so when the bullpen gave up a run in the eighth it wasn’t a disaster, and in the bottom of the inning we scored four more to turn it into a blowout anyway -- we’d wind up beating them easily, completing the sweep with a 7-3 victory, our 81st of the season and my first feeling like a real member of this team.

It was a whole new experience dealing with the press after the game. I’d gotten through 6.2 innings with just four hits, and though I’d walked four and struck out four, nobody scored on me. Down at AA, there were few reporters even interested in covering us, let alone talking to the players for quotes. But apparently I’m up to #2 in the prospect rankings, and this being my first start I had several New York writers asking me about the experience, and questioning whether I thought I’d be making a jump to the majors in September.

“I’m just focused on improving my pitching,” I’d say. “I barely felt like I got my feet wet here today.”

I got my second AAA start on the 18th at home against the last-place Buffalo Bisons, and I came back down to earth fast, only making it through two outs in the fifth before I got pulled thanks to my 11th hit ... I gave up five runs, four earned, and left the bullpen a huge mess to clean up as we slogged our way to a 9-2 loss. But a few days later I bounced back with eight great innings, just letting the Jersey City Skeeters get four hits and one earned run off me as I got my second win. On the 29th I got my third win with another eight inning fight, with eight hits, two strikeouts and a pair of earned runs, and for the first time all year I really felt it was all coming together.

The entire team did ... we went into September on a hell of a winning streak -- by the time I came up to pitch again on the 3rd of September we were riding a 14-game winning stretch as we neared triple-digit wins and a playoff clinch. I got us our 15th in a row with another eight inning gem, allowing eight hits and four runs in what became a 7-5 victory, improving my record to 4-1 with a 2.80 ERA! The streak continued, reaching 20 in a row before we finally snapped it with a 4-3 loss against Buffalo on the road, giving us just our 37th loss in 140 tries.

I won my sixth game (and fifth in a row) with the Red Wings on September 13th, getting through eight innings with nine hits, three walks, five strikeouts and a pair of earned runs that kept my ERA at 2.47, and then I got the shock of my life ... the Cardinals, sitting at 77-60 and seven games behind the NL-leading Brooklyn Robins, want me on a train to St. Louis as soon as I can get there ... they may want to pitch me against the Giants next week during an extended home stretch at Sportsmans Park, where the team will play 14 of its last 17 games!

A real pennant chase, and I’m gonna be in the thick of it ... it’s only a September call-up, a “cup of coffee” as they call it around here, but it’s a chance to play real baseball as a professional for my favorite team. Trust me, I can’t pack my things quickly enough ... I love ya, Rochester, but if I’m lucky I won’t be back!


I got the chance during the long train ride to St. Louis to get to know Jack Berly a lot better. The 26-year-old reliever got the call-up with me, and he more than earned it this year in Rochester, going 4-2 through more than 52 innings, with a 1.89 ERA and 33 strikeouts. He had his first and only call-up back in 1924, throwing eight innings over four appearances for the Cardinals, so he’s been where I am, though in that case he hadn’t done as well as he’d hoped, allowing five runs during that stretch and getting sent back down.

“You can’t get hung up on it,” he told me. “You want to do well, but everybody stops playing this game at some point, and it’s never by choice. I won’t pitch well if I worry about my future, and that’s what I did last time. Never thought I’d get back up there, so this time I’m gonna soak it up and take the extra money ... if I can play well too and earn a spot, that’ll be gravy.”

I don’t want to get sent back down. I want to impress everyone, and win games, making myself valuable to the club. But I smile and take in his advice, and we spent the rest of the trip talking about our hometowns -- mine in southern Indiana, and his on the bayous of Louisiana .. don’t ask me to pronounce Natchitoches, I’m not even sure I’m spelling it right!

We’d left Rochester in the evening and got to St. Louis in time to be in uniform for the afternoon game on the 14th against the Giants. Both Jack and I were set to be extra bullpen arms for the pennant stretch, and with me coming off a full outing yesterday, I had no worries they’d be desperate enough to use me, so I got to soak up the Sportsmans Park atmosphere and bask quietly in the shadows of players I’ve only gotten to read about before ... I almost fell over myself when I got to shake Frankie Frisch’s hand before the game, and our starting pitcher Syl Johnson -- who has won 17 of 30 decisions this year -- smacked me on the shoulder as we walked onto the field and told me to “breathe it in, kid,” and then asked me to run back to the clubhouse to grab his chewing tobacco.

Me as new guy: “Sure thing, sir!”


From here on out I’m going to go to a “day by day” format now that I’m in the majors and can play out the games themselves. I’ll continue to post “in character,” to keep up the first-person nature of this project, but from here on you’ll get a lot more in-game moments as Jochen Fontaine hopes to keep that spot in the big leagues.

[jksander]

September 14, 1929
Giants (68-68) vs. Cardinals (77-60) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

This one was a wild ride! They scored two in the top of the first, and though we got a run back in the bottom of the inning, it wasn’t until the fifth when we tied it up at 2-2. Syl Johnson got us into the stretch with it still tied, and then we went off, scoring five runs in the bottom of the inning to take control! Johnson got us through the eighth inning, and with it not being a save situation (two more runs had given us a 9-2 lead!), our manager Billy Southworth brought out my new friend Jack Berly to finish things off in the ninth. He gave up a two-out triple to New York’s center fielder Jimmy Welsh, and a triple by second baseman Eddie Collins drove in a run. But we got the win, 9-3, and that made the clubhouse atmosphere after the game a celebratory one as we got within six and a half of the Robins, with the Giants on the brink of elimination.

September 15, 1929
Giants (68-69) vs. Cardinals (78-60) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Fred Frankhouse was our pitcher today, a popular 25-year-old starter who is only in his third year -- he spent most of this year at AAA Rochester, all before my time there, so I’m not familiar with him as a player. He got absolutely shelled in the third inning, giving up four runs to give the Giants a 5-1 lead, and that quickly started a bullpen game ... which had me nervous, since I’m not fully rested, but I’m rested enough I could eventually find myself out there pitching today. Hi Bell took over with two outs and empty bases in the top of the third inning, and he was impressive to watch from the bullpen as he shut them down in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. We’d gained a run back in the bottom of the fifth when Charlie Gelbert reached on an E6 error, scoring Ernie Orsatti, and in the top of the seventh Southworth sent out Clarence Mitchell to take over still trailing 5-2. He gave up four more runs in the eighth, and though we got three back in the bottom of the ninth, it was still a 9-5 blowout loss.

September 16, 1929
Giants (69-69) vs. Cardinals (78-61) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Veteran pitcher Bill “Wee Willie” Sherdel took the mound for us today, with 13 wins and more than 200 innings under his belt already this year. And the game did not go particularly well ... five innings in, we were in a 6-1 hole, and though Gus Mancuso hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, we still trailed by four when I got the call. It’s a pitching change, rookie Jochen Fontaine taking the mound. I must have blacked out, because I don’t remember anything of the sixth inning, though apparently it went swimmingly -- I got leadoff man Freddie Lindstrom to pop out to left, while Edd Roush and Bill Terry grounded out harmlessly. Our skipper told me I was going to keep the ball, and I promptly put two men on base, though I got rid of one of them when Freddy Leach hit into a 4-6-3 double play, sending Mel Ott over to third. I had a moment of real fear when the ball came off Bob O’Farrell’s bat ... he’s a powerful hitter, and it looked like a homer to me, but Ripper Collins stole it at the wall and we’d gotten through the seventh! We got two quick outs ourselves in the bottom of the inning, so Fischer didn’t bother pinch hitting for me, making it pretty clear he expected me to get through the rest of the game if I could, since we still trailed by four runs. Our bats never woke up, but I had the game of my life and did manage to keep them from adding on, getting through the ninth with that deficit unchanged. We lost 6-2, but I really felt I’d proven myself ... four innings and more than sixty pitches thrown, with two hits and three walks, nothing else. I’m exhausted, but if I can keep throwing like that against this level of competition, how could they send me back down? Just gotta keep it going as long as I can.

September 17, 1929
Giants (70-69) vs. Cardinals (78-62) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Syl Johnson was back on the mound for the final game of the series against the Giants, with us trailing the Robins by seven still in the pennant race here in the National League. And our offense was potent all night as Johnson wheeled and dealed, leading 8-1 after five and coasting to what wound up being a 10-2 victory. Johnson pitched the entire way, nine innings with five hits, and just two runs (one earned), which gave him his 19th win of the season, and Ripper Collins hit his 31st homer of the season to help get the rout going.

September 20, 1929
Robins (86-55) vs. Cardinals (79-62) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

The race is tight, now, with Brooklyn still leading by seven games, with Pittsburgh (82-63) now a game up on us. The Cubs and Giants have officially been eliminated, so it’s a three team race with Brooklyn danagerously close to clinching -- their magic number is seven, but we have these three games left against them, as well as six more against Pittsburgh, so if we could get ourselves into a groove, it’s not out of reach ... but there’s not much room left for error. We had rookie starter Paul “Duke” Derringer pitching for us today, and he got us into the stretch with a 6-4 lead! Bill Doak took over in the top of the eighth, and in the bottom of the inning Gus Mancuso hit an RBI single to add on to our lead. Doak shut them down nicely from there as we won 7-4, Derringer earning his ninth win while Doak saved his third, inching closer to the Robins as this race glows red hot!
 
September 21, 1929
Robins (86-56) vs. Cardinals (80-62) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Bill Sherdel started today’s game, and both teams scored plenty early on ... but in the bottom of the fourth inning we took the lead 4-3 off a two-run homer by Jimmie Wilson, his 22nd of the season. But Sherdal stayed out just a bit too long. With two outs in the top of the seventh he let Wally Gilbert hit a single, and then Rube Bressler put the Robins back ahead 5-4. Hi Bell took over, getting the find out to put us into the stretch. He pitched around runners on the corners in the eighth to keep us within a run, and then in the bottom of the eighth inning we took control, scoring five runs including the go-ahead that was scored by Jim Bottomley off a fielder’s choice. With the lead secure our manager kept Bell in there for the ninth, and they got three runs back off a homer by Babe Herman to get them within one. Bill Doak took over, one out and nobody on, promptly loading the bases as we desperately tried to hold on. Fischer sent out starter Clarence Mitchell with three on, one out, and he walked in the tying run and the comeback was completed by Clyde Barnhart who hit an RBI single to drive in another. We just couldn’t stop them once they started, and the Robins piled on, gutting us for eight runs in the inning to take a 13-9 lead, which is how it stayed. I never got out of the bullpen, and this place was like a morgue when it was all over and done.

The World Series is looking like a lost cause at this point, as Brooklyn’s magic number is now just five with 11 games left for them to play. None of us young callups want to jinx anything, but we all know we’ll get more chances to show our stuff if we’re out of contention. But we’re all also fans of the game, and getting our Cardinals into the postseason is a dream nobody wants to let go of.

September 22, 1929
Brooklyn (87-56) vs. St. Louis (80-63) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Syl Johnson pitched today, so all of us in the bullpen figured it was unlikely we’d see much (if any) time on the field. And he did well as has been the standard, making up for two early runs to the Robins in the first inning by pitching us into the stretch with just one additional run against, while our bats scored four in the first two frames. Jim Bottomley hit a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh to extend our lead to three runs, and I got the call in the top of the eighth! With a three-run lead to protect, I faced the top of their batting lineup ... and unfortunately their leadoff man Harvey Hendrick hit a solo bomb out of right off just my fourth pitch of the afternoon. The next two batters each made it on base with hits, and I got yanked before I could barely break a sweat. Hi Bell came out to pitch with the score 6-4 and runners on first and second, no outs. He loaded the bases with a walk to Johnny Frederick, then got three quick outs, bang-bang-bang, to get us into the bottom of the inning with the lead still safe. If we weren’t living under Prohibition, I’d owe that man a beer. Bell pitched around runners on the corners in the ninth and we got the win 6-4, keeping our slim hopes of a postseason series alive.

No thanks to me ... I faced three batters, got no one out, and succeeded in giving up my first major league homer, all in less than ten minutes. We have seven games in a row at home this week and then four days off before our only remaining road games of the season, and I’m wondering if our manager Southworth is going to want me out there much during that time. Hopefully I didn’t blow my chance.

September 23, 1929
Reds (63-81) vs. Cardinals (81-63) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Grover Cleveland Alexander got the start today, and the 42-year-old legend got us through five innings, but we trailed 4-3 when Southworth pulled him for Jack Berly. He had a solid inning, pitching around runners on the corners to keep us within the one run, but in the eighth he wasn’t as lucky -- with two outs, Evar Swanson hit an RBI single to add on a run as the Reds extended their lead. Clarence Mitchell took over in the ninth, keeping the score from ballooning, but our offense was flat and we lost 5-3.

September 24, 1929
Reds (64-81) vs. Cardinals (81-64) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Our manager started Fred Frankhouse, who hasn’t started in nine das, which didn’t make many of the veterans in our bullpen think it was a great sign for our World Series hopes being anything but dead on arrival. But he pitched incredibly well, and we had a 4-1 lead with one out in the bottom of the seventh when the game was called due to a heavy storm system that rolled in, flooding the outfield. So we got the win, having outhit them 9-4, and Frankhouse had seven innings with just four hits, a walk, a run and five strikeouts. So I learned a lesson, that perhaps our coaches and manager do know more than we do ... or that God likes the Cardinals, sending a rainstorm before we could melt dwon. Either way, fine by me!

September 25, 1929
Reds (64-82) vs. Cardinals (82-64) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Paul Derringer got the start, and we scored six runs across the first three innings to build a real solid lead! Derringer was absolutely brilliant all day, leaving us playing cards in the bullpen as the game quickly turned into a rout in our favor. We led by nine after five innings, and Derringer got himself a complete game, though he blew the shutout, settling for a 9-3 win as we continue to keep our hopes alive. Ripper Collins hit his 32nd homer, going 2-3 with three runs and three RBIs thanks to his homer and a double.

[jksander]

September 26, 1929
Pirates (83-64) vs. Cardinals (83-64) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Brooklyn’s magic number is just three, while we’re tied with the Pirates at 5.5 games back, so this series will help settle bragging rights between our two teams, but if Brooklyn finishes their business it won’t necessarily keep either of us in the race for the pennant. The one thing keeping us alive is that six of their eight remaining games are on the road. Bill Sherdel got the start for us, and we were dominant in the early innings, Skerdal pitching seven shutout innings to bring us into the stretch leading 3-0. We added three more runs in the bottom of the inning, and our manager tagged me to take over in the eighth, everyone hoping I’d have a stronger outing than the last time. But I blew the shutout with an RBI single by George Harper, no outs, and poor fielding by our second baseman let a second run through off a slow-throw to first that they counted as a hit by George Grantham. With arms warming in the pen, I was shaken on the mound, hitting Dick Bartell in the shoulder with a pitch to load the bases. A third run scored off a fielder’s choice (we got the out at second) and they scored a fourth off an RBI single by Johnny Schulte as I completed my meltdown. It was ugly, and frustrating, and FINALLY Fred Frankhouse came out to take the ball as we clung to a 6-4 lead, with one out and men on the corners. A sac-fly by Earl Sheely got the Pirates within a run, but we escaped the inning by the skin of our teeth, no thanks to me. Two brutal games in a row, and I doubt I’ll get another chance. Frankhouse gave up a single and a double in the ninth and Clarence Mitchell took over with no outs and men on second and third ... a sac-fly by George Grantham tied the score, but they didn’t get the lead, and this one went into extra innings. But Mitchell gave us a stellar performance, getting the win after getting us through the 11th, when Chick Hafey hit a sac-fly that let Frankie Frisch score the winning run in the bottom of the inning. We were glad to escape with the 7-6 win.

I only got one out, allowing four hits, and a walk with five earned runs against me, exploding my ERA to 12.46 through 4.1 innings. And I’m pretty sure I won’t get much more than mop-up work the rest of the fall.

September 27, 1929
Pirates (83-65) vs. Cardinals (84-64) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Syl Johnson had the ball at the start of this one, but it was an unexpected scoring fest early ... Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead after one inning, we tied it up in the bottom of the second with RBIs from Earl Smith and Taylor Douthit, and then both teams traded runs in the third to go into inning four with a 4-4 tie. That’s when Johnson got destroyed, giving up four runs to the Pirates in the top of the inning, and by the time Bill Doak got us out of the inning we were in an 11-4 and the season looked to be over -- we had absolutely no room for error the rest of the season. Hi Bell took over in the fifth, and Jack Berly got to come out to pitch in the top of the seventh though it was mostly because we were still down 11-5 and it really didn’t matter who came in. He seized the opportunity, getting us through the seventh and eighth without hardly sweating at all, and in the bottom of the eighth we scored three runs to get back in the game at least nominally, still trailing by three heading into the ninth thanks to a wild pitch and two RBI singles. Paul Derringer took over with one out and men on second and third in the top of the ninth, and they added on with a run scored off a sac-fly, and then Derringer collapsed, loading the bags and giving up three runs off a double by Paul Waner. We’d lose this one 15-8, a brutal beatdown that didn’t quite eliminate us, but it’s close. Brooklyn still hasn’t been able to clinch, but they lead both us and Pittsburgh by five games with a magic number of two. So it looks like it’s all over but the fat lady singing.

September 28, 1929
Pirates (84-65) vs. Cardinals (84-65) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Grover Cleveland Alexander got the start in our third game against the Pirates in this four-game set, and it looked like he might get himself another complete game even at age 42, but with the lead 3-0 heading into the ninth Pie Trainor hit an RBI single to put Pittsburgh on the board, and Alexander was completely gassed. With runners on first and second and just one out, Bill Sherdel came out to finish things off, loading the bases but getting George Grantham to pop out to right ... but had the wind been blowing a little harder, it might have gone out of the park. As it was we escaped with a 3-1 win, and will close out the series tomorrow. They outhit us 9-7, but Chick Hafey was on fire ... he had two hits in four tries, scoring two and driving in three thanks to homers in the fourth and sixth! He now has 30 of them on the season.
 
September 29, 1929
Pirates (84-66) vs. Cardinals (85-65) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Brooklyn’s Robins have lost four of their last five games, so we’re still alive. But we’re four games back and only have four games left, and two will be in Pittsburgh against the Pirates after we finish this series. So we have to win every game and pray Brooklyn loses out so we can have a playoff for the pennant crown. A loss, and it’s all over. Our manager went with Syl Johnson on two days’ rest, as he only threw 100 pitches last outing and, with everything on the line, it makes sense you give the ball to your 20-game winner who’s on the verge of hitting 300 innings. In the bottom of the first we got the lead off a single by Taylor Douthit, but in the top of the third Pittsburgh took the lead 2-1 thanks to a two-run single by George Harper. Another scored off a Lloyd Waner single, and by the time Johnson finally got yanked by Bill Douk with two outs and a man on first, a close game had become a rout and our manager looked like he might have managed his way out of a job. Douk couldn’t even get the final out of the inning ... finally Grantham popped out to third and we went into the bottom of the THIRD INNING trailing 10-1 after a ten-run inning for the Pirates.

That’s when I got the call ... with the game a rout, our GM had told the manager he wanted to see me actually work some innings, and the game was out of control anyway. So I took over from Douk in the fourth, and with no real pressure on me ... the deficit was incredible and we had no chance of prolonging our pennant chase ... I finally started pitching like I had in the minors. In the bottom of the fifth we got a run back thanks to a sac-fly by Fred Haney, and I got through the sixth with ice in my veins. Chick Hafey batted in a run in the bottom of the inning with a line drive double, and got us into the stretch by pitching around an error with a strikeout and two flyouts to keep the score at 10-3. Jack Berly took over for me in the ninth inning, getting us through the rest so we could lose by that same margin as our bats stayed silent down the stretch. I lasted five innings and allowed just three hits, walking one and striking out another as I improved my ERA to 5.79 through 9.1 innings.


After the game, I got a note from the clubhouse attendant that I was needed at the telephone. An unfamiliar voice met my ear when I got there, heavily German-accented English.

“Hello, Jochen, it’s good to finally speak with you,” he said, and I knew who it was immediately.

“Mr. Fischer, hello, it’s an honor ...”

“No, no, we don’t need any airs on my account. I’m just a beancounter who is lucky enough work in baseball. And I’ve suddenly found myself in a position where I’m to be managing our Cardinals.”

I’m stunned, silent. So it’s true, Billy Southworth is a goner.

“I take it you understand what I’m telling you, Jochen. I’m your new manager, and I want to know something.”

“Y-yes, Mr. Fischer, anything you need,” I stutter, unsure of myself.

“You pitched well today. Do you think we’ve seen what you can do coming out of the bullpen?”

“I ... sir, I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

“I’m asking if you think you’re a long reliever or a starter, at this level. Have you proven all you can to us during these two weeks you’ve been in St. Louis?”

I pause, choosing my words carefully. “Sir, I’m a pitcher, and I think I can be a good one. But no ... I wouldn’t say I’ve proven anything. But I’m a starter, and coming into games late, it’s new to me. I’ll play where you want me because you know this game and you’ve given me the chance to even play baseball, but ...”

“... but you want to show you can start.”

“Yes, sir, if you think I’m ready to do that. If not, I’ll understand if you send me back to Rochester.”

He goes quiet. “Well, that may happen regardless, no promises. But we have three games left of the season, and before I decide, you’ll get your chance to start one of those. Hopefully you can pitch in that game like you pitched today and you’ll show you’re worthy of a contract with this team next year.”

And with that the line went dead, and to be honest, I don’t remember much else from the rest of the evening, with my head spinning uncontrollably.

[jksander]

I thought I’d had all the surprising I could expect for the remainder of the season. But when I picked up my copy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the morning of October first, I saw a headline on the main page of the sports section that had me stunned: ‘Cy’clone Hits St. Louis, as Cardinals Hire Young to Teach Pitchers. Big bold type right there, telling the world that the legend Cy Young was going to be coming here to teach me ... and our entire team ... how a legend of the game pitches.

Apparently our GM (and now manager!) Helmut Fischer announced the hire last night during a press conference I would never have been invited to in any stretch ... apparently it’s a five year deal, so he’s here to really make sure our pitching is top notch!

What’s he like in person? I wonder to myself, as I get ready to head to the ballpark for today's practice session. This keeps getting better and better ... if I can’t learn to be a star with Cy Young teaching me, I’ll know then I should stop and get a ‘real’ job.

Whatever he’s actually like in person, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to find out during the long offseason. Til then, we’ve got these three remaining games, and one of them I’ll be starting. Unbelievable!

[jksander]

October 4, 1929
Cardinals (85-66) vs. Pirates (85-66) -- Forbes Field, 2:05 p.m. CT

Bill Sherdel pitched well in this one, allowing us to come back from a 1-0 deficit to take a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning. From there we dominated the Pirates in a mostly meaningless game ... Sherdel lasted seven innings with seven hits, a walk, two strikeouts and an earned run, and Clarence Mitchell pitched the rest of the way, as we beat the Pirates 5-3. Andy High, our third baseman , hit three times for two runs and an RBI, and we outhit them 15-10 so the low score was somewhat surprising.

October 5, 1929
Cardinals (86-66) vs. Pirates (85-67) -- Forbes Field, 2:05 CT

Paul Derringer got the start today in our final game against the Pirates, so I knew going in that I’ll be starting tomorrow in Cincinnati. Our batters went to town on them in the top of the third, scoring six quick runs, and by the time Hi Bell came out to take the ball in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and a man on first, we held an 8-3 lead on them. They got a run back in the bottom of the ninth with a bases loaded walk by Paul Waner, but Bell got the final out to end the game as an 8-4 victory, ensuring we’ll finish second in the National League. We outhit them 12-10, and Derringer got his 11th win, finishing his season at 11-7 despite a 5.77 season ERA. He and I are the team’s top pitching prospects, so I expect to be workikng with him a lot through the winter.

October 6, 1929
Cardinals (87-66) vs. Reds (67-86) -- Redland Field, 2:05 CT

It was a big day for me, getting my chance to start my first major league outing, even if it was against a mediocre Reds team in a completely meaningless game. My first batter faced, Ethan Allen, got a double off a line drive to center, when Douthit hit the cutoff man instead of going for second ... but I got him out moments later on a sac-bunt attempt by Hughie Cruz, and took Cruz out at second on a fielder’s choice to keep the game scoreless in the first. The strong defense from my infielders helped me get into a groove, and this game turned into a pitcher’s duel pretty quickly. I got into a hot spot in the bottom of the fifth, with runners on first and second with no outs, but I struck out Billy Jurges and Eppa Rixey swinging and Ethan Allen popped out to right to end the inning still scoreless for both teams. That’s when our offense unleashed ... in the top of the sixth, Douthit scored off an RBI double by Jim Bottomley, and then Charlie Gelbert hit a triple that drove home three runs! Andy High finished off the deluge with an RBI single, and just like that I came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning leading 5-0! In the bottom of the seventh with two outs they broke the shutout with an RBI double by Eppa Rixey, and a single by Ethan Allen cut the lead to three. That’s when I started to sweat, with Berly warming in the pen ... they got a third run across moments later, but I got the out to get us into the eighth still leading 5-3, and I knew that was it for me today. But we picked up two more runs in the top of the eighth and Berly got cold, so I went out long enough to get one out in the bottom of the eighth at which point he took over. He got us through the inning with just one run scoring against us, and Fred Frankhouse took over in the bottom of the ninth, and he got us through the rest to finish the 7-4 victory!

I earned my first major league win, pitching 7.1 innings with eight hits, a walk, two strikeouts and three earned runs, giving me a 4.86 ERA through 16.2 innings this September. Not a bad start to my career, though I know I have plenty of work to do if I’m going to be able to handle a full season of this and still produce at a solid level. We finished the season at 88-66, and though it is a disappointment not to be heading for the World Series as a team, even a few weeks at the top has shown me what a great team our owner has been building for us. I think they’ll have a hard time keeping us out of the Series next year.

 
I celebrated the end of the season by buying a used Ford Model A and, with Jack Berly and Paul Derringer we made the drive to Philadelphia to catch the first two games of the World Series, between the Athletics, who had won 97 games, and the Robins, who had won the National League pennant with 93 wins. The Robins lost game one 6-1, as Philly’s Al Simmons and Bing Miller each homered while Brooklyn ace Watty Clark gave up all six runs in a brutal performance. But on the 10th, Brooklyn evened the series, Dazzy Vance pitching a complete game 11-hitter with three strikeouts and two runs (only one earned) as the Robins hit back 7-2, Babe Herman going 3-4 with a walk, two runs and four RBIs. It was a great time had by all ... I’d never been to Philadelphia before, having spent most of my time with the team playing at Sportsmans Park, and it was great to spend time seeing the sights while building up a rapport with players in my situation, just finding our way in the big leagues.

We drove back to St. Louis slowly, stopping at a speakeasy outside Cincinnati on the 12th to listen to game three on the radio while drinking skunky beers ... I’ll be glad if we can ever get this prohibition thing to come to an end, but we’d heard about this place from some guys on the Reds, so we knew nobody was going to hassle us. Brooklyn lost a game three shootout 8-7, getting outhit 14-10 as Rube Bessler went 3-4 with a run and five RBIs, including two that came off a two-run blast in the fourth. We made it back home the next day in time to catch game four, as Brooklyn nearly choked it away in the final inning but escaped with a 7-6 win to tie things up two games to two. Val Picinich had three hits for two runs and two batted in, and Doug McWeeny pitched 7.1 innings with just five hits, three walks, four strikeouts and an earned run -- though their bullpen stopper, Cy Moore, gave up five runs (three earned) to damned near blow the whole thing. They then took the series’ lead in game five, blasting the Athletics 9-2, an excellent hitting performance that saw four players with two hits each (and five runs and eight RBIs between them). That sent the series back to Philly for a potentially decisive game six if the Robins could pull it off!

Most of the team got together at a local restaurant to listen to game six, which saw Brooklyn overcoming a 3-1 deficit after four innings to end up forcing extras! Tied up 5-5 after nine innings, what should have been a complete game 10-hitter for Dazzy Vance, they wound up having to bring out closer Johnny Morrison from the pen to handle the additional baseball action. In the bottom of the 11th, with two outs and Max Bishop on first due to an E4 error, Al Simmons hit a run scoring double to walk it off as the Athletics evened the series to three games each.

There would be a game seven, and though all of us wished we were the team playing it, nobody wanted Philly to win it ... we all hate the American League and would relish if the National League could win every World Series.

Game seven featured Brooklyn’s Jumbo Elliott, a 12-game winner with a 5.26 ERA, going up against Philly’s George “Moose” Earnshaw, who won 15 of his starts with a 4.21 ERA and 123 strikeouts. The radio broadcast said Shibe Park was a total madhouse, as thousands had to be turned away at the gates due to the fire marshal insisting the stadium was too far over capacity as it was. Brooklyn hit them hard in the top of the third, getting on the board with a two-run homer by Babe Herman, adding on with an RBI triple, an error and an RBI single to lead 5-0! The Athletics got a run each in the fourth and sixth, but Brooklyn got them both back in the top of the seventh thanks to a two-run homer by Val Picinich to lead 7-2 heading into the stretch. But Brooklyn choked once again ... the Athletics picked up three runs each in the seventh and ninth innings, tying the score at 8-all as the game went into extras, with both teams at 13 hits apiece, and despite the Athletics’ two errors in the game. Babe Herman put up a heroic effort, hitting an RBI single at a critical moment in the top of the tenth for the lead, but in the bottom of the inning with one out and two men on, Al Simmons scored the tying run off a double by Bing Miller, and with runners on the corners moments later Homer Summa, a pinch hitter who had just 21 hits all season, earned his place in World Series lore when he hit a line drive into left, walking this one off with a single. Robins lose this one in a heartbreaker, 10-9.

The Robins walked Jimmie Foxx four times to tie the AL playoff record for bases on balls, and he scored three times off those, never getting a hit. Herman and Picinich did their part with two runs off each man’s dinger, but as they proved several times in this series the Athletics are just a really difficult team to stop in a shootout. Philly left fielder Al Simmons won the World Series MVP award in the 27-year-old’s first playoff run, getting 17 hits in 31 at-bats for a .548 average, knocking in two doubles and a homer for six runs batted in. He hit .387 this year with 53 doubles and 23 homers, and his performance in the series should get him on some MVP ballots I’d bet.


A couple weeks passed after the end of the series, before I got called into Helmut Fischer’s office on October 30th. He told me he’d decided to give me a raise to $3,500 for the coming season, an increase from the league minimum $3,000 I earned because I got called up from the minors in September. And I’m grateful to get it, because there’s a lot of fear going around about the state of our nation’s economy. The stock market has plummeted several times over the last week, and it sems like every day we’re hearing about another bank failing. I’ve been lucky so far that the bank here in St. Louis that the team works with has stayed above water ... I’m told Fischer owns it, and he’s not a “cut and run with all the money” kind of guy, so I’m not too worried, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to get a pay raise for just 16.1 innings of work.

But he said it was my whole season that won him over:

MLB -- 1-0, 4.86 ERA, 16.2 IP ... 20 hits, a homer, six walks and three strikeouts
AAA -- 6-1, 2.47 ERA, 51.0 IP ... 49 hits, a homer, 18 walks and 23 strikeouts
AA -- 8-12, 3.34 ERA, 156.1 IP ... 174 hits, seven homers, 53 walks and 66 strikeouts

“You’re the top prospect in the league now for a reason, Jochen, and we’re going to make you put in the work like one this offseason,” he told me. “I want you to work this winter with our new pitching coach, Cy Young, to get yourself better control over your arsenal. You’re already good at avoiding giving up homers, but you walk too many batters and don’t strike out enough. I want you pitching deep into games, and if you hand out walks, you won’t make it far.”

I’m definitely ready for the challenge. He didn’t say anything about whether I’ll be up at the major league level in the spring ... I suppose it’s meant to be the carrot I spend the winter working toward, knowing that top prospect or not there’s always someone else ready to take your spot if you don’t earn it.

[jksander]

The major league stats weren't incredibly significant, but this limited edition card could prove to be a valuable part of your collection if Jochen turns into a true star for the Cardinals!