Minor League All-Star Teams, 1922-1962 : Rosters, Statistics and Commentary [1 ed.] 9781476618456, 9780786426522

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Minor League All-Star Teams, ¡922–¡962

Minor League All-Star Teams, ¡922–¡962 Rosters, Statistics and Commentary JAMIE SELKO

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Selko, Jamie Minor league all-star teams, ¡922–¡962 : rosters, statistics and commentary / Jamie Selko. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN ¡3: 978-0-7864-2652-2 (softcover : 50# alkaline paper) ¡. Minor league baseball — North America — History — 20th century. 2. Minor league baseball — North America — Statistics. I. Title. GV875.A¡S45 2007 796.357'64 — dc22 2006033797 British Library cataloguing data are available ©2007 Jamie Selko. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Cover image ©2006 Photodisc

Manufactured in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com

For the beloveds: The Conquering Peanut Toon McToon The Boogster Young Flap Moolicious and L’il CeeCee

Acknowledgments Thanks to Bob Davies, Bob McConnell, and Bob Hoie for taking me, as it were, under their wing. No di‡dence or artifice in these gents, just a love of baseball. Next, for his help, W. Lloyd Johnson. I couldn’t’ve finished this without you, pal. Then Carlos Bauer who, along with Bob Hoie, compiled the amazing Coast League Encyclopedia. What a help that was. Art Cantu, who labored long and hard in longhand, alphabetizing all the early leagues (which were printed in order of BA, ERA, or Winning Percentage).

A very special thanks to Rick Ervin, who helped me get o› the Hill alive. And, of course, thanks to my wife Nancy, whose support and encouragement helped me to get this done; my daughters Eden, Rose, Miryam, Ariel (Ella), and Ioana (Jo) and my son, Zachery Vincent, who think it’s neat that their dad is writing a book. There are some dads as proud of their kids as I am, but none could be prouder.

vii

Contents Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations Used x Introduction 1

The All-Star Teams 5 Bibliography 525 Index 527

ix

Abbreviations Used On the vertical column: ¡B = first baseman, 2B = second baseman, SS = shortstop, 3B = third baseman, OF = outfielder, C = catcher, UT = utility, SP = starting pitcher, RP = relief pitcher. On the horizontal row: For batters, G = games played, AB = at bats, H = hits, R = runs scored, TB = total bases (which is hits + doubles + triples x 2 + home runs x 3), 2B = doubles, 3B = triples, HR = homeruns, RBI = runs batted in, SB = stolen bases, BB = bases on balls, BA = batting average (which is hits divided by at bats), SLG = slugging percentage (which is total bases divided by at bats), OB% = on base percentage (which is hits, walks and hit-by-pitch divided by at bats, walks and hitby-pitch). Not used in the charts, but other o›ensive stats frequently used in the commentary are HBP (hit by pitch) and PA, which is plate appearances (at-bats plus walks plus hit by pitch). Also used is RPG, or runs per game. For pitchers, G = games pitched, GS = games started, CG = complete games, SH = shut-outs (games where the pitcher pitched a complete game and allowed no runs), W = wins, L = losses, % = percentage of games won (wins divided by wins plus losses), IP = innings pitched, H = hits allowed, ER = earned runs allowed (an earned run being one which scores without benefit of any type of mistake or error by the team in the field), SO = strike outs, BB = bases on balls, ERA = earned run

average (which is earned runs x 9 divided by innings pitched), BR/9 = base runners allowed per nine innings pitched (which is hits, walks and hit batsmen divided by innings pitched divided by nine). Not in the charts but frequently mentioned are HB, which is hit batsmen, and WP, or wild pitches. You will also on occasion see H/9 IP or K/9 IP or BB/9 IP, which are hits or strike-outs or walks divided by innings pitched divided by nine. Other abbreviations used: PO = put outs by fielders (which is where the particular fielder makes the out in the field), A = assists (where a fielder makes a throw which results in another fielder being able to make a PO), E = errors (a play afield which should have been made but is botched by the fielder), TC/G = total chances per game — that is, the total number of plays (Pos + As +Es) that a player makes in the field per game (for this to be more accurate, the number of innings a player played at any position would have to be known, but this would be impossible to uncover for these long-dead leagues). Finally, in case a mathematician happens to read this book, let me say that I know that BA, SA, and OB% are not averages as commonly used in math, that they are percentages, but that common usage and ease of writing dictate their being called averages.

x

Introduction For a few decades during the twentieth century, for most of America, baseball was the only game in town. Pro football was about as popular as pro soccer is today, and pro basketball drew fewer fans than roller derby. Was life better then? I don’t know—but I do know that neighbors were more neighborly, kids didn’t need “playdates” to get together with their friends, and for many a small town, baseball was its heartbeat. This book will not deal with the thousands of town teams or mill teams that flourished awhile during the period under study. Those are worthy subjects, but the research must be done by historians with access to local sources. That such a local study can be done has been proven by such books as Perry’s Textile League Baseball: South Carolina’s Mill Teams, ¡888–¡955 or Seymour’s Baseball: The People’s Game. For similar reasons, this work excludes touring teams and established semipro circuits, the study of which is begun in such books as Utley and Verner’s The Independent Carolina Baseball League, ¡936–¡938, Hawkins and Bertolino’s House of David: Baseball Team, and The California Winter League by McNeill. The field of this book is smaller and more provable, as much as numbers can be capable of proving or disproving some myths and local legends. But this is not just a compilation of dry stats, of figures gathered from dusty old guides and record books. The players named to the teams in this book were real folks, and, especially in the C and D leagues, many of them were truly “home-town boys.” Some of the players were raised within or near the towns they played in; many more settled down in the towns they wore the uniforms of, married local girls and have children and grandchildren who still live in those same towns. This project was undertaken, in part, so that those men might

have something to show to their families to let them know that they were ballplayers. The leagues and players covered in this book were part of organized baseball—that is, that part of baseball including the majors and the minors, the latter governed by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues. Any league which recorded and reported o‡cial statistics and had those statistics printed in any of the various guides is covered herein. This book deals with the period between ¡925 and ¡962 (with a commentary on the ¡922 Eastern League All-Star team, a forerunner whose time, though close, had not yet come). From ¡925 on, at least one league chose an AllStar team every year. There were 25 minor leagues in ¡925, from AA class ball of the International League down to the low D ball of the South Dakota League. This number held steady throughout the twenties and, for the most part, during the Depression, although many new leagues failed during that era. By ¡939, minor league baseball had begun to spread, with 4¡ leagues to start the season. But then the United States entered World War II. By ¡945, only twelve minor leagues were still operating, The post-war boom America experienced was nowhere more evident than in the burgeoning expansion of the minor leagues, whose number grew from 43 in ¡946 to 52 in ¡947, 58 in ¡948, and finally up to 59 in ¡949. Then, contraction began. The reasons for this contraction are dealt with at length elsewhere, and fall beyond the scope of this work, but it is generally held that television was the culprit—not, as has been argued, the competition from the Game of the Week, but rather from non-sports programming. By ¡95¡, only 50 leagues began the season; by ¡953, that number was down to 37. By ¡958, the minors had 1

2

Introduction

contracted to only 2¡ leagues. In ¡949, there were 438 cities and towns across America with minor league teams; by ¡960 that number was down to ¡5¡, a mere 34 percent of the ¡949 total. Twelve of those ¡5¡ were teams in Mexico. In ¡948, ¡58 teams had been fully independent, owned by local businessmen or manufacturers. In ¡960, only ¡2 teams were independents, and eight of them were in the doomed class D Western Carolina League. I chose to end with ¡962 for two reasons. First, it was the last year of the old classification system, under which the teams at the bottom were designated B, C, and D level clubs. Second, by ¡963 only a single independent team, the Portsmouth Tides of the Carolina League, remained north of the Rio Grande. The ball that the players in this book had played was dead. No longer a stage for the home-town hero, no longer a showcase for the local boy made good, the transmogrification of the minor leagues from a wild and wooly showcase for boosterism at its best into a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America was complete.

THE SELECTIONS AND THE SELECTEES As mentioned above, the Eastern League selected an All-Star team in ¡922, but there was a two year gap before the Pacific Coast and Western leagues followed suit. By ¡930, it was ¡4 out of 24 leagues. By ¡940 that number was up to 36 out of 43, and the percentage of o‡cial All-Star teams stayed about the same from then on. While researching this book, it was a disappointment to find that, with surprising frequency, many players who were clearly the standouts at their positions were not selected for these teams. It was also very obvious that at times other players, players who may have been the sixth best outfielder or the eighth best pitcher in their respective leagues, were being chosen. Notwithstanding the fact that leagues then and now insist on naming, for instance, a left-handed pitcher to All-Star rosters (there

is no such position) this left many unexplained omissions. In some instances, it was obvious that the league simply chose whoever had the highest batting average at a given position, so that a shortstop who hit .303 with 3 home runs, 56 runs, and 37 RBIs to go with a .323 On Base Percentage, would be chosen over one who hit .287 with ¡2 homers, 87 runs, 63 RBIs and a .397 On Base Percentage. In other instances, it seems as if the year-ending All-Star team might have been based on the respective league’s mid-season All-Star Game, but that is just a conjecture and unverifiable at this time. Generally, pitchers who did well for a poor team were passed over in favor of pitchers who had a good winning percentage for a good team. So someone who was ¡9–¡5 with a 3.24 ERA on a team 36 games under .500 was considerably less likely to be chosen than a 2¡–¡2 pitcher with a 4.24 ERA on a team that finished over .600. The pitchers I selected were the three (or sometimes more) best pitchers in a league, not the best right-handed and the best left-handed pitchers. (Outfielders, who weren’t identified as left fielders, right fielders, or centerfielders, in league statistics, are likewise selected — both on the o‡cial teams and in my selections— without regard to the specific position.) Saves were not kept in the era covered by the book so relievers were chosen by comparing games pitched to complete games and innings pitched to games pitched. If a pitcher appeared in 38 games but only had two complete games, I assumed he was used primarily in relief (in the years in question, unlike today, it was very rare for a pitcher not to complete at least half of his starts). In light of these apparent inconsistencies, I’ve o›ered both my comments on the selections and, when my own opinion about who was most deserving di›ers, alternative picks. In my selections, measures such as On Base Percentage (OBP), Total Chances per Game (TC/G), Base Runners per Nine innings (BR/9), and Range Factor (RF) are privileged over traditional stats such as Batting Average (BA) and fielding percentage considered in isolation. As the reader will see, there are times that

Introduction

I was unable to draw a fine enough line to distinguish player A from Player B and so “selected” both, believing it unfair both to the player and the reader to leave one or the other out. Because this book covers a great many leagues across five decades, the layout strikes a balance between eye-pleasing design, readability, and the most economic use of space. In a few instances, the handling of entries necessarily departs from the pattern established throughout the book. When too little room was left to a page for both the comments and roster sections of a new entry, the comments are followed by all or part of the comments for the subsequent entry, with the two leagues’ rosters shifted to the next page. On page 400, for example, the text for the ¡954 Pioneer League entry extends past mid-page. What follows are the ¡954 Provincial League comments and the first two sentences from the Western Association entry. Turning to page 40¡, the reader finds the rest of that text and two clearly identified rosters, first for the Provincial League and then for the Western Association. A final note on minor league All-Star teams: in many instances, particularly in the

3

AAA leagues and the lower classifications (C and D), a player was named to one of my teams who may have appeared in only about half of his team’s games. The reason for this is that, for the AAA player, a mid-season call-up occurred, but the player’s stats were so overwhelming that leaving him o› would have been an injustice. In the C and D leagues, the player may have been traded to another team in a di›erent league, signed in mid-season, or perhaps even decided on a better paying job o›er outside of baseball. Most authors don’t write baseball books to get rich and the writing of this one has been a labor of love. It is my hope, of course, that this book is of interest to fans of baseball in general and of the minor leagues in particular. Any errors in transcribing the tens of thousands of numbers are entirely mine, but I hope that such errors have been kept to an absolute minimum. It is also my specific hope that people who might know — or have known — some of the players who are named in this book somehow find their way to it, and that the All-Stars themselves will know that they are not forgotten.

The All-Star Teams

6

Minor League All-Star Teams

! ¡922 ! In ¡922, there were thirty leagues in the National Association. One of them (3%) chose an All-Star team.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP SP

Name Jose Rodriguez Henry Demoe

Team Bridgeport Fitchburg/ Hartford Henry Long Waterbury Ramon Gonzalez Springfield Leo “Brick” Kane Hartford Joe Cosgrove Waterbury Simon Rosenthal Hartford Charles Hargreaves Pittsfield Walter Simpson Springfield John Donahue Albany/ Waterbury

John Cooney Frank Woodward Ralph Head Herman Bornhoeft A. P. Etten Cy Morgan William Anderson

New Haven New Haven Hartford Bridgeport Albany Waterbury Waterbury

G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA 0B% 145 567 173 63 202 23 3 0 — — 18 .305 .356 — 135 148 129 147 137 134 140 125

504 578 459 536 520 451 467 390

144 176 144 160 149 126 141 113

66 75 82 67 79 56 51 77

170 234 190 215 201 187 175 203

20 27 29 32 25 21 22 21

3 15 1 4 6 5 3 3

0 1 5 5 5 10 1 21

— — — — — — — —

— — — — — — — —

15 16 15 14 21 4 7 15

.337 .405 .414 .401 .387 .415 .375 .521

— — — — — — — —

142 513 156 74 206

32

6

3

—

—

18 .304 .402

—

G GS CG SH W 23 — — — 19 42 — — — 23 34 — — — 16 33 — — — 19 44 — — — 16 38 — — — 16 33 — — — 17

.286 .304 .314 .299 .287 .279 .302 .290

L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 3 .864 195 157 42 99 37 1.94 9.1 12 .657 314 263 79 186 108 2.26 10.8 12 .571 247 202 65 115 77 2.37 10.5 11 .633 238 228 70 73 98 2.65 12.7 16 .500 295 251 121 120 100 3.69 10.8 16 .500 278 261 107 117 116 3.46 12.5 10 .630 236 202 70 100 91 2.67 11.3

Walks and HBP were not kept for batters, hence no OB% figures are possible.

New Haven finished at ¡00–5¡. The Indians scored an average of 5.8 runs a game, over a run better than the next best team. Their “Big Four” on the mound went 74–30 (.7¡2) with a 2.69 ERA and allowed ¡¡.0 BR/9. The Fitchburg/Wooster Boosters (The Wooster Boosters. I like that.) finished 53∂ games back at 47–¡05. Their “Big Four” went 37–80 (.3¡6) with a surprisingly low 3.89 ERA and an even more surprising ¡2.7 BR/9 ratio (which was undoubtedly aided by the fact that the foursome in question walked only two men every nine innings. The first base choice defies logic. Elmer Bowman of New Haven led the league in batting with a .365 average and was second in slugging at .504. He also scored 95 runs and was one of the few Eastern leaguers to reach double figures in home runs. Another New Havenite, Walter “One Horse Open” Shay was a serious shortstop candidate. He hit .309 and tied for the lead in runs with ¡05. Gonzalez was a superior fielder though, so his berth was well deserved. Pittsfield outfielder Adelbert Capes hit only .277, but he too scored ¡05 runs (compared to Rosenthal’s 56). Adelbert would have had a place on my team, were the team given to me to dispense places on.

Simpson should have been another utility choice for the team rather than a second catcher, as he split his time about evenly between catching and the outfield. Donahue played second, third, and outfield. The selectees selected no less than seven pitchers, yet left two of the top five pitchers in the league unselected. Stirling Stryker strung together a sterling season for New Haven, going ¡9–7 with a 2.53 ERA. Gary Fortune was almost single-handedly responsible for the fortunes of the Springfield Ponies. He was their work horse, and they rode him and his ¡8–9 record to a 77–76 finish (when he was not the pitcher of record, the Ponies turned into nags, stumbling to a .468 winning percentage. His ERA was 2.5¡, and he allowed just ¡¡.4 BR/9. So which of the seven selectees would I divest myself of to add Stryker and Fortune? Well, first I’d bid a fond adieu to the ¡6–¡6 stylings of Cy Morgan. The Brasscos played .576 ball when he was not involved in the decision. (The other ¡6–¡6 choice was a good one. Seventh-place Albany played .438 without the e›orts of Etten.) So, it’s either dump the two ¡6–¡6 pitchers, or keep Etten and have an eight man sta›. Your decision would be every bit as good as mine.

¡925

7

! ¡925 ! In ¡925 there were 25 leagues in the National Association. Two of them (8%) named All-Star teams.

Pacific Coast League (AA) Pos 1B 2B SS 3B OF OF OF C C UT

Name “Babe” Herman Pete Kildu› Hal Rhyne Eddie Mulligan Paul Waner “Jigger” Statz “Lefty” O’Doul E. P. Baldwin Archie Yelle Charles Lucas

SP SP SP SP SP

Clyde Barfoot Charlie Root William Piercy Doug McWeeney William Hughes

Team Seattle San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco Los Angeles Salt Lake City Seattle San Francisco Seattle

Vernon Los Angeles Salt Lake City San Francisco Sacramento

G 167 174 188 180 174 130 198 131 101 55

AB 651 670 724 751 699 545 825 405 266 70

H 206 205 228 215 280 144 309 109 71 27

G 50 52 41 49 53

GS — — — — —

CG 29 24 17 18 25

R 115 115 109 143 167 90 185 44 22 15 SH — — — — —

TB 329 331 291 306 402 188 478 145 91 38

2B 52 56 48 45 75 27 63 16 15 2

3B 13 5 3 8 7 7 17 1 1 0

HR 15 20 3 10 11 2 24 6 1 3

RBI 131 126 97 77 130 45 191 54 21 15

BB — — — — — — — — — —

SB 21 11 17 12 8 17 12 4 1 0

BA .316 .306 .315 .286 .401 .264 .375 .269 .267 .375

SLG .505 .494 .402 .401 .575 .330 .579 .358 .342 .543

OB% — — — — — — — — — —

W 26 25 21 20 19

L 15 13 11 5 16

% .624 .658 .656 .800 .543

IP 354 324 255 263 326

H 383 268 268 239 357

ER 126 103 126 79 137

SO BB ERA 76 83 3.20 211 91 2.87 118 102 4.44 175 78 2.70 131 100 3.78

BR/9 11.9 10.2 13.8 11.1 12.8

Walks were not recorded for batters so there are no OB% figures.

A case could be made for San Francisco’s Herbert “Babe” Ellison at first. He hit .325, had 29 more RBIs than Herman, and he managed the pennant winning team. The shortstop choice is absolutely mystifying. Tony Lazzeri did make 4¡ (!) more errors than Rhyne, but Lazzeri hit .355, slugged .72¡ (with 5¡2 total bases), had ¡26 extra-base hits (including 52 doubles and 60 home runs), scored 202 runs (93 more than Rhyne), and had 222 RBIs, ¡05 more than Rhyne. This was not even close; Lazzeri had one of the all-time seasons for Salt Lake City. Rhyne, for the time and for the league, was only slightly better than average. The choice of Mulligan over Frank Brazill at third is almost as mystifying. Mulligan had more range afield, but Seattle’s Frank Brazill outhit him by ¡¡¡ points, outslugged him by an amazing 243 points, had ¡50 more TBs, 44 more extra base hits, scored 3¡ more runs and had 78 more RBIs. (As an aside, the selected infield hit .305 and slugged .450 with 48 homers and 44¡ RBIs. My alternate infield hit .345, slugged .589, hit ¡3¡ homers and drove in 663 runs.) In the outfield, there is little to dispute with the selections of Waner and O’Doul. However, there were at least four outfielders who would lend more punch to this squad: Ray Rowher, “Buzz” Arlett, Les Sheehan, and Frank Brower. Brower hit .362

and slugged .583 with ¡63 runs and ¡63 RBIs. Sheehan hit .342 with 69 doubles, slugged .574, had ¡70 RBIs and scored ¡68 runs. Arlett hit .344, slugged .555, scored ¡2¡ runs and batted in ¡46. Rowher hit .334, slugged .585, scored ¡39 runs and drove in ¡53. Granted, Arlett and Brower were not good fielders, but Sheehan was not bad and Rowher was a capable center fielder. Rowher played for Portland, Arlett for Oakland, and Brower for San Francisco. (Another aside, the selected outfielders hit .354, slugged .5¡6, hit 36 homers, scored 442 runs and drove in 366. A Waner-O’Doul-Brower outfield would have hit .378 with a .580 SA, popped 7¡ homers, scored 5¡5 runs, and driven in 580.) At catcher, I would have picked two from yet another Seal, Sam Agnew (.325, 85 RBIs), Salt Lake City’s John Peters (.3¡2, 79 RBIs), or Sacramento’s Merv Shea (.3¡9, 64 RBIs), rather than the two curiously weak hitters selected. The utility player, Charles “Red” Lucas, played outfield and was 9–5, 2.82 as a pitcher. There was no relief pitcher chosen, but I would put S.L.C. hurler Hank Hulvey in that slot. He had a high ERA (as did most PCL pitchers), but finished 39 games and went ¡¡–2. It is of interest to note that Barfoot averaged only ¡.8 Ks/9.

8

Minor League All-Star Teams

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B SS 3B OF OF OF C C UT

Name C. Stuvengen John Monroe George Corgan Joe Tate Leo Payne Elton Langford Fred Gri‡n F. J. Wilder Homer Haworth Luke Stuart

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Carl Hubbell H. Holzhouser Ken Penner Claude Thomas Carl Christian Harold Haid

Team Des Moines Okla. City Wichita Okla. City Wichita Des Moines Des Moines Okla. City Des Moines Tulsa

G 169 142 150 144 150 166 147 126 88 138

AB 656 591 574 560 615 632 606 411 281 475

H 229 208 182 164 226 214 194 131 83 142

R 151 141 106 111 144 160 119 59 31 102

G

GS

CG

SH

Okla. City 45 Des Moines 37 Wichita 32 Des Moines 44 Lincoln 30 St. Joseph 48

— — — — — —

— — — — — —

— — — — — —

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 346 42 18 13 — — 313 43 10 14 — — 292 41 6 19 — — 263 26 14 15 — — 390 45 10 33 — — 316 31 16 13 — — 318 35 10 23 — — 209 27 3 15 — — 104 12 3 1 — — 233 36 2 17 — — W

L

%

IP

SB 16 20 15 14 10 16 25 2 0 4

BA .349 .352 .317 .298 .367 .339 .330 .319 .295 .299

SLG .527 .530 .509 .470 .634 .500 .525 .509 .370 .491

OB% — — — — — — — — — —

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

17 13 .567 284 272 19 8 .704 233 242 19 6 .760 221 263 19 6 .760 249 280 15 10 .600 194 204 20 17 .541 317 309

— — — — — —

184 108 91 57 112 87

143 79 56 65 99 129

— — — — — —

13.5 12.9 13.1 12.4 14.3 12.7

Walks were not kept for hitters so OB% was not able to be calculated. Earned runs were not recorded, so no ERA figures possible.

John Knight of Denver had a better hitting year at first than did Stuvengen (.353, .577 SA., 56 doubles) and had a much better year afield (an exceptional ¡43 assists to Stuvengen’s 76). At second, Glenn McNalley of Oklahoma City had 56 doubles and 32 homers along with a .594 slugging percentage, and he committed ¡2 fewer errors than Monroe. At short, Tulsa’s Flippen hit about as well as Corgan but had 29 fewer errors. Payne and Langford were probably worthy of selection in the outfield, but for the third slot I would have gone with either Omaha’s Frank Osborn and his

.372/.560 with ¡58 runs, Lincoln’s Walt “Wally” Shaner and his .358/.58¡ (along with 30 triples) or Frank “Dutch” Wetzel of Des Moines who hit .353/.607 with 32 homers. In fact, I would have gone four outfielders, but Gri‡n would not have been one of them. For the second catcher, I would have selected Denver’s R. Smith over Haworth. Smith hit .33¡ in ¡37 games. Stuart played second and outfield. For my pitching choices, I would give serious consideration to both Stew Bolen and Karl Black of Tulsa who were ¡7–¡3 and ¡8–20 for a team that finished ¡6 games under .500.

! ¡926 ! In ¡926 there were 25 leagues in the National Association. Two of them (8%) named All-Star teams.

Pacific Coast League (AA) First base was surprisingly weak in ¡926, but J. Wilbur Davis of Sacramento did hit .308 and had 93 RBIs. At short, Sacramento’s Ray French hit .293 and had ¡7 more runs in ¡¡ fewer games than did Mitchell. The third base spot should once again have gone to Frank Brazill of Los Angeles. He hit .336, scored ¡23 runs and drove in ¡33. Brazill had ¡7 more errors, but in my opinion, his batting superiority far outweighed his slight fielding disadvantage. In the outfield, Statz is beyond a doubt worthy of a slot (he was also the best fielding outfielder in the

PCL), and Arlett belongs on the strength of his bat, but Jahn is a puzzling choice. Mission’s Ike Boone hit .380 with a .63¡ SA, had 55 doubles and 32 home runs, drove in ¡37 runs and scored ¡40. He also had an incredible 43 assists. Earl Averill (.348/.539 with ¡3¡ runs and ¡¡9 RBI’s) or Elmer Smith (.336/.605 with ¡50 runs, ¡33 RBI’s and a league-leading 46 homers) would also appear to be better choices than Jahn. Eldred played all of his games in the outfield and should not be a “utility” player. Caveny played second, third, and short. W.T. Rodda, who also played

¡926 all around the infield, may have been a wiser choice for a utility spot than Caveny. The best fireman in the league was A.F. Gould of Pos 1B 2B SS 3B OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name J. McDowell John Monroe Johnny Mitchell T. “Doc” Prothro Art Jahn A. “Jigger” Statz R. “Buzz” Arlett Art Koehler “Truck” Hannah R. “Brick” Eldred Jimmy Caveny

SP SP

Wayne Wright Otis “Doc” Crandall Elmer Jacobs James Elliott Bert Cole

SP SP SP

Team Mission Sacramento Los Angeles Portland Los Angeles Los Angeles Oakland Sacramento Los Angeles Seattle Oakland

G 152 200 183 130 175 199 194 170 131 125 177

AB 545 779 651 474 623 823 667 578 389 312 654

9

the Oaks. He finished 36 of the 42 games he was in and had a 2.96 ERA. Notice that Crandall walked only ¡.8 batters per 9 IP.

H R TB 136 61 231 230 122 341 172 63 208 155 87 225 210 84 276 291 150 407 255 140 444 174 69 233 92 38 118 106 49 146 202 73 260

2B 36 52 26 26 34 68 52 25 12 30 29

3B 4 10 5 1 4 18 16 2 1 2 7

HR RBI 17 80 13 97 0 83 14 67 8 118 4 59 35 140 10 98 4 55 2 59 5 81

BB — — — — — — — — — — —

SB 4 26 30 11 7 19 26 7 3 3 10

BA .250 .296 .264 .327 .337 .354 .382 .301 .237 .340 .309

SLG .424 .438 .320 .475 .443 .495 .666 .403 .303 .468 .398

OB% — — — — — — — — — — —

Los Angeles

G 31

GS —

CG 18

SH —

W 19

L 7

% .731

IP 222

H 212

ER 76

SO 59

BB 47

ERA 3.08

BR/9 10.7

Los Angeles Los Angeles Seattle Mission

33 40 48 41

— — — —

21 22 37 31

— — — —

20 20 26 29

8 12 20 12

.714 .625 .565 .707

245 278 367 325

238 254 329 306

60 68 104 95

86 103 203 102

48 69 121 93

2.20 2.20 2.48 2.63

11.4 10.6 11.1 11.4

SB BA 23 .353 27 .290 31 .322

SLG .685 .394 .411

OB% — — —

8 15 15 19 9 11 18

.319 .384 .360 .334 .303 .317 .314

.464 .728 .541 .512 .402 .530 .479

— — — — — — —

SO 158 147 190 83 87 90

BB 121 96 95 92 79 68

ERA — — — — — —

BR/9 12.6 13.0 11.5 12.9 12.6 11.3

Walks were not recorded for batters so OB% could not be calculated.

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B SS 3B OF OF OF C C UT

Name Guy Sturdy Walter Nufer Eddie Hock F. ”Pee Wee” Lewis Jim Blakesley Ray O’Brien F. “Pug” Gri‡n Peter Groft F. Meyers Ray Falk

SP SP SP SP SP SP

G. Blaeholder Herb Hall Pat Malone George Peery Leo Moon Joe Brown

Team Tulsa St. Joseph Okl. City

G AB H R TB 165 660 233 163 452 163 645 187 113 254 166 715 230 127 294

2B 54 38 26

3B 9 7 13

Tulsa Omaha Denver Des Moines Okl. City Omaha Denver

165 140 165 163 150 144 149

59 49 42 36 31 35 35

11 10 11 13 7 10 14

Tulsa Denver Denver St. Joseph Des Moines Okl. City

G 50 56 52 49 37 34

705 541 636 650 518 511 562

GS — — — — — —

225 209 229 217 157 162 176

CG — — — — — —

141 129 132 139 78 97 107 SH — — — — — —

327 394 344 333 208 271 269 W 27 29 28 15 24 14

L 13 15 13 14 8 10

% .675 .650 .683 .517 .750 .563

HR RBI 49 — 5 — 4 — 7 39 17 18 2 18 10 IP 330 341 349 247 262 219

— — — — — — — H 333 385 336 252 279 202

BB — — — — — — — — — — ER — — — — — —

Walks were not kept for batters, so OB% was not obtainable. Earned runs were not kept for pitchers, so no ERA figures possible.

At second, I would again have chosen Glenn McNalley of Wichita. Although he only played in ¡¡4 games, he hit .339 with a .604 SA and 25 homers, scoring only ¡9 fewer runs than did Nufer in 50 fewer games. In the outfield, I would have gone with Denver’s Henry Ginglardi (.357/.533) over Gri‡n and probably would also have gone with Oklahoma City’s Elias Funk as a fourth outfielder. Funk hit .339 with ¡29 runs, 55 steals and 2¡ triples, and had 47 more put-outs than any other outfielder.

Leo (?) Casey of Tulsa would have been at least an equally good choice for the utility spot as Falk (who played short and outfield). Casey played second and outfield. Casey only played in 98 games but hit .393 and slugged .652. In ¡83 fewer ABs than Falk he scored only 29 fewer runs and had only five fewer extra-base hits. In fact, he doubled Falk’s home run total, and had RBIs been tabulated, would undoubtedly have driven in many more than Falk.

10

Minor League All-Star Teams

! ¡927 ! In ¡927 there were 24 leagues in the National Association. Five of them (2¡%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Joe Hauser Fred Maguire Gene Robertson Frank Emmer Bobby Veach Bevo Lebourneau Elias “Liz” Funk Alex Gaston Eddie Kenna Harry Riconda Russell Scarritt

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Tom Sheehan Jimmy Zinn Paul Zahniser Oswald Orwoll Claude Jonnard Pat Malone

Team Kansas City Toledo St. Paul Indianapolis Toledo Toledo St. Paul St. Paul Minneapolis Milwaukee St. Paul

Kansas City Kansas City St. Paul Milwaukee Milwaukee Milwaukee

G 43 45 40 33 44 53

G 169 171 153 164 164 159 151 122 93 168 158

AB 617 720 587 645 623 618 592 384 285 722 609

GS — — — — — —

H 218 235 163 213 226 214 184 117 97 255 203

CG — — — — — —

R 145 130 103 154 133 130 110 43 46 141 98 SH — — — — — —

Milwaukee’s Harry Strohm deserved at least a “co” spot at third base. He hit .3¡2 with ¡04 runs and ¡¡¡ RBIs. In addition, he handled a full half a chance per game more than Robertson did afield. In the outfield, both Earl Smith of Minneapolis and Russ Scarritt of St. Paul would seem to have been superior choices to Funk. Smith hit .342 and slugged .564 with an OB% of .392. He also scored ¡32 runs and drove in ¡35. Scarritt, who was named as a “Utility” player (if he had been named a “Utility Outfielder,” that would be an equine of a di›erent prismal refractory index), played all of his games in the outfield

TB 371 318 230 373 327 324 267 160 159 381 286 W 26 24 20 17 22 20

2B 49 42 32 34 45 40 31 16 24 57 30 L 13 12 15 6 14 18

3B 22 13 10 15 10 17 20 3 4 18 13

% .667 .667 .571 .739 .611 .526

HR 20 5 5 32 12 12 4 7 10 11 9 IP 331 330 313 212 282 319

RBI 134 94 69 116 145 88 58 43 49 102 101 H 346 250 379 210 297 325

BB 96 40 65 31 45 55 58 50 44 48 44 ER 133 113 144 94 131 141

SB 25 18 5 12 22 28 15 0 5 13 10

BA .353 .327 .278 .330 .363 .346 .311 .306 .340 .353 .333

SLG OB% .601 .447 .442 .364 .392 .351 .578 .362 .525 .412 .524 .409 .451 .372 .417 .392 .558 .430 .528 .403 .470 .380

SO 108 83 72 108 176 214

BB 98 55 79 83 136 126

ERA 3.62 3.08 4.14 3.99 4.13 3.98

BR/9 12.3 8.5 13.3 12.6 13.9 13.1

and was responsible for 26 more runs than Funk. Riconda played second and short. The second utility player should have come from among Orwoll, who hit .370 and played 40 games in the outfield in addition to winning ¡7 games on the mound, and Oscar Roettger of St. Paul who hit .335 with ¡¡4 RBI’ while playing first and the outfield. I am almost certain that the o‡cial hits entered for Zinn were incorrect and that he actually gave up 350 hits. 24–¡2 for a pitcher who gives up only 8.5 BR/9 is really di‡cult to accept, especially for a team that hit .3¡0 and scored 5.9 runs a game.

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Guy Sturdy Otis Brannan G. Gottleber Lou Brower Fred Bennett A. Comorosky Elton Langford Joe Sprinz Pete Groft Al Van Camp

SP SP SP SP SP SP SP

G. Blaeholder “Dixie” Walker Ed Greer Lester Peery Clarence Gri‡n Fred Ortman John Smithson

Team Tulsa Tulsa Lincoln Okl. City Tulsa Wichita Des Moines Des Moines Okl. City Des Moines Tulsa Denver Denver Wichita Lincoln Des Moines Tulsa

G 148 155 155 143 153 133 149 129 124 130 G 42 39 46 33 34 35 31

GS — — — — — — —

AB 605 644 617 574 608 518 611 437 371 475

H 226 206 203 170 234 206 250 137 120 147

CG — — — — — — —

R 144 138 86 84 151 113 132 82 69 90 SH — — — — — — —

TB 367 302 276 217 380 309 377 182 171 233 W 26 19 14 16 14 21 14

L 9 9 22 8 12 11 6

2B 44 38 26 23 55 33 47 24 31 25

3B 14 11 19 12 14 15 28 6 4 9

% .743 .679 .389 .667 .538 .656 .700

No batter walks kept, so no OB% figures possible. No ER kept for pitchers.

HR RBI 23 — 12 — 3 — 0 — 21 — 11 — 8 — 3 — 4 — 11 — IP 313 254 277 222 257 258 227

H 333 231 295 236 285 251 227

BB — — — — — — — — — — ER — — — — — — —

SB 17 5 17 10 11 14 31 10 2 10

BA .374 .320 .329 .296 .385 .398 .409 .314 .323 .309

SLG OB% .607 — .469 — .447 — .378 — .612 — .597 — .617 — .416 — .461 — .491 —

SO 123 193 152 82 100 106 67

BB 82 100 85 79 87 90 88

ERA — — — — — — —

BR/9 12.0 12.2 12.8 12.0 13.4 11.9 12.6

¡927 Most of the choices for this year’s Western league All-Star team are unassailable. The only sore spots are shortstop, the fact that perhaps there should have been four (or even five) outfielders, and one pitching selection. At short, Tulsa’s Ralph “Red” Kress out-hit Brower by 33 points and out-slugged him by a huge 99 points (Kress’s numbers were .329/.477), plus he had 20 more extra-base hits. In the outfield, I believe that a spot should have been have been made for Tulsa’s Joe Munson (.383/

11

.660 with ¡46 runs and 89 EBH, including a leagueleading 32 homers) and Joe Rabbitt of Omaha (.36¡/.573 with 25¡ hits and ¡72 runs along with 82 EBH and 49 SB). If a league can have seven “All-Star” pitchers, there should be room for five deserving outfielders. The one inexplicable pitching choice was Greer, ¡4–22 for a .507 team. They were obviously better o› (.543) when he did not pitch. At ¡9–6, I believe a better choice would have been Wichita’s Archie Campbell.

Three I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joseph Walker Henry Demoe Tom Smith Karl Urban William Mizeur Paul Easterling Ted Menze Ray Thompson Ed Yuna

SP SP SP SP SP

Ralph Judd Syl Heitzman G. Paulson George Grant O. McCracken

Team G Danville 138 Peoria 109 Peoria 105 Danville 72 Peoria 139 Bloomington 122 Springfield 121 Springfield 95 D’ville-Decatur 93

Peoria Danville Danville Terre Haute Danville

G 33 28 31 13 35

AB 499 439 384 281 526 465 437 326 292

GS — — — — —

H R TB 143 76 204 123 82 155 142 72 190 94 51 115 186 125 325 159 72 237 137 85 241 99 57 160 72 38 104

CG — — — — —

SH — — — — —

W 21 18 19 10 19

L 6 8 5 3 13

2B 24 22 36 11 32 26 25 15 10

3B 14 5 9 2 19 5 5 8 8

% .778 .692 .792 .769 .594

HR RBI 3 59 0 41 1 85 2 31 23 128 14 77 23 111 10 59 2 39 IP 232 225 186 123 247

H 182 206 170 88 215

BB 35 47 60 25 64 39 52 30 25 ER 52 65 66 25 90

SB 31 10 19 3 11 18 8 2 3

BA .287 .281 .370 .335 .354 .342 .314 .304 .247

SLG OB% .408 .333 .353 .350 .518 .455 .409 .389 .618 .424 .510 .393 .551 .387 .491 .362 .356 .306

SO 121 63 80 63 73

BB 45 27 68 25 57

ERA 2.01 2.60 2.47 1.83 3.27

BR/9 8.8 9.6 11.7 8.3 10.1

OB% is approximate as it was figured without HBP which was not recorded for hitters.

At second, I believe that Krueger of Quincy would have been a superior choice. He was a better hitter than Demoe with far superior power (Krueger hit .329 and slugged .422) and he drove in 32 more runs. At short, Harold “Rabbit” Warstler hit a bit better than did Urban, but he also led the league in SB and

was second in OB% (.447). He also scored ¡2¡ runs. He was, however, weak afield with 7¡ errors. Outfielder Vern Blenkiron of Springfield had a .426 OB%, scored ¡¡0 runs and led the league in put-outs. It should be noted that Heitzman only walked ¡.¡ batters per 9 IP.

Piedmont League (C) Oh my, where to start. At second, Zinker of Salisbury-Spencer hit much better (.293/.400) than Teague, led the league in walks and had an OB% ¡00 points higher than Teague, who had the league’s lowest OB%. At third, Cleveland of Winston-Salem hit .304/ .4¡8 and drove in 56 runs, 3¡ more than Butler (who had the fewest RBIs of any regular in the league). Butler did field a terrific (for the era) .979, but Cleveland had better range (almost ¡00 more assists). In the outfield, O’Hara had the lowest BA of any regular in the league, hardly an All-Star qualification. Odie Strain of Raleigh (.346/.479) scored 98 runs, drove in ¡03, had an OB% 67 points higher than O’Hara and had better range. Otis Cashion of Rocky Mount (.335/.552) led the league with ¡¡3

runs and drove in ¡02, as well as leading all outfielders in put-outs. Dick Wade of Winston-Salem (.329/.605) led the league in home runs and RBIs. Any of these three would have been a better choice than O’Hara who couldn’t hit, had no power and didn’t make it up by getting on base. It is interesting to note that the Learned Ones of the Piedmont League selected the worst hitter, the weakest (least powerful) hitters, and the most onbase-getting challenged hitter as All-Stars. Smythe pitched well, but in only ¡0 games? Is that enough to make an honor squad? At least, select four pitchers and include James Richardson of Salisbury among them. He was 23–¡¡ and led the league with ¡6¡ Ks and 288 IP.

12

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos Name Team 1B J. “Moose” High Point Clabaugh 2B Jack Teague Rocky Mount 3B Claude Butler Raleigh SS Bill Akers Durham OF Leroy Jones Sal.-Spencer OF Faber O’Hara Durham OF No selection made. C Tom Ray High Point UT No selection made.

SP SP SP

G H. Smythe Winston-Salem 10 R. Sullivan Winston-Salem 25 B. Hu›man Sal.-Spencer 19

G AB H R TB 140 515 187 103 302

2B 40

3B 6

130 145 110 73 145

154 173 191 165 171

21 22 27 20 21

3 1 6 11 6

2 3 8 10 2

37 141

29

2

6

460 533 388 235 540

121 140 128 93 132

98 293

90

GS — — —

CG — — —

55 88 66 74 68

SH — — —

W 7 14 16

L 3 7 3

% .700 .667 .842

HR RBI 21 86

IP 89 194 160

BB 61

SB BA 16 .363

SLG OB% .583 .433

34 25 51 63 35

25 81 39 62 72

9 7 8 11 10

.263 .263 .330 .396 .244

.335 .325 .492 .702 .317

.304 .367 .391 .530 .343

43

29

0 .308

.481

.373

ERA 2.03 2.04 2.14

BR/9 11.4 10.4 9.2

H 85 186 136

ER 20 44 38

SO 37 66 76

BB 26 36 27

Sal. is Salisbury. The o‡cial All-Star team had only two outfielders (for some odd and undisclosed reason).

Utah-Idaho League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team G AB H Dolph Camilli Logan 47 164 51 Ernie Hutton Idaho Falls 73 291 85 James Cronin Idaho Falls 93 362 130 Don Jessee Salt Lake City 101 399 145 Wally Berger Pocatello 92 361 139 John Schinski Logan 101 369 142 Ira Ca›ey Salt Lake City 109 438 152 C. Thompson Idaho Falls 62 225 69 Del Baker Ogden 30 96 34 No selection made

SP SP SP SP SP

G. Hollerson Harry O’Neill Merton Nelson Charlie Newbill W. Canfield

G Salt Lake City 28 Salt Lake City 29 Idaho Falls 26 Idaho Falls 27 Twin Falls 26

GS 22 19 24 22 24

CG 21 17 23 19 20

R 35 65 70 78 73 93 90 44 22

SH 1 2 1 2 0

The TB (¡25) and 2B (3) stats for Thompson were incorrectly entered. If the TBs are changed from an obviously incorrect ¡25 to ¡05 (as I did), then the figure of 23 doubles (instead of the stated 3) would work out correctly. Games started are an extrapolation. They are probably correct within plus or minus one. Baker and O’Neill were playing managers. As strange as it seems, Camilli and his 47 games worth of stats are probably the correct choice for first

TB 90 110 198 226 248 214 229 105 43

W 18 11 16 12 9

2B 10 9 30 41 21 35 22 23 9

L 7 9 8 11 13

3B 7 2 13 5 8 11 5 5 0

% .720 .550 .667 .522 .409

HR RBI 5 — 4 — 4 — 10 — 24 — 5 — 15 — 1 — 0 —

IP 224 186 222 213 219

H 232 194 234 229 229

BB 33 42 25 25 32 74 34 28 20

ER 81 76 96 82 119

SB 5 22 6 36 3 12 30 5 2

BA .311 .292 .359 .363 .385 .385 .347 .307 .354

SLG OB% .549 .432 .378 .385 .547 .408 .566 .421 .687 .437 .580 .491 .523 .397 .467 .393 .448 .483

SO 101 101 144 126 14

BB 50 48 61 37 108

ERA 3.21 2.60 3.89 3.47 4.90

BR/9 11.5 11.9 12.1 11.6 14.1

base. A case could be made for R. Dennis Gearron of Logan for an outfield spot. He hit .337, had an OB% of .44¡, and tied for the league lead with 93 runs. Baker’s record seems to me to be rather sparse as far as playing time is concerned, but he would be an e›ective back-up catcher. Canfield may have been the best pitcher Twin Falls had, but he certainly was not one of the five best pitchers in the league. Pete Daglia of Ogden or Portman of Pocatello were both superior to Canfield.

! ¡928 ! In ¡928 there were 29 leagues in the National Association. Fourteen of them (48%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AA) First baseman Dud Branom of Louisville led the league with ¡28 RBIs, hit .3¡0 and slugged .470. Per-

haps a tie at first may have been in order, although Branom’s RBI total alone is enough for me to prefer

¡928 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Joe Kuhel Kansas City Eddie Sicking Louisville Fred Haney Indianapolis Harold Warstler Indianapolis A. Comorosky Indianapolis Denver Grigsby Kansas City Ernie Orsatti Minneapolis Rick Ferrell Columbus No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Fred Heimach Emil Yde Jimmy Zinn Steve Swetonic Walter Betts Ben Tincup

St. Paul Indianapolis Kansas City Indianapolis St. Paul Louisville

G 121 168 162 167 89 154 123 126

G 29 39 45 40 35 38

GS — — — — — —

AB 511 658 623 630 333 534 449 339

13

H R TB 2B 167 85 227 32 242 114 291 38 208 115 287 38 178 99 249 20 119 49 181 141 169 77 234 31 171 96 278 32 113 51 160 31

CG — — — — — —

SH — — — — — —

him over Kuhel. In the outfield, either Spencer Harris of Minneapolis (who hit .327, slugged .544, and had a .4¡0 OB%) and/or Toledo’s Bobby Veach (who had a fine .382 BA, slugged .496, and led the league with a .44¡ OB%) had better years than Grigsby, whose inclusion weakens rather than strengthens the squad. Again, at catcher, a mistake seems to have been made. Milwaukee’s Robert McMenemy deserved a co-catching spot. He hit .342, slugged .5¡6, and had an OB% of .438, all, you will notice, better than the averages posted by Ferrell. There was no utility pick, but Ed Pick of Milwaukee should have been picked for that spot. He played first, third, and in the outfield, and would have

W 18 19 23 20 16 14

L 10 12 13 8 12 10

3B 11 4 16 15 12 8 15 5

% .643 .613 .639 .714 .571 .583

HR RBI 2 57 1 72 3 78 7 91 8 62 6 91 15 84 2 65

IP 228 280 323 234 253 208

H 223 295 334 224 283 229

BB 21 55 44 59 26 59 39 44

ER 70 110 125 78 107 79

SB 11 14 43 7 12 10 10 4

BA .327 .368 .334 .283 .357 .316 .381 .333

SLG .444 .442 .461 .395 .543 .438 .619 .472

OB% .353 .418 .374 .346 .409 .393 .434 .411

SO 63 115 90 87 65 87

BB 36 88 84 55 49 55

ERA 2.76 3.54 3.58 3.00 3.81 3.42

BR/9 10.5 11.6 11.8 10.8 11.9 12.6

proved a worthy addition to the line-up, scoring as he did ¡23 runs and driving in ¡¡2. At pitcher, it is hard to see how they could name six pitchers and ignore Ken Ash (¡2–¡0, 2.77 for a Columbus team which finished 32 games under .500). Also overlooked were Milwaukee’s duo of Ernie Wingard and Bubber Jonnard who went 24–7 and 20–¡¡ for a team that was 46–57 (.447) when those two were not involved in the decision. Wingard had a .327 ERA, and Jonnard was close behind at 3.29. Also conspicuously absent was Minneapolis’ Ad Liska and his phenomenal 20–4 record (for a league-best .833 winning percentage). His 3.68 ERA was not out of line with other selections. I would have chosen any of those four over either Betts or Tincup.

International League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team Dale Alexander Toronto Herb Thomas Bu›alo Joe Brown Rochester Charlie Gelbert Rochester Billy Southworth Rochester Dick Porter Baltimore Hobart Whitman Reading Louis Leggett Reading Lee Head Jersey City No selection made.

SP SP SP

Harry Siebold Reading Warren Collins Toronto Jack Ogden Bu›alo

G 36 33 36

G 169 154 164 164 124 165 150 87 148

GS

AB 621 571 638 573 438 618 575 269 495

H 236 186 200 195 158 216 200 92 136

CG 24 23 22

R 115 82 137 145 85 126 105 41 49

SH 7 4 5

Southworth was a playing manager. Herb Thomas would have been a better choice for a (non-chosen) utility spot as he split his time between second and short. On the other hand, keystoner Charles Walsh of Reading not only hit .329 with 46 doubles and ¡29 runs, he was also one of the

TB 400 264 269 318 227 316 288 142 192

W 22 17 21

L 8 9 11

2B 49 34 29 32 29 34 38 17 30

3B 11 7 11 14 11 15 10 0 7

% .733 .654 .656

HR RBI 31 144 10 89 6 74 21 116 6 81 12 97 10 87 11 46 4 76

IP 270 234 242

H 250 208 281

BB 69 36 84 97 40 81 32 25 22

ER 90 88 83

SB 15 6 20 30 10 15 3 4 9

BA .380 .326 .313 .340 .361 .350 .348 .342 .275

SLG .644 .462 .422 .555 .518 .511 .501 .528 .388

OB% .442 .374 .402 .439 .415 .427 .388 .403 .308

SO 98 103 68

BB 99 94 62

ERA 3.00 3.38 3.09

BR/9 11.7 11.9 13.0

few second basemen to garner over 500 assists in a season. Naming him to the team and moving Thomas tidies things up nicely and fills a slot the selectors didn’t even know as open. Outfielders Johnny Moore of Reading (.328/.539 with ¡¡7 RBIs with 375 POs and 26 assists), Al Moore

14

Minor League All-Star Teams

of Bu›alo (who hit .327 and slugged .5¡6 with 98 runs and ¡¡5 RBIs and who had 383 POs and 28 assists), and Montreal’s Henry Haines (who hit a lowish .297 with an okay .397 OB% but added 39 steals and ¡06 runs along with 406 POs and ¡9 assists) all merited consideration. The select three is not bad however, although a bit weak in the power department. Pitcher Berlyn Horne of Jersey City (which finished 36 games under .500) would have been my choice for a berth on the sta› despite his ¡6–¡7 mark.

He had an excellent ERA of 3.00 for a team that finished last in fielding and ¡6 points behind the next worst hitting team. The Skeeters also scored ¡26 fewer runs than the next most run challenged outfit, and averaged a paltry 3.8 runs a game. Shucks, Horne should not only have made the All -Star team, he should have been named MVP! Okay, perhaps I’m going a bit overboard, but a retroactive I.L. Cy Young equivalent should go to him ex post facto.

Pacific Coast League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Earl Sheely Johnny Kerr Jim McLaughlin Lynn Lary Dudley Lee Roy Johnson Earl Averill Smead Jolley John Bassler Hollis Thurston

Team Sacramento Hollywood Sacramento Oakland Hollywood San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco Hollywood San Francisco

SP

G Dutch Ruether San Francisco 36

G 165 192 154 167 191 170 186 191 127 129 GS —

AB 630 775 542 614 802 650 763 765 373 420

H 240 233 168 193 219 234 270 309 112 146

CG 28

R 102 145 81 79 119 142 178 143 44 81 SH 3

TB 355 343 233 258 277 381 453 516 146 252 W 29

2B 46 46 25 34 35 49 53 52 12 26 L 7

3B 3 8 5 10 4 16 11 10 2 4

% .806

HR 21 16 10 7 5 22 36 45 2 24 IP 303

RBI 128 82 81 94 77 76 173 188 33 98 H 330

BB — — — — — — — — — — ER 102

SB 3 30 4 19 7 29 13 9 3 5

BA .381 .301 .310 .314 .273 .360 .354 .404 .300 .347

SLG .563 .443 .430 .420 .345 .586 .594 .675 .391 .600

OB% — — — — — — — — —

SO 110

BB 57

ERA 3.03

BR/9 11.7

Batter walks were not kept so no OB% was figured.

I wonder if Kerr’s tremendous year afield (5¡0 PO, 697 assists) is enough to overcome San Francisco’s Gus Suhr and his .3¡4 BA, .5¡4 SA, ¡56 runs, ¡33 RBIs, 64 doubles and 22 homers. It may have been better to have a second second basemen on the roster. After all, the league did have two shortstops. In the outfield, even though Johnson had more power, I still would have gone with Evar Swanson of Mission as my third flyhawk. He had 499 PO and a terrific 32 assists and was no slouch at bat either, as shown by his .346 BA and ¡5¡ runs, 53 doubles and a league-leading 49 steals.

At catcher, Ernie Lombardi batted .377 but was horrid in the field, so I would concur on the selection of Bassler. Thurston, it should be noted, was 9–7 as a pitcher in addition to playing first. The league only chose one pitcher. He was indeed the best, but it seems as if another chucker or two were worthy of mention, if not selection. I would have added Hollywood’s Frank Shellenback (23–¡¡, 3.¡3) and/or Elmer Jacobs of ’Frisco (22–8, 2.56). And, even though none was chosen, Al Gould qualifies as a reliever as he finished 50 games and was ¡3–8, 3.0¡ in the process.

Eastern League (A) At third, Albert Hermann of Wilkes-Barre had superior numbers in every way to Sheridan: .32¡ BA, .444 SA, .367 OB% with 76 runs and 93 RBIs. The spot should have been Hermann’s. There was an outfielder with much better stats than Loepp, John Roser of Hartford. He had 45 doubles, led the league with 27 homers, drove in ¡06 runs and scored ¡¡3. Roser hit .323, slugged .564, and had a .4¡6 OB%. The outfield as selected hits .356, slugs .565, and has a .428 OB% with 49 homers and 302

RBIs. A Blakesley/Byrd/Roser outfield hits .358, slugs .592, has a .440 OB%, hits 64 homers (along with ¡3¡ doubles), and drives in 322 runs. Not a huge improvement, but an improvement nonetheless. No selection was made for a utility player, but a fine one happened to be playing in this very league in this very year. John Wight played first, third, and short for Springfield. He hit .32¡, slugged .458, scored 98 runs, and led the league with ¡¡4 RBIs. Seems like a handy man to have on a ball team.

¡928 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Francis Farrell Walter Gautreau Eugene Sheridan Coburn Jones Jim Blakesley Sam Byrd George Loepp Robert Munn C.A. Niebergall No selection made

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Joseph Zubris H. Kemner Earl Johnson Joe Cascarella George Je›coat James Bishop

Team Albany Providence Pittsfield Bridgeport New Haven Albany Pittsfield Albany Springfield

New Haven New Haven Albany Pittsfield Albany Bridgeport

G 17 35 42 42 35 42

G 138 97 125 150 152 130 127 105 148

GS — — — — — —

AB 537 337 448 549 568 501 502 337 489

15

H R TB 158 76 209 113 60 137 127 57 156 168 74 220 217 119 350 186 120 300 155 77 235 101 36 131 142 70 194

CG 11 23 20 21 18 27

SH — — — — — —

W 10 20 21 18 16 17

L 2 7 8 8 9 17

2B 23 14 13 30 50 36 36 18 22

3B 4 5 5 5 13 12 4 3 6

% .831 .741 .724 .692 .640 .500

HR 8 0 2 4 19 18 12 2 6

IP 121 246 276 261 227 292

RBI 105 40 54 71 108 108 86 44 98

H 116 212 274 267 214 297

BB 44 58 38 50 89 63 44 41 58

ER 42 69 84 86 72 106

SB 14 29 9 20 10 12 28 9 8

BA .294 .335 .283 .306 .392 .378 .309 .300 .290

SLG .389 .407 .348 .401 .616 .599 .468 .389 .397

OB% .348 .441 .348 .365 .467 .442 .377 .384 .371

SO 37 142 67 67 132 68

BB 45 76 45 100 92 78

ERA 3.12 2.42 2.74 2.97 2.85 3.27

BR/9 12.1 10.6 10.5 12.8 12.4 11.8

Southern Association (A) Pos Name 1B Jim Poole 2B John “Stu›y” Stewart 3B T. Prothro SS Ray Gardner OF Nick Cullop OF J. Frederick OF Elliott Bigelow C Cl. Ev. “Yam” Yaryan C Bill Dickey UT Billy Rhiel

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Eddie Wells Harry Kelly Clarence Gri‡n Whitey Glazner Luther Roy Dave Danforth

Team Atlanta Birmingham

G AB H R TB 144 525 158 73 227 152 629 200 138 256

2B 42 24

3B 9 10

HR RBI 3 73 3 51

BB 34 29

SB BA 13 .301 61 .318

SLG .424 .407

OB% .352 .349

Memphis New Orleans Atlanta Memphis Birmingham Birmingham

139 150 75 150 134 105

38 27 22 44 28 24

6 5 6 11 13 12

10 91 5 63 17 62 9 85 8 123 16 88

28 53 27 75 64 27

13 23 11 14 15 4

.322 .306 .352 .359 .395 .389

.463 .391 .692 .510 .554 .652

.356 .366 .421 .431 .467 .431

Little Rock Atlanta

60 203 61 136 502 165

12 21

6 10

1 .300 6 .329

.478 .446

.330 .361

ERA 2.78 2.38 3.38 3.39 3.85 4.71

BR/9 11.5 11.3 12.0 11.1 13.5 13.5

Birmingham Memphis Memphis Mobile Birmingham New Orleans

G 38 42 35 34 44 37

GS — — — — — —

566 612 250 616 489 365

182 92 262 187 111 239 88 54 173 221 133 314 193 115 271 142 61 238

CG — — — — — —

22 97 67 224 SH — — — — — —

Prothro was a playing manager. Poole was a popular player, but Ernie Shirley of Birmingham had a better season:.342/.500/.395 along with ¡¡3 runs and ¡33 RBIs. Over at third, Jimmy Johnston of Birmingham was at least as good as Prothro, batting .338, slugging .450, and compiling a .406 OB%. He scored ¡25 runs and had 88 RBIs. (On the other hand, Prothro was the manager of a team that played .638 ball and Johnston managed one that was ¡8 games under .500.) In the outfield, more consideration should have been given Memphis’ Dan Taylor for a fourth spot in the outfield. He hit .374, slugged .655 and had a .405 OB%. He also scored ¡34 runs and drove in ¡¡7. Utility man Rhiel played second, third, and the outfield.

W 25 21 13 22 19 10

L 7 10 10 10 5 11

% .781 .677 .565 .688 .792 .474

4 6 IP 291 234 216 279 257 212

32 82 H 296 234 251 280 292 253

8 25 ER 90 62 81 105 110 111

SO 129 72 38 69 76 78

BB 71 59 37 52 90 62

At the pitching spot, Gri‡n was a terrible choice for spot on any post-season honors assemblage. His team played .65¡ when he was not the pitcher of record, and his ¡.6 K/9 is mighty poor. Roy had no choice but to be ¡9–5 — after all, his team scored 6.6 runs a game. And as for Danforth, well, 4.7¡ just doesn’t seem to me to be All-Star caliber. I would have chosen pitchers Elzie Clyse Dudley (what a moniker!) of Atlanta who was ¡¡–¡5, 3.23 on a team 2¡ games under .500 and Anton Welzer of Mobile with his ¡7–¡5, 3.35 season. Although there was no relief spot, Memphis’ Shepard (8–6, 2.¡¡) would have been my choice to fill that slot.

16

Minor League All-Star Teams

Western League (A) Pos Name 1B Fred “Snake” Henry 2B Jack Saltzgaver 3B Oscar Grimes SS George Knothe OF Joe Munson OF Leon Riley OF Estel Crabtree C Arndt Jorgens C Irving “Jack” Burns UT Joe Mayes SP SP SP SP SP SP

Chad Kimsey W. Hargrove B. Bornholdt Lou Fette George Darrow Max Thomas

Team Omaha

G AB H R TB 158 611 212 118 336

2B 50

3B 10

Okl. City Tulsa Pueblo Tulsa Pueblo Okl. City Okl. City Omaha

163 165 164 165 141 133 115 139

340 374 300 418 297 273 153 209

43 49 41 46 43 30 20 32

22 10 17 10 17 15 5 3

64 130

16

6

Tulsa Tulsa Pueblo Okl. City Pueblo Okl. City Omaha

G 47 39 64 37 47 37

694 697 650 611 489 544 340 488

232 233 207 235 181 192 114 158

93 313

93

GS — — — — — —

CG — — — — — —

169 170 125 171 100 114 63 76

SH — — — — — —

W 23 21 24 23 19 15

L 7 8 11 11 15 15

% .767 .724 .686 .676 .559 .500

HR RBI 18 — 7 24 6 39 13 7 3 6 3 IP 297 259 282 228 256 222

— — — — — — — — — H 323 304 298 204 271 269

BB — — — — — — — — — — ER — — — — — —

SB BA 20 .347

SLG .550

OB% —

21 10 13 9 2 16 5 7

.490 .537 .462 .684 .607 .502 .450 .428

— — — — — — — —

.334 .334 .318 .385 .370 .353 .336 .314

2 .297 SO 78 79 154 76 125 116

BB 113 47 160 75 75 83

.415

—

ERA — — — — — —

BR/9 13.6 13.6 14.4 11.2 12.5 14.4

No walks were kept for batters, hence no OB%. Since no earned runs were kept for pitchers, there was no ERA.

The Western league hit .302, slugged .443, and had a .367 OB% in ¡929. An average of ¡2.2 runs were scored, 4.2 doubles and ¡.2 triples were hit in each game. Sixteen players had at least 200 hits, 32 at least ¡00 runs, and 32 at least 30 doubles (nineteen had forty and four hit at least 50). Thirty one players hit at least ten triples and four had at least twenty. Tulsa hit .322 with a .5¡¡ SA and scored 7.4 runs per game. Wichita hit .3¡5 as a team, slugged .494 and averaged 7.3 runs a game, and yet had no players on the o‡cial All-Star team! At second, it is hard to argue with the selection of Saltzgaver, but argue I will, as Len Dondero of Tulsa had quite a year. He hit .373 and slugged .67¡, and, though appearing in only 99 games, had 36 doubles and ¡7 home runs. The choice at third is also hard to argue with, but once again argue I shall. Check out these stats for Wichita’s Jim Stroner: 367 BA, .637 SA, 255 hits, ¡7¡ runs, 443 total bases, 42 doubles and a league-leading 42 homers. So long Oscar! The infield as selected hit .3¡8 with a .462 SA. It scored a humongous 582 runs (¡46 per man), averaged 46 doubles and ¡5 triples per man, and hit 55 homers. An infield of Henry, Dondero, Stroner, and Knothe hits .349 with a .56¡ SA. It scores only 50¡ runs with ¡69 doubles, but remember, Dondero was only in 99 games. Despite that, the homers increase to 83. In the outfield, it seems as if making room for a couple of other players on the Western Wow Squad

would not have been out of order. Munson is definitely a keeper, but Riley and Crabtree seem to be no better than the fifth or sixth best outfielders available. Check out these players: Bill Allington (Wichita): .337/.6¡¡ with 96 extra base hits including 34 homers and ¡67 runs; George Bliss (Wichita): .353/ .556 with 54 doubles, 2¡ homers and ¡50 runs; and Fred Bennett (Tulsa): .37¡/.653 .37¡/.653 with 35 homers and ¡36 runs. The outfield as selected has a very high .370 BA, slugs .605, scores 385 runs (¡28 per) whaps ¡¡9 doubles and 42 triples, and adds 59 homers. An outfield of Munson, Allington, and Bennett hits a puny .358, but ups its slugging to .6¡6 and scores 488 runs (¡63 per), hits ¡47 doubles (49 per) and pops 94 homers, 3¡ a man. In a league rich with good-hitting catchers, the best of them all was overlooked: Jim Long of Wichita who hit .349, slugged .532, caught ¡5¡ games, scored 95 runs, had 46 doubles and added ¡5 homers. It was possible to put together a Western League All-Star squad which hit 362 doubles (45 per man), hit ¡92 homers, and scored ¡084 runs, ¡36 a man. Other combinations are possible which score more or hit even more doubles. Mayes was a poor utility choice. Primarily a poorfielding outfielder with no power, he was picked over Des Moines’ John Zæpfel who split time between second and the outfield and hit .325, slugged .494, scored ¡0¡ runs and had 66 extra-base hits—42 more than Mayes.

¡928

17

Central League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Lee Walsh Fort Wayne Bill Myers Fort Wayne Lee Cunningham Dayton Hap Briscoe Erie Chuck Klein Fort Wayne Clarence Beasley Erie F. Brozovitch Erie/Clinton No selection made. No selection made.

SP SP

Bert Grimm Marv Gudat

Akron Dayton

G 32 22

G 124 100 135 91 88 130 90

GS — —

AB 418 401 510 341 359 502 332

H R TB 121 80 205 126 88 167 183 108 291 126 78 218 119 85 234 175 107 233 104 58 187

CG — —

SH — —

W 19 16

L 14 6

2B 20 23 48 18 29 36 17

3B 5 3 9 1 4 8 12

% .575 .727

HR RBI 18 — 4 — 14 — 24 — 26 — 2 — 14 —

IP 285 203

H 289 219

BB 61 18 76 25 27 51 15

ER 101 85

SB 3 12 9 6 8 28 12

BA .289 .314 .351 .370 .331 .350 .313

SLG .490 .416 .571 .639 .652 .464 .563

OB% .380 .344 .442 .413 .378 .409 .343

SO 108 86

BB 75 40

ERA 3.14 3.86

BR/9 11.5 10.7

OB% and BR/9 are lacking HBP, so posted numbers are approximate.

Although Myers had a good season at second, James Jordan of Dayton had a spectacular one. He crushed Myers in every hitting statistic, leading the league in hits (2¡2), runs (¡30), and homers (27). He hit .362, he slugged .595, ¡79 points higher than Myers,’ and his OB% of .407 was 63 points higher. In addition, he stole 28 bases, second in the league. The infield as it stands hits .333, slugs .527, and has an OB% of .392. Substitute Jordan for Myers, and the numbers change to .346, .572, and .4¡¡. My case, I believe, is made. Two outfielders deserved all-star status over Brozovitch: John Reider of Dayton and Roy Curtain of Springfield. Curtain hit .347, slugged .579 and had a

.407 OB%. He had ¡07 runs and ¡9 homers. Reider was at least as good with his .328/.575 averages, ¡¡8 runs, and 75 extra base hits (which included 25 homers). Oddly, no catcher was named, but Hill of Erie certainly deserved to be honored. He caught ¡¡6 games (38 more than any other catcher), and was no slouch at the plate as his .306/.46¡ will attest. At pitcher, the league’s best was not named to the squad. Alex “Red” McColl was ¡9–9 and had a league-leading 2.73 ERA, and this for a fourth place team that was eight games under .500 when he was not pitching.

South Atlantic Association (B) Pos Name 1B Bob “Stu›y” McCrone 2B Mack Hillis 3B Tom Osborne SS Ben Chapman OF Oscar Felber OF Allen Cooke OF Stan Keyes C Roy Luebbe C Al Lopez UT J. W. Watson

SP SP SP SP

William Harris Harry Smythe Norman Rauch Leroy Maha›ey

Team Macon

G AB H 147 522 170

Columbia Knoxville Asheville Knoxville Asheville Asheville Asheville Macon Asheville

111 134 147 124 145 147 104 114 97

Asheville Asheville Macon Columbia

G 37 37 48 57

GS — — — —

397 472 545 451 519 551 317 389 380

R TB 93 273

2B 26

3B 7

138 75 223 159 93 244 183 105 270 165 85 251 188 112 317 182 108 295 92 45 137 127 67 199 107 58 160

31 31 32 31 30 30 20 14 15

12 15 17 11 30 19 8 8 7

CG — — — —

SH — — — —

Osborne actually should have been named as the utility player as he split his games between third and the outfield and the “utility” player played all of his games at third, but Watson was nowhere near being the best third baseman. That honor should have gone

W 25 16 26 21

L 9 11 10 19

% .735 .593 .722 .536

HR RBI 21 113 10 8 7 11 13 15 3 14 8 IP 257 228 292 329

63 90 98 72 96 95 41 64 45 H 247 260 287 325

BB 92

SB BA 5 .326

SLG .523

OB% .429

25 57 35 69 79 44 44 30 14

6 21 30 15 21 4 3 8 3

.348 .337 .336 .366 .362 .330 .290 .326 .282

.562 .517 .495 .557 .611 .535 .432 .512 .421

.390 .409 .383 .453 .455 .383 .380 .378 .335

SO 116 72 147 147

BB 88 44 116 109

ERA 3.37 2.93 2.86 3.47

BR/9 12.3 12.1 12.5 12.1

ER 96 74 98 127

to either McCue of Augusta who hit .304 and scored 99 runs but who was a bad (.906) fielder or Chestnut of Spartanburg who also hit .304 (with 78 runs) and who was more competent afield. In the outfield, perhaps there should have been

18

Minor League All-Star Teams

space made for either Wilbur Davis of Augusta who hit .3¡5 and slugged .560 with 27 home runs and ¡25 RBIs or Clarence Walker of Greenville who hit .344, slugged a huge .683, had a good .45¡ OB% and popped 33 homers. Despite playing in only ¡¡2 games, he scored 92 runs and drove in 89. Personal choice: Walker over Keyes with Davis in the four slot.

Strangely (or not so strangely, as these teams are developing), the league’s three best pitchers were left o› of the sta›: Beveric Benton “Belve” Bean of Augusta (20–9, 2.48 with a ¡0.¡ BR/9 ratio), Joe Heving of Ashville (¡3–5, 2.46 with ¡0.4 BR/9) and his teammate Bud Shaney (2¡–¡¡, 2.59). I would have had a six man sta›, consisting of the three mentioned above, Harris, Rauch, and Smythe.

Southeastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF

Name Team Ray Schmandt Savannah Wally Dashiell Pensacola Otto Lind Pensacola Joe Longnecker Pensacola J. “Moose” Jacksonville Clabaugh OF Tom Pyle Pensacola OF Pete Susko Montgomery C Joe Palm Montgomery UT No selection made.

SP SP

G. Johnston Bill Clowers

Albany Pensacola

G 113 128 137 149 101

G 34 49

TB 174 188 211 175 223

2B 15 25 27 12 21

3B 2 6 5 9 9

147 547 197 110 293 136 524 185 92 246 129 426 116 54 145

36 38 15

18 10 4

GS — —

AB 413 499 514 515 380

H 140 144 162 145 139

CG — —

R 65 91 77 66 83

SH — —

Schmandt was a playing manager. Only six players in the league scored as many as 80 runs: only six players dove in as many as 80. Susko, who split his time between first and the outfield, should have been named the league’s utility player, if the league’s scribes had named one. He was not an All-Star quality outfielder. Two Montgomery players, Webb Cashion and Parker Perry, had far superior seasons Cashion, in only 90 games, had more RBIs (70) than Susko and was a better, more productive hitter, as attested to by his .37¡/.635/.449 averages. All Perry did was hit .336, slug .489 and lead the league with ¡¡8 RBIs. As with many of these lower classification leagues of the ’20’s and 30’s, the pitching choices defy expla-

W 16 19

L 7 12

% .696 .613

HR RBI 5 56 6 53 4 72 0 76 15 81 8 1 2

IP 210 324

88 64 59

H 234 279

BB 54 74 37 40 46

SB 3 45 14 19 19

BA .339 .289 .315 .282 .366

SLG .421 .377 .411 .340 .587

OB% .418 .388 .367 .339 .440

59 36 43

10 .360 20 .353 10 .273

.536 .469 .340

.425 .397 .340

ERA 3.60 3.14

BR/9 13.1 12.1

ER 84 113

SO 43 153

BB 63 144

nation. Clowers, ¡0th in ERA, had a lower winning percentage than his team. Johnston, 2¡st in ERA, averaged ¡.8 Ks per 9 IP, and, as you can see, allowed over ¡3 baserunners a game. On the other hand, Ralph Stewart and Floyd van Pelt (both of Montgomery), and Roy Appleton of Pensacola had far, far better seasons. Stewart went 25–¡5, had a 2.24 ERA in a huge 350 innings and allowed ¡0.4 BR/9. Van Pelt was 26–¡¡, 2.37 with a league leading ¡83 Ks in 3¡9 innings with ¡0.5 BR/9. Appleton came in at 26–¡2, with a 2.65 ERA in 3¡0 innings. (Note that the Montgomery’s “Big Two” won 5¡ games and worked 669 innings.)

Three-I League (B) Clarence Crossley of Bloomington wound up in a virtual dead-heat for the hot corner slot by my reckoning. Crossley (.339/.470/.450) had slightly less power but was better at getting on base. He was one of only six league players to score at least ¡00 runs. In the outfield, Springfield’s Vern Blenkiron ac-

tually appears to have been the league’s best flyhawk. He hit .324, slugged .528 and had an OB% of .44¡. He hit 22 triples, had 34 steals and league-leading ¡¡7 runs. He also had the most put-outs in the league with 379.

¡928 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C

Name Team J. “Rip” Collins Danville Tony Cuccinello Danville Urban Pickering Decatur John Burnett Terre Haute Art Veltman Springfield Charlie (?) Wade Evansville Floyd Patterson Decatur Claude “Bob” Decatur Linton C Otto Krueger Peoria UT No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP

Harold McKain Wes Ferrell Al Grabowski Leo Skidmore Whitlow Wyatt

Decatur Terre Haute Danville Peoria Evansville

G 124 127 131 133 129 120 130 109

AB 456 465 483 528 499 472 536 374

H R TB 177 101 292 144 94 227 159 69 254 172 104 224 171 101 242 165 61 270 181 86 252 114 42 160

112 380 128

G 31 33 26 26 36

GS — — — — —

19

CG — — — — —

75 215

SH — — — — —

W 19 20 14 14 14

L 6 8 7 9 12

2B 28 26 21 30 22 32 33 14

3B 15 12 16 8 8 20 12 10

27

15

% .760 .714 .667 .609 .538

HR RBI 19 101 11 79 14 79 2 54 11 83 11 95 5 55 4 53 10

IP 214 240 195 193 223

79

H 188 218 163 179 196

BB 44 53 39 60 44 15 47 20

SB 11 7 7 19 16 5 12 9

BA .388 .310 .329 .326 .343 .349 .338 .305

SLG .640 .488 .529 .424 .485 .572 .470 .428

OB% .448 .387 .386 .401 .399 .375 .394 .343

21

10 .337

.566

.379

ER 61 73 63 52 70

SO 91 122 108 96 138

BB 73 46 65 60 87

ERA 2.85 2.73 2.88 1.59 3.22

BR/9 11.3 10.0 10.7 11.1 11.8

SB 14 10 30 17 25 15

BA .359 .330 .277 .317 .314 .350

SLG .464 .493 .370 .410 .429 .567

OB% .428 .374 .359 .385 .372 .390

6 .277

.352

.345

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C

Name Team Johnny Byrne Cumberland Lafe Byard Johnstown Ed Zupancic Wheeling John Cortazzo Johnstown (?) Lewis Wheeling Eddie Conley Cumberland No selection made. M. Thompson Johns.Charleroi UT No selection made. SP SP

W.C. “Bill” Thomas Gowell Claset

G 126 115 123 115 123 122

AB 457 457 433 473 494 469

H 164 151 120 150 155 164

96 318

88

R 78 79 46 72 86 99

TB 212 234 160 194 212 266

2B 21 35 32 33 31 22

3B 6 9 4 1 7 13

47 112

15

0

HR RBI 5 82 15 85 0 68 3 43 4 50 18 80 3

44

BB 49 30 52 44 41 31 31

Wheeling

G 35

GS —

CG —

SH —

W 15

L 9

% .625

IP 247

H 245

ER —

SO 105

BB 51

ERA 2.75

BR/9 10.9

Wheeling

31

—

—

—

14

11

.568

211

183

—

128

70

2.46

11.1

Although ERA was recorded, ER were not.

Both Byrne and Thompson were playing managers. At third, Zupancic was a good fielder. That he was good enough to make up for the hitting of Daviu (Jeannette) is, to me, doubtful, as Daviu hit.32¡, and slugged .503 Strangely, there was no third outfielder selected although there were two very good candidates. Clarksburg’s Dewey Stover hit .348, slugged .477, and had a .399 OB%. Bob Holland of Fairmont was even better, hitting .367, slugging .6¡9 (the highest mark in the league), and having a .408 OB%. Holland also was second in the league with 9¡ runs and led the league with 96 RBIs and 20 homers. To quote Foghorn Leghorn, the selectors were “about as sharp as a sack of wet mice,” a sentiment which will not be repeated but which will be thought hundreds of

times over the next 35 years worth of studying these teams. At catcher, Mueller of Charleroi and Fairmont was a much better hitter than Thompson (he hit .337, slugged .485, and had a .428 OB%). Plus, he only committed half as many errors as Thompson. There was no utility player chosen, which may be why Bill Pritchard of Clarksburg and Wheeling missed out on a spot on the team. He hit a leagueleading .370 while performing all over the diamond, playing outfield, second, third and catcher. He also slugged .598 and had a .4¡5 OB%. There were no particularly strong pitchers in the MAL in ’29, but the best was Joe Drugmond of Charleroi (23–¡2, 2.46 in 307 IP) who, unsurprisingly, was not named to the sta›. He also led in Ks with ¡49.

20

Minor League All-Star Teams

Utah-Idaho League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS

Name Dolph Camilli Arthur Parker Johnny Vergez James “Cat” Tierney OF Foy Frazier OF Forrest Jensen OF Ed Coleman

Team G AB H R TB Salt Lake City 117 387 129 99 232 Pocatello 116 443 136 111 210 Ogden 79 283 105 71 190 Pocatello 114 443 129 43 180

Ogden 62 237 124 Pocatello 114 469 157 Boise/Twin 110 433 167 Falls C Harvey Hand Salt Lake City 104 329 96 UT No selection made.

SP SP

G Val Glynn Salt Lake City 29 Richard Young Ogden 26

GS — —

CG — —

2B 21 22 22 23

3B 11 17 6 11

70 177 95 225 89 297

23 29 28

9 9 12

4 7 26

63 157

23

10

6

SH — —

W 16 11

L 8 8

% .667 .579

HR RBI 20 — 6 — 17 — 2 —

IP 222 174

BB 81 51 49 16

SB 11 17 4 12

BA .333 .307 .371 .304

SLG .599 .474 .671 .406

OB% .453 .385 .475 .320

— — —

39 23 25

10 .385 28 .336 6 .385

.541 .480 .686

.448 .377 .424

—

5

1 .291

.477

.302

ERA 3.64 5.82

BR/9 11.3 12.5

H 212 187

ER — —

SO 142 88

BB 62 49

ERA was recorded but ER were not.

Tierney committed 57 errors at short. Sterling Hammack, who split his time between SLC and Ogden had 4¡, still a high total (by today’s standards) but his batting numbers (.322/.450/.377) were much better than were Tierney’s. At catcher, we have another mystery choice. Compare Hand’s stats with those of Boise’s Bob Howard (Howard hit .362, slugged .498 and had a .394 OB%). Hand was the only catcher in over ¡00 games, but Howard’s o›ense should not be overlooked. No utility choice was made, but two players cry

out for notice at that spot. One, Walters (who I believe to be William, called “Johnny” and also known as “Junk”), played for Salt Lake and Twin Falls had hit .382, slugged .660 and had a .422 .422 OB%. He also happened to go ¡5–3 as a pitcher, not a bad oneman-show. Roche of Pocatello played outfield and first and scored 95 runs to go with his .355/.576/.407 averages. Since neither man gained outfield mention (and Walters was twice robbed, also being overlooked at pitcher), naming a utility All-Star or two seems to have been both in order and just.

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Ted Willis Joplin D. Bondurant Independence Paul Richards Muskogee Ed Delker Topeka Joe Robinson Joplin Bill Diester Ind./Joplin Ted Gullic Independence Jack Crouch Joplin No selection made.

SP SP

“Lefty” House “Lefty” Connelly S. “Sonny” Ellis Richard “Dick” Gi›ord

SP SP

G 95 126 135 134 136 134 62 108

AB 387 474 516 552 513 536 239 385

H R TB 124 84 176 158 103 230 162 119 298 163 96 284 177 116 252 188 98 291 76 35 123 138 65 199

2B 21 43 18 34 35 44 14 25

3B 11 10 5 18 8 10 0 12

HR RBI 3 56 3 68 36 109 17 84 8 95 13 107 11 46 4 69

BB 26 73 62 32 72 31 12 39

SB 33 7 39 15 24 10 7 13

BA SLG .320 .455 .329 .485 .314 .578 .295 . .514 .345 .491 .350 .543 .318 .515 .358 .517

OB% .366 .428 .389 .337 .428 .392 .356 .439

Joplin Joplin

G 30 32

GS — —

CG — —

SH 1 0

W 10 14

L 13 5

% .435 .737

IP 180 206

H 209 237

ER 75 99

SO 76 85

BB 91 96

ERA 3.75 4.32

BR/9 15.5 15.2

Muskogee Ft. Smith

27 42

— —

— —

0 2

15 19

7 15

.682 .559

218 262

212 241

92 80

155 147

84 102

3.80 2.75

12.6 11.6

If ever a league needed a utility spot (or two), the ’29 W.A. is it. Bondurant (second base choice) played 80 games at short in addition to playing second and third. Richards (the choice for third) played 78 games at short and only 57 at third. They both should have been named as utility players. The choice for second base then would have been between Sam Lemen of Springfield (.329/.503/ and a

good .453) who scored ¡¡2 runs and led the league in walks, and Joplin’s Brauchle who played in only 7¡ games but who scored 73 runs (to go with sterling .384/.568/.490 figures). And, once again, the pitching choices are puzzling. Two putative “All-Star” pitchers who each gave up over ¡5 BR/9? That’s terrible! How about replacing House and Connelly with Floyd Rose of Topeka

¡929

21

(¡9–¡0, 3.28 and ¡¡.8 BR/9, still not a great BR/9 ratio, but better than ¡5+) and Creech of Springfield (¡7–¡3, 2.88 and ¡2.0).

Lone Star League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Walt Alexander Bobby Go› James Adair Roy Smalley Charlie Dorman Pete McLanahan No selection made. Dooley Ferguson No selection made.

SP SP

George Wood H. Chandler

Team Palestine Palestine Paris Palestine Tyler Palestine

G 103 122 85 106 114 121

Palestine

Texarkana Paris

AB 335 478 336 417 461 432

H R TB 80 37 107 134 73 183 102 37 117 116 66 172 188 122 352 143 69 227

94 274

G 33 20

GS — —

CG 20 14

51

39

SH 4 1

2B 17 31 12 25 39 25

3B 1 5 0 2 4 10

9

2

67

W 18 12

L 7 11

% .720 .522

HR RBI 3 — 2 — 1 — 9 — 39 — 13 — 1

IP 213 147

—

H 187 160

BB 50 22 26 30 38 40 52

ER — —

SB 12 16 13 27 20 20

BA .233 .281 .304 .278 .408 .331

SLG .319 .383 .348 .412 .764 .525

OB% .338 .320 .346 .330 .463 .394

6 .188

.245

.318

ERA — —

BR/9 10.7 13.2

SO 66 62

BB 59 50

Earned runs for pitchers were not kept, hence no ERA.

Alexander was a playing manager. This year was a poor one for Lone Star first basemen, but not so poor that Alexander should have been selected as the Boss Man initial sacker. Paris’s Ray “Rip” Radcli›e and his .293/.430/.377 were not great numbers, but they were better than those Alexander posted. At third, Reynolds of Corsicana had it all over the no power/no get on base stylings of Adair. His .297 BA may have been a skosh lower, but his .43¡ slugging and especially his .4¡6 OB% should have garnered him the All-Star nod. There was no third outfielder chosen, but playing manager George Jackson of Tyler should have gotten that slot in a fair universe. His .332/.5¡4/.432 aver-

ages were extraordinary for this league. (Speaking of which, please take note of Dorman’s incredible .408/.764 season. He played the Lone Star pitchers for chumps, and was head and shoulders above the league.) The catching choice gets my vote as one of the year’s worst: .¡88 with a .245 SA? That just plain stinks. How about W.C. “Jack” Heath of Tyler and his .3¡¡/.5¡9/.40 averages. He also finished tied for third in homers with ¡4. At pitcher, Ed Hopkins and Phil Gallivan, both of Texarkana, deserve a slot over Chandler. Hopkins was ¡9–9, led the Lone Star loop with ¡34 Ks and allowed ¡0.5 BR/9. Gallivan went ¡5–5 and only allowed 9.7 BR/9, the league’s best.

! ¡929 ! In ¡929 there were 26 leagues in the National Association. Thirteen of them (50%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AA) It is hard to fault the choice of Branom at first, but two other players merit at least some consideration. Oscar Roettger of St. Paul batted .326, hit 45 doubles and drove in ¡29 runs. Joe Kuhel of Kansas City hit .325 with a very impressive 26 triples (the most he would hit in one season of his eighteen-year major league career would be eleven) and scored ¡35 runs. At short, Frank Emmer (Minneapolis) hit .3¡7 and slugged .53¡. He led the league with 36 steals while driving in ¡¡¡ runs to go with his ¡2¡ runs

scored. He also hit 42 doubles, ¡4 triples, and 22 homers— and 78 EBH is good for a shortstop. In the outfield, there were two Minneapolis players who racked up impressive totals yet were not selected. Earl Smith hit .324, slugged .509 and had a .390 OB% to go with ¡¡2 runs driven in and ¡¡¡ run scored. Spencer Harris hit .340, slugged .505 and had a fine .433 OB%. He scored ¡39 runs and drove in ¡00. I could see either or both taking the place of either or both Callaghan or Tucker. The utility pick played first, third, short, and the

22

Minor League All-Star Teams

outfield. Crabtree only played outfield and perhaps should have made the team there (yet another case of an All-Star team that could have had four or five outfielders to ensure that no one is forgotten to posterity). At pitcher, other than Campbell, there were no

standouts. Clyde Day of Kansas City was probably the league’s second best pitcher (although he only worked ¡78 innings) with his ¡2–5, 2.98 and 9.9 BR/9. His moundmate, Lynn Nelson, was ¡5–6 with a 2.99 ERA and might possibly deserved a spot over one of the weaker choices.

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF

TB 300 363 392 318 282 372

2B 25 56 43 34 46 39

3B 8 10 17 18 6 16

88 249 57 170

31 20

4 3

20 108 9 85

Indianapolis 138 463 142 63 183 Milwaukee 144 509 150 84 248 Columbus 152 583 179 112 290

17 26 28

6 15 10

4 68 14 105 21 129

Name Dudley Branom Tony Cuccinello Ben Chapman Billy Rogell Marty Callaghan Allen “Dusty” Cooke OF Ollie Tucker C E. “Bubbles” Hargrave C Joseph Sprinz UT Ed Pick UT Estel Crabtree SP SP SP SP SP SP

A. Campbell “Huck” Betts Silas Johnson Bill Burwell J.C. Benton M. Thomas

Team Louisville Columbus St. Paul St. Paul Columbus St.Paul

G 151 162 168 162 152 152

AB 597 635 660 657 595 564

H 198 227 222 221 212 202

R 92 136 162 134 105 153

Kansas City 129 447 150 St.Paul 104 317 117

St.Paul St.Paul Columbus Indianapolis Minneapolis Kansas City

G 24 39 44 38 45 50

GS — — — — — —

CG — — — — — —

SH — — — — — —

W 15 21 16 15 20 18

L 3 13 13 20 14 11

% .833 .618 .552 .429 .588 .621

HR 17 20 31 9 4 33

IP 174 284 251 277 284 231

RBI BB 129 32 111 57 137 72 90 66 75 51 148 105

H 152 322 267 284 303 210

BA .332 .358 .336 .336 .356 .358

SLG .503 .572 .594 .484 .474 .660

OB% .442 .413 .411 .400 .407 .464

49 48

6 .336 5 .369

.557 .536

.405 .462

48 70 36

7 .307 6 .296 9 .307

.395 .496 .497

.378 .381 .356

ER 54 123 126 111 114 80

SB 8 2 27 7 14 12

SO 82 65 123 68 78 82

BB 53 54 82 48 78 88

ERA 2.79 3.90 4.52 3.69 3.69 3.11

BR/9 10.7 12.0 12.8 11.0 12.3 11.9

SB 9 6 16 19 36 15 3 3

BA .315 .338 .284 .314 .371 .337 .336 .346

SLG .599 .506 .403 .456 .620 .552 .615 .576

OB% .383 .372 .373 .370 .470 .390 .415 .378

Only three teams in the league finished above .500.

International League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team J. “Rip” Collins Rochester Herb Thomas Bu›alo Joe Brown Rochester Bill Urbanski Montreal Danny Taylor Reading George Watkins Rochester George Fisher Bu›alo Al Bool Baltimore No selection made.

SP

J. “Tex” Carlton Guy Cantrell Elon “Chief ” Hogsett Charles Fischer

SP SP SP

G 154 91 157 168 125 139 150 141

AB 588 385 619 641 426 531 572 540

H 176 130 176 201 158 179 192 174

R 119 73 116 98 113 119 119 81

TB 352 195 247 292 264 293 352 311

2B 38 17 27 39 34 28 28 36

3B 12 3 16 14 9 13 12 4

HR 38 14 4 8 18 20 36 31

RBI 134 64 81 115 90 119 124 128

BB 74 13 79 50 78 40 74 43

Rochester

G 37

GS —

CG 21

SH 2

W 18

L 7

% .720

IP 262

H 232

ER 79

SO 124

BB 108

ERA 2.71

BR/9 12.0

Toronto Montreal

38 37

— —

20 28

2 2

20 22

12 13

.625 .629

248 288

233 264

93 97

154 92

153 94

3.38 3.03

14.8 11.5

Newark

33

—

21

4

18

13

.581

248

239

103

191

112

3.74

13.1

Strangely enough George “Specs” Torporcer, the league’s MVP was not named to the All-Star team. “Specs” played second and his .263 average was garnished with a .398 OB%, along with league-leading totals of ¡42 runs and ¡28 walks. The Rochester second sacker was a whiz afield, handing 997 total chances, a whopping ¡42 more than anyone else. Perhaps room should have been made for an additional outfielder also, as two Georges, Loepp of Baltimore and Quellich of Reading had outstanding years. Loepp hit .3¡3, slugged .523 and had a .4¡0

OB%. He had 73 EBH and led I.L. outfielders with 42¡ put-outs. Quellich was even better at the plate, hitting .347 with a .574 SA and a .424 OB%. He chipped in with 3¡ homers and ¡30 RBIs. At pitcher, my first selection would have been a pitcher who wound up just 8–¡0, Milburn Scho›ner of Jersey City. But, when you figure in the facts that his team finished an incredible 64 games under .500, batted 23 points lower than the next worst team, and scored just 3.6 R/G (the next lowest in the league came in at 4.6), the enormity of his 8–¡0 record be-

¡929 comes apparent. He also had an ERA of 2.75, bettered by only four league hurlers. Newark’s Hubert “Shucks” Pruett would also have been a choice of mine. He went ¡6–7 for a team that played .455 ball when he was not on the mound and he had a league leading 2.43 ERA.

23

There was no relief pitcher chosen, but had there been one it would probably have been Carlisle Littlejohn of Rochester who finished 20 games and was ¡4–7.

Pacific Coast League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Jim Keesey Portland Jimmy Reese Oakland Johnny Vergez Oakland Dudly Lee Hollywood Elias “Liz” Funk Hollywood A. “Jigger” Statz Los Angeles Ike Boone Mission Hank Severeid Hollywood No selection made.

SP SP SP

F. Shellenback Roy Maha›ey W. “Dutch” Ruether

Hollywood Portland Mission

G 185 190 199 205 150 195 198 142

G 46 56 30

GS

AB 705 766 711 848 547 799 794 474

H 246 258 230 222 210 246 323 170

CG 28 32 14

R 107 143 142 161 115 173 195 90

SH 1 4 2

TB 352 312 417 279 302 310 553 273

W 26 21 14

L 12 25 9

2B 54 33 39 37 39 41 49 31

3B 8 9 5 4 7 7 8 0

% .684 .457 .609

HR 12 1 46 4 13 3 55 24

IP 335 370 208

RBI 124 56 165 71 125 75 218 124

H 365 397 247

BB — — — — — — — —

ER 148 165 109

SB 17 24 11 9 16 37 9 1

BA .349 .337 .323 .262 .384 .308 .407 .359

SLG .499 .407 .586 .329 .552 .388 .696 .576

OB% — — — — — — — —

SO 163 165 76

BB 68 113 64

ERA 3.97 4.01 4.71

BR/9 11.7 12.8 14.1

Batter walks not kept, hence no OB%.

Whew-what a year in the PCL! There were many players who, in other years or other leagues, would have been automatic first team All-Stars. In fact, the only position which had a clear cut (read: nobrainer) choice was third. O.K., let’s get it on … At first, Mickey Heath of Hollywood had the same BA as Keesey, but there the similarity ends. Heath had a .596 SA, scored ¡49 runs, drove in ¡56 and hit 38 homers. It would seem to be no contest, Heath over at first base over Keesey. But wait — San Francisco’s Gus Suhr had a year that made Heath’s look like Keesey’s! August hit .38¡, slugged .670 (on 523 total bases), had 62 doubles, 5¡ homers, drove in ¡77 runs and scored ¡96 runs! Now that, my friends, is a year. And yet, the nod went to Keesey, probably the third best first baseman in the league. At short, S.F.’s Frank Crosetti out hit Lee by 52 points, .3¡4–.262, out slugged him by ¡¡2 points, .44¡–.329, and hit 54 doubles and ¡2 homers to Lee’s 37 and 4. In 2¡ fewer games (and 62 fewer at bats), Crosetti scored only ten fewer runs but drove in ¡0 more. In the field, Lee handled 6.0 chances per game to Crosetti’s 5.8. I don’t think that that two-tenths of a chance per game overcomes Crosetti’s hitting advantage. The selected infield hit .3¡5 and slugged .449 with 553 runs (¡38 per man), 4¡6 RBIs (¡04 per), and 63 homers. An infield of Suhr, Reese, Vergez, and Crosetti infield hits .325 and slugs .5¡2 with 632 runs

(¡58 per man), 479 RBIs (¡20 per), and ¡03 homers. Once again, the choice is yours, but, once again, I’d go with my foursome. The outfield of the ’29 PCL o›ered so many terrific choices that I don’t envy the scribes having to choose just three. At the very least six other outfielders had years which can only be described as incredible, yet were snubbed at season’s end. Smead Jolly was not a good fielder, but how good do you have to be when you bat .387, slug .62¡, drive in ¡59 runs, score ¡72 and hit 65 doubles and 35 homers? (By the way, he did have 37 assists.) Irvin “Fuzzy” Hu›t of Oakland could field (366 PO, only 9 errors) and had a hitting year similar to that of Jolley: .379, .629, 57 doubles, 39 homers, ¡40 runs and ¡87 RBIs. Wally Berger of LA came in with 40 homers to go with ¡66 RBIs, ¡70 runs, a .335 BA and a .565 SA — and he was a very good fielder. Hollywood’s Cleo Carlyle could also go get them afield as his 44¡ POs attest, and he was no slouch at the plate, hitting .347, and slugging .536 with ¡46 runs and ¡36 RBIs. Earl Webb (LA) was not a good fielder, but not so bad that a .357 average and a .629 SA with ¡63 runs, ¡64 RBIs, 56 doubles and 37 homers couldn’t compensate. And finally, we come to Russell “Buzz” Arlett of Oakland. He was a horrid fielder, but a .374 batting average, a .655 slugging percentage, 70 doubles, ¡46 runs and ¡89 RBIs can cover a multitude of fielding sins Of the three outfielders who did make the All-Star

24

Minor League All-Star Teams

team, only one is beyond dispute: Ike Boone, who had one of the greatest years ever outside of the West Texas–New Mexico League (and he had an amazing 44 assists from his outfield spot). Funk had a good year, but not as good as the six who did not make the team. And Statz … well Jigger is a special case. The best flychaser in the history of the PCL, he had 5¡7 POs, and, thanks to the fact that he was not averse to accepting a walk, he was able to score beacoup runs. But either Berger or Carlyle could have played center and provided a lot more pop. The Funk/Statz/Boone outfield hits .364, slugs .544, scores 483 runs (¡6¡ per man), drives in 4¡8 runs (¡27 per), has 7¡ homers and ¡29 doubles (42 per). An outfield of, say, Boone, Arlett, and Jolley would not be very good afield (okay, it would be pretty bad), but it would hit an impressive .390, slug and equally impressive but devilish .666, score 523 runs (¡74 per man), drive in 566 runs (a striking ¡88 per), belt ¡29 homers (43 a man) and pop ¡84 doubles (6¡ per). Various other combinations produce totals in between the two listed above, but I’d risk a number of balls falling in for hits to have the staggering totals posted by Boone, Arlett, and Jolley. At catcher, it is hard to argue with the choice of Severeid, but Ernie Lombardi put up very similar

numbers for Oakland (.366/.587 with 24 homers and ¡09 RBIs). The league did not name a utility player, but there are two candidates who would ably fill that spot: Hollis “Sloppy” Thurston of San Francisco (who, I believe, was the first major-league pitcher to give up six home runs in one game) and Ray Jacobs of Los Angeles. Thurston played first and the outfield and hit .302 with 8 homers and 37 RBIs. Nothing special about that you say? Well I should mention that he was also 22–¡¡ as a pitcher. Ray Jacobs did not pitch, but he did play first, second, third, and short while hitting .332 and slugging .528 with ¡¡8 RBIs. There were no “great” pitching performances in the league, but the duo of Shellenback/Maha›ey (whose team finished 22 games under .500) is as good as any. The one that doesn’t fit is Ruether. Put his 4.7¡ on a team that did not hit .3¡9 (which Mission did) and he is a .500 pitcher at best. In fact, there were two other Mission pitchers who were better: Herman Polycarp Pillette (23–¡3, 3.59, ¡¡.8 BR/9) and Burt “King” Cole (24–¡2, 3.45). There was no relief pitcher chosen, but if there had been one, I would like to believe that it would have been Oakland’s Bob Hurst who finished 39 games out of 44 in which he appeared and was 8–7, 2.88 (the league’s only sub-3.00 ERA).

Texas League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Bill Kelley Cecil Stewart Ernie Holman Bill Ayers Jim Moore Randy Moore G. Blackerby Pete Lapan Irving Je›ries Fred Bennett

SP

Ch. “Whitey” Glazner George Payne Vic Frasier

SP SP

Team Beaumont Shreveport Shreveport Beaumont Dallas Dallas Waco Wichita Falls Dallas Wichita Falls

G 127 165 151 143 130 168 158 121 168 154

AB 451 654 522 528 472 664 600 338 630 552

H 142 172 160 163 172 245 219 124 192 203

R 77 107 112 103 91 114 132 61 86 127

TB 226 233 277 261 250 312 373 195 277 345

2B 31 37 30 35 36 51 45 33 37 39

3B 7 6 6 6 9 2 5 1 9 11

HR 13 4 25 17 8 2 33 12 10 27

RBI 86 85 98 78 100 116 115 63 89 145

BB 54 50 41 67 52 24 59 51 25 75

SB 11 38 6 21 11 15 4 4 11 13

BA .315 .263 .306 .309 .364 .369 .365 .367 .305 .368

SLG .501 .356 .531 .494 .530 .470 .622 .577 .440 .625

OB% .393 .317 .359 .387 .431 .390 .410 .457 .334 .443

G 33

GS —

CG 17

SH 1

W 15

L 9

% .625

IP 234

H 249

ER 97

SO 63

BB 55

ERA 3.78

BR/9 12.0

Wichita Falls 55 Dallas 47

— —

28 13

3 5

28 16

12 8

.700 .667

299 191

335 152

115 56

102 88

51 80

3.51 2.61

12.2 11.2

Dallas

First base was not a strong spot in the ’29 Texas league, but Gus Whelan of Shreveport seems to be about equal with Kelley, except for the fact that he scored ¡34 runs, 57 more than Kelley. Stewart was sort of an odd choice for second. He had superior range to the other candidates but was weak in all phases of hitting. Fort Worth’s Andy Harrington had .307/.428/.370 numbers with 95 runs and 8¡ RBIs. Joe Mellano of Waco was .276/.476/.373 with 9¡ RBIs, ¡24 runs and was second in the league

with 3¡ homers. Pete Turgeon of Wichita Falls was .306/.507/.353 with 98 RBIs and ¡¡6 runs. Any of them seems to have been just as worthy of an AllStar slot. Fred Bennett, who was chosen as a “Utility” player actually played all of his games in the outfield and should have been named to the team as such. Ed Moore of Fort Worth (.335/.479/.404 with 30 triples and a league-leading ¡43 runs) could have made the all-star outfield an all-Moore a›air, and that would

¡929 have been a unique bit of trivia. Joe Bonowitz (F.W.) was also in the mix with his 359/.543/.388, ¡04 RBIs and ¡08 runs. Je›ries, the other Utility choice played third and short.

25

James Lindsey of Houston (2¡–¡0, 2.88) was the best pitcher not named to the all-star team. Frasier, who finished 23 games, would have been the all-star reliever had there been one.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Frank Farrell Frank Parenti Bernard Helgeth Eddie Marshall Adolph Schinkle John Gill Harold Yordy Robert Munn Arthur Pond Walt Kimmick

SP SP

Joe Bloomer Andy Rush

SP SP SP

Team Albany Albany Albany Bridgeport Bridgeport Albany Albany Albany Providence Bridgeport

Springfield Allentown /Brid. C. Touchstone Providence James Weaver New Haven Earl Johnson Albany

G 139 148 154 154 153 147 147 109 120 146

AB 558 624 598 638 601 622 579 359 408 500

H 195 213 186 199 219 232 215 118 128 188

R 81 126 141 117 111 150 124 65 37 118

TB 273 296 269 248 321 367 378 164 170 288

2B 42 42 38 28 36 63 43 28 25 46

3B 9 16 15 9 24 15 15 6 4 6

HR 6 3 5 1 6 14 26 2 3 14

RBI BB 88 44 91 59 80 138 72 49 116 64 122 65 170 79 48 46 61 24 107 95

SB 9 11 14 24 18 17 4 1 0 17

BA ,349 .341 .311 .312 .364 .373 .371 .329 .314 .376

SLG .489 .465 .450 .389 .534 .590 .653 .457 .417 .576

OB% .392 .399 .445 .363 .428 .440 .450 .406 .356 .482

G 37 36

GS — —

CG 26 21

SH 5 4

W 15 23

L 12 6

% .583 .793

IP 266 254

H 280 248

ER 105 94

SO 79 97

BB 79 61

ERA 3.55 3.33

BR/9 12.2 11.1

40 32 45

— — —

29 16 22

3 2 2

22 14 21

12 5 13

.647 .737 .618

292 203 286

290 200 353

110 74 137

132 124 73

90 70 66

3.39 3.28 4.31

12.0 12.2 13.2

Bruce Caldwell of New Haven should have been the all-star first baseman. His .367/.66¡/.453 numbers are far superior to Farrell, and he had ¡20 runs and ¡36 RBIs in addition to leading the league in homers with 4¡. The outfield choices appear solid, but perhaps a fourth slot should have been added. Joe Cicero of Pittsfield hit .340, slugged .577, had an OB% of .4¡8 and scored ¡¡8 runs, drove in ¡25 runs and hit 25 homers. William Fitzgerald of Springfield scored ¡28 runs and drove in ¡24 to go with his .324/.575/.406 numbers. Bill Homan of Hartford had ¡40 RBIs and 24

homers to go with his .3¡5/.532/.365 averages. And perhaps utility choice Kimmick should have been an outfielder also, as he played ¡23 of his games there. Not surprisingly in a league that batted .298, no pitcher stood out. As pedestrian as the numbers of the All-Stars are, there really were none better. Ivey Andrews of Albany was 9–¡, 2.6¡ (the only league pitcher under 3.00), but he was only in ¡0 games and 79 innings. George Peery of Providence was ¡0–¡, 3.27 in ¡7 games. I would not have argued against either pitcher had he been chosen to the squad, given the pitching paucity of the league.

Central League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Ted Donovan Springfield Les Mallon Akron Sylvester Simon Erie Ed Taylor Canton John Reider Ft. Wayne Chuck Hostetler Akron Tripp Sigman Canton Dewey Hill Erie No selection made.

SP

Axel “Swede” Lindstrom Earl Brown

SP

G 128 107 119 89 139 104 127 129

AB 485 421 453 339 578 406 504 501

H R TB 160 96 222 141 81 231 153 105 278 118 66 191 185 120 340 146 72 200 156 103 320 167 72 231

2B 31 39 25 22 30 24 19 19

3B 8 6 5 9 9 9 11 12

HR RBI 5 80 13 87 30 97 11 69 36 134 4 61 41 108 7 89

BB 90 52 62 39 39 19 37 36

SB 32 12 30 13 19 35 14 3

BA .330 .336 .338 .348 .320 .360 .310 .333

SLG .458 .549 .614 .563 .588 .493 .635 .461

OB% .435 .408 .417 .415 .363 .388 .357 .378

Canton

G 44

GS —

CG —

SH —

W 24

L 11

% .685

IP 294

H 316

ER 120

SO 102

BB 77

ERA 3.68

BR/9 12.0

Dayton

34

—

—

—

17

8

.680

226

255

103

106

72

4.10

13.0

No HB figures for either pitchers or hitters were recorded, so OB% and BR/9 stats are approximate.

Most choices are pretty much right on. Only one outfield spot seems to open for dispute—Hostetler’s,

despite his .360 BA. It was a weak .360, with no power, no special on-base ability, and no evidence of

26

Minor League All-Star Teams

any run producing capability. Dayton’s Merville (.337/.608/.403) scored ¡¡0 runs and drove in ¡¡2. Ken Hogan of Erie wasn’t in Hostetler’s class as a hitter (only .282), but his OB% was only 7 points lower and he led the league in runs (¡25) and steals (55), along with being the premier flyhawk in the league (his 4¡3 POs were 42 more than the next best total).

It was a poor year for pitchers. The two choices, despite being hardly overpowering, were as good as any in the league except for Perkins (Charlie ?) of Canton (¡9–9, 3.72) who tied Lindstrom for the fewest BR/9 with ¡2.0.

New York-Pennsylvania League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP SP

Name Cy Anderson Glen Killinger Bobby Reece Johnny Shovlin L. “Babe” Fisher Austin McHenry Carr Smith Mickey O’Brien Joe Glenn

Team Williamsport Williamsport Binghamton Binghamton York Scranton Williamsport Binghamton Syracuse/ Hazleton No selection made.

Johnny Tillman James Lyle C. Schessler Harry Holsclaw Tho. “Lefty” George

Harrisburg Williamsport Harrisburg Syr/Haz York

G 130 128 139 132 136 139 139 112 97

G 39 32 36 33 36

GS — — — — —

AB 469 466 495 467 547 528 534 351 301

H R TB 179 91 237 148 98 224 149 72 203 156 81 223 174 115 262 184 103 284 179 105 280 71 41 94 89 45 131

CG — — — — —

SH — — — — —

W 21 17 18 18 20

L 12 9 10 11 13

2B 20 28 22 27 28 24 22 13 12

3B 16 18 10 11 9 11 17 2 6

% .636 .654 .643 .621 .606

HR RBI 2 68 4 52 4 88 6 92 14 77 18 115 15 94 2 45 6 55

IP 270 243 260 247 267

H 308 249 271 227 323

BB 45 61 56 50 54 29 30 44 30

ER 112 96 106 97 103

SB 29 37 20 15 20 19 11 7 6

BA .382 .318 .301 .334 .318 .348 .335 .202 .296

SLG .505 .481 .410 .478 .479 .538 .524 .268 .435

OB% .438 .397 .375 .402 .383 .384 .382 .290 .360

SO 67 97 54 110 66

BB 75 50 82 88 69

ERA 3.74 3.56 3.67 3.54 3.47

BR/9 13.1 11.2 12.5 11.9 13.4

Syr/Haz is Syracuse/Hazleton

York’s John Bentley was just about Anderson’s equal in every way at bat, but he had 87 RBIs and 46 doubles in addition to managing York. I’d have selected him. In the outfield, D.M. Brown of York played in only 78 games, but had 78 RBIs (one more than Fisher had in ¡36 games) and he hit .378, slugged .568 and had a good .446 OB%. At catcher, O’Brien had the lowest BA, SA, and OB% of any regular in the league—hardly sterling attributes for a spot on the NYP Dream Team. He would have had to have been the world’s greatest catcher to overcome that, and it is very doubtful that he was. Joe Cobb (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) had .3¡5/

.48¡/.382 numbers and would have been my choice for a second all-star catching spot. There was no worthy utility player. Just as with many ’29 leagues, there was no dominating pitcher in the NYP. Al Reitz of Scranton was ¡8–¡5, 3.08 (third in the league) for a .460, sixth place team. He obviously (to me, at least) should have replaced one of the five choices made by the scribes. Another pitcher who should have been selected was the league’s ERA champ, Jim Brice of Binghamton. He was ¡¡–5 with an ERA of 2.59, one of only two sub-3.00 ERAs in the league. His ¡¡.8 BR/9 ratio was the second best mark in the ’29 NYP.

South Atlantic Association (B) Strain was a playing manager. Jim Hudgens, who played first for Knoxville and Macon may have hit ¡6 points lower than Hipps (.306), but he had much more power (.530 SA), got on base more frequently (.39¡ OB%) and both scored and drove in more runs than did Hipps while appearing in ¡5 fewer games. He also finished second in the league with 2¡ home runs. In the outfield, I would have gone with Frank Welch, Strain, and Keyes. Welch of Greenville hit

much lower than Walker (.307), but with much greater e›ect. His .5¡7 SA was powered by a league leading 29 homers, and he had ¡¡2 RBIs to Walker’s 32. Sure. Walker played in fewer games, but even if you triple them, you only get 96 RBIs. Murray Howell of Greenville was also worth a shot, what with his .34¡ BA, .564 SA, .395 OB% and league leading ¡35 RBIs. At catcher, McRae should have at least been joined by (if not replaced by) John O’Connell of

¡929 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Hipps Thorpe Hamilton Harry Daughtry Eric McNair Odie Strain C.F. Walker Stan Keyes Art McRae Wm. “Chick” Outen

SP SP SP SP SP

Harry Smythe John Walker Al Bates Earl Brown John Allen

Team Asheville Knoxville Charlotte Knoxville Augusta Greenville Asheville Knoxville Asheville

Asheville Knoxville Knoxville Charlotte Asheville

G 140 130 149 91 146 80 110 121 119

G 22 44 36 43 34

GS — — — — —

AB 501 500 598 343 559 261 414 406 418

27

H R TB 162 68 216 145 101 220 177 90 255 134 58 181 202 106 274 97 52 125 156 85 265 122 48 152 143 105 224

CG — — — — —

SH — — — — —

W 15 25 23 21 20

Columbus (.297/.4¡7/.35¡) who scored 64 runs and drove in 66. Outen played third and OF. Once again, there were no heads-above-thecrowd pitchers in this league. The numbers for Bates are italicized because either the IP or the H totals had the last two digits transposed. I believe it was the IP, which should be 249 and would give a BR/9 of ¡0.7,

L 5 9 11 8 11

2B 25 35 33 25 30 13 30 13 27

3B 7 17 9 5 9 0 14 1 12

% .750 .735 .676 .724 .645

HR RBI 5 72 2 52 9 86 4 61 8 113 5 32 17 108 7 63 10 74

IP 166 280 294 243 249

H 177 298 246 235 219

BB 32 27 37 17 46 27 46 10 53

ER 68 105 128 101 92

SB 12 10 15 3 28 6 9 12 9

BA .322 .290 .296 .391 .361 .372 .377 .301 .342

SLG .431 .440 .426 .528 .490 .479 .640 .374 .536

OB% .368 .335 .343 .421 .414 .431 .444 .319 .417

SO 64 107 98 66 173

BB 41 33 48 58 126

ERA 3.69 3.38 3.92 3.74 3.32

BR/9 12.0 10.8 9.0 11.0 12.8

still among the best in the league but not so way out of the typical as the posted 9.0. A pitcher with a 9.0 BR/9 ratio would simply not have a 3.92 ERA, period. It should be noted that Walker did not live up to his name, walking only ¡.¡ batters every nine innings.

Southeastern League (B) Pos Name Team 1B Art Bourg Jacksonville 2B Harry Selma Collenberger 3B W.J. Meekin Jacksonville SS Robert Lennox Columbus OF Dick Tangeman Pensacola OF Jack Kloza Montgomery OF Parker Perry Selma C Bailey Tipton Montgomery UT No selection made.

SP SP SP

Pat Moulton Henry Shoaf Ray Phelps

Montgomery Selma Jacksonville

G 25 33 41

G AB H R TB 138 523 170 108 211 137 504 147 87 195

2B 22 26

3B 9 5

HR RBI 1 49 4 70

BB 62 42

SB BA 51 .325 12 .292

SLG .403 .387

OB% .401 .347

131 132 101 141 137 122

29 36 19 31 28 9

6 7 13 17 9 4

2 88 4 83 1 48 8 77 12 107 1 57

22 83 57 47 47 23

6 9 8 11 4 4

.283 .323 .373 .299 .359 .249

.376 .458 .494 .475 .519 .297

.317 .429 .458 .364 .416 .289

SO 28 45 136

BB 56 60 80

ERA 3.02 3.25 2.58

BR/9 12.9 11.8 11.2

GS — — —

502 461 397 505 513 417

142 149 148 151 184 104

CG — — —

59 84 80 94 77 42

SH — — —

189 211 196 240 266 124

W 11 17 23

L 5 11 11

% .688 .607 .676

IP 149 252 303

H 151 268 293

ER 50 91 87

In ’29, The Southeastern league was not a strikeout league, as pitchers only rung up 2.¡ Ks per game. It is almost enough to make one wonder if the walks and strikeouts were not transposed in the records.

The only change I would make is to move Tangeman to a utility slot (he did play ¡9 games at first) in order to open up an outfield slot for Pensacola’s Tom Pyle who compiled .353/.498/.409 averages and drove in ¡00 runs.

Roy Appleton of Tampa was 25–9, 2.72 and had a ¡0.4 BR/9 ratio. G. Ellis of Selma was ¡9–¡3, 2.34 with an ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio, yet neither of them was named to the squad. I’d have chosen both of them over Moulton and Shoaf.

Three-I League (B) Holke, Brady, and Coleman were playing managers. Holke led his team to the pennant, but, although

he had decent averages, they were strangely ine›ective. Decatur’s Alex Hooks hit .3¡5 with a .459 SA, scored ¡0¡ runs and drove in 89, second and sixth in

28

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Walter Holke Quincy Cli› Brady Peoria George Detore Decatur W. Krehmeyer Bloomington Bill Mizeur Springfield Marucis Du›y Peoria Nat Hickey Decatur Sanford Hamby Springfield No selection made.

SP SP

Whit Wyatt Bob Coleman

Evansville Evansville

G 76 135 135 135 117 139 126 111

G 35 30

GS — —

AB 243 526 488 486 421 522 460 365

H R TB 80 36 122 146 69 180 167 106 249 145 64 198 139 87 233 151 98 250 131 78 188 116 42 156

CG — —

SH — —

the league respectively, and would have been my first base choice. At second, Lafe Byard of Decatur (.295/.4¡2) drove in ¡0¡ runs, a league-leading figure. This team needs hitting, so his absence from the line-up is puzzling. Over at short, Krehmeyer was a much better fielder than Greg Mulleavy, but the Decatur shortstop was far superior at bat, a fact attested to by his .344/.468/.409 averages. He also scored ¡9 more runs in 60 fewer ABs. In the outfield, Decatur’s Floyd Patterson not only led the league with 349 POs, he also led the league with a .348 BA to go with a .479 SA, a .4¡7 OB% and 97 runs and 85 RBIs. Once again, his absence from the team makes no sense. I would have chosen him over Du›y or Hickey in a heartbeat. I also would have chosen Ivey Shiver of Evansville over either of those two. Shiver (.3¡5/.520/.406) scored 97 runs and drove in 98. For the utility slot, I would have gone with George

W 22 13

2B 13 22 16 29 26 20 20 17

L 6 9

3B 1 3 18 9 10 8 11 10

% .786 .591

HR RBI 9 35 2 46 10 93 2 60 16 100 21 72 5 68 1 68

IP 255 187

H 217 165

BB 33 62 65 58 59 65 28 34

ER 86 77

SB 6 10 29 16 6 16 18 5

BA .329 .278 .342 .298 .330 .289 .285 .318

SLG .502 .342 .510 .407 .553 .479 .409 .427

OB% .409 .355 .427 .382 .424 .376 .330 .376

SO 177 121

BB 89 92

ERA 3.03 3.71

BR/9 11.0 12.7

“Pooch” Puccinelli (Danville) who played first and the outfield and registered .326/.553/.4¡6 numbers with 60 RBIs in only 87 games. As an aside, the team as chosen bats .306, slugs .449, scores 580 runs (73 per man) and drives in 542 runs (69 per). The team which I would have chosen hits .325, slugs .479, scores 7¡0 runs (89 per man), and drives in 662 runs (83 per). There were only two pitchers chosen for the AllStar squad, but they were the wrong two. Wyatt did have a good year, and I would consider him the league’s third best pitcher. The best, and in my estimation by far the best, was Danville’s Alex Grabowski. He went ¡6–¡4, 2.6¡ on a team that was 45 games under .500 and which played woeful .280 ball when he was not involved in the decision. He also was second with ¡63 Ks and third with ¡¡.4 BR/9. Lee Daney of Bloomington was ¡5–¡0 on a .500 team, had a 2.79 ERA and led the league with 9.7 BR/9. By my reckoning, he was the second best pitcher in the league.

Mississippi Valley League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Cletus Dixon J. Armstrong “Spot” Grant George Young John Bengel Ed Stock Elmer Klumpp Mike Dempsey

SP SP SP SP SP

J. MacDonald Greg Becker H. Applegren Albert Eckert Joe Hu›

Team Waterloo Davenport Waterloo Burlington Burlington Dubuque Burlington Cedar Rapids

Burlington Waterloo Keokuk Dubuque Burlington

G 33 38 32 30 9

G 119 73 105 121 74 124 100 93

GS — — — — —

AB 452 274 393 452 282 461 387 309

H R TB 2B 3B 123 93 152 18 5 85 67 120 18 7 144 72 198 25 7 107 72 159 23 7 83 58 122 13 10 144 111 237 28 7 125 48 164 28 1 85 43 114 15 4 No selection made.

CG — — — — —

SH — — — — —

W 15 17 16 19 3

L 9 15 12 6 3

% .625 .541 .571 .760 .500

HR RBI 0 — 1 — 5 — 5 — 2 — 17 — 3 — 2 —

IP 244 255 224 215 68

H 185 292 249 231 77

BB 63 45 44 66 37 71 22 26

ER — — — — —

SB 33 16 11 20 12 33 13 6

BA .274 .310 .366 .237 .294 .312 .322 .275

SLG .336 .438 .504 .352 .433 .514 .424 .369

OB% .369 .409 .432 .340 .382 .415 .367 .335

SO 124 88 106 112 17

BB 124 83 55 54 34

ERA — — — — —

BR/9 11.0 13.4 12.5 12.4 14.8

Earned runs not recorded, so no ERAs given. “Spot” Grant’s first name may have been Duncan.

¡929 Dixon and Young were playing managers. Dixon may have managed the second place team, but his hitting does not hold a candle to Ed Hendee (Davenport).Hendee went .362/.543/.394 with 94 runs, leading the league in BA and hits. At second base, Paul Speraw of Dubuque hit .324 and his ¡¡2 runs were a league leading figure. Otto Bluege (Dubuque) dominated the fielding stats at short, leading in PO, A, and FA. He also hit .266 (29 points higher than Young) and scored 94 runs. In the outfield, I would keep Stock but replace Bengel and Klumpp with Waterloo’s Ken Storme and Keokuk’s John Schinski. Storme went .346/.603/.4¡2 and led with 23 home runs. Schinski (.333/.493/.429) scored ¡¡¡ runs and led the league with 40 doubles. No utility player was named, but the spot would

29

certainly have been ably filled by Johnny Niggeling. Not only was he ¡5–4 as a pitcher, but he also hit .295, slugged .439 and played second and third when he wasn’t pitching. The league named five pitchers as “All-Stars,” and managed to leave the league’s three best hurlers of o› the team! Al Eckert of Dubuque went ¡9–6, H.H. Miller of Cedar Rapids went ¡9–7 for a team that was 39–60 (.394) when he wasn’t involved in the decision, and he also led the league with a ¡0.4 BR/9 mark. And the aforementioned Niggeling of Waterloo (¡5–4) led the league in winning percent with .789 and was second with ¡0.5 BR/9 allowed. As to how Joe Hu› pu›ed his way onto an All-Star team at any level with a 3–3 record, twice as many walks as strikeouts and ¡4.8 BR/9, I am afraid I haven’t a clue.

Nebraska State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Herm Cholcher Herb Pember Hugh Graham Roy Tarr John Stoneham Ed Taylor Eddie Lass Otto Cholcher Morgan Snyder John Gabler

SP SP SP SP SP

Andy Bednar Jean Jones Vito SanFilippo D. Beckworth Glen Dacus

Team Lincoln McCook Norton McCook McCook Lincoln Fairbury Lincoln York Lincoln

McCook Norton Fairbury York Norton

G 99 117 114 108 87 115 114 107 116 116 G 34 27 41 36 32

GS — — — — —

AB 347 485 432 420 322 415 459 387 475 414

H R TB 115 68 168 194 117 280 135 81 182 134 109 197 132 65 211 128 81 212 170 100 240 116 48 151 162 85 244 133 72 176

CG — — — — —

SH — — — — —

Outfielder Owens of Norton led the league in PO and A (32) and hit .3¡5/.455/.388 with 97 runs. I could be persuaded to choose him over Taylor — or have four outfielders. There was a logjam at the utility spot. Gabler played second and short. Snyder, chosen for catcher, only played 27 games there — and 85 in the outfield. LeRoy Schalk (Fairbury) played second, third and short and hung up .343/.509/.383 averages. W. Seel-

W 21 15 18 20 12

L 4 8 10 8 10

2B 19 22 26 14 17 26 38 14 29 14

3B 14 20 9 14 16 23 7 9 16 10

% .840 .652 .643 .714 .545

HR RBI 2 — 8 — 1 — 7 — 10 — 4 — 6 — 1 — 7 — 3 — IP 230 209 224 241 186

H 214 172 178 272 170

BB 42 21 67 60 48 71 21 15 27 37 ER 76 50 62 90 64

SB 11 19 29 22 13 26 15 5 12 16

BA .331 .400 .313 .320 .410 .308 .370 .300 .341 .321

SLG .484 .591 .421 .469 .655 .511 .523 .390 .514 .425

OB% .407 .425 .407 .407 .492 .413 .402 .337 .381 .381

SO 178 110 201 118 150

BB 30 57 116 52 78

ERA 2.91 2.15 2.49 3.36 3.10

BR/9 9.9 10.0 12.1 12.4 12.7

man (North Platte) played first, third and the outfield and had excellent .372/.546/.43¡ numbers in addition to scoring 82 runs and finishing tied for third in homers with eleven. In the end, I would have gone with two utility players: Seelman and Snyder. The only change I would make on the pitching roster would be to replace Dacus with Preston Chalk of Grand Island. Chalk was ¡2–¡0 for a sub-.500 team, had a 2.94 ERA and an excellent ¡0.0 BR/9 ratio.

West Texas League (D) The league as a whole hit .298, slugged .449, and had a .363 OB%. An average of ¡3.¡ runs was scored in every game. The Midland Colts hit .33¡, had a .523 SA, an OB% of .406, and averaged 8.6 runs a game. This was one wild and wooly league. The choice of Stebbins is … insane. Ed Kallina of Midland had one of the truly monster years at the plate. Check out these numbers: A .433 batting aver-

age. A .907 (!) slugging average, one of the highest of all-time. A .524 (!) on base percentage, again, one of the highest ever. He scored ¡26 runs in only 94 games and hit 44 home runs in only 367 at bats, one every 8.3 at bats. In a full season, he would have had 65–70 homers and scored over 200 runs, probably had 500 total bases and, had RBIs been kept, would have had well over 200.

30

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Lee Stebbens Robert Rawlins Sam Coleman John Norek Cameron Best Ed McMillan George Nebel Art Bradbury Neal Rabe

Coleman San Angelo San Angelo Abilene Coleman San Angelo Abilene Abilene Big Spring

SP SP

Tom Vaughn Gene Moore

Ballinger Midland

G

AB

83 111 98 100 107 101 100 102 114

361 410 357 389 482 384 408 354 416

H

R

TB

2B

3B

HR RBI

130 65 206 27 8 145 117 248 34 3 91 39 147 15 4 116 95 169 25 5 168 96 286 39 19 130 85 267 23 6 128 54 200 22 13 109 63 165 19 5 120 65 166 17 10 No selection made.

11 21 11 6 14 33 8 9 3

— — — — — — — — —

BB

SB

BA

SLG

OB%

16 66 22 73 29 43 21 34 18

2 25 7 10 3 9 18 0 12

.360 .354 .255 .298 .349 .339 .314 .308 .289

.571 .605 .412 .434 .593 .695 .490 .466 .399

.391 .444 .307 .406 .388 .416 .359 .377 .329

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

25 39

— —

17 14

— —

13 12

5 11

.722 .522

162 210

142 220

38 113

91 147

28 99

2.11 4.84

9.8 14.1

Earned runs are very incomplete, so the ER and ERA columns are italicized.

At third, J. Lewis (Midland) hit .33¡, slugged 539, scored 98 runs in 84 games, and hit ¡7 homers. He was also, by far, the best fielding third baseman in the league. Coleman is yet another weak and mysterious selection by the Sages of the Sagebrush. At least two of the outfield choices (Best and Nebel) seem flawed. Here are three guys who didn’t make the squad: Julian Flowers (Midland), .358/.58¡/ .4¡9 with ¡36 runs in ¡¡3 games. John King, playing manager of Midland, .360/.620/.449 with ¡23 runs in only ¡02 games (as well as 26 homers and 43 doubles). And, the most egregiously overlooked, George Orr (Abilene), .422/.793/.5¡4, 95 runs in 9¡ games with 28 homers. My gosh, what does a guy have to do to make an All-Star team around here? There was no utility player chosen, but another Midland Colt fills that bill admirably. D.M. Cheeves played second and the outfield and complied .346/.625/.4¡5 numbers with ¡¡7 runs and 3¡ homers.

The team, as selected, has a .3¡9 BA, a .520 SA, scores 679 runs and pops ¡¡6 homers. The team, as selected by me, hits .355, slugs .6¡8, blasts ¡85 homers and scores 804 runs— and remember, these numbers were compiled over a ¡20 game season. Add another 20%, and the figures are staggering. At pitcher, the choice of Moore seems odd — a pitcher who was ¡2–¡¡ on a team that was ¡5 games over .500 and scored, as mentioned above, 8.6 runs a game doesn’t seem to merit all-star status to me. The fact that he surrendered 7.3 runs (not earned runs) a game also militates against his selection. Jimmie Parker of Ballanger was ¡8–7 and Midland’s Blake was ¡3–2. I would have chosen one of those two over Moore. There was no relief pitcher chosen, but Ed Kallina (yes, the same of the .433/.907/.524 stats) finished ¡3 games, third most in the league, and who would you rather have hitting in the late innings?

! ¡930 ! In ¡930 there were 27 leagues in the National Association. Fifteen of them (63%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AA) This is one of the most unassailable teams of the year. The only spots which might be in dispute are an outfield position and a pitching change. Tom Jenkins of Milwaukee was my choice for the third outfielder on the squad. He hit .345, slugged .572, had a .406 OB%, popped 24 homers, scored ¡20 runs, and drove in ¡27. I had him over Simons, but I think Simons had too good a year to pass over unnoticed. It seems that the league might have had a fourth outfield slot, so that justice would be done and honor served.

There was no utility man chosen, but Dan Bloxam of Milwaukee played short, third and the outfield and had .32¡/.543 numbers with ¡¡6 RBIs. He also finished second in the league with 29 homers. Open a spot, the man is deserving. At pitcher, no hurler with over ¡54 IP had an ERA lower than 3.50. Bill Burwell of Indianapolis went ¡7–¡2 for a .393 last place team which finished 33 games under.500. To me, that is an All-Star quality performance, especially in a year with no dominant pitchers. There was no relief pitcher chosen, but Ben

¡930 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C

Name Team Dudley Branom Louisville Jack Saltzgaver St. Paul M. Hopkins St. Paul Jose Olivares Louisville B. LeBourveau Toledo Mel Simons Louisville Nick Cullop Minneapolis Walter “Butch” Toledo Henline UT No selection made.

SP SP

Phil Weinert Wilcey Moore

Louisville St. Paul

G 154 154 146 154 138 154 139 103

G 36 44

GS — —

AB 617 654 533 567 526 668 515 308

H 194 202 143 168 200 248 185 107

CG — —

R 90 122 65 100 122 134 150 63

SH — —

Tincup of Louisville, who appeared in 43 games and averaged less than three innings an outing, was obviously used to finish games. He went ¡4–3 (.824) which is excellent and had a 3.5¡ ERA. As an aside on the league, in ¡930 the A.A. outhit

31

TB 264 324 226 235 292 360 393 163

W 16 22

L 11 9

2B 20 43 21 34 36 49 28 22

3B 8 11 7 9 16 15 9 8

% .593 .710

HR 14 19 16 5 8 11 54 6

IP 243 272

RBI 123 100 89 72 100 88 152 64

H 252 325

BB 54 55 57 44 50 51 69 51

ER 98 123

SB 9 13 3 24 36 13 8 7

BA .314 .309 .268 .296 .380 .371 .359 .347

SLG .428 .495 .424 .414 .555 .539 .763 .529

OB% .377 .365 .342 .354 .441 .418 .441 .449

SO 132 101

BB 82 58

ERA 3.63 4.07

BR/9 12.9 13.0

the N.L. 306–.303. Every team hit at least .300. The league had a slugging percentage of .446 and an average of ¡2.¡ runs was scored every game. Three teams gave up over ¡000 runs, and Minneapolis slugged .493 and scored 7.¡ runs a game.

International League (AA) Pos Name Team 1B J. “Rip” Collins Rochester 2B Geo. “Specs” Rochester Torporcer 3B Jim Stroner Baltimore SS Bill Urbanski Montreal OF R. Worthington Rochester OF John “Pepper” Rochester Martin OF Vince Barton Baltimore C Frank Grube Bu›alo UT

SP SP

Paul Derringer Rochester Stew Bolen Baltimore

G AB H R TB 167 623 234 165 426 167 622 191 134 253

2B 34 49

3B 19 5

158 162 128 135

36 44 25 33

7 10 12 18

584 602 467 482

193 122 324 190 92 281 175 95 248 175 121 304

150 589 201 143 361 38 13 104 345 120 65 181 29 4 No selection made. G 44 35

GS — —

CG 16 16

SH 2 3

It not so much who was on the team as who was left o› of it. It is exceptionally hard to dispute the selection of Collins at first, but consider this: Joe Hauser of Baltimore only hit .3¡2, but his SA was a sterling .7¡8 and his OB% was a not-to-shabby .423. All well and good—but, did I mention that he hit 63 homers, scored ¡73 runs and drove in ¡75? The International League first base All-Star spot is this years leading nominee for the “There Should Have Been Co-All-Stars” award. There was also a challenge to the second base position. Walt Gautreau of Montreal hit .295 and had an OB% of .4¡4. He drove in 80 runs and scored ¡26. In the field he had 947 TCs (including a monster 538 assists) to “Spec’s” 953 chances. In almost any other year, Gautreau would have been the second baseman of choice. At third, Rochester’s Joe Brown hit .3¡3, had an OB% of .407, and scored a huge ¡53 runs. In the field,

W 23 19

L 11 9

% .676 .679

HR RBI BB 40 180 86 1 61 125 27 9 8 20

130 100 113 114

60 41 41 51

32 133 8 54

58 46

IP 289 235

H 310 246

ER 125 112

SB BA 9 .376 21 .307

SLG .684 .407

OB% .453 .438

1 25 4 26

.331 .318 .375 .363

.555 .467 .531 .631

.398 .363 .429 .423

8 .341 6 .348

.613 .527

.415 .433

ERA 3.89 4.29

BR/9 12.1 13.8

SO 164 124

BB 72 107

both Brown and Stroner had over 300 assists, but Stroner committed ¡9 more errors. Again, this position is— or should have been — a toss-up. At short there is also a “Pope in Avignon.” This time it is “Heinie” Sand of Baltimore. Not only did he hit .32¡, slug .506, and have an OB% of .402 (all better than Urbanski), but he also had more runs and RBIs in fewer ABs. Each of the shortstops had over 500 assists, and, even though Sand committed six more errors, I would go with the Sandman. The four o‡cial selectees hit .332, slugged .528, had an OB% of .4¡¡, scored 5¡3 runs (¡28 a man), drove in 47¡ (¡¡8 a man), and hit 77 homers. My suggested alternates hit .3¡¡, slugged .528, had a .406 OB%, scored 553 runs (¡38 a man), drove in 43¡ runs (¡08 a man), and hit 96 homers. BA advantage to selectees, power advantage to alternative choices, OB% about a wash. Looks, as predicted, like just about a 50–50 split to me.

32

Minor League All-Star Teams

The outfield o›ers no such dilemmas. The only possible quibble would be the fact that this team lacks a centerfielder, but that could be overlooked if another player’s o›ensive numbers were so staggeringly superior that exclusion on the basis of lack of range would be self-defeating. Having said that, Baltimore’s Frank McGowan led the league with 383 POs and had 22 assists from center to accompany his .336/.520/.402 numbers (with ¡33 runs and ¡¡3 RBIs). My choice for catcher would have been Al Head of Montreal. He hit .335 with 74 runs and 8¡ RBIs, and his sta› had better results (22 wins better) which had to, in some part, however small, be due to his handling of the pitchers. No utility player was chosen, but Herb Thomas, who split his season between Newark and Bu›alo,

would have filled the bill nicely. He played second, third, and short and hit a robust .323 with a .508 SA. He scored ¡¡6 runs, drove in ¡3¡ and had ¡9 homers and 43 doubles. At pitcher, John Berley of Rochester would have been a better choice than Bolen. Berley was ¡6–8 with a league leading 2.49 ERA and allowed two BR/9 fewer than Bolen. No relief pitcher was named, but the Orioles’ Jim Weaver would have been an obvious choice. He both started and relieved, but he finished 25 of the 55 games in which he appeared, second in the league, and his 3.36 ERA was third in the league. And as a final note here: Baltimore hit the fabulous (especially for the time) total of 233 homers and had a .507 SA.

Pacific Coast League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Earl Sheely Frank Sigafoos Fred Haney Frank Crosetti Jonn Moore Myril Hoag W. Schulmerich Johnny Bassler

SP SP SP SP

Ed Baecht Jimmy Zinn Jim Turner F. Shellenback

Team San Francisco Los Angeles Los Angeles San Francisco Los Angeles Sacramento Los Angeles Hollywood

G Los Angeles 49 San Francisco 39 Hollywood 36 Hollywood 36

G 183 165 180 189 142 188 189 123

AB 718 702 673 782 546 725 692 348

GS — — — —

H 289 214 210 261 187 244 263 127

CG 32 30 22 22

R TB 2B 3B 120 413 35 1 129 335 46 9 127 278 37 5 171 424 66 8 120 314 45 2 148 370 57 9 162 412 51 7 49 147 18 1 No selection made. SH 4 2 1 0

W 26 26 21 19

L 12 12 9 7

% .684 .684 .700 .731

HR 29 19 7 27 26 17 28 0

IP 364 316 258 262

RBI 180 103 80 113 101 121 130 71

H 347 336 303 304

BB — — — — — — — —

ER 131 143 109 130

SB 6 25 52 21 15 19 12 5

BA .403 .305 .312 .334 .343 .337 .380 .365

SLG .575 .477 .413 .542 .575 .510 .595 .422

SO 179 132 92 111

BB 125 80 58 59

ERA 3.23 4.07 3.80 4.64

BR/9 11.7 12.0 12.7 12.7

No walks recorded for hitters, hence no OB%.

Once again the PCL was tough to handicap. This was such a hitter’s league (the league hit .302 and averaged 3.8 doubles and ¡¡ runs a game), and so many all-time minor league greats played here that some terrific years by some terrific hitters are going to be, perforce, left o› of any putative All Star compilation. At second, Jim Monroe of Mission racked up .350/.534 stats with ¡58 runs and ¡06 RBIs. He was more of an o›ensive force than Sigafoos, but also had 24 more errors. At third, Johnny Vergez (Oakland) was .307/.5¡¡, scoring ¡38 runs and driving in ¡25, along with 29 homers. He had ten more errors than Haney, but was a far greater threat at bat. In the outfield, Mission’s Ike Boone was ignored because he only played in 83 games. However, when called up he was batting .448 with a .752 SA. He had scored 76 runs and already driven in 96. I would have made him an All-Star. Dave Barbee, who split his season between Seattle and Hollywood, hit .325,

slugged .595, scored ¡32 runs, and drove in ¡55 to go with his 4¡ home runs. “Fuzzy” Hu›t was even better for Mission with his .360/.598 numbers, ¡40 runs ¡78 RBIs— and he could play center. And, of course, “Buzz” Arlett, who couldn’t field his way out of the proverbial wet paper bag, had another monster season at bat: .36¡, .626 with ¡32 runs, ¡43 RBIs, 57 doubles and 3¡ homers. My choice for the three outfield spots would’ve been Boone, Hu›t and Schulmerich, and I would have named a fourth in Arlett. At catcher, I can’t figure out why Ernie Lombardi was not chosen yet again. He wasn’t that bad a fielder or game caller, yet his .370/.594 averages (terrific for an outfielder, almost unbelievable for a catcher) didn’t sway any of the selectors. He also out-RBIed Bassler by 34 with ¡05, outscored him by 27 with 76 and outhomered him 22 to zero. On my (nonpro›ered and time-line altering ballot), it was the Schnozz by a nose, if you get my drift.

¡930 There was no utility player chosen, but there were some players who could have filled that bill. “Jigger” Statz, L.A. legend, continued his stellar outfielding but also played 2¡ games at third. Marv Owen of Seattle hit .300 while playing all four infield positions. “Indian” Bob Johnson of Portland played first, outfield and short. He only hit .265, but it was a powerful .265 (2¡ homers and 93 RBIs). Ray Brubaker of Oakland hit .344 while playing second, third, and outfield. “Prince” Henry Oana of San Francisco hit

33

.326 in 79 games at first third and the outfield, while slugging .523 and driving in 53 runs in those 79 games. Despite the low average, I would have chosen Bob Johnson. At pitcher, I wouldn’t replace any of the selectees, but I would find a spot for Sacramento’s Tony Frietas, ¡9–6 with a 3.24 ERA and ¡¡.9 BR/9. No relief pitcher was chosen, but ’Frisco’s Hal Turpin, who finished 29 games and was ¡0–¡¡ with a 3.86 ERA, would have been the leading contender.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C C UT

Name Team Bruce Caldwell Albany O. Guy Lacy Allentown Bill Dressen Springfield Billy Werber Albany Bill Jarrett Allentown Ray Fitzgerald Bridgeport Ralph Boyle Prov/Albany F. Kohlbecker Springfield Art Veltman Bridgeport Bill Karlon Springfield No selection made.

SP SP SP SP

Sam Hyman John Michaels T. McNamara Miles Hunter

Allentown Bridgeport Albany Bridgeport

G 87 149 155 84 175 172 155 87 136 129

G 30 39 34 30

GS — — — —

AB 321 589 490 316 658 599 618 276 458 450

H 122 180 169 107 217 198 207 80 139 138

CG 20 13 20 7

R 63 109 103 80 126 118 130 30 69 74

SH 2 1 1 2

TB 206 267 257 147 314 279 324 120 198 235

W 24 16 13 9

L 6 7 13 6

2B 19 32 28 14 32 30 49 10 22 24

3B 7 14 15 7 16 13 22 0 11 5

% .800 .696 .500 .600

HR RBI BB 17 102 33 9 89 34 10 86 120 4 39 33 11 135 36 10 98 92 8 77 86 10 48 21 5 77 30 21 83 42

IP 261 195 241 132

H 272 233 284 112

ER 95 78 110 43

SB 6 8 23 16 17 50 14 1 9 12

BA .380 .306 .346 .339 .330 .322 .335 .290 .304 .307

SLG .642 .453 .524 .465 .477 .466 .524 .435 .432 .522

OB% .441 .343 .476 .405 .365 .423 .419 .342 .346 .368

SO 90 53 65 68

BB 101 54 41 75

ERA 3.28 3.60 4.81 2.93

BR/9 13.0 13.4 11.4 13.0

Prov. is Providence.

I have no disagreements with the position players on this all-star team. I do, however, have a question. Why did the league feel it was necessary to have three catchers? Veltman and Karlon seem to be quite su‡cient, and, if forced to have three catchers, my third choice would be John Pasek who led the league in games caught and was adequate at bat (.280). There was no utility player chosen, but Oscar Ro-

driguez of Allentown played third, second, and short and hit .297 with 78 runs and 78 RBIs. This was yet another league with no strong pitchers. Les Signor (Bridgeport) who was a mediocre ¡¡–8 but he led the league with a 2.45 ERA, and could have replaced McNamara with no diminution of the sta›’s e›ectiveness.

Southern Association (A) In a league that hit .304 and where teams averaged right around six runs a game, it is not unreasonable to expect that heavy hitters would dominate the All-Star team. Yet, in several instances, players were chosen over others at the same position who had far superior stats— and fielding was not a factor. For example, at second, Jay Partridge of Nashville hit .36¡, had a very good .630 SA, and wrangled an equally good .436 OB%. He blasted hit 40 homeruns, second in the league, drove in ¡27 runs and scored ¡55, and he committed 20 fewer errors than Sheehan. His 556 assists were ¡2¡ more than Sheehan, and his 375 POs were 87 more. He dominated his position at

bat and in the field, yet was not deemed of All-Star caliber. What goes on here? At third, Urbane Pickering (Birmingham) exceeded Strohm in every important statistical category with his averages of .343, .509, and .399. He also had ¡07 RBIs, scored only eight fewer runs in 55 fewer ABs, and he had nine fewer errors. It appears as if this is another spooky S.A. mystery choice. And the mystery deepens. At short, while Appling would go on to a Hall of Fame career, he was not the best at his position in the S.A. of ’30. George “Buck” Redfern hit .349, slugged .472, and had a .409 OB%. He not only out hit Luke, he out-fielded him by a furlong, as Appling finished last in fielding and Red-

34

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Jim Poole Jack Sheehan Harry Strohm Luke Appling Art Weis E. “Tex” Jeanes Fred Eichrodt Ed Kenna W. Campbell Tom Taylor Eddie Rose

SP SP SP SP SP SP SP

Billy Bayne Earl Caldwell Harry Kelly W. Glazner Leo Moon C. Touchstone W. Hughes

Team Nashville Atlanta Little Rock Atlanta Birmingham Memphis New Orleans Chattanooga Memphis New Orleans Little Rock

Chattanooga Birmingham Memphis New Orleans Little Rock Birmingham Little Rock

G 153 156 148 104 153 143 167 144 91 106 147 G 40 36 47 34 41 26 38

GS — — — — — — —

AB 590 580 590 374 573 560 650 444 237 333 536

H 215 185 198 122 192 188 211 129 72 119 176

CG — — — — — — —

R 140 142 110 63 113 111 128 60 51 87 105 SH — — — — — — —

fern second, with both having around 5.6 chances a game. In the outfield, batting champ (.380) Joe Hutcheson of Memphis was left o› the team, even though he also led the league with a .643 SA and had very good .459 OB%. Although he only played in ¡2¡ games, he scored ¡0¡ runs and drove in ¡¡3. Atlanta’s Si Rosenthal hit .355 to go with his .5¡6 SA and .420 OB%. His 43 doubles contributed to ¡06 runs scored and ¡09 RBIs. My outfield would have been Hutcheson, Eichrodt, and Jeanes, with Rosenthal in reserve. Of the two utility players selected, one (Rose) played only outfield. Taylor played first and third and compiled good stats in his ¡06 games. However, there are two players who should be in Rose’s slot: Leon “Red” Treadway of Chattanooga, and Frank Brazill of Memphis. Treadway played second, third and the outfield and had averages of .369, .522, and .4¡0. He had ¡06 runs and ¡02 RBIs. Brazill split his time between first and second and complied .333/ .548/.4¡¡ numbers, scored ¡06 runs and drove in ¡¡7.

TB 407 253 286 190 291 276 357 185 98 164 271 W 21 20 19 19 18 15 15

L 12 12 11 8 9 6 14

2B 32 43 53 19 24 34 34 30 21 15 35

3B 3 11 7 17 18 21 23 4 3 9 6

% .636 .625 .633 .704 .667 .714 .517

HR 50 1 7 5 13 4 22 6 3 4 16 IP 250 250 246 267 248 191 249

RBI BB 167 77 59 100 91 34 75 29 109 73 119 58 137 50 74 51 47 59 79 73 110 53 H 287 272 257 281 262 195 266

ER 140 123 107 99 82 81 105

SB 19 13 22 13 6 14 21 8 1 10 15

BA .364 .319 .336 .326 .335 .336 .325 .291 .304 .357 .328

SLG .690 .436 .485 .508 .508 .493 .549 .417 .414 .492 .506

OB% .441 .420 .374 .378 .411 .414 .373 .365 .450 .483 .394

SO 112 46 87 72 64 54 101

BB 97 58 77 53 67 48 92

ERA 5.06 4.43 3.92 3.40 2,98 3.81 3.80

BR/9 14.3 12.0 12.3 11.6 12.0 11.8 13.0

Both would have been superior choices at a utility slot over the Rose of Little Rock. As you would expect in a league that hit .304, no pitcher stood out. Even Bayne and his 5.06 ERA belongs among the seven o‡cially chosen pitchers, as he must’ve had amazing luck to be a .636 pitcher on a team that played .380 ball without him on the mound, and, as we all know, it’s better to be lucky than to be good. And a note of interest: Mobile, which wound up 40–¡¡2, .263, gave up 8.¡ (!) runs a game had only one pitcher (and he only pitched in 75 innings) under 6.00 in ERA. Their #2 pitcher, Ed Pipgras, was 2–¡8 with an 8.52 ERA, gave up ¡0.5 runs a game and allowed an incredible (for anyone with more than ten innings pitched) 2¡.2 BR/9 (!). He walked 7+ men per nine IP and had ¡60 walks against only 76 Ks, less than half a strike-out for every walk. What a year, and yet, he reached the majors (albeit for the proverbial cup of co›ee) two years later. Oh yes, Pipgras was also 0–¡ in a short stint in the Texas League in ¡930.

Texas League (A) I am not against naming fellows who had partial seasons to All-Star teams (especially in the low minors), but to have four such players seems a bit excessive. The fact that in two instances there were superior players available also makes naming so many short-timers a bit dubious. At third, Ernie Holman of Shreveport had .306/ .554/.438 numbers to go with 99 runs driven in, 95 runs scored, and a league-leading ¡08 walks. He also led the league in assists, put-outs and double plays. His numbers were in all ways better than the short-

timer Fowler, who also just happened to finish last in fielding at .89¡. At second, Lin Storti would have been at least as good a choice as Mallon. Mallon hit for a higher average and did have a higher OB%, but the Wichita Falls Spudder Storti had 30 homers to go with his ¡¡4 runs and ¡27 RBIs and led the league in assists, putouts and DPs. Either player could have held down the job equally well, or so it seems from the stats. UPik-M. Outfielder Eckhardt’s year was strangely unpro-

¡930 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF

Name Team Irv “Jack” Burns Wichita Falls Les Mallon Fort Worth Chester Fowler Fort Worth James Levey Wichita Falls Jack Kloza Wichita Falls Homer Peel Houston Oscar “Ox” Beaumont Eckhardt C Jack Crouch Wichita Falls C Royce Morrow Houston UT No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Lil Stoner D. Whitworth Bob McCabe J. “Dizzy” Dean Hal Wiltse Tony Kaufman

Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Houston Wichita Falls Houston

G 153 150 83 151 153 58 147

AB 604 566 265 662 597 211 573

H 215 188 83 191 207 81 217

R 130 107 49 135 144 41 99

95 330 107 125 415 132

G 30 48 44 14 35 12

GS — — — — — —

CG 13 16 13 5 22 7

35

TB 357 280 112 291 346 130 306

2B 47 38 21 42 39 22 55

3B 4 9 1 5 8 6 5

48 165 64 203

17 33

4 1

SH 2 1 3 1 5 0

ductive for a .379 hitter — he didn’t reach the century mark in either runs scored or driven in. I feel that Larry Bettencourt and Howard Fitzgerald, both of Wichita Falls, contributed more to their team’s success. Bettencourt (.320/.6¡2/.405) hit 43 homers, scored ¡30 runs and drove in ¡45. Fitzgerald had .33¡/.5¡5/.4¡9 averages and scored ¡34 runs to go with his 5¡ doubles and ¡02 RBIs. He also led in OF POs. Two short-time pitchers made the six man allstar list, Dean and Kaufman. While there is no doubt both men performed very well in their stay in the

W 14 20 20 8 19 7

L 6 11 7 2 9 2

% .700 .645 .741 .800 .679 .778

HR RBI 29 125 12 76 2 40 16 90 28 126 5 40 8 83 11 12

IP 186 261 245 85 250 80

71 73

H 172 271 261 62 246 63

BB 45 77 31 37 73 22 49

SB 17 8 1 34 18 4 19

BA .356 .332 .313 .289 .347 .384 .379

SLG .591 .495 .423 .440 .580 .616 .534

OB% .402 .413 .374 .329 .421 .447 .428

35 47

6 .324 13 .318 .357 .328

.500 .489 .492 .506

.401 .395 .483 .394

ERA 3.24 3.87 3.87 2.82 3.60 2.34

BR/9 12.0 11.8 12.3 11.9 11.7 9.9

ER 66 113 104 27 101 21

SO 105 96 82 95 125 57

BB 59 72 34 49 68 25

Texas league, Houston’s Allyn Stout was short changed by exclusion. He went ¡8–8 with a 3.24 ERA, led the league with ¡66 Ks, and had an ¡¡.7 BR/9 ratio. His record was virtually interchangeable with the other four full-season pitchers (except for the strikeouts), so he has as valid a claim to All-Star-hood as any of those so chosen. There was no relief pitcher selected, but G.W. Payne of Houston led the league with 23 games finished, was ¡3–¡0 and had a 3.5¡ ERA. (Note that Dean also made the Western League All-Star team in ¡930.)

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B

OF C C UT

Name Jim Oglesby Joe Faber Clarence “Fat” Hetherly Lou Brower Stan Keyes Forrest “Woody” Jensen Gus Dugas John Fitzpatrick Jack Mealy D. Bondurant

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Walt Brown Charles Wood J. “Dizzy” Dean Andy Bednar John Jones Bud Tinning

SS OF OF

Team Des Moines Omaha Omaha

G AB H R TB 142 572 176 118 249 131 524 147 109 200 121 461 132 107 182

2B 32 31 24

3B 7 5 10

HR RBI 9 100 4 77 2 48

BB 53 42 65

SB BA 12 .308 27 .281 33 .286

SLG .435 .382 .395

OB% .367 .413 .386

Okl. City Des Moines Wichita

145 536 156 102 204 148 559 190 123 358 139 585 207 115 328

22 27 41

10 18 19

2 54 35 140 14 114

69 81 35

17 .291 18 .332 5 .354

.381 .640 .561

.381 .431 .397

Wichita Okl. City Wichita Omaha/St. Jo

143 139 84 120

34 33 18 31

12 3 4 3

26 123 2 75 6 38 4 78

48 41 24 33

Okl. City Wichita St. Joseph Wichita Okl. City Des Moines

G 29 25 32 33 39 38

GS — — — — — —

582 203 111 339 507 157 80 202 269 75 39 119 443 142 70 191 CG — — — — — —

SH — — — — — —

First baseman John Zaepfel of Denver had a better year than Oglesby in every way at bat. His .3¡7

W 16 22 17 18 12 16

L 6 3 8 7 10 11

% .727 .880 .680 .720 .545 .598

IP 210 197 217 221 205 217

H 166 161 204 261 188 235

ER 60 58 89 94 96 106

6 7 2 5

.349 .310 .279 .321

.582 .398 .442 .431

.404 .361 .351 .372

SO 142 197 134 74 60 106

BB 100 87 77 48 102 76

ERA 2.57 2.65 3.69 3.83 4.21 4.39

BR/9 11.5 11.5 12.2 12.8 13.5 13.3

BA, .523 SA, and .442 OB% are far superior, and he had more doubles, triples, homers, walks, and

36

Minor League All-Star Teams

RBIs in ¡2¡ fewer ABs. The Zapper was outright robbed. At second, Howard Lindimore (Wichita) had an even bigger advantage over Faber. His .34¡/.472 numbers make Faber’s pale in comparison, and even his .4¡6 OB% is better — and he scored ¡26 runs. He did commit ¡9 more errors, but I’d still go with his bat. At third also, a non-all-star team member, Carl Hinson of Pueblo, had a much better o›ensive year. His ¡32 runs, along with averages of .307, .429, and .4¡¡, a league-leading 76 SBs and slightly better fielding make him my choice. At short, Denver’s Jimmy Adair (.286/.429 and ¡09 runs) was a strong contender, but in the end, I think Brower (who was a playing manager) still earned the spot with his 24 fewer errors, since Adair’s

hitting advantage was not quite significant enough to demand a change. In the outfield, I could be persuaded to replace Dugas with Leon Riley of Pueblo. His numbers are comparable (.332/.565/.438), but he had a slight advantage in runs scored and drove in ten more, plus he was one of only two 20–20 (HR/SB) men in the league (Wilbur Swansboro of Wichita being the other). He was also a better fielder. Utility man Bondurant played second and short. It is interesting to note the e›ect Dean had on St. Jo. The Saints were 36–84, .300 when he was not pitching, which makes his .680 one of the year’s most anomalous marks. As mentioned in the commentary immediately above, Dean also made the Texas League All-Star team.

Central League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Ted Donovan Springfield Jimmy Vorho› Dayton Sylvester Simon Fort Wayne Bill Ussat Erie James Bryan Springfield Dewey Stover Erie Art Mansfield Springfield Frank Pytlak Erie No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP

Robert Kline H. Hardaway James Minogue Gus Goeckel Clyde “Mad” Hatter

Erie Fort Wayne Springfield Springfield Dayton

G 131 120 95 119 131 104 131 86

G 40 21 32 33 41

GS — — — — —

AB 532 443 390 511 516 374 510 303

H 185 139 142 170 178 128 174 100

CG — — — — —

R 143 89 93 119 90 109 130 65

SH — — — — —

TB 263 196 236 257 295 207 306 140

W 23 7 18 19 12

L 9 5 7 5 15

2B 40 26 31 36 35 23 43 21

3B 10 8 9 12 11 7 4 5

% .719 .583 .720 .792 .444

HR RBI 6 72 5 64 15 95 9 69 20 132 14 70 27 144 3 53

IP 305 144 225 175 247

H 324 197 251 181 271

BB 86 72 36 43 51 82 65 37

ER 134 81 119 61 141

SB 32 17 20 15 20 47 30 11

BA .348 .314 .364 .333 .345 .342 .341 .330

SLG .494 .442 .605 .503 .572 .553 .600 .462

OB% .439 .410 .418 .384 .404 .499 .416 .403

SO 137 54 69 76 217

BB 111 57 99 46 173

ERA 3.95 5.06 4.76 3.14 5.12

BR/9 12.8 15.9 14.0 11.7 16.2

No HBP recorded for hitters or pitchers, so OB% and BR/9 are approximate.

Yet another mystery selection league. At first, there just happened to be a player from Fort Wayne named Pat Wright who piled up the following numbers: .4¡9 BA, .78¡ SA, along with a very good .485 OB%. He scored ¡53 runs, had ¡69 RBIs, and totaled 90 EBH including 52 homers and 42 stolen bases, making him the first 40–40 man of the 20th century. How anyone other than Wright could have been the league All-Star is a question for the conspiracy theorists, people who believed the moon walk (the Apollo Astronauts, not Michael Jackson’s) was fake, and those quaint, folksy types who believe Global Warming is a Liberal Lie. Ussat played only 66 of his games at short. I would have gone with Canton Terrier Dick Harrell who was not as good a hitter but who had a better OB% and scored ¡26 runs.

I would change the entire outfield, except for Stover who I would have as a fourth outfielder. My outfield of preference would be led by Fort Wayne Chief Leroy “Cowboy” Jones who was passed over despite a stupendous .406/.705/.504 season. He was walked ¡04 times, hit 36 homers, scored ¡62 runs and drove in ¡52. His fellow Chief John Reider had a .363/.630/.4¡2 season and scored ¡58 runs while driving in ¡22 on the strength of his 52 doubles and 29 round-trippers. Ray Lovelace of Canton (.380/ .58¡/.473) scored ¡20 runs and drove in ¡2¡. I might have put Mansfield ahead of him or, in fairness, named five outfielders to the team. For those who are interested, the selected threesome hit .343, slugged .577, scored 329 runs and drove in 346. The outfield of Jones, Reider, and Lovelace hit .382, slugged a terrific .639, scored 440 runs and drove in 395.

¡930 There was no utility player named, but John Marcum of Dayton played in 88 games and hit .42¡, slugged .753, and had an OB% of .468, all outstanding marks. He split his time between the outfield and pitcher where he went 6–9. In a league that hit .308, it is not surprising that no pitcher dominated. However, I think having two

37

“All-Star” pitchers with ERAs over 5.00 is stretching it a mite, especially ones who allowed ¡5.9 and ¡6.2 BR/9. Wilson of Erie was 20–¡4, 4.82 with ¡4.¡ BR/9 ratio and Thomas of the Dayton Aviators was ¡4–¡4, 4.82 for a team which finished 25 games under .500. He had a BR/9 ratio of ¡4.4. They would have been my choices in place of Hardaway and Hatter.

New York-Pennsylvania League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF

Name Team Mike Martinek Scranton Glenn Killinger Williamsport John Hughes Scranton Hap Briscoe Wilkes-Barre Horace “Red” Harrisburg McBride OF Art McHenry Binghamton OF Matt Donahue Wilkes-Barre C T. McCarthy Wilkes-Barre UT No selection made.

SP SP

G 68 139 135 138 136

G John Miller Wilkes-Barre 40 Ad Holzhauser Elmira 29

H R TB 103 62 166 181 111 277 158 102 229 169 91 224 198 115 313

2B 19 33 23 31 40

3B 7 18 15 6 21

HR RBI 10 64 9 64 6 87 4 95 11 97

BB 22 52 53 29 60

131 517 189 100 298 135 536 202 93 269 84 251 96 42 127

38 24 21

13 11 5

15 123 7 91 0 52

38 57 28

GS — —

AB 268 527 517 537 524

CG — —

SH — —

W 22 18

L 9 5

% .710 .783

IP 261 200

H 275 222

ER 104 84

SB 3 20 16 8 4

BA .384 .344 .306 .315 .378

SLG .619 .526 .443 .417 .597

OB% .435 .403 .368 .361 .445

7 .366 4 .377 0 .382

.576 .502 .506

.428 .440 .450

ERA 3.58 3.78

BR/9 12.0 12.3

SO 77 68

BB 72 46

This was another .300 hitting league —.303, to be exact.

Killinger was a playing manager. All the infield choices seem to be both logical and correct. In the outfield, I would have chosen four flyhawks and Donahue would not be one of them. Don Brown (York) compiled .376/.548/.4¡8 stats, led the league with 2¡4 hits and contributed ¡¡5 runs and ¡23 RBIs. Ken Strong had a monster year — .373, .787, .4¡2 with 4¡ dingers and ¡30 RBIs. Mitigating against his choice, however, is the fact that he was a very poor fielder. There was no utility player chosen, but Tom Fer-

rell, who played for Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg, and Hazleton (and who went back to W-B to finish the season) would have filled that bill. He played outfield, first, second, and third, and, although he only hit .248, it was a productive .248, with 73 runs and 60 RBIs. The league’s best pitcher, as so often happened, was left o› of the all-star squad. Chant Parkes of Williamsport led the league with a 2.7¡ ERA (the next lowest qualifier had a 3.38 ERA) won ¡7 games, and had a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.9.

South Atlantic Association (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team Robert Hipps Asheville Harry Snyder Macon L. Breakfield Asheville Jay Boggs Greenville Hal Sullivan Asheville Murray Howell Greenville G. Rhinehardt Greenville Art McRae Asheville Paul Richards Macon No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP

Hugh Harmon Frank Pearce June Greene Jim Mooney Roland Flynn

Greenville Greenville Macon Charlotte Augusta

G 134 125 141 135 104 142 130 106 107 G 40 38 38 28 32

GS — — — — —

AB 534 498 496 494 385 568 541 358 349

H R TB 184 105 241 142 103 182 137 77 178 131 83 175 144 72 227 193 123 338 191 97 278 105 40 131 106 66 177

CG — — — — —

SH — — — — —

W 25 22 20 11 16

L 9 13 13 11 9

2B 26 16 10 22 30 32 42 18 15

3B 11 9 12 8 16 19 6 4 4

% .735 .629 .606 .500 .640

HR RBI 3 78 2 40 3 71 2 53 7 80 25 147 11 88 0 39 16 65 IP 301 272 253 189 226

H 323 326 242 189 223

BB 43 64 58 55 23 37 15 31 27 ER 130 138 95 83 79

SB 24 40 15 11 9 32 19 19 6

BA .345 .288 .276 .265 .374 .340 .353 .300 .304

SLG .451 .365 .359 .354 .590 .595 .514 .366 .507

OB% .394 .373 .362 .344 .412 .383 .375 .350 .355

SO 144 130 113 185 96

BB 75 89 90 76 80

ERA 3.89 4.56 3.38 3.95 3.15

BR/9 12.1 13.9 12.3 12.8 12.1

38

Minor League All-Star Teams

Hipps had a good year at first, but I feel Jim Hudgens (Greenville) had a better one. He didn’t hit for the average Hipps did, but he was a more e›ective hitter. His .305 BA was accompanied by a .645 SA and a .398 OB%. The keys are his 39 homers and ¡¡4 RBIs, which, if I am not mistaken, is the kind of Power and Production numbers one looks for in a first baseman. In the outfield, Sullivan and Howell are solid choices, but Rhinehardt, even with his .353, is weak. I would have chosen either Tom Nash (Asheville) or Bob Parnham (Macon) as the third outfielder. Nash was a solid .35¡/.5¡2/.430 hitter with ¡06 runs and

¡¡2 RBIs, Parnham hit for .352/.535/.467 averages with 9¡ runs and 92 RBIs. If the league was going to name two catchers (and they did), one should have been Cli› Knox of the Augusta Wolves. His averages of .326, .455, and .367 (with a solid 6¡ runs and 54 RBIs) were superior to McRae’s. Once again, a league left its best pitcher of o› the All-Star team. Macon’s Phil Galavan was 20–8 with a league-leading 2.6¡ ERA and a league best ¡¡.2 BR/9, which made for his automatic disqualification. Pearce, despite his gaudy 22–¡3 mark, should not have been chosen over the Peach’s peachy pitching ace Galavan.

Southeastern League (B) Pos Name Team 1B Ray “Rip” Selma Radcli›e 2B Bill Andrus Selma 3B E. Culbreth Columbus SS Joe Longnecker Selma OF Buck Finlator Selma OF W. Abernathy Montgomery OF Brown Braley Tampa C “Red” Johnson Jacksonville UT No selection made.

SP SP

Howell Conklin Tampa Henry Brewer Selma

G AB H 132 539 199 114 112 128 132 136 139 121

G 9 37

GS — —

423 409 491 467 508 558 442

R TB 94 287

2B 29

3B 7

137 91 194 123 52 178 132 72 158 142 85 226 172 79 228 188 103 249 132 41 154

26 27 18 22 22 23 20

8 5 4 10 11 13 1

CG — —

SH — —

Manuel Cueto (Tampa) was given a look for the third base spot on the basis of his .3¡3/.402/.4¡4 averages (especially that last, which allowed him to score 97 runs, third in the league). At short, I could be persuaded to place Leon Viau (Pensacola) on the team despite his .227 BA, as he was that good a fielder. He handled 6.7 chances a game and had 72 more put-outs and 94 more assists than the next best totals in the league. In the outfield, Tom Pyle, Pensacola’s manager, was a contender for a spot with .323/.500/.388 numbers and 99 RBIs. George Biggersta› of the Montgomery Lions had a comparable season with .33¡/.532/.379 averages, 93 runs scored and 90 runs driven in. Basically, the league had four outfielders who were just about dead even, with Finlator and Abernathy, who were chosen for the Dream Team, well behind them in the numbers game. At catcher, Charles (?) Rowland of Selma had a better season at the plate than Johnson, as attested to by his .3¡2/.448/.364 numbers and his 68 RBIs and 56 runs in about the same number of games.

W 4 25

L 1 4

% .800 .862

HR RBI 15 116 5 6 0 14 4 4 0

IP 63 263

73 82 63 88 77 56 55

H 48 237

BB 30

SB BA 11 .369

SLG .532

OB% .408

68 30 40 94 43 61 27

12 5 10 13 15 37 5

.324 .301 .269 .304 .339 .337 .290

.459 .435 .322 .484 .449 .446 .348

.419 .354 .324 .423 .391 .405 .340

SO 32 98

BB 25 64

ERA 2.43 2.36

BR/9 10.6 10.4

ER 17 69

There was no utility player chosen, but Thomas Owens, who split his season between Pensacola, Jacksonville, and Tampa, played all four infield positions, hit a decent .276 and scored 90 runs. At pitcher, as you can see, only two players were named “All-Stars.” Having one of them pitch in only nine games is kind of a problem for me. Had he been 8–¡ or had a sub-2.00 ERA, I guess I could have gone along with it, but he did neither. Brewer was the league’s best pitcher, period. Three other hurlers were more deserving than Conklin. Bill Gould, Selma Cloverleaf ace, was ¡2–2, 2.¡9 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.¡. Roy Appleton of Tampa was ¡7–¡5, 2.22 with league-leading figures of 296 IP and a ¡0.¡ BR/9 ratio. John Chambers of Pensacola was 22–¡2, 2.98 for a team which was 34 games under .500 and that played .294 ball when he was not involved in the decision. I would have gone with four pitchers and left Conklin o›.

¡930

39

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team Pete Susko Springfield Joe Morrisey Evansville Lee Cunningham Danville Gerald Meyers Danville Joe Vosmik Terre Haute Hub Walker Evansville J.J. Tangeman Bloomington Ernie Lorbeer Evansville Sanford Hamby Springfield No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP

E. “Slim” Love Bill Swift Joe Cantrell Al Baker L. “Hot Potato” Hamlin

Quincy Springfield Decatur Decatur Decatur

G 88 135 133 120 121 135 132 84 115

AB 370 530 505 473 458 538 529 277 428

H R TB 144 78 221 170 92 237 150 111 237 163 86 254 182 100 276 191 136 262 171 95 284 80 35 104 142 58 191

2B 31 31 23 20 25 27 33 7 26

3B 17 12 14 13 15 10 22 4 7

HR RBI 4 67 4 88 12 90 15 105 13 116 8 67 12 98 3 41 3 72

BB 29 40 75 39 75 65 54 39 37

SB 16 39 13 23 10 37 38 0 8

BA .389 .321 .297 .345 .397 .355 .321 .289 .332

SLG .637 .447 .469 .537 .603 .487 .537 .375 .446

OB% .436 .372 .391 .395 .484 .431 .387 .382 .385

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

38 31 37 32 31

— — — — —

— — — — —

— — — — —

22 17 17 19 18

6 7 9 5 7

.786 .708 .654 .792 .720

242 205 233 229 213

287 210 279 229 213

132 86 102 105 76

114 165 80 147 148

73 47 41 149 77

4.91 3.78 3.94 4.13 3.21

13.8 11.5 12.4 15.1 12.0

At third, Quincy’s R. (Richard ?) Brown went .304/.54¡/.408 with ¡07 runs, ¡¡6 RBIs and 24 homers. Cunningham was a better fielder. Take your choice. In the outfield, John “Moose” Clabaugh had the league’s best power performance. The Quincy outfielder hit .337, slugged .607 and had a .440 OB% to go with ¡30 runs and ¡54 RBIs. He also was a 30–30 man, with 30 homers and 40 stolen bases. Evansville’s Gee Walker only appeared in 84 games, but complied .378/.6¡7/.4¡6 averages, 78 RBIs and 77 runs in that span. Tangeman was the league’s best fielding outfielder, but I would have gone with Vosmik, Clabaugh and G. Walker, and maybe Tangeman as a fourth, dropping H. Walker. There was no utility player chosen, but two players had the credentials for the spot: Clint Connatser of the Terre Haute Tots and Clarence Crossley of Peoria. Connatser played first and outfield, and in

¡00 games scored ¡02 runs to go with .378/.529/.459 averages. Crossley played third and outfield for the Tractors and scored 87 runs, drove in 90 and rang up impressive .36¡/.583/.480 numbers. Once again, at pitcher the league’s best was deemed not worthy of selection for post-season honors, in this case Johnny Niggeling of Evansville. He was ¡9–¡0 with a league leading 2.89 ERA, allowing ¡¡.8 BR/9. His team-mate Tommy Bridges presents a selection problem. Second in ERA with a 2.96 figure, he was only a mediocre 7–8 — but he led the league with ¡89 Ks in only ¡40 IP, a ¡2.¡ K/9 ratio, the year’s best. So, which five (the number the league chose) would I have on my All-Star team? Baker’s ¡9–5 is very impressive, but ¡5.¡ BR/9 ratio is horrid. He was as lucky as Bridges was, apparently, unlucky. Love’s 22 wins led the league, but he was not near the pitcher Niggeling was. My five: Swift, Cantrell, Niggeling, Hamlin, and Bridges.

Cotton States League (D) The second base slot should have gone to M.M. “Buster” Wisrock of El Dorado. Almost dead equal in the field, Wisrock’s .354/.550/.424 averages laid waste to Shaw’s stats, as did his league-leading ¡09 runs and ¡06 RBIs. The league’s sole choice for the outfield is a strange one indeed. He did lead the league in OF POs, but he also led in Ks with ¡03, 25 more than the next batter (in fact, only two other hitters had more than 70 strike outs). My three outfield choices would have been Clyde Glass of Lake Charles/Baton Rouge, Dewey Ford of Vicksburg, and Ned Seeley of El Dorado. Glass’ stats read .34¡/.56¡/.455 with a league leading 43 doubles, ¡09 runs (tied for the league lead)

and ¡06 RBIs. He was also a playing manager. Hill Billie flyhawk Ford (.337/.529/.386) had more runs (83) and RBIs (79) than Gilliland. Seeley (.324/.498/ .356) was third in runs with ¡06 and second in RBIs with ¡¡6. No utility player was chosen but Pine Blu›’s Charles (?) Butler, who scored ¡0¡ runs on .344/ .437/.390 stats, could have filled the slot. He played outfield and caught. At pitcher, I would have added John Singleton of Vicksburg who was ¡3–¡3 for a .369 team. He led the league in ERA with a 3.¡¡ figure and allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9.

40

Minor League All-Star Teams

Cotton States League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Mellon Tatum Baton Rouge Cli›ord Shaw Monroe R. Winegarner El Dorado Ernest Horne Alex./Vicks. Virgil Gilliland L. Char./ Mon. No selection made. No selection made. Dick Luckey Alex./ Monroe No selection made.

SP

G.M. “Tex” El Dorado Nugent Andy Price Alex./ Monroe

SP

G 134 127 124 121 132

AB 501 521 481 490 487

H R TB 152 76 218 167 90 228 153 105 312 163 82 222 160 79 236

107 405 144

78 203

2B 29 33 21 19 25

3B 8 8 9 8 9

18

4

HR RBI 7 67 4 56 40 128 8 55 11 72 11

77

BB 31 34 41 28 45 35

SB 22 22 5 23 10

BA .303 .321 .318 .335 .329

SLG .435 .438 .649 .453 .485

OB% .349 .362 .376 .369 .388

5 .356

.501

.413

G 35

GS —

CG —

SH —

W 21

L 8

% .724

IP 252

H 253

ER 114

SO 117

BB 76

ERA 4.07

BR/9 11.8

45

—

—

—

18

13

.581

273

279

105

144

69

3.47

11.7

L. Char. is Lake Charles, Alex. is Alexandria, both of which disbanded June 17th. Vicks. is Vicksburg. Oddly, only one outfielder was chosen.

Georgia-Alabama League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bill McGhee Roger Fuqua W.E. Gentry Frank Costa Bernard Lewis Jack Shipley Gordon Pugh G.E. Coggins W. Alexander

SP SP SP SP SP

R. Ledbetter Grady Bassett J.G. Baker K.E. Chitwood G. Granger

Team Anniston Anniston Cedartown Lindale Lindale Cedartown Lindale Anniston Carrollton

Anniston Anniston Lindale Cedartown Lindale

G 96 95 84 93 96 101 94 86 85 G 27 3 32 27 29

GS — — — — —

AB 387 400 347 367 414 404 380 345 335

H R TB 127 66 173 140 74 185 117 68 190 124 77 199 175 128 303 155 131 226 158 105 240 116 58 169 115 81 166

CG — — — — —

SH — — — — —

W 11 1 5 13 14

L 7 1 9 8 11

2B 22 25 27 26 35 27 34 26 26

3B 9 4 8 8 9 7 6 3 5

% .611 .500 .625 .619 .560

HR RBI 2 — 4 — 10 — 11 — 25 — 10 — 12 — 7 — 5 — IP 206 16 185 189 204

H 227 27 210 227 264

BB 26 17 20 42 31 89 50 10 47 ER 90 17 83 130 114

SB 16 19 3 14 18 21 12 5 17

BA .328 .350 .337 .337 .422 .383 .415 .336 .343

SLG .447 .463 .548 .542 .732 .559 .632 .490 .496

OB% .378 .376 .373 .406 .464 .495 .484 .355 .424

SO 85 11 102 103 90

BB 68 9 75 58 56

ERA 3.93 9.56 4.04 6.19 5.03

BR/9 13.1 20.2 14.3 14.2 14.3

No HBP for batters recorded, so OB% is approximate. The league hit .317. Cedartown hit .336 and slugged .502, averaging 8.1 runs a game. Lindale hit .331 and slugged an even better .518 and also averaged 8.1 runs a game. An incredible average of 13.6 runs was scored in every Ga.-Ala. game.

I would have named Cedartown’s George Kelly as the first baseman. His .358/.620/.386 numbers are superior to McGhee’s, he led the league with 26 homers, and he scored ¡¡6 runs in 96 games. In the outfield, Carl East managed Carrolton for part of the season and piled up some absolutely fantastic stats: .433, .765, and .552 (!). Even though he was only in 64 games, I would have named four outfielders rather than leave him o› of the team. (By the way, a Lewis-Pugh-East outfield hits an amazing .423, slugs an equally amazing .702, and rumbles its way to a most excellent .493 OB%.) Alexander played second, short and outfield.

The choice of Bassett as an “All-Star” is the very worst I’ve seen in all my years of researching minor league All-Star teams. Sixteen innings? A 9.56 ERA? Over twenty BR/9? Man, that just stinks, period. And yet, yet again, the league’s best pitcher was not named to the team — to make room for Bassett! Sherry Smith, Cedartown manager, was ¡4–2 and led the league with a 3.34 ERA and ¡¡.0 BR/9. And, if one is going to choose a pitcher in this hitter’s league with an ERA of over 5.00, why not pick the league leader in wins, the Lindale Pepperell’s own Y.C. Stoutenborough, who went ¡6–5 with his 5.46 ERA?

¡930

41

Mississippi Valley League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Mack Pickett Riley Parker Eddie Hunter Floyd Mitchell John Grilli Charles Conners Joe Perost G. Treadwell Art (?) Mueller Chris Serre

SP SP SP SP SP SP

D. Wetherell Ludsick Fred Newton Edson Wilkins William Prince Walter Murphy

Team Moline Moline Burlington Waterloo Keokuk Burlington Waterloo Moline Cedar Rapids Dubuque

Rock Island Dubuque Keokuk Waterloo Waterloo Rock Island

G 40 30 39 35 40 18

G 82 125 108 103 126 122 127 90 120 89 GS — — — — — —

AB 332 466 441 397 476 454 476 311 425 356

H R TB 111 51 172 175 100 258 146 62 207 119 69 162 155 82 214 161 101 222 157 87 262 85 47 105 145 64 214 125 88 168

CG — — — — — —

SH — — — — — —

W 21 11 18 15 15 10

L 11 13 15 11 15 5

2B 24 25 29 15 30 23 36 8 30 27

3B 8 11 13 11 4 15 12 3 6 5

% .656 .458 .545 .577 .500 .667

HR RBI 7 — 12 — 2 — 2 — 7 — 1 — 15 — 2 — 9 — 2 — IP 279 219 258 235 237 142

H 275 212 246 221 234 149

BB 22 44 29 43 59 90 49 25 33 50 ER — — — — — —

SB 14 46 15 8 17 28 32 2 8 20

BA .334 .376 .331 .300 .326 .355 .330 .273 .341 .351

SLG .447 .554 .469 .408 .441 .489 .550 .338 .504 .472

OB% .378 .433 .372 .372 .416 .490 .399 .355 .407 .434

SO 217 122 153 155 134 72

BB 85 89 40 93 75 38

ERA — — — — — —

BR/9 11.5 12.9 10.1 12.1 11.9 11.9

Earned runs were not kept for pitchers, so no ERA figures possible.

Parker was a playing manager. At first, Davenport’s John Hendee would have been my choice for the All-Star team. His .337/.502/ .367 is not that much di›erent from Pickett’s, but he scored 90 runs to Pickett’s 5¡. At third, Stan Tutaj (Rock Island-Moline) compiled stats similar to Hunter’s (.329/.438/.35¡), but held a .930–.907 FA advantage, and third base is a position where fielding counts. Burlington’s manager George Young held a slight hitting advantage over Mitchell at short (.3¡5/.4¡7/ .4¡2 with 78 runs), but Mitchell finished dead last in fielding with an .890% while Young led in PO, A, TC/9 and finished second in fielding percent. In the outfield, at least three other players would seem to have an edge over Grilli. Ed Woeber, who managed Dubuque had .355/.540/.44¡ stats and scored ¡03 runs. Edwin Stock, who only got into 87

games with Dubuque and Moline, yet still scored 85 runs and had terrific .369/.605/.484 stats, along with ¡5 triples. Dick Esry of Moline led the league with ¡84 hits, ¡¡4 runs and had .358/.489/.436 numbers. He also committed only two errors all year in the field. Serre played third, short, and the outfield, fulfilling his handyman duties. I believe that a number was entered incorrectly for pitcher Wetherell. The o‡cial stats had him giving up 375 hits in his 279 innings. That would have given him a ¡4.7 BR/9 ratio, and it is unlikely that a pitcher pitching for a team which finished last in batting and a distant last in runs scored could have won 2¡ games with such a BR/9 ratio. So, I worked his stats out as if he had given up a much more reasonable 275 hits, a figure much more in keeping with his W–L mark.

Nebraska State League (D) Herman Cholcher of Grand Island was a better, more powerful hitter than Gregory (.337/.546), but that is not the only reason I would go with Cholcher. Gregory committed 37 errors at first — a virtually unheard of number. Fielding was also a determiner on who I would have chosen at second. Hansen fielded only .922. Betts of York had a .947 FA and led the league in assists and total chances. He also hit better than Hansen (.30¡) and scored 94 runs. Third baseman Floyd (?) Vaughn of Norton had .333/.579 numbers, scored ¡03 runs and had 59 EBH’s to Peters’ 29. The infield, as selected, hits .303, slugs .437, scores

3¡6 runs and pops ¡05 doubles. A Cholcher-BettsVaughn-Schalk infield hits .325 with a .5¡4 SA, 358 runs and ¡¡0 doubles. The former foursome fields at a .932 clip, and the latter comes in at .952, not up to Major League standards, but a di›erence which I am sure would result in a half dozen or so wins, if these two infields were matched against each other over a ¡20 games season, all else being equal. Without OB% and RBI stats to go by, the outfield is really up for grabs. I would have five outfielders on my team, adding Washington Seelman of North Platte (.373/.520 with ¡07 runs) and Mike Kreevich of McCook (.354/.573 with 60 EBH and ¡¡4 runs).

42

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF

Name Team Bert Gregory North Platte Herbert Hansen Fairbury Elmer Peters North Platte Roy Schalk Fairbury John “Buster” McCook Lucas OF Ed Taylor Lincoln OF Walter Cookson North Platte C G. Caithamer Fairbury UT No selection made.

SP SP

Vito SanFillipo William Eissler

Fairbury McCook

G 38 33

G 120 85 120 118 116

H R TB 141 92 195 80 31 111 150 110 188 156 83 267 149 104 252

2B 18 20 22 45 30

3B 9 4 5 12 20

122 433 128 125 202 120 459 166 84 235 115 431 123 64 184

22 25 17

14 4 13

GS — —

AB 459 305 506 472 430

CG — —

SH — —

W 23 16

L 9 4

% .719 .800

HR RBI 6 — 1 — 2 — 14 — 11 — 8 12 6

IP 248 194

— — —

H 215 170

BB — — — — — — — —

ER 76 46

SB 8 17 38 26 15

BA .307 .262 .296 .331 .347

SLG .425 .364 .372 .566 .586

OB% — — — — —

37 .296 7 .362 24 .285

.467 .512 .427

— — —

ERA 2.75 2.67

BR/9 12.3 9.9

SO 243 177

BB 107 39

BB and HBP not recorded for hitters.

At catcher, Otto Utt (you gotta love that name!), who played for McCook and Norton had a better year at the plate than did Caithamer. Utt hit .342, slugged .578 and scored 7¡ runs. The league didn’t name a utility player, but Owens of McCook, who played second, outfield and caught, hit .300 and scored ¡23 runs while stealing 49 bases. At pitcher, Jim Cameron had a fantastic year, going ¡9–2 for a .905 winning percentage. You will look in vain for him on the Cornhusker State Stele of Immortality however. The fact that he also led the

league with an ERA of 2.25 and had an excellent BR/9 ratio of 9.9 no doubt also mitigated against him in the minds of the voters (many of whom no doubt later in life voted for Roman Hruska for senate, the same Roman Hruska whose most famous (indeed, only memorable) quote was (concerning Nixon’s nomination of the-on-his-best-day-mediocre party hack G. Harrold Carswell for a spot on the Supreme Court): “There are a lot of mediocre Americans. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they?”

! ¡93¡ ! In ¡93¡, there were ¡8 leagues in the National Association. Thirteen of them (72%) named all-star teams.

American Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Oscar Roettger Jack Saltzgaver M. Hopkins Joe Morrisey Len Koenecke Spencer Harris Bevo LeBourveau Clyde Mannion Robert Fenner Harold Anderson B. Whitehead

SP

F. “Dutch” Henry W. “Huck” Betts Bryan Harris Lou Polli Bill Burwell Walt Miller

SP SP SP SP SP

Team St. Paul St. Paul St. Paul St. Paul Indianapolis Minneapolis Tol/Col Milwaukee St.Paul St.Paul Columbus

G 145 167 167 167 164 163 114 138 127 140 135

AB 608 679 622 673 634 642 440 464 397 611 515

H 217 231 176 223 224 223 165 164 118 192 169

R 97 150 87 123 141 156 89 64 57 126 85

TB 314 351 289 329 357 332 246 213 177 309 205

2B 38 37 34 34 23 40 33 21 26 36 19

3B 7 15 5 3 19 12 6 5 6 6 7

HR 15 19 23 22 24 15 12 6 7 23 1

RBI BB 123 31 91 77 99 69 114 34 131 81 108 104 83 42 80 55 54 58 95 37 68 14

SB 7 26 3 14 13 18 23 7 3 24 20

BA .357 .340 .283 .331 .353 .347 .375 .353 .297 .314 .323

SLG .516 .517 .465 .489 .563 .517 .559 .459 .456 .506 .398

OB% .389 .410 .359 .370 .431 .441 .436 .411 .391 .353 .416

G Minneapolis 50

GS —

CG —

SH —

W 23

L 10

% .697

IP 292

H 352

ER 143

SO 109

BB 78

ERA 4.41

BR/9 13.3

St.Paul

41

—

—

—

22

13

.629

258

322

114

69

52

3.60

13.2

St.Paul Milwaukee Indianapolis Indianapolis

45 42 36 17

— — — —

— — — —

— — — —

20 21 17 9

11 15 10 5

.645 .583 .630 .643

238 281 239 115

274 337 311 135

113 153 120 60

83 102 46 40

69 80 59 26

4.43 4.96 4.52 4.70

13.1 13.5 14.1 13.0

¡93¡ Two other first basemen had better seasons than did Roettger: Pat Crawford of Columbus and Art Shires of Milwaukee. Crawford led the league with ¡54 RBIs and scored ¡42 runs. He had 92 EBH and averages of .374/.568/.438. His 28 home runs led the league. Shires averages were .389/.536/.449 with 240 hits, ¡20 runs and ¡34 RBIs. I would have picked either or both of these men over Roetgger. In the outfield, George Davis of St. Paul scored ¡34 runs, drove in ¡36 and rang up .343/.575/.396 averages. I believe his season merited inclusion as a fourth outfielder.

43

Whitehead played second and short, Anderson played all of his games in the outfield. The league hit .300 and the teams averaged right around six runs a game, so there was no outstanding pitcher. The one hurler whom I do think was overlooked was Ken Penner of St. Paul. His team finished seventh and played .440 ball, yet he was ¡7–8. His 4.¡7 was eighth in the league and his ¡¡.9 BR/9 was among the league’s best.

International League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team Baxter Jordan Newark Andy Cohen Newark Joe Brown Jersey City Ed Delker Rochester Ray Pepper Rochester John Gill Baltimore Ike Boone Newark Paul Florence Rochester C. Hargreaves Newark No selection made.

SP SP

Johnny Allen Walt “Jumbo” Brown Monte Weaver Ray Starr

SP SP

G 73 131 130 98 165 155 124 125 130

AB 277 539 495 333 655 613 469 371 423

H R TB 93 48 137 171 81 242 151 69 183 84 57 126 233 123 340 211 112 340 167 82 272 101 42 154 127 48 166

2B 18 23 25 19 43 46 33 17 22

3B 7 9 2 10 20 7 9 3 1

HR RBI 4 47 10 65 1 36 1 37 8 121 23 124 18 92 10 67 5 57

BB 18 24 54 44 44 55 63 50 39

SB 7 2 12 3 6 9 2 0 3

BA .336 .317 .305 .252 .356 .344 .356 .272 .300

SLG .495 .449 .370 .378 .519 .555 .580 .415 .378

OB% .389 .352 .380 .345 .397 .404 .433 .363 .362

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

J.City/ Tor. Jersey City

34 30

— —

24 16

3 2

21 10

9 12

.700 .455

250 203

208 190

84 65

140 118

101 84

3.02 2.88

11.3 12.4

Baltimore Rochester

40 37

— —

20 18

4 1

21 20

11 7

.656 .741

249 216

253 192

101 68

111 81

101 102

3.65 2.83

12.9 12.3

Jordan played roughly half a season. Extrapolated out to a full season, his numbers still do not match those of Bu›alo’s Jim Poole. Poole, who hit .306, slugged .499 and had an OB% of .37, scored ¡00 runs and drove in ¡26 for a last place team and finished third with 24 home runs. At second, I would have gone with Walt Gautreau despite his .278/.352/.388 numbers because of his fielding. He led the league in both PO and A (with 53¡, one of the years few 500+ totals). And, it must be noted that although his hitting was somewhat poorer, with 94 runs and 58 RBIs it was no less e›ective. At short, the case for Henry Sand (Baltimore) is

much the same as Gautreau’s was at second. Not much hitting in evidence (.262/.385/.343), but not that much worse than the league’s choice along with a superlative year afield (Sand led in PO, A, TC, and DP). Both Walt Brown of Montreal (¡9–¡2, 2.89, ¡¡.8) and Carmen “Specs” Hill of Rochester (¡8–¡2, 3.03, ¡0.4) seem to be as worthy as any of the league’s choices for selection. There was no relief pitcher chosen, but Byron Speece of Newark had one of the first true closer years in baseball. He worked 50 games, only pitched 95 innings, had no complete games (GS not recorded, but he may have not had a single start), finished 32 games and compiled a ¡2–6 record with a 2.84 ERA.

Pacific Coast League (AA) Unlike many PCL years, this team seems to be pretty close to right on. George Burns who played first for Mission and L.A. had .325/.489 averages and had more runs (¡3¡) and RBIs (¡29) than Keesey, and would have been my choice for first (he also managed Mission). Henry Oana may have been included as a fourth

outfielder with his .345/.540 averages and ¡6¡ RBIs, but the first three seem to be solid choices. Rhiel played second, third, short and the outfield. Bill Henderson of ’Frisco was the leagues first true full-time reliever, pitching in 40 games, finishing 36 and going 8–3 with a 3.34 ERA.

44

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Jim Keesey John Monroe Stan Hack Frank Crosetti A. “Jigger” Statz Ed Coleman Dave Barbee John Bassler Frank Cox Billy Rhiel

SP SP SP SP

F. Shellenback Sam Gibson Win Ballou Tony Frietas

Team San Francisco Port./Mission Sacramento San Francisco Los Angeles Portland Hollywood Hollywood Seattle Portland G Hollywood 36 San Francisco 41 Los Angeles 48 Sacramento 39

G 163 158 164 183 184 187 168 103 139 165 GS — — — —

AB 665 607 660 734 748 768 650 316 426 674

H 238 220 232 252 248 275 216 112 152 233

CG 34 31 19 25

R 103 141 128 141 141 134 131 48 77 129 SH 5 5 3 4

TB 328 289 290 341 334 467 403 127 207 330 W 27 28 24 19

L 7 12 13 13

2B 40 41 36 48 42 53 42 15 34 53

3B 10 7 13 13 13 14 2 0 6 7

% .794 .700 .649 .594

HR 10 4 2 5 6 37 47 0 3 10 IP 306 337 286 297

RBI 113 64 37 143 107 183 166 43 60 112 H 395 338 309 311

BB — — — — — — — — — — ER 97 93 118 102

SB 14 15 20 23 45 4 4 0 8 7

BA .358 .362 .305 .343 .332 .358 .332 .354 .357 .346

SLG .493 .476 .439 .465 .447 .608 .620 .402 .486 .497

OB% — — — — — — — — — —

SO 127 204 160 156

BB 61 59 89 102

ERA 2.85 2.48 3.71 3.09

BR/9 10.8 10.7 12.6 12.7

SB 10 23 9 2 8 23 8 6 2

BA .356 .303 .327 .237 .342 .316 .342 .301 .277

SLG .666 .362 .486 .315 .493 .448 .493 .507 .329

OB% .449 .396 .385 .304 .380 .423 .380 .345 .392

SO 63 62 151 124 50

BB 47 56 94 69 80

ERA 2.25 2.21 2.12 1.69 3.30

BR/9 11.2 10.7 11.2 11.0 12.2

Once again, and still oddly, to my mind, Walks for hitters not kept, so no OB% possible.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bruce Caldwell Robert Murray Robert Reis Glenn Messner Robert Parham Albert Cohen Carr Smith Paul Richards John Mann

SP SP SP SP SP

Earl Mattingly Phillip Gallivan Van L. Mungo Jim Mooney Ned Porter

Team New Haven Richmond Hartford Allentown Hartford Hartford Norfolk Hartford Hartford

Hartford Hartford Hartford Bridgeport Springfield

G 131 125 107 130 137 125 137 113 94 G 27 26 28 25 31

GS — — — — —

AB 491 472 428 498 562 487 562 402 346

H R TB 175 104 327 143 69 171 140 75 208 118 63 157 192 85 277 154 100 218 192 85 277 121 71 204 96 45 114

CG 14 13 14 18 19

SH 3 4 2 5 3

Murray was a playing manager. At short, why Bobby Go› of Bridgeport was not the league’s All-Star selection is not obvious to the naked eye. Messner had a poor year at bat, and Go›, who hit .292 with 70 runs and 63 RBIs, led the league in double plays, POs and assists with a tremendous 5¡3 total.

W 17 14 15 17 14

L 2 4 5 4 11

2B 26 21 27 23 39 33 39 24 16

3B 6 2 7 5 8 8 8 7 1

% .895 .778 .750 .810 .560

HR 38 1 9 2 10 5 10 15 0 IP 160 179 191 202 207

RBI 130 29 76 40 101 47 101 74 34 H 150 153 142 176 194

BB 80 69 38 45 31 87 31 26 60 ER 40 44 45 48 76

Mann played second, third and short. At pitcher, I would have chosen another Hartford pitcher, John Krider, over Porter. Krider was ¡6–4 with an ERA of 2.29 and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.2.

Southern Association (A) I would have chosen Little Rock’s Ivy Gri‡n at first. His numbers are virtually identical with those of Connatser (.3¡4/.43¡/.377), but he was more productive with ¡04 runs scored and 95 driven in. At second, Wally Dashiell of Chattanooga would appear to have been a more logical choice. His averages of .332, .43¡, and .386 were much better than Bancroft’s (about whom one wonders if he were related to Hall-of-Famer Dave) and he led the league in PO, A (529), and DP’s with a range factor of 6.4 as compared to Bancroft’s 5.5 — a huge margin.

At catcher, Rodney Whitney (Atlanta/Little Rock) would seem a much better choice for a second catcher than Taylor and his 63 games. Whitney, who caught ¡35 games and hit .28, had 75 runs driven in, 52 more than Taylor. (In fact, Taylor was not even the first-string catcher for the Barons.) No utility player was selected, but Tommy Taylor (New Orleans/Memphis) played third, short and outfield, scored ¡00 runs, and compiled decent .3¡7/.423/.428 averages. The only change I would make to the pitching sta›

¡93¡ Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Clint Connatser New Orleans Billy Bancroft Birmingham John Gooch Birmingham John Cortazzo Birmingham Art Weiss Birmingham Walter French Little Rock Elliott Bigelow Chattanooga Henry Erickson Mobile/Knox. K. “Ed” Taylor Birmingham No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP

Ray Caldwell Bob Hasty Jimmy Walkup Belve Bean Fred Johnson

Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham New Orleans New Orleans

45

G

AB

H

R

TB

2B

3B

139 139 142 152 154 155 150 113 63

536 559 570 564 566 674 603 362 165

181 155 174 176 209 235 224 108 46

89 105 78 68 132 133 101 54 20

233 202 219 219 327 287 335 145 54

27 25 30 23 33 25 48 15 3

11 2 6 10 14 9 9 5 1

HR RBI

BB

SB

BA

SLG

OB%

1 74 32 6 43 56 1 98 30 0 80 29 20 122 102 3 56 23 15 125 43 4 46 28 1 23 19

9 26 7 16 6 51 3 6 0

.338 .277 .305 .312 .369 .349 .372 .298 .263

.435 .361 .384 .388 .578 .426 .556 .401 .327

.378 .348 .342 .361 .466 .371 .417 .355 .353

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

30 37 30 32 31

— — — — —

— — — — —

— — — — —

19 21 20 16 14

7 13 5 10 11

.731 .618 .800 .615 .560

248 289 249 215 207

260 281 255 201 194

95 118 79 68 76

57 91 49 63 50

36 78 30 33 80

3.80 3.69 2.86 2.82 3.30

10.8 11.3 10.3 9.9 12.2

that Bean walked only ¡.4 batters per 9 IP, Caldwell ¡.3, the not selected Hulvey ¡.2, and Walkup surrendered a mere ¡.¡ walks per 9 IP.

would be to replace Johnson with Chattanooga’s Henson Hulvey. Hulvey went ¡6–¡0 with a 2.96 ERA and an excellent ¡0.9 BR/9 ratio. It should be noted

Texas League (A) Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF

George Stanton Wichita Falls Carey Selph Houston Eddie Hock Houston Eddie Taylor Beaumont Homer Peel Houston Joe Medwick Houston Ray “Rip” Shreveport Radcli›e C Harold Funk Houston C B. Hungling Wichita Falls UT No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP

J. “Dizzy” Dean James “Tex” Carlton George Payne Bob McCabe Whit Wyatt

G

AB

148 156 158 123 146 166 155

596 608 658 437 533 616 596

TB

2B

3B

HR RBI

BB

SB

BA

SLG

OB%

207 91 307 196 116 261 197 112 225 131 82 179 174 76 233 188 99 308 215 96 306

H

R

54 36 22 27 32 47 41

14 10 3 6 3 8 7

6 98 3 88 0 42 3 38 7 95 19 126 12 103

39 42 64 60 49 41 43

6 28 33 20 15 12 13

.347 .322 .299 .300 .326 .305 .361

.515 .429 .342 .410 .437 .500 .513

.396 .375 .369 .400 .388 .351 .405

22 17

2 1

1 13

36 35

5 .254 0 .329

.327 .609

.325 .426

128 401 102 69 207 68

33 131 34 126

50 49

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

Houston Houston

41 36

32 28

28 16

11 5

26 20

10 7

.722 .741

304 237

210 171

53 50

303 173

90 105

1.53 1.89

9.2 10.7

Houston Fort Worth Beaumont

51 36 18

36 35 16

23 28 14

4 8 5

23 23 11

13 7 3

.639 .767 .786

321 310 131

332 263 90

98 68 22

142 111 97

40 36 39

2.79 1.98 1.53

10.4 8.8 9.2

This team was pretty much a pat hand. The only change or addition I would make to the starting lineup would be to put Beaumont’s Joyner “Jo Jo” White in the outfield in place of Peel. White’s .298/.448/.362 are not far from Peel’s, but White scored ¡06 runs and led the league with 23 triples and 54 stolen bases—and he was a superb fielder, his 42¡ POs being ¡20 more than the next highest OF total. No utility player was chosen, but San Antonio’s Ray Flaskamper would not have been an inappropriate choice. He played second and short and had decent (for a middle infielder) .273/.37¡/.380 numbers, and scored 74 runs to boot.

The pitching in the Texas League was very, very good, as evidenced by the lines of the selectees. Dean had the year’s best pitching performance, and McCabe was probably in the top ten. It should be noted that Payne only walked ¡.¡ batters every 9 innings and that McCabe was even better with a ¡.0 BB/9 ratio. No relief pitcher was chosen, but Elmer Hanson of Houston relieved in 22 of his 42 games. Overall, he was ¡6–7 with a ¡.80 ERA and only allowed 9.7 BR/9. If you will allow me, I have a few asides on the Texas League sta›. The five selectees had a terrific ERA of 2.0¡ (¡.75 if you leave o› Payne’s anomalous

46

Minor League All-Star Teams

2.79). The sta›, despite Carleton’s penchant for wildness, allowed only 2.¡ walks per 9 IP (¡.7 without

Carleton). And, most impressively, allowed only 9.5 BR/9. Darned good work, fellas.

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Jim Oglesby Tony Piet John Kroner Angus McIssac Stan Keyes Ernie Parker Mike Kreevich Andy Vargas Benny Warren Lem Young

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Bud Tinning Harold McKain Rufus Meadows Elmer Knight Ed Greer Art Jacobs

Team G Des Moines 144 Wichita 105 Oklahoma City 111 Pueblo 146 Des Moines 132 Denver 96 Des Moines 118 Denver 111 Wichita 90 Wichita 150

Des Moines Pueblo Topeka Des Moines Denver Wichita

G 29 43 38 26 35 41

GS — — — — — —

AB 587 453 408 623 550 370 511 374 254 619

H 200 152 117 189 203 127 168 103 71 195

CG — — — — — —

R 119 91 61 112 144 92 110 51 67 109 SH — — — — — —

At third, Felix Vigare (Wichita-Omaha) was a virtual copy of Kroner with his .288/.429/.340 numbers, but Vigare had ¡00 runs batted in, 48 more than Kroner. At short, Wichita Aviator “Arky” Vaughan was far better than McIsaac. Vaughan hit .338, slugged .573 and had an OB% of .429. He also hit 2¡ homers, stole 43 bases and scored ¡45 runs. The

TB 278 241 169 268 401 197 247 133 139 296 W 24 18 12 17 15 25

L 2 12 17 7 8 7

2B 30 36 25 19 36 32 26 23 11 44

3B 15 4 5 27 24 10 13 2 3 9

% .923 .600 .414 .708 .652 .781

HR 6 15 3 2 38 6 9 1 17 13 IP 215 254 237 210 223 253

RBI 106 100 52 75 160 69 68 48 54 100 H 206 267 218 232 238 222

BB 54 32 52 45 69 74 45 41 61 30 ER 75 109 98 77 93 96

SB 7 42 40 20 4 9 13 5 1 13

BA .341 .336 .287 .303 .369 .343 .329 .275 .280 .315

SLG .474 .532 .414 .430 .729 .532 .483 .356 .547 .478

OB% .400 .388 .350 .351 .443 .459 .385 .361 .432 .351

SO 126 132 177 80 152 102

BB 83 83 125 39 70 112

ERA 3.14 3.86 3.73 3.30 3.86 3.41

BR/9 12.5 12.6 13.1 11.6 12.6 12.1

infield is a much better with Vigare and Vaughan than without them. In the outfield, I would have chosen Denver’s H. Kelly over Kreevich on the basis of his .356/.524/.432 averages and the fact that he scored ¡¡7 runs and drove in ¡38, 70 more than Kreevich. Young played second, short and OF.

New York-Pennsylvania League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

Name Mike Martinek Fred Dorman “Heinie” Groh Walter Novak Joe Dwyer Lou Finney Horace McBride Bill Steinecke John McCarthy

Team Williamsport York Binghamton Williamsport Wilkes-Barre York Harrisburg Binghamton W-B/ Harrisburg No selection made.

Harry Holsclaw Carl Schoof Ivan Rase Bert Grimm

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Harrisburg Binghamton

G 39 39 38 41

G 137 131 112 123 140 128 135 137 94

GS — — — —

AB 510 465 361 428 562 493 521 496 308

H R TB 154 91 226 146 96 174 122 63 144 125 57 155 181 100 237 171 83 220 181 92 274 176 78 255 95 38 115

CG — — — —

SH — — — —

Groh was a playing manager. I think that both George McQuinn (Scranton) and John Wright (Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton) had better years than Martinek. McQuinn (.3¡6/.479/.369) had 20 triples and drove in ¡0¡ runs; Wright (.305/.497/.385) scored ¡0¡ and drove in 99. Either (or

W 25 23 18 20

L 8 8 8 11

2B 26 19 18 21 40 29 37 41 15

3B 14 3 2 3 8 7 13 7 4

% .750 .742 .692 .645

HR RBI 6 68 1 37 0 59 1 60 0 61 2 73 10 100 7 84 0 50

IP 283 292 214 260

H 276 277 218 227

BB 53 88 58 50 42 28 44 53 22

ER 85 111 68 68

SB 35 16 16 18 10 14 10 19 2

BA .302 .314 .338 .292 .322 .347 .347 .361 .308

SLG .443 .374 .399 .362 .422 .446 .526 .514 .373

OB% .370 .428 .436 .369 .394 .430 .404 .419 .412

SO 170 143 51 108

BB 71 112 58 67

ERA 2.70 3.42 2.86 2.70

BR/9 11.3 12.1 11.7 10.4

a tie with both) would have been an improvement over Martynek. At third, William Walters of Williamsport perhaps deserved a tie with playing manager Groh. Walter’s numbers (a .326 BA, .472 SA and a .369 OB%) show that he had more power than did Groh, as

¡93¡ reflected in his 86 RBIs. He also finished sixth in runs with 99. Scranton outfielder “Chick” Outen holds down one of my outfield slots with his .325/.494/.42¡ numbers. He also led the league with ¡08 runs and had a respectable 77 RBIs. Ollie Carnegie of Hazleton is worthy of mention, and perhaps should have been a fourth outfielder. He only played in 58 games before being called up to the International League (where he hit .344), but his .354/.659 numbers far outclassed the rest of the league, and his .402 OB% was not too shabby either. His ¡8 homers finished second in the

47

league and he had 7¡ RBIs (and don’t forget, he only played in 58 games). There was no utility player chosen, but L.F. Farrell of Elmira played first and third and hit .292 in ¡3¡ games, driving in 70 runs. In the pitching department, the league’s best hurler was, yet again, left o› of the team. Chant Parkes, who pitched for Williamsport, was 22–¡¡ with a 2.22 ERA, allowing ¡¡.¡ BR/9. Had this been the sixties, perhaps his cult following would have gathered in a public park and chanted his name hoping to sway voters—and it probably would have been just as successful.

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team W. Floyd Burt Fort Smith Jack Wright Indep-Bartles Harold Bohl Springfield John Keane Springfield Grover Seitz Springfield Sam Scaling Fort Smith Ab Wright Muskogee Mike Ryba Springfield Fred Cato Joplin No selection made.

SP SP SP SP

Bill Beckman Glen Gabler Rudy Jones Paul Dean

Springfield Bartlesville Independence Springfield

G 38 30 35 19

G 135 137 143 126 138 100 113 141 135

GS — — — —

AB 500 528 542 473 542 403 488 511 480

H 170 150 166 135 172 125 175 175 153

CG 21 20 19 12

R 97 103 121 82 143 82 107 108 97

SH 2 0 1 0

There were many inexplicable choices in this year’s edition of the W.A. All-Star team. At first, Joplin’s George Grant hit for .355/.65¡/ .449 averages, scored ¡34 runs in ¡30 games, and drove in ¡2¡ runs, all far superior to Burt. Yet, what record have we today of Grant’s heroics, other than a few lines in some desiccated and friable 82 year old guide? In the outfield, two more Joplin players were deserving of All-Star status: Jake Chadwick and Dave Cheeves. Cheeves hit .358, slugged .625 and had an OB% of .439 in addition to scoring ¡42 runs in ¡36 games and driving in ¡22 runs. Chadwick, .35¡/ .507/.394, had ¡2¡ RBIs and scored ¡26 times. Why have an outfielder who hit .3¡9 with only 82 runs and 38 (!) RBIs when the two Joplinites are available? But wait — there’s still more! Orval Myers of Independence hit only .307, but scored ¡34 runs and drove in 89. I would have had five OF spots, and Scaling would not have been one of them. Let’s lay out the dry, incontrovertible facts: As selected, the outfield hits .329, slugs .506, has an OB% of .382, scores 307 runs, drives in ¡95 and pops 3¡ homers. A Wright/Chadwick/Cheeves trio hits .349,

TB 284 250 214 186 255 171 299 256 250

W 24 19 17 11

L 8 9 10 3

2B 32 20 26 24 36 24 36 31 34

3B 11 4 5 9 16 8 8 7 3

% .750 .679 .630 .786

HR RBI 20 83 24 90 4 77 3 58 5 73 2 38 24 84 12 117 19 90

IP 238 236 239 136

H 217 262 239 118

BB 84 55 75 46 50 37 13 85 48

ER 65 124 80 55

SB 7 18 40 9 57 9 8 14 2

BA .340 .284 .306 .285 .317 .319 .358 .342 .319

SLG .568 .473 .395 .393 .470 .424 .612 .501 .521

OB% .441 .428 .395 .355 .386 .381 .379 .439 .388

SO 202 179 121 139

BB 74 103 83 68

ERA 2.46 4.73 3.01 3.64

BR/9 11.3 14.5 12.3 10.4

slugs .577, compiles an OB% of .405, scores 375 runs, knocks in 327 (¡32 more than the selectees!) and smacks 67 homers, more than double the number hit by the o‡cially certified “stars.” Once again, I ask you, the reading public — which threesome would you prefer to take the field with? There was no utility player chosen, but Mike Ryba certainly fit the bill. Chosen as a catcher, he also played outfield and was 3–0 in nine games as a pitcher. At pitcher, Glen Gabler had to be the luckiest pitcher in the league. He won ¡9 games for a last place team that played .393 ball (.328 without him), had a 4.73 ERA (and allowed 5.9 runs per game for a team that finished last in hitting and scored 5.4 runs a game). His team’s bats must have really come alive when he was on the mound, and been stifled for his poor Broncho moundmates. Bill Wilson of Muskogee was ¡3–6 for a fifth place team (out of six) and had a 2.3¡ ERA, allowing ¡¡.3 BR/9, one of the league’s top figures. There was no relief pitcher chosen, but a certain Beckman finished ¡4 games (second in the league) and would have held down that spot.

48

Minor League All-Star Teams

Arizona-Texas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name John Keane Dick Gyselman Carl Kott C. McDermott Tony Antista George Steinback Cal Lahman W. Hershberger Angus McIsaac Charles King

SP SP SP SP

Joe Sullivan Phelps George Nielson Sumont

Team Bisby Tucson El Paso El Paso El Paso Bisby Tucson El Paso Bisby El Paso

G

G

GS

AB

H

CG

R

SH

TB

W

2B

L

3B

%

HR RBI

IP

H

BB

ER

SB

BA

SLG

OB%

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

SB 23 30 32 5 10 38 1 3 0

BA .279 .345 .312 .232 .317 .336 .330 .270 .263

SLG .375 .475 .451 .309 .404 .491 .485 .340 .319

OB% .371 .401 .404 .281 .358 .388 .360 .320 .312

Tucson Phoenix El Paso Nogales

No o‡cial statistics were released for the Arizona-Texas league in ¡93¡.

Cotton States League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team G Carroll Burrows Pine Blu› 123 Hugh Ferrell Jackson 116 Herschel Bobo Jackson 121 Frank Costa Vicksburg 118 Herb Welch Baton Rouge 115 Redmond Hume Vicksburg 117 C.E. Seeley El Dorado 121 Josh Billings Monroe/Vicksb. 89 Wray Query Pine Blu› 78 No selection made.

SP SP

Jackie Reid Gus Burleson

SP SP

Joe Berry Adel White

Jackson E. Dorado /Mon. Pine Blu› Monroe

AB 456 467 490 453 470 456 476 311 251

H R TB 127 93 171 161 94 222 153 103 221 105 49 140 149 73 190 153 73 224 156 69 231 84 34 108 66 21 80

2B 16 30 39 19 25 33 31 10 10

3B 8 11 7 5 5 10 7 7 2

HR RBI 4 61 3 77 5 64 2 39 2 78 6 63 10 79 0 40 0 27

BB 66 32 67 29 30 34 24 22 18

G 24 39

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 16 20

L 5 10

% .762 .667

IP 182 250

H 155 206

ER 52 72

SO 135 160

BB 55 82

ERA 2.57 2.59

BR/9 10.6 10.6

35 31

— —

— —

— —

16 14

12 9

.571 .609

243 215

224 185

74 61

122 163

68 84

2.75 2.56

11.0 11.3

Bobo and Query were playing managers. At short, C.D. Loewer of Baton Rouge was a slightly worse fielder than Costa, but Costa’s hitting was so poor that I think Loewer should have been the choice. Loewer had higher .273/.342/.333 numbers. Nothing that great, but far superior to puny human Costa. In the outfield, Pine Blu›’s Cecil “Stormy” Davis may have only hit .30¡, but he was the only player in the league with ¡00 RBIs (in fact, only one other

player had over 80) and his 83 runs were good for seventh. Horace Long (Jackson) was the other player with over 80 runs batted in with 89. He also led the league with ¡7 home runs and was the only player with a SA of over .500, coming in with a .5¡5 mark. He also finished sixth with 90 runs scored. No utility player was chosen, but Lud Corr (his name was sometimes spelled “Coor”) played first, second, short, and outfield and hit .255, scoring 55 runs.

! ¡932 ! In ¡932, there were ¡9 leagues in the National Association. Eleven of them (58%) named all-star teams. At second, Connally had a fine year, but Irv Je›ries (St. Paul) had a better one. His .309/.494 numbers

were superior, and he had 52 doubles and 20 homers (and he had ¡6 fewer errors than Connolly).

¡932

49

American Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Pat Crawford Columbus M. Connally Milwaukee Odell Hale Toledo Ernie Smith Minneapolis Joe Mowry Minneapolis Evar Swanson Columbus Art Ruble Minneapolis Paul Richards Minneapolis No selection made.

SP SP SP SP

W. “Rosy” Ryan Ray Parmelee Russ Van Atta Belve Bean

Minneapolis Columbus St. Paul Toledo

G 160 165 158 164 168 151 141 78

G 60 18 51 38

GS — — — —

AB 640 657 618 636 739 619 561 269

H 236 190 206 202 257 232 211 97

CG — — — —

R 116 111 110 108 175 128 126 45

SH — — — —

TB 370 266 307 299 384 345 345 165

W 22 14 22 20

2B 34 25 36 56 48 50 25 14

L 13 1 17 14

3B 5 4 22 10 11 18 11 3

% .629 .933 .564 .588

HR 30 14 7 7 19 9 29 16

IP 196 119 303 304

RBI 140 84 110 111 98 131 141 69

H 215 92 318 334

BB — — — — — — — —

ER — — — —

SB 14 18 15 25 5 45 7 1

BA .369 .289 .333 .318 .348 .347 .376 .361

SLG .578 .405 .497 .470 .520 .517 .615 .613

OB% — — — — — — — —

SO 54 102 129 116

BB 71 50 123 56

ERA — — — —

BR/9 13.4 11.2 13.2 11.6

No batter walks or HBP kept, thus no OB% calculations are possible. No ER kept for pitchers.

At third, Foster “Babe” Ganzel (Minneapolis) hit .302, slugged .502, scored ¡20 runs and led the league with ¡43 RBIs. Afield, he had 22 fewer errors than did Hale, leading the league in FA with a .958 mark to Hale’s poor .9¡2. At catcher, there is no argument that Richards was the league’s best — while he was there. This is a perfect case for naming two catchers to an all-star team, as Robert Fenner of St. Paul caught in 98 games and hit .330. Between the two a complete ¡70 game season would be covered.

No utility player was chosen, but two players could have filled the bill, Spencer Harris of Minneapolis and Johnny Cooney of Indianapolis. Harris played first and the outfield hit .352 with ¡25 runs and ¡¡3 RBIs; Cooney played the outfield and pitched, hitting .29¡ and compiling a ¡0–6 record on the mound. No relief pitcher was chosen, but selectee Rosey Ryan was the man for the job. He pitched only slightly more than three innings per game, so he must have been called on frequently to finish games.

International League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B

Name Baxter Jordan Otis Miller Marv Owen

SS OF OF OF C UT

Team Baltimore Bu›alo Toronto /Newark R. “Red” Rolfe Newark G. Puccinelli Rochester John Winsett Bu›alo Fred Walker Newark William Outen Jersey City No selection made.

SP

Don Brennan

Newark

G 42

G AB H R TB 118 493 176 98 284 122 447 146 83 212 160 587 186 103 285

2B 31 32 38

3B 10 2 14

HR RBI 19 105 10 70 11 92

BB 35 54 55

SB BA 6 .357 6 .327 13 .317

SLG .576 .474 .486

OB% .402 .399 .382

147 133 109 144 128

36 34 15 30 17

13 8 6 7 5

8 75 28 115 18 81 15 105 15 86

36 79 27 56 76

17 2 6 22 5

.330 .391 .351 .350 .337

.477 .672 .573 .512 .547

.371 .480 .402 .413 .457

SO 129

BB 104

ERA 2.79

BR/9 11.1

GS —

585 478 365 551 344

193 96 279 187 102 321 128 66 209 193 107 282 116 66 188

CG 21

SH 6

Walt Gautreau, Montreal second baseman, hit a little lower than did Miller (.327–.3¡2), was outslugged by a bunch (.474–.396), but did have a higher OB% (.4¡9–.399). Gautreau, however, handled almost a chance a game more than Miller, and that is a statistically significant advantage, hence my choice would have been Gautreau. At third, George Detore (Bu›alo) was superior in all hitting aspects to Owen. His .3¡8/.5¡9/.4¡¡ numbers being accompanied by ¡23 runs, 97 RBIs and 24 homers.

W 26

L 8

% .765

IP 252

H 204

ER 78

I know that “Buzz” Arlett was a terrible outfielder, but it is impossible to overlook a .339/.733/.463 season, especially when it is accompanied by leagueleading figures of 54 homers, ¡4¡ runs scored and ¡44 driven in (besides which, Puccinelli was even a poorer fielder than Arlett, as attested to by his 23 errors and very bad .9¡5 FA). Ollie Carnegie of Bu›alo produced .333/.6¡8/.388 numbers with 36 homers and ¡40 RBIs and would have made my All-Star outfield. The selected Puccinelli-Winsett-Walker outfield

50

Minor League All-Star Teams There was no utility choice, but Owen would have filled that slot admirably (he played second, third, and short). The league chose but a single pitcher. I would have added at least Gowell Claset of Montreal who was 23–¡3 with a 3.57 ERA (fourth in the league). No reliever was chosen, but George Miner of Newark finished 24 games and had a fine 3.24 ERA.

hit .364, slugged .582, had a good .434 OB%, scored 30¡ runs, drove in 275, and hit 6¡ homers. An outfield of Puccinelli, Arlett, and Carnegie (who admittedly would have been very, very busy afield) hits a slightly lower .353, slugs a much, much higher .674, and has a better .446 OB%. This threesome also hits ¡¡8 homers (a cool 39 a man), scores 359 runs, and drives in 399, 98 more than the selectees. But, as I said, this is not exactly a Gold Glove outfield.

Pacific Coast League (AA) Pos Name 1B 2B 3B

Team

G

SS OF OF OF C UT

George Burns Seattle Fred Muller Seattle F. “Pinky” Portland Higgins Ray French Sacramento Lou Finney Portland A. “Jigger” Statz Los Angeles O. “Ox” Eckhardt Mission Johnny Bassler Hollywood No selection made.

SP

F. Shellenback

Hollywood

G 36

TB

2B

3B

HR RBI

BB

BA

SLG

OB%

172 687 243 125 343 185 682 192 116 371 189 721 235 145 395

53 49 51

7 8 5

11 140 38 121 33 132

— — —

22 .354 15 .282 21 .326

.499 .544 .548

— — —

178 185 188 134 156

25 50 43 33 23

7 7 12 13 1

— — — — —

30 15 21 15 3

.257 .351 .347 .371 .357

.316 .454 .463 .508 .420

— — — — —

SO 119

BB 48

ERA 3.14

BR/9 10.9

GS 36

AB

661 764 737 539 443

H

R

170 107 209 268 125 347 256 153 341 200 80 274 158 52 186

CG 35

SH 0

W 26

L 10

% .722

0 5 6 5 1 IP 322

71 98 93 82 66 H 343

ER 112

SB

Walks were not kept for batters so OB% was impossible to compute.

The only changes I would make to this team would be to replace Finney with Cleo Carlyle and Eckhardt with Bob Johnson of Portland. Carlyle was a better fielder and a more powerful hitter (.346/.54¡) than Finney, and “Ox” was just about as unproductive a .37¡ as it is possible to be. Johnson (.330/.572) scored ¡5 more runs and drove in 29 more than Eckhardt only six more at-bats, had 29 homers to Ox’s five and was a much better fielder.

As with the International league, only a single pitcher was chosen as an All-Star. Shellenback was indeed the best pitcher in the league, but Curt Davis (San Francisco., 22–¡6, 2.24 ERA, 9.7 BR/9) and Willie Ludolph (Oakland, ¡6–¡4 for a team that lost ¡07 games, 2.76 ERA) should have also been the team.

Southern Association (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF

Name Team Harley Boss Chattanooga Wes Kingdon Chattanooga Cecil Travis Chattanooga Bill Rodda Nashville J. “Moose” Nashville Clabaugh OF Peck Hamel Memphis OF Frank Doljack New Orleans C Cli› Bolton Chattanooga UT No selection made.

SP SP

Walter Beck Alex “Red” McColl

G Memphis 37 Chattanooga 41

G 153 64 152 148 124

H R TB 206 114 285 75 49 103 203 88 273 196 140 298 170 101 302

2B 35 14 27 37 26

3B 10 7 17 10 5

144 503 177 119 235 60 221 74 27 107 132 481 173 87 229

29 13 22

10 7 10

GS — —

AB 609 228 570 634 445

CG — —

SH — —

Leaving Chattanooga’s Johnny Gill and Nashville’s Stan Keyes o› of the putative All-Star outfield makes no sense. Doljack is a poor choice — and not just be-

W 27 21

L 6 8

% .818 .724

HR RBI 8 99 0 43 3 88 15 84 32 107 3 2 8

IP 284 257

71 42 73

H 286 269

BB 47 48 34 66 76

SB 9 5 6 8 16

BA .338 .329 .362 .309 .383

SLG .468 .452 .479 .470 .679

OB% .386 .450 .394 .375 .479

92 20 36

25 .352 7 .335 1 .339

.467 .484 .476

.455 .390 .404

ERA 3.20 3.05

BR/9 12.9 11.4

ER 101 87

SO 139 53

BB 107 51

cause he only played in 60 games. Gill hit for .344/ .555/.450 averages with ¡26 runs and ¡20 RBIs, Keyes for .34¡/.604/.4¡2 numbers with league-leading

¡932 figures of ¡47 runs, ¡47 RBIs, and 35 homers, and both were good outfielders with good range. Clabaugh, Hamel, and Doljack hit .360, slugged .463, and had a good OB% of .452. Clabaugh, Gill, and Keyes hit .353, slugged .606, and had an OB% of .434. Even tripling Doljack’s home runs gives the All-

51

Stars only 4¡ homers to the alternates’ 86, with the expected concomitant increase in RBIs and runs. I would have added Chattanooga’s Clyde Barfoot to the pitchers. He was 2¡–¡0 with a league-leading 2.76 ERA.

Texas League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Hank Greenberg Byrne James Ernie Holman C. Molesworth Joe Medwick E. “Pete” Fox Homer Peel Frank Reiber Fred Tauby

Team Beaumont Dallas Dallas Galveston Houston Beaumont Houston Beaumont Beaumont

SP SP SP

George Murray Dallas Oscar Fuhr Dallas Luke Hamlin Beaumont

G 154 149 143 141 139 115 155 113 135 G 44 36 37

GS 37 27 27

AB 600 624 495 492 560 446 591 330 549

H 174 186 139 129 198 159 199 104 158

CG 24 18 15

R 123 122 66 55 113 103 98 60 85 SH 4 6 4

The players chosen for the o‡cial All-Star team were all worthy of said honor. Tauby played third and in the outfield. I would have added two more pitchers: Lynwood “Schoolboy” Rowe of Beaumont who was ¡9–7 with a 2.34 ERA and who allowed ¡0.0 BR/9, and Henry

TB 344 262 139 174 342 261 313 159 233 W 24 21 20

L 15 7 10

2B 31 49 21 27 46 23 52 21 35

3B 11 9 6 4 10 11 7 2 5

% .615 .750 .667

HR 39 3 5 0 26 19 16 10 10 IP 305 200 221

RBI 131 44 98 45 111 78 100 62 76 H 286 178 190

BB 59 58 77 40 19 27 81 72 25 ER 97 62 68

SB 11 42 5 20 8 30 9 7 32

BA .290 .298 .281 .282 .354 .357 .322 .315 .288

SLG .573 .420 .382 .354 .611 .585 .530 .482 .424

OB% .354 .367 .359 .320 .379 .406 .423 .439 .321

SO 109 120 96

BB 90 59 63

ERA 2.88 2.79 2.79

BR/9 11.4 11.1 10.4

Thormahlen of Galveston who went 20–¡0 for a team which was ¡9 games under .500. His ERA was 2.52 and his BR/9 ratio was ¡0.6. No reliever was named, but John Whitehead of Dallas relieved in 23 games, finished ¡7 and had a 2.88 ERA.

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team Jim Oglesby Des Moines Ray Schalk Okl. City Russell Rollings Denver George Binder Denver Stan Schino Tulsa Ernie Parker Denver John Stoneham Tulsa Horton Wichita Tony Rego Tulsa No selection made.

SP SP SP

Andy Bednar Ralph Birko›er Ed Greer

Tulsa Tulsa Denver

G 33 30 38

G 99 151 147 147 138 138 142 126 86

GS — — —

AB 405 648 600 597 525 508 557 415 294

H 156 223 208 188 186 182 196 124 84

CG — — —

R 84 131 116 89 129 135 138 57 39

SH — — —

TB 249 326 312 269 298 277 318 166 109

W 22 15 20

L 4 10 11

2B 28 56 55 34 32 37 38 26 19

3B 19 11 11 13 13 20 20 8 3

% .846 .600 .645

HR 9 9 9 7 18 6 18 0 0

IP 234 206 261

RBI 86 104 104 124 143 101 105 57 50

H 253 170 275

BB — — — — — — — — —

ER — — —

SB 4 21 5 4 6 5 7 8 1

BA .385 .344 .347 .315 .354 .358 .352 .299 .286

SLG .615 .503 .520 .451 .568 .545 .571 .400 .371

OB% — — — — — — — — —

SO 93 186 126

BB 64 122 89

ERA — — —

BR/9 12.4 13.2 12.6

Walks and HPB not kept for hitters, so no OB% figures possible. ERs not kept for pitchers, so no ERA.

I believe Dick Goldberg of Wichita to be a superior choice for first base. He too played in fewer than a hundred games (93 to be exact), yet he drove in ¡08 runs, better than one a game. His .359 BA was lower than Oglesby, but his .685 SLG% was better, and he led the league with 30 home runs. The outfield seems fit, but here too better choices

are revealed. Leon Riley (Omaha) was in only 73 games, but scored 86 runs and drove in 73 in that short span, along with hitting .39¡ and slugging .633. Pueblo’s Bill Allington (.374/.589) scored ¡67 runs, and he led league outfielders in put-outs. Mel Nydahl of Denver hit .366, led the league with 23¡ hits, and scored ¡46 runs.

52

Minor League All-Star Teams

New York-Pennsylvania League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harold Grant Frank Parenti Henry Peploski Walter Novak Johnny Mize Babe Fischer Jake Plummer Claude Linton Frank Kern

Team G Wilkes-Barre 113 Wilkes-Barre 136 Harrisburg 94 Wmpt-Scrntn 141 Elmira 106 Harrisburg 138 Wilkes-Barre 140 York-Hazleton 76 York-Harrisburg 138

SP SP

G Chant Parkes Williamsport 47 Clarence Heise Elmira 35

AB 392 544 361 485 405 530 523 274 535

GS — —

H R TB 120 54 164 146 86 193 121 59 169 120 51 156 132 60 198 191 134 249 170 101 290 73 40 100 171 88 237

CG — —

SH — —

W 20 20

“Dutch” Prather, Hazleton first baseman, had a far more productive season than did Grant. He led the league with ¡04 RBIs, was third in SA with a .535 average, and was fifth is runs scored with 89. At short, Robert Smith (Hazleton) had it all over Novak (who had the lowest BA, SA, and OB% of any player in over ¡00 games). Smith scored 86 runs to go with his .304/.446/.37¡ averages, and handled almost half a chance more a game afield.

L 14 8

2B 21 21 14 16 20 23 27 17 37

3B 7 7 14 4 11 7 18 2 7

% .588 .714

HR RBI 3 65 4 50 2 67 4 69 8 78 7 68 19 99 2 61 5 88 IP 284 240

H 275 227

BB 58 39 34 49 19 86 67 43 43 ER 101 82

SB 4 12 4 9 3 40 6 6 23

BA .306 .268 .335 .247 .326 .360 .325 .266 .320

SLG .418 .355 .468 .322 .489 .470 .554 .365 .443

OB% .404 .322 .397 .318 .359 .455 .403 .366 .370

SO 128 187

BB 124 102

ERA 3.20 3.08

BR/9 12.7 12.4

Utility man Kern played second and the outfield. At pitcher, the choices of Parkes and Heise were good ones, but the league should have had four pitching slots. John Milligan (Wilkes-Barre) was 22–8, 2.63 and Binghamton’s Vitus Tamulis (“The Flinging Finn”) allowed only 9.5 BR/9 in his ¡8 games, ending up with a ¡0–4 record to go with an excellent ¡.92 ERA.

Piedmont League (B) Pos Name 1B Bob “Stu›y” McCrone 2B Harry Snyder 3B Emory Culbreth SS Art Kilpatrick OF Parker Perry OF Eddie Wilson OF Tom Wolfe C Bill Lewis UT Paul O’Malley

SP SP

Team W.S.-Wilm.

G AB H 130 468 135

Charlotte Charlotte Raleigh High Point/ Wilm. Charlotte Raleigh /Durham Greensboro Durham

98 133 135 115

DeWitt Perry Raleigh F. Ostermueller Greensboro

G 30 31

R TB 96 221

2B 37

3B 14

HR RBI BB 7 81 100

333 93 70 127 522 186 89 301 584 181 103 243 469 159 93 251

16 47 35 23

6 7 6 6

2 37 18 118 5 53 19 110

SB BA 19 .282

SLG .472

OB% .415

69 37 34 49

20 5 24 7

.279 .356 .310 .339

.381 .577 .416 .535

.407 .401 .351 .403

85 330 88 122 478 182

78 131 92 295

19 38

6 15

4 32 15 101

57 48

38 .267 5 .381

.397 .617

.375 .438

115 402 132 91 299 92

85 214 43 107

26 11

10 2

12 114 0 26

75 37

14 .328 10 .308

.532 .358

.434 .386

ERA 3.39 3.36

BR/9 12.9 13.1

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 15 21

L 12 9

% .556 .700

IP 215 271

H 209 247

ER 81 101

SO 188 186

BB 98 140

W.S. is Winston Salem.

Bill Caldwell (Greensboro) would have appeared to have been an obvious choice for the first base spot based on the stats he compiled (.354/.554/.406, ¡03 runs and ¡¡4 RBIs), but looks are deceiving, as McCrone was named to the team and Caldwell was not. At short, Greensboro’s Benny Borgmann should perhaps have been at least a co-All-Star, as his .32¡/.405/.424 numbers compare favorably with Kilpatrick’s. Borgmann also led the league in runs with ¡22 (¡9 more than Kilpatrick in 95 fewer at-bats) and steals with 5¡. Hank Leiber’s absence from the team is com-

pletely mystifying, especially given the selection of Wilson. Lieber, who patrolled the Winston-Salem outfield, compiled .362/.56¡/.406 numbers, hit 49 doubles, scored 95 runs and drove in ¡03. He also made only two errors to Wilson’s thirteen. O’Malley caught and played third. If there were only two pitchers to be named to the all-star team, the wrong two were chosen. Jim Lyle of Charlotte was 22–7 with a 2.55 ERA and a ¡0.9 BR/9 ratio. Al Smith, who split his season between WinstonSalem and High Point, was ¡7–8 with a 2.2¡ ERA.

¡932

53

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Carl Kentling Ed Williford Charles English Johnny Keane John Rizzo Ival Goodman Dallas Patton Bill Delancey Eldon Breese

SP SP

James Lyons George Jahn

Team Mus./Hutch. Mus./Hut./Bar. Musk./Hutch. Springfield Mus./Hut./Bar. Bartlesville Ind.-Hutch. Springfield Bartlesville

Springfield Bartlesville

G 35 30

G 127 129 83 123 126 131 127 124 122 GS — —

AB 509 537 335 423 505 503 496 459 470

H R TB 140 77 186 155 93 221 114 81 186 132 74 193 172 83 267 161 105 310 171 92 285 151 108 274 140 119 202

CG 22 24

SH 2 2

W 18 16

L 9 11

2B 25 38 21 29 31 37 36 29 31

3B 3 11 9 10 13 23 15 20 11

% .667 .592

HR 5 2 11 4 14 22 16 18 3 IP 230 231

RBI 62 80 57 78 92 120 109 110 65 H 220 224

BB 26 50 27 58 40 54 44 64 78 ER 76 70

SB 9 8 7 14 23 15 8 9 21

BA .275 .289 .340 .312 .341 .330 .345 .328 .298

SLG .365 .412 .555 .456 .529 .616 .575 .597 .430

OB% .318 .349 .398 .424 .393 .388 .400 .414 .403

SO 164 108

BB 79 61

ERA 2.97 2.73

BR/9 11.1 11.5

Ind. is Independence. Mus./Hutch. is Muskogee/Hutchinson

Outside of first base, this is indeed the best team that could be gathered from the W.A. in ¡932. At first, Springfield’s Larry Barton’s numbers of .278/.5¡¡/ .339 along with 94 runs and 88 RBIs were all better than those posted by Kentling (which in Old English

means “A little Kent,” which in turn was the word for a long sta› used by shepherds to vault over ditches and brooks). Utility man Breese played all his games in the outfield — the league had no true utility player.

Mississippi Valley League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team Malcom Pickett Dubuque John Kane Davenport Harold Patchett Moline Harold Anderson Burlington William Mizeur Cedar Rapids Thomas Leonard Rock Island Brown Braley Keokuk Sanford Hamby Burlington Ken O’Dea Keokuk No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP

Fred Newton Norman Brown Adolph Wrobel Ed Linke N. Kleinke

Davenport Keokuk Rock Island Davenport Cedar Rapids

G 33 35 28 30 30

G 60 97 117 120 116 120 83 48 115 GS — — — — —

AB 253 366 469 448 445 508 318 182 441

H 83 103 154 113 149 163 119 60 147

CG — — — — —

R 35 53 90 57 77 83 69 24 82 SH — — — — —

TB 126 126 206 140 221 225 157 79 215 W 20 16 16 19 15

L 5 6 8 9 10

2B 13 16 17 17 29 27 13 9 32

3B 6 2 7 5 11 10 8 5 9

% .800 .727 .667 .679 .600

HR RBI 6 — 1 — 7 — 0 — 7 — 5 — 3 — 0 — 6 — IP 264 247 223 240 216

H 225 236 172 208 218

BB — — — — — — — — — ER — — — — —

SB 5 10 30 7 7 17 13 9 16

BA .328 .281 .328 .253 .335 .321 .374 .330 .333

SLG .498 .344 .439 .313 .497 .443 .494 .434 .488

OB% — — — — — — — — —

SO 156 123 139 228 126

BB 45 51 93 65 56

ERA — — — — —

BR/9 9.4 10.5 11.0 10.4 11.6

No walks for hitters recorded, hence no OB%. No Earned Runs for pitchers, so no ERA.

Without RBIs or OB%, it was hard to tell who might have been more deserving for an All-Star spot. The fact that there were no fielding stats kept made post-season selections even more di‡cult. Having made those qualifications, and even with the paucity of statistical evidence, there are two play-

ers who have strong cases for inclusion: Schmidt, Rock Island second baseman, and Maurice Archdeacon, Dubuque outfielder. Schmidt hit 23 points higher than Kane, outslugged him by 3¡ points, and scored 79 runs to Kane’s 53. Archdeacon hit .338 and scored 88 runs, second most in the league.

Nebraska State League (D) The choice of Strother at second is an odd one. Hugh Luby of Norfolk had a slightly lower average (.282), but his slugging (.406) and OB percentages (.376) were higher and he scored thirty more runs. Oh, and he also led the league in put-outs, assists, double plays and FA.

Lacking any numbers at all for Fiarito, it is impossible to ascertain why he was chosen as an AllStar. Batting averages under .200 were not published for the ’32 Neb. State league, so it is possible that he was chosen despite a sub-.200 BA. However, he does not appear in the fielding statistics either (although

54

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Fred West Eugene Strother Henry Fiarito Ray Bertram Art Moore Walter Gannon Forrest Ewing James Brown Bennie Warren H.P. “Spud” Owen

SP SP

Pat Flanigan Mike Pociask

Team Grand Island Lincoln North Platte Norfolk North Platte Norfolk McCook Norfolk Lincoln North Platte

McCook Beatrice

G AB H R TB 2B 3B 99 362 93 50 124 16 3 98 401 115 52 156 15 10 Played in less than 10 games (?). 95 399 106 74 156 13 14 70 266 99 63 174 29 5 108 422 150 95 219 24 15 76 281 93 50 158 15 13 106 393 118 80 200 23 13 74 247 77 39 127 11 18 101 339 108 59 184 35 10

G 25 25

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 12 17

L 12 7

% .500 .708

HR RBI 3 — 2 — 3 12 5 8 11 1 7

— — — — — — —

IP 174 207

H 155 176

BB 30 43

SB BA 16 .257 17 .288

SLG .343 .389

OB% .314 .356

36 28 62 29 29 35 30

8 14 20 8 28 2 17

.266 .372 .355 .331 .301 .312 .348

.391 .654 .519 .562 .509 .514 .543

.326 .432 .438 .394 .348 .397 .374

SO 261 203

BB 91 91

ERA 3.30 3.12

BR/9 13.5 12.0

ER 64 72

OB% lack HBP, and are hence mere approximations of their true self.

named at least five all-star pitchers. As is (shockingly) usual the obvious choice for “Best Pitcher” was not chosen. Norfolk’s Luke Bucklin was ¡6–4 with a sterling ¡.89 ERA and shared the best BR/9 ratio at ¡0.2. The pitcher with whom he shared that mark was not chosen an All-Star either. Otto Davis, also of Norfolk, was 24–¡0 (seven wins more than any other hurler) with a 2.59 ERA. Doug Gillette of Grand Isle was ¡6–8, 2.73 with 252 Ks in only 2¡7 innings, ¡0.5/9 IP. It should be noted that Flanigan averaged a “Big Unit”–like ¡3.5 Ks per 9 IP, by far the best of any pitcher in ¡932.

only 2¡ games at third for North Platte are covered in said stats). In the event, John Drost of Norfolk would seem to been an appropriate choice. He hit .264, scored 84 runs (fifth in the league) and, like Luby, led in every fielding stat. In the outfield, Beatrice’s Bill Swinger hit .324, slugged .534, scored 86 runs and led the league with ¡6 homers. His outfield mate at Beatrice, John Cross, hit .292 and scored ¡00 runs. Owen played—at the very least—second, catcher, and outfield, as no less than 38 games in which he played are unaccounted for in the fielding stats. The ’32 Neb. State league probably should have

! ¡933 ! In ¡933, there were ¡4 leagues in the National Association. Thirteen of them (93%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Joe Hauser Frank Sigafoos George Detore Benny Borgmann Jack Rothrock Spencer Harris Ray “Rip” Radcli›e Bill DeLancey Joe Glenn No selection made.

SP SP SP SP

Paul Dean Clarence Heise Bill Lee John Marcum

Team Minneapolis Indianapolis Toledo Columbus Columbus Minneapolis St.Paul Columbus Minneapolis

Columbus Columbus Columbus Louisville

G 50 33 34 37

G 153 152 137 90 126 152 128 123 137

AB 570 635 508 377 498 631 511 421 439

GS — — — —

CG — — — —

H 189 235 179 128 173 224 186 120 146

R 153 108 103 69 96 141 77 81 65

SH — — — —

There are no changes that I can see that would seriously alter this team for the better.

W 22 17 21 20

TB 439 328 263 147 246 357 260 222 243 L 7 5 9 13

2B 35 53 37 11 26 47 36 17 36 % .759 .773 .700 .606

3B 4 11 7 1 7 10 10 11 5

HR 69 6 11 2 11 22 6 21 17

IP 254 211 252 272

RBI BB 182 138 126 26 82 54 29 36 94 40 106 85 99 29 97 62 91 49

H 228 212 227 278

ER 89 91 106 113

SB 1 24 16 28 19 13 9 3 1 SO 222 131 141 153

BA .332 .370 .352 .340 .347 .355 .364 .285 .333

SLG .770 .517 .520 .390 .494 .566 .509 .527 .554

OB% .467 .399 .418 .401 .398 .432 .401 .377 .400

BB 117 67 114 78

ERA 3.15 3.88 3.79 3.74

BR/9 12.4 11.9 12.3 11.9

There are however two quibbles: Detore should have been named as a utility player, as he played sec-

¡933

55

have four outfielders, adding Nick Cullop, also of Columbus. He compiled .3¡3/.595/.386 numbers and drove in ¡43 runs while garnering 87 EBH, including 22 triples and 28 homers.

ond, third, caught, and even pitched in one game. That would leave third open, and I would have put Lew Riggs (Columbus) there. Riggs hit .280, scored 90 runs, and drove in 80. The only other change I would make would be to

International League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Johnny Neun Newark Don He›ner Baltimore Stan Hack Albany “Red” Rolfe Newark Len Koenecke Bu›alo Ike Boone Toronto J. “Moose” Solters Baltimore Bennie Tate Montreal No selection made.

SP SP

James Weaver Harry Smythe

Newark Baltimore

G 40 54

G 158 164 137 156 161 157 147 118

GS — —

AB 606 631 515 605 601 558 523 349

H 187 185 154 197 201 199 190 117

CG 22 13

R 102 122 102 113 113 100 123 31

SH 3 0

In contrast with the A.A., the ’32 International League All-Star team is mystifying by dint of those left o› of the squad. At first, manager Oscar Roettger of Montreal had .305/.436 numbers, much the same as Neun. The di›erence is in the fact that Roettger had ¡22 RBIs, 53 more than Neun, and more in keeping with the tradition of first being a power spot. At second, Fresco Thompson (Jersey CityBu›alo) also had similar numbers to the scribes’ choice (.30¡/.436/.374), but as at first, his RBIs should have carried the day, all else being equal. He drove in 93 runs, not bad for a second baseman, and also scored ¡¡4 runs. This pattern of production discrepancy continues at third, where Newark’s Jack Saltzgaver hit .306, slugged .424, and had ¡00 RBIs, 36 more than Hack. A question could also be raised about the league’s choice at short. Bu›alo’s Greg Mulleavy hit for .337/.48¡/.4¡7 averages and scored ¡27 runs. (For stat heads and comparison freaks, of which two communities I count myself a member of, it comes down to the numbers. All-Stars: .306 BA, .432 SA, .386 OB%, 432 runs, 279 RBIs. Roettger/ Thompson/Saltzgaver/Mulleavy: .3¡3 BA, .446 SA, .378 OB%, 440 runs, 397 RBIs. Now, I know that stats do not tell the whole story, but they do tell us a great deal, and a ¡¡8 RBI di›erence is huge. Still, my

TB 252 281 216 270 291 282 358 147

W 25 21

2B 27 37 28 40 36 36 46 17

L 11 8

3B 10 7 8 6 15 7 7 2

% .694 .724

HR 6 15 6 7 8 11 36 3

IP 268 213

RBI 69 68 64 78 100 103 157 46

H 233 227

BB 75 72 83 65 89 89 37 37

ER 81 94

SB 20 16 5 8 0 0 4 1

SO 175 92

BA .309 .293 .299 .326 .334 .357 .363 .335

SLG .416 .445 .419 .446 .484 .505 .685 .421

OB% .380 .366 .403 .392 .420 .448 .409 .401

BB 93 60

ERA 2.72 3.97

BR/9 11.0 12.2

musings and comparisons are for study purposes only, and should be looked upon as such.) Two outfield spots are open to second-guessing. Solters is unquestionably an all-star. Koenecke and Boone, despite good looking numbers, were out-performed by three other flyhawks. “Buzz” Arlett of Baltimore racked up .343/.650/.466 averages, all very impressive, in addition to scoring ¡35 runs, driving in ¡46 and cracking 39 homers. Two Bu›alo flyhawks named Ollie should have been in contention for slots. Ollie Carnegie (.3¡7/.573/.385) scored ¡04 runs, drove in ¡23 and hit 29 homers. Ollie Tucker .323/ .542/.43¡) also scored ¡04 runs, drove in ¡¡5 and hit 27 homers. Boone had just about as weak a .357 as a hitter could have, and Koenecke was just a skosh better. I would have had four outfielders: Moose, Buzz, Ollie, and Ollie (gee, sounds like a cross between an Archie comic and a vaudeville act). No utility player was named, but another “Moose,” Clabaugh of Baltimore this time, played first, third and the outfield and posted very good .336/.562/.448 averages. At pitcher, I feel that Fritz Ostermueller of Rochester should have been a third choice. He was ¡6–7 with a 2.44 ERA. No relief pitcher was chosen, but Smythe could have filled that bill too, as he finished 33 games.

Pacific Coast League (AA) Eugene Lillard of Los Angeles hit .307, slugged .566, scored ¡29 runs, drove in ¡49 and led the league with 43 home runs—yet, he lost the third base all-star

spot to Backer and his 3 homers and 72 RBIs (less than half of Lillard’s total, you will note). In the outfield, Joe DiMaggio’s .340/.543 year for

56 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Team George Burns Seattle John Monroe Portland Lennie Backer Sacramento Alan Strange Hollywood O. “Ox” Eckhardt Mission Bernie Uhalt Oakland Luis Almada Mission Art Veltman Oakland No selection made.

G 169 152 161 133 189 171 154 144

G SP “Bobo” Newsom Los Angeles 56 SP Dick Ward Los Angeles 43

AB 643 576 633 490 760 632 625 500

GS — —

H 217 186 211 159 315 221 223 166

R 116 126 124 90 145 129 118 74

TB 340 252 269 215 439 290 309 234

2B 32 33 39 28 56 41 34 30

3B 5 6 5 5 16 8 17 1

HR 27 7 3 6 12 4 6 12

RBI 128 62 72 81 143 89 72 86

BB — — — — — — — —

SB 11 20 5 12 15 62 11 10

BA .357 .323 .333 .324 .414 .350 .357 .332

SLG .529 .438 .425 .439 .577 .459 .494 .468

OB% — — — — — — — —

CG 26 25

SH 7 1

W L % IP H ER SO BB 30 11 .732 320 328 113 212 124 25 9 .735 285 252 103 174 114

ERA 3.17 3.25

BR/9 12.9 11.6

No batter walks kept, so figuring OB% was not possible.

S.F., ¡29 runs and league leading ¡69 RBIs somehow failed to impress the grizzled press box selectors. I would also have chosen “Jigger” Statz and his ¡44 runs over either Uhalt or Almada. No utility player was chosen, but there are two who could have filled that slot: Leo Kintana of Oakland and Art Garibaldi of San Francisco. Kintana only hit .255, but he played first, second, third, short

and the outfield and scored 80 runs. Garibaldi played second, third, and the outfield, had ¡02 RBIs, scored ¡¡0 runs and hit .309. At pitcher, I would have added a third hurler: John Babich of Mission. He was 20–¡5 for a team which finished 29 games under .500, and his 3.62 ERA was fifth among qualifiers. Art Jacobs of Portland finished 22 games and was ¡7–7.

New York-Pennsylvania League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name George McQuinn Art Hord Henry Peploski J. “Bunny” Gri‡ths Joe Dwyer George Stumpf Sol Mishkin Willard Hershberger Frank Kern

SP SP

Jack LaRocca James Lyons

Team Binghamton York Harr.-Scran. Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre Reading Binghamton Binghamton Harrisburg

Binghamton Elmira

G 39 24

G 129 138 130 139 139 125 134 103 123 GS — —

AB 507 511 508 550 533 474 532 345 464 CG — —

H R TB 2B 181 88 274 48 159 63 207 22 161 62 195 20 155 84 182 27 187 77 258 38 156 89 233 35 178 100 268 41 105 43 135 18 124 59 164 19 SH — —

W 18 11

L 9 8

% .667 .579

3B HR RBI BB 12 7 102 48 10 2 81 23 7 0 66 36 0 0 38 44 15 1 95 36 12 6 93 56 20 3 84 41 3 2 58 27 9 1 50 50 IP 234 147

H 174 123

ER 77 51

SB 14 17 7 19 5 16 14 17 16 SO 200 52

BA .357 .311 .317 .282 .351 .329 .335 .304 .258

SLG OB% .540 .417 .405 .343 .384 .364 .331 .336 .484 .395 .492 .402 .504 .396 .391 .360 .353 .339

BB 125 49

ERA 2.96 3.12

BR/9 11.6 10.7

Scran. is Scranton.

The only quibble with the position players is at second. Frank Parenti of Wilkes-Barre (.296/.388/ .370) scored 97 runs and, in only two more games, handled 68 more chances than did Hord. Utility man Kern played second, third and the outfield.

I believe that another two pitchers, both of whom threw for Wilkes-Barre, should have been included on the roster: Joe Semler and Earl Johnson. Semler was ¡3–4 with a league-leading 2.32 ERA, and Johnson went 20–¡0, 2.85.

Southern Association (A) Guy Sturdy was a playing manager, and he did have a good year. I think, however, that Andrew Reese of Memphis had a better one. Reese batted .324 and slugged .480, scored ¡07 runs and batted in 93. At second, the league’s choice (Chapman) only played 29 games at third and 99 at short. John Mihalic of Chattanooga did not match Chapman’s numbers, compiling .30¡/.394/.369 averages, but he was actually a second baseman and he did score ¡0¡ runs.

Dressen too was a playing manager with decent numbers, but Cecil Travis (Chattanooga) hit .352 and slugged .452, and would have been at least as good a choice as Dressen. At short, Charles Chatham of Atlanta had virtually the same season as Frey at bat (.290/.398/.37¡ with 98 runs and 66 RBIs), but he led the league in FA and Frey finished dead last. In the outfield, C.C. “Peck” Hamel hit .349 and

¡933 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Guy Sturdy Little Rock Cal Chapman Memphis Chuck Dressen Nashville Linus Frey Nashville Ab Wright Little Rock Lance Richbourg Nashville Walter French L.R.-Knoxville Ray Berres Birmingham No selection made.

SP Fred Johnson New Orleans SP Ted Kleinhans Atlanta

G 107 141 127 124 135 140 153 124

G 38 42

AB 374 509 473 490 503 580 612 429

GS 37 36

H R TB 123 73 167 168 80 238 157 70 200 144 90 190 177 92 257 208 120 300 215 116 313 126 51 148

CG 23 21

SH — —

had a league-leading .445 OB% for Memphis. He also led with ¡27 runs, and would seem to have earned at least a fourth slot on the team. Catcher Al Head (Knoxville) fashioned a .33¡ year with a .363 OB% and 6¡ RBIs, all superior to league choice Berres. No utility player was named, but Frank Waddy, who split his season between Knoxville and Chattanooga, hit .36¡ with 9¡ runs and 92 RBIs while playing ¡¡7 games in the outfield and 25 at other positions. It is hard to fault the pitching selections (Johnson leading in ERA and Kleinhans winning ¡9 games

57 2B 17 23 26 18 35 46 42 11

3B 6 13 4 5 6 11 13 4

HR RBI 5 55 7 67 3 93 6 49 11 98 8 85 10 59 1 36

BB 54 32 36 48 22 19 20 12

W L % IP H ER 21 9 .700 288 301 97 19 13 .594 279 274 125

SB 12 9 11 7 14 30 29 7

SO 84 124

BA .329 .330 .332 .294 .352 .359 .375 .294

SLG .447 .468 .423 .388 .511 .517 .559 .345

OB% .405 .372 .386 .360 .385 .380 .436 .318

BB 48 122

ERA 3.03 4.03

BR/9 11.0 12.9

for a team which ended up 24 games under .500), but I think room should have been made for two other pitchers. Jim “Tiny” Chaplin of Nashville was 20–¡¡, 3.¡4 with league-leading 304 IP and 26 CG numbers. And, Birmingham’s Clay Touchstone went 2¡–¡3, 3.2¡ and allowed a league low ¡0.9 BR/9 for a team which finished only a single game above .500. No relief pitcher was picked, but Guy Green of Little Rock and Knoxville relieved in 43 games, finished 35 of them and had a decent (for the league) 3.89 ERA.

Texas League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Zeke Bonura Carey Selph Buck Fausett George Binder Ev “Pid” Purdy Tony Governor John Stoneham Jimmy O’Dea Clarence Jonnard Clarence Crossley

Team Dallas Houston Galveston Houston San Antonio Galveston Tulsa Houston Dallas San Antonio

G 152 149 153 151 114 150 151 117 119 142

G SP Fabian Kowalik San Antonio 37 SP George Darrow Galveston 33 SP Ed Greer Houston 37

AB 516 594 609 524 427 608 556 428 372 501

GS — — —

H R TB 184 141 305 184 104 256 197 90 246 123 52 172 153 86 201 179 97 248 169 90 242 115 43 164 82 34 96 152 79 219 CG 25 26 27

SH 3 1 3

This league, in this year, had a whole passel of players who had very similar seasons. Perhaps some ties may have been in order, both for the sake of fairness and for posterity. At second, Selph managed Houston to a pennant (although he lost in the playo›s), but Ollie Bejma was worth a look. He hit .274 with 48 doubles and scored ¡07 runs while driving in 83. Over at third, Dallas’s Ernie Holman didn’t hit as well as Fausett (not even close at .277–.324), but he had a higher SA and a higher OB%, despite the 47 point edge Fausett had in BA. Plus, with 86 runs and 78 RBIs, he was a more productive hitter. And, if that is not enough,

2B 43 40 35 28 27 32 21 28 8 48

3B 3 7 7 9 9 14 17 9 3 8

HR RBI BB 24 111 122 6 60 55 0 51 40 1 72 45 1 65 67 3 56 72 6 81 87 1 65 39 0 38 34 1 69 96

W L % IP H 21 13 .618 277 258 22 7 .759 269 231 22 10 .688 272 260

ER 98 78 83

SB 19 8 16 6 9 13 4 7 3 5

BA .357 .310 .324 .235 .358 .294 .304 .269 .220 .303

SLG .591 .431 .403 .328 .470 .408 .435 .383 .258 .437

OB% .485 .369 .368 .297 .449 .377 .401 .331 .286 .419

SO 77 125 137

BB 92 97 74

ERA 3.15 2.61 2.71

BR/9 11.7 10.6 11.3

Holman led in FA with a .95¡ %, and Fausett finished dead last with a horrid .9¡7. At short, Charlie Engle, who split his season between Fort Worth and San Antonio, hit .266 to Binder’s .235 and had a fine OB% of .38¡ compared to Binder’s horrid .297. He also scored 97 runs, almost doubling Binder’s total. In the outfield, Vernon Washington (Fort Worth) lost out to Tony Governor despite a .325/.494/.370 season in which he drove in ¡06 runs, 50 more than Governor. Houston’s Gene Moore also out-performed Governor with his .299/.5¡2/.397 season. Jonnard at catcher is one of those spooky “Mys-

58

Minor League All-Star Teams drove in ¡02 runs, 33 more than the choice of the Texas League Star Chamber. There is no arguing with the selections for pitcher, just the suggestion that two more should have been added. Houston team-mates George Payne (¡9–¡¡, 2.52, ¡0.0 BR/9) and Mike Cvengros (2¡–¡¡, 2.43, ¡¡.2 BR/9) are at least as good as, if not better than, the pitchers chosen.

tery” choices. He just couldn’t hit, had no power and had trouble getting on base. San Antonio’s Tom Heath (.274/.350/.38¡) would seem to have been a much better selection. Crossley, the utility player, played first and the outfield—as did team-mate Larry Bettencourt. Bettencourt (.296/.452/.357) didn’t get on base as often as Crossley, yet still outscored him by four runs and

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Vic Shiell Topeka Richard Harrell St. Joseph Stanley Tutaj Omaha John Keane Springfield Dallas Patton Springfield Walt Carson St. Joseph Leo Ogorek Des Moines Mike Ryba Springfield No selection made.

SP SP

Herbert May Cy Blanton

St. Joseph St. Joseph

G 123 124 122 123 123 122 113 114

G 35 35

AB 438 515 475 491 507 511 473 418

GS — —

H 134 156 175 159 175 186 152 159

CG — —

R 96 102 85 118 115 117 108 82

SH — —

TB 239 195 244 228 265 294 195 232

W 24 21

2B 33 25 39 41 29 43 17 42

L 6 7

3B 3 7 9 8 14 13 10 8

% .800 .750

HR RBI 22 — 0 — 4 — 4 — 11 — 13 — 2 — 5 —

IP 244 256

H 231 195

BB — — — — — — — —

ER — —

SB 12 27 12 28 14 37 60 7

SO 153 284

BA .306 .303 .368 .324 .345 .364 .321 .380

SLG .546 .379 .514 .464 .522 .575 .412 .555

OB% — — — — — — — —

BB 69 97

ERA — —

BR/9 11.3 10.5

No walks recorded for batters, so no OB%; no ER recorded for pitchers, so no ERA.

This was pretty much a cut and dried team to pick. The only quibbles are in the outfield and the lack of a utility man. Outfielder Howard McFarland (Joplin-St. Jo) would have been my choice above Ogorek. McFarland only hit .305, but he had a SA of .475, scored ¡06 runs, and led all outfielders in PO and FA. I would have had St. Jo’s Earle Brucker at catcher, but not because his numbers (.3¡3/.453) are better than Ryba’s. Rather, I would have had Ryba as a utility man (he also played outfield and was 3–¡ as a

pitcher in addition to catching). In fact, I would have had two utility players, the other being Ossie Orwoll of Des Moines. Ossie was 7–2 as a pitcher and played first, scoring 89 runs in only 96 games. He hit .309, slugged .553, and finished fifth in the league with ¡5 homers. I would have had three pitchers, the third being Sam Dailey of Omaha. He was 20–9 for a team which finished only two games over .500. It is worth noting that Blanton averaged ¡0 K/9 IP, an exceptionally high ratio for the era.

Mississippi Valley League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Malcom Pickett Eddie Sicking Tony Robello George Meyer Floyd Patterson Como Cotelle Simon Rosenthal Jack Redmond Frank Myers

Team Peoria/Quincy Keokuk Rock Island Davenport Rock Island Davenport Quincy Rock Island Springfield

G 92 114 87 114 109 91 108 116 51

G SP Al Hollingsworth Rock Island 29 SP Clarence Struss Peoria 19

AB 380 442 346 447 398 378 428 467 196

GS — —

H R TB 2B 126 63 193 21 142 85 194 33 116 70 205 26 130 130 216 27 135 94 190 33 154 106 229 28 166 99 242 39 139 82 197 23 63 40 83 12 CG — —

SH — —

Sicking was a playing manager. I think that there should have been four outfielders chosen, and that Patterson should not have been

W 15 12

3B HR RBI BB 5 12 101 39 8 1 52 83 6 17 78 46 13 11 81 93 8 2 78 92 7 11 86 29 8 7 98 75 7 7 85 56 4 0 24 25

L % IP H 8 .652 205 191 4 .750 147 133

SB 9 24 8 9 28 31 23 14 8

BA .332 .322 .335 .291 .339 .407 .388 .298 .321

ER SO BB 71 157 90 55 168 105

SLG OB% .508 .395 .439 .432 .592 .413 .483 .415 .477 .463 .606 .468 .565 .480 .422 .374 .423 .409 ERA 3.11 3.38

BR/9 12.4 14.6

one of them. I would have selected Bill Mizeur of Peoria (.329/.605/.45¡) who scored ¡23 runs and drove in ¡¡6 in only ¡¡5 games. I would also have

¡933 added Ed Hall of Davenport who not only hit .328 and slugged .600 but who also scored ¡¡2 runs in only ¡¡5 games and drove in ¡5¡(!) while leading the league with 28 homers. (Those RBIs, by the way, extrapolate out to ¡99 over a ¡50 game season. How can you leave a guy like this o› of an imputed “All-Star” team?) At catcher, I would have gone for Otto Denning (Davenport) who was .3¡7/.458/.383 with 67 runs and 72 RBIs over Redmond.

59

The choice of Myers at the utility slot is a mystery, especially when there is another candidate like Riley Parker, the manager of Rock island, who played first, second and third and had .329/.489/.429 averages and had 85 runs and 98 RBIs. I would also have added William Prince of Davenport to the pitching sta›. He was ¡4–6, 3.6¡ with a league best BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.7. Struss, it should be noted, averaged ¡0.3 K/9 IP.

Piedmont League (B) Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Ed Hendee Richmond Jim Bucher Greensboro Frank Packard Charlotte Jimmy Brown Greensboro Taft Wright Charlotte Ernie Koy Durham Charles Wade Richmond Robert Collins Durham No selection made.

SP SP

Ad Holshauser Junie Barnes

Richmond Wilmington

G

AB

TB

2B

3B

118 128 43 138 124 93 139 97

475 510 152 596 470 357 557 343

157 74 204 188 115 323 46 38 91 172 117 218 155 87 230 117 67 177 180 106 307 112 47 163

H

R

26 40 6 27 27 28 39 31

6 10 0 8 12 7 8 7

G 40 25

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

HR RBI

BB

SB

BA

SLG

OB%

73 118 29 49 90 56 119 74

— — — — — — — —

26 26 9 20 18 37 37 24

.331 .369 .303 .289 .330 .328 .323 .327

.429 .633 .599 .366 .489 .496 .551 .475

— — — — — — — —

W L % IP H 22 14 .611 288 285 14 8 .636 191 155

ER — —

SO 175 176

BB 101 44

ERA — —

BR/9 12.6 9.7

3 25 13 1 8 6 24 2

No walks recorded for batters, so no OB%; no ER recorded for pitchers, so no ERA.

Ahhh, the mystery choices … Greensboro first baseman Johnny Mize (yes, that Johnny Mize) hit .360 and slugged .664, and, in 98 games, drove in ¡04 and scored ¡08 runs. But was he the All-Star selection? No. You try and explain that, ’cause I can’t. Frank Packard’s season seems a bit too short to merit all-star status. Perhaps Merrill “Pinky” May (Durham) should have the slot, but Packard did undoubtedly pack a punch. At short, Charlotte’s Grant Gillis was a coin toss away from selection based on hitting alone (he hit .297, slugged .406, and scored 92 runs). But, afield, he pulls away from Brown, who fielded a horrible .9¡¡ and led the league in errors. I consider three other outfielders to be at least the equal of Wright and Koy. Charlotte’s Emile Barnes

(.3¡3/.44¡) scored ¡22 runs. Greensboro’s Lewis Whitehead hit only .305 but had ¡¡3 RBIs and scored ¡¡0 times. Finally, Richmond’s Frank Rogers hit for .308/.446 averages, scored 96 runs and drove in 84. He also had 370 POs, 77 more than any other league outfielder. No utility player was chosen, but yet another Greensboro player fills that spot to the proverbial “T.” Joe Martin played second, third and the outfield, hit .3¡8, slugged .485, and drove in 83 runs while scoring 82. Greensboro pitchers John Chambers and Maryland Dykes Potter were 23–8 and 20–7, allowing ¡2.6 and ¡¡.3 BR/9 respectively, with Chambers recording ¡73 Ks and Potter a league-leading ¡89.

Dixie League (C) The total of six doubles for Bates is an error. Not only is it highly unlikely that a hitter could have ¡03 RBIs and just 23 EBH, but only about ¡70–¡80 of Shreveport’s 229 doubles are accounted for in the individual stats, a shortfall of at least 50. Assuming the “6” to be correct, Bates actually had either 36 or 46 doubles. My best guess is 46, but I will use the lower number and figure that Bates had at least 247 TBs and a SA of at least .50¡. Al Vincent of Baton Rouge had .328/.490/.4¡9 numbers along with 94 runs and 84 RBIs. He also

led all league second basemen in put-outs and assists. He should have been on the team. At third, Longview’s J.R. Phelps didn’t match Bilgere in BA, hitting .3¡5, but his OB% was a far superior .4¡5. Hitting aside, however, he led all league third basemen in PO, A, DP, and FA, while Bilgere fielded an excrescent .895. In the outfield, Bouza’s .4¡4 was indeed impressive, but he wasn’t even in half of his team’s games. I would have had him as a fourth flyhawk. I would have left Mazzera o› and added L.L. Jones of Jack-

60 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Charles Gilbert Carroll Kott Joe Bilgere Jimmy Dalrymple Mike Bouza Hub “Buddy” Bates Mel Mazzera Adolph Krauss George Boutwell

Team Baton Rouge Waco-Pine Bl. Henderson Henderson El Dorado Shreveport Baton Rouge Baton Rouge Jackson

G 116 91 93 122 54 123 114 67 73

G SP Steve Larkin Shreveport 44 SP Merritt Hubbell Baton Rouge 29

GS — —

AB 473 386 387 506 220 493 448 232 239 CG — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 170 116 253 23 18 86 86 53 92 72 176 22 10 4 49 22 133 73 173 18 6 3 62 23 180 108 251 36 4 9 64 61 91 36 134 14 7 5 58 13 163 88 217 6 3 14 103 62 145 72 224 23 16 8 80 26 73 38 110 11 4 6 32 28 67 40 104 14 4 5 48 18 SH — —

W L % IP H 22 7 .759 280 269 13 11 .578 212 247

SB 48 6 4 12 9 17 5 8 3

ER SO 90 142 88 88

BA .359 .316 .344 .356 .414 .331 .321 .315 .281

SLG OB% .535 .422 .456 .367 .447 .359 .496 .425 .609 .446 .440 .441 .500 .367 .474 .395 .435 .336

BB 96 72

ERA 2.88 3.87

BR/9 12.2 14.3

Pine Bl. is Pine Blu›.

sonville (.329/.487/.428, 90 runs and 99 RBIs) and Sam Jones of Henderson (.34¡/.53¡/.403 with 9¡ runs and ¡05 RBIs). I would also have named two catchers, the second being Mike Tresh of Shreveport who hit .300 with 49 RBIs. Boutwell played outfield and pitched (he was 4–3 with a 3.24 ERA). Herb Rushing (Jack-

sonville) played second and short and hit .347 with 93 runs and 90 RBIs. At pitcher, I most certainly would not have chosen Hubbell, barely a top ten pitcher, let alone an “All-Star.” I would have gone for Baton Rouge’s Gene McClung who was 20–¡0 with a 2.34 ERA and a league best ¡¡.9 BR/9 ratio.

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Buddy Hassett Wheeling Don Curry Wheeling Marcel Bellande Zanesville Billy Hitchcock Wheeling Al Powell Dayton Tony Fiaritto Zanesville Sam Thomas Johnstown Walter Millies Dayton No selection made.

SP Al Milnar Zanesville SP William Helmick Charleston

G 94 134 125 109 78 124 127 132

AB 376 517 486 422 311 469 481 450

G 27 28

GS — —

H R TB 125 73 198 146 105 220 141 72 211 140 67 211 112 63 197 154 96 239 170 105 230 131 51 169 CG — —

SH — —

Second baseman Nat Hickey of Johnstown outperformed Curry in all batting phases as his .340/.47¡/.394 numbers will attest. He scored 90 runs, fifteen less than Curry, but had 92 RBIs, 36 more. At third, William Crittendon, who played for Johnstown and Wheeling, likewise overshadowed the leagues choice with his .304/.46¡/.382 numbers. In the field, the di›erence is more striking: Crittendon led in put-outs, assists, and FA while Bellande fielded a poor .9¡6. At short, Michael Noonan of Springfield crushed the putative All-Star Hitchcock (.349/.6¡3/.409 with 95 RBIs). A fourth outfield spot might have been made for

W 13 18

2B 27 36 32 25 21 32 42 21

3B 8 12 7 11 8 7 6 7

HR RBI 10 58 8 56 8 96 8 64 16 73 13 90 2 45 1 61

BB 19 64 44 22 11 65 78 32

SB 10 15 6 10 27 13 25 8

BA .332 .282 .290 .332 .360 .328 .353 .291

SLG .527 .425 .434 .500 .633 .510 .479 .376

OB% .368 .367 .360 .368 .386 .414 .446 .341

L % IP H 7 .650 193 167 8 .692 225 194

ER 66 72

SO 194 93

BB 101 41

ERA 3.07 2.88

BR/9 12.6 9.4

George “Pepper” Barry of Johnstown. He hit .36¡ and scored ¡0¡ runs. Catcher Millies caught all but two of his team’s games. Still, Joe Makowsky should have shared the spot on the basis of a .35¡/.453/.402 season. No utility man was named, but Holt “Cat” Milner of Dayton and Beckley, who played first and the outfield, hit .343, slugged .479, had a .4¡7 OB%, scored 85 times and knocked in 90 runs. Yet again the league’s best pitcher was not named to a league All-Star team. Kemp Wicker of Wheeling may have only been ¡4–6, but he had a 2.00 ERA and allowed only 9.6 BR/9. Springfield’s Rex McDonald, ¡9–¡0, 2.86, ¡¡.¡, should also have been chosen over Milnar.

¡933

61

Nebraska State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Shirley Bosse Larry Getz Howard Moore Ray Bertram Hockett Brown Don Gutteridge Walter Gannon Ralph Brandon George Proost

SP SP

Luke Bucklin Mike Pociask

Team Sioux Falls Beatrice Beatrice Norfolk Sioux Falls Lincoln Norfolk Sioux Falls Beatrice

Norfolk Beatrice

G 106 96 92 105 103 104 106 106 92

G 26 34

AB 389 365 351 444 424 414 398 395 313

GS — —

H R TB 119 57 152 110 100 162 122 81 209 152 74 195 143 99 215 149 94 244 134 85 195 125 94 195 101 72 164

CG — —

SH — —

W 18 19

2B 14 17 12 17 17 22 22 20 16 L 5 6

3B 8 4 9 4 14 23 12 13 10

% .783 .760

HR RBI 1 — 9 — 19 — 6 — 9 — 9 — 5 — 8 — 9 — IP 190 238

H 173 206

BB 57 74 57 33 34 51 69 80 83 ER — —

SB 11 55 2 4 20 27 10 6 4 SO 109 195

BA .306 .301 .349 .342 .337 .369 .337 .316 .323

SLG .391 .444 .595 .439 .507 .589 .490 .494 .524

OB% .395 .419 .439 .388 .386 .430 .434 .432 .463

BB 65 116

ERA 3.60 2.79

BR/9 11.5 12.5

OB% is lacking HBP, which were not included in the hitting stats. ER’s were not recorded, though ERA was.

A good team selection, the only change I would make is a positional one, not one based on stats. I would have put Gutteridge at the utility spot (he played second, third and the outfield) in place of Proost, and I would have added a utility spot for Pociask, who, in addition to being ¡9–6 as a pitcher, also played the outfield, batted .328, and slugged

.532. With Gutteridge as a utility player, a spot opens up in the outfield for Joe Burris (Norfolk), who had .327/.503/.447 averages. Two more pitchers would have made my team, were I the one choosing: Sioux Falls’s Wilmer Schroeder, 20–9, 3.24, and his team-mate Stan Conway, ¡3–7 with a league leading ERA of 2.43.

Northern League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Gene Corbett Stanley Sperry Jack Calvey Morris Arnovich Frank Rendler Ray Helixon Julian Johnson John Rosette Chester Bujaci Mark Almli

Team Winnipeg Eau Claire Brain./Brand. Superior Eau Claire East G. Forks Crookston Winnipeg Brain./Brand. Brain./Brand.

SP SP SP SP

Larry Goldsworthy Art Braga Roman Bertrand Norman Masters

Winnipeg Superior Crookston Crookston

G 113 100 81 102 100 93 93 113 97 102 G 33 31 25 25

AB 450 406 327 420 400 361 351 444 368 418 GS — — — —

H 147 129 114 139 124 99 119 127 103 138 CG — — — —

R — — — — — — — — — — SH — — — —

TB 237 184 163 208 199 152 173 192 132 175

2B 22 25 21 25 27 23 22 35 16 18

3B 7 6 8 1 6 9 4 3 5 5

HR RBI 18 — 6 — 9 — 14 — 12 — 4 — 8 — 8 — 1 — 3 —

W L % IP 22 6 .786 250 13 11 .542 228 15 8 .652 210 10 4 .714 135

H 236 241 194 122

BB — — — — — — — — — —

SB 11 21 27 17 14 5 8 4 5 7

BA .327 .318 .349 .331 .310 .274 .339 .286 .280 .330

SLG .527 .453 .498 .495 .498 .421 .493 .432 .342 .419

OB% — — — — — — — — — —

ER — — — —

SO 195 102 135 102

BB 89 54 84 83

ERA — — — —

BR/9 12.2 11.8 12.3 13.9

With no runs or RBIs to go on, trying to judge the choices for this league in this year are problematical at best. The lack of walk info for hitters made the task even harder. Brain./Brand. is Brainerd and Brandon, the Brainerd franchise moving to Brandon on June 27th.

Why leave a .403 hitting, .687 slugging outfielder o› of an All-Star team? You got me, but that’s just what happened to East Grand Forks playing manager John Anderson. Also left o›, in favor of the .274 hitting Helixon, was Winnipeg outfielder Elmer Greenwald and his .328/.498 season, which included a runner-up total of ¡6 homers. Utility man Almi played third, caught, and was 2–2 as a pitcher. Catcher Rosette caught all of his team’s games.

The selectors somehow managed to overlook ¡9–8 Lloyd Sterling (Winnipeg) who allowed a leaguebest 9.7 BR/9. I’m shocked, as shocked as Inspector Renault was to find out that there was gambling going on at Rick’s. Also not included was Brainerd/ Brandon hurler Otto Davis, league-leader in wins with 23 (to go with ¡3 losses) whose ¡¡.4 BR/9 was better than any of the four selectees.

62

Minor League All-Star Teams

! ¡934 ! In ¡934, there were twenty leagues in the National Association. Nineteen of them (95%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Davis Lin Storti Fred Bedore Bill Myers S. Vern Washington Ab Wright Melo Almada Bill Hargrave No selection made.

Team Toledo Milwaukee Indianapolis Columbus Indianapolis Minneapolis Kansas City Minneapolis

G 136 147 150 155 144 148 135 147

G SP Walt Tauscher Minneapolis 50 SP Garland Braxton Milwaukee 34

AB 508 567 584 604 558 606 580 547

GS — —

H 161 187 188 189 205 214 190 195

CG — —

R 93 98 87 112 104 111 85 118 SH — —

Davis was, at best, the third ranking first baseman in the A.A. in ’34. My choice would have been Joe Hauser of Minneapolis. He played only 82 games before going down with an injury, but in those 82 games he scored 8¡ runs and had 88 RBIs along with 33 homers (he was on pace for a 63 home run season). He was hitting .348, slugging an terrific .739 and had a very good .472 OB%. Columbus’s Minor Heath was also a better choice at first. He only hit .280, but he had a .422 OB% (because he led the league with ¡23 walks), scored ¡¡5 runs, batted in ¡03 and hit 29 homers. At third, Bill Sullivan of Milwaukee absolutely crushed Bedore. He hit .343 (only 2¡ points better), slugged .502 (a 74 point advantage), and had a .399 OB%. He out-scored Bedore by 35 runs, crossing the plated ¡24 times. The only stat where Bedore has an advantage is RBIs, where Sullivan had a mere 93. To be fair, Bedore was a better fielder. In the outfield, the selection of Almada defies explanation. Jack Kloza of Milwaukee hit .326, slugged .539, and had a .398 OB%. He scored ¡30 runs (45 more than Almada) and drove in a league high ¡48 (62 more than Almada). There was also the ubiquitous “Buzz” Arlett of Minneapolis. “Buzz” played in only ¡¡6 games, but scored ¡06 runs and drove in ¡32 for Minneapolis. He also hit a league-leading 4¡ homers to go with his .3¡9/.683/.449 averages. The three selected flyhawks hit .349, slugged .534, and have an OB% of .399 with 46 homers, 300 runs,

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 249 25 9 15 90 61 328 32 2 35 145 60 250 32 9 4 103 38 282 37 13 10 67 70 319 40 13 16 120 44 366 47 9 29 131 49 246 29 12 1 86 45 286 29 7 16 108 69 W 21 20

SB 12 2 7 9 2 6 29 4

L % IP H ER SO 7 .750 222 226 96 90 7 .741 238 303 107 121

BA SLG OB% .317 .490 .393 .330 .578 .396 .322 .428 .368 .313 .467 .387 .367 .572 .417 .353 .604 .404 .328 .424 .377 .356 .523 .432 BB 80 56

ERA 3.89 4.05

BR/9 12.6 13.9

and 337 RBIs. Substituting Arlett for Almada, despite the fact that Buzz only played ¡¡6 games, pushes those numbers up to .348, .6¡4, and .42¡ with 86 homers, 325 runs, and 383 RBIs. (It is interesting to note that, had they both played complete seasons, Hauser and Arlette would have become only the second team-mates in the history of pro ball to have 50 home run seasons in the same line-up [Okmulgee of the Western Association had two 50 home run sluggers in ¡924 — J. Wilbur “Country” Davis and Cecil “Stormy” Davis, who each hit 5¡], as Arlette was on pace for 53 homers. He and Hauser would also have set a record for most homers by two team-mates, breaking the record of ¡07 set by Ruth and Gehrig in ¡927.) There was no utility man chosen, but Bobby Reis of Toledo played second, third and outfield and hit .297 with 90 runs and 89 RBIs. In ¡934, only twelve A.A. pitchers with more than ¡00 IP had ERAs under 4.00, and ¡6 had ERAs over 5.00. Given those conditions, Bob Logan of Indianapolis and Ray Phelps of St. Paul were at least as deserving as the selectees. Logan went 20–¡4 with a 3.66 ERA, allowing ¡2.0 BR/9. Phelps was ¡7–¡0 for a team which finished ¡7 games under .500. There was no relief pitcher chosen, but Ward Cross of Columbus pitched only ¡¡7 innings in 47 games, going 6–5 with a 3.46 ERA.

International League (AA) Greg Mulleavy, chosen as the All-Star third baseman, played all of his games at short, and he should indeed have been the All-Star shortstop, having a far

better year than did Carey. The third baseman should then have been Hal King of Montreal who had .29¡/ .398/.405 averages and scored 83 runs.

¡934 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Dale Alexander Newark Fresco Thompson Montreal Greg Mulleavy Bu›alo Tom Carey Rochester Ike Boone Toledo Al Powell Albany Jess Hill Newark Buddy Lewis Rochester No selection made.

G 145 135 154 142 136 137 154 116

G SP Walter “Jumbo” Brown Newark 35 SP Gene Schott Toledo 33

AB 545 498 600 575 500 559 587 382

GS — —

63

H R TB 183 89 264 156 91 242 186 131 256 165 74 218 186 87 254 202 128 305 205 104 284 121 55 170

CG 21 17

SH 6 2

2B 35 35 38 28 32 29 30 26

W 20 18

3B 2 8 4 8 9 7 11 7

HR RBI 14 123 12 96 8 91 3 81 6 108 20 71 9 84 3 69

L % IP H 6 .769 239 208 9 .667 203 217

BB 72 74 81 19 82 44 75 50

SB 7 8 22 7 8 25 24 2

BA .336 .311 .310 .287 .372 .361 .349 .317

SLG .484 .486 .427 .379 .508 .546 .484 .445

OB% .415 .405 .392 .310 .460 .412 .424 .399

ER SO 68 130 85 69

BB 92 86

ERA 2.56 3.76

BR/9 11.4 13.5

Woody Abernathy, who played first and outfield, hit .309, slugged .554, scored ¡02 runs and drove in ¡20 for a last place team. At pitcher, Schott was just not as good as Vitautis Tamulis, the Fabulous Finn. Tamulis was ¡3–7 for Newark and had a 2.74 ERA. His ¡¡.8 BR/9 ratio was in the league’s top five. Newark’s Frank Makosky would have been the choice at reliever, had there been one. He finished 22 games (third in the league) and was ¡¡–6 with a 2.80 ERA.

It is hard to fault the outfield choices, so I would simply have had five outfield spots as two more fellows had at least as good a season as the ones chosen. The two are Fred Sington (Albany) and Ollie Carnegie (Bu›alo). Sington hit .327, slugged .574 and had an OB% of .408 with ¡23 runs and a leagueleading ¡47 RBIs. Carnegie went .335/.6¡5/.4¡¡ with ¡36 RBIs and added 3¡ homers. I would also have had two catchers, adding Newark’s Joe Glenn. He hit only .264 but drove in 70 runs. No utility player was picked, but Baltimore’s

Pacific Coast League (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name E. “Babe” Dahlgren Al Wright Jose Coscarart Fred Haney Jim Levey Oscar “Ox” Eckhardt Smead Jolley Art Hunt Luis Almada Johnny Bassler Larry Woodall No selection made.

SP SP SP SP SP

Leroy Hermann Joe Sullivan Herm Pillette Sam Gibson Clarence Mitchell

Team Mission Mission Seattle Hollywood Hollywood Mission Hollywood Seattle Mission Hollywood San Francisco

San Francisco Hollywood Seattle San Francisco Mission

G 44 39 36 47 36

G 186 180 180 179 183 184 171 175 186 123 129 GS — — — — —

AB 735 674 700 702 718 707 631 644 797 308 402

H 222 193 206 215 184 267 227 223 265 108 101

CG 29 25 21 26 20

R 106 68 90 124 103 126 117 125 148 30 33

SH 2 1 5 3 0

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 336 34 10 20 136 — 233 36 2 0 83 — 261 25 6 6 63 — 255 27 5 1 76 — 242 29 4 7 63 — 343 36 11 6 106 — 359 49 7 23 133 — 365 42 5 30 128 — 330 43 8 2 65 — 126 16 1 0 55 — 113 12 0 0 39 — W 27 25 17 21 19

L 13 11 11 17 12

% .675 .694 .607 .553 .613

IP 325 288 260 313 253

SB 11 5 19 71 39 7 7 8 23 2 1

BA .302 .286 .294 .306 .256 .378 .360 .364 .332 .351 .251

H ER SO BB 349 112 151 78 262 92 163 132 278 75 87 45 297 103 171 74 282 103 63 70

SLG OB% .457 — .346 — .373 — .362 — .337 — .485 — .569 — .567 — .414 — .409 — .281 — ERA 3.10 2.88 2.60 2.96 3.67

BR/9 12.2 12.4 11.2 10.8 12.6

Los Angeles won the PCL pennant by 35.5 games, so one might wonder why there are no Angels on the all-star team. Well, that is because this particular “All-Star” team was a group chosen to play the Angels at the end of the season, as L.A. won both halves of the split regular season, meaning there was no post-season playo›. I believe that most of the fellows noted below in the “comments” section would have been chosen as all-stars had there been an open selection process. By the way, the Angels beat the rest of the league in post-season, four games to two.

At first, a case could be made for Angel Jim Oglesby who hit .3¡2, slugged .446 and had ¡36 RBIs, but Dahlgren is not a bad selection. At second, Angel Jimmy Reese hit .3¡¡, slugged .398, scored ¡23 runs, drove in 85 and would have been the selection in a normal year.

Angel Gene Lillard at third hit .289 and slugged .492 with ¡04 runs and ¡¡9 RBIs to go with 27 homers (third in the league). He too would most likely have been the selection in most any other year. Each of the three Angels in the outfield were potential All-Stars. Marv Gudat hit .3¡9, scored ¡50

64

Minor League All-Star Teams

runs, drove in ¡25 and stole 43 bases. “Jigger” Statz hit .324, stole 6¡ bases and scored ¡68 runs. Frank Demaree had just a monster year: he hit 383 and slugged .660 with 453 TBs, 5¡ doubles, 45 homers, 4¡ steals (yes, he was a “40–40” man), and ¡90 runs scored The three Angels scored 508 runs (¡69 per man) and stole ¡44 bases (48 per man). At catcher, Angel W.G. Campbell hit .305, slugged .473, scored 79 runs (more than both of the Chosen Men combined), drove in 97 (again, more than the two choices combined), and hit ¡7 homers to the selected All-Star’s zero. Angel pitchers probably would have had three of the five all-star slots, with their fourth starter having at least a possibility of also being chosen. The league’s best pitcher was Fay Thomas, a fantastic 28–4 with a league-leading 204 Ks. His ERA was 2.59 and his BR/9 ratio was ¡¡.3. The other Angel starters were Emile Meola, who was 20–5, 2.90, Lou Garland, 2¡–9, 2.67 and fifth starter Roy Henshaw, ¡6–4, 2.75. (Only one L.A. pitcher with over 45 IP had an ERA of over 3.00. Third starter John “Whitey” Campbell was a hard-luck ¡9–¡5 with a 2.63 ERA and spot starter Emmett Nelson was ¡4–5 with an ERA of 2.53.)

Now, having explained the absence of Angels on the All-Star squad, there are still several players who, it seems, should have been included on the “Rest of the league All-Stars.” Shortstop Chet Wilburn of Portland may have hit only .280 with 80 runs, but he handled 6.3 chances per game to Levey’s 5.5, a significant enough gap that I would have gone with the Beaver. There were no less than three catchers who appear to have had much better years than Woodall. Frank Cox of Portland had .3¡7/.39¡ averages and had 54 RBIs. Hollywood’s Cedric Durst hit .299 with 76 runs and 6¡ RBIs. And, finally, old PCL stand-by Bill Raimondi of the Oaks hit .284 with 58 runs and drove in 82 runs. Steve Coscarart of Portland was the utility player of the year. He played second, third, and outfield and hit .3¡7 with 7¡ runs. In the pitching department, Charlie Lieber pitched in 58 games and finished 29. He went ¡9–¡3, led the league in ERA with 2.50 and finished second in BR/9 ratio with ¡¡.¡ mark. He would certainly have been the relief choice, had there been one.

New York-Pennsylvania League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Neil Caldwell Frank Parenti Elmer Yoter J. “Bunny” Gri‡ths H. “Red” McBride Ernie Koy Art Graham Bill Baker Solomon Mishkin

SP SP

Albert Fisher Milburn Sho›ner

Team Elmira Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre Williamsport Binghamton Reading Williamsport Binghamton

Elmira Scranton

G 24 35

G 139 133 121 133 139 134 125 131 139

AB 550 530 445 496 536 520 450 460 550

GS — —

CG — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 179 77 256 26 12 9 94 37 134 84 171 23 7 1 46 40 136 85 180 23 9 1 71 57 157 54 186 21 4 0 66 24 197 114 336 37 12 26 129 62 175 109 290 24 17 19 100 53 149 92 249 16 15 18 109 71 154 88 221 37 9 4 79 73 184 92 275 36 23 8 95 40 SH — —

Yoter was a playing manager. Dom “Down” Paiement, second baseman of Reading, had a better year in every way than did Parenti. His 90 runs scored is a tad better, his 74 RBIs are much better, and his .280/.402/.377 numbers are far superior to Parenti’s rather weak numbers. Utility man Mishkin played all of his games at first (and had a better season than Caldwell, as you can see). John Reder of Reading would have been a fine utility choice. He hit .308 and played first, third and outfield (and may also have played short and

W 12 18

L 10 12

% .545 .600

IP 185 264

H 181 254

ER 80 88

SB 9 7 12 8 10 33 24 9 17 SO 53 76

BA .325 .253 .306 .317 .368 .337 .331 .335 .335

SLG OB% .465 .378 .323 .310 .404 .386 .375 .353 .627 .438 .558 .403 .553 .429 .480 .432 .500 .384

BB 61 66

ERA 3.89 3.00

BR/9 11.9 11.1

caught, but in less than ¡0 games each, as only 6¡ of his ¡08 games are accounted for in the fielding stats). I would have picked at least five pitchers before Fisher for an All-Star slot. Joe Semler of Wilkes-Barre was 20–¡2 for a team which finished one game under .500 and had a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.¡. Johnny Niggeling was ¡7–9 for reading with a 3.05 ERA. Joe Shaute (Scranton) was ¡6–3 (and hit .337 with 2¡ RBIs). Kemp Wicker of Binghamton was 20–9 with a 2.90 ERA. And, finally, Williamsport’s Bill Thomas went a disappointing ¡5–¡3 but had a good 3.20 ERA.

Southern Association (A) Richbourg was a playing manager. Memphis’s Andy Reese (.28¡/.42¡/.326) was a wash with Taylor in

the averages, but his 99 runs and ¡08 RBIs should have tipped the scales in his favor for the first base slot.

¡934 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Edward Taylor Louis Berger Ernie Holman Bill Rodda Eddie Rose Walter French L. Richbourg Lee Head Joe Palmisano C. “Peck” Hamel

SP SP SP SP SP

Harry Kelley Bill Hughes Byron Speece Al Milnar Leo Moon

Team Atlanta New Orleans New Orleans Nashville New Orleans Knoxville Nashville Knoxville Atlanta Memphis

Memph.-Atlan. Birmingham Nashville New Orleans Knoxville

G 51 34 38 43 37

G 152 156 156 153 153 145 82 124 135 148

AB 563 605 583 601 557 579 339 437 466 569

GS — — — — —

65

H R TB 162 83 225 190 105 285 158 76 213 190 92 242 168 99 247 180 80 223 105 72 160 137 61 174 143 43 167 187 105 241

CG 27 22 20 19 21

SH — — — — —

In the outfield, Phil Weintraub of Nashville was by far the best hitter in the league. He played in only ¡0¡ games (¡9 more, you will note, than Richbourg), but scored ¡0¡ runs and drove in 87. He also had ¡6 homers, second in the league and hit .40¡, slugged .664, and had a .495 OB%, outstanding numbers all.

W 23 18 22 22 17

2B 32 42 16 46 34 28 16 22 18 40

L 11 11 8 13 9

3B 5 10 12 3 9 3 6 3 3 7

% .676 .621 .733 .629 .654

HR RBI 7 82 11 94 5 63 0 68 9 80 3 53 9 54 3 57 0 55 0 57 IP 313 246 247 255 222

H 328 254 242 222 201

BB 43 39 52 44 76 15 20 28 21 97 ER 118 101 82 74 71

SB 5 12 7 11 6 34 13 8 5 18

BA .288 .314 .271 .315 .302 .311 .310 .313 .307 .329

SLG .400 .471 .365 .403 .443 .385 .472 .398 .358 .424

OB% .342 .363 .335 .364 .387 .331 .354 .356 .341 .427

SO 143 69 112 131 46

BB 87 73 61 111 45

ERA 3.39 3.70 2.99 2.61 2.88

BR/9 12.1 12.0 11.5 11.8 9.9

Joe Hutcheson (Memphis) also seemed to be more worthy of a spot on the basis of his .348/.545/.443 averages (all higher than any of the All-Stars). It should be noted that shortstop Rodda handled a terrific 6.6 chances per game.

Texas League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Alex Hooks Charles English Donald Ross Lamar Newsome Chet Morgan Beau Bell Chuck Hostetler Tommy Heath Joe Vance

Team Tulsa Galveston Beaumont Tulsa Beau.-S.A. Galveston Tulsa San Antonio Dallas

G 145 147 148 153 154 154 148 132 91

AB 536 564 514 573 631 602 631 430 259

G SP Clarence “Red” Phillips Beaumont 24 SP Ash Hillin San Antonio 47

H R TB 182 95 301 184 81 267 163 79 225 164 69 213 216 120 296 203 122 348 205 124 273 122 69 168 66 37 87 GS — —

CG 16 26

Charlie Engle, San Antonio shortstop, only hit for .249/.3¡6/.34¡ averages, yet I would still have chosen him. His 82 runs and 72 RBIs compare favorably with Newsome, but in the field there was no contest. Engle led in everything—PO, A, TC, and DP—and handled 5.8 chances per game to Newsome’s 5.¡. That’s over ¡00 chances more over the course of a season. I would have chosen both Paul Easterling (Tulsa) and Larry Bettencourt (SA) over Hostetler for an outfielder spot. Easterling (.296/.540/.393) had ¡20 runs and ¡05 RBIs to go with his league-leading 29

SH — —

2B 44 37 24 33 42 51 31 24 6

3B 24 8 10 5 10 8 11 2 6

HR RBI 9 88 10 116 6 75 2 81 6 89 26 75 5 46 6 59 1 17

BB 48 35 73 28 77 63 39 63 9

SB 4 15 17 5 8 8 20 4 16

W L % IP H ER SO 15 5 .750 161 136 39 31 24 12 .667 296 332 120 137

BA .340 .326 .317 .286 .342 .337 .325 .284 .255

SLG .562 .473 .438 .372 .496 .578 .433 .391 .335

OB% .398 .368 .410 .325 .415 .406 .366 .375 .285

BB 35 87

ERA 2.16 3.69

BR/9 9.7 12.8

homers. Bettencourt (.324/.499/.387) scored ¡08 runs and led the league with ¡29 RBIs. Utility man Vance played third, outfield, and pitched, compiling a ¡¡–7 record with a 2.25 ERA. At pitcher, no quarrel with Phillips, but Hillin was outpitched by at least two others. John Whitehead of Dallas was ¡9–¡0, 2.43 and only allowed ¡0.0 BR/9. Roy Davis of Fort Worth was ¡9–¡5 for a team which finished 34 games under .500, and his 2.97 ERA and ¡¡.4 BR/9 marks are superior to Hillin’s. (Note that Phillips only rang up ¡.7 Ks per 9 IP very low, even in ¡934.)

Western League (A) Pickett was a playing manager. I have three alternate selections for the outfield: Howard McFarland and Charlie Bates (Saint Joseph), and Vern Johnson (Sioux City). McFarland (.347/.5¡5) scored ¡08

runs and drove in 85. Bates (.338/.546) had 98 runs, 8¡ RBIs and whacked 20 triples. Johnson only played in 62 games, but scored 57 runs and drove in 62 and, with 24 homers, was the only one in the

66

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Malcom Pickett Omaha Hugh Luby Sioux City Clarence Crossley Davenport Angus McIsaac St. Joseph Floyd Patterson Rock Island Albert McNeely Omaha John Dickshot R.I.-C. Rapids Morgan Snyder Topeka No selection made.

G 95 122 115 122 122 108 117 120

SP SP

Frank Lamanski Max Thomas

G 37 31

GS — —

Davenport Sioux City

AB 362 490 403 476 445 438 423 445

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 113 69 190 26 3 15 61 — 153 85 191 16 5 4 51 — 118 73 160 20 2 6 66 — 130 78 171 19 11 0 45 — 163 90 219 32 9 2 74 — 143 75 217 37 5 9 92 — 145 112 230 21 8 16 79 — 134 56 178 27 1 5 58 —

CG — —

SH — —

W 24 17

L 7 8

% .774 .680

IP 262 193

H 232 200

ER — —

SB 10 35 27 12 14 5 20 2 SO 216 155

BA .312 .312 .293 .273 .366 .326 .343 .301

SLG OB% .525 — .390 — .397 — .359 — .492 — .495 — .544 — .400 —

BB 85 56

ERA — —

BR/9 11.0 12.2

No BB or HBP recorded for batters, so no OB%. No ER recorded for pitchers, hence no ERA.

league with more than ¡6. He hit .340 and slugged a terrific .728. I would have had Bill Wilson of Sioux City at least as co-catcher on the team. He may have only had hit .260 and slugged .385, but he hit ¡3 homers and drove in 88 runs.

There was no utility player chosen, but Ossie Orwoll certainly deserved least a mention. He hit .322, slugged .490 scored 99 runs and drove in 76, and was 8–5 as a pitcher.

Northeastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name F. “Snake” Henry Fred McGuire Bill Hunnefield Regis Smith Bill Scholz Harold Scha›er John Jones Howard Storie William Rea

SP SP

Gerald Gruenwald Frank Coleman

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name “Buddy” Hassett Don Curry William Andrus Robert Stevens Emile Barnes George Ferrell Jim Bryan Dick Luckey Claude Staylor

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA Worcester 106 427 81 67 181 29 3 5 74 — 5 .307 Worcester Lowell No stats o‡cially published for this league in 1934. Lowell New Bedford Lowell Spr.-Wor.-Wat. 316 114 61 184 25 4 9 8 .361 Manchester Hartford G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

SLG .424

OB% —

.582

BB

ERA

BR/9

SB 56 27 12 15 7 9 18 7 19

BA .360 .287 .309 .262 .324 .367 .376 .327 .321

SLG .523 .467 .503 .320 .501 .633 .632 .543 .412

OB% — — — — — — — — —

ER SO — 215 — 118

BB 84 67

ERA — —

BR/9 11.9 11.0

Worcester Hartford

Piedmont League (B) Team Norfolk Norfolk Richmond Norfolk Charlotte Col./Ashe. Norfolk Charlotte Wilmington

G 140 139 123 140 131 90 138 117 130

AB 545 520 437 541 521 341 532 392 483

G SP Robert Durham Charlotte 39 SP J. “Pretzels” Pezullo Richmond 27

GS — —

H 196 149 135 142 169 125 200 128 155 CG — —

R 97 124 88 113 118 82 123 72 87 SH — —

TB 285 243 220 173 261 216 336 213 199 W 21 16

2B 3B 36 713 24 14 22 3 17 1 34 11 25 3 28 9 20 4 25 8

HR 13 14 19 4 12 20 30 19 1

RBI 95 68 83 44 81 82 144 95 48

L % IP H 8 .724 269 269 4 .800 171 139

BB — — — — — — — — —

No BB or HBP recorded for batters, so no OB%. No ER recorded for pitchers, hence no ERA. Col./Ashe. is Columbia/ Asheville.

A well-selected league. Outfielder Daniel Hall of Norfolk (.33¡/.580) scored ¡26 runs, drove in ¡05 and finished second to teammate Bryan with 24 homers. Utility man Staylor played short and caught.

Junie Barnes of Wilmington should have been a third pitcher. He was ¡8–¡3 for a team that finished ¡0 games under .500. He struck out 232 and had a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.0.

¡934

67

East Dixie League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Cecil Bolton Benny McCoy Neal Stover William Marshall L.F. McDaniels Leslie Horn George Harper Harold Sueme George Boutwell

Team Greenville Shrev.-G’Wood Pine Blu› B.R./Clarksdale Jackson Greenville El Dorado Pine Blu› Jackson

G SP Hugo Klaerner Pine Blu› 33 SP Frank Cook Shrev./G’wood 39

G 129 126 124 117 115 104 122 99 74 GS — —

AB 491 519 436 485 441 500 403 360 241

H 159 146 119 147 137 182 128 117 64

CG 23 26

R 92 92 96 80 99 88 70 77 33

SH — —

TB 282 231 194 194 212 224 174 187 96

2B 48 29 21 26 30 33 26 35 19

3B 9 10 9 9 9 5 4 13 2

HR RBI 19 92 12 74 12 71 1 49 9 71 0 56 4 64 3 69 3 33

W L % IP H 24 7 .774 248 217 17 14 .548 279 249

BB 56 53 62 44 64 46 75 49 14

SB 14 6 12 25 9 5 6 7 2

BA .324 .281 .273 .303 .311 .364 .318 .325 .265

SLG .543 .445 .445 .400 .481 .448 .432 .519 .398

OB% .396 .356 .370 .366 .406 .424 .428 .413 .306

ER SO BB 72 172 89 91 171 112

ERA 2.61 2.97

BR/9 11.2 12.1

Shrev./G’wood is Shreveport/Greenwood. B.R. is Baton Rouge.

a pitcher. I would have added George Mills of Baton Rouge/Clarksdale to the pitching roster. His team finished 35 games under .500, but he was ¡0–4 with a league-leading ¡.89 ERA (he also hit .364). Pine Blu›’s A.F. “Chick” Galeria was ¡6–9, 2.88.

Harper was a playing manager. I would have put Greenville manager Frank Brazill at second. He had 79 RBIs in only 97 games, and his .339/.520/.4¡9 numbers are much better than McCoy’s. Utility man Boutwell played first and was ¡9–7 as

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John McCarthy Eli Harris Ed Mayo Eddie Miller Nick Hickey Dan Pavlovic Holt “Cat” Milner Vernon Mackie Tony Fiarito

Team Dayton Beckley Johnstown Springfield Johnstown Charleston Dayton.-Zanes. Johnstown Zanesville

G 112 98 85 122 113 121 93 95 121

G SP Clarence Bergman Dayton 29 SP Wayne LaMaster Charleston 28

GS — —

AB 449 363 330 482 460 486 348 354 467

H 139 109 108 138 152 129 123 129 145

CG — —

R 65 67 63 67 73 79 77 59 80

SH — —

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 230 30 5 17 91 30 147 17 3 5 60 41 152 21 4 5 77 40 171 22 1 3 49 44 199 23 3 6 41 41 204 23 17 6 79 30 174 27 3 6 71 45 187 31 0 9 94 44 210 27 7 8 80 68 W L % IP H 14 10 .583 189 212 17 10 .629 223 199

SB 9 9 14 3 17 23 10 0 11

ER SO 82 74 70 168

BA .310 .300 .327 .286 .330 .265 .353 .365 .310

SLG OB% .512 .353 .405 .371 .461 .400 .355 .346 .433 .385 .420 .308 .500 .427 .528 .435 .450 .398

BB 44 63

ERA 3.90 2.82

BR/9 12.4 10.8

No HBP recorded for hitters, so OB% is approximate.

Mackie was a playing manager. Huntington’s first baseman Arnold Anderson had .35¡/.492/.395 averages along with 97 runs and 89 RBIs. He was at least McCarthy’s equal. At second, Jim Gruzdis, also of Huntington, scored 97 runs and drove in 89 to go with his averages of .278, .443, and .423. The most inexplicable choice for ’34’s MAL AllStar team is that of Pavlovic over Sam Thomas of Johnstown. Thomas hit .3¡7, had an OB% of .429

and scored ¡23 runs, 26 more than any other league player. Utility man Fiarito played third, short and the outfield. Bergman was not one of the league’s top ten pitchers. The best choice for the second league pitcher would either have been Maryland Dykes Potter (one of the all-time great baseball names), ¡0–7, 2.75 with a ¡0.5 BR/9 ratio, or Minogue of Zanesville who went ¡3–4, 2.96 with a league best 9.7 BR/9 ratio.

West Dixie League (C) Go› was a playing manager. I would have had four outfielders, Lou Frierson of Paris/Lufkin being the fourth. Frierson hit for good .323/.635/.430 averages with ¡02 runs, ¡27 RBIs and a league-leading (by thirteen) 40 homers.

The only other correction I would make is in the choice of a utility player. Phelps played first and short. John Tobin played third and short, but he hit .307, slugged .538 scored ¡0¡ runs, drove in 95 and finished second with 27 homers.

68

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name C. Baron(ovich) Bobby Go› Joe Bilgere Larry Kinzer Fern Bell J. Cummings Tom Pyle Orace Powers J.R. Phelps

SP SP

T. McPhaul Walter Becker

Team Jacksonville Palestine Henderson Jacksonville Tyler Jacksonville Jacksonville Henderson Henderson

Henderson Jacksonville

G 104 126 104 124 108 124 123 104 115 G 50 27

AB 388 504 425 455 427 501 485 373 423

GS — —

H R TB 131 61 207 169 86 234 150 78 216 139 74 191 159 96 281 170 104 288 174 88 281 119 44 145 103 69 163

CG 27 18

SH — —

W 17 18

L 13 4

2B 32 30 36 24 39 39 38 18 27

3B 9 4 6 4 11 14 9 1 9

% .567 .818

HR 6 9 6 8 20 17 17 3 5 IP 265 205

RBI 59 64 75 65 115 131 107 48 51 H 237 169

BB 31 32 23 47 55 56 56 35 55 ER 86 56

SB 2 15 22 5 34 2 3 7 16

BA .338 .323 .353 .306 .373 .339 .359 .319 .243

SLG .534 .464 .508 .420 .658 .575 .579 .389 .385

OB% .392 .378 .392 .382 .447 .407 .428 .380 .337

SO 65 109

BB 65 91

ERA 2.88 2.43

BR/9 10.3 11.8

BA .337 .294 .292 .271 .361 .317 .345 .276 .327 .328 .292

SLG OB% .450 .390 .440 .438 .432 .425 .381 .409 .557 .424 .538 .408 .569 .424 .387 .321 .433 .409 .481 .412 .454 .417

At pitcher, I’d’ve added two Jacksonville hurlers. Jackie Reid was ¡2–2 with a ¡.98 ERA and a stellar 9.2 BR/9 ratio, and Linville Watkins went ¡9–9, 2.97.

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Carl Kentling Ben Catchings Harold Bohl Ike Kahdot David Cheeves Sebastian Wagner Cli› Ograin Frank LaVeque Mike Ryba Frank Howard Emmett Mueller

Team Bart.-Hutch. Muskogee Springfield Bartlesville Spring.-Hutch. Hutchinson Ponca City Bartlesville Springfield Springfield Springfield

SP Newt Kimball Ponca City SP “Jittery” Joe Berry Joplin SP Bill McGee Springfield

G 35 47 41

G 132 129 134 132 131 127 134 83 119 130 134 GS — — —

AB 498 473 512 480 490 489 501 315 397 482 476

H 168 139 149 130 177 155 173 87 130 158 139

CG 23 27 26

R 73 110 105 87 93 113 105 49 67 85 93

SH — — —

Ryba was a playing manager. Strangely, Art Shoap of Ponca City was not chosen as the All-Star first baseman despite .343/.508/ .4¡6 averages, 96 runs scored and a league-leading ¡39 RBIs. At third, Steve Mesner (also of Ponca City) was not selected despite his .359/.5¡9/.399 numbers, ¡¡¡ runs and ¡06 RBIs. I would say that the exclusion of these two would qualify as one (actually, two, to be precise) of ¡934’s “mystery omissions.” The utility choices were, well, to put it bluntly, not utility men. Howard was an outfielder, and Mueller was a second baseman—period. The logical

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 224 31 8 3 90 43 208 29 8 8 65 120 221 31 10 7 54 98 183 22 11 3 53 115 273 41 8 13 122 50 263 29 20 13 90 69 285 49 15 11 113 67 122 13 5 4 46 21 172 21 9 1 70 51 232 31 8 9 103 63 216 27 10 10 73 95

SB 7 22 21 22 6 32 15 11 5 4 7

W L % IP H ER SO BB 20 12 .625 254 205 102 205 128 21 17 .553 332 339 131 233 64 23 13 .639 254 263 93 218 72

ERA 3.61 3.55 3.30

BR/9 12.0 11.1 12.7

choice would have been Springfield’s playing manager, Mike Ryba. Ryba is an interesting case. Not only was he correctly named as the league’s All-Star catcher, he should also have been, as proposed above, the leagues utility player choice—and an All-Star pitcher as well (he was ¡2–3 with an ERA of 2.96 and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.6, both league-leading figures, as was his .800 winning percentage). There was no reason — other than that of convention — that Ryba shouldn’t have been named to all three slots.

Arkansas State League (D) Glass was a playing manager. Not much to say about this league. Siloam Springs shortstop Ken Allum outhit (.258), outslugged (.348)

and outscored Brush (59 runs). He should have been the selectee. Glass played infield and outfield. Maurice Wollard, Siloam Springs pitcher, was ¡2–3.

¡934 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Parker Rushing Bill Homan Russell Mosier David Brush John Graves Bill Beams Rudolph Woodrow Bill Landthrip Clyde Glass

SP SP

Marvin Brewer J.W. White

Team Fayetteville Rogers Siloam Springs Fay’ville-Rogers Siloam Springs Bentonville Siloam Springs Siloam Springs Siloam Springs G — —

Rogers Rogers

G 74 71 72 71 54 70 45 66 67

GS — —

AB 299 276 262 257 222 256 192 232 230

CG — —

H 96 87 58 64 86 87 64 66 86

R 51 46 27 27 59 61 48 32 46

SH — —

69

TB 156 142 73 72 146 151 106 101 143

W 8 10

L 1 7

2B 17 13 7 6 19 13 6 10 12

3B 8 9 4 1 10 8 6 5 12

% .889 .589

HR RBI 9 55 8 38 0 35 0 36 7 52 12 52 8 29 5 42 7 67 IP — —

H — —

BB — — — — — — — — —

ER — —

SB 9 25 5 11 4 10 9 1 7 SO — —

BA .321 .319 .221 .249 .387 .340 .333 .283 .374 BB — —

SLG .522 .514 .279 .280 .658 .590 .552 .435 .622

OB% — — — — — — — — —

ERA — —

BR/9 — —

No BB or HBP recorded for batters, so no OB%. No ER recorded for pitchers, hence no ERA.

Bi-State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Taylor Sanford Joe Concannon Sam Narron Cleveland Jarvis Jimmie Sanders Elwood “Mike” Smith Eddie Weston Luke Hendrix Delos Jones No selection made.

SP SP SP

Cletus Voss Earl Overman Delbert Breece

Team Danville Martinsville Martinsville Fieldale Martinsville Danville Mayodan Danville Martinsville

Fieldale Danville Mayodan

G 34 26 32

G 76 53 78 78 62 78 79 72 59

GS — — —

AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 307 114 74 206 20 3 21 — — 235 86 64 138 19 5 6 — — 343 125 80 204 25 12 10 — — 309 88 54 126 15 4 5 — — 222 94 56 153 31 8 4 — — 323 98 70 169 26 3 13 — — 303 101 72 212 18 5 26 — — 268 86 48 149 19 4 12 — — 194 27 30 45 5 1 3 — — CG — — —

SH — — —

W 17 11 8

L 10 6 14

% .630 .645 .363

IP 211 167 200

H 195 151 249

ER — — —

SB 4 15 6 17 11 11 4 5 4 SO 126 72 97

BA SLG OB% .372 .671 — .365 .587 — ..365 .595 — .285 .408 — .423 .689 — .303 .523 — .333 .700 — .320 .556 — .147 .232 — BB 61 43 79

ERA — — —

BR/9 11.4 13.1 15.1

No BB or HBP recorded for batters, so no OB%. No ER recorded for pitchers, hence no ERA.

Danville pitchers Spencer Bruce and Fred Pipgras would, at the very least, beat out the (charitably) very bad Breece for the third spot on the sta›. Bruce was ¡3–3 and Pipgras was ¡6–7.

Sanders was a playing manager. In the outfield, Carr Smith, although he played in only 25 games for Tri-Cities, should have, in my opinion, been no less than an honorable mention member of the Bi-State Outfield of Honor. He scored 27 runs, hit ¡2 homers, batted .387, and slugged .840 in his short stint.

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Nolan Don McShane Roy Smith Doug Dean Lee Schulte Roy “Stormy” Weatherly Elwood Kelly Walter Stephenson Basil “Monk” Milazzo

SP SP

Paul LeBlanc John Burrows

Team Rayne Rayne New Iberia Opelousas Lafayette Opelousas Rayne Lafayette Jeanerette

Lafayette Opelousas

G 36 28

GS — —

G 100 100 112 75 107 103 106 90 104

AB 397 368 393 311 408 402 417 299 396

CG — —

H 134 89 117 101 116 139 120 85 123

SH — —

R 73 44 64 59 79 56 53 30 57 W 20 13

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 239 22 4 25 101 — 115 19 2 1 34 — 164 24 7 3 44 — 128 15 3 2 31 — 162 14 7 6 64 — 197 16 9 8 62 — 197 30 7 11 64 — 125 19 6 3 48 — 160 19 3 3 50 — L 9 7

% .690 .650

IP 264 198

H 221 160

ER — —

SB — — — — — — — — —

SO 143 125

No BB or HBP recorded for batters, so no OB%. No ER recorded for pitchers, hence no ERA.

BA .338 .244 .298 .325 .284 .346 .288 .284 .304 BB 72 73

SLG OB% .602 — .313 — .417 — .412 — .397 — .490 — .472 — .418 — .404 — ERA — —

BR/9 10.3 10.8

70

Minor League All-Star Teams Boyd Biggers (Jeanerette) was ¡2–4 with a ¡0.4 BR/9 ratio. Roderick Erwin (Rayne) was 2¡–9 for a team which finished under .500. I’d’ve had four pitchers as all-stars.

McShane, Schulte, and Milazzo were playing managers. At catcher, Sid Gautreaux was .3¡5/.479 and had 53 runs and 64 RBIs and would seem to have been a more logical choice for the much-coveted Evangeline League All-Star spot.

Nebraska State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name George Silvey Darrel Ginzlinger Al Phillips Ray Bertram “Buck” Ewing George Rhode George Proost Benny Warren Bill Swinger

SP SP

Jack Farmer Tom Seats

Team Norfolk Lincoln Lincoln Norfolk Norfolk Sioux Falls Beatrice Lincoln-Norfolk Beatrice

G 113 110 103 78 109 109 62 87 98

G 32 31

CG — —

Norfolk Lincoln

GS — —

AB 451 423 399 306 395 437 204 317 374

H 143 121 125 92 124 127 67 95 99

SH — —

R 93 83 85 47 85 67 59 55 66

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 216 14 6 9 — 59 154 10 10 1 — 41 186 15 14 6 — 60 131 14 2 7 — 32 223 25 13 10 — 73 157 16 7 0 — 40 129 17 3 13 — 59 152 14 5 11 — 32 171 20 5 14 — 42

W 19 18

L 6 8

% .760 .692

IP 224 222

H 186 207

ER — —

SB 25 20 30 7 22 20 3 4 14

SO 194 221

BA .317 .286 .313 .301 .360 .291 .328 .300 .265 BB 128 113

SLG OB% .479 .396 .355 .349 .466 .403 .428 .367 .565 .421 .359 .350 .632 .479 .479 .364 .457 .339 ERA 3.09 2.87

BR/9 12.9 13.2

HBP not included for hitters, so OB% is approximate.

Lincoln shortstop Frank Morehouse (.307/.450/ .393) led the league with 99 runs. All else being equal, he would have been a better choice for the AllStar spot. In the outfield, James Callahan (Lincoln) would seem to have been at least as good a choice as Rhode. He hit .30¡, slugged .483 and scored 77 runs. At catcher, Sioux Falls’ Ralph Brandon was almost a dead-heat with the selectee Warren at .300, .453, and .409. I’d’ve had two catchers on the squad. “Utility” man Swinger played only outfield. R.E.

Brookhouse (Beatrice) at least played two positions (first and third) and hit .306. Old league standby Mike Pociask would also have been a good choice. This outfielder-pitcher was ¡5–¡3 for team 29 games under .500 and hit .262 with 8 homers in only ¡68 ABs. We have yet another case of scribes leaving the league’s best o› of the all-star team at pitcher. Nelson Potter (Lincoln) was ¡7–9 with 200 Ks and league-leading figures of ¡.7¡ (ERA) and 9.2 (BR/9). There were none better in the Neb. State.

Northern League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Charles Larson Stanley Sperry John Kopko Joe Rezotko Ray Helixon Tom Corbett Morris Arnovich Herb Crompton George “Red” Treadwell

Team Superior Eau Claire Sup.— F.M. Brain.-L.F. Grand Forks Brain.-L.F. Superior Fargo-M’head Crookston

G Ensio Juntenan Eau Claire 35 Norman Masters Crookston 35

G 118 126 121 122 121 120 121 103 116 GS — —

AB 469 459 510 512 495 475 486 407 376

H 144 148 177 164 156 158 182 135 119

CG — —

R — — — — — — — — — SH — —

TB 218 221 284 226 234 234 292 186 148 W 12 21

L 10 11

2B 29 35 41 38 25 18 43 21 24

3B 6 10 3 6 13 5 2 0 1

% .545 .656

HR RBI 11 — 6 — 20 — 4 — 9 — 16 — 21 — 10 — 1 — IP 228 258

H 217 217

BB — — — — — — — — — ER — —

SB 14 23 10 17 17 24 12 0 12

BA .307 .322 .347 .320 .320 .333 .374 .332 .316

SLG .465 .481 .557 .441 .473 .493 .601 .457 .394

OB% — — — — — — — — —

SO 103 227

BB 55 97

ERA — —

BR/9 11.1 11.2

No BB or HBP data for batters, so no OB% reckoning possible. No ER’s recorded for pitchers, so no ERA figures.

With neither runs, RBIs, nor OB% available, any retro-judging of the appropriateness of these choices is problematic at best and folly at second best. Even so, a few positions seem to have overwhelming evidence that a change is indeed not out of order.

At second, manager Charlie Patton of Brainard/ Little Falls came in with .293/.505 averages, along with 25 homers. He also handled 5.9 chances a game (leading in PO,A, TC & DP) to Sperry’s 5.3. In the outfield, Gus Koch (Fargo Moorhead) went

¡935

71

averages as a first baseman/outfielder, and he was also ¡–0 as a pitcher. Either Pete Guzy (Duluth) or Bill “Goober” Zuber would have been better choices as a second pitcher than Juntenan. Guzy was ¡3–8 with a league leading 9.6 BR/9 ratio, and Zuber was ¡6–8 with ¡89 Ks.

.304/.6¡6 with a league-leading (by eleven) 36 homeruns. He should at least have been a fourth outfielder (and by “at least a fourth” I mean no worse than second). Once again the “utility” player was mono-positional, this time as a catcher. A better choice would have been Ad Stemig of Duluth who had .342/.524

Pennsylvania State Association (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Edwin Morgan Lynn Myers Merritt McCloy John Dudick Homer Ledbetter Tommy Henrich Carl Hu›man Grady Bolton Stephen Crippen

Team Greensburg Greensburg McKeesport Washington Charleroi Monessen Monessen Jeannette Jeannette

SP SP

Henry Compton Jeannette Con Lee Charleroi

G 87 80 78 104 62 104 105 89 107

G 31 31

AB 306 320 280 396 248 387 410 284 401

GS — —

H 90 108 90 127 85 126 153 94 133

CG — —

R 69 70 54 78 64 74 93 60 83 SH — —

TB 137 148 123 204 138 215 243 166 206 W 17 14

2B 10 25 14 22 19 16 18 16 23 L 8 9

3B 8 6 8 17 8 14 18 7 10

% .640 .609

HR RBI 7 42 1 25 1 38 7 72 6 64 15 70 12 71 14 68 10 51 IP 196 197

H 173 161

BB 57 35 32 52 7 58 58 26 30 ER 68 73

SB 31 22 10 8 16 12 13 8 34

BA .294 .338 .321 .321 .343 .326 .373 .321 .332

SLG .448 .463 .439 .515 .556 .556 .593 .585 .514

OB% .405 .414 .391 .400 .361 .413 .451 .387 .378

SO 128 143

BB 36 110

ERA 3.12 3.33

BR/9 10.1 12.6

No HBP for batters were recorded, so OB% is approximate.

A finely selected group of fellows, no doubt. Utility man Crippen played first and the outfield. At pitcher, there were three pitchers I would judge as having had better seasons than Lee: John Haley

and Willis Yocke of Washington and J. Davis of Greensburg. Davis was ¡4–6, 3.02 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.¡. Yocke was ¡5–9, with a ¡¡.6 BR/9 ratio, and Haley was ¡3–4, 2.44 with a ¡0.6 BR/9 ratio.

! ¡935 ! In ¡935, there were twenty one leagues in the National Association. Seventeen of them (8¡%) named all-star teams.

American Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Dale Alexander Jack Warner Fred Haney Eddie Marshall Johnny Gill Ted Gullic Johnny Cooney Mike Kreevich George Stumpf Bruce Ogrodowski Bob Garbark Mike Ryba

SP SP SP SP

Monty Stratton Lee Stine Garland Braxton Walt Tauscher

Team Kansas City St. Paul Toledo Milwaukee Minneapolis Milwaukee Indianapolis Kansas City Kansas City Columbus Toledo Columbus

St. Paul St Paul Milwaukee Minneapolis

G 120 154 142 155 148 155 142 156 150 130 136 94 G 33 46 33 37

AB 461 667 533 677 610 607 603 643 580 490 456 245 GS — — — —

H 165 208 171 196 220 196 224 222 187 146 135 78 CG — — — —

R 84 113 93 110 148 118 111 130 84 66 72 32

TB 254 292 216 261 400 357 284 325 254 206 182 90

2B 29 38 24 29 41 44 37 36 32 31 18 7

3B 6 5 6 6 5 9 7 14 13 7 5 1

HR 16 12 3 8 43 33 3 13 3 5 3 1

SH — — — —

W L % IP 17 9 .654 226 18 11 .621 254 17 10 .630 246 18 9 .667 226

RBI 95 74 53 71 154 131 92 115 105 76 79 30

BB 49 45 68 59 64 48 37 44 66 32 50 15

SB 5 8 29 1 7 18 9 20 16 8 5 3

BA .358 .312 .321 .290 .361 .323 .371 .345 .322 .298 .296 .318

SLG .551 .438 .405 .386 .656 .588 .471 .505 .438 .420 .399 .367

OB% .423 .358 .399 .346 .424 .375 .409 .390 .394 .341 .368 .360

H ER SO 261 101 120 301 132 89 261 88 116 250 110 77

BB 63 84 65 61

ERA 4.02 4.68 3.22 4.38

BR/9 13.2 13.9 12.4 12.7

72

Minor League All-Star Teams

Haney was a playing manager. I would have selected Fred Ankenman of Columbus over Marshall for the shortstop spot. Not only did he hit better (.3¡2 BA, .397 SA, .353 OB%), score ¡23 runs, and drive in 87, he got to a very good 6.3 TC/G (to Marshall’s not bad 5.5). He also finished third in the league with 23 steals. He was simply better than Marshall in every aspect of the game. Five outfielders, and no mention of Nick “Tomato Face” Cullop? I rated him above Cooney, Kreevich, and Stumpf. He hit .340 with a .590 SA (third in the league). He slapped 40 doubles, hit 24 homers, and his ¡28 RBIs were topped only by Gill and Gullic. My number four outfielder was “Buzz” Arlett. The Buzzer hit .360, third best in the A.A., slugged .607, second best, and led with a .454 OB%. He was in only ¡22 games, but contributed 25 homers, 90 runs and ¡0¡ RBIs. I had Garbark, who played 48 games at first, as a utility player. Ryba played third in ¡¡ games, caught in ¡9 games, and pitched in 48. He must have played elsewhere in “LT¡0,” as ¡6 games are unaccounted for.

Speaking of Ryba, I had him as a pitcher on my squad. He was second in the league with an ERA of 3.29 (Braxton’s 3.22 was the best, as no hurler could crack the 3.00 barrier), third with ¡38 strike-outs, and led in wins (he was 20–8) and BR/9 ratio (¡¡.4). In other words, he was the best pitcher in the league. Now, that explains Ryba’s absence from the sta›, but it doesn’t explain the presence of Stratton or Stine. Vance Page (Indianapolis) was ¡7–7, and finished eighth in ERA with a 3.93 mark. Roxie Lawson of the ¡8-games-under .500 Mud Hens was ¡4–8, 3.92 and allowed ¡2.9 BR/9. He also hit .283. No reliever was chosen (of course), but Wilcy Moore of Kansas City was ¡5–5 (he led the league in winning percent) with a 3.44 ERA and an ¡¡.6 BR/9 ratio. He was in 49 games and pitched ¡36 innings, so he was being used as what would become known as a Hoyt Wilhelm–type closer (that is, one who pitches the least three innings, as opposed to a Mariano Riveratype who only comes in the ninth to hold a lead—not that there’s anything wrong with that).

New York-Pennsylvania League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John McCarthy Frank Parenti Henry Peplowski John “Bunny” Gri‡ths John Tyler Art McHenry Joe Dwyer John Pasek John Reder

SP Ralph Judd SP Charles Willis

Team G AB H Allentown 87 326 111 Wilkes-Barre 115 429 120 Scranton 136 570 195 Wilkes-Barre 110 437 137

R 45 75 96 50

TB 181 164 237 160

2B 27 30 17 15

3B 11 7 11 4

Scranton Williamsport Wilkes-Barre Elmira Williamsport

93 83 68 58 37

238 223 206 129 109

31 30 25 18 16

11 8 9 2 2

Hazleton Wilkes-Barre

G 28 35

133 132 105 113 85 GS — —

505 507 432 366 280

168 159 157 107 89

CG — —

SH — —

NYP pitchers walked 3872 batters, about seven a game. They struck out 34¡9 batters, about 6.2 a game. Only three pitchers had as many as ¡00 strikeouts. Only seven batters struck out as many as 50 times, with a top of 70. (Compare this with the MAL below.) Al Reiss, who played for Scranton and Hazleton, was my shortstop choice. He hit only .277, but his SA was (slightly) higher than Gri‡ths’ at .369, as was his OB% (.35¡). He scored 6¡ runs and drove in 77. Bobby Estalella of Harrisburg was my third baseman. He was out hit by Peplowski (.342–.3¡6), but out-slugged him (with a league-leading .563) and had an OB% 34 points higher (.422). He also led the league with ¡8 homers.

HR RBI 7 73 0 57 1 74 0 51

BB 25 47 37 17

SB 3 7 14 14

BA .340 .280 .342 .314

SLG .555 .382 .416 .366

OB% .389 .355 .388 .341

53 55 35 58 16

17 17 5 4 11

.333 .314 .363 .292 .318

.471 .440 .477 .352 .389

.406 .381 .412 .391 .355

W L % IP H ER 17 6 .739 200 210 86 22 10 .688 274 322 110

SO 76 52

BB 46 59

ERA 3.87 3.61

BR/9 11.6 12.6

5 6 2 0 0

68 86 77 61 40

My outfield was Dwyer, George Tice (Hazleton), and Hubie Fitzgerald (Wilkes-Barre). Tice hit .364 and led the league with a .456 OB%. He scored ¡¡0 runs and drove in 90. Fitzgerald hit only .306, but he led the league with ¡20 runs scored. Reder played first, third, outfield, and was 8–8 as a pitcher. Joe Shaute led the league in winning percentage (.750 on a 2¡–7 record) and ERA (2.84). His ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio was the second best in the league. Naturally, he was left of o› the squad, probably because his .287 BA was too high. Orlin Rogers of ¡8 games-under-.500 Harrisburg was ¡¡–5 with a 2.94 ERA (second) and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.9, the league’s best. Roger Hanlon of the 2¡ games-under-.500 Elmira Pioneers was ¡¡–¡0, 3.50, and deserved consideration, if not a spot in the rotation.

¡935

73

Southern Association (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Alex Hooks John Mihalic Joe Martin Bill Rodda Doug Taitt “Peck” Hamel Jim Gleeson Martin “Chick” Autry Joe Palmisano Andy Reese

Team Atlanta Chattanooga Nashville Nashville Nashville Atlanta-Mem. New Orleans New Orleans New Orleans Memphis

G 106 152 154 148 142 119 157 119 111 140

AB 413 580 609 591 546 446 569 402 406 554

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 141 56 182 27 4 2 60 29 169 113 247 38 11 6 59 76 184 96 271 45 9 8 74 40 173 78 214 27 4 2 56 22 194 91 293 31 9 17 87 36 136 91 187 37 7 0 38 63 182 100 296 33 21 13 105 82 108 55 175 25 3 12 74 32 103 47 117 12 1 0 58 24 184 74 250 32 8 6 71 17

G

GS

CG

SH

SP Al Milnar New Orleans 35 SP Harry Kelley Atlanta 44 SP Clay Touchstone Memphis 36

— — —

23 27 28

— — —

A big NO to Hooks. Two homers and 60 RBIs for a first baseman? That way madness lies. Earle Browne (Little Rock) hit .345, slugged a league-topping .547 and had a .4¡4 OB%. He hit ¡3 homers (tied for third in this no power circuit, where only eight players reached double figures in homers) and his 96 RBIs were good for fourth. He also scored 94 runs. I left Hamel o› my squad, preferring to peck around for someone I thought had a more productive year. I came up with Memphis’ own Willie Duke. He hit .3¡5 and slugged .463, drove in ¡00 runs (third in the league) and scored 9¡ runs. Walter Millies of Chattanooga was the league’s best hitting backstop. He had a .3¡5 BA, a .390 SA,

BA .341 .291 .302 .293 .355 .305 .320 .269 .254 .332

SLG OB% .441 .386 .426 .374 .445 .352 .362 .320 .537 .400 .419 .393 .520 .412 .435 .324 .288 .297 .451 .352

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

24 5 .828 271 293 116 140 23 13 .639 320 303 89 136 22 11 .667 283 316 126 79

95 99 44

3.85 2.50 4.01

12.9 11.3 11.6

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SB 13 17 7 9 14 14 12 0 16 29

and a .347 OB%, not earth-shaking, but fifty points above that posted by Palmisano. The S.A. had seven 20 game winners in ’35. Three should have made the three man sta›, and three did. Unfortunately, two of the three who made it were the wrong ones. I would drop Milnar and Touchstone and add Eiland (Nashville) and “Red” McColl (Chattanooga). Eiland was 20–¡6 with an ERA of 2.75 and a ¡2.0 BR/9 ratio. McColl went 2¡–¡2, 3.¡0, ¡¡.6. The chosen threesome had an ERA of 3.4¡ and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.9. My trio was a skosh better at allowing base runners (¡¡.6), but crushed in ERA with a 2.73 mark.

Texas League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Rudy York Beaumont Charlie English Galveston Ernie Holman Tulsa Lou Brower Oklahoma City Lynn King Houston Fred Tauby Dallas Art Weis Fort Worth Claude Linton Galveston No selection made.

G 148 161 162 165 159 128 159 113

G SP Russ Evans Oklahoma City 40 SP Max Butcher Galveston 39 SP Earl Caldwell San Antonio 41

AB 521 612 598 604 657 489 556 357

GS 32 36 30

H R TB 157 101 298 186 99 287 176 98 268 148 80 192 192 95 221 161 81 231 184 84 256 99 46 135

CG 27 30 21

SH 3 7 9

A well-selected team, I would only add an outfielder and a reliever. The outfielder is Joe Prerost of Galveston. He hit .3¡6 and slugged .489, second in the league. He had a .408 OB%, scored 93 runs and had 85 RBIs. By the

2B 29 42 37 21 19 38 39 18

3B 8 10 8 10 5 7 3 6

HR RBI 32 117 13 104 13 98 1 68 0 61 6 70 9 99 2 49

BB 80 40 68 46 55 40 83 42

SB 18 29 11 32 55 19 2 10

BA .301 .304 .294 .245 .292 .329 .331 .277

SLG .572 .469 .448 .318 .336 .472 .460 .378

OB% .401 .348 .369 .303 .347 .381 .419 .369

W L % IP H 24 8 .750 285 243 24 11 .686 317 239 19 15 .559 270 232

ER 72 78 68

SO BB ERA OB/9 102 92 2.27 10.6 142 106 2.21 9.9 66 85 2.27 11.1

way, King had 50¡ put-outs, 26 assists and the magnificent total of 3.5 TC/G. The reliever is Ira Smith of Houston. He was in 32 games and finished 28 of them, going ¡4–9. His ERA was 3.30 and he allowed ¡0.3 BR/9.

74

Minor League All-Star Teams

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Lee Scarsella F. Ware (Woznak) Maurice Sturdy Louis Bush George Ferrell Frank Petosky J.C. Clark Frank LaVeque Claude Staylor

Team Wilmington Portsmouth Asheville Asheville Richmond Wilmington Asheville Charlotte Wilm.-Norfolk

G 134 127 139 126 129 87 135 137 129

SP SP

Charles Foreman Herbie Moore

Richmond Asheville

G 34 41

GS — —

AB 528 518 514 532 462 343 514 501 481 CG — —

H 188 145 189 177 174 116 184 139 119

R 120 98 102 100 101 78 93 81 89

SH — —

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 291 47 13 10 103 46 232 27 6 16 53 37 244 21 14 2 92 63 223 20 10 2 60 42 297 36 5 25 110 49 198 27 2 17 92 41 266 30 14 8 129 63 221 35 4 13 80 40 168 18 8 5 56 34

W 15 21

L % IP H 5 .750 196 205 5 .808 239 237

ER 62 79

SB 34 7 23 40 5 15 16 5 13 SO 69 130

BA .356 .280 .368 .333 .377 .338 .358 .277 .247

SLG OB% .551 .408 .448 .328 .475 .437 .419 .382 .643 .436 .577 .409 .518 .428 .441 .331 .349 .297

BB 82 104

ERA 2.85 2.97

BR/9 13.4 13.0

HBP not included for batters, so OB% is approximate.

I had J.C. Clark at the utility spot, as 48 of his games were played at catcher. I still think he is a better choice than Staylor (who played second and short), despite Staylor’s high run to on base ratio of 58%. I may have opted for two utility players to kind of cover the entire field. In Clark’s outfield spot, my choice was Sebastian Wagner of Asheville. He hit .290, scored ¡07 runs, and was second in both put-outs and assists. Catcher Warren “Buddy” Rosar of Norfolk hit .347, was second in SA with a good .609 mark, and also led in homers (a rare feat for a catcher) with 25. He had 97 RBIs and scored 80 runs. Two catchers

on this squad would not have been a travesty of justice, nor would it have constituted a warping of the facts for some unknown temporary expediency. Pitching consideration might have been given to John Leonardo of Richmond and Bob Walsh of Wilmington. Leonardo was an inauspicious 9–¡2 but may have led the league in ERA. (I say “may” because only 48% of his total runs were listed as being earned, a far lower percentage than would fall within the confines of either experience or mathematical probability. If he indeed had some fudging of his figures, than Walsh [¡¡–8] would be the leader with a 2.44 ERA.)

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bernard Cobb Frank Croucher Chet Laabs Lindsay Brown Herschel Martin Lou Sko‡c Tom Leonard Cli› “Bud” Knox James Outlaw

Team Fort Wayne Springfield Fort Wayne Springfield Bloomington Bloomington Fort Wayne Decatur Decatur

SP Donald French Springfield SP Max Macon Bloomington

G 104 93 87 114 117 112 138 106 113 G 39 31

AB 408 346 362 458 460 439 464 337 447 GS — —

H R TB 156 96 241 120 75 169 139 90 253 135 64 161 152 112 234 150 88 240 164 64 213 108 39 164 157 102 236 CG — —

SH — —

W 18 19

2B 29 19 22 20 23 25 21 21 27

3B 13 3 10 3 13 13 5 10 17

HR RBI 10 123 8 56 24 96 0 56 11 58 13 75 6 80 5 53 6 69

L % IP H 7 .720 223 195 7 .731 207 195

BB — — — — — — — — — ER — —

SB 14 5 4 21 36 23 7 4 19

BA .382 .347 .384 .295 .330 .342 .353 .320 .351

SLG .591 .488 .699 .352 .509 .547 .459 .487 .528

OB% — — — — — — — — —

SO 145 135

BB 74 83

ERA — —

BR/9 11.6 12.4

No BB or HBP for batters, hence no possibility of acquiring OB%. ER not recorded, so no ERA.

As stated previously, when certain key stats are missing, it is very had to post create a team. The only obvious inexplicability here is the choice of Leonard, despite his lofty BA, over Ed Morgan of Bloomington in the outfield. Morgan hit .323 and was second in slugging with a .609 mark. He hit 22 triples, stole

30 bases, scored 99 runs, and drove in 85. Two possible scenarios for rectifying this minor dilemma are having four outfielders, or, since Morgan played 28 games at first, two utility men. Either way works for me. Outlaw, by the way, played third and outfield.

¡935

75

East Dixie League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Glen Bolton Joe Vitter Carl Fairly Fred Wiesler Earl Nelson George Harper Leslie Horn Harold Sueme Jess Haley

SP SP

Paul Spencer Lester Willis

Team Greenville Pine Blu› Pine Blu› Helena Greenville El Dorado Greenville Pine Blu› Col./Cleve.

Pine Blu› El Dorado

G 139 111 138 132 131 135 114 132 83

G 35 34

AB 544 431 545 489 507 497 473 452 307

GS 19 24

H R TB 151 70 236 141 86 191 177 112 273 140 72 181 153 100 295 171 83 240 161 93 226 137 92 205 100 33 145

CG 14 23

SH 0 2

W 16 20

2B 36 38 38 11 46 44 35 37 20 L 8 7

3B 8 6 15 15 6 8 12 8 5

% .667 .741

HR RBI 11 88 0 39 6 72 0 61 28 114 3 78 2 74 6 80 5 49 IP 195 235

H 198 226

BB 34 41 50 28 53 79 38 62 20 ER 83 84

SB 8 23 16 8 3 1 16 10 5 SO 121 125

BA .278 .327 .325 .286 .302 .344 .340 .303 .326

SLG .434 .443 .501 .370 .582 .483 .478 .454 .472

OB% .321 .389 .389 .329 .368 .441 .392 .400 .375

BB 82 63

ERA 3.83 3.22

BR/9 13.1 11.2

Col./Cleve. is Columbus/Cleveland.

Bolton was a playing manager. Bolton was also the third-best first baseman in the league, and he was third by more than a body length. Fred Williams of Columbus/Cleveland hit .338, slugged .502 scored 99 runs and drove in ¡¡¡. He was the number two guy. Milton Stroner, El Dorado, was the man at first. He hit .332 (6th), slugged .567 (2nd), had a .395 OB%, a mere 74 points higher than Bolton’s. He had 42 doubles, ¡6 triples, ¡7 homers, and drove in a league-topping ¡28 runs. Bye bye Bolton. Alan Hunt, El Dorado outfielder, hit .362 and

scored 82 runs in 94 games. His OB% was .400, and I would have had him as a fourth flyhawk. Haley played first, third, and catcher. Clary Hack of Clarksdale played first and outfield, hit .3¡5 with a .526 SA, third in the league, scored ¡07 runs and drove in 94. Two utility men were deserving a spot, only one was chosen. El Dorado’s Harold Ginn was 2¡–7, led the league with ¡62 strike-outs, and posted a 2.77 ERA. Zack Schuessler of Helena was only ¡¡–8, but his ERA was 2.60 and his BR/9 ratio was the league’s best, ¡0.2.

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jimmy Wasdell Frank Madura Mike Noonan Benny Borgmann Tommy Henrich Sam Thomas Milt McIntyre William Atwood Robert Rawlins

Team Zanesville Portsmouth Portsmouth Huntington Zanesville Johnstown Zanesville Johnstown Beckley

SP SP

Jess Bream Johnstown Mike Martynik Huntington

G 33 27

G 125 117 110 118 115 119 100 87 102 GS — —

AB 510 433 395 476 451 462 395 318 374

H 182 138 132 146 152 152 139 113 120

CG — —

R 93 96 80 90 93 92 96 65 73 SH — —

Check out the di›erence between the NYP (above) and the MAL: 26 batters had 50 or more strike-outs, compared to a mere three in the NYP. Four batters struck out at least 90 times, and the top NYP whi›er would have finished tenth here. Three pitchers in the NYP struck out ¡00 or more batters; no fewer than 26 did so in the MAL. I was in complete and total agreement with every pick for this team. I would just add a pair of pitchers to the sta›, Clem Dreiseward of the last place

TB 284 175 210 181 233 191 240 207 196 W 19 21

2B 54 22 27 22 43 22 21 29 21 L 7 9

3B 9 3 3 5 1 4 4 41 2

% .731 .700

HR RBI BB 10 92 18 3 44 101 15 73 51 1 61 65 12 78 67 3 57 72 24 110 36 19 75 32 17 65 45 IP 224 246

H 245 181

ER 68 72

SB 15 16 27 35 12 5 20 2 14

BA .357 .319 .334 .307 .337 .329 .352 .355 .321

SLG .557 .404 .532 .380 .517 .413 .608 .651 .524

OB% .393 .449 .421 .391 .428 .422 .418 .426 .400

SO 106 299

BB 36 133

ERA 2.73 2.63

BR/9 11.4 11.8

Buckley Miners and Harry Eisenstadt of Dayton. Eisenstadt was ¡8–8 for the Ducks, compiled a 2.73 ERA and was second in the league in BR/9 allowed with a ¡0.6 figure. Dreiseward’s team played .363 ball without his ¡2–¡0 record. His ERA was 2.97 and his ¡0.5 BR/9 ratio was tops in the league. Martynik had ¡0.9 Ks every 9 IP. Rawlins, by the way, played second, outfield, and pitched a bit for the Miners.

76

Minor League All-Star Teams

West Dixie League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Charles Baron(ovic) Bobby Go› Mark Christman Lawrence France Allen McElreath Marshall Mauldin Tom Pyle Orace Powers Emil DeJonghe

Team Tyler Palestine Henderson Palestine Long.-Palest. Longview Tyler Palestine Henderson

G 126 129 133 134 116 133 124 95 128

G SP Grady Bassett Tyler 38 SP Jennings Poindexter Shrev./Glade. 14

AB 493 492 497 468 450 531 466 331 495

H 166 145 141 128 120 179 175 93 146

R 98 67 86 62 68 91 61 24 72

GS 27 12

CG 24 10

SH 3 4

TB 2B 211 30 183 27 208 32 172 19 169 22 243 30 245 41 134 30 197 22 W 23 7

3B HR RBI BB 3 3 67 41 1 3 59 39 5 5 56 35 3 3 39 58 6 5 52 27 9 5 65 34 1 9 106 47 2 3 49 19 1 9 49 11

L % IP H 8 .742 270 219 5 .583 106 65

SB 9 23 19 10 31 10 3 1 23

BA .337 .295 .284 .274 .267 .337 .376 .281 .295

ER SO BB 75 180 111 36 141 65

SLG OB% .428 .400 .372 .350 .419 .346 .368 .361 .376 .320 .458 .384 .526 .437 .405 .320 .398 .314 ERA 2.50 3.06

BR/9 11.7 11.5

Note: Shrev./Glade. is Shreveport/Gladewater.

play second, third, and the outfield. No, I’ll go with a proven competitor, Al Unser of Jacksonville. He played first, outfield, caught, and pitched. He hit .265 with a .354 OB% and 6¡ RBIs. There were a lot of good pitching performances in the ’35 West Dixie League. Enough so that, even with his ¡2 Ks for every nine innings, the wonderfully monikered Poindexter, in all honesty, did not deserve to be on the sta›, with at least a half-dozen hurlers having better seasons. Foremost among this group of also-rans was the ace of the Longview Cannibals, Hugo Emil “Dutch” Klaerner, who had had an unsuccessful (0–2, ¡0.90) three game trial with the White Sox the year before. He was anything but unsuccessful in the West Dixie, going 20–9 with a league-leading ¡.8¡ ERA and finishing second in BR/9 ratio with a very good 9.8 mark. Jackie Reid, who played for Tyler and Jacksonville (managing at the latter) was only ¡2–¡2, but had a fine 2.2¡ ERA and an outstanding 8.9 BR/9 ratio. Bob Muncrief, who would later be one of the aces of the only Browns team to win a pennant, was ¡5–8, 2.52 with a good ¡0.00 BR/9 ratio. Ron Lamb of Tyler was ¡6–8, 2.55 and allowed ¡0.2 BR/9.

Go› was a playing manager. I am afraid that I must disagree with the third base choice as certified by the West Dixie guardians of journalist integrity. My main man must be Merv Connors of the Palestine Pals. Big Merv hit .283, mere points below Mr. Christman, but he slugged a league-topping .53¡ (bolstered by a likewise leagueleading 29 home runs). His 90 runs were third, as were his 92 RBIs. I am afraid that I must also bid a fondue to the wraith of McElreath, deeming instead Cy Cashion, who played for the Shreveport/Gladewater Sports/ Bears and the Jacksonville Jax, to be more worthy of remembrance. Cy hit .333, slugged .493, and had an OB% of .396 (a total of ¡64 points more than those garnered by McElreath). He scored 7¡ runs and drove in 84, a final point in Cy’s case. Moving right along to catcher, Powers is powerless to hold o› the acquired talking points of Herman Franks, true king of the West Dixie catchers. The Jax backstop hit .284, and drove home 83 runs. Besides, what kind of OB% is .320 for an All-Star? And while we are the topic of OB%, check out DeJonghe’s .3¡4. That is just too low, even if he did

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Carl Kentling Ben Catchings Edward Gray William Matheson George “San” Antone Ed Longacre Harry Hughes Dee Moore No selection made.

Team Hutchinson Muskogee Mus./Bar./P.C. Joplin Bartlesville Joplin Bartlesville Ponca City

G SP Marvin Breuer Joplin 37 SP Ed “Lefty” Carnett Ponca City 34 SP Morris Young Bart./Hutch. 36

G 118 116 96 124 132 120 135 110

AB 448 411 353 535 532 483 500 410

GS — — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 145 53 195 22 8 4 75 35 144 93 203 28 8 5 74 89 103 54 144 21 4 4 58 43 158 93 253 24 16 13 92 25 171 83 233 36 10 2 109 56 148 84 200 30 8 2 86 44 153 135 263 33 13 17 75 134 127 81 189 26 9 6 74 48

CG 19 27 25

SH — — —

W L % IP H 14 14 .500 217 238 19 11 .633 256 264 22 9 .710 257 255

SB 2 23 11 1 6 11 14 21

BA .324 .350 .292 .295 .321 .306 .306 .310

SLG OB% .435 .380 .494 .467 .408 .372 .473 .344 .438 .389 .414 .368 .526 .464 .461 .385

ER SO BB ERA BR/9 90 137 82 3.73 13.3 91 160 94 3.20 12.6 66 147 50 2.31 10.7

¡935

77

league. He had ¡9 triples, 78 RBIs and scored ¡27 runs, tied for second with Judy. Finally, Graves hit only .298, but he slugged .509, had ¡8 triples and ¡6 homers, and was the only player in the league to both score ¡00 runs (¡03) and drive in ¡00 (a league-leading ¡22, to be exact). My catcher was Ponca City’s Jim Steiner. His .324, .448, .367 averages compare well with Moore’s, but his ¡02 RBIs sealed the deal for me. Now, let’s try to sort all this out. The selected eight hits .3¡3, slugs .476, and has a .398 OB%. They hit 76 triples, scored 673 runs, drove in 643 runs, and stole 87 bases. My alternate eight, using the three additional outfielders and not the better stats compiled by Hughes, hits .3¡6, slugs .480 and has a .387 OB%. The unsung eight hit ¡¡9 triples (about ¡5 per man), scored 805 runs (¡0¡ each to the selectees 84) and stole 209 bases (as you can see, Judy alone stole more than all eight of the selectees). If you add Hughes, the averages are an even better, .3¡5, .485, and .397. The runs-per-man average goes up a skosh to ¡04. And, the figures for the ten guys I had on my W.A. All-Star team (the eight outcasts plus Hughes plus Catchings, the averages go up even more, to .3¡7, .485, and, passing the magic .400 barrier, .402. I disagreed with the pitching choices also, except for, as stated at the start of this mini-tome, Young. I would have selected George Washington Payne and Tom Seats of Springfield in place of Breuer and Carnett. Payne was ¡5–7 with a 3.0¡ ERA, ¡65 strike-outs, and the league’s top BR/9 ratio, ¡0.4. Seats led in wins (he was 25–9), had a 3.03 ERA, a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.5, and struck out 279 batters in 273 innings.

I selected an entirely di›erent team when I was going through my ’35 guide. Well, not entirely di›erent, I did have Hughes in my outfield and Young on my sta›. But enough of these slack-jawed musings, on to the action! I had Bill Prout of Bartlesville at first, mostly because of Kentling’s RBI and run totals. Prout, who hit .293, scored 98 runs and drove in 94, more first basemanish totals. Lyle “Punch” Judy, the Springfield Comet, was my second baseman, and I stand foursquare behind that choice. Judy hit .337, had a .484 SA (helped by twenty triples), scored ¡27 runs, led the league in FA, and stole ¡07 bases. Yes, you read that right: ¡07. Catchings’ .350 was, in my judgment only good for second at second, or, perhaps more fairly, there should have been two keystoners on the ’35 W.A. squad. At third, I had Tony Masucci of Muskogee. He hit .3¡3, slugged a league-best .529, tied for the lead in homers with ¡9, scored 87 runs, and drove in 80. He was also better afield than Gray (.9¡4–.884 in FA). My shortstop was Joe Kosel of Hutchinson. He hit .307 with an OB% of .389, 45 points higher than Matheson (who should have been a utility choice anyway, as he split his time between short and third). Kosel scored 98 runs. In the outfield, in addition to Hughes, my choices were J.R. “Doc” Graves of Muskogee, Joe Mene of Ponca City and John Riley of Hutchinson (yes, I had four outfielders). Mene hit .348 and slugged .527, both second in the league. He smashed 2¡ triples and scored 94 runs. His .394 OB% was also better than the marks posted by Antone and Longacre. Riley hit .306, slugged .489, and had a .4¡2 OB%, fifth best in the

Arkansas State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank Stapleton Monte Johnson Doug White David Bush Howard Roberts Ben Turner Rudolph Woodrow Walker Cooper Leslie Wilson

SP Warren Fralick SP George Gibson

Team Rogers Fayetteville Fayetteville Rogers Cassville Siloam Springs Siloam Springs Rogers Fayetteville

Fayetteville Bentonville

G 20 31

G 105 78 94 110 105 109 78 91 48

AB 407 316 380 382 385 410 287 334 172

GS — —

H 139 122 120 90 140 130 99 120 57

CG 17 11

At first, I thought that Stapleton was the right man for first, but at second I decided that John Wilbur Davis of Bentonville should be first at first. The O‡ceholder initial sacker hit .354, slugged .5¡5 and had a .429 OB%. Not too di›erent from Stapletons’,

R 84 72 76 51 89 87 72 64 25 SH — —

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 214 27 12 8 56 51 188 23 13 9 54 36 175 23 7 6 59 28 107 9 4 0 38 36 248 21 12 21 89 51 204 31 14 5 76 53 174 22 4 15 77 40 198 26 4 14 79 19 84 15 3 2 29 33 W L % IP H 13 6 .684 172 169 12 12 .500 191 159

SB 11 9 8 7 15 43 28 11 3

BA .342 .386 .316 .236 .364 .317 .345 .359 .331

SLG OB% .526 .419 .595 .455 .461 .366 .280 .303 .644 .443 .498 .404 .606 .435 .593 .401 .488 .513

ER SO BB ERA BR/9 58 124 32 3.03 11.0 58 145 112 2.73 13.0

but the real di›erence is in the RBI totals, where Davis led the league with 93. There were two Arkansas State second sackers who were in 78 games, and both should have been selected as co-second basemen. Duane Kratzer (Cassville) hit

78

Minor League All-Star Teams is too weak to have on your team — the “hitting” of Bush, or the “fielding” of Mabrey. I will say this: with Bush, the Great Eight have averages of .33¡, .5¡8, and .404. With Mabrey in place of Bush, the averages become .346, .550, and .420. That’s quite a di›erence, but then there is the MGF (Mabrey Glove Factor) to consider. Wilson played first, third, and caught. John Murray of Siloam Springs was ¡¡–2 with a 2.95 ERA, and Walter “Jumbo” Brown of Bentonville was 20–¡3, 2.68. I would have added them to the sta›.

.397, slugged .589, and had a .44¡ OB%. He had 68 runs and 50 RBIs, along with ¡¡ homers. The two second basemen combined to hit .39¡, slugged .592, and had an OB% of .45¡. They scored ¡40 runs, drove in ¡04, had 44 doubles, ¡4 triples, and 20 homers. Bush was one of the year’s worst hitters (at any position other than pitcher), if you consider slugging and the ability to get on base as part of hitting. He fielded .922, and the only other league shortstop to play even in as many as 70 games fielded .868. That fellow (Frank Mabrey of Bentonville) hit .306 and slugged .506 with 8¡ runs. You can decide which

Bi-State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Taylor Sanford Mickey Witek “Woody” Williams Lee Kahny Ray Cote Ralph Hodgin Cecil “Zip” Payne Jack Crosswhite Frank Schummell

Team Danville Bassett L.-S.-D. Mount Airy Mount Airy Fieldale Mayodan Bassett Danville

G 105 125 115 107 101 114 110 114 121

G SP Thomas Honeycutt Mount Airy 38 SP Ernie “Lefty” Jenkins Bassett 44

AB 429 511 499 417 418 483 458 460 496

H R TB 150 96 252 163 108 246 168 111 259 123 84 194 135 61 199 187 94 279 177 95 267 150 42 182 157 101 231

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

2B 27 31 27 14 25 45 30 17 30

W 21 21

3B 6 15 5 12 9 7 9 3 7

HR RBI 21 — 7 — 18 — 11 — 7 — 11 — 14 — 5 — 10 —

L % IP H 8 .724 268 238 9 .700 283 237

BB 34 61 39 55 24 26 37 13 53

SB 9 16 10 19 19 14 0 8 9

BA .350 .319 .337 .295 .323 .387 .386 .326 .317

SLG .587 .481 .519 .465 .476 .578 .583 .396 .466

OB% .408 .395 .397 .382 .364 .429 .432 .354 .391

ER SO — 186 — 208

BB 91 77

ERA — —

BR/9 11.2 10.3

The fact that there are no positions listed for batters, along with the fact that there are no positional breakdowns for the fielding stats, make any changes to this line-up, basically, impossible. L.-S.-D. is Leaksville-Spray-Draper.

That manager/outfielder Otis “Blackie” Carter of pennant-winning L.-S.-D. was left o› of the Bi-State Dream Team would be considered criminal in twelve state and two territories. But seriously, “Blackie” hit .356 and led the league in homers with 30, in SA with a terrific .706, and in OB% with a mark of .459.

The league should have had a four man sta›, with Fred Pipgras (Danville) and Je› Je›coat (L.-S.-D.) being added. Pipgras was 25–6 (.806) and allowed ¡0.¡ BR/9. Je›coat was 20–7 and had 222 strike-outs in 232 innings.

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ivy Gri‡n Leonard Mock James Fisher Douglas Dean Dan Escobar Arthur Luce Cecil “Dynamite” Dunn Sidney Gautreaux Walter Lamey

SP SP

Bernard Cornitus “Red” Dowie

Team Jeanerette Lafayette Jeanerette Opelousas Lake Charles Jeanerette Alexandria Jeanerette Jean.-N. Iberia

Jeanerette Lafayette

G 34 41

GS — —

G 129 127 128 125 131 132 128 138 63 CG — —

AB 467 481 527 494 530 508 487 464 167

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 136 92 168 19 2 3 49 — 163 71 214 30 6 3 91 — 158 107 195 25 6 0 54 — 189 105 240 24 12 1 49 — 174 89 241 28 6 9 59 — 168 90 249 40 10 7 113 — 156 105 262 36 11 16 122 — 164 64 213 21 5 6 80 — 57 29 94 10 3 7 49 —

SH — —

W 19 24

L 8 6

% .704 .800

IP 267 246

H 247 220

ER — —

SB 7 17 32 19 14 4 6 7 5

SO 104 119

BA .291 .339 .300 .383 .328 .331 .320 .353 .341 BB 55 51

SLG OB% .360 — .445 — .370 — .486 — .455 — .490 — .538 — .459 — .563 — ERA — —

BR/9 10.2 9.9

No BB or HBP data for hitters, so no OB% computations possible. ER not kept, so there’ll be no ERA stats to peruse.

Gri‡n and Mock were playing managers. The Gri‡nites won the pennant and playo›s, the Mockmen finished second in both departments.

Ike Livingston would have, despite Fisher’s .300 average and ¡07 runs, been my third baseman. For one thing, Fisher fielded a far-from-fine .9¡5 to Liv-

¡935 ingston’s .945. For another, Livingston hit .308 himself with a .45¡ SA, 83 runs, 22 triples, and 83 RBIs. My third baseman? Livingston, I presume. Utility man Lamey played second and pitched, and probably had some LT¡0’s at other positions. My utility choice was Conrad Flippen of Alexandria. He played third and short and hit .308, scoring 96 runs and driving in ¡0¡.

79

I would add Clauson Vines to the sta›. The Jeanerette Blues ace was 25–7 and had an excellent 9.2 BR/9 ratio. As an aside, both Judson “Jay” Kirke Sr. and Judson “Jay” Kirke Jr. played for Opelousas.

Georgia-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Edward Davis Rex Bowen Frank Waites Sidney Coleman Beverley Ferrell Hooper Triplett Glen Dale Murray George Berry Sam Narron

SP SP

Walter Ammon Kip Saurbrun

Team Panama City Albany Tallahassee Panama City Thomasville Tallahassee Tallahassee Americus Albany

Albany Tallahassee

G 39 34

G 108 118 116 117 115 102 115 91 93

AB 377 421 431 434 407 401 572 313 361

GS — —

CG — —

H 102 121 127 117 122 127 140 94 126

R 49 88 97 84 83 74 71 37 69

SH — —

TB 158 163 178 177 201 189 216 125 207 W 21 20

2B 25 27 18 24 29 25 23 9 24 L 12 7

3B 6 3 12 5 7 11 18 4 3

% .636 .741

HR RBI 6 — 5 — 3 — 9 — 11 — 3 — 8 — 6 — 16 — IP 263 209

H 263 198

BB 32 48 53 48 64 37 38 25 28 ER — —

SB 4 14 18 9 6 25 14 5 3 SO 65 126

BA .271 .287 .295 .270 .300 .317 .245 .300 .349

SLG .419 .387 .413 .408 .494 .471 .378 .399 .573

OB% .328 .360 .372 .342 .395 .374 .292 .352 .396

BB 63 76

ERA — —

BR/9 11.2 11.8

Fielding stats were simply divided into catcher, infielders, and outfielders, so there is no way to separate the infielders by position. No ER recorded, so no ERA figures. No HB for hitters or pitchers, so OB% and BR/9 figures are approximate.

Murray was a playing manager. E.D. “Lord” Graystone, Americus first baseman, puts a little pop into the popless line-up. He hit .278, scored 68 runs, and reached the double-figure pinnacle in home runs with ¡0. Two outfielders, Herman Cole and Ben Brown, had seasons which put Glen Dales’ to shame. Cole

hit .336 for Americus, and Brown reached .360 for Thomasville, and added 83 runs. Catcher “Rutherford” Hayes Harrington of Albany hit .325, slugged .442, had a .402 OB%, and scored 7¡ runs, which makes one wonder how Berry beat him out for the spot. Harrington caught for the pennant winning team, by the way.

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Glen Burns Sikes Willie Morgan Clyde Martin Joe Grace James Leidle Floyd Perryman Bill Scheele William Hankins

Team Lexington Jackson Hopkinsville Portageville Paducah Jackson Paducah Portageville Portageville

G 83 54 85 78 66 61 60 76 78

AB H R TB 276 66 — 106 226 71 — 99 332 101 — 112 303 80 — 115 267 86 — 121 240 66 — 88 227 80 — 84 275 82 — 120 362 108 — 152

SP SP

G GS CG SH W Joe Wesche Jackson Was in fewer than five games Al Veach Paducah — — — — 9

2B 10 14 5 13 14 9 1 10 18

3B 3 4 2 5 6 2 0 8 4

HR RBI 8 — 2 — 0 — 4 — 3 — 3 — 1 — 4 — 6 —

BB — — — — — — — — —

SB — — — — — — — — —

BA .239 .314 .304 .264 .322 .275 .352 .298 .298

SLG .384 .438 .337 .380 .453 .367 .370 .436 .420

OB% — — — — — — — — —

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

7

.563

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

This is another league where no fielding by position was recorded, so again no way to tell if a more deserving player was overlooked. No batters runs were kept! Walks and HBP not kept, so no OB% possible. The only stats noted for pitchers are wins and losses.

The only remark I have is that you notice Perryman’s SA. Has there ever been a .350 hitter with a lower one?

80

Minor League All-Star Teams

Nebraska State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Victor Kosloski Howard Dobbins Cobby Moore Darrol Shimer Ash Joerndt Marvin Pelton Hoskett Brown Benny Warren Justin Keenoy

SP SP SP SP

Frank Wagner Kenneth Cabble Claude Bradford Tony Johnson

Team Sioux Falls Linc./Beat. Beatrice Norfolk Beatrice Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Beatrice Beatrice

Norfolk Norfolk Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

G 35 25 45 42

G 110 105 48 79 104 112 45 66 110 GS — — — —

AB 429 447 177 330 458 445 173 251 448

H R 114 53 139 75 55 34 102 61 153 65 143 77 58 35 87 47 144 100

CG — — — —

SH — — — —

TB 157 209 96 145 217 200 93 150 233 W 16 13 17 10

2B 11 19 4 13 26 17 5 17 31

L 12 8 3 6

3B 13 12 8 3 10 8 6 5 11

% .571 .619 .850 .625

HR RBI 2 54 9 65 7 25 8 47 6 59 8 70 6 35 12 47 12 50 IP 228 180 202 151

H 219 167 185 131

BB 38 29 26 34 24 40 17 44 47 ER — —

SB 13 28 2 13 13 32 11 3 22

BA .266 .311 .311 .309 .334 .321 .335 .347 .321

SLG .366 .468 .542 .439 .474 .449 .538 .598 .520

OB% .330 .353 .405 .380 .367 .387 .407 .446 .396

SO 140 159 116 77

BB 59 72 47 60

ERA 3.15 3.29 2.40 2.14

BR/9 11.3 12.3 10.3 11.4

Linc. Is Lincoln. Era given for pitchers, but not ER.

Warren was a playing manager. The indomitable Dexter Savage (who played for the mighty Sioux Falls Canaries and the less mighty Norfolk Elkhorns) patrolled the hot corner in 95 games compared to Moore’s 45. Savage hit .32¡ and scored 56 runs with 58 RBIs. I mention him in case you think 48 games is a bit too wee a portion of a season upon which to make a man an All-Star. The same holds true for the 45 game season of Hoskett Brown (whose name sounds like a Ivy Leaguer of the Edwardian era). That is, if you prefer a

somewhat more filled portfolio, you may be interested in two outfielders who I chose but whom were not selected by the scribes in the four Nebraska State League towns. John Grilli (Norfolk) hit .3¡¡ and had a .396 OB%. Bill Swinger (Beatrice) hit .330, slugged .576, and led the league with 2¡ homers, and his 80 RBIs were second. Three Sioux City pitchers had good enough years to be considered for a spot on the sta›: Claude Bradford, Jim Locke, and Tony Johnson.

Pennsylvania State Association (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John Cindric Charles Gillespie Mike McCormick “Skeets” McDaniels Charles Harig Harry Craft Carl Hu›man Clyde Chell Al Rubeling

SP SP

J. Davis Walter Purcey

Team Washington Charleroi Butler Monessen

G 107 108 110 110

AB 402 428 390 416

H 122 129 134 135

R 71 95 71 72

TB 196 199 179 190

2B 25 25 16 18

3B 11 6 13 11

Washington Monessen Butler Monessen Monessen

100 103 80 79 110

394 432 319 260 407

126 137 107 80 127

82 86 56 40 93

180 214 155 96 192

21 17 8 9 14

9 9 8 2 9

Butler Monessen

G 20 30

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

I had Monessen’s Joe Mack in the outfield. He hit .32¡, and was the only league player with a SA above .500 (.5¡7, to be exact). He was second in runs with 94 and tied for fourth in RBIs with 74. Rubeling played third, second, and outfield. Oscar Grimes Jr. played third and short and had almost the same season that Rubeling did, hitting .3¡2, slugging .489, and compiling a .4¡6 OB%. He had 80 runs and 73 RBIs. Butler’s Hal Gartell, despite his 7–¡ record, did

W 11 16

L 5 8

% .688 .667

HR RBI 9 81 11 43 1 67 5 87 5 14 8 1 11 IP 133 203

44 80 45 38 70 H 120 191

BB 49 56 39 30

SB 8 18 18 18

BA .303 .301 .344 .325

SLG .488 .465 .459 .457

OB% .385 .385 .409 .371

45 32 32 11 52

16 39 14 2 25

.320 .317 .335 .308 .312

.457 .495 .486 .369 .472

.391 .366 .403 .343 .400

SO 106 147

BB 69 92

ERA 2.98 3.50

BR/9 13.1 13.1

ER 44 79

pitch enough innings to qualify for league leadership in such areas where a set minimum of innings pitched was necessary for same. So, despite only eight decisions, he led the league in both ERA (2.56) and BR/9 ratio (9.5). Ralph Williams of Monessen tied Purcey for the most wins in the league (he was ¡6–8 also), but had a lower ERA (2.8¡) and a lower BR/9 ratio (¡2.4). He may have been the ¡6-game-winner who should have been chosen.

¡936

81

! ¡936 ! In ¡936, there were twenty six leagues in the National Association. Twenty two of them (85%) named all-star teams.

Southern Association (A1) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Alex Hooks John Mihalic Merv “Bud” Connally C. “Buster” Chatham Marshall Mauldin Joe Dwyer Fred Sington Paul Richards No selection made

Team Atlanta Chattanooga New Orleans Atlanta Knoxville Knoxville Chattanooga Atlanta

G SP Clyde Shoun Birmingham 32 SP Luther Thomas Atlanta 43 SP Byron Speece Nashville 42

G 152 119 157 155 141 154 142 117

AB 610 452 534 551 576 600 526 376

GS — — —

CG 17 21 16

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 180 95 270 33 15 9 85 48 142 75 190 27 9 1 40 53 142 66 213 29 10 4 95 69 159 87 211 19 6 7 78 49 218 98 297 42 8 7 64 14 230 127 340 65 7 4 117 66 202 97 332 46 22 6 107 69 123 62 151 20 3 3 49 40

SH — — —

Mihalic was a playing manager part of the season. I agree with each of the selector’s choices, and would just add one pitcher, Emil “Dutch” Leonard of Atlanta. He was ¡3–3 and led the league in ERA

W L % IP H ER 15 11 .577 204 203 78 18 8 .692 271 248 85 22 9 .710 240 244 103

SB 9 6 5 8 10 7 3 6

SO 84 106 118

BA .295 .314 .266 .289 .378 .383 .384 .327

SLG OB% .443 .347 .420 .386 .399 .350 .383 .347 .516 .393 .567 .444 .631 .455 .402 .392

BB 52 50 57

ERA 3.44 2.82 3.86

BR/9 11.4 10.0 11.5

and BR/9 ratio at 2.28 and 9.6. He also had the best control, walking just ¡.4 batters every nine innings.

Texas League (A1) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C

Name Team John Watwood Houston Frank Croucher Beaumont Jim Stroner Dallas Sig Gryska San Antonio Paul Easterling Okl. City Fred Tauby Dallas Deb Garms San Antonio George Rensa Dallas G. “Birdie” Beaumont Tebbetts UT No selection made SP SP SP SP SP SP

Curt Fullerton Dallas Fred “Firpo” Dallas Marberry Ira Smith Houston H. “Jackie” Reid Fort Worth Howard Mills San Antonio Beryl Richmond Galveston

G 113 150 151 145 152 140 150 134 133

AB 425 599 580 536 543 585 642 459 472

H 144 192 165 159 180 182 203 115 138

R 83 88 115 84 100 114 105 52 68

TB 186 285 274 254 288 252 276 164 190

2B 20 36 24 18 37 35 31 21 21

3B 11 12 2 10 10 7 15 2 5

HR 0 11 27 19 17 7 4 8 7

RBI 60 101 103 122 95 57 70 68 74

BB 56 27 79 70 65 48 48 56 33

SB 7 12 5 15 25 30 11 7 11

BA .339 .321 .284 .297 .331 .311 .316 .251 .292

SLG .438 .476 .472 .474 .530 .431 .430 .357 .403

OB% .417 .350 .376 .379 .403 .367 .364 .333 .340

G 33 16

GS 28 16

CG 19 12

SH 1 3

W 20 12

L 8 3

% .714 .800

IP 245 136

H 256 107

ER 74 32

SO 96 59

BB 72 35

ERA 2.72 2.12

BR/9 12.2 9.5

38 31 28 37

7 16 23 36

7 11 12 18

1 3 3 2

13 16 12 9

6 3 6 21

.684 .842 .667 .300

171 157 188 241

147 128 125 271

44 42 52 131

104 106 157 172

26 35 115 118

2.32 2.41 2.49 4.89

9.5 9.5 11.7 14.7

Smith was a playing manager. The first base situation is pretty dreary. The only challenger to Watwood is Oklahoma City’s Jim Keesey who had .283/.402/.380 averages. He had 93 RBIs and 87 runs, but it took him ¡44 more PAs to get there. There was a whole mess of outfielders in the ’36 Texas League that were so close stat-wise that you couldn’t get a sheet of waxed paper betwixt or between ’em. Two Dallas Steers could neither cow the voters with their statistics nor bull their way onto

the team by force of personality. Luther Barrel was one of the passed-over pair. He hit .306, slugged .435, had a .40¡ OB%, scored ¡06 runs, drove in 99, and smacked 4¡ doubles. The other is Jim Mosolf (.3¡8, .428, .384) with 46 doubles and ¡¡4 runs. The five averaged .3¡6 with a .449 SA and a .383 OB%. They also averaged 38 doubles, ¡08 runs, and 77 RBIs. To show how even the group was, let’s look at how the two Dallasonians, Barrel and Mosolf, stacked up against those averages. Barrel was under in BA and

82

Minor League All-Star Teams

runs, over in SA, OB%, doubles, and RBIs. Mosolf was under in RBIs, just about even in BA and OB%, and over in runs and doubles. (As a bit of comparison, here is how the three who made it measured up: Easterling, under in doubles and runs, over in BA, SA, OB%, and RBIs; Tauby, under in BA, SA, OB%, doubles, and RBIs, over in runs; Garms, under in SA, OB%, runs, doubles, and RBIs, even in BA. From the results, it would seem that a better threesome would have been Easterling, Mosolf, and Barrel.)

It was nice of the voters to select a pitcher from the 57–96 Galveston. Unfortunately, they picked the wrong one — and how! The .373 Buccaneers were (slightly) better when Richmond did not pitch (.390). Investigating another Galvestonite hurler, however, reveals a di›erent story. Joe Gibbs was ¡6–¡5 (the Bucs played .336 ball when he was not the pitcher of record) and had a 3.8¡ ERA, over a run lower than Richmond’s. He also allowed ¡2.5 BR/9, over two fewer than our boy Beryl.

New York-Pennsylvania League (A) Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Elmira Elmira Allentown Binghamton Elmira Williamsport Binghamton Williamsport Binghamton

136 123 93 138 141 140 126 132 127

G SP Hugh Mulcahy Hazleton 46 SP Ed Smith Williamsport 34

GS — —

Gerald Hannahoe “Rabbit” Maranville Al Reiss Bill Matheson Jack Grossman Art McHenry Paul Dunlap Bill Steinecke Buddy Rosar

G AB 487 427 359 531 520 593 480 501 427 CG 31 23

H

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB

153 88 225 138 65 157 118 81 153 175 95 269 173 96 235 187 111 280 183 101 267 175 95 244 147 60 203 SH — —

21 15 17 31 24 47 39 33 35

18 2 3 15 16 5 12 9 6

5 87 0 54 4 50 11 89 2 95 12 105 7 93 6 110 3 72

88 53 43 26 70 38 47 43 35

SB 16 3 8 27 25 9 15 12 14

BA SLG OB% .314 .323 .329 .330 .333 .315 .381 .349 .344

W L % IP H ER SO BB 25 14 .641 325 313 165 134 120 20 8 .714 257 277 108 159 71

.462 .368 .426 .507 .452 .472 .556 .487 .475

.419 .398 .400 .361 .412 .357 .436 .401 .394

ERA 4.57 3.78

BR/9 12.2 12.5

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Maranville was a playing manager. At third, Williamsport’s Hank Peploski peppered the sphere to the tune of .357, third in the league. He led the league with 2¡2 hits, and scored ¡¡¡ runs. His .464 SA was better than Reiss’s, as were his 75 RBIs. Peploski was the man at third. McHenry had a fine year, but three other outfielders had finer. Horace McBride of Williamsport hit .329 and slugged .528 with ¡9 homers and ¡02 RBIs. Morrie Arnovich of Hazleton hit .327, slugged .562, also hit ¡9 homers, added a further 4¡ doubles, and scored 92 runs while driving in ¡09. Finally, Nick Tremark of Allentown hit .379 and had an OB% of .432 (both second), had 204 hits (also second), and scored 96 runs while driving in ¡08. I should add that

McBride had 90 fewer PAs than McBride, Arnovich 62 fewer, and Tremark 43. Steinecke was absolutely the best catcher in the league, but I would still have named a co-catcher. Elmer Klumpp (whose name is tied with Clyde Klutz for the Bizzaro world version of the Early Wynn Best Baseball Name Award) hit .338, scored 8¡ runs, and contributed 96 RBIs while splitting his time between Wilkes Barre and Elmira. It was too fine a season to go unnoted. Rosar caught and played some at first and third. Binghamton pitcher Atley Donald was ¡9–9 with a 3.¡2 ERA and allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9. Harry Eisenstat of Allentown went ¡9–7 with a 3.57 ERA. Mulcahy, by the way, hit .354, slugged .497, and had 24 RBIs.

Western League (A) A virtually unassailable team, except for the utility position and the addition of some pitchers. Spadafore was an outfielder. A more utile selection would have been Phil Segui of Sioux City, who played second, third, and short. He hit .30¡, slugged .440, and drove in a league-topping ¡04 runs. A Cedar Rapids Raider pitcher deserved to be an

All-Star, it just wasn’t Richard Elston. It should have been Howard Taylor. He was ¡9–¡0 with a 2.76 ERA and a league low ¡¡.5 BR/9 ratio. He also played some at other positions and hit .23¡ with 32 RBIs. Crowd favorite Kinner Graf of Sioux City was ¡6–¡0 with a 3.37 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.9.

¡936 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name A. “Dutch” Prather Hugh Luby Nick Polly J. “Skeeter” Webb J. “Goldie” Howard James Asbell Dave Goodman William Wilson Joe Spadafore

Team Omaha/Rock Isl. Sioux City Davenport Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids Des Moines Omaha/Rock Isl. Des Moines Omaha/Rock Isl.

G SP Hal Turpin Des Moines 34 SP Richard Elston Cedar Rapids 32

G 103 120 114 128 127 90 126 128 119 GS — —

83

AB 347 486 437 510 489 345 478 472 460

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 89 53 146 29 5 6 69 79 155 91 221 19 7 11 62 40 121 82 173 26 7 4 50 62 149 97 222 24 8 11 72 45 154 90 238 31 7 13 96 37 98 60 180 25 9 13 66 10 152 101 246 33 14 11 92 68 126 39 186 25 10 5 56 25 122 69 178 22 5 8 69 36

CG 28 17

SH — —

W L % IP H 20 10 .667 259 285 14 10 .583 203 202

ER 79 84

SB 2 40 4 25 14 1 30 2 8 SO 124 114

BA .256 .319 .277 .292 .315 .284 .318 .267 .265

SLG OB% .421 .394 .455 .371 .396 .367 .435 .350 .487 .363 .522 .304 .515 .403 .394 .304 .387 .319

BB 69 88

ERA 2.75 3.72

BR/9 12.3 12.9

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate. Rock Isl. is, of course, Rock Island. The Omaha Robin Hoods became the Rock Island Rocks (you gotta learn to think outside of the box, fellas) on ¡8 August.

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank McCormick Nicholas Witek Thomas Hafey Louis Blair George Ferrell Ted Petoskey Stan Spence Dick Luckey Horace “Pip” Koehler

Team Durham Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Richmond Durham Rocky Mount Rocky Mount Portsmouth

G SP Joe Beggs Norfolk 44 SP Johnny Vander Meer Durham 30

G 140 140 115 102 142 135 138 120 140

AB 554 555 497 435 540 539 540 398 545

GS — —

CG 21 21

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 211 98 321 49 8 15 138 60 174 112 268 36 8 14 84 75 157 98 262 25 10 20 84 36 142 81 225 25 8 14 55 32 181 94 288 32 6 21 114 69 164 74 217 15 10 6 93 29 170 86 249 33 11 8 81 33 121 52 196 14 2 19 83 53 154 85 217 25 4 10 86 13 SH — —

W 22 19

SB 13 17 5 7 7 18 17 1 12

BA .381 .314 .316 .326 .335 .304 .315 .304 .283

L % IP H ER SO BB 9 .710 263 279 108 125 72 6 .760 214 151 63 295 116

SLG OB% .579 .441 .483 .395 .527 .362 .517 .373 .533 .411 .403 .340 .461 .354 .492 .386 .398 .299 ERA 3.70 2.65

BR/9 12.0 11.4

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Norfolk, 93–50 (.650), scored over 900 runs, over six a game. Asheville, 40–¡04 (.280 and 53 games behind), scored fewer than 600, barely 4 RPG. Ferrell and Koehler were playing managers, Ferrell for part of the season. What a mess in the outfield. I came up with no fewer than nine bonified candidates (including the three selectees, who had .3¡8/.466/.369 averages with 254 runs, 288 RBIs, and 35 homers). Mike Christo› of Rocky Mount hit .3¡9 with a .587 SA. He scored ¡¡3 runs, drove in ¡35, and blasted 36 home runs, coming in second in the latter two categories. Harry Hughes of Durham hit .322 and led the circuit with a .443 OB%, scoring ¡08 runs and driving in 96. Harl Maggert of Rocky Mount hit .339 and slugged .592, best in the league. He popped 30 homers and drove in ¡¡9 runs while scoring ¡05 times himself. This group hit .326, slugged .554, had an OB% of 407, scored 326 runs and had 350 RBIs with 76 homers. But then there is also the Norfolk outfield of Walt Judnich (.303/.5¡5/.350, 24 homers, ¡05 RBIs, ¡00 runs), Joe Gallagher (.348/.580/.403, ¡9 homers, ¡02 RBIs, ¡¡5 runs) and Jim Bryan (.292, .584, .39¡, 38 homers, ¡07 runs, ¡34 RBIs). As a group, they hit

.3¡5, slugged .558, had a .38¡ OB%, scored 322 runs, drove in 34¡, and cranked out 8¡ homers. Clearly, without even trying to put together the best three out of the nine above, the group bearing the o‡cial League Stamp of Approval runs a poor third. My three choices would be Christo›, Bryan, and Maggert, if I was seeking power. This threesome comes in with a .3¡6, slugs .587, garners a .389 OB%, scored 325 runs, drove in 388 and crushes ¡04 home runs. If BA and OB% were my game, my picks would be Hughes, Gallagher, and once again, Maggert. This trio hits .336, slugs .55¡, has an OB% of .4¡5, scores 328 runs and drives in 3¡7. After all is said and done, I think that I would have gone for the Hughes, Maggert, Christo› group. Your results may vary. At utility, I would have added Frank Rodgers of Richmond. He batted only .269, but he hit 24 homers and drove in ¡02 runs. Koehler played short and outfield. As for the pitching, I only have two words (and some numbers): Bill Yocke, Norfolk, ¡8–¡. (Okay, it was three words. I think you get the point.) Oh, and one more thing — Vander Meer averaged a very un30’s-like ¡2.4 Ks per 9 IP.

84

Minor League All-Star Teams

South Atlantic League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name William Prout Jim Gruzdis Stan Tutaj Joe Orengo Ralph Dunbar Lee Gamble Nick Etten Fran Healey D.C. “Dee” Moore

SP SP

Henry Bazner Ralph Braun

Team Macon Columbus Columbus Columbus Jacksonville Macon Savannah Columbus Macon

G 123 150 148 151 144 152 124 122 150

G 33 41

Jacksonville Jacksonville

AB 459 548 561 528 547 636 467 431 568

GS — —

H R TB 157 86 232 181 147 266 181 99 250 139 93 220 154 94 206 216 115 281 153 90 235 136 80 192 190 118 290

CG 20 20

SH 3 4

W 20 16

2B 24 36 34 23 26 26 28 17 32 L 7 9

3B 15 17 16 8 10 9 9 12 7

% .741 .640

HR RBI BB 7 82 52 5 94 108 1 129 76 14 98 79 2 86 71 7 78 46 12 71 66 5 73 69 18 107 48 IP 212 234

H 190 192

ER 69 88

SB 14 33 7 11 10 51 10 5 42 SO 137 172

BA .342 .330 .323 .263 .282 .340 .328 .316 .335

SLG .505 .485 .446 .417 .377 .442 .503 .445 .511

OB% .409 .441 .403 .359 .364 .384 .411 .410 .386

BB 63 113

ERA 2.93 3.38

BR/9 11.0 12.1

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

of Columbus went 20–9 with a 3.24 ERA. Another Jacksonville Tar twirler, Roy “Goat” Walker, was 20–8 and had a 2.58 ERA to go with his ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio. Art Patchin of 38 games under .500 Augusta was a commendable ¡8–¡3, responsible for 32% of the Tiger victories. His team played .3¡9 when he was not the pitcher of record. Leonard Terhune of even worse 55–95 Columbia managed a ¡4–¡6 record. His Senator teammates played .342 when the decision went elsewhere.

Dunbar would not have been a choice of mine, as I would have opted for Enos Slaughter of Columbus. He hit .327, had a .497 SA, and a .394 OB%. He hit twenty triples, scored ¡06 runs, and drove in ¡¡8. Moore played outfield, caught, and pitched some. I have no less than five other pitchers with whom I would have expanded the sta›, all of whom I would have chosen before Braun. Art Evans pitched peachily for the Macon Peaches. He led the league in wins with 2¡ (against ¡¡ losses) and ranked high in both ERA (2.83) and BR/9 ratio (¡¡.3). Howie Krist

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jim Stevenson Mike Sperrick Art Petrosky Jim Nolan Joe Gunn Ed Tibbetts Frank Perkowski John Benson Walter Masters

SP SP

Leo Pukas Ed Carr

Team Ottawa Perth Watertown Ottawa Perth Ogdensburg Brockville Ogdensburg Ottawa

Ogdensburg Ottawa

G 29 28

G 86 73 58 85 70 84 81 30 78 GS — —

AB 307 286 235 331 256 344 310 120 252 CG 21 20

H 106 103 69 111 78 96 100 35 68

R 73 58 39 55 43 67 68 18 40

SH — —

TB 186 141 97 167 97 126 172 53 95 W 13 13

2B 19 20 14 17 12 16 22 12 9 L 10 11

3B 8 6 4 3 2 4 7 0 3

% .565 .542

HR RBI 15 74 2 62 2 38 11 61 0 34 2 33 12 51 2 25 4 40 IP 198 189

H 180 154

BB 58 41 13 26 42 38 25 5 32 ER 71 82

SB 15 19 6 4 13 18 5 2 6 SO 162 176

BA .345 .360 .294 .335 .305 .279 .323 .292 .270

SLG .606 .493 .413 .505 .379 .366 .555 .442 .377

OB% .449 .440 .331 .384 .403 .351 .373 .320 .352

BB 65 126

ERA 3.23 3.90

BR/9 11.2 13.8

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate. The Watertown Bucks became the Massena Grays on 24 June. The Massena Grays re-became the Watertown Bucks on ¡2 July.

Masters was a playing manager. Another excellently selected squad, I would but add a utility man and a couple of pitchers (one of whom is also my utility man). John Tulacz of the Bucks-Grays-Bucks hit .405 with a .60¡ OB% and a fine .46¡ OB%. He drove in 33 runs and played outfield and pitched. On the mound, he was ¡2–7 and led the league in ERA at 2.62 and BR/9 ratio at ¡0.0. Under the league rules in

place at the time, Tulacz performed the exceptionally rare fear of leading his league in both BA and ERA. The other pitcher I would have added is Norm Hibbs of Perth. He led the league in winning percentage (.844 on a 20–4 record). He also hit .322 with 33 RBIs. The Tulacz-Hibbs twosome combined to hit .363, slug .520, and drive in 66 runs.

¡936

85

Cotton States League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C

Name Milt Stroner Robert Kahle Herb Rushing Frank Weisler Allen Hunt Don Hutson Les Horn G. “Mickey” O’Neil UT F. W. Harper “Doodle” SP SP

L. Moore Z. Schuessler

Team El Dorado Greenville El Dorado Helena El Dorado Pine Blu› Greenwood Jackson

G 134 96 137 142 110 132 137 137

AB 522 378 553 539 443 536 540 486

H 173 127 168 141 151 167 176 130

R 110 65 84 69 106 95 97 65

TB 300 181 230 181 240 209 247 165

2B 30 22 26 22 29 10 31 22

3B 5 4 6 6 18 10 17 5

Helena

141 543 165 120 213

34

7

HR RBI 29 131 8 64 8 119 2 64 8 74 4 43 2 87 1 70 0

59

BB 60 42 37 35 54 44 26 33

SB 16 2 14 7 25 25 42 3

BA .331 .336 .304 .262 .341 .312 .326 .267

79

13 .304

SLG OB% .575 .400 .479 .402 .416 .347 .336 .307 .542 .412 .390 .364 .457 .357 .340 .314 .392

.392

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

El Dorado 34 Helena 26

— —

— —

3 3

20 11

5 8

.800 .579

235 171

172 177

61 63

244 91

93 35

2.34 3.32

10.3 11.3

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Blu›. He hit .3640, led in slugging with a .606 mark, and lost the OB% crown by another paper-thin margin, .4¡¡6 to Hunt’s .4¡25. He was second with ¡9 homers and had 90 RBIs. Given that he played outfield, first, and second, Robello was my utility choice over outfielder Harper. Pine Blu› pitcher Lester “Wimpy” Willis (who would reach the majors eleven years later at age 39) was 20–8 with a 3.32 ERA. I would have had him as a third sta› member.

Frank Brazill was the second baseman/manager of pennant-winning Greenwood. He had .326, .470, and .402 averages, not much di›erent from Kahle’s, but he scored 80 runs and drove in 8¡. And, there was that manager thing. Two players were locked in a titanic struggle for the batting title, neither one of whom was chosen for the Cotton States Corps of Stars. Outfielder Curt Sutherlin hit .3643 and was third in slugging at .559. He scored 9¡ runs and added 89 RBIs. The other battler for the batting title was Tom Robello of Pine

East Texas League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Charles Baron(ovic) Clyde McDowell Horace Simmons Larry Kinzer Bob Lusk Al Unser Clary Hack Frank Krole Emil De Jonghe

Team Tyler Gladewater Jacksonville Tyler Gladewater Jacksonville Gladewater Jacksonville Henderson

G 147 141 147 150 145 142 145 87 146

AB 538 475 545 599 560 527 540 298 551

H R TB 173 133 230 151 95 210 136 86 202 194 107 271 172 86 242 168 86 223 168 107 304 85 37 127 154 90 235

G GS CG SH SP Jim Reninger Gladewater 35 — — 2 SP Kip Saurbrun Tyler 42 — — 2 HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Simmons managed part of the season. First base would have been a split vote for me, had I one to split. James Walsh of Tyler hit .307, slugged .477, and had a .370 OB%. Only six total percentage points separated Baron and Walsh in the three averages. Walsh hit ¡5 homers and drove in ¡¡3 runs, so the production di›erence there was a mere eleven total runs. This was just to close to call. Second base is a jumble, with half the teams having legitimate contenders for the coveted Keystone

W 17 23

L 11 6

2B 29 34 26 47 35 21 40 18 36 % .607 .793

3B 10 8 5 3 7 5 12 9 6

HR RBI 6 84 3 56 10 56 8 121 7 93 8 76 24 110 2 35 11 83

IP 239 238

H 190 229

BB 68 76 60 49 41 48 67 35 45 ER 74 124

SB 15 31 15 5 21 20 23 2 18 SO 142 134

BA .322 .318 .250 .324 .307 .319 .311 .285 .279

SLG .428 .442 .371 .452 .432 .423 .563 .426 .426

OB% .398 .412 .324 .375 .354 .376 .387 .360 .334

BB 105 138

ERA 2.79 4.69

BR/9 11.3 14.4

Cup, awarded annually to the best East Texas League second baseman (in my imagination). Wally Dashiell, manager of the pennant-winning Tyler Trojans, hit .293 and had an OB% of .4¡6 while scoring ¡05 runs. Wally Bohl had .302/.426/.423 averages for the Marshall Orphans, scored 97 runs and led all contenders with 83 RBIs. Finally, Frank Metha of Jacksonville hit .3¡3, had the best of the four SAs at .482, and the worst OB% at .38¡. In ascending order, I ranked the four players thusly: Metha, McDowell,

86

Minor League All-Star Teams Jeanes you have to include. I think I would go with McBride as my third outfielder, followed by Traweek and Lusk. (By the way “Tex” Jeanes was born in Maypearl, Texas, and died in Longview.) Utility choice De Jonghe was a second baseman. My choices would have been Unser and all-around infielder Walt Paschal, yet another Cannibal. He hit .353, second best in the East Texas, slugged .498, also second, and led with a .447 OB%. He had ¡0¡ RBIs and scored ¡¡¡ runs. I have also four pitchers who deserve mention: Sidham Talley (Palestine), Lee Meadows (Jacksonville), George Burleson (Henderson), and Neil Baker (Longview). Talley (whose very name sings “Big Piney”) was ¡9–¡5 and led the league with 204 strike-outs. Meadows was ¡7–9 with a 2.72 ERA and was third in BR/9 allowed at ¡0.8. Baker was ¡7–¡0, 2.77 and allowed ¡0.7 BR/9. He also had the best control, walking but ¡.¡ batters every 9 IP. Burleson, whose team was ten games under .500, went ¡4–9 with a 2.87 ERA and allowed ¡0.6 BR/9.

Bohl, Dashiell., with the nod going to Wally D. on the basis of his managing accomplishment. There was no such muddle at third, where Longview’s Merv Connors dominated. He hit .300, slugged .5¡6, and had an OB% of .426, a huge 300 total point advantage over Simmons, the voters pick. He tied for the home run lead at 24, was second in RBIs with ¡¡5, and added ¡08 runs. A close race? Yeah, if you would consider a foot race between Carl Lewis and Jerry Lewis or a sing-o› between Grace Slick and Tom Slick close. Outfielders not selected include Palestine Pal Terrell Traweek who hit .307 with ¡5 homers and 83 RBIs, Ernest “Tex” Jeanes of Longview who hit a league-best .362, had a .442 OB%, and drove in 90 runs, and his fellow Cannibal flyhawk, Tom McBride, who hit .3¡2, slugged .472, had 2¡ triples and scored ¡¡9 runs. Now, one of those selected as an outfielder, Al Unser, I would have had as a Utility Man. He played outfield, caught, and pitched. That leaves five players vying for three spots. Hack you have to keep,

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team I. “Iggy” Walters Charleston James Schilling Zanesville Joe Greenberg Johnstown W. “Doody” Williams Dayton Frank Kelleher Akron Barney McCosky Charleston Je› Heath Zanesville Sig Broskie Canton Frank Demanicor Zanesville

SP SP

Stan Corbett Charleston Mike Martynik Huntington

G 39 26

G AB 125 470 122 540 117 421 83 335 56 209 108 407 124 543 86 301 111 487 GS — —

CG — —

H 158 189 153 116 72 163 208 90 168

R 65 143 88 58 54 66 149 54 112

SH — —

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB 193 22 5 1 73 48 16 320 33 7 28 112 39 9 227 28 5 12 81 33 21 153 26 4 1 64 11 16 147 18 3 17 61 20 3 250 28 19 7 77 44 17 367 47 14 28 187 42 17 160 21 5 13 61 37 0 246 51 6 5 74 66 2

W 20 16

L 9 10

% .690 .615

IP 255 225

H 241 212

ER 92 71

SO 179 226

BA .336 .350 .363 .346 .344 .400 .383 .299 .345

SLG OB% .411 .398 .593 .394 .539 .410 .457 .367 .703 .402 .614 .459 .676 .427 .532 .376 .505 .423

BB 77 122

ERA 3.25 2.84

BR/9 11.5 13.6

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Walters was a playing manager. Yes, Walters was a playing manager who hit .336. It was Walter who should have been the All-Star. Walter Alston, that is. Silent Walt hit .326, slugged .620, led the loop with 35 homers, and had ¡¡4 RBIs. What a load of talent in the outfield. If you think that Kelleher’s 56 games and 209 at-bats are not enough to name a man an All-Star, we’ve got you covered. Billy Sodd of Zanesville hit .333, slugged .630 launched 30 homers and drove in ¡20 runs while scoring ¡¡5 himself.

Frank “Manticore” Demanicor was a first baseman. A better utility choice would have been Oscar Grimes of Zanesville. He played first, second, and third while hitting a manly .376 to accompany his .649 SA and his league-best .464 OB%. His case is not hurt by the fact that he hit 24 homers, drove in ¡22 runs, and led the loop with ¡50 runs scored. Cletus “Boots” Po›enberger of Charleston was ¡6–¡2 with a 2.75 ERA and a league-best ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio. John Haley of Canton was ¡5–9 and had the best ERA, 2.63.

Western Association (C) About thirteen runs a game were scored and 3.7 doubles per game were hit in the ’36 W.A. The league

as a whole hit .287. Eighteen players scored at least ¡00 runs and thirteen had at least ¡00 RBIs.

¡936 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Art Shoap Proctor Richmond Bill Homan Mike Milosevich Duard “Dan” Curtis Al “Dutch” Mele Lynn South Myron “Red” Hayworth Kenny Richardson

SP SP

Johnny Lindell Myron Myer

Team Bartlesville Hutchinson Joplin Joplin Hutchinson Muskogee Springfield Joplin Ponca City

Joplin Ponca City

G 29 27

G 142 142 140 141 144 130 142 87 144

GS — —

AB 550 550 593 562 646 519 566 309 550

CG 21 19

H 194 185 193 151 213 183 215 93 174

R 111 156 106 106 143 115 114 66 132

SH — —

W 17 19

87 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 278 44 14 4 103 70 340 44 21 23 154 104 229 22 1 4 120 49 206 29 10 2 85 76 320 26 12 19 119 46 311 31 14 23 132 66 325 36 13 16 135 68 127 16 6 2 53 26 311 43 20 18 132 80 L 8 4

% .680 .826

IP 212 208

H 212 196

ER 95 104

SB 21 21 9 13 9 12 16 2 47

SO 159 259

BA .353 .336 .325 .269 .330 .353 .380 .301 .316

SLG OB% .505 .426 .618 .442 .386 .377 .367 .356 .495 .374 .599 .426 .574 .446 .411 .355 .565 .403

BB 97 97

ERA 4.03 4.50

BR/9 13.2 12.8

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

My first base choice was Hutchinson manager Rich Goldberg. The Lark larruper hit .35¡, slugged .569, and had a .434 OB%. He also led the league with 5¡ doubles and drove in ¡25 runs. In a hitter’s league like this, a .269-hitting shortstop doesn’t make much sense. Alton Biggs of Hutchinson hit .328 with a .428 SA, scored ¡33 runs, drove in ¡07, and stole 32 bases. The infield as o‡cially constituted had a .32¡ BA, a .467 SA, and a .400 OB%. The four lads scored 479 runs (¡20 per man) and drove in 462 (¡¡6 per). A Goldberg/Richmond/Homan/Biggs infield would have had a .330 BA, a .494 SA, and a .404 OB%. The four stout men accumulated 492 runs (¡23 per) and drove in 506 (¡27 per), a good season’s work indeed. In the outfield, I would have replaced Curtis with Art Strutt, yet another Hutchinsononian. He hit .344, led the league with a .635 SA (he hit 46 doubles, ¡8 triples, and 24 home runs), had a .430 OB%, and scored ¡55 runs while driving in ¡¡8. The three picked by the voters batted .353, slugged .552, and had a .4¡4 OB%. They scored 372 runs and drove in 386 while hitting 93 doubles, thumping 39 triples, and popping 58 homers. An outfield of Mele, South, and Strutt would have hit .350, slugged .563, and had a .4¡6 OB%. This threesome scored 4¡2 runs ( a cool ¡37 a man), drove in 372, lashed ¡08 doubles, legged out 43 triples, and hit a total of 59 homers. Okay, let’s take a moment to recapitulate. The select eight hit .332, slug .497, and have a .403 OB%.

They score ¡¡5 runs, drive in ¡¡3, and hit 3¡ doubles, ¡¡ triples, and twelve home runs apiece. The three changes I made result in a line-up that hits .339, slugs .530, has an OB% of .4¡3, and scores ¡¡8 runs a man while driving in ¡¡8 with 34 doubles, eleven triples, and ¡4 homers each. Close? Yes, but the advantage is mine! And, even after all of that, there is still catcher and utility to take care of. Dave Miner, who managed Muskogee part of the season, hit .304 with a .428 SA and 68 RBIs. He’d be my second catcher. The league utility pick, Richardson, played only second. My choice, Muskogee’s Ted Jennings, played second, third, and short. He hit only .29¡, but he slugged .534 had a .44¡ OB% (on the strength of ¡35 walks), hit 3¡ homers, and led this high-scoring league with ¡50 runs in his ¡38 games. In the reprise of what has become an old song, the league-leader in ERA and BR/9 ratio was left o› of the team. In this instance, it’s Morris Young of Hutchinson, and his marks were 3.00 and ¡0.9. He was ¡4–4. Two Joplinites, the charmingly appelated Stroud Fields and Ralph Hutcheson (a simple trade would have allowed the field PA man to declaim “And pitching, Hutcheson of Hutchinson”). Anyway, “Hutch” went ¡8–7 with a 3.34 ERA, and Fields was 20–8 (with a rather high ¡5.¡ BR/9 ratio, thanks to ¡36 walks). By the way, pitcher Lindell hit .325 with 23 RBIs and pitcher Myer hit .30¡ with ¡9.

Alabama-Florida League (D) Manager/first baseman Ernie Wingard led the men of Troy to the pennant, and he helped no little bit, hitting .328, slugging .499, and driving in 90 runs. Kovak (Kovach) played outfield and caught for the Boll Weevils. I would have gone with Enterprise’s enterprising Alvin Tennant. He, like Kovak (Kovach) played outfield and caught. Unlike Kovak (Kovach),

he hit .349. He also slugged .475 and drove in a league-best 97 runs. Pitcher Schremser also appeared as Schirmer and Schrimser. Darwin Cobb, who managed Panama City for part of the season, was ¡3–6 for the Papermakers. He had a 2.73 ERA and the league’s lowest BR/9 figure, ¡0.5. Joe Bingham was 20–9 for Enterprise, with a

88 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Hal Tyler Fred Spagnoli Felix Rios John Collins B. “Brick” Owens Claude Pittman Joe Gonzales William Casey G. Kovak (Kovach)

Team Panama City Panama City Ozark Andalusia Troy Andalusia Ozark Troy Dothan

G 82 103 83 86 95 101 107 106 108

AB 271 369 343 311 381 380 418 434 417

G SP Bob Schremser Troy 27 SP Edward Brockhoeft Abbeville-Andal. 34

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 84 71 110 13 5 1 43 68 88 66 126 15 4 5 45 66 116 72 179 31 7 6 58 39 83 69 111 12 8 0 24 43 144 110 197 23 9 4 64 34 133 96 216 23 9 14 79 71 124 105 227 19 12 20 87 81 151 76 205 31 1 6 76 17 118 60 171 19 5 8 62 28

GS — —

SB 8 11 20 8 50 12 22 6 5

BA SLG OB% .310 .406 .448 .238 .341 .354 .338 .522 .406 .267 .357 .356 .378 .517 .429 .350 .568 .452 .297 .543 .411 .348 .472 .373 .283 .410 .328

CG — —

SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 — 14 5 .737 184 191 72 94 59 3.52 12.2 — 16 12 .571 222 193 63 167 99 2.55 12.2

2.74 ERA and an ¡¡.7 BR/9 ratio. He also drove in ¡8 runs in his own cause.

Finally, appearing for the Union Springs Springers, the one, the only … Bandy Lovely!

Arkansas-Missouri League (D) Pos 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Alfred Kleir Robert Ludwig Mel Tonnsen Kermit Lewis R. “Woody” Tone Ace Villipigue John Dellesaga Andy Sinay

Team Cassville Siloam Springs Bentonville Siloam Springs Siloam Springs Bentonville Cassville Siloam Springs

G 117 114 118 118 118 119 110 55

G SP Clint Raper Siloam Springs 30 SP Henry Davis Monett 31

GS — —

AB 450 447 456 493 482 475 392 173 CG — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 148 78 213 24 14 4 69 46 139 90 181 19 7 3 81 56 123 89 143 10 2 2 47 78 164 130 293 19 13 28 96 46 152 106 245 25 10 16 125 51 147 93 211 23 10 7 60 59 116 68 165 20 4 7 71 46 40 18 68 5 1 7 25 6 SH — —

Monett manager Adolph Arlitt gets my nod at first. He hit .3¡6 with a .534 SA, hit ¡8 home runs, and had 93 RBIs. At short, my man was Bob Neighbors (the only former major leaguer killed in the Korean War). He hit .279 with ¡6 homers and 8¡ RBIs. His SA was .464, a cool ¡50 points higher than Tonnsen’s. Elmer Honea of Fayetteville hit 20 homers and drove in 86 runs. His .285 BA militates against his selection, though. I chose Woody Fair as my utility man. He played short and outfield, hit .3¡¡, and slugged .550. His 2¡

W L % IP H ER 23 7 .767 249 216 79 13 10 .565 223 222 111

SB 11 11 8 27 46 15 17 0 SO 98 80

BA .329 .311 .270 .333 .315 .309 .296 .231

SLG OB% .473 .395 .405 .395 .314 .383 .594 .399 .508 .385 .444 .399 .421 .373 .393 .257

BB 45 73

ERA 2.86 4.48

BR/9 9.9 12.1

homers were the second highest total in the A.M.L. and he scored ¡04 runs. Raper hit .276 and had 27 RBIs. He also was the league’s control king, walking ¡.6 batters every 9 IP. John Murray of Siloam Springs was the league’s best pitcher, going ¡5–4 (.789) with a ¡.35 ERA and a super — no, make that great (one of very, very few times I use this word in this book, so degraded has it become thanks to ESPN, and I use it here in the Sandy Koufax sense, not the Kenny Rogers [the pitcher, not the singer] sense) 7.4 BR/9 ratio. He allowed only 5.5 H/9 IP, and walked ¡.9 batters every nine innings.

Bi-State League (D) Sukeforth was a playing manager. Mayodan manager/first baseman Phil Lundeen hit .372 and slugged .550. Reidsville outfielder Herb Leary would take Cote’s place in my outfield. He hit .339 and slugged .598 with 27 homers, 93 RBIs, and ¡¡7 runs. This simple, quick, and easy to do step, in one fell swoop, raises the outfield BA from .337 to .342, raises the SA from .562 to .598, increases runs from 300 to 338, RBIs from 293 (a sub-¡00 average, astute readers will notice) to 327, and ups the home-

runosterone level from a weakly 20 a man” to a more robust 27 per. Utility man Owens had a year—maybe even a career year, but Gene Handley of Mount Airy, just happened to have a career year also, and it was much better. The second baseman/third baseman/shortstop picked this year to hit .403. (Even with that, he barely squeaked over the .500 SA line at .524.) Still, a .400 season is a .400 season, and Handley had it, not Owens.

¡936 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Paul Campbell Howard Briggs Ken Keltner Frank Thompson Ray “Sheep” Cote Woody Traylor Mike Chartak Clyde Sukeforth Guy Owens

Team Danville Reidsville Fieldale Bassett Mt. Airy Danville Bassett L-S-D Danville

SP SP

Walter Nowlin Ernie “Lefty” Jenkins

L-S-D Bassett

G 112 116 118 110 98 118 123 51 108

AB 454 455 486 449 376 483 461 197 389

G — —

GS — —

H 147 157 175 150 121 172 152 72 122

R 101 93 120 108 79 110 111 43 53

CG — —

TB 236 235 335 177 160 328 254 112 164

SH — —

89 2B 26 34 37 17 9 38 25 17 18

W L — — 25 5

3B 9 7 12 2 3 8 10 1 6

HR RBI 15 88 10 68 33 116 1 47 8 59 34 120 19 114 7 36 4 49

BB — — — — — — — — —

SB 8 15 3 27 18 6 8 2 6

BA .324 .345 .360 .334 .322 .356 .330 .365 .314

SLG .520 .516 .689 .394 .426 .679 .551 .569 .422

OB% — — — — — — — — —

IP H — — — —

ER — —

SO 167 —

BB — —

ERA — —

BR/9 — —

% — .833

L-S-D is Leaksville-Spray-Draper. BB and HBP not recorded for hitters, so no OB% figures possible. ER not recorded for pitchers, so, of course, no ERA figures. In fact, I have no pitching figures available at all. Sorry.

Nowlin hit .27¡ with 22 RBIs, and Jenkins hit .286 and also had 22 RBIs. About their pitching, you know as much as I.

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Walter Walsh Emmett Lipscomb Charles Treadway Boyd Perry Cecil “Dynamite” Dunn Aubrey Hazel Les Fleming Ken Silvestri Frank Hackney

Team Opelousas Jeanerette Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria Opelousas Alexandria Rayne Rayne

G SP Quinn Lee Alexandria 31 SP Glenmore Squires Jeanerette 27

G 139 130 82 139 139 137 139 128 130

AB 544 482 346 527 579 523 532 446 518

GS — —

CG — —

H 187 156 127 163 219 168 171 120 166 SH 1 2

R 125 78 84 89 162 108 119 72 107 W 22 14

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 336 33 16 28 130 93 222 32 5 8 84 47 194 16 9 11 97 26 267 37 5 19 100 74 431 45 13 47 185 66 294 37 10 23 122 70 261 34 14 16 117 88 189 28 7 9 73 47 268 34 10 16 96 60 L % IP H 5 .815 238 228 7 .667 186 207

SB 7 17 34 12 28 12 18 4 12

ER SO 92 120 71 95

BA .344 .324 .367 .309 .378 .321 .321 .269 .320

SLG OB% .618 .440 .461 .384 .561 .411 .507 .394 .744 .442 .562 .401 .491 .418 .424 .339 .517 .391

BB 73 60

ERA 3.48 3.44

BR/9 11.6 13.0

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

There was no power shortage in the Evangeline League in ’36. Twenty one batters scored at least ¡00 runs, thirteen had at least ¡00 RBIs. Thirteen players stole at least 20 bases, including six over 30. Alexandria second baseman Ken Hu› scored ¡69 runs (in ¡38 games), hit 2¡ homers, and stole 52 bases to go with his .326 BA and .525 SA. He is my keystoner. I had no fewer than seven outfield candidates (selectees included), and they averaged .34¡ with a .597 SA and a .4¡8 OB%. The seven also averaged ¡33 runs, ¡33 RBIs, and 22 homers each (and these averages include a fellow with just seven homers and 80 RBIs— the other six averaged 32 homers and ¡42 RBIs). Let me start with the three Rayne outfielders, Dan Pavlovic, Art Bartelli, and Frank Narbut. Pavlovic hit .347 and slugged .605 for the Rice Birds. He scored ¡37 runs, drove in ¡4¡ runs and hit 33 homers— and get this, he also stole 56 bases, and in so doing

became a 30–50 man, a rarity only matched by 40–40 men. Bartelli hit .340, slugged .340, slugged .605, had a .450 OB%, scored ¡38 runs, drove in ¡37, and popped 37 home runs. Narbut hit .345 and slugged .689 with a .435 OB%. He hit 38 home runs (for a rare [outside of the WTML and a very few others in some years]) triple 30-homer outfield. The no-power candidate is Vic Mettler of Alexandria. He only hit .332, but is included in the suspect line-up because he scored ¡52 runs. So, which three? Well, the o‡cial three hit .34¡, slug .603, and have a .42¡ OB% with 389 runs, 424 RBIs and 86 homers (surprisingly like the Rayne trio). I would go for an outfield of Dunn, Pavlovic, and Narbut, with Bartelli as a fourth. This trio hits .357, slugs .64¡ and has a .422 OB%. They also score 4¡3 runs (¡38 per man), drive in 477 (¡59 a man), and blast ¡¡8 homers (39 a man). This is some power, you sure betcha. (As an aside, it was possible to build a very good

90

Minor League All-Star Teams the league’s best, and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.8, third best. Rudy Woods of Rayne went 23–9 and thus is deserving of mention, if not a spot on the sta›. A final note — outfielder Aubrey Hazel was also noted as Aubrey Easel in the stats. Either way, he sounds like an Edwardian novelist, and Glenmore Squires sounds like a character in one of his books.

Evangeline League All-Star team with a starting eight that hits ¡93 home runs and steals ¡93 bases, a rare display of power and speed.) Pitching selection Glenmore Squires played elsewhere on the field and hit .342 on the year with 76 runs and 7¡ RBIs. Al Demoran of Rayne went 20–¡¡ with a 3.27 ERA and an ¡¡.8 BR/9 ratio. Harold Capedeville was ¡6–¡2 for Opelousas with a 2.74 ERA,

Georgia-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ed Graytson Rex Bowen Frank Waits Walter Rospond Beverly “Red” Ferrell John “Red” Marion Dan Amaral Bob Sche‡ng Dick West

Team Americus Albany Tallahassee Tallahassee Thomasville Americus Cordele Albany Americus

G 116 62 113 121 112 66 68 99 89

AB 465 245 455 478 402 262 244 368 309

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 155 82 224 33 3 10 96 — 60 39 93 17 2 4 42 — 140 91 177 20 7 1 64 — 116 106 187 27 13 6 44 — 136 86 219 19 11 14 77 — 88 61 141 13 8 8 41 — 90 48 141 13 10 5 57 — 116 77 179 25 7 8 72 — 103 63 142 15 6 4 56 —

G

GS — —

CG 12 22

SP Woodrow Davis Cordele SP James “Lefty” McClure Americus

SH — —

W 17 22

SB 13 6 23 30 31 15 7 11 16

BA .333 .245 .308 .243 .338 .336 .369 .315 .333

SLG OB% .482 — .380 — .389 — .391 — .545 — .538 — .578 — .486 — .460 —

L % IP H ER SO 3 .850 159 — 33 124 9 .710 266 — 116 179

BB 55 95

ERA 1.87 3.92

BR/9 — —

No walks or HBP for batters, so no OB% figures possible, hits not recorded for pitchers, so BR/9 figures not possible.

being Stew Ho›erth of Tallahassee. The Stewster hit .334 and drove 64 runs. The utility choice is up for grabs, as Albany’s Duane Kratzer (listed at “Utility”) hit .303 and scored ¡0¡ runs. Frank Anderson of Thomasville was ¡7–¡0 with a 2.6¡ ERA, Frank Bess of Albany was 2¡–¡5, 3.48.

Americus third baseman James Guinn hit .328 with a .438 SA and matched Waits’s 9¡ runs—so why not go with the better hitter, I say. If you are gonna have two 60-game outfielders, why not have one who hit .396 and slugged .588? I am referring, of course, to first-ever Heisman Trophy winner Beattie Feathers of Americus. I would also have had two catchers, the second

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gordon Swope Wayne Blackburn James Ho› John Antonelli William Shewey Budd Adams Averette Thompson Hugh Wise Robert Richards

SP SP

Jesse Webb John Swank

Team Paducah Paducah Paducah Lexington Union City Hopkinsville Union City Port./Owens. Union City

Jackson Union City

G 35 32

G 85 116 110 73 118 101 118 86 116

GS 31 25

AB 339 458 433 277 501 416 488 316 445 CG 29 13

H 96 158 150 91 168 155 175 88 144

R 60 124 116 56 101 90 111 47 104

TB 2B 173 14 202 23 194 23 132 15 206 19 254 32 262 18 118 14 214 20

3B HR RBI BB 9 15 77 — 6 3 82 — 6 3 82 — 10 2 50 — 5 3 54 — 14 13 89 — 15 13 125 — 2 4 38 — 10 10 80 —

SH — —

W 18 14

L 11 6

IP 248 197

% .621 .700

H 234 188

ER — —

SB 8 35 35 5 29 15 37 11 19 SO 227 191

BA .283 .345 .346 .329 .335 .373 .359 .278 .324 BB 96 55

SLG OB% .510 — .441 — .448 — .477 — .411 — .611 — .537 — .373 — .481 — ERA — —

BR/9 12.2 11.2

Port./Owens. is Portageville/Owensboro. No walks or HBP for batters, so no OB% figures possible, hits not recorded for pitchers, so BR/9 figures not possible.

Wise and Antonelli were playing managers, Antonelli for part of the season. Joe Bestudek, Paducah shortstop, hit .335 and slugged .522. He led the league with ¡6 homers, had

96 runs, and was second in RBIs with ¡¡9. Adieu, Antonelli, adieu. Outfielder James “Bull” Liddell, who played for Jackson and Hopkinsville, hit .332 and had 85 RBIs.

¡936

91

one better by also catching. He hit .302, but lacked Richards’ power. It’s di‡cult to judge pitchers without ERA, but nonetheless, two Paducah/Owensboro pitchers stack up well against the selectees. Allen “Shorty” Hayes was ¡8–8 and Eugene Thompson was ¡8–6 for a team which finished under .500. In fact, Hayes and Thompson collected 70% of the Pirates’ victories, and the rest of the sta› was ¡6–53, a horrid .232.

I could see a switch for Shewey. Wise, who played catcher, outfield, third, and pitched, would have been a better utility choice, if not an All-Star caliber one. That would open the catcher slot for Archie Williams of Union City, who hit .290. Richards played short, outfield, third, and second, proving to be a valuable handy man. Julian Bray, who played for Jackson and Mayfield, matched Richards by playing short, outfield, third, and second, and went him

Nebraska State League (D) Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Bert Haas Howard Zeng Dexter “Doc” Savage Justin Keenoy Cotney Hopp William James Marvin Pelton Tony Koenig “Buddy” Kahn

Beatrice Norfolk Norfolk Mitchell Norfolk Norfolk Mitchell Sioux Falls Mitchell

SP SP

Vern Vogeler Robert Swan

Beatrice Sioux Falls

G 31 38

G

AB

H

R

TB

2B

3B

115 56 111 109 107 107 98 115 86

493 242 489 447 446 437 437 417 339

178 71 156 121 161 154 163 122 124

116 66 88 109 134 137 112 76 67

298 99 260 171 295 293 249 196 177

33 10 20 15 24 30 37 17 22

9 3 18 10 6 11 5 12 8

CG — —

SH — —

W 16 20

L 9 13

GS — —

% .640 .606

HR RBI

IP 203 260

23 4 16 5 26 29 13 11 5

113 25 128 79 79 122 117 85 77

H 220 252

BB

SB

BA

SLG

OB%

32 25 36 69 58 62 26 58 18

24 3 11 30 36 37 27 35 6

.361 .293 .319 .271 .361 .352 .373 .293 .366

.604 .409 .532 .383 .661 .670 .570 .470 .522

.400 .360 .366 .368 .435 .433 .408 .379 .398

BB 66 119

ERA — —

BR/9 12.9 13.4

ER — —

SO 192 267

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate. No Errs recorded, so no ERA figures.

and 23¡ RBIs, as well as ¡¡6 steals. I would stay with the selected outfielder though, as they hit .362, slugged a very good .634, had a .426 OB%, scored 383 runs and drove in 3¡8, as well as stealing ¡00 bases. Frank Wagner of Sioux Falls went 2¡–6 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.7, and would have made my sta›. Swan, by the way, hit ¡7 batters and threw 33 wild pitches! The two selected pitchers had 459 strikeouts in 472 innings, a very un-thirties style performance.

A stolen base league, 2.5 sacks were swiped in an average Neb. State game. Mitchell outfielder Marv “The Sad Bells Of ” Rimsey hit only .298, but, thanks to ¡06 walks, he scored ¡36 runs and had a decent .428 OB%. He also stole 53 bases. Arney Vesley of Sioux Falls hit .345, slugged .555 and had a fine .45¡ OB%. He scored ¡08 runs and stole 50 bases. Mel Wasley hit .36¡, slugged .579, scored 9¡ runs and batted in 90. This all-ey ending outfield (and almost an all-sley ending outfield) hit .333, slugged .5¡2, and had a .427 OB% with 335 runs

Northeast Arkansas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Clair Bates Roy Herndon George Oldenburg Harrison Wickel Vernon Beavers John McGowan Charles Valci Paul Rucker Willard Vandenberg

SP SP

Ernest Bingham Morris Smith

Team Jonesboro West Plains/Car. Newport West Plains/Car. Jonesboro West Plains/Car. Newport Osceola Jonesboro

Osceola Newport

G 33 29

GS — —

G 91 99 45 99 94 99 85 95 66

AB 339 374 162 374 373 402 331 343 230

CG 23 16

H 112 120 53 114 121 131 129 118 86 SH — —

R 77 83 41 88 78 81 71 90 57 W 23 15

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 182 19 9 11 67 60 192 18 12 10 67 58 90 6 2 9 25 30 175 16 6 11 68 42 194 20 4 15 75 53 198 27 5 10 79 36 195 22 10 8 72 16 187 18 3 15 91 66 151 17 6 12 63 26 L 6 7

% .793 .682

IP 231 197

H 214 164

ER 65 50

SB 4 8 6 5 2 18 27 4 4 SO 151 127

BA .330 .321 .327 .305 .324 .326 .390 .344 .374

SLG OB% .537 .431 .513 .412 .556 .432 .468 .375 .520 .408 .493 .381 .589 .418 .545 .450 .657 .438

BB 61 77

ERA 2.53 2.28

BR/9 10.7 11.0

Car. is Caruthersville (West Plains moved to Caruthersville on ¡¡ June). HBP not recorded for batters or pitchers, so OB% and BR/9 are approximate.

92

Minor League All-Star Teams Ralph Sutherland of Newport was an impressive ¡5–3. He had a 2.32 ERA (second) and allowed ¡¡.4 BR/9. But the best pitcher in the league was Orlin Collier, who went ¡3–¡3 for the Paragould Rebels. Apparently, what they were rebelling against was winning, since they wound up 3¡–66, 36 games out of first. Collier had a 2.96 ERA and led the league with a BR/9 ratio of 9.9. He was credited with an amazing 42% of his team’s victories, and the woeful Rebels played .252 ball when he was not the pitcher of record. He also hit .337 and managed the team part of the season.

Batesville went through seven managers, not one of whom was Clair Bates. Wickel was a playing manager. The only change I would make to the starting lineup would be to replace McGowan in the outfield with Harvey Hall, who played for Jonesboro and Batesville. He led the league in RBIs with 97 and was third in homers with ¡4. He also hit .338 and slugged .457 with a .422 OB%. This switch would bring the outfields SA up over .500 and the OB% up over .400. Vandenberg played third and outfield.

Northern League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Charles Larson Hank Majeski Chet Cichosz Ernie Olson Henry Meyer Hugh Alexander Cal Lahman George “Red” Treadwell Arve Mortrude

Team Superior Eau Claire Fargo-Moorhead Jamestown Eau Claire Eau Claire Jamestown Superior Superior

G SP Clay Smith Fargo-Moorhead 24 SP Ambrose Ebnet Winnipeg 35

G 120 122 118 126 122 122 127 120 76

GS — —

AB 476 482 436 491 542 477 466 399 214 CG 12 22

H 182 176 130 169 177 166 182 123 47 SH — —

Oddly, the first-place Jamestown Jimmies had three managers during the season. Seventeen league players had at least twenty home runs, and Jamestown hit over ¡70 homers while averaging over seven runs a game. Treadwell was a playing manager. The two Eau Claire outfielders had fine years, no doubt about it — but I still would have named two other players over them for the coveted Nimbus of the North All-Star Super Happy Fun Squad. Ancient Ad Stemig of Duluth hit .342, slugged .630, had a .420 OB%, hit 25 homers, and even stole 34 bases. (The Northern League had seven 20–20 men, an inordinately large number for the time.) Another Duluthian outfielder, one Chester “Whizzer” Wieczorek, also hit .342, and he smacked 37 homers with ¡¡¡ RBIs. (In case you’re interested, the chosen three combined to hit .354, slug an impressive .633, and garner a .427 OB%. They also combined for 96 homers, a tidy 32 per man. The Lahman/Stemig/Wieczorek

R 154 88 93 123 91 111 154 62 31

TB 250 318 236 222 287 279 374 169 76

2B 3B HR RBI BB 33 7 17 106 47 42 11 26 125 42 30 5 22 80 64 26 6 5 61 95 42 4 20 129 19 21 4 28 102 54 30 9 48 162 108 26 1 6 64 47 5 0 8 31 24

SB 9 5 60 12 8 14 20 10 2

BA .382 .365 .298 .344 .327 .348 .391 .308 .220

W L % IP H ER SO BB 15 5 .750 164 162 57 158 35 17 12 .586 242 237 104 149 114

SLG OB% .525 .443 .660 .422 .541 .393 .452 .453 .530 .353 .585 .420 .803 .506 .424 .381 .355 .304 ERA 3.13 3.87

BR/9 11.0 13.3

outfield hits .359, slugs a stupendous .7¡¡, and has a healthy .442 OB%. In addition, the home run total climbs to ¡¡0, an even tidier 37 per man. What is even more impressive is the fact that version 2.0 accomplishes its magic in ¡62 fewer plate appearances. In other words, in the same number of PAs, it is statistically likely that Team Two would have averaged 42 homers per man. Brilliant!) Please take special note of Lahman’s .39¡, .803, .506 season. Mortrude played outfield and was ¡0–¡0 as a pitcher. No pitcher had an ERA under 3.00 (Smith was the leader with his 3.¡3). In fact, among qualifiers, fifteen pitchers had ERAs over 5.00 (including two over 6.00), and only eight came in under 4.00. Given that fact, I would nominate Wausau’s Joe Rogalski for a spot on the team. Joe was ¡7–9 with a 3.57 ERA and allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9.

Ohio State League (D) Silvey was a playing manager for both New Philadelphia and Fostoria. The only change which I would make to the lineup would be to switch the utility man. Jim “Chappie” Geygan, who managed the Sandusky Sailors, inserted

himself at first, second, third, and short. He hit .352 and slugged .549, and also added a .433 OB%. He scored 80 runs and drove in 70. (Just a note: Clements also appeared in the stats as Clement.)

¡936

93

Ohio State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John Zipay Anthony Rogala Ray Westphall John Korba Jack Suydan John Clements George Silvey Roy House John “Quincy” Adams

SP SP

Steve Vargo George Jerkins

Team Fostoria Ti‡n Ti‡n Ti‡n Ti‡n Ti‡n N. Phil./Fostoria Ti‡n Fremont

Fostoria Fostoria

G 36 32

GS — —

G 74 90 94 79 87 86 92 90 96

CG — —

AB 298 366 349 344 366 342 360 329 347

H 125 106 107 110 141 129 114 107 102

SH — —

W 14 8

R 29 97 78 71 88 97 82 73 65

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 222 24 5 21 69 18 157 18 0 11 60 59 142 15 1 6 47 51 158 18 3 8 56 21 250 22 9 23 101 26 273 27 3 37 112 41 162 13 4 9 33 54 167 19 4 11 60 49 166 22 6 10 64 48

L 9 8

% .609 .500

IP 221 171

H 230 216

ER 98 100

SB 9 25 10 16 11 7 43 3 7

SO 156 104

BA .419 .290 .307 .320 .385 .377 .317 .325 .294

BB 102 68

SLG OB% .745 .453 .429 .388 .407 .395 .459 .359 .683 .426 .798 .444 .450 .406 .508 .413 .478 .380 ERA 3.99 5.26

BR/9 13.5 14.9

N. Phil. is New Philadelphia, which disbanded on 26 May. HBP not recorded for hitters or pitchers, so OB% and BR/9 are approximate.

The Ti‡n Mudhens, which placed six men on the All-Star team, hit over .300 and slugged over .500. Jerkins was, well, a jerky sort of selection. I mean, couldn’t the selectors come up with a better pitcher? Apparently not, but I believe that I can. Ed Bastien of Ti‡n led the league in wins with ¡8 (he lost eight times), but his 4.6¡ was a bit excessive for me. There-

fore, I fell back to my usual choice—the pitcher who led his league in both ERA and BR/9 ratio. This time, it’s another Ti‡nite, Charles “Chuck” Cronin. He was ¡3–9 with a 3.27 ERA and allowed ¡¡.4 BR/9. In an eerie flashback to the Northern League, only eight qualifying pitchers had ERAs under 4.00, while sixteen were over 5.00.

Pennsylvania State Association (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF

Name Gene Colletti Alex Clowson Paul Bearint Harold Reitz Horace Blair Frank Myers A. “Fritz” Oetting C Ed Martin UT Charles Harig

SP SP

Team Jeanette Monessen Butler Jeanette Greensburg Greensburg Charleroi

G 95 107 112 115 97 105 110

Butler Butler

96 355 108 112 428 153

G Frank Melton Greensburg 22 K. Heintzelman Jeanette 36

GS — —

AB 392 427 447 444 370 403 394

H R TB 138 65 202 158 103 218 140 92 217 156 92 222 116 64 172 124 82 179 149 85 249

CG — —

65 140 96 209 SH — —

W 13 20

L 4 8

2B 23 30 21 22 15 21 20

3B 10 9 16 13 13 8 13

18 23

4 6

% .765 .714

HR RBI 7 39 4 27 8 59 6 61 5 67 6 58 18 41 2 7 IP 146 243

29 53 H 120 194

BB 3 21 43 18 26 44 31

SB 4 5 9 15 16 22 9

20 40

4 .304 20 .357

ER 35 83

SO 84 229

BA .352 .370 .313 .351 .314 .308 .378

BB 60 90

SLG OB% .515 .357 .511 .400 .485 .373 .500 .377 .465 .359 .444 .376 .632 .424C .394 .488

.341 .412

ERA 2.16 3.07

BR/9 11.3 10.9

HBP not recorded for hitters, so OB% is approximate. I believe that the RBIs are messed up in this league. For example, home run leader William Fuchs is credited with only 44 RBIs on his 24 home runs. By the Awesome Orb of Agmotto, I don’t think so.

There is no way to check now, but that figure of three walks for first baseman Coletti is suspect, and almost certainly a misprint. Either way, the choice should not have been Coletti anyhow. Greensburg manager Clay Hopper, in 70 fewer PAs, was outscored by only seven runs and had 23 more RBIs. Hopper hit .362, slugged .54¡, and had a .452 OB%. I think that both Blair and Myers were the wrong players selected for outfield honors. Charles Marsella of McKeesport hit .340 and slugged .5¡8, with 84 RBIs for the Tubers. Alf Derenne hit .320 and scored ¡06 runs for the Little Pirates. And, Bill Fuchs (men-

tioned in the notes above) hit .3¡7, slugged .588 (second in the P.S.A.), scored 92 runs, and had who knows how many RBIs in addition to his 24 homers. (With your kind permission, let’s check out some permutations of these six flyhawks. The selected outfielders hit .333, slug .5¡4, and compiled a .386 OB%. The three non-selected outfielders hit .325, slugged .5¡0, and had a .394 OB%. An outfield of Oetting, Marsella, and Derrenne hit .346, slugged .503, and had an OB% of .406. The optimum [in my opinion] outfield of Oetting, Derenne, and Fuchs hit .338, slugged .547, and had a .394 OB%.)

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Minor League All-Star Teams

The Tubers finished last, 2¡ games under .500 (.404). William Lohr (who was also entered as “Lowe”) went ¡4–¡3, kept them above .400, as when

he was not the pitcher of record, McKeesport played .366 ball. Ben Ne› of Jeanette was an excellent ¡5–4.

! ¡937 ! In ¡937, there were thirty seven leagues in the National Association. Thirty one of them (84%) named all-star teams.

New York-Pennsylvania League (A) Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Charles Hasson George Fallon Stan Rogers Louis Nathan Blair George Case Como Cotelle Bill Sodd Rae Blaemire Otto Denning

Williamsport Elmira Elmira Binghamton Trenton Albany Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre Elmira

SP SP

Jim Bagby Bill Gilvary

Hazleton Elmira

G 37 15

GS — —

G

AB

136 136 133 104 113 122 135 114 111

460 505 469 416 429 479 503 418 370

CG 25 9

H

R

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB

132 65 209 145 114 197 133 78 180 137 69 185 145 70 191 162 68 206 159 94 273 127 53 150 135 55 171

SH — —

W 21 12

This was an excellently selected team. Utility man Denning played first, outfield, and caught. Elmira pitcher John Casey was only ¡4–9,

L 8 2

31 23 26 18 11 27 37 19 23

% .724 .857

8 12 6 9 13 7 7 2 3 IP 239 104

10 2 3 4 3 1 21 0 5 H 220 114

63 67 71 50 60 60 108 73 64 ER 72 45

64 74 55 19 32 28 79 33 20

6 6 5 5 10 17 2 5 2

SO 113 38

BA .287 .287 .284 .329 .338 .338 .316 .304 .365 BB 94 26

SL OB% .454 .390 .384 .445 .445 .430 .543 .359 .462

.379 .383 .361 .359 .387 .382 .419 .356 .401

ERA 2.71 3.89

BR/9 12.1 12.3

but he had a 2.56 ERA and allowed only ¡0.5 BR/9. Albany’s Joe Vitelli was ¡7–¡0, 2.66 and hit .274 with ¡4 runs batted in.

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Russell DeForrest Frank Hall Lennie Backer Justin Keenoy Ray Flood Mike Chartak Ermal Ed Hall Armand Payton Walter Menke

Team Cedar Rapids Davenport Waterloo Cedar Rapids Davenport Cedar Rapids Sioux City Des Moines Des Moines

G 112 116 115 116 113 111 12 55 85

AB 449 412 425 432 425 434 423 192 294

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 131 69 192 26 5 10 86 38 22 .292 .428 .350 110 57 146 26 5 0 40 74 4 .267 .354 .380 129 58 174 32 5 1 70 70 8 .304 .409 .409 113 79 164 20 11 3 57 50 20 .262 .380 .345 135 95 249 28 16 18 78 70 10 .318 .586 .416 133 113 237 31 14 15 56 95 9 .306 .546 .434 141 79 221 22 11 12 77 51 27 .333 .522 .409 53 20 71 13 1 1 26 13 3 .276 .370 .325 86 34 111 20 1 1 39 12 2 .293 .378 .325

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Dwight Van Fleet Cedar Rapids 32 — 19 — 22 7 .759 226 235 71 125 47 2.83 11.3 SP Arthur McDougall Des Moines 30 — 24 — 16 11 .593 233 266 104 111 67 4.02 12.9

Backer was a playing manager. Des Moines third baseman Frankie Piet(zak) scored more runs and had more runs batted in than did Backer in 4¡ fewer ABs. Des Moines shortstop Bob Allaire (.284/.386/.4¡0) scored 94 runs and stole 36 bases. Leaving Cedar Rapids outfielder Cal Lahman of o› the team seems a mistake. He led the league with a .598 SA and a .454 OB%. He also hit 22 homers and drove in ¡0¡ runs. Waterloo’s Joe Mack (.337/.5¡¡/

.4¡4) is as worthy of a slot as any of the three chosen outfielders, plus his 85 runs driven in is more than any player who actually was chosen for the team. Cedar Rapids catcher Ray Thomas not only doubled Payton’s RBI total, but also hit .304 and slugged .476. Menke played outfield and caught. The fabulously named Maryland Dykes Potter (Cedar Rapids) was ¡8–6 with league-leading 2.28, ¡0.7 figures. Oadis Swigert (wasn’t he in the movie Deliverance?) went ¡4–¡2, 2.67 for Davenport.

¡937

95

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jim Grilk Mickey Witek Harl Maggert Pete Suder Allen Hunt Tommy Holmes Roberto Estalella Sam Narron Gilberto Torres

SP SP

Paul Gehrman Harry Brecheen

Team Asheville Norfolk Asheville Norfolk Durham Norfolk Charlotte Asheville Charlotte

G 136 109 138 137 137 137 106 116 131

AB 544 409 555 547 520 537 350 421 464

H 174 131 191 164 176 175 122 138 131

Durham Portsmouth

G 42 39

GS — —

CG 27 20

R 99 75 112 100 96 107 98 62 62 SH 3 1

TB 302 196 319 272 273 297 247 214 197 W 21 21

2B 43 20 47 34 35 31 20 24 25 L 13 6

3B 5 6 6 4 13 8 3 8 7 % .618 .778

HR 25 11 23 22 12 25 33 12 9

RBI 120 66 139 103 92 111 89 95 62

BB 41 51 41 36 48 51 58 31 20

SB 4 7 3 15 25 3 17 2 7

BA .320 .320 .344 .300 .338 .326 .349 .328 .282

SL .555 .479 .575 .497 .525 .553 .706 .508 .425

OB% .374 .398 .396 .344 .400 .387 .445 .374 .316

IP 279 249

H 251 230

ER — —

SO 171 185

BB 112 75

ERA — —

BR/9 11.8 11.0

ER not kept for pitchers, so no ERA figures.

Utility man Torres played first, third, and was 7–6 as a pitcher. Alfred Sherer of Asheville went 23–7 but was not deemed “All-Star” material by the Grey Council of the Piedmont League.

Asheville second baseman Jim Gruzdis (.3¡0/.452/ .446) got on base ¡20 times by either a walk or a HBP en route to scoring ¡25 runs. “Shortstop” Pete Suder played 95 games at third and only 43 at short. The premier actual shortstop was Joe Walsh of Rocky Mount who hit .297, slugged .467 and had 76 RBIs.

South Atlantic League (B) Pos Name 1B Larry Barton 2B “P.” “Pee Wee”“ Wanninger” 3B Grey Clark SS Alton Briggs OF David Smith OF Herbert Maxwell OF Jack Bolling C Herbert Bremer UT E. Collins Moore

SP SP

Jake Levy Art Evans

Team Columbus

G AB H 130 500 163

Augusta Macon Savannah Columbus Jacksonville Macon Columbus Macon

140 118 138 126 141 112 132 107

Savannah Macon

G 37 33

GS — —

583 475 549 546 541 464 491 432 CG 19 27

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 71 241 28 10 10 86 44 17 .326 .482 .385

177 90 222 159 68 220 154 106 233 184 78 242 169 80 227 159 100 229 150 92 245 116 74 142 SH — —

W 20 23

Savannah outfielder Nick Etten had league-leading figures of 2¡ homers and .5¡8 SA, scored 93 runs and drove in 87 while batting .304 with a .404 OB%. Perhaps a fourth outfield slot should have been opened for him. “Utility” choice Moore was a shortstop. On the other hand, Macon’s Al Rubeling played second, short, and outfield while batting .325 and would have been a much better utility choice.

L 8 8

20 30 22 36 31 27 27 9

% .714 .742

11 14 12 11 9 17 4 7

1 1 11 0 3 3 10 1

IP 249 264

H 287 286

45 79 82 86 87 54 101 43 ER 103 105

44 23 45 25 54 47 66 35

7 8 19 11 10 20 7 27 SO 120 119

.304 .335 .281 .337 .312 .343 .305 .269 BB 49 94

.381 .463 .424 .443 .420 .494 .499 .329

.355 .374 .335 .368 .375 .411 .393 .326

ERA 3.72 3.58

BR/9 12.3 13.1

Savannah pitcher Waldo Blethen was the league’s hard-luck hurler of the year. He was a measly ¡0–¡0 despite leading the league with a 2.29 ERA and walking only ¡.4 batters per 9 innings. T. Roy Walker (Jacksonville) was ¡9–¡3, 2.78 and had a league best ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio. Had a reliever been chosen, it would have been Columbus’ Roy Shoemaker who went 8–4, 3.55 in 32 appearances.

Southeastern League (B) Griswold was a playing manager. Every infield choice for the SE league in ’37 was disputable. At first, Joe Bosse, who played for Meridian and Pensacola, hit .330 and slugged .409 while driving in 68 runs. Pensacola second baseman Hal

Willett only hit .29¡, but he scored ¡06 runs. Chozen, chosen as a third base man, was actually a utility player (short, outfield, third), and Woodrow Arkeketa of Pensacola had a better year anyway, hitting 2¡ triples and driving in 9¡ runs. Montgomery

96

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Dotlich Larry Gilbert Jr. Myer Chozen Don Blanchard Paul Carpenter Fred Stroble Leonard Hill Harry Griswold Del Unser

SP SP

Francis Barrett James Mooney

Team Selma Jackson Jackson Mont.-Selma Pensacola Meridian Mobile Montgomery Mobile

Mobile Mobile

G 33 33

G 136 133 131 132 136 125 115 120 137 GS — —

AB 500 516 507 528 491 458 446 424 481 CG 20 18

H 129 163 144 128 160 133 119 124 126

R 78 76 82 67 97 78 70 50 77

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 169 21 8 1 58 54 12 .258 .338 .335 211 27 6 3 70 36 12 .316 .409 .365 178 26 4 0 48 60 17 .284 .351 .364 161 9 12 0 40 48 12 .242 .305 .300 215 30 5 5 65 110 18 .326 .438 .452 221 20 4 20 70 66 9 .290 .483 .380 196 19 8 14 80 42 11 .267 .439 .331 165 20 9 1 59 27 7 .292 .389 .339 173 29 6 2 79 62 21 .262 .360 .385

SH — —

W 18 16

L 11 11

shortstop Gordon Foth (.272/.35¡/.362) and both scored and drove in more runs than did Blanchard. The chosen infield hit .275, slugged .35¡, had a .344 OB% and scored 303 runs. An infield of Bosse, Willett, Arkeketa, and Foth hits .293, slugs .387, and has an OB% of .382 with 3¡3 runs in fewer PAs. I’d go with the latter. Outfielder Norman James (Pensacola) led the league with a .349 BA and 97 RBIs, but was not chosen for a spot, being overlooked for a .267 hitter (Hill).

% .621 .593

IP 237 217

H 207 225

ER 64 70

SO 189 102

BB 95 64

ERA 2.43 2.90

BR/9 11.7 12.2

Unser played short, outfield, caught, and pitched — and was plunked by 34 pitches! There are at least three pitchers who had better years than any of the putative All-Star choices. George Hennessey (Meridian) was 20–9 with a ¡0.8 BR/9 ratio. Everett Grossman of Selma went ¡7–7 with a league-leading 2.07 ERA. And finally, Pensacola’s Kinner Graf was 2¡–8, 2.5¡ with a league best ¡0.5 BR/9 ratio.

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bert Haas Hank Majeski Stanley Tutaj Jack Grossman Walter Schuerbaum Joe Mene Henry Meyer Jim Steiner Leroy Savage

SP SP

Sam Nehem Don Jones

Team Clinton Moline Decatur Clinton Decatur Moline Moline Moline Peoria

Clinton Moline

G 110 105 67 45 116 112 115 98 109

AB 436 403 234 164 437 479 456 358 378

H 143 139 68 40 133 164 135 101 104

R 77 89 34 28 67 95 83 56 81

TB 237 216 96 52 195 230 191 134 151

2B 33 20 10 5 20 16 26 15 13

3B 11 15 7 2 12 16 9 6 8

HR 12 9 1 1 6 6 4 2 6

RBI — — — — — — — — —

BB — — — — — — — — —

SB 18 7 4 3 5 20 10 2 35

BA .328 .345 .291 .244 .304 .342 .296 .282 .275

SL .544 .536 .410 .317 .446 .480 .419 .374 .399

OB% — — — — — — — — —

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

21 28

— —

17 25

— —

15 18

5 8

.750 .692

158 227

140 206

— —

120 167

66 89

— —

11.9 12.0

No batter BB or HB kept, so no OB% reckoning possible. No pitcher ER kept, so no ERA figures.

Moline first baseman Roy Zimmerman (a future “Mexican Jumping Bean”) scored 95 runs to go with .3¡0/.524 averages. Majeski only played 35 games at second (the rest at third where he could easily have been the selection). Bernie Hassler (Decatur) was a true second baseman and hit .274 with 7¡ runs. As you can see by the selection, the league pickings were slim at short. Still, Peoria’s Len “Un” Kahny would have been a more sensible selection than Grossman, as attested to by his .290/.395 averages.

In the outfield, George “Little” Cisar of Clinton hit but .285 but led the league with 98 runs and 63 steals. Savage played outfield and short. Kirby Higbe’s absence from the All-Star team is a mystery. He was 2¡–5 (a league-best .808 winning percentage) for Moline with league-topping figures of 257 Ks and ¡0.8 BR/9. Stanley “Klip” Klopp was ¡7–6 for Clinton with ¡78 Ks in ¡82 IP and an ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio.

¡937

97

Western International League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Bob Garretson Yakima John Williams Wenatchee Harvey Storey Tacoma Jose Abreu Spokane Wes Schulmerich Lewiston Henry Bonetti Wenatchee Dave Goodman Tacoma Frank Volpi Spokane Charles Peterson Yakima

SP SP

Oscar Miller Henry Smith

Yakima Vancouver

G 135 120 138 91 123 137 90 121 131

G 34 44

AB 527 519 582 352 450 588 370 434 505

GS 30 27

H 169 178 202 114 165 206 114 135 147

CG 27 23

R 102 104 121 66 103 121 68 83 73

SH 3 5

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB 250 41 11 6 73 70 4 272 31 9 15 82 40 6 319 51 6 18 108 44 20 173 23 12 4 66 26 10 334 45 20 28 117 87 7 337 37 11 24 104 35 15 181 23 7 10 64 53 13 189 19 7 7 75 70 12 205 30 8 4 93 41 12

W 24 21

Schulmerich was a playing manager. League catching choice Volpi should have been a utility player (or one of them). Yakima backstop Ted Clawitter hit .3¡¡, slugged .469 and had an OB% of .362. He drove in 84 runs while catching ¡¡7 games to Volpi’s 74. Utility selection Peterson played second, third, and short and the addition of Volpi at utility would

L 4 10

% .857 .677

IP 275 253

H 247 261

ER 79 90

SO 234 134

BA .321 .343 .347 .324 .367 .350 .308 .311 .291

SL OB% .474 .402 .524 .394 .548 .403 .491 .375 .742 .476 .573 .387 .489 .396 .435 .411 .406 .344

BB 53 70

ERA 2.59 3.20

BR/9 10.0 11.9

not have been amiss as he also played third and outfield in addition to catching. On the mound, it would appear to me that the sta› should have had four members instead of just two. Wenatchee’s Les Webber went 2¡–6, 3.25, allowing ¡0.8 BR/9 (while hitting .277 with four homers and 23 RBIs). Spokane’s Leo Fitterer, who hit .289 himself, was 22–8. 2.98 with a ¡0.3 BR/9 ratio.

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank Marinette “Al “”Smitty”“ Smith” Dan Carnevale James Nolan Maurice Van Robays Arnold Cohen Edward Tibbets Guy Shatzer Herbert Cheek

SP

W. “Windy” Johnson Albert “Duke” Farrington

SP

Team Osw./P.C. Smiths Falls Perth-Cornwall Ottawa Ogdensburg Oswego Ogdensburg Gloversville Ogdensburg

G 85 105 101 106 105 108 106 111 78

AB 317 414 398 408 422 386 422 412 288

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI 95 66 155 19 10 7 78 133 86 228 28 8 17 96 141 74 224 28 11 11 100 123 53 189 14 2 16 78 159 135 334 28 9 43 150 116 78 155 19 7 2 43 142 109 166 16 4 0 53 125 63 168 17 1 8 70 92 52 133 14 6 5 46

BB 33 44 23 29 47 79 56 28 32

SB 1 7 19 0 14 18 28 1 17

BA .300 .321 .354 .301 .377 .301 .336 .303 .319

SL OB% .489 .376 .551 .397 .563 .391 .463 .348 .791 .446 .402 .432 .393 .420 .408 .352 .462 .395

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

Oswego

30

24

19

1

18

5

.783

192

179

58

165

76

2.72

12.4

Gloversville

30

27

24

4

18

8

.692

222

199

67

206

93

2.72

12.0

At first glance, I wondered why Nolan had been selected at short rather than A. Tarlecki of Perth-Cornwall. Tarlecki’s batting numbers— .3¡8/.472/.384 with 98 runs scored and 92 driven in — are superior to Nolan’s. The fielding stats pulled away the veil of mystery from this choice most expeditiously: .968 FA for Nolan, an execrable .884 for Tarlecki, who had 60 errors to Nolan’s ¡7. In the outfield, Van Robays had a monster year, but he only played 43 games in the outfield — and played them badly (.89¡ FA). On the other hand, both Cohen and Tibbets seemed rather weak choices. I would have selected T. Gridaitis of Ogdensburg (.340/.623/.425, 25 homers, ¡00 RBIs and ¡¡7 runs in ¡05 games) and Ernest Downer of Smiths Falls (.3¡5,

.580, 22 homers and 98 RBIs) and Van Robays for my starting three. Van Robays, by the way, was on pace for 56 homers, ¡93 runs, and 2¡4 RBIs over a ¡50 game season. At catcher, Ogdensburg’s J. Benson is conspicuous by his absence. He crushed Shatzer in every o›ensive department, compiling .360, .6¡3, .420 averages to go along with 24 homers, 87 runs scored and ¡¡4 driven in only ¡02 games. “Utility” choice Cheek played all of his games at first. On the other hand, a utility slot would appear to have been tailor-made for Van Robays, who played first, second, and the outfield. And, as so often appears to occur, the league’s best pitcher is nowhere to be seen on the “All Star” squad.

98

Minor League All-Star Teams

Xavier “Mr. X” Rescigno (who started 22 games and had 22 complete games) may have only been ¡6–7, but his BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.0 was the league’s best, and his ¡.56 ERA was over a run (!) better than any one

else in the league’s. This is Pedro Martinez–like dominance my friends, although at an incomparably lower level.

Cotton States League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Harold Grant Pine Blu› Glen Stewart Greenwood Fred Yazell Pine Blu› Larry Kinzer Greenville Charles Bauder Clarksdale Marion McElreath Greenwood Dan Escobar El Dorado Harry Chozen El Dorado Foy Harper Helena

SP SP

Harry Zajac Lester “Wimpy” Willis

G 130 139 169 138 97 130 72 116 130

AB 475 528 488 522 389 465 394 456 485

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB 144 106 231 43 10 8 98 — 11 166 91 242 33 17 3 83 — 23 135 74 170 19 5 2 82 — 13 169 109 246 36 7 9 123 — 13 121 49 153 15 7 1 61 — 20 153 77 226 28 15 5 80 — 20 104 77 161 22 7 7 38 — 6 158 65 236 26 5 14 102 — 3 139 95 176 25 6 0 52 — 11

BA .303 .314 .277 .324 .311 .329 .264 .346 .287

SL OB% .486 — .458 — .348 — .471 — .393 — .486 — .409 — .518 — .363 —

Pine Blu›

G 31

GS —

CG —

SH —

W 24

L 6

% .800

IP 261

H 247

ER 75

SO 116

BB 74

ERA 2.59

BR/9 11.2

Pine Blu›

36

—

—

—

22

8

.733

274

236

85

200

61

2.79

9.9

Batter walks and HB not kept, so no OB% figures can be derived.

It would have been di‡cult for me to make a selection at second based on hitting alone. El Dorado’s John Burman hit .3¡5 and scored ¡03 runs in ¡¡3 games (with 67 fewer ABs than Stewart), but Stewart had more pop. Given the virtual equality in hitting, the choice had to come down to what the players did afield, and there the choice becomes clear. Stewart handled a pedestrian 4.3 chances per game, Burman an outstanding 5.9. That is a very large discrepancy, large enough for me to have gone with Burman. I would have made two outfield choices di›erently. The choice of Escobar defies explanation, but

a Lions teammate, Kermit Lewis would have been an unassailable selection. Lewis was fourth in batting (.322), first in slugging (.550), second in runs (¡2¡), and RBIs (¡¡2), and tied for second in steals (23). Seems like a no-brainer to me. Judson “Jay” Kirke Jr., of Pine Blu›, only hit .268 but augmented that with 87 runs and 90 RBIs. In addition, he led the league in put-out and assists (a terrific 33). My outfield: Kirke, Lewis, and McElreath. I have no idea where Harper played, as only 78 of his games appear in the fielding stats— all in the outfield.

East Texas League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Charles Baron(ovic) Jesse Newman Mervin Connors Jimmy Dalrymple Guy Curtright Norman Peterson Lou Brierson Lou Frierson Neil Andrews Emile DeJonghe

SP SP

J. “Red” Lynn Rufus Meadows

Team Tyler Palestine Longview Marshall Henderson Jacksonville Texarkana Marshall Tyler Henderson

Jacksonville Tyler

G 56 42

G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 138 524 173 122 262 30 13 11 119 63 15 .330 .500 .414 112 510 185 106 280 35 9 14 125 69 12 .363 .549 .441 114 431 140 105 249 31 3 24 107 65 7 .325 .578 .414 149 586 170 113 225 30 5 5 66 77 17 .290 .384 .374 114 402 136 113 237 28 3 19 76 60 37 .338 .590 .432 153 629 207 98 265 21 11 5 89 39 15 .329 .421 .375 No Brierson shows up in any stats. 129 479 160 87 271 29 8 22 122 68 12 .334 .566 .424 137 482 146 79 255 26 1 27 110 82 4 .303 .529 .407 144 598 186 94 288 62 8 8 98 27 28 .311 .482 .345 GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

Connors, Curtwright, and Dalrymple were playing managers. It should be noted that Tom Robello, managersecond baseman for Jacksonville, would have made

W 32 25

L 13 6

% .711 .806

IP 340 261

H 274 241

ER 100 77

SO 233 204

BB 143 91

ERA 2.65 2.66

BR/9 11.3 11.7

many league’s All-Star teams most years. He only hit .28¡, but slugged .5¡5 with league-best totals of 33 homers and ¡30 RBIs. A very strange situation cropped up in the OF se-

¡937

99

stats are a mess) played all of his games at second. If that is correct, I’d have had Walter Bliss (Palestine) who played third and outfield in the utility slot. He hit .293 but scored ¡24 runs. I’ve no quarrels with the league’s pitching selections, but I believe there should be two more on the sta›. Walt Schafer of Henderson only had a 3.22 ERA, but he went 26–¡4 and racked up a league-leading 274 Ks. Tom Estell of the lowly (.302, 55 games under .500) Kilgore Rangers, managed to win ¡6 games, 38% of his teams total. Estell also managed the team for part of the season.

lections. “All-Star” Lou Brierson of Texarkana doesn’t show up in either the hitting or the fielding stats. In fact, only 285 of the Liners’ 4¡¡ outfield games (69%) show up in the fielding averages. Now, it is possible that there were many trades made and the ¡26 missing games are unattributed, since no trades are noted in the stats, but … where is “Brierson” in the batting compilation? It is my guess that the actual all-star was Buck Frierson, who is listed as having played with Marshall. If, as I suspect, he started (or finished) the season with Texarkana, the error becomes a simple misprint. Moving on … De Jonghe apparently (this league’s

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Walter Walsh D. “Joe” Paiement Nick Polly Frank Scalzi Hugh Holiday Hugh Alexander Edward Silber George Lacy Jack Tighe

SP SP

Lee Sherrill Ray Mo›ett

Team Springfield Dayton Dayton Springfield Charleston Springfield Johnstown Canton Charleston

G 125 126 92 127 124 79 129 110 109

AB 453 525 334 523 502 305 476 399 377

H 118 171 114 197 172 105 176 130 114

R 134 105 81 147 84 82 111 89 58

G 33 32

GS 29 27

CG 24 13

SH 3 0

W 19 12

Portsmouth Akron

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 274 31 10 25 100 109 10 .260 .605 .404 229 44 4 2 76 58 31 .326 .436 .393 181 21 5 12 87 62 8 .341 .542 .444 355 42 7 34 106 56 32 .377 .679 .437 259 37 7 12 87 25 15 .343 .516 .374 218 16 5 29 88 46 12 .344 .715 .430 273 32 4 19 103 62 32 .370 .574 .442 220 41 4 12 86 50 5 .326 .551 .401 166 16 9 6 59 39 4 .302 .440 .368 L 12 9

% .613 .571

IP 243 191

H 209 215

ER 91 120

SO 274 152

BB 116 94

ERA 3.37 5.65

BR/9 12.2 14.9

No HB for batters, so OB% is approximate.

At second, I would have chosen Canton’s Charles Gillespie (.33¡/.548/.429). Gillespie hit 2¡ homers, drove in 93 runs and scored ¡¡6 times. In the outfield, despite Holliday’s fine year, my selection would have been Canton’s playing manager, Floyd “Pat” Patterson. He scored ¡02 runs and drove in ¡07 to go with his .358/.540/.46¡ averages. Utility man Tighe played first and caught (at least, as ¡9 of his games afield are unaccounted for).

Once again, the mound choices defy logic. Mo‡tt (5.65/¡4.9) an All-Star? I think not. Sherrill was better, but I would still have chosen three other hurlers ahead of him. Wayman Kerksieck (Canton) went 24–8 with a 3.23 ERA. Clay Smith of Springfield was only ¡6–¡3, but he led the league with a 3.20 ERA. His Indians team-mate, Kenneth “King of the” Jungles was a terrific 2¡–4 with a 3.2¡ ERA and a league best ¡¡.5 BR/9 ratio.

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gene Coletti Charles Glock Don Lang Frank Mabry Lou Noviko› Carl Jorgensen A. “Dutch” Mele John Dellasega Freddie Vaughn

Team Hutchinson Muskogee Ponca City Springfield Ponca City Muskogee Muskogee Bartlesville Hutchinson

SP SP

C. “Red” Barrett James McGloin

Muskogee Muskogee

G 137 134 140 143 124 123 140 59 132 G 44 25

AB 565 500 544 592 510 484 503 197 536 GS — —

H 189 148 181 186 179 166 178 56 182 CG 24 14

R 101 124 120 139 98 102 128 27 119 SH 2 3

TB 2B 290 46 216 32 264 27 269 37 281 43 270 39 327 49 76 18 303 34 W 24 12

L 12 5

3B HR RBI BB 14 9 118 33 6 12 86 86 13 10 119 81 8 10 76 51 6 16 112 40 7 17 122 42 5 30 110 114 1 0 30 17 21 15 123 53 % .667 .706

IP 275 166

H 272 162

ER 87 67

SB 12 10 19 66 14 15 21 10 15

BA .335 .296 .333 .314 .351 .343 .354 .284 .340

SL OB% .513 .372 .432 .401 .485 .421 .454 .377 .551 .400 .558 .403 .650 .477 .386 .347 .565 .401

SO 213 169

BB 49 67

ERA 2.85 3.63

BR/9 10.7 12.6

100

Minor League All-Star Teams

On the whole, a very well-selected team. My only dispute would be at the catcher position. This was a weak spot in the W.A. in ’37, but could have been covered by having two (or three) catchers. My backups would have been Fred Niemiller, who shared the Blues backstopping chores with Dellasega, and Lloyd Summers of Muskogee. Niemiller hit for .289, .335, and .395 averages with 30 runs scored and 40 bat-

ted in. Summers numbers were .266, .43¡, .347 with 40 runs scored and 50 driven in. Utility man Vaughn played second, third, and short. Just as with the position players, I have but one quibble with the pitchers, and would have named three. My third moundsman would have been Tom Perry of Springfield who went ¡3–7, 3.50, ¡¡.5.

Alabama-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Charles Cupp Fred Spagnoli Bobby Bragan L. Paul Lukas(iuk) Andy Skurski Broughton Owens S. Summerhill Tommy West George Kovach

SP Walter Ammon SP Edward Wissman

Team Union Springs Panama City Panama City Union Springs Troy Troy Union Springs Union Springs Dothan

G 65 121 117 124 117 118 120 115 115

AB 235 415 435 454 449 464 468 447 452

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 58 46 72 8 3 0 23 37 9 .247 97 63 130 7 10 2 56 68 24 .234 124 86 167 24 8 1 56 48 8 .285 118 66 170 28 6 4 68 51 31 .260 147 103 223 21 11 11 107 60 40 .327 153 108 195 22 2 5 55 53 55 .330 160 90 246 33 25 1 78 42 8 .342 160 90 209 20 10 3 52 48 16 .358 146 69 199 27 7 4 72 36 9 .323

SL OB% .306 .356 .313 .347 .384 .359 .374 .342 .497 .407 .420 .406 .526 .398 .468 .420 .440 .377

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 Union Springs 43 — 24 — 22 11 .667 273 254 78 164 61 2.57 10.5 Union Springs 30 — 20 — 19 6 .760 235 239 104 154 89 3.98 12.8

West was a playing manager. Now, the ’37 Alabama-Florida League, in contrast to the W.A. immediately preceding, is rife with odd decisions. First, an “All-Star” first baseman who hit .247 with 23 RBIs? I think not. This was not a good year for league initial sackers, but even with that caveat, Cupp is not in the top three. My selection would have been Gil Leatherwood of Panama City. He hit .274 with 7¡ RBIs. At second, Troy’s Dan Snell was a weak but e›ective batter, his .247 BA o›set by 88 RBIs, third in the league. Third baseman Woodrow Coombs (Andalusia) hit .272 but popped ¡5 homers, second in the

league, and drove in 78 runs. Andalusia shortstop John Collins had .282/.394/.405 averages and scored 78 times. Utility man Kovach played outfield and caught. Wissman is another seemingly inappropriate pitching choice. Sure, he won ¡9 games, but he doesn’t appear to have been that good a pitcher. His Springers team-mate Walter Brown, on the other hand, does appear to have been a good one. He was only ¡5–¡0, but he had a 2.32 ERA and allowed ¡0.6 BR/9. Joe Dobson of Troy was actually the league’s premier pitcher. He was ¡9–¡2 with a 2.27 ERA, 200 Ks and a 9.7 BR/9 ratio.

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Tom Pearman Burton Hodge Reece Harris H.B. Dickenson Mark Kegley Virgil Caton Russell Brown Tom Easterbrook Abe Brown

SP SP

Paul Layman Jack Rader

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% Newport 105 394 112 59 146 12 8 2 44 45 8 .284 .371 .362 Elizabethton 88 366 91 51 125 14 7 2 39 13 13 .249 .342 .284 Pennington Gap 89 337 94 48 128 26 1 2 44 23 4 .279 .380 .338 Johnson City 60 233 78 37 93 7 4 0 24 17 10 .335 .399 .385 Johnson City 49 349 109 68 137 14 4 2 27 23 14 .312 .393 .357 Newport 99 374 118 80 161 25 6 2 49 39 16 .316 .430 .406 Elizabethton 75 289 99 66 143 9 13 3 52 15 10 .343 .495 .377 Pennington Gap 95 339 106 51 133 10 7 1 61 45 5 .313 .392 .398 P. Gap-Eliz. 61 147 38 19 47 3 3 0 17 12 2 .259 .320 .314

Newport Pennington Gap

G 33 23

GS 24 14

Russell Brown’s real name was Erastus Grigg.

CG 23 13

SH — —

W 22 13

L 5 3

% .815 .813

IP 231 160

H 239 170

ER 93 41

SO 126 74

BB 69 31

ERA 3.62 2.31

BR/9 12.4 11.4

¡937

101

Caton o› and replaced them with Lawrence Hale and Hobart Brummitt. Brummitt, playing manager of Elizabethton, led the league with a .377 BA and a .443 OB% and was second with a .47¡ SA. Hale (Johnson City) hit .296, slugged .457 and was second with 73 RBIs. Utility choice Brown played outfield and pitched, going 5–¡2 on the mound. And, speaking of the mound, Pennington Gap’s Earl Walker was overlooked. The Lee Bears hurler went ¡2–4 with league topping figures of 2.¡4.and ¡0.7. In other words, he had no chance of selection.

Harris was a playing manager. At second, Charles Milhorn of Johnson City hit .279 with a .340 OB%— not that good, but better than league choice. Milhorn also scored 74 runs, tied for second in the league. I would have gone with Paul Nelson at third. The Elizabethton hot corner man hit .279 with 6¡ runs, but the real reason behind my selecting him is the fact that Harris was actually a utility man, the league’s best. He played second, third, and outfield. In the outfield, I would have left both Kegley and

Arizona-Texas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ken Manning Vernon Madan James Nicholson Robert Sturgeon Sheldon McConnell Richard Lang Frank Stancet Joe Annunzio Marion Coltrin

SP SP

Ray Medeghini Laurence Powell

Team El Paso Tucson El Paso Albuquerque Bisbee Albuquerque Tucson Tucson Bisbee

Tucson Tucson

G 32 20

G 122 115 122 116 117 96 64 75 65

GS — —

AB 525 484 445 443 491 425 242 299 267 CG — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 179 106 263 41 14 5 91 33 7 .341 .501 .383 148 76 191 15 8 4 74 28 20 .306 .395 .348 144 106 215 27 8 10 83 64 20 .324 .483 .428 138 100 185 21 11 1 77 70 9 .312 .418 .409 162 92 225 28 10 5 62 39 20 .330 .458 .382 159 78 232 24 14 7 109 23 19 .374 .546 .408 70 31 91 12 3 1 27 14 3 .289 .376 .336 92 46 138 12 11 4 62 25 1 .308 .462 .363 102 49 146 17 3 7 53 20 11 .382 .547 .429 SH — —

Robert “Buddy” Baer, El Paso second baseman, scored more runs (¡00) and drove in more (77) than Madan in 4¡ fewer ABs, while also out doing him in all the averages (.3¡2/.4¡8/.409). He was, however, a rather poor fielder, committing ¡0 more errors in ¡05 fewer chances than did Madan. You make the call. Third baseman Nicholson was nicked ¡7 times by errant (or well-aimed) pitches. Tucson outfielder George Mandish would patrol the greensward for me in place of Stancet. Even taking his minimal playing time into account, Stancet’s 3¡ runs and 27 RBIs are weak. Mandish (.302/.460/

W 18 14

L 12 6

% .600 .700

IP 250 161

H 308 145

ER — —

SO 116 139

BB 71 48

ERA 3.70 2.56

BR/9 13.8 12.3

.370) had totals of 80 and 75 in those two vital categories. Utility choice Coltrin was a first baseman—a very good hitting one, but a first baseman nonetheless. Albuquerque’s Hubert Singer (.335/.5¡¡/.382, ¡22 runs and 9¡ RBIs) played third and outfield. Bisbee’s Odero Guisti played second and third, hit .3¡6 and scored ¡0¡ runs. Either or both deserve the utility spot over the better-hitting Coltrin. Although he went 2¡–7, El Paso Hurler Milo Candini’s 4.23 ERA and ¡4.3 BR/9 ratio militate against his being selected to the squad.

Arkansas-Missouri League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Paul Fugit Jerry Priddy Robert McCarron Tony Sams Arnold Evans Floyd Hundley Bernard Lutz Albert Harvatin Ken Blackman

SP SP

Loy Hanning Claude Tarrant

Team Fayetteville Rogers Fayetteville Rogers Neosho Siloam Springs Fayetteville Siloam Springs Fayetteville

G 125 127 125 127 96 111 125 123 116

AB 489 456 479 486 340 425 472 416 376

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 183 80 243 35 5 5 85 37 10 .374 .497 .427 153 109 228 25 10 10 83 60 23 .336 .500 .428 139 96 178 18 8 1 46 73 11 .290 .372 .388 154 92 221 25 6 10 99 26 21 .317 .455 .355 131 74 184 18 13 3 58 52 15 .385 .541 .472 137 77 201 22 3 12 84 20 22 .322 .473 .357 158 83 221 38 5 5 81 25 18 .335 .468 .379 108 55 164 18 4 10 73 36 5 .260 .394 .323 124 78 171 10 8 7 72 56 18 .330 .455 .421

G 29 34

GS — —

CG 18 20

SH 2 5

Fayetteville Neosho

W 16 12

L 7 14

% .696 .462

IP 181 196

H 149 220

ER — —

SO 144 121

BB 28 72

ERA 1.63 4.59

BR/9 9.0 13.5

102

Minor League All-Star Teams Walter Nelson, pitcher for the Rogers Lions, certainly is more deserving of a spot on the roster than the ine›ectual Tarrent. Nelson went ¡¡–3, 2.¡8 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.3.

Blackman was a playing manager. One of the better selected leagues of ¡937, only the utility slot and a pitching choice are in question. Blackman played all of his games at catcher. Neosho’s Paul Young hit .30¡ while playing 93 games, splitting his time between third and the outfield.

Bi-State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Doug Wheeler George Kapura Sidney Signaigo Phil Rizzuto Maury Jungman Cecil “Zip” Payne Edward Stewart Jack Crosswhite Frank Reynolds

SP SP

Jesse Plummer Francis Logue

Team Mayodan South Boston Danville Bassett Mt. Airy Mayodan Danville Bassett Mayodan

Mayodan Bassett

G 41 30

G 114 110 115 67 96 115 87 107 113

AB 452 449 460 284 377 476 339 404 447

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 162 111 285 35 8 24 — 71 7 .358 .631 .446 118 96 167 17 9 4 — 65 14 .263 .372 .356 161 90 262 36 4 19 — 40 4 .350 .570 .402 88 53 130 17 5 5 — 24 6 .310 .458 .364 124 79 199 24 9 11 — 53 4 .329 .528 .412 167 102 271 44 9 18 — 45 2 .351 .569 .407 113 79 217 21 1 27 — 31 2 .333 .640 .389 111 43 135 20 2 0 — 32 1 .275 .334 .328 120 87 172 29 1 7 — 67 8 .268 .385 .364

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 21 16

L 9 5

% .700 .762

IP 238 192

H 256 166

ER 66 84

SO 82 106

BB 42 83

ERA 2.50 3.94

BR/9 11.3 11.7

HB not kept for batters or pitchers, so OB% and OB/9 are approximate. No field positions listed for any players, so neither reconstruction nor deconstruction of the All Star team position players is possible.

Furniture Maker Jack Zerblis was ¡¡–3 with leagueleading 2.23 ERA and 9.6 BR/9 numbers.

Signaigo was a playing manager. Orie “Old Folks” Arntzen of the Martinsville Manufacturers went ¡9–9 with a 3.44 ERA. Bassett

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos Name 1B Harry Soufas 2B Frank Ware (Worznak) 3B Aaron Robinson SS Howard Earp OF A. “Monk” Joyner OF Glenn Mullinax OF Worlise Knowles C Joe Bistro› UT Larry Wade SP SP

Owen Elliott William Flora

Team Snow Hill

G AB 79 290

Tarboro Snow Hill Williamston Ayden New Bern New Bern Snow Hill Williamston

96 93 95 92 89 91 98 42

384 349 376 358 324 346 382 94

117 130 111 136 108 102 120 21

G 30 33

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

Goldsboro Goldsboro

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 89 46 136 14 7 7 47 — 4 .307 .469 — 54 81 64 81 67 49 72 9 W 18 12

183 212 139 228 134 161 225 32 L 7 12

27 21 15 18 18 19 19 2 % .720 .500

3 5 5 1 4 2 7 0

10 17 1 24 17 12 24 3 IP 203 228

53 85 31 97 71 73 92 9 H 188 194

— — — — — — — — ER — —

10 3 16 3 10 8 3 1

.305 .372 .295 .380 .333 .295 .314 .223

.477 .607 .370 .637 .414 .465 .589 .340

— — — — — — — —

SO 202 184

BB 49 114

ERA — —

BR/9 10.5 12.2

BB and HB not kept for batters, so no OB% calculations possible. No HB for pitchers, so BR/9 is approximate. No individual fielding stats kept, so there is little material to work with regarding the team other than pitchers.

Joyner was a playing manager. I wonder if Worlise was pronounced Wor-lease or Wor-liss. Emil Zak, Snow Hill Billies pitcher, was a terrific ¡6–3. John Delaney, Greenville, was ¡¡–¡3 for a team

which finished ¡8 games under .500. Krim Bess was also ¡¡–¡3, but his Kinston team finished 33 games under .500. Both non-selected pitchers had better BR/9 ratios than did Flora, ¡¡.4 for Zak and ¡¡.5 for Bess.

Eastern Shore League (D) This was the best-selected league of any which published fielding stats. Utility man Feinberg played second and short.

Salisbury pitcher George Comellas went 22–¡ (.957) and allowed but 9.¡ BR/9. I would have named a three man sta›, for how on earth can you not name

¡937 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Ivanicki Jerry Lynn Henry Schluter Frank Treschock Alex Pitko Bill Luzansky Geo. Harvey Legates Fermin Guerra Edward Feinberg

SP SP

Joe Kohlman Ken Ra›ensberger

Team Cambridge Salisbury Pocomoke City Salisbury Centreville Salisbury Federalsburg Salisbury Centreville G Salisbury — Cambridge —

G 93 93 89 96 92 98 96 79 89 GS — —

AB 330 360 336 388 363 387 379 314 338

103

H R TB 2B 103 62 159 20 123 96 171 23 93 59 162 15 131 93 212 20 119 103 217 22 128 100 194 25 125 69 209 26 93 71 155 16 113 69 187 17

CG 23 21

SH 6 3

W 25 18

L 1 6

3B HR RBI BB 1 11 75 — 2 7 60 — 3 16 52 — 2 19 84 — 8 20 62 — 7 9 69 — 2 18 81 — 2 14 77 — 6 15 80 —

% .962 .750

IP 227 298

H 126 231

ER — —

SB 4 8 3 15 30 9 18 19 28 SO 257 183

BA .312 .342 .277 .338 .328 .331 .330 .296 .334

SL OB% .482 — .475 — .482 — .546 — .598 — .501 — .551 — .494 — .553 —

BB 55 47

ERA — —

BR/9 7.2 8.4

BB and HB not kept for batters, so no OB% calculations possible. ER not kept for pitchers, so no ERA figures possible.

Be sure that you take special note of Kohlman’s incredible 7.2 BR/9 ratio, a truly impressive performance.

a fellow who went 22–¡? Incidentally, the Kohlman/ Comellas tandem went 47–2, .959, the best ever for team-mates. Also incidentally, the other Salisbury pitchers were ¡2–35, for a horrid .255 winning percent.

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank Houska Bobby Go› Charles Smith Woodie Head John Zontini Patrick Mullin Jack Suydan Ken Silvestri Robert Ludwig

Team G AB H Rayne 70 252 77 Lafayette 132 509 180 Jeanerette 137 536 145 Jeanerette 116 491 159 Alexandria 137 552 189 Lake Charles 105 407 156 Alexandria 137 563 180 Rayne 133 531 163 Opelousas 95 334 92

SP SP

Hugo Klaerner Jack Kraus

Rayne Opelousas

G 15 42

GS — —

CG — —

R 40 105 77 107 141 109 117 83 53

SH — —

Go› was a playing manager. Now, I can see that Houska only played half a season, but even if his runs scored and driven in are doubled, he would still fall short of Lake Charles’ J.R. Corbitt. The Skipper skipper/first baseman hit .3¡4 with 94 runs and 93 RBIs. Utility man Ludwig played short and third, but choosing him over Abbeville’s Paul Bruno just doesn’t make any sense at all. Not only did Bruno play all over the infield as well as in the outfield, but he also led the league with a .384 BA, was second with an excellent .636 SA and also second with a .430 OB%. He drove in ¡04 runs, third in the league, and hit ¡8 homers, good for second best in the

W 10 12

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 101 22 1 0 35 31 9 .306 .401 .382 244 46 6 2 91 66 28 .354 .479 .428 200 24 8 5 75 40 9 .271 .373 .321 234 29 17 4 54 32 32 .324 .477 .365 288 32 18 10 93 71 78 .342 .522 .417 267 29 17 16 89 61 28 .383 .656 .464 256 37 6 9 118 50 15 .320 .455 .375 275 29 7 23 123 50 15 .307 .518 .367 108 11 6 1 31 48 8 .275 .323 .366 L 0 14

% ### .462

IP 99 251

H 97 199

ER 34 113

SO 66 193

BB 26 150

ERA 3.09 4.05

BR/9 11.3 13.3

league. Ludwig’s selection is a mockery—a mockery, I say! Almost as big a mockery is the selection of Kraus at pitcher. ¡50 walks, 23 HB, 4.05 ERA (a hardly imposing ¡9th best among qualifiers) and a losing record for a winning team — doesn’t look like AllStar material to me. Perhaps the selectors wanted an all-K surnamed sta›? Four possible replacements for Kraus include John Tate of Alexandria, Leon Scherer of Lake Charles, Willard Hillian of Lafayette, and George Munger of New Iberia. Tate was ¡¡–4, 2.62 allowing but ¡0.3 BR/9, the league’s best. Scherer was 9–4, 2.54, and Hillian was ¡9–¡0, 3.49. Munger went ¡9–¡¡ for a team which finished ¡5 games under .500.

Florida State League (D) Sanders was a playing manager. Second Base pick Buck played first, second, outfield, and pitched, and would have been a better

utility pick. Art “Babe” Didrickson of DeLand (.279/ .38¡/.357) would make an excellent substitute for Buck. He scored 92 runs and drove in 60.

104

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos Name 1B Walt “Whitey” McMullin 2B Shaw Buck 3B Charles Aleno SS Ellis Clary OF Ed Martin OF Jim Sanders OF Pete Hughes C C.B. Martin UT Bob Pittman

Gainesville Palatka DeLand Sanford Sanford Daytona Beach DeLand Daytona Beach Gainesville

SP SP

Gainesville Gainesville

Elbert Padgett Andrew Sierra

Team

G

AB

138 101 110 128 138 133 86 109 88

521 371 423 503 558 488 297 387 345

G 43 40

GS 31 25

H

R

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB

141 98 191 97 63 118 138 72 198 142 122 183 173 82 232 153 89 206 97 63 145 120 49 138 119 59 165

CG 25 19

SH 3 5

W 26 19

L 6 11

25 15 22 14 28 20 18 13 20

5 0 10 12 14 6 3 1 10

% .813 .633

5 2 6 1 1 7 8 1 2

IP 273 253

51 38 79 72 70 58 71 51 65 H 232 201

90 48 39 50 42 79 73 40 35 ER 45 62

52 15 12 61 20 17 6 3 8 SO 145 157

BA

SL OB%

.271 .261 .326 .282 .310 .314 .327 .310 .345

.367 .318 .468 .364 .416 .422 .488 .357 .478

.378 .346 .383 .347 .358 .409 .459 .375 .405

BB 83 115

ERA 1.48 2.21

BR/9 10.4 11.6

Sierra doesn’t belong on the team — but, if you did think that, you sir (or madam) would be incorrect. Leesburg Gondolier pitcher Jake “Don’t Get Your Shorts In A” Bunch was 23–¡0, ¡.59 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.2. Sanford Lookout hurler Owen Wright was 20–¡0, ¡.8¡ with a league best 9.8 BR/9 ratio. Also worthy of note is Orlando’s John Berry. The Gulls somehow managed to finish 60 (!) games under .500, yet Berry was ¡4–¡5 for them. When he was not pitching, the Gulls were 26–85 (.234). Berry gained 35% of his teams wins.

Dick Adair, DeLand outfielder, led the league with a .334 BA and ¡93 hits and finished second with ¡06 runs. I would probably insert him in the outfield instead of Martin. The league’s utility choice, Pittman, played third. Aside from Buck, the best utility pick would be Gainesvilles’ Ike Livingston. He played second and third, not as utilitarian as Buck, but the GMen infielder hit .30¡ with 84 runs and 93 RBIs along with 23 triples, so if you go for o›ense, he’d be your man. You wouldn’t think, looking at his record, that

Georgia-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Ed Grayston Charlie Letchas Stan Benjamin Henry Wayton John Lazor Bill Morgan Tom Corbett Willie Taylor Richard West

Ace Adams Frank Sansosti

Team Americus Thomasville Thomasville Albany Moultrie Thomasville Thomasville Cordele Americus

G — — — — — — — — —

G Cordele — Thomasville —

AB 448 498 494 468 455 438 476 481 340 GS — —

H 134 154 153 142 143 140 166 133 111 CG — —

R 73 98 64 79 89 82 97 71 63 SH — —

TB — — — — — — — — — W 26 21

2B — — — — — — — — — L 13 10

3B — — — — — — — — —

% .667 .677

HR 12 7 1 8 6 2 26 4 6 IP 339 263

RBI 78 63 61 93 61 41 113 ? 56 H 287 224

BB — — — — — — — — — ER — —

SB 5 7 18 19 10 3 13 8 11 SO 218 114

BA .299 .309 .310 .303 .314 .320 .349 .277 .326 BB 100 106

SL — — — — — — — — —

OB% — — — — — — — — —

ERA 2.31 2.81

BR/9 10.3 11.3

No individual fielding stats kept, so there is little material to work with regarding the team, pitchers aside. The o‡cial stats had Taylor with 13 RBI. That is obviously wrong, and I don’t think that 31 would be correct either.

Frank Isert, Thomasville, was 20–8, 2.35, ¡0.9. Sub-.500 Albany’s Steve Vargo was ¡6–¡0, 2.¡8.

Kitty League (D) Antonelli was a playing manager. Vince Mullen, Mayfield Clothier second baseman, scored ¡06 runs and drove in 76 to go with .3¡0/.473/ .420 averages. He would most certainly have been my selection. Why the league chose a .277 hitting outfielder with a .343 OB% who drove in 44 runs is a secret buried

deep within the hidden vaults of the Kitty League Valley of the Kings, and is lost to the ages. Two outfielders who were passed over hit over .330. Dave Bartosch (Union City) hit .337, slugged .477 (league leader) and had a .38¡ OB% to go with ¡03 RBIs, also a league best. C.C. Miller (Jackson) hit. 332. Utility man Dantic played first, outfield, and caught.

¡937 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Eddie O’Connell Harry Johnson Jerome Witte John Antonelli Art Grangard Elmer Hankins (Rush) Glenn Grimes Joe Just (Juszczak) O. “Ped” Dantic

SP SP

George Sauer Elmer Wenning

Team Mayfield Owensboro Mayfield Union City Hopkinsville Lexington Owensboro Hopkinsville Owensboro G 31 56

Union City Fulton

G 107 61 96 109 119 121 115 112 100

GS — —

AB 394 254 398 420 486 527 458 392 370

CG 19 7

H 117 81 121 125 143 146 140 116 91

SH — —

105

R 82 58 63 69 78 94 90 85 33

TB 180 113 171 177 180 197 189 179 131

W 19 20

L 7 13

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 23 5 10 69 49 7 .297 .457 .382 16 2 4 36 30 11 .319 .445 .395 22 8 4 68 22 3 .304 .430 .348 22 9 4 68 51 4 .298 .421 .379 20 4 3 60 39 22 .294 .370 .348 33 3 4 44 44 16 .277 .374 .343 21 8 4 47 46 27 .306 .413 .378 27 3 10 67 64 12 .296 .457 .404 19 3 5 43 13 4 .246 .354 .275 % .731 .606

IP 205 226

H 172 219

ER 54 83

SO 163 159

BB 78 112

ERA 2.37 3.31

BR/9 11.3 13.9

didn’t start. The real number two pitcher in the league was Lexington’s Cecil Hutson, who was ¡8–¡3 with a 2.43 ERA and a league-leading ¡¡.0 BR/9 ratio.

If there had been a reliever chosen, Wenning would have been he. With only 7 CG’s in 56 appearances, you know he was called into a lot of games he

Mountain State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Major B. Hutton Andrew Garchar Alfred Caliteaux Carlos Ratli› Edison Guinther Stan Arnzen Nat Hickey Larry Steinbeck Earl Martin

SP SP

Charles Bowles Ben Garner

Team Bluefield Logan Bluefield Bluefield Logan Welch Williamson Beckley Beckley

Beckley Bluefield

G 27 14

G 92 98 94 89 68 99 96 93 91 GS 19 12

AB 367 369 341 338 235 387 349 350 360 CG 15 12

H 116 106 110 115 76 150 139 109 144

R 75 56 70 61 56 90 69 71 80

SH — —

Hickey was a playing manager. Beckley third baseman Raleigh Singleton had almost the same averages as did Caliteaux (.305/.420/ .42¡), but he scored ¡¡3 runs, the most in the league. Utility selection Martin was an outfielder. Outfield selection Hickey split time between first and the outfield and even pitched some. Why did the scribes who selected the team not make this simple switch to bring the Mountain State All-Star team into harmonic balance? Oh, and the league should have had two utility men anyways. Joe Davis, a Beckley Bengel, played second and short, hit .303, and, more importantly, scored 97 runs and drove in 9¡.

TB 178 155 150 160 120 215 193 203 235 W 16 11

L 7 2

2B 24 26 25 30 20 33 31 26 39

3B 13 4 3 3 3 13 4 4 14

% .696 .846

HR 4 5 3 3 6 2 5 20 8 IP 181 107

RBI 54 59 60 75 29 77 72 86 96 H 156 83

BB 33 48 50 43 36 44 42 42 36 ER 77 35

SB 6 7 14 5 17 18 7 11 7

BA .316 .287 .323 .340 .323 .388 .398 .311 .400

SL .485 .420 .440 .473 .511 .556 .553 .580 .653

OB% .374 .374 .411 .415 .434 .453 .466 .385 .455

SO 140 87

BB 57 42

ERA 3.83 2.94

BR/9 10.7 10.7

Bowles may have won the most games in the league, but he was not the best pitcher, as his ERA will attest. A certain Edwin Schumacher (Beckley) went ¡3–5 with a league-leading 2.70 ERA. Joe Petrich, Welch, was ¡¡–3 with a 2.72 ERA (and he also hit .409, slugged .545, had an OB% of .440, and had 20 RBIs). Marvin Garner, Bluefield, was ¡¡–2, 2.97 (and hit .427, slugged .748 (!) and had a .550 (!) OB% with 2¡ RBIs). Petrich also played first and Garner also played outfield. With but a few more games, either (or both) would have been a dynamite utility man.

Nebraska State League (D) Riley and Brandon were playing managers. There should perhaps been co-second basemen. Frank Mahacek of the Sioux Falls Canaries may have only hit .299, but he did lead the league in runs with ¡29, more than one a game. Norfolk Elk shortstop Edwin “Eggs” Benedict’s o›ensive numbers (.275/.339/.3¡0) don’t compare with shortstop pick Eaton’s, but Eaton fielded .864

and committed 84 errors (this may be a case where a player actually allowed more runs than he created). Utility man Haas played at least short and pitcher (4–5) as only 54 of his 79 games are accounted for in the fielding stats. Guess which pitcher was left o› of the “All-Star” team? Why, only a fellow who won 25 games (he lost

106

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Leon Riley John Lucadello Doug White Howard Eaton James Guyman Harold Schmiel Marvin Rumsey Ralph Brandon Ted Haas

SP SP

Robert Olson Bobby Swan

Team Beatrice Fairbury Mitchell Fairbury Mitchell Sioux Falls Mitchell Sioux Falls Beatrice

Mitchell Sioux Falls

G 114 115 116 118 115 117 95 96 79 G 34 24

AB 393 471 516 443 480 486 381 347 256

GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI 146 114 254 27 19 14 106 149 84 247 34 20 8 86 162 119 250 28 15 10 102 128 85 171 21 5 4 62 175 126 290 33 8 22 121 156 120 250 33 20 10 140 114 101 169 33 10 4 55 102 70 160 12 11 8 70 80 47 116 13 10 1 57

CG — —

SH — —

W 21 18

L 6 3

% .778 .857

IP 231 180

H 251 151

BB SB BA 118 11 .372 64 8 .316 38 13 .314 47 12 .289 47 35 .365 63 36 .321 61 50 .299 70 5 .294 14 0 .313 ER 99 47

SO 161 199

BB 88 75

SL OB% .646 .517 .524 .398 .484 .361 .386 .357 .604 .421 .514 .399 .444 .396 .461 .412 .453 .348 ERA 3.86 2.35

BR/9 13.2 11.4

HB not recorded for hitters, so OB% is approximate.

6), had an ERA of 2.73 ERA (second in the league) and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9, the league’s best. His name? Frank Wagner, Sioux Falls Canary hurler deluxe.

North Carolina State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Jim Poole Dorr Sheley Earl Connor Mack Myers Charles Whitaker Roy Pinkston William Carrier Jimmy Maus F. “Creepy” Crespi

Paige Dennis Butler Cook

Team Mooresville Thomasville Thomasville Mooresville Landis Thomasville Lexington Thomasville

G 93 104 105 86 110 109 72 104

Shelby

107 465 146 86 230

Thomasville Mooresville

G 22 20

AB 378 434 400 358 421 461 294 382

GS — —

H 130 132 109 117 134 152 114 120

CG 12 17

SH — —

Poole and Maus were playing managers. Special mention should be made of Mooresville Moor outfielder Norman Small. He only played in 35 games, but scored 44 runs and drove in 5¡. He hit .392, slugged a mighty .743, and rang up a nifty .455. OB% during his brief stay in the N.C. State. Utility man Crespi played short, outfielder, and

R 68 75 73 68 85 82 65 54

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 208 36 0 14 83 45 13 .344 .550 .418 194 33 1 9 68 13 14 .304 .447 .333 134 23 1 0 31 82 1 .273 .335 .410 156 25 1 4 56 23 8 .327 .436 .390 200 32 2 10 93 51 5 .318 .475 .395 233 40 10 7 76 32 12 .330 .505 .374 180 36 3 8 61 32 5 .388 .612 .448 164 22 2 6 50 38 2 .314 .429 .379

W 13 15

L 3 4

43 % .813 .789

4

11

IP 143 166

87 H 111 160

19 ER 31 43

13 .314 .495 SO 143 104

BB 44 40

ERA 1.95 2.33

.348 BR/9 10.0 11.1

catcher. Teammate George Mauney was not the hitter Crespi was (.26¡), but played first, second, outfield, and catcher. Lester McCrabb, Lexington pitcher, went ¡7–2. Joe Rucidlo (Mooresville) went 20–5, 2.75, ¡0.8 and also hit .3¡3 with ¡6 RBIs.

Northeast Arkansas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Clarence Harris Hal Gruber Whitey Kurowski Pete Pavich Vernon E. Beavers Ben Turner Jack Grantham Frank Mancuso Elmer Kircho›

SP SP

John Kelley Burley B. Grimes

Team Newport Blytheville Caruthersville Blytheville Jonesboro Caruthersville Paragould Blytheville Osceola

Blytheville Jonesboro

G 27 34

G 108 60 107 101 105 82 86 97 108 GS — —

AB 417 201 433 404 389 337 326 344 407 CG — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 114 69 165 11 11 6 55 43 10 .273 .396 .343 49 30 74 10 6 1 24 36 7 .244 .368 .367 147 125 207 27 12 3 59 60 20 .339 .478 .423 112 56 140 17 4 1 62 44 12 .277 .347 .353 131 88 209 24 3 16 111 72 3 .337 .537 .446 100 47 161 20 4 11 66 28 13 .297 .478 .359 114 84 220 24 8 22 80 47 7 .350 .675 .438 102 75 183 18 12 13 88 73 6 .297 .532 .420 115 76 148 24 3 1 72 66 19 .283 .364 .384 SH — —

W 18 17

L 6 10

% .750 .630

IP 213 225

H 211 205

ER 70 94

SO 144 228

BB 74 89

ERA 2.96 3.76

BR/9 12.3 12.3

¡937

107

Caruthersville backstop Thomas Turner hit .334, but was not the overall o›ensive force Mancuso was. Kircho›, the utility pick, only played at short, but there were (apparently) no actual utility men in the league this year. Grimes may have had a Hall-of-Fame name, but he did not have a Northeast Arkansas League All-Star season. Two pitchers who did were M.A. Hunter and Russell May. May went 22–9 for Newport with a 3.06 ERA and an ¡¡.3 BR/9 ratio. Mike Hunter, Grimes’ Jonesboro teammate, won ¡7, as did Grimes, but lost only 4, as Grimes did not. In addition, Hunter led the league in BR/9 ratio (9.9) and in ERA, at ¡.75 (over a run a game less than the runner-up). Hunter was, by quite a margin, the best pitcher in the league, the kiss of death as far as All-Star selection was concerned.

Kircho› was a playing manager. Paragould second baseman/manager Royce Williams hit .264 and scored 7¡ runs, but Gruber handled an incredible 7.¡ chances a game and fielded a modern-era .986, so I feel the league got it right. However, I cannot say the same regarding the shortstop position. Caruthersville Pilots’ pilot Harrison Wickel led the league with ¡24 RBIs and scored 78 runs in just one more AB than Pavich, in addition to hitting .306 and slugging .479. On the bald faced look of it, it’s Wickel in a walk. Jonesboro outfielder Howard Roberts, simply put, should have been named to the team in place of Turner. A quick comparison of the averages (.349/.574/.439 for Roberts) makes that plain. Roberts also scored 30 more runs than Turner in 47 fewer plate appearances.

Northern League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Hugh Gustafson Blas Monaco Frank Bolla John Dzuira C. Levan(dowski) Chet Wieczorek Delbert Jones Marvin Felderman Phil Masi

Team Winnipeg Fargo-Moorhead Winnipeg Jamestown Eau Claire Duluth Fargo-Moorhead Duluth Wausau

SP Floyd Stromme Fargo-Moorhead SP Russell Loafman Fargo-Moorhead

G 113 94 120 108 116 122 87 108 113

AB 453 309 454 414 440 493 343 386 433

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 136 71 199 30 6 7 67 31 7 .300 .439 .352 101 73 154 16 5 9 42 47 28 .327 .498 .427 125 75 216 19 5 14 79 53 9 .275 .476 .361 118 73 150 18 1 4 36 62 7 .285 .362 .383 150 84 213 23 11 6 87 55 23 .341 .484 .414 175 105 300 30 4 29 152 30 8 .355 .609 .392 112 51 157 15 9 4 59 12 22 .327 .458 .357 101 59 161 25 1 11 42 30 0 .262 .417 .318 141 88 275 25 8 31 102 49 8 .326 .635 .397

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 31 — 21 — 19 6 .760 223 164 52 176 61 2.10 9.2 31 — 20 — 21 7 .750 229 182 71 159 78 2.79 10.4

There’s still more! Dorman also just happened to have managed the pennant-winning team. Ray “What The” Helixon, Duluth outfielder was similarly unjustifiably overlooked. He hit for .348/.593/.402 averages over 94 games with 23 homers, 82 runs and 95 RBIs. Hello Helixon, goodbye Jones. Utility choice Masi played outfield, first, third, and catcher.

Lyle Thompson, Duluth first baseman, only batted .29¡, but his SA was .495 and he had ¡8 homers and drove in 83 runs. Duluth playing manager/second baseman Charles “Bus” Dorman hit .338 with a league topping .46¡ OB% and league-leading totals of ¡24 runs scored and ¡02 walks. He was also a much better fielder than was Monaco (6.4 TC/G with a .976 FA to 5.7, .920 numbers for Monaco). He was in actual deed (if not in the wizened hearts of the league’s amanuensi) the league’s top keystoner. But wait!

Ohio State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

Name William Ebranyl Andy Gilbert Costic Navrocki Steve Vesek Steve Patras Harry Walker John Barrett John Spartachino Don Lupo Gordon Mann Lester Heath

Team Ti‡n Mansfield Fostoria Mansfield Mansfield Ti‡n Mansfield Mansfield Ti‡n

G 81 55 88 85 78 58 84 62 65

Sandusky/Marion Mansfield

AB 299 222 338 331 301 227 341 221 199 G 25 22

H 94 78 104 109 105 84 129 81 48 GS — —

CG — —

R 46 59 49 71 91 40 97 46 29

TB 118 134 141 142 179 112 205 117 62 SH — —

W 18 14

2B 19 20 17 18 17 17 25 20 6 L 2 3

3B 1 3 4 3 9 4 6 2 4 % .900 .824

HR 1 10 4 3 13 1 13 4 0 IP 172 162

RBI 63 68 53 73 73 33 56 57 24 H 168 140

BB 41 15 19 40 46 24 52 31 15 ER 44 61

SB 3 33 13 13 12 15 51 15 6 SO 104 119

BA .314 .351 .308 .329 .349 .370 .378 .367 .241

SL .395 .604 .417 .429 .595 .493 .601 .529 .312

OB% .397 .392 .345 .402 .435 .430 .461 .444 .294

BB 54 72

ERA 2.30 3.39

BR/9 11.6 11.8

108

Minor League All-Star Teams

At second, Gilbert had a very good season. Sandusky/Marion manager Jim Geygan had a better one. He hit .368, slugged .6¡0, had an OB% of .435 and also had 46 doubles and 9¡ RBIs, both league-leading figures. Another playing manager also had an All-Star worthy season, Fremont third baseman Harold Bohl. He hit .326, slugged .463, and, most importantly, had a .429 OB%, far better than Navrocki. Bohl was also a better fielder. I think there should have been four outfielders on the team. Even though he hit .370, I wouldn’t have rated Walker any better than the fifth best outfielder in the league, as he was not a very impressive run producer. The two I’d add would be Mansfield’s playing manager Dewey Stover and Stan Platek of Sandusky/Marion. Stover’s numbers were .383 (leagueleading), .505, and .47¡ (also league-leading). He scored 9¡ runs in 85 games. Platek (.3¡0/.463/.394) scored 83 runs and tied for the league lead in RBIs with 9¡.

Utility man Lupo caught and pitched (he was 5–4). His teammate, Emil Verban (later of Cubs fan club fame), could well have been named as a co-AllStar. He hit .330 and drove in 58 runs while playing second and third. On the hill, Marion’s Marion Spence was overlooked. He was ¡8–6 with a 2.79 ERA. Also overlooked was Fostoria manager George Jenkins. Now, it may not seem as if a ¡0–¡0 pitcher with a 3.59 ERA deserves an All-Star berth, but he won 50% (!) of his teams games, a percentage rarely seen since before the Great War. The Red Birds finished 48 games under .500 (in an 88 game season), and when he was not involved in the decision, they were ¡0–58 (.¡47). The numbers two, three, and four pitchers of the squad (by number of innings pitched) went a horrid ¡–27! Jenkins also hit .306 with ¡7 runs batted in.

Pennsylvania State Association (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Zagami Johnny Russian Frank Graves Frank Wecheck Hillman Walker Ed Urban L. Rumfield L.J. Bartola William Gaylord

SP SP

Darrell Hawley Ernest Jenkins

Team Beaver Falls Butler Greensburg Greensburg Greensburg Beaver Falls Greensburg Butler Greensburg

Greensburg Butler

G 75 86 60 91 74 83 86 65 81 G 27 20

AB 258 341 233 328 301 323 319 206 332 GS — —

H 76 134 73 83 96 104 110 62 100 CG — —

R 46 79 43 40 59 81 92 43 72 SH — —

Monessen first baseman and minor league legend Leo “Muscle” Shoals crushed Zagami in every arena except the hearts and minds of the league scribes. He hit for .366/.63¡/.450 averages (the latter two leading the league), finished number two in homers with ¡8, number three in RBIs with 74, and number

TB 121 182 107 107 124 197 184 92 131 W 16 13

2B 15 16 8 9 17 9 19 10 15 L 7 3

3B 6 13 7 6 4 6 8 7 5

% .696 .813

HR 6 2 4 1 1 24 13 2 2 IP 205 133

RBI 57 72 45 44 48 80 69 29 30 H 159 121

BB 52 26 15 34 22 37 45 32 35 ER 62 42

SB 7 8 9 1 10 11 4 8 14

BA .295 .393 .313 .253 .319 .322 .345 .301 .301

SL .469 .534 .459 .326 .412 .610 .577 .447 .395

OB% .413 .436 .355 .323 .365 .392 .426 .395 .368

SO 161 127

BB 108 39

ERA 2.72 2.84

BR/9 11.8 11.0

five in runs with 83. Looks like an All-Star season from this perspective. Beaver Falls catcher Joe Breno had almost a mirror image of Bartola’s season with his .309/.447/.396 averages. However, Joe scored 77 runs. “Utility” man Gaylord was an outfielder.

West Texas-New Mexico League (D) Earl Cartwight, Monahans first baseman, had (and, if he were here today, still has) reason to shout “Foul!” He hit for .362/.597/.467 averages (highlighting Henderson’s atrocious. 3¡8 OB%), and, in just 78 games, he scored 9¡ runs and drove in 88, both, obviously, over one a game. Melvin Serafine, third baseman for Midland (which folded after 66 games) fielded .930 to Donaldson’s .854 (yuck!). He only hit .268 but slugged

.5¡3 and drove in 59 runs in 59 games. The fielding gods decree that Serafine should, nay, must rule the hot corner! And so it shall be (at least on these pages). At short, Wink’s own Edward “Your” Guyness was robbed, period. Compare his numbers (.37¡/.6¡9/.47, that last a league-leading figure) to Davis’ and you have to wonder what was in the minds of the league voters. In ¡¡4 games, Guyness scored ¡28 runs and drove in ¡20. The Spudder stalwart also had 43 dou-

¡938

109

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Carmin Henderson Stuart LeBarron Lance Donaldson Jack Davis Mel Reist Cecil Smyly Robert Hood Walter Reinhardt Stephen Ho›man

Team Roswell Monahans Roswell Roswell Odessa/Mona. Roswell Wink Roswell Monahans

G 106 119 61 105 119 112 114 79 116

AB 466 495 247 455 491 470 468 260 474

H 130 145 84 121 182 139 174 79 165

R 76 137 56 103 142 116 151 59 129

TB 193 203 110 171 304 208 322 118 276

2B 28 32 18 23 41 18 36 10 40

SP SP

O. W. “Red” Hay Marshall Scott

Wink Roswell

G 31 36

GS 26 24

CG 20 18

SH — —

W 18 18

L 8 6

% .692 .750

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 1 11 88 18 27 .279 .414 .318 10 2 71 92 14 .293 .410 .407 9 7 41 25 27 .340 .445 .409 3 7 59 52 22 .266 .376 .345 9 21 119 63 17 .371 .619 .455 7 10 50 64 60 .296 .443 .385 11 30 145 60 27 .372 .688 .450 10 3 52 50 35 .304 .454 .424 7 19 124 65 21 .348 .582 .433 IP 211 219

H 248 238

ER 93 106

SO 153 178

BB 36 69

ERA BR/9 3.97 12.4 4.36 12.7

at any level in many a year and unsurpassed since. Note also that he did that in just 79 games. He would undoubtedly have had 50 steals had he caught ¡¡0 games. “Utility” man Ho›man played outfield and should have been named to that position instead of Smyly. Bill Landthripe, Ho›man’s Monahans teammate, was the closest thing to a utility player the league had. He played first and caught, had averages of .323/.494/.4¡4, drove in 87 runs and scored 90.

bles and ¡5 triples, both league-leading totals, and hit ¡6 homers (sixth in the league)— quite a year for a shortstop. In the outfield, a nook should be cleared for Midland’s John Nook. He had .406/.697/.476 averages, drove in 67 runs, and scored 99 in just 64 games (that works out to an incredible 232 runs over a ¡50 game season). Reist had a mighty 39 assists. Mention should also be made of catcher Reinhardt’s 35 steals in 79 games— the most by a catcher

! ¡938 ! In ¡938, there were thirty six leagues in the National Association. Thirty one of them (83%) named all-star teams.

Eastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ed Levy Fred Vaughn Pete Suder Len Kahny Charles Bauder Tommy Holmes Archie Allen Arthur DePhillips Fred Collins

SP SP

Lew Krausse John Day

Team Binghamton Binghamton Binghamton Hazleton Hazleton Binghamton Binghamton Binghamton Binghamton

Elmira Wilkes-Barre

G 38 37

G 134 132 139 126 141 135 132 102 65 GS — —

AB 509 479 539 425 546 543 495 323 115 CG 23 23

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 162 81 261 35 14 12 81 49 23 .318 .513 .379 135 93 225 17 11 17 99 56 10 .282 .470 .365 150 73 213 23 5 10 97 15 9 .278 .395 .299 134 68 164 16 7 0 67 68 11 .315 .386 .414 183 61 232 39 5 0 93 38 6 .335 .425 .379 200 110 277 41 9 6 62 64 14 .368 .510 .441 152 85 212 31 10 3 71 51 9 .307 .428 .376 86 53 109 20 0 1 40 41 2 .266 .337 .351 30 18 54 4 1 6 24 3 2 .261 .470 .286 SH — —

Hazleton first baseman Art Mahan (.3¡3/.448/ .423) matched Levy in driving in runs but scored ¡05 times, 24 more than Levy. Two outfielders, Hazleton’s John Barrett and Albany’s Kermit Lewis, had seasons which at least matched Allen’s. Lewis (.306/.45¡/.377) scored 94 times, drove in ¡08 runs, and added ¡7 triples. Barrett (.30¡/.45¡/.377) hit 20 triples and scored ¡¡¡ runs. Both players stole 28 bases. Stan Andrews, Hartford Laurels backstop, hit .304 and slugged .409 while driving in 80 runs.

W 18 18

L 12 12

% .600 .600

IP 275 259

H 289 268

ER 88 92

SO 58 111

BB 44 69

ERA 2.88 3.2

BR/9 10.9 11.8

Utility man Collins pitched (6–2) and played 4¡ games at other positions. J. Grossman (Elmira/Williamsport) played first, third, and the outfield and hit for .253/.364/.365 averages. The pitching choices were not bad, Krausse and Day being, probably, the third and fourth best pitchers in the league. George Barley (Binghamton) was the best, leading in ERA (2.24) and BR/9 (¡0.¡) while going ¡5–5. Rene Monteagudo (Williamsport) went ¡9–¡0 with a 2.83 ERA.

110

Minor League All-Star Teams

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Norman Young Jerry Priddy Harry Morris Phil Rizzuto Roberto Estalella Art Metheny Antonio Castano Jake Early Gil Torres

SP SP

Henry Gornicki William Yocke

Team Richmond Norfolk Durham Norfolk Charlotte Norfolk Asheville Charlotte Charlotte

Asheville Norfolk

G 110 132 98 112 121 89 134 97 71 G 45 13

AB 420 498 396 446 431 340 542 342 177

GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 148 97 243 34 5 17 86 62 3 .352 .579 .437 161 85 236 36 6 9 73 49 12 .323 .474 .387 112 73 156 20 6 4 57 27 10 .283 .394 .330 150 97 221 24 10 9 58 33 26 .336 .496 .385 163 134 325 30 9 28 123 117 28 .378 .754 .520 116 67 210 20 6 21 67 40 6 .341 .618 .411 180 78 222 26 8 0 52 40 19 .332 .410 .387 108 61 164 21 10 5 71 44 8 .316 .480 .397 58 24 74 9 2 1 32 7 0 .328 .418 .360

CG 22 8

SH — —

W 17 7

Norfolk Tars outfielder Jack Graham may have only hit .292, but he slugged .554 on the basis of his 36 homers and also drove in ¡¡9 runs. Steve Kuk (Richmond, .288/.467/.403) hit 20 homers and scored ¡¡0 runs while walking ¡02 times and ringing up 23 assists from the Colts outfield. Either or both would appear to be a better OF choice than Castano. Please take note of Estalella’s dynamite .754 SA and .520 OB%. These are great numbers, in the preESPN sense of “great.” Rocky Mount catcher George Lacy (he played 35

L 13 3

% .567 .700

IP 308 87

H 265 85

ER 88 32

SO 187 44

BB 112 27

ERA 2.57 3.31

BR/9 11.2 11.6

of his ¡24 games elsewhere) hit 32 homers and drove in ¡07 runs to go with his .3¡4/.605/.398 averages. Utility man Torres was ¡0–6 as a pitcher and also played first and the outfield. Ace Adams was ¡6–¡0 for the lowly WinstonSalem Twins who finished 46 games below .500. The Twins played .268 ball without him. Tars pitcher Don Hendrickson was 2¡–¡0, 3.¡2. His Norfolk teammate, Ray White, would have been the relief choice, going 4–¡, 2.58 in 27 games.

South Atlantic League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name William Prout Charles Glock Carl Fairly Claude Corbitt Bob Elliott John Rucker Walt Schuerbaum Joe Cusick Roy Walker

Team Columbus Columbia Macon Augusta Savannah Macon Columbus Columbus Jacksonville

G 140 138 144 85 132 98 122 116 67

AB 544 534 559 349 532 393 474 450 171

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 196 88 263 37 3 8 110 48 3 .360 .483 .412 170 110 243 37 15 2 71 73 7 .318 .455 .404 169 78 227 34 9 2 101 39 17 .302 .406 .351 121 69 152 13 6 2 48 38 22 .347 .436 .415 173 97 261 30 11 12 93 30 10 .325 .491 .368 134 65 173 20 5 3 51 16 30 .341 .440 .373 162 79 225 37 10 2 67 30 3 .342 .475 .386 134 42 168 22 0 4 69 3 2 .298 .373 .302 48 20 56 5 0 1 25 19 2 .281 .327 .356

SP SP

Junior Thompson John “Pretzels” Pezzullo

Columbia

G 26

GS —

CG 21

SH —

W 16

L 9

% .640

IP 205

H 198

ER 64

SO 176

BB 62

ERA 2.81

BR/9 11.6

Savannah

47

—

19

—

26

9

.743

288

270

92

218

96

2.88

11.5

At first, it must have been a very narrow decision to take Prout over Jacksonville’s Nick Etten. Etten hit .370, slugged .5¡6 and had a superior .472 OB%. He had 40 doubles and ¡5 triples, scored 98 runs and drove in 82. Fairly split his playing between second and third and could have been a good utility choice. That would have opened up a slot for Columbia third baseman Joe Macedo (.278/.398/.350) who scored ¡00 runs. Savannah shortstop Harold Reitz hit .3¡¡ with 8¡ runs, 82 runs driven in and ¡7 triples. Columbia outfielder Allen Hunt was no worse than the league’s third best flyhawk. His .330/.463/

.376 averages were supported by 94 runs scored and 92 driven in. Augusta catcher/manager Myron Hayworth had ¡95 fewer ABs than did Cusick and scored 38 runs with 50 driven in, and Cusick’s three walks (if correct) in 459 plate appearances are way beyond merely atrocious. Walker was a pitcher-outfielder who should have been named as a pitcher. John “Red” Marion, Marty’s brother, played second, third, and the outfield and hit .3¡9/.4¡0/.37¡in 67 games for the Greenville Spinners. The Sally League was loaded with All-Star caliber

¡938

111

bests with an ERA of ¡.96 ERA and a ¡0.0 BR/9 ratio. Walker went 2¡–7, 2.94 for the Tars, Stewart was 2¡–8 for the Peaches, and Biggs was 20–¡¡ with a ¡¡.0 BR/9 ratio. Rogers, pitching for a team which finished 28 games under .500, was ¡0–¡2 with a 3.00 ERA (6th) and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.3 (3rd).

pitchers in ¡938. Five who weren’t selected include Hal Twardy (Augusta), the aforementioned Roy “Goat” Walker, Orlon Rogers (Spartanburg), William Mack Stewart (Macon), and Charlie Briggs (Spartanburg/Augusta). Twardy only appeared in 20 games (in which he went ¡0–5), but he had league

Southeastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Dotlich Clarence Blair Phil Seghi Don Blanchard David Smith H. “Prince” Oana Art Luce Aubry Epps Rudy Laskowski

Team Selma Jackson Pensacola Selma Mobile Jackson Selma Jackson Pensacola

G 147 127 127 142 89 143 147 142 111

SP SP

M. Beddington Charlie Gassaway

Jackson Pensacola

G 37 41

AB 551 509 472 535 344 513 546 495 330 GS — —

H 165 162 161 122 101 164 171 142 104 CG 24 20

R 79 78 73 59 40 104 119 88 61 SH — —

TB 212 213 242 141 126 295 292 226 159 W 24 18

Blanchard and his dismal averages are inexplicable for an “All-Star” team. Pensacola shortstop Bobby Bragan had .298/.377/.350 averages but, more importantly, handled 6.3 chances a game to Blanchard’s 5.3. Bragan was one of the few shortstops in any league to have over 500 assists. Even if he had hit as weakly as Blanchard, he should still have been the selection on the strength of his fielding prowess. In the outfield, Meridian Scrapper manager Harry Whitehouse was robbed by Smith. Whitehouse’s hit .339, slugged .524, and had an OB% of .395. He hit 45 doubles and drove in ¡02 runs. Smith’s choice is one of the year’s worst in the outfield.

2B 31 27 26 13 15 36 33 39 26

L 12 8

3B 5 12 17 0 2 7 8 6 4

% .667 .692

HR 2 0 7 2 2 26 24 11 7 IP 272 249

RBI 58 66 78 43 49 116 115 78 60 H 243 213

BB 67 37 40 54 12 80 54 77 71 ER 73 76

SB BA SA 15 .299 .385 6 .318 .418 5 .341 .513 7 .228 .264 8 .294 .366 10 .320 .575 13 .313 .535 10 .287 .457 9 .315 .482 SO 135 148

BB 88 113

ERA 2.42 2.75

OB% .376 .367 .396 .301 .321 .412 .392 .393 .441 BR/9 11.1 12.2

Utility man Laskowski played third, short, and caught. Selma Cloverleaf pitcher Julian “Bubba” Tubb may have only been ¡¡–8, but he led the league in both ERA and BR/9 ratio (apparently the All-Star selection equivalent of a Neronian “Thumbs Down”) with ¡.96 and 9.7 numbers. The wrong Pensacola Flier hurler was selected for the dream team, as Gassaway’s teammate John Hutchings was ¡8–6 with 2.25 and ¡0.6 numbers, all superior figures to the league selection. Onnie Robinson (Gadsden) went ¡6–5, 2.53, ¡¡.2, also better than Gassaway.

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Leo Marion Einer Sorenson Frank Piet Ed Lake Lou Noviko› Norman Peterson Ralph Hodgin S. Hernandez Albert Unser

Team Waterloo Waterloo Springfield Decatur Moline Decatur Evansville Bloomington Decatur

G 98 124 121 125 125 115 123 121 126

AB 363 509 445 438 507 455 498 442 459

H 132 166 135 122 186 149 161 149 134

R 62 104 86 117 110 82 91 97 104

SP SP

Floyd Giebell Emil “Hillbilly” Bildilli

Evansville

G 25

GS —

CG 20

SH —

W 18

L 6

% .750

IP 214

H 171

ER 47

Springfield

29

—

29

—

18

4

.818

230

181

75

About the only controversial choice amongst the non-pitching selections is the exclusion of Cedar Rapids outfielder Frank Howard. His .348/.499/.404 averages are superior to those of Peterson and Hodgin, and he scored 97 runs with 45 doubles.

TB 160 218 238 174 315 212 235 221 208

2B 26 33 16 20 26 22 19 27 13

3B HR RBI BB 1 0 70 72 5 3 57 50 6 25 111 60 7 6 63 112 23 19 114 49 13 5 86 34 17 7 86 22 15 5 85 72 20 7 77 62

SB 7 24 9 21 5 19 17 1 15

BA .364 .326 .303 .279 .367 .327 .323 .337 .292

SA OB% .441 .471 .428 .393 .535 .400 .397 .431 .621 .426 .466 .379 .472 .362 .500 .430 .453 .410

SO 141

BB 60

ERA 1.98

BR/9 9.8

185

79

2.93

10.8

Utility man Unser (once again) filled that slot to a “T.” He played first, second, third, caught, and pitched — and he was no slouch at the plate either. He is almost a text-book definition of what a utility man should be, a Platonic ideal, if you will.

112

Minor League All-Star Teams

On the mound, I would not replace either league pick. I would, however, add a third pitcher: Al Hazle

of the Evansville Bees. The big Bee buzzer went ¡5–5, had a 2.52 ERA, and threw in a good ¡0.3 BR/9 ratio.

Western International League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank Milani Bobby “Buddy” Baer Alex McDonald William Lyman Hal Lee Ralph Mountain David Goodman Ted Clawitter Charles Peterson

SP SP

Bill Fleming Oscar Miller

Team Wenatchee Wenatchee Bellingham Yakima Wenatchee Vancouver Tacoma Spokane Yakima

Bellingham Yakima

G 36 25

G 128 132 124 132 117 123 135 118 131 GS — —

AB 515 547 490 569 493 426 514 427 519 CG 24 13

H 131 170 149 168 158 131 173 124 150 SH — —

First baseman Wayne McCue, who started his season at Wenatchee but was shortly thereafter traded to Vancouver, outhit (.3¡3), outslugged (.4¡4), out OB%-ed (376), outscored (7¡) and drove in more runs than did Milani, but to no avail to the league scribes. Second baseman/manager John Kerr of Vancouver may have only hit .269 with 84 runs scored and 67 driven in, but he handled more than one chance a game more than did Baer (7.3–6.¡, a huge di›erence) and fielded .972 to Baer’s .943, a large enough fielding di›erence for me to go with Kerr. In the outfield, I would substitute Bellingham’s James Tyack and Wes Schulmerich of Bellingham and Spokane for Lee and Mountain. Tyack, the Chi-

R 65 95 55 97 66 66 87 62 60 W 20 13

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 155 17 2 1 60 34 9 .254 .301 .306 220 36 7 0 58 71 15 .311 .402 .391 184 19 8 0 81 20 10 .304 .376 .337 233 34 8 5 52 45 36 .295 .409 .350 202 35 3 1 70 38 20 .320 .410 .369 195 38 4 6 64 75 8 .308 .458 .418 266 46 10 9 70 85 32 .337 .518 .431 198 34 8 2 78 54 9 .290 .464 .373 182 20 6 0 82 33 7 .289 .351 .332 L 11 7

% .645 .650

IP 261 180

H 202 178

ER 52 52

SO 206 91

BB 80 37

ERA 1.79 2.60

BR/9 9.9 10.9

nook outfielder, had .3¡4/.5¡8/.370 averages, and both scored and drove in more runs than (95 and 78) either of the two fellows who were selected over him. Schulmerich hit only .294 and slugged but .444, but he both scored and drove in 83 runs, again more than the selectees. “Utility” man Peterson was mostly an outfielder. Pat Ambrose (Tacoma) was not as good at bat as Peterson (hitting a weak .230), but he was a utility man, playing second, third, short, and pitching. Despite finishing last, there were two Tacoma Tigers moundsmen who were honors worthy: Floyd Isekite and Lawrence Powell. Powell went ¡4–¡0, 2.77, ¡0.2, and Isekite was ¡6–¡5, 2.0¡, ¡0.6. The two accounted for 48% of Tacoma’s wins.

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harold Tyler John Zulberti Bill Homan John Stonebreaker Ray Klinkert William Powley Barney Hearn Emil Gra› John Grilli

Team Cornwall Ogdensburg Auburn Amsterdam Amsterdam Ottawa Cornwall Cornwall Glove.-Johns.

SP John Tulacz Cornwall SP A. “Duke” Farrington Amsterdam

G 106 124 84 123 112 96 116 104 126

AB 395 453 406 482 414 377 453 382 480

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 121 72 183 26 3 10 87 46 28 .306 .463 .387 145 110 238 33 9 14 104 82 19 .320 .525 .428 158 101 252 33 8 15 113 57 16 .389 .621 .466 138 95 161 12 4 1 75 50 32 .286 .334 .359 143 103 253 24 10 22 101 57 18 .345 .611 .433 129 70 245 27 1 29 95 38 7 .342 .650 .404 169 95 247 16 13 12 76 54 17 .373 .545 .447 115 69 148 13 7 2 67 26 36 .301 .387 .350 155 95 259 26 3 24 124 53 2 .323 .540 .393

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 24 — 22 5 18 5 .783 187 160 57 142 61 2.74 11.1 23 — 21 0 17 5 .773 181 152 56 109 85 2.78 12.2

Glove.-Johns. is Gloversville-Johnstown.

Al Lehman, first baseman for Auburn and Cornwall, rang up .357/.480/.4¡0 averages and scored ¡08 runs. Tyler had only half as many errors, but I’m not convinced that is such a big deal for a first

baseman, especially when the hitting discrepancy is so great. At short, A. Tralecki of Cornwall (.308/.4¡9/.380) seems to be, in light of both the fielding and batting

¡938

113

team to only five outfielders, I would bid adieu to Hearn. As mentioned above, league utility choice Grilli was an outfielder. In his place I would have put the Glovers manager John Roser. In 95 games, he scored 6¡ runs and drove in 56 to go with .346/.505/.477 averages. He played first, outfield, and pitched. Also, catcher Gra›’s 36 steals are certainly worthy of special notice. The only change to the mound sta› would be an addition: John Dickinson of Cornwall. He was 2¡–9 with a 3.36 ERA, sixth in the league and an ¡¡.7 BR/9 ratio, second best.

stats, about in a dead heat with the league selection. Tralecki scored only 83 runs, but drove in 9¡. In the outfield, Ogdensburg’s Tony Grudaitis led in slugging (.670), homers (34), runs scored (¡¡8), and runs driven in (¡30, more than one a game), but not, apparently, in the hearts and minds of the selectors. He also hit .333 with a .444 OB%. He could have (should have) at the very least been a fourth outfielder on the team. It should also be noted that “Utility” man Grilli was, in fact, an outfielder, giving the ’38 Can-Am five All-Star quality flyhawks. And, there is still Charles Harig of Gloversville-Johnstown. Does his terrific .385/.648/.447 year not also warrant inclusion? I am afraid that, in limiting the

Cotton States League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Major Kerby Farrell Frank Hackney Elmer Yoter Bob Cummings Paul Bruno Buford Rhea Curtis Sutherlin Orace Powers Foy Harper

Team Greenville Monroe Greenwood Greenville Greenville Monroe Helena El Dorado El Dorado

G 135 134 121 108 64 135 132 133 71

SP SP

Willard Vandenburg Chuck Galeria

Helena Greenville

G 31 33

AB 585 521 366 436 261 542 528 524 275 GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 182 109 251 27 18 2 54 47 11 .311 .429 .364 157 96 239 38 7 10 108 65 9 .301 .459 .388 109 83 141 20 6 0 57 100 15 .298 .385 .450 142 95 181 33 3 0 61 53 13 .326 .415 .413 97 46 149 26 4 6 75 25 2 .372 .571 .429 169 126 218 31 6 2 43 80 79 .312 .402 .402 177 105 278 32 18 11 101 63 10 .335 .527 .410 181 73 251 29 7 9 111 44 4 .345 .479 .400 74 58 95 13 4 0 35 46 1 .269 .345 .421 CG — —

SH — —

W 17 19

L 8 6

% .680 .760

IP 227 237

H 198 227

ER 61 58

SO 138 110

BB 111 39

ERA 2.42 2.20

BR/9 12.4 10.3

.286. Salverson was a much weaker hitter (.23¡) but played all the positions Bagrosky did and he also caught. The scribes somehow decided that Monroe’s Tom Perry was un-teamworthy. He went ¡7–2 (.895) with a league-best ¡.7¡ ERA. Also overlooked was Helena Seaporter stalwart Zack Schuessler. He was 20–9 with ¡72 strike-outs, second in the league (by a mere two Ks, to a pitcher with 59 more IP).

Yoter was a playing manager. Over all, a very well-chosen team. I’d perhaps have added Rudy Tone, El Dorado outfielder. His numbers were a pedestrian .27¡/.4¡6/.364, but he scored ¡39 runs in ¡35 games. “Utility” choice Harper was an outfielder, and a weak hitting one at that. There are two better utility choices: Greenville’s Ray Bagrosky and Greenwood’s Bob Salverson. Bagrosky played second, third, and short, scored ¡¡¡ runs and drove in 62 while hitting

East Texas League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Tony Robello Carl McNabb Joe Rezotko Leslie Floyd Gordon Houston Hal Simpson Ed Hall Cal Lowman Vance Randolph

SP SP

Jack Van Orsdol Eugene Davis

Team Jacksonville Tyler Marshall Tyler Texarkana Marshall Henderson Marshall Kilgore

Marshall Texarkana

G 137 139 91 138 108 139 138 106 123

AB 494 551 343 580 427 563 542 324 455

H 160 167 117 180 164 170 196 108 151

R 105 76 79 111 100 114 119 64 84

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 302 26 1 38 146 96 6 .324 .611 .443 228 36 2 7 78 36 14 .303 .414 .352 155 19 2 5 53 68 9 .341 .452 .453 235 33 5 4 63 55 33 .310 .405 .373 264 32 7 18 70 49 25 .384 .618 .457 275 41 2 20 123 52 9 .302 .488 .370 307 42 12 15 125 80 13 .362 .566 .447 181 28 0 15 68 38 6 .333 .559 .407 222 40 2 9 82 40 15 .332 .488 .388

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

29 34

27 32

24 23

2 1

21 20

7 11

.750 .645

227 275

216 299

83 124

181 231

70 62

3.29 4.06

11.5 12.1

114

Minor League All-Star Teams

Robello and Hall were playing managers. Houston was the first ballplayer to lose his life in World War II. He was killed on a flight, ¡0 February, ¡942. Another well-selected league, the only non-pitching change I would make is the addition of two more outfielders. Guy Curtwright of Henderson led the league with an OB% of .483, hit .35¡, slugged .557 and scored ¡43 runs in ¡22 games. Texarkana’s Gabby Lusk (.334/.503/.407) drove in ¡07 runs and scored ¡52 in ¡36 games. The outfield as chosen hits .345, slugs .55¡, has an OB% of .422, and scores 333 runs. A Houston/ Curtwright/Lusk outfield hits .339, slugs .554, has a .427 OB% and scores a whopping 395 runs. In fact,

any trio that leaves out Simpson has better numbers than any trio which includes him. His .302, .488, .370 numbers are like that old Sesame Street game, “Which of these Things just doesn’t belong here.” Randolph played third, short, and outfield. On the hill, I would add Vallie Eaves of Texarkana, Kilgore’s Fred Isert, and Jacksonville’s Harry Davis. Eaves went ¡5–4, good for a league-leading .789 winning percentage, and tied Davis for the league’s second best BR/9 ratio, both coming in at ¡0.9. Davis was ¡¡–¡3 for a team 24 games under .500 and was third in ERA at 2.90. Isert was a hard-luck ¡¡–¡¡, but led the league in both ERA (2.3¡) and BR/9 (a most excellent 8.7), thereby removing himself from All-Star consideration.

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Ashworth Harry Stoeber Whitey Kurowski Woodrow Williams Frank Silvanic Charles Workman George Staller Herbert White Horace “Pip” Koehler

SP SP

Tex Hughson John Andrew Rager

Team Akron Springfield Springfield Dayton Akron Springfield Dayton Akron Akron

G 122 129 129 107 116 131 124 86 122

AB 492 548 542 424 443 533 492 306 466

H 159 199 209 148 161 194 180 108 162

R 82 111 133 78 122 122 84 68 76

G 43 39

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 22 18

Canton Dayton

Koehler was a playing manager. Portsmouth first baseman Walt Alston hit 28 homers, drove in ¡06 runs and had .3¡¡/.563/.402 averages. I would have gone with Silent Walt at the initial sack. His teammate, outfielder Chester Weiczorek, was second in batting (.366) and slugging (.63¡), drove in ¡30 runs, scored ¡24 in ¡29 games, and hit 28 home runs. Limited to three outfielders, he would seem to be an easy choice over Staller (who would be the #4 guy). Koehler played second, third, and the outfield.

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 222 29 14 2 72 51 0 .323 .451 .389 292 36 3 17 115 23 7 .363 .533 .392 304 41 6 14 112 22 34 .386 .561 .417 194 37 2 3 56 39 9 .349 .458 .406 323 35 11 35 122 73 2 .363 .729 .457 306 38 10 18 105 64 26 .364 .574 .438 231 26 8 3 92 31 43 .366 .470 .406 171 16 2 17 86 37 2 .353 .559 .433 212 37 2 3 56 39 9 .348 .455 .400 L 7 12

% .759 .600

IP 206 252

H 224 282

ER 90 107

SO 129 172

BB 64 75

ERA 3.93 3.82

BR/9 12.8 12.8

Oscar Fleischmann played second, third, and short while hitting .32¡ with 60 runs scored and driven in. I feel that having two utility choices would not have shamed the league. On the mound, James Morris, who chucked the ol’ pill for Charleston, went 20–¡2 with those most misfortunate of stats for one who hoped to be immortalized by selection to a league’s Role of Heroes, a league-leading 2.75 ERA and a likewise league-topping ¡0.9 BR/9 ratio. Jack “Gerbils” Zerblis was ¡8–7 for an Akron team which was a mere two games over .500.

Western Association (C) Yet another well-chosen league. The biggest mystery was the choice of Graves over Bartlesville outfielder Clarence Springer. Springer hit .3¡0, slugged .505, scored 98 runs, hit 2¡ triples and led the league with ¡2¡ RBIs. I would have named two catchers: Tonco› and Ponca City’s Dominic Castro. Castro caught ¡27 games, scored 70 runs, drove in 76 and hit .266. Perryman played outfield, caught, and pitched (8–6, 5.85). I think Springfield’s Roy Younker would

have been a better utility choice. His numbers were .3¡6/.48¡/.389 with 92 runs driven in and ¡07 scored. He played third, outfield, and caught. I’m sorry, but Sokol was not an all-star pitcher. If the selectors were determined to have a ¡4+ BR/9 pitcher, why not go with Hub Kittle, who’s ¡8–8 and 3.¡9 numbers were both superior to Sokol? But, really — why leave o› the #¡ & 2 pitchers in both ERA and BR/9 ratio? Thomas Tisdale (Joplin, ¡3–5) was second in ERA with 2.92 and first in BR/9 with ¡¡.¡.

¡938 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John “Zeke” Clement Lou Stringer Glen Stewart Frank “Creepy” Crespi John “Doc” Graves Lynn South Harry Schmiel John Tonco› Floyd Perryman

SP SP

Frank Sokol Louis Stefurak

115

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% Hutchinson 137 548 177 101 283 39 5 19 114 57 17 .323 .516 .387 Ponca City 138 566 162 126 245 36 13 7 68 32 29 .286 .433 .324 Fort Smith 139 551 182 100 268 40 14 6 112 56 19 .330 .486 .396 Springfield Salina Springfield Springfield Fort Smith Fort Smith

Hutchinson Muskogee

G 46 27

134 105 121 101 94 113 GS — —

520 385 461 385 304 319 CG 15 17

149 101 226 25 14 115 63 183 28 8 159 111 269 38 12 126 87 195 22 8 84 46 113 17 3 83 47 113 18 6 SH 2 1

W 17 14

L 11 8

% .607 .636

8 8 16 7 2 0

IP 236 186

H 246 181

76 69 103 92 48 45 ER 115 71

60 60 83 63 39 50

31 13 11 23 3 11 SO 170 90

.287 .299 .345 .327 .276 .260

.435 .475 .584 .506 .372 .354

.363 .395 .450 .426 .366 .360

BB 137 82

ERA 4.39 3.44

BR/9 14.8 12.8

Joe Luber (Fort Smith, ¡¡–4) was first in ERA with 2.06 and second in BR/9 with ¡2.4.

Alabama-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name E.B. Langston Harvey Johnson Melvin Serafine Carmen Soltis Steve Summerhill Robert Jones Howard Gorman George Waldron Oscar Moseley

SP SP

Virgil Trucks Thomas Adams

Team Andalusia Panama City Union Springs Ever./Andal. Union Springs Union Springs Andalusia Union Springs Andalusia

G 69 95 118 130 127 122 73 123 126

AB 260 369 452 503 517 491 255 490 481

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 77 40 109 13 3 4 50 7 8 .296 .419 .320 105 66 151 13 6 7 51 53 7 .285 .409 .379 136 96 214 37 4 11 67 67 6 .301 .473 .396 133 102 188 21 11 4 58 84 29 .264 .374 .372 187 89 256 33 12 4 108 44 21 .362 .495 .414 156 98 220 25 6 9 78 58 29 .318 .448 .391 81 59 102 6 3 3 28 66 36 .318 .400 .465 151 68 227 29 4 13 84 28 12 .308 .463 .349 130 66 166 24 3 2 41 49 30 .270 .345 .341

G 38 37

GS — —

CG 26 12

SH — —

Andalusia Troy

W 25 17

L 6 5

% .806 .773

IP 273 217

H 143 241

ER 38 92

SO 418 135

BB 125 108

ERA 1.25 3.82

BR/9 9.4 14.8

Ever. is Evergreen.

The second place (and eventual playo› winner) Troy placed a lone man on the squad. Dothan, which finished first with the best record during the regular season, had none. At first, Dothan playing manager Ernie Wingard had the league’s best all-around hitting season. He was second in hitting (.357) and OB% (.44¡) and first in slugging (.503). He scored 96 runs and drove in ¡00, also second best. Troy second baseman William Hodgins not only played ¡¡¡ games at second to Johnson’s 70, but he also hit .303 and led the league with ¡¡2 runs scored. Serefine had a fine season at third, but Felix Rios of Dothan had a better. His numbers were .333/.473/ .4¡4, he drove in 85 runs and scored ¡05. The selected infield hit .285 with a SA of .4¡8 and an OB% of .370. The four featured players scored 304 runs and drove in 226. A Wingard/Hodgins/Rios/ Soltis infield hits .3¡4, slugs .433, and has an OB% of .407. The (three quarters) forgotten foursome has a 29 point advantage in batting, a ¡7 point advantage in slugging, and a 37 point advantage in OB%. They scored 4¡5 runs (+¡¡¡) and drove in 273 (+47).

You take the league’s o‡cial picks, I’ll take mine and spot you ¡∂ runs. All we have to do is figure out how to get Soltis on both teams simultaneously. Troy Trojan Broughton Owens should have either been the third outfielder or named as a fourth. He hit .345, slugged .472, stole 47 bases and scored 98 runs. Utility man Mosely played ¡05 of his ¡26 games at third. Perhaps a better choice would have been Evergreen’s John Spurlock. The Greenie handyman played second, third, and outfield, hit .300, scored 7¡ runs and drove in 66. Sheesh! What is it with these ¡4+ BR/9 “All-Stars”? Art “Nanny” Goetz, who split his season between Union Springs and Evergreen went ¡7–9 with a 2.86 ERA. Lee Anthony, who split his season between Evergreen and Andalusia with its fields full of grain, was ¡9–¡5, 2.99, ¡0.2. It should be noted that 29 of his 37 games were played with a team which finished under .400 for the season. Some notes should be made about Trucks’s season. He allowed only 4.8 hits every nine innings, and opponents hit just .¡53 against him for the year. He also averaged a phenomenal ¡4.8 K/9. What a great year.

116

Minor League All-Star Teams

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Stan Lujack Burton Hodge Ken Eck Clovis White Erastus Grigg Lew Flick Howard Cantrell Tom Esterbrook Anthony Carr

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% Kingsport 95 349 99 61 131 13 2 5 40 51 6 .284 .375 .378 Elizabethton 84 302 89 51 116 7 7 2 31 22 9 .295 .384 .364 Kingsport 95 393 109 60 159 20 9 4 59 28 16 .277 .405 .335 Elizabethton 103 383 109 67 163 24 6 6 68 44 13 .285 .426 .358 Elizabethton 82 322 113 59 151 14 3 6 51 13 7 .351 .469 .380 Elizabethton 101 412 128 66 175 17 9 4 64 10 16 .311 .425 .332 Eliz./Greenville 85 326 102 66 156 19 10 5 55 18 14 .313 .479 .353 Elizabethton 95 321 86 39 108 10 3 2 39 30 6 .268 .336 .336 Pennington Gap 37 85 20 14 24 4 0 0 6 10 0 .235 .282 .323

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Clarence He›elfinger Kingsport 28 — — — 15 8 .652 163 142 — 88 68 — 12.0 SP Lynn Luntsford Pennington Gap 16 — — — 4 8 .333 110 109 — 56 26 — 11.3

ER not kept, hence no ERA figures.

Just two adjustments to the non-pitching roster seem to be in order. Kingsport Cherokee utility man Dan Dorney (second base/outfield) and Greeneville Burley Cub utility man Norbert Weik (second/short) seem to be superior choices to the Lee Bears’ Carr. Carr was 8–4 as a pitcher and played ¡9 games elsewhere, but was clearly no threat at the plate. Weik

hit .250 and scored and drove in 24 runs. Dorney hit .323, drove in 64 runs, and scored 55 times. Non-selectee hurler Rudy Parsons led the league in strike-outs (¡38), BR/9 ratio (¡0.9), wins (¡6) and winning percentage (¡6–3, .842) for Elizabethton. I don’t know if He›elfinger was related to Football Hall of Famer “Pudge.”

Arizona-Texas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ray Alves Bill Creager William Reyes Bobby Sturgeon Mike Simon Eddie Goddard Paul Schi›neer Roy Partee John Burleson

SP SP

Jesse Flores Jack Hawkins

Team Tucson Bisbee Albuquerque Albuquerque Tucson El Paso Bisbee Bisbee Alb./Tucson

Bisbee El Paso

G 30 25

G 130 121 133 52 130 107 122 125 131 GS — —

AB 506 469 569 212 532 432 484 512 502 CG — —

H 160 151 186 71 195 150 155 187 153 SH — —

R 87 98 118 31 90 105 106 106 107 W 24 7

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 199 20 8 1 74 72 25 .316 .393 .413 258 27 10 20 119 69 22 .322 .550 .411 252 37 13 1 63 68 3 .327 .443 .403 96 5 10 0 38 9 6 .335 .453 .362 268 35 7 8 121 46 3 .367 .504 .420 229 36 17 3 87 32 31 .347 .530 .410 203 25 7 3 77 71 20 .320 .419 .407 268 38 8 9 107 49 9 .365 .523 .425 250 17 25 10 76 89 27 .305 .498 .412 L 6 11

% .800 .389

IP 257 171

H 215 171

ER — —

SO 201 182

BB 75 125

ERA 2.37 5.31

BR/9 10.5 16.1

ER not released, but ERAs were.

Leo “Muscle” Shoals, Albuquerque first baseman, was only in 86 games, yet he scored 7¡ runs (only ¡6 fewer than Alves), drove in 90 (¡6 more than Alves and more than one a game) and finished tied for third in homers with ¡0. He also hit .327, slugged .5¡8 and had a .425 OB%. At short, Bisbee’s Guy Beringheli only hit .284, but he scored 92 runs and walked 97 times. I think Frank Falconi (El Paso) has the edge on Schi›ner for the league’s third outfield spot. He hit .353, slugged .493, and had a .434 OB% in addition to scoring 98 times and driving in 95 runners.

Utility man Burleson played first, second, third, outfield, and pitched. Okay, let’s let you decide: On the mound you can have either a pitcher who won at a .389 clip for a team which played .535 without him, sported a 5.3¡ ERA and allowed ¡6.¡ BR/9 — or, if you prefer, you can have a pitcher who was 24–¡2, .667 for a team which played .458 ball without him, was third in the league with a 3.22 ERA and who struck out 270 batters. Which would you choose? The first pitcher is, of course, league selection Hawkins. The second is Hawkins non-selected teammate, Walter Stewart.

¡938

117

Arkansas-Missouri League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Cyril Moran Steve Luby Ray Lawrence Florian Zielinski Frank DaLuga Earl Naylor Ray Kommy Dan Radakovich “Cli› “”Bud”“ Knox”

SP SP

Bill Gill Leon Skidgel

Team Rogers Neosho Carthage Neosho Carthage Fayetteville Neosho Neosho Fayetteville

Neosho Carthage

G 29 30

G 105 116 114 115 118 97 102 111 100

GS — —

AB 406 469 440 464 488 379 392 412 371

CG 21 17

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 159 107 292 43 12 22 114 42 8 .392 .719 .457 140 127 225 23 13 12 66 68 76 .299 .480 .397 134 113 188 21 6 7 62 70 14 .305 .427 .415 132 87 182 34 5 2 49 68 41 .284 .392 .381 152 79 203 10 10 7 68 23 34 .311 .416 .350 121 85 217 23 8 19 94 37 24 .319 .573 .386 116 95 199 24 4 17 90 64 34 .296 .508 .396 130 64 169 23 5 2 72 39 16 .316 .410 .377 121 73 202 28 1 17 84 40 14 .326 .544 .392

SH 4 1

W 20 14

Knox was a playing manager. Moran certainly earned his selection, but mention should still be made of Adolph Arlitt, Carthage’s playing manager. His numbers (.342/.562/.437) don’t match Moran’s, but are still excellent. He also scored ¡08 times and drove in a league best ¡32 runs. At third, Marv Wolverton (Rogers) had .325/.439/ .394 numbers to go with ¡20 runs scored, more than one a game. Monett shortstop Cli› Van Sickle was not the fielder Zielinski was (.890 to .945) but he hit .289, slugged .4¡0, and had a .430 OB% (on the basis of a league-leading ¡00 walks) while scoring ¡24 runs. In the outfield, Bill Davis of Carthage rang up .332/.555/.373 averages while scoring 74 runs and driving in 86 in ¡¡5 fewer at bats than selectee DaLuga. “Utility” man Knox was a catcher and should have been selected for that spot. Two alternate and more

L 3 10

% .870 .583

IP 199 208

H 161 166

ER 62 84

SO 266 230

BB 70 116

ERA 2.80 3.63

BR/9 10.8 12.5

appropriate utility selections present themselves. Bill Seale (Fayetteville) played second and short, hit .367, slugged .568 scored 94 runs and drove in 84. Erv “Four Sack” Dusak played second and outfield and hit .35¡, slugged .665, had a .467 OB%, and, in 67 games, slammed ¡8 homers while driving in 63 runs and scoring 63 times. Two pitchers were overlooked by the selectors: Roman Deiler of Carthage and Harold Boham of Fayetteville. Deiler went ¡8–5, 3.29 with an ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio. Boham was ¡6–5, 3.¡0 with an ¡¡.3 BR/9 figure. It should be noted that Gill averaged ¡2.4 K/9, and that the two selectees had 496 Ks in 407 innings, an ¡¡ K 9/IP ratio. I believe (though my memory is most certainly not what it once was) that this is the first such sta› to rack up more than one strike-out an inning.

Bi-State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Arnold Anderson Ben Zientara Harry Lee Daughtry Ed Pallagrini Ray Scantling Cecil “Zip” Payne Eddie Weston Frank Warren John Cortazzo

SP SP

Wes Livingood Robert Hampton

Team Martinsville Bassett Mayodan Danville Reidsville Mayodan Mayodan Mt. Airy L-S-D

Bassett Danville

G 35 17

G 117 117 118 118 118 108 117 69 97

GS — —

AB 499 506 490 500 460 439 480 276 349

CG 25 10

H 158 150 174 148 168 155 173 93 108 SH — —

R 88 100 108 101 130 80 110 44 58 W 21 10

TB 212 206 244 245 304 237 303 152 124 L 9 2

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 28 7 4 88 37 2 .317 .425 .369 28 5 6 57 44 14 .296 .407 .354 41 4 7 87 64 4 .355 .498 .430 24 5 21 72 45 3 .296 .490 .365 27 5 33 147 85 4 .365 .661 .470 46 12 4 97 35 4 .353 .540 .405 42 8 24 144 53 12 .360 .631 .428 15 1 14 57 18 3 .337 .551 .384 18 2 0 31 36 9 .309 .355 .388

% .700 .833

IP 247 114

H 223 108

ER 84 48

SO 105 60

BB 87 38

ERA 3.06 3.79

BR/9 11.4 12.2

L-S-D is Leaksville-Spray-Draper.

Anderson and Daughtry were playing managers. Reidsville manager/first baseman Jim Poole Jr. deserved the team slot. His hitting was in every way superior to that of Anderson: .326/.522/.439 with 97 runs scored and 94 driven in.

At second, Andrew Gilbert of Danville led in putouts and assists and handled a terrific 6.9 chances a game to Zentara’s 5.4. But, he also, in exactly the same number of at-bats over ¡¡6 games, had 40 doubles, ¡8 homers, scored ¡23 runs and drove in ¡20,

118

Minor League All-Star Teams

both totals, you will notice, better than one a game clip. He hit .334 and slugged .55¡ as well. The Bi-State League should have named at least four and perhaps as many as six outfielders to its AllStar roster. Among the unchosen are Americo Rossamando (Bassett), Vando Bertaccini (Mt. Airy), and Harry Pletersek (Mattinsville). The Furniture Makers’ Rossamando led the league with a .390 BA and a .472 OB%, slugged .6¡9 and drove in ¡¡¡ runs while scoring ¡02. Graniteer gardener Bertaccini had averages of .340, .547, and .425 and drove in ¡00 runs. The Manufacturers’ flyhawk Pletersek only hit .3¡3, but he walked ¡06 times and scored ¡25 runs in ¡¡4 games. Ramon Couto, Mayodan catcher, hit .3¡8, scored 7¡ runs, and stole a terrific 35 bases. Cortazzo played all of his games at shortstop. Ed “Yarmulke” Yarmul

of Reidsville played outfield and caught while hitting .363 and slugging .527, and, in 20 fewer games than Cortazzo, scored 57 runs and drove in 58. The Bi-State League boasted no outstanding pitchers in ’38, Livingood being the years best moundsman. However, since there were no dominating hurlers, any of four other pitchers could have been named to the squad. Two were Reidsville Luckies, C. Vernon Briggs and R.H. Abbit, a third was Delma Southard, who split his season between Reidsville and Mayodan, and the fourth, Frank Logue, toiled for Bassett. Briggs and Abbit tied for third in ERA (3.62) while going ¡4–9 and ¡9–6, respectively. Southard had a 4.08 ERA (8th in the league) but went 20–4 in addition to hitting .307 with 23 runs driven in. Logue was ¡8–¡0, 3.38 with a league best ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio.

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Benny Roth Frank Ware (Worznak) Bill Harper Howard Earp Clarence Campbell John Wyrostek Worlise Knowles Jesse Overton Sid Stringfellow

SP SP

Bill Herring Don King

Team New Bern Tarboro New Bern Williamston Tarboro Kinston New Bern Goldsboro Kinston

Ayden Greenville

G 30 26

GS — —

G 92 102 115 81 112 112 88 99 113

AB 363 405 453 321 407 449 337 356 462

H 96 125 146 106 128 149 115 98 112

CG — —

SH — —

W 18 16

R 62 68 68 47 76 89 78 42 71 L 11 6

TB 193 194 214 137 177 223 187 132 163

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 20 1 25 77 — 4 .264 .532 — 16 10 11 59 — 12 .309 .479 — 20 3 14 84 — 6 .322 .472 — 20 4 1 36 — 8 .330 .427 — 18 11 2 63 — 18 .314 .435 — 29 6 11 83 — 10 .332 .497 — 19 1 17 73 — 7 .341 .555 — 20 1 4 55 — 1 .275 .371 — 15 9 6 51 — 11 .242 .353 —

% .621 .727

IP 249 182

H 252 143

ER — —

SO 137 146

BB 74 73

ERA — —

BR/9 11.8 10.7

The C.P.L. did not record which positions individuals played, so the best I can do is list players whose batting seems to warrant inclusion without knowing what position the players so named played. I can make an educated guess as to the positions in question (as could any fan) by checking assists and put-outs. No batter walks kept, so no OB% figures possible. No ER kept, so no ERA tabulation recorded. No HB kept for pitchers, so BR/9 is approximate.

Herring was a playing manager. There are five players whose stats would seem to indicate that inclusion on the All-Star team is warranted. Phillip Morris of Ayden hit .374 and slugged .524. His fielding stats indicate that he was probably a center fielder. Alfred Anderson of New Bern hit .368, slugged .552, and scored ¡0¡ runs in 98 games. He was probably a second baseman. Snow Hill’s Tony “Paisano” Maisano, probably a third baseman, hit .353, slugged .573 and finished fourth in the league with 78 runs driven in. Les Burge of New Bern

(almost certainly an outfielder) hit .348 and slugged an impressive .699 while leading the league with 22 homers. Finally, Buster Maynard of Tarboro, no doubt an outfielder, hit .329 and slugged .556 with ¡8 home runs. Two pitchers appear to have had years at least as good as the selectees. Tarboro Serpent slinger Bernard Mooney was ¡9–7 and allowed a league low ¡0.3 BR/9, in addition to batting .333 with ¡5 runs driven in. Kinston chucker Edward Hurley was ¡5–5 and allowed ¡0.7 BR/9.

Eastern Shore League (D) Millies was a playing manager. The second base spot was a toss-up with two players whose combined hitting talents make a nice whole (they both fielded about the same). Edwin

Vandergrift of Dover hit .330 and slugged .486, but his OB% was, at .39¡, 44 points lower than Leip’s. The Dover Oriole had 78 runs batted in and hit ¡3 home runs.

¡938 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Irv Kolberg Edgar Leip Henry Schluter Danny Murtaugh Charles Quimby Jim Conlan George LeGates Walter Millies Alex Monchak

SP SP

Joseph Davis John Bassler

Team Federalsburg Salisbury Pocomoke City Cambridge Salisbury Salisbury Dover Dover Dover

Cambridge Salisbury

G 23 37

G 112 109 77 112 114 103 108 49 95 GS — —

AB 430 391 310 429 443 398 410 192 390 CG 21 15

119

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 127 93 214 21 3 20 83 49 3 .295 .498 .383 113 100 158 22 7 3 51 92 45 .289 .404 .435 106 69 210 16 2 28 80 33 4 .342 .677 .410 134 87 174 21 5 3 52 65 38 .312 .406 .405 130 69 195 22 5 11 81 40 11 .293 .440 .357 124 76 241 25 4 28 99 43 8 .312 .606 .391 128 78 216 24 5 18 94 40 2 .312 .527 .382 64 27 85 16 1 1 38 11 5 .333 .443 .373 118 86 183 21 7 10 46 43 12 .303 .469 .380 SH — —

The third base choice is unassailable, but mention should be made of Sid Gordon of Milford. He had a very good .352, .62¡, .449 season with 25 homers and ¡02 runs, but it was not good enough to supplant Schluter. In the outfield, Quimby was not up to the standards of two other flyhawks, Federalsburg’s Bill Phillips and Dover’s George Reisinger. Phillip’s hit .296 and slugged .606 while driving in 98 runs (in 90 games) and hitting a league-best 3¡ homers. Reisinger hit .308, had a .426 OB% and scored ¡¡0 runs. At catcher, the three backstops who split time for Dover should have been named as a unit. Mike Kucinski hit .307, slugged .6¡4 and hit ¡¡ homeruns in ¡27 at-bats over 47 games. Richard West, in his

W 17 17

L 5 5

% .773 .773

IP 196 215

H 158 196

ER 44 78

SO 144 166

BB 34 53

ERA 2.02 3.27

BR/9 9.0 10.5

43 games, had what can only be described as a monster year. Check these averages out: .434 BA, .93¡ SA, .5¡2 OB%. Man, it just doesn’t get any better than that, outside of slow-pitch softball. He scored 54 runs and drove in 6¡ in his 43 games, and hit 22 homers, one every 7.8 at bats. He even stole ¡8 bases. Between them, the Dover boys hit .362, slugged .659, had a .43¡ OB%, drove in ¡22 runs, scored ¡¡0 runs, hit 34 homers and stole 24 bases. Alex Monchak and Danny Murtaugh should change spots, as Monchak was a shortstop and Murtaugh played second and short. Sherwood Barnes (Federalsburg) would have been the league’s relief choice, had there been one. He pitched in 40 games (only 5 complete and less than 4 IP/G) and went ¡0–7, 3.59.

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Yourkovich John Zapor Robert Patrick Dick Korte Chris Flanagan William Black Danny Litwhiler James Lawrence Mason Bugg

SP SP

Donald Pulford Leon Scherer

Team Rayne Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria Abbeville Lake Charles Alexandria Lake Charles Alexandria

Abbeville Lake Charles

G 136 65 126 132 129 131 76 116 111 G 35 41

AB 493 252 503 578 505 509 295 402 400 GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 156 74 233 31 2 14 71 82 5 .316 .473 .415 72 46 103 12 5 3 48 25 5 .286 .409 .353 162 84 229 19 7 11 74 19 22 .322 .455 .355 155 114 185 16 7 0 43 34 48 .268 .320 .319 178 86 251 16 18 7 18 41 15 .352 .497 .403 167 94 253 39 7 11 65 60 29 .328 .497 .403 109 62 164 10 4 10 71 35 .369 .556 .436 125 69 177 21 5 7 69 36 26 .311 .440 .375 132 68 191 19 2 12 56 38 7 .330 .478 .392 CG — —

SH — —

Lafayette manager/second baseman Frank Oceak hit .3¡5, slugged .450 and stole 30 bases and would have been as good a choice as Zapor. Bugg was solely an outfielder, but there was no player in the Evangeline who qualified as a utility man in ’38. On the hill, five pitchers (the two selectees and N.P. Love of Abbeville, Roy Mackey of Opelousas,

W 18 21

L 9 11

% .667 .656

IP 245 335

H 180 249

ER 63 100

SO 204 158

BB 86 69

ERA 2.31 2.69

BR/9 10.4 9.0

and Avitus Vedi Himsl of Alexandria) were virtually deadlocked in terms of accomplishments. Love went 22–9 with an ERA of 2.69, ¡98 Ks and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.9. Mackey was 20–¡3, 2.65 and ¡0.6 for a sixth place team. Himsl was ¡8–9, 2.48, ¡0.5. It would not have been an injustice to have named all five to the team.

120

Minor League All-Star Teams

Florida State League (D) Pos Name 1B Walt “Whitey” McMullen 2B Lyle Judy 3B Bob Pittman SS Lou Rogino OF Chet Clemens OF Clarence Bray OF Jack DiVincenzi C Manny Onis UT Joe Niedson

SP SP

Jake Bunch Forrest Brewer

Team Gainesville St. Augustine Sanford Gainesville Leesburg Gainesville Gainesville Leesburg Daytona Beach

Leesburg St. Augustine

G

AB

140 126 79 134 140 139 140 116 124

532 461 305 535 547 557 524 443 463

G 57 41

GS 32 34

H

R

TB 2B 3B HR RBI

166 121 243 132 82 154 95 54 130 160 91 224 158 89 218 170 96 239 172 92 237 113 53 151 127 81 187

CG 29 28

SH 3 4

W 23 25

L 16 11

33 12 22 30 22 20 36 16 22

16 2 5 8 13 17 7 5 13

% .590 .694

4 2 1 6 4 5 5 4 4

BB SB

60 105 44 95 50 34 68 60 82 69 101 54 76 80 63 35 77 58

IP H 341 — 297 —

ER 58 62

62 31 12 21 59 31 16 12 11 SO 159 234

BA

SA OB%

.312 .286 .311 .299 .289 .305 .328 .255 .274

.457 .334 .426 .419 .399 .429 .452 .341 .404

.433 .416 .386 .372 .374 .372 .421 .327 .362

BB 90 123

ERA 1.53 1.88

BR/9 — —

Hits were not recorded for pitchers, so no BR/9 results possible.

Niedson played outfield and caught. There is no question that Bunch and Brewer had outstanding years. Three other hurlers are worthy of mention however. Sylvester “Blix” Donnelly was ¡8–7 with a ¡.75 ERA for Daytona. Joe Marina was ¡5–6 for Leesburg with a fine 2.0¡ ERA. Sid Hudson, pitching for the last-place Sanford Lookouts, was ¡¡–7 for a team which was 34 games under .500. He also sported a 2.02 ERA.

Judy was a playing manager. At third, Sanford Lookout standout Pittman does not appear to have had the year Leesburg Gondolier Steve Risk had. Risk scored 87 runs and drove in 85 in addition to walking 85 times. League shortstop choice Rogino fielded .888 with 83 errors. Frankie Drews (Leesburg) committed 32 fewer errors, hit .29¡, had an OB% of .395, scored 94 runs and drove in 90. I must say, it seems a nobrainer, 65 years after the fact.

Georgia-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Eddie Murphy Hillis Layne A. Stanley Benjamin Lewis Lucas William Endicott Bob Joratz D.T. Evans Harold Michal Joe Kracher

SP

Alex “Red” McColl Milt Haefner

SP

Team Albany Americus Thomasville Albany Albany Albany Cordelle Albany Thomasville

Americus Tallahassee

G 125 112 97 101 108 99 111 110 115

AB 512 447 391 387 441 381 439 408 430

H 164 141 134 110 159 132 138 133 120

R 88 85 75 73 96 76 75 74 72

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 232 32 13 3 113 39 15 .320 .453 .371 205 22 12 6 70 45 1 .315 .459 .390 199 32 12 3 77 32 19 .343 .509 .394 150 21 8 1 56 38 19 .284 .388 .353 192 28 4 0 62 46 40 .361 .435 .423 170 20 9 0 72 63 19 .346 .446 .447 180 14 8 4 65 52 18 .314 .410 .396 165 23 3 1 66 26 8 .326 .404 .369 164 21 10 1 59 47 11 .279 .381 .358

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

— —

— —

12 19

1 2

16 15

3 10

.842 .600

190 234

158 248

43 85

83 107

33 66

2.04 3.27

9.1 12.2

McColl was a playing manager. Four outfielders were in contention for the third OF spot. Three, obviously, did not make the cut. Evans has no apparent advantage over the three flyhawks he beat out for the ’38 GA.-Fla. Dream Team. Manager Dewey Stover of Moultrie hit .327, led the league with 90 walks and tied for the lead with a .447 OB%. Pat Riley (Albany) hit .320, tied for the league lead with (a puny) 8 homers, led with ¡28 runs in ¡20 games and added 75 runs driven in. John Rowe of Americus hit .3¡6, scored ¡¡5 times and was co-leader with 40 steals.

Woody Hargrove of Cordelle would appear to be a better utility choice than Kracher, although this is somewhat problematical as both players positions are listed simply as “U” for utility. Hargrove hit .322, slugged .430 and drove in 78 runs, fourth in the league. Two Albany pitchers compare well with Haefner (McColl was in a class by himself ). Steve Vargo was ¡5–7 with a 3.¡¡ ERA, and Krim Bess (love that name) was ¡8–6, 3.23.

¡938

121

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Cy Redifer Clint Andercek Art Grangard Willard Padgett Lou Perryman Glenn Grimes Harold Peck Archie Williams Fred Walker

SP SP

Lester Gray Elmer Haas

Team Union City Lexington Paducah Fulton Jackson Owensboro Hopkinsville Jackson Jackson G 38 34

Jackson Hopkinsville

G 100 127 129 130 128 123 130 97 99 GS — —

AB 376 509 494 544 474 477 565 291 298 CG 17 24

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 113 52 169 17 12 5 35 48 16 .301 .449 .380 159 75 213 39 6 1 62 26 20 .312 .418 .352 137 71 173 25 4 1 78 63 21 .277 .350 .360 157 78 194 32 1 1 78 45 9 .289 .357 .344 133 72 169 25 4 1 67 51 15 .281 .357 .358 153 99 214 33 8 4 64 47 33 .321 .449 .386 187 125 268 31 16 6 69 44 23 .331 .474 .384 85 35 101 10 4 0 34 44 4 .292 .347 .385 87 40 124 18 8 1 56 21 2 .292 .416 .341 SH — —

W 15 21

On the face of it, the third base position appears to be a toss-up between the selectee Grangard and Mayfield’s Albert Zachary (.272/.400/.348, 78 runs scored and 77 driven in). Grangard, however, fielded but .898 to Zachary’s not-great-but-a-lot-better .92¡. I’d go with the Z-man. At short, the non-selection of Floyd Baker of Mayfield is another episode in the ongoing epic known only as “Minor League All-Star Selection Mystery Theatre.” Baker had 87 fewer at bats than did Padgett, yet scored ¡¡¡ runs and drove in 85. His averages— .346/.453/.452, second, third, and first in the league respectively—add ammunition to the suspicion that he was jobbed by the sinister cabal known only as … The Scribes.

L 8 8

% .652 .724

IP 226 246

H 211 210

ER 73 73

SO 149 93

BB 62 62

ERA 2.91 2.67

BR/9 11.0 10.1

Two outfielders tower over league choice Perryman: Augie Bergamo of Paducah and Carl “Bill” Cooper of Fulton. Cooper hit .324, slugged .465 and had an OB% of .396. He scored ¡04 runs and drove in 77. Bergamo had averages of .355 (league best), .453, and .433. He scored ¡¡3 times. Fulton manager/catcher George Ray Clonts hit .270 and had 79 runs driven in. Utility man Walker played first, outfield, and catcher. Mayfield’s Gil Bruhn went ¡8–8, 2.89 and allowed ¡¡.6 BR/9. Jackson’s Glen Dacus was even better, ringing up sparking 22–8, 2.42, ¡0.7 numbers.

Mountain State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Hershey Garfield Ganoe Erwin Paul Murray Franklin John Mervar Earl Martin Walter Sessi Joe Ereno Deedum Krynzel

SP SP

Vic Sorrell Vern Kohler

Team Logan Bluefield Huntington Beckley Welch Beckley Williamson Beckley Bluefield

Bluefield Logan

G 13 28

G 108 120 116 94 110 101 118 89 108 GS — —

AB 405 522 414 385 430 390 456 326 375 CG 11 16

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 139 85 242 29 10 18 108 51 5 .343 .598 .429 170 120 253 30 13 9 107 48 26 .326 .485 .390 142 109 243 38 6 17 73 67 16 .343 .587 .437 169 91 304 31 13 26 110 38 31 .439 .790 .497 135 66 218 29 3 16 97 31 6 .314 .507 .360 152 97 244 38 7 13 94 55 13 .390 .626 .470 143 104 272 41 7 25 126 82 3 .314 .596 .429 99 55 142 23 4 4 58 46 4 .304 .436 .391 122 71 203 35 2 14 67 40 0 .325 .541 .393 SH — —

W 9 15

Logan keystoner Andrew Garcher was marginally inferior to Ganoe, having .290/.436/.374 averages, driving in ¡0¡ runs and scoring 90 in 56 fewer atbats than Ganoe. But afield … ah, here the true picture of the di›erence between the two comes out. Ganoe fielded a league-worst .9¡4 and had a league high 6¡ errors. Garcher fielded a league-best .972 and had but ¡9 errors. Game, set, match — Garcher. Huntington third baseman Thad “Hard” Cash had averages of .347, .5¡6, and .4¡7 and drove in ¡04 runs.

L 3 3

% .750 .833

IP 98 173

H 77 105

ER 15 43

SO 72 216

BB 23 79

ERA 1.38 2.24

BR/9 9.3 9.7

Bluefield outfielder Lewis D’Antoni crushed choice Mervar with .369/.593/.468 averages and scored ¡¡4 runs in ¡02 games. His teammate Erwin Rechlitz hit .3¡5 with 83 runs to merit consideration at catcher. The utility man with the name you love to say — Deedum Krynzel — played outfield and was 7–7 on the mound. Say it again ya’ll — Deedum! Hunh! Earl Brinegar (sorry, but I don’t know if he was any relation to Paul Brinegar) had a not-so-good 4.07

122

Minor League All-Star Teams Colts played .408 ball. Tell me, what is better than being good? That’s right, being lucky! Can I get a witness?

ERA and a mediocre-at-best ¡3.3 BR/9 ratio— but he went a tremendous ¡8–2 (.900) for a sub-.500 team! When he was not pitching, his Williamson

Nebraska State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Pete Monahan Ed Wernett Ted Kakaloris Tony Sams John Kreevich Leon Riley John Schinski Eddie Gibb Jack White

Team G AB H R TB Sioux City 118 405 140 103 234 Norfolk 74 295 87 75 154 Lincoln 115 462 141 89 242 Norfolk 117 433 134 82 197 Norfolk 105 432 138 94 187 Beatrice 115 425 155 117 266 Sioux City 104 411 144 93 209 Norfolk 102 392 124 59 173 Grand Island No hitting stats published.

SP SP

Reuben Fisher Clayton Fries

Sioux City Beatrice

G 27 32

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

Monahan and Riley were playing managers. Beatrice catcher Frank Graves hit .309 and slugged .504 on the way to driving in ¡09 runs. League utility choice White shows up as playing ¡5 games at second and ¡3 games at short, but does not appear in the batting stats. Norfolk outfielder/ first baseman Ned Tighe had .350/.539/.439 averages with ¡03 runs and 90 runs driven, including 2¡

W 21 17

2B 21 7 23 21 17 30 31 20

L 6 9

3B 8 12 18 12 10 15 8 10

% .778 .654

HR 19 12 14 6 4 17 6 3

IP 228 239

RBI 101 74 101 79 86 122 91 75

H 184 230

BB 96 44 48 30 56 82 59 32

ER 63 108

SB 15 4 19 22 38 15 3 1

BA .346 .295 .305 .309 .319 .365 .350 .316

SA .578 .522 .524 .455 .433 .626 .509 .441

OB% .476 .386 .375 .360 .399 .480 .433 .372

SO 242 241

BB 103 148

ERA 2.49 4.07

BR/9 11.6 14.5

triples. Whatever White whacked, I am reasonably sure it neither surpassed nor even tied Tighe. I was shocked — Shocked! to discover that the league’s best pitcher was not selected to the Nebraska State League’s dream team. Sioux City fireballer Harry Wolfe was ¡6–8 with a 2.37 ERA, a league-best 9.9 BR/9 ratio and 205 strikeouts in 209 innings.

North Carolina State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name George Silvey Darr Shealy Bob White Paul Rampy Harry Leonard Gene Nafie J. Roy Pinkston Jimmy Maus William Ayers

SP SP

Paige Dennis Wilbur Reeser

Team Shelby/Gastonia Thomasville Mooresville Salisbury Lexington Shelby/Gastonia Thomasville Thomasville Shelby/Gastonia

G 111 107 112 82 107 106 102 88 51

G 35 30

GS — —

Thomasville Lexington

AB 408 420 465 322 422 425 404 330 156 CG 28 16

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 129 87 196 28 6 9 61 65 80 .316 .480 .421 150 73 232 52 3 8 114 29 5 .357 .552 .401 156 89 213 32 5 5 53 71 11 .335 .458 .432 84 58 139 19 6 8 45 28 15 .261 .432 .333 145 75 197 34 3 4 64 30 12 .344 .467 .394 150 120 275 26 9 27 103 59 11 .353 .647 .433 144 89 234 31 7 15 110 34 6 .356 .579 .409 93 40 122 18 1 3 67 28 0 .282 .370 .342 32 21 57 11 1 4 26 7 0 .205 .365 .253 SH — —

Silvey and Maus were playing managers. Roland V. Harrington (it sounds to me as if there should be a “The Third” after his name), Thomasville’s shortfielder, had .338/.5¡7/.395 averages, all markedly superior to Rampy’s numbers. Yet, neither his averages nor the fact that he drove in 82 runs held any power to sway the league’s pundits. Gilbert Dobbs, Gastonia’s not-good-enough catcher, hit .288 with a .473 SA and 80 runs and 88 ribbies, but the fact that Maus was the league’s pennant-winning skipper was su‡cient to wrap up the slot for him.

W 28 15

L 2 9

% .933 .625

IP 284 187

H 188 179

ER 42 64

SO 220 129

BB 67 73

ERA 1.33 3.08

BR/9 8.3 12.2

Ayers played second and pitched, winding up with a fine 9–¡ record. However, he also hit like a pitcher, so I would look elsewhere for my handyman — perhaps to John Lavelle of Gastonia. Lavelle played third and the outfield, hitting .3¡¡ and slugging .559 in the process. In ¡09 games, he scored ¡¡5 runs and drove in 85 on the strength of his 25 homers, second highest total in the league. I would have bypassed Reeser for Ray Lindsay of Thomasville. Lindsay went ¡9–9 with a 2.72 ERA and had a ¡0.4 BR/9 ratio. In addition, he led the league in strike outs with 247 (in 245 IP).

¡938

123

Northeast Arkansas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name James Hamblin Elmer Kircho› George Oldenburg Herman Dvorak Jimmy Guyman George Reichelt Allen Zarilla Angel Aragon Robert O’Brien

SP SP

Johnny Sain Tom Gorman

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% Blytheville 72 260 80 53 115 15 7 2 56 37 11 .308 .442 .406 Batesville 108 420 137 72 185 31 4 3 72 33 9 .326 .440 .377 Newport 107 370 114 80 208 22 12 16 72 65 20 .308 .562 .413 Blytheville 94 291 66 51 79 9 2 0 36 59 12 .227 .271 .361 Newport 98 385 126 51 168 8 11 4 56 34 18 .327 .436 .382 Jonesboro 76 272 98 48 133 17 6 2 28 39 12 .360 .489 .442 Batesville 107 432 142 100 219 37 5 10 60 35 25 .329 .507 .382 Blytheville 98 346 104 63 141 12 5 5 80 62 14 .301 .408 .414 Newport 98 342 98 57 139 10 11 3 56 43 8 .287 .406 .376

Newport Blytheville

G 21 27

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 16 15

Kircho› was a playing manager. Paragould second baseman Cy Block had almost the same stats as Kircho› (.323/.47¡/.377, 87 runs scored, 74 driven in), so why would the selection be in dispute? Well, perhaps because Kircho› played only 47 of his games at second to Block’s ¡06 (Cy also stole 35 bases). At short, Newport’s Chandler Duncan was not a good fielder (.892 to Dvorak’s .9¡9), but Dvorak was a terrible hitter with no power at all. Duncan hit .284 and slugged .388. Despite his .360 BA, Reichelt was unproductive (as his R & RBI totals indicate). John Martin (Batesville) hit .333, scored 70 runs and drove in 66, and would have been at least as good a choice as Reichelt. Utility man O’Brien played first and outfield.

L 4 9

% .800 .625

IP 172 198

H 162 179

ER 52 55

SO 111 106

BB 48 100

ERA 2.72 2.50

BR/9 11.3 13.0

Blytheville Manager Herschel Bobo, in addition to leading his team to the league title, also played first, second, third, short, and outfield. His averages were only .259/.366/.403, but in ¡¡0 fewer at bats, he scored only seven fewer runs than did O’Brien and drove in only ¡9 fewer. Why, I wondered, would a pitcher who was ¡3–¡, led the league with a 2.02 ERA and with a ¡0.5 BR/9 ratio not make the All-Star team. Then, in a flash, it came to me — the voters were totally incompetent. Thus was Blytheville ace Harry Feldman cheated in his quest for immortality. Another hurler who merited a look was Harold Koopman (in the pitching stats) or Keepman (in the batting stats). Whichever, he was ¡6–6, 2.63., ¡¡.7. Perhaps having a four man sta› would not have been amiss.

Northern League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Hugh Gustafson John Nieman Louis Adrian Ray Mack William Barnacle Melvin Wasley Lynford Rumfield Bennie Bedrava Kenneth Williams

Team Winnipeg Eau Claire Wausau Fargo-Moorehead Crookston Duluth Superior Wausau F.-M./Superior

SP SP

Will Butland Mike Kash (Kaiserski)

Crookston Crookston

G 118 127 117 94 118 120 107 117 81

AB 446 458 469 378 455 471 401 387 301

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 144 59 203 30 1 9 75 43 14 .323 .455 .384 136 63 178 25 7 1 68 45 6 .297 .389 .361 125 75 179 22 1 10 86 26 7 .267 .382 .309 143 77 259 32 6 24 96 27 20 .378 .685 .424 140 87 200 28 7 6 49 74 14 .308 .440 .406 168 110 308 29 4 31 115 52 11 .357 .654 .432 137 64 206 25 7 10 88 49 15 .342 .514 .420 116 76 183 33 2 10 56 68 7 .300 .473 .410 76 42 92 16 0 0 32 34 4 .252 .306 .332

G GS CG SH 30 — 25 — 29 — 24 —

W L 19 6 20 5

% .760 .800

IP 232 220

H 220 204

ER — —

SO 203 187

BB 33 54

ERA — —

BR/9 9.9 10.6

No ERA kept for pitchers, hence no ERA.

Duluth Duke first baseman Lyle Thompson had 444 at bats to league choice Gustafson’s 446, and in those he hit .322 with a .392 OB%. Thompson, however, slugged .586, scored 92 runs, drove in ¡¡0, and belted 27 homers. In other words, Thompson fulfilled the role of a first baseman. Gustafson had a good hitting year —for a shortstop.

Duke second baseman/manager “Dutch” Dorman had .300/.386/.425 averages (the latter second in the league), was third with 98 runs, and led in put-outs, assists, chances per game, and double plays. By the way, his team also just happened to win the league championship. Utility man Williams played short and caught (a

124

Minor League All-Star Teams ous consideration for the Chosen Men. Two superior men from Superior, Lee Taylor and Bernard DeForge were ¡7–4 and ¡9–6 respectively. Taylor an ¡¡.5 BR/9 ratio and DeForge forged a ¡0.5. Joe Sosnouski of Eau Claire was ¡6–¡3. Not so great, you think? Well, he won 4¡% of his team’s games. The Bears finished 45 games under .500, and were 23–7¡, .245 in games where he was not involved in the decision.

seldom seen tandem, even in Class D). Rollin Barnacle of the Wausau Maroons seems a better utility choice. He played second, third, and the outfield, scored 68 runs and drove in 58, and had .307/.456/ .398 averages, all quite superior to Williams. All in all, I guess it could truly be said of Barnacle: What a Maroon! At least three other pitchers were worthy of seri-

Ohio State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frederick Klann Garland Sewell Harold Freeman Tony Guzak Edward Kudrycki Peter Kraus Stan Platek Del Wilbur Ted Haas

SP SP

John Brich Frederick Berger

Team Findlay Fremont Fremont Ti‡n Ti‡n Fostoria Fremont Findlay Fremont

Fremont Fostoria

G 82 90 92 72 96 98 88 100 50 G 26 13

AB 344 358 369 382 386 368 349 413 216 GS 19 8

H 118 118 125 93 124 137 115 129 64 CG 15 2

R 53 84 99 67 74 100 52 72 38 SH 2 0

TB 153 155 198 144 180 220 174 207 84 W 13 9

2B 17 17 21 8 19 31 13 25 12 L 5 2

3B 3 4 5 2 5 8 11 4 1

% .722 .818

HR 4 4 14 13 9 12 8 15 2 IP 159 83

RBI 44 67 55 52 75 78 64 83 33 H 183 83

BB — — — — — — — — — ER — —

SB 5 19 9 5 6 11 19 7 7

BA .343 .330 .339 .243 .321 .372 .330 .312 .296

SA .445 .433 .537 .377 .466 .598 .499 .501 .389

OB% — — — — — — — — —

SO 110 84

BB 92 41

ERA — —

BR/9 15.6 13.4

No stats were recorded in the Guide for this league. They were reconstructed by legendary minor league researcher and door knob collector Ray Nemec.

There were three contenders for the utility crown, one of whom made the squad as an outfielder, one of whom made it at utility, and one of whom was relegated to the deep footnotes of an almost forgotten league. Kudrycki played outfield, second, third, and short. Haas played outfield, third, short, and pitched.

James “Chappie” Geygan played first, second, outfield, and also pitched. Geygan hit .330 and slugged .59¡, and led the league with ¡8 home runs. Glen Fletcher, who flang for Fremont and Findlay (but not Fostoria), finished with a fine fifteen and five record. His BR/9 ratio of ¡3.7 was far superior to that posted by Brich.

Pennsylvania State Association (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Hank Sauer Dan Hayes Arnie Deim Frank Wecheck Frank Kalin John Hyder Harold Bush Forrest Hunt William Sheehan

Team Butler Butler Beaver Falls Greensburg McKeesport Butler Greensburg Butler Greensburg

G 100 100 79 72 81 72 88 72 44

AB 385 358 285 295 338 288 347 244 89

H 135 104 86 78 117 98 112 60 21

R 89 77 77 51 62 47 75 31 19

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 216 29 8 12 74 44 25 .351 .561 .433 140 13 10 1 39 73 20 .291 .391 .417 134 15 3 9 49 78 10 .302 .470 .462 100 10 6 0 29 22 0 .264 .339 .322 189 29 8 12 81 29 8 .346 .559 .401 148 15 7 7 52 22 15 .340 .514 .389 220 10 16 22 85 29 4 .323 .634 .377 79 6 5 1 35 23 8 .246 .324 .313 29 0 1 2 12 15 1 .236 .326 .364

SP SP

Justin Fest Doug Leonardson

McKeesport Beaver Falls

G 27 28

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 16 8

Armand Sergiacomi, Butler shortstop, had .300/ .387/.384 averages, drove in 43 runs and stole 34 bases. He would’ve gotten my vote. The league’s two outfielding -aneks, John “Don’t” Panek and Ollie Vanek could easily have made the squad. Beaver Falls’s Panek hit .30¡, stole 29 bases, and led the league with 96 runs in 94 games. Greens-

L 6 7

% .727 .533

IP 178 121

H 170 138

ER 62 59

SO 80 75

BB 57 42

ERA 3.13 4.39

BR/9 12.0 13.7

burg’s playing manager Vanek had .336/.567/.397 averages and drove in 70 runs. Sheehan caught and pitched. Butler manager Ernest Jenkins was 9–¡ with a ¡.87 ERA and a ¡0.5 BR/9 ratio (he was ¡6 IP short of qualifying to lead the league in both categories). Robert Janeski of Beaver Falls went 8–2, 3.2¡, ¡0.8.

¡938

125

It’s too bad Bill Zuber didn’t pitch for McKeesport. Then he would have been announced as “Zuber of the Tubers.”

Both were, despite pitching too few innings to qualify for leaderships in various statistical categories, far superior to Leonardson.

Texas Valley League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bill McClaren George Hausman Thomas Mays Tommy Woodru› Steve Carter Roger Rotoni Manuel Cortinas Walter Kopp Tony Swift

SP SP

Grover Miller Gene Hinrichs

Team Harlingen Corpus Christi Harlingen Corpus Christi Harlingen Harlingen Corpus Christi McAllen Brownsville G 18 44

Brownsville Harlingen

G — — — — — — — — —

AB 599 557 540 579 571 456 478 392 454

GS 15 36

H 192 198 170 157 207 135 182 121 112

CG 14 31

R 136 157 137 130 148 108 125 86 68

SH — —

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 313 19 6 20 103 56 18 .321 .523 .381 306 38 14 14 120 74 33 .355 .549 .434 265 31 5 18 136 87 41 .315 .491 .416 243 28 20 6 71 84 44 .271 .420 .366 319 45 17 11 124 86 25 .363 .559 .451 177 22 4 4 55 75 39 .296 .388 .404 309 31 18 20 132 69 15 .381 .646 .464 184 17 0 12 90 35 9 .309 .469 .368 133 14 2 1 39 66 28 .247 .293 .350

W 5 27

L 11 8

% .313 .771

IP 128 310

H 162 271

ER 85 97

SO 75 223

BB 61 125

ERA 5.98 2.82

BR/9 15.8 11.8

.338/.5¡4/.4¡8 averages. Factor in his 77 runs driven in and his ¡¡4 runs scored, and the Oiler shortstop/ second baseman should have had a lock on the selection. Corpus Christi Spudder hurler Tom “Flinger” Finger had 23 CGs in 25 starts and went 2¡–5, 2.75, ¡¡.9. J.D. Creel of McAllen was ¡5–7, 3.79 (sixth in the league), ¡3.¡. Now, some may think these players were not the craftsmen Miller was (what with his 5–¡¡, 5.98, ¡5.8 figures and all), but I am not to be numbered among these sages of sling, and I doubt that many readers (who were, after all, sagacious enough to purchase this tome) will vociferate in favor of the aforementioned Miller either.

First base: Herb Fash, Taft. It should have been just that easy. Fash hit .346, slugged .556, and had an OB% of .424. He scored ¡¡7 runs and drove in ¡32 (more than one a game). McClaren was good, Fash was better. In the outfield, Rotoni just was not a good enough hitter to be included on the roster. A far better choice would have been Leo Najo, the McAllen Assassin. He rang up .354 (fourth in the league), .62¡ (second in the league) and .497 (best in the league) averages. He tied for the league lead with 20 home runs, and, in 98 games, he scored ¡06 runs and drove in 90. Utility man Swift played third and second, and was a poor hitter. Refugio’s W. “Bing” Miller, in virtually the same number of plate appearances, had

West Texas-New Mexico League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Jake Suytar Robert Decker Purvis Spanger Joe Gedzius James Morris Cecil Smyly Anthony Bonk James “Hack” Miller Clarence “Near” Beers

Ralph Marshall Marshall Scott

Team Midland Big Springs Wink Lubbock Midland Hobbs Hobbs

G 128 119 123 125 128 128 45

Lubbock

123 443 160 126 297

44

6

27

125

—

19 .361 .670

—

Midland

114 396

20

6

10

77

—

5 .227 .384

—

% .714 .679

IP 58 217

Lubbock Hobbs

G 8 35

GS 6 26

AB 519 487 480 493 455 529 167

CG 6 20

H 177 143 145 163 126 194 59

R 124 98 129 158 102 182 38

90 SH — —

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 318 42 2 31 122 — 19 .341 .613 — 193 23 5 6 76 — 67 .294 .396 — 219 27 7 11 93 — 51 .302 .456 — 296 34 9 27 95 — 9 .331 .600 — 211 26 4 17 95 — 9 .277 .464 — 330 35 7 29 120 — 28 .367 .624 — 94 16 2 5 34 — 6 .353 .563 —

62 152 W 5 19

L 2 9

H 35 210

ER 10 98

SO 83 227

BB 24 111

ERA 1.55 4.06

BR/9 9.3 13.8

Walks not complied for batters, so no OB% figures possible.

Miller was a playing manager. As the old ditty goes, “Tell me, tell me tell me do/ why choose Decker to play base two?” Malcom Stevens, Lubbock Hub-

ber keystoner, led the league in homers (3¡) and RBI (¡32), scored ¡24 runs, batted .365 and slugged .663. Compared to Stevens, Decker was Chuck Cottier.

126

Minor League All-Star Teams Although Marshall pitched well indeed, 8 games and 58 innings do not a season (or, for that matter, even a half a season) make. Jerry Blanchard, Marshall’s Hubber teammate, was ¡7–9, 3.35 (and, to sweeten the pot, he hit .320 with ¡9 RBIs). V. L. “Red” Roberts, Wink mound stalwart, was ¡3–8 with a league-best figures (among qualifiers) of 3.08 and ¡¡.6. It should be noted that Scott won ¡9 games for a team which was 34 games under .500 and ¡0 games out of fifth in a six team league. The Boosters played .284 when anyone other than Scott toed the slab. And, to show the “Dark Side” of baseball in the WT-NM league, check out the season of Hogan of Hobbs, second on the Booster sta› in wins and IP to All-Star Scott: 6–¡6, 9.05 ERA (and ¡¡.7 runs/9) with 2¡.2 (!) BR allowed per 9 IP, and ¡60 walks in ¡70 innings pitched.

In the outfield, the choice of Morris is beyond mysterious. Clovis manager/outfielder W. D. “40” Ratli› hit .327 and slugged .559 with 24 home runs. In ¡22 games, he scored ¡2¡ runs and drove in ¡27. And, if you are determined to select a player who was in about half of his teams games (and you certainly have that right), why on earth choose Bonk instead of Lance “Alot” Donaldson? Donaldson, in his 67 games, hit .437 and slugged .739. He had ¡6 homers and both scored and drove in 78 runs. The selectors must have had a bad case of Bonkus on the conkus. It would explain so much. There were two utility men who played outfield and caught. One hit .227 with concomitant stats, the other hit .305 with ditto. The sages and mages of the league, of course, chose Mr. .227. But, we shall not deign to abet such unperspicacity. H. Delmont Ballenger, Beers Midland teammate, hit .305 and slugged .5¡8, scored 84 runs and drove in 92.

! ¡939 ! In ¡939, there were forty one leagues in the National Association. Thirty four of them (83%) named all-star teams.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Tony Lupien George Fallon Steve Barath Edward Hope George Staller Glenn McQuillan Jack Graham Milt Gray Ken Richardson

SP SP

Newton Jacobs Mickey Harris

Team Scranton Elmira Albany Elmira Elmira Williamsport Binghamton Williamsport Williamsport

G 83 140 121 134 137 135 118 116 130

G 32 31

GS 28 21

Springfield Scranton

AB 310 528 461 442 557 527 435 398 427 CG 23 14

H R 99 47 152 70 117 67 118 57 187 93 172 95 142 94 126 60 131 100 SH 2 2

I went with Wilkes-Barre’s Gerald Hannahoe at first, mostly because I don’t think zero home runs and 40 RBIs is what you want from a first baseman. Hannahoe hit .289, drove in 76 runs (eighth in the league), and scored 99 times (third in the league). Al Brancato, third baseman for Williamsport, was my choice over Barath. Brancato hit .278, scored 78

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 136 13 12 0 40 32 6 .319 .439 .383 207 22 7 6 75 35 10 .288 .392 .333 178 22 6 9 53 40 9 .254 .386 .320 138 12 4 0 41 79 6 .267 .312 .379 262 49 10 2 68 42 22 .336 .470 .385 274 23 11 19 72 55 8 .326 .520 .395 279 18 16 29 94 51 9 .326 .641 .398 164 26 3 2 51 46 12 .317 .412 .389 245 27 3 27 89 89 7 .307 .574 .427

W 18 17

L 9 4

% .667 .810

IP 238 184

H 234 147

ER 87 49

SO 89 148

BB 82 74

ERA 3.29 2.40

BR/9 11.9 11.0

runs, and his 98 RBIs were the tops in the Eastern League. Richardson played second and third. The original X-Man, Xavier Resigno deserved a place on the hill sta›. The Elmira starboardsider went ¡¡–4 and led the league in ERA with a 2.2¡ mark and BR/9 ratio at ¡0.3.

Piedmont League (A) Richmond third baseman Ernie Horne hit .335, slugged .459 and had a .374 OB%. He had 72 RBIs and scored 86 runs in 84 fewer PAs than Richards. Horne’s Colt teammate, shortstop Larry Kinzer, also

appears to have gotten the short end of a stick he probably wasn’t even aware of. Kinzer hit .304 (36 points better than Hart), slugged .422 (24 points better), and had an OB% of .403 (a huge 60 point ad-

¡939 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John Angle Wayne Blackburn Bob Richards Bill Hart George Ferrell Floyd Yount Russ Derry Ken Sears Gil Torres

SP SP

Chuck Hawley Max Wilson

Team Asheville Durham Asheville Asheville Richmond Portsmouth Norfolk Norfolk Charlotte

G 137 126 145 145 143 137 134 118 88

G 33 27

Durham Portsmouth

AB 494 462 529 523 506 500 505 435 199

GS — —

127

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 161 86 227 21 15 5 94 69 22 .326 .460 .410 159 104 197 22 5 2 30 86 29 .344 .426 .450 159 73 212 17 6 8 74 56 33 .301 .401 .372 140 82 208 21 6 12 75 59 17 .268 .398 .343 174 103 297 25 1 32 129 90 4 .344 .587 .450 175 99 257 27 11 11 88 69 21 .350 .514 .433 157 117 323 24 11 40 119 76 9 .311 .640 .409 150 91 297 21 6 38 120 39 3 .345 .683 .401 47 19 55 3 1 1 14 8 1 .236 .276 .266

CG 14 21

SH — —

W 17 15

L 5 10

% .773 .600

IP 191 202

H 146 178

ER — —

SO 98 153

BB 112 90

ERA — —

BR/9 12.5 12.1

No ER recorded, so no ERA figures.

of a pitcher to be your utility man, why then there’s Frank Trexler of Richmond. He pitched in 36 of his 77 games (more about his pitching below) and managed a .268 average with a .4¡8 SA, much better than Torres. In fact, Trexler should have been selected as a pitcher. He was a strong ¡9–9 for a sub-.500 team, and he led the circuit with ¡85 Ks and 22 CGs. Herschel Lyons and Hank Gornicki, Asheville teammates, were also overlooked when the time came for post-season honors. In Gornicki’s case, it is sort of acceptable since he was only in ¡3 games. He did go 9–0 though, and that is worthy of note. Lyons was almost as good at ¡2–¡, and he had the best BR/9 ratio of any league pitcher, finishing with a ¡0.2 mark.

vantage). He led all shortstops in FA, assists, putouts, and handled 5.9 TC/G to Hart’s 5.4. I would add a fourth outfielder in the person of Art McHenry (Portsmouth). Art hit only .304, but his SA was .509, he popped 25 homers, scored 9¡ runs, and drove in ¡06. Torres played outfield, third and pitched (he played other positions also, but LT¡0). He was ¡0–¡2 on the mound. But, even if he had been 22–¡0, I would still disagree with his being named an All-Star utility player. .236 BA? .276 SA? .266 OB%? There were better choices. George LaPointe of Charlotte, for example. He played third, short, outfield, and pitched a bit. He hit .3¡9, drove in 60 runs, and scored 83. Or, if you prefer someone who was more

South Atlantic League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Kenneth Ouzts Edgar Leip Felix Rios Alfred Anderson Hugh Todd William Johnson Augie Bergamo Fermin Guerra Carl Fairly

SP SP

Leo Twardy Charles Burgess

Team Augusta Greenville Jacksonville Savannah Jacksonville Augusta Columbus Greenville Macon

Augusta Savannah

G 41 23

G 139 132 129 126 103 142 138 108 139 GS — —

AB 545 543 471 505 378 543 550 383 528 CG 22 10

H 181 175 164 167 145 178 190 123 144

R 87 121 72 112 85 107 100 61 80

SH — —

My first base choice was Walt Alston of Columbus. His .323 BA and .399 OB% were not much di›erent from those posted by Ouzts, but his .5¡¡ SA certainly was. He hit ¡¡ homers (good for a tie for fourth in this power-starved league) and drove in 82 runs in ¡52 fewer PAs than Ouzts (had he come to the plates as many times as did Ouzts, his extrapolated RBI total would be ¡2¡). Hal Quick, Greenville shortstop, led the league with ¡06 RBIs and scored 93 runs. He batted .338.

W 21 12

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 235 33 9 1 97 52 5 .332 .431 .394 242 27 17 2 55 65 17 .322 .446 .402 222 44 4 2 77 58 2 .348 .471 .422 221 34 4 4 65 53 25 .331 .438 .404 184 23 2 4 64 65 3 .384 .487 .479 249 31 8 8 86 88 8 .328 .459 .428 260 28 18 2 53 76 9 .345 .473 .426 174 11 17 2 55 23 9 .321 .454 .360 198 22 10 4 95 36 13 .273 .375 .322 L 12 4

% .636 .750

IP 274 138

H 307 127

ER 101 51

SO 98 125

BB 40 61

ERA 3.32 3.33

BR/9 11.6 12.7

Having two players sharing the shortstop slot would not have been looked upon as an abomination by the baseball Gods, I have to believe. There are three outfielders who had seasons worthy of mention, Ed Rose and Dan Pavlovic of Savannah and Robert Winters of Columbia. Rose hit .353 and his .49¡ SA was good for second in the league. He had 94 RBIs and scored 79 runs in ¡¡6 games. Pavlovic led the league in homers with ¡9 and SA with .522, the only mark over .500 in the league. He

128

Minor League All-Star Teams been his Macon Peach teammate Eddie Stankey. The Brat played short and second, hit .305 with ¡09 runs, and got on base ¡03 times without benefit of a hit. Poor Bill Seinsoth (Columbus). The unfortunate lad led the league in ERA with a 2.4¡ mark and in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.7 figure. He had no chance of being named to the team (he was ¡7–¡0, by the way). His rotation buddy, Ed Wissman, was 2¡–9 with a 2.88 ERA, but that apparently turned no selectors heads. Wissman also hit .287 with 23 RBIs.

hit .3¡5. Winters hit .3¡7 with 87 runs and slashed an impressive 58 doubles. The chosen three outhit the three named above .349–.327, but the latter three outslug the demigods .485–.47¡. Todd/Johnson/ Bergamo scored 292 runs and drove in 203 while Pavlovic/Rose/Winters only scored 245 but drove in 270. Now, I am not advocating supplanting any selectees. I am merely presenting some alternatives which I believe to be viable. Heck, I’d not’ve argued had the league picked all six. Fairly played only third. A better option may have

Southeastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Paul “Tempus” Fugit Norris Simms George Jansco Jo›re Cross Maurice Jungman Henry “Prince” Oana Grover Resinger Joe Kracher Vernon Boyd

SP SP

John Hutchings Zack Schuessler

Team Jackson Pensacola Jackson Mobile Jackson Jackson Selma Selma Meridian

Pensacola Pensacola

G 43 33

G 136 115 134 119 134 139 133 132 102

GS — —

AB 544 446 541 416 502 508 489 417 296

CG 24 20

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 166 90 248 22 9 14 80 36 5 .305 .456 .364 138 64 160 18 2 0 38 44 5 .309 .359 .375 192 118 299 65 3 12 69 59 13 .355 .553 .418 120 57 164 16 8 4 48 32 18 .288 .394 .339 180 98 266 30 10 11 104 58 24 .359 .530 .426 164 114 325 20 12 39 127 81 11 .323 .640 .418 158 93 210 30 5 4 81 59 15 .323 .429 .397 137 69 224 35 5 14 76 57 12 .329 .537 .414 93 41 139 23 1 7 39 7 4 .314 .470 .332

SH — —

Anniston first baseman Mickey Rocco hit .3¡8, slugged .5¡6, and had an OB% of .383. He led the league with ¡27 runs, hit 40 doubles and ¡8 homers, and drove home 87 runs. He also led the league in assists with ¡0¡, while Fugit had only 66. There is not a thing wrong with Jansco’s season (note those 65 doubles), but I had him as my utility man. He played second and short as well as third (where he played 86 games, and played them poorly as his .894 FA will attest). My third baseman was Bobby Bragan of Pensacola who guarded the hot corner full time. He led the league in fielding by a wide margin (his .975 FA was 28 points higher than that posted by the runner-up), and was not a bad hitter. He batted .3¡¡, slugged .480, scored 85 runs and drove in 95. Jo›re Cross (I’ll bet his parents were glad they

W 22 20

L 10 7

% .688 .741

IP 260 228

H 183 219

ER 57 58

SO 205 125

BB 85 57

ERA 1.97 2.29

BR/9 9.4 10.9

hadn’t named him Petain Cross) only fielded .9¡6, which is not so hot, even for the thirties. Myer Chozen (Jackson) had a .95¡ FA and he also hit .29¡ with 77 runs. I’d choose Chozen. Boyd played third, outfield, and pitched (5–2), but, as stated above, I would have gone with Jansco at the utility spot. I would have picked a third Pensacola Pilot pitcher for the team. Kinner Graf was 20–6 (note that Pensacola had a trio of twenty game winners) and was fifth in ERA with a 2.65 figure. As an aside, Pensacola pitchers allowed only 462 runs all season, an average of just 3.3 a game. With about 95% of their innings accounted for (team pitching stats were not kept for about another ten years), the Pilot ERA was 2.95. That was a darned impressive mark, especially for the time.

Three-I League (B) S.J. Galle (Galaszewski), Bloomington shortstop, had 22 fewer errors than did Neighbors who, as I believe was mentioned before, was the only exmajor leaguer killed during the Korean War. (He was shot down over North Korea). Galle also had a .332 batting average, a mere 53 points higher than Neighbor’s, slugged .499 (again, only 55 points higher than Neighbors), and squeaked by with a

.398 OB%, only 50 points higher than neighbors. He also drove in 9¡ runs, a fine total for a shortstop. There are two possible alternative outfield choices: Chet Ross, a proud Evansville Bee, and Fred Stroble who played for Springfield. Ross was second in homers and RBIs, with ¡7 and ¡¡¡ respectively. He hit .306 and slugged .507. Stroble hit .32¡, led the league

¡939 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Eddie Waitkus George Hausmann Sid Gordon Robert Neighbors Bernard Olsen Del Jones George Bink James Steiner Clarence Levandowski

SP SP

Ray Campbell Joseph Callahan

Team Moline Springfield Clinton Springfield Moline Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids Moline Moline

Moline Evansville

G 32 31

G 122 121 121 119 114 117 119 90 122

GS — —

AB 472 475 459 435 455 464 496 330 496

CG 18 14

129

H R TB 2B 154 71 206 19 150 96 215 24 150 89 236 14 117 80 193 22 142 95 248 31 168 120 235 26 163 98 233 26 98 38 113 9 142 83 187 18

SH — —

with 2¡ homers and a .574 SA, and his .439 OB% was third. Clinton catcher John Tonco› hit .294 and slugged .43¡, scored 54 runs and drove in 58. He hit seven homers, which works out to just about infinity times more than Steiner’s zero. Levandowski played second and outfield.

W 14 19

L 9 8

% .609 .704

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 12 3 70 38 4 .326 .436 .381 13 5 57 62 13 .316 .453 .397 24 8 83 52 9 .327 .514 .399 6 14 80 48 12 .269 .444 .348 15 15 90 28 19 .312 .545 .353 10 7 77 72 39 .362 .506 .449 7 10 116 49 14 .329 .470 .390 3 0 53 28 1 .297 .342 .356 6 5 55 52 25 .286 .377 .355 IP 201 194.3

H 182 141

ER 73 40

SO 102 136

BB 71 73

ERA 3.27 1.85

BR/9 11.6 10.4

Cedar Rapids Raider Roger Wol› had the league’s best winning percentage (.750 o› of a ¡5–5 record) and was fourth in ERA with a 3.08 mark. Al Japery (Evansville) was the circuits best reliever, working 84 innings in 3¡ games. He was 5–3 with a 3.43 ERA. (He was also the Three-I’s worst hitter, batting .038 on a ¡–26 year at the plate.)

Western International League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Garretson John Stamper W. “Wimpy” Quinn Bill Skelley Lloyd Christopher Dwight Aden Roswell Edy Neal Cli›ord Charles Peterson

Team Tacoma Yakima Vancouver Wenatchee Wenatchee Spokane Vancouver Tacoma Yakima

G 138 143 94 143 138 147 111 199 144

AB 498 596 409 569 558 609 422 390 561

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 157 96 244 41 11 8 87 70 7 .315 .490 .404 178 81 237 34 5 5 48 68 16 .299 .398 .373 135 93 230 30 1 21 88 18 9 .330 .562 .358 208 133 344 48 2 28 117 63 10 .366 .605 .430 197 129 338 40 4 31 131 42 9 .353 .606 .408 207 111 266 21 19 0 56 49 28 .340 .437 .393 146 69 199 24 1 9 76 41 11 .346 .472 .413 128 61 194 22 7 10 56 80 5 .328 .497 .455 161 79 205 25 5 3 43 58 20 .287 .365 .357

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP John “Pine Tar” Pintar Wenatchee 36 — 22 — 19 10 .655 241 240 93 151 53 3.47 11.2 SP Albert Gerhauser Wenatchee 32 — 9 — 14 5 .737 177 203 68 123 41 3.46 12.5

“Wimpy” Quinn’s real name was J. Wellington Quinn. My outfield was Christopher, Edward L. Stewart of Vancouver, and Morrison Abbott of Tacoma. Stewart hit .324 and slugged .552 with 27 homers, ¡¡4 RBIs and he scored 95 runs. Abbott hit only .297, but he had a .567 SA and a .4¡3 OB%. He hit 37 homers, drove in ¡23 runs, and scored ¡¡6 times. The selected outfielders hit .346, slugged .505, and had a .404 OB%. The chosen threesome had a measly 40 home runs, scored 309 times and drove in 263 runs, a low 88 per man. My outfield of Christopher, Stewart, and Abbott hit a lower .325, slugged a much higher .575, and had about the same OB% (.400). The real di›erence is in the P&P stats: 95 homers (32 per man), 340 runs, and 368 RBIs (¡23 per). I would take my three ten times outta ten, especially because Christopher could cover so much ground between the two other sluggers (Christopher had 429 put-

outs, 97 more than the next highest total in the league). Peterson played only third. The best utility man (read: the most versatile) was Orland Lightner of the pathetic Bellingham Chinooks. Orland played first, third, outfield, and even pitched, but he hit only .228 and led the league with ¡45 strike-outs. (By the way, just how bad were the Chinooks? Well, they finished 30∂ games out of sixth in a seven team league. They were so bad that they bring to mind the ¡9¡6 Athletics. You know, the team that lost so many games that seventh place Washington was only one game under .500. Well, sixth place Yakima finished at 72–73. I would have foregone the Chinooks moniker and named them the Bellingham Sters.) Tacoma’s Floyd Isekite was ¡8–¡2 and had the league’s best ERA, a high 3.29. He also led with 2¡9 strike-outs. Spokane’s Ira Scribner went ¡8–¡¡, was

130

Minor League All-Star Teams league’s only twenty game winner) and finished sixth in the W. Int. with an ERA of 3.44. He allowed ¡¡.7 BR/9.

second in the league with ¡85 Ks, was fourth with an ERA of 3.42, and led the league in BR/9 ratio by a wide margin, coming in with a 9.8 mark. Yakima Pippin pitcher Hub Kittle was 20–¡0 (the

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Cleo “Raw” Diehl Frank Ska› Oscar Fleishman Art Funk James Conlan Billy Southworth, Jr. Eddie Sawyer Myron Williams Ken Hill

SP SP

Harry Kuntashian Eugene Davis

Team Amsterdam Oswego Oswego Oswego Oswego Rome Amsterdam Rome Rome

Oswego Ottawa

G 32 25

G 125 114 125 70 118 102 122 118 129 GS — —

AB 454 419 451 258 433 383 458 405 509 CG 17 17

H 145 139 137 83 145 131 169 105 164

R 78 88 69 45 99 69 96 62 99

SH 1 1

W 20 15

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 225 26 9 12 88 47 3 .319 .496 .387 231 29 6 17 90 42 12 .332 .551 .398 172 13 5 4 73 49 6 .304 .381 .376 133 20 6 6 55 15 6 .322 .516 .361 239 32 4 18 79 63 3 .335 .552 .422 217 25 8 15 85 40 20 .342 .567 .408 276 53 3 16 103 26 4 .369 .603 .408 174 16 10 11 67 55 1 .259 .430 .349 244 36 4 12 86 42 15 .322 .479 .381 L 6 6

% .769 .714

IP 199 169

H 209 183

ER 96 55

SO 88 83

BB 81 33

ERA 4.34 2.93

BR/9 13.3 11.7

He was ¡0–7 for a team which played .330 ball when he was not involved in the decision. Joe Butsko of Rome went ¡8–8, had a 2.86 ERA (fifth best in the league), and led all pitchers in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.2. John Bianco of Amsterdam was ¡8–6 and was second in ERA with a 2.67 figure and in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.4. Harry Kuntashian either pitched under the name Ken Tashian in ¡939 (for that is what his name appeared as in both the hitting and pitching stats), or the statistician just plain misplaced his first name and misspelled his last.

Funk was a playing manager. I had Ska› at utility (he played second and third) and Hill, who played 92% of his games there, as my third baseman. At second I had Henry Gimple of Gloversville. He hit .303, slugged .47¡, and had a .389 OB%. He scored 85 runs and had 95 RBIs, second most in the league. My catcher was Charlie Warren of Amsterdam. He hit .309 and had a SA of .483 with 69 RBIs. John Cahill, who pitched for last place, 33 games under .500 Utica, led the league with an ERA of 2.27.

Cotton States League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Murrell Jones John Wessing Guy Pruitt John Conway Steve Carter Andy Gilbert John Rowe Frank Krole Gerald Lipscomb

Team Monroe Hot Springs Monroe Monroe Hot Springs Clarksdale Helena Clarksdale Greenwood

SP SP

Earl Harrist Kelton Maxfield

El Dorado Monroe

G 138 131 138 137 136 136 139 116 124 G 41 35

GS — —

AB 524 464 502 563 518 564 565 417 445

H 168 142 134 176 191 183 202 122 135

CG — —

R 73 83 108 117 117 136 133 61 85

SH — —

Al Gardella, Hot Springs first baseman, led the league with 32 homers, drove in ¡00 runs, scored ¡¡5 times, and finished third in SA with a .504 mark. I would be hard pressed to decide between him and Jones. A fourth outfielder would also not have been wrongly selected, in this case Earl Naylor of the Greenville Buckshots. He finished second in homers with 26, led in doubles with 4¡ and also in SA, post-

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 248 26 6 14 103 36 5 .321 .473 .370 203 30 8 5 78 60 21 .306 .438 .388 211 25 8 12 86 68 7 .267 .420 .360 252 40 12 4 76 45 41 .313 .448 .371 247 32 6 4 132 66 24 .369 .477 .444 296 33 13 18 108 45 19 .324 .525 .378 274 30 18 2 52 69 35 .358 .485 .441 173 24 9 3 62 33 6 .293 .415 .349 208 29 13 9 80 71 5 .303 .467 .400

W 20 16

L 14 4

% .588 .800

IP 252 218

H 197 232

ER 109 91

SO 223 127

BB 178 87

ERA 3.89 3.76

BR/9 13.6 13.2

ing a .568 figure. He drove in ¡00 runs and scored ¡02 himself. Helena catcher M. McNulty hit .320, had a .47¡ SA and led the league with a .450 OB%. He drove in 69 runs and scored 82. I’d choose him over Krole. My sta› would definitely include two Helena Seaporter pitchers, James Hogan and Jack Kraus, despite the fact that Helena finished last, 23 games under .500. Hogan was only ¡2–¡7, but he led the league in

¡939

131

ERA with a 3.¡4 mark and in BR/9 ratio with a (high for a leader) ¡2.8. Kraus went ¡5–8 and was second in ERA at 3.37, and he was top-five in BR/9 ratio at ¡3.2.

East Texas League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name George Sturdivant John Zapor Al Costello Damon Phillips Gilbert Turner Ed Knoblauch John Simontacci Lou Kahn Vance Scrivner Randolph

SP SP

Steve Rachunok Gene Hinrichs

Team Henderson Henderson Palestine Henderson Marshall Kilgore Marshall Palestine Kilgore

Henderson Henderson

G 29 31

G 140 89 127 134 116 139 140 123 128

GS 29 23

AB 528 301 444 485 441 564 535 463 478

CG 23 15

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 156 95 259 39 8 16 110 51 14 .295 .491 .363 105 64 171 26 2 12 47 59 15 .349 .568 .456 124 88 187 27 0 12 75 91 9 .279 .421 .418 132 71 186 34 1 6 68 47 6 .272 .384 .348 144 92 255 29 2 26 112 59 14 .327 .578 .411 189 125 240 37 4 2 48 80 28 .335 .426 .422 179 96 263 45 6 9 99 69 15 .335 .492 .416 160 91 236 39 2 11 78 50 18 .346 .510 .413 131 86 161 23 2 1 65 68 18 .274 .337 .368 SH — —

W 22 15

L 6 8

% .786 .652

IP 218 199

H 163 158

ER 52 62

SO 190 170

BB 91 109

ERA 2.15 2.80

BR/9 10.5 12.1

Ed Lopat pitched for the Longview Cannibals, a team which finished twenty games under .500. He went ¡6–9 and led the league in ERA with a 2.¡¡ mark. He also hit .263 with 2¡ RBIs and played some first base. The league also had a genuine reliever in the person of Jimmy Brister of Marshall. He came in from the pen in 40 of his 53 games, and was ¡7–¡0, 3.92.

The only changes I would make are at first base, utility, and adding some pitchers. Ray Sanders, Kilgore first baseman, hit .333, was third in slugging at .5¡5, and second in OB% at .445. He scored 99 runs and drove in 95. Vance Scrivner Randolph was a second baseman. Heinz Becker played first and outfield and batted .328, slugged .493, and had an OB% of .434. He scored 87 runs and drove in 90.

Interstate League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name David E. Kelly Charles Budd William Long Michael Shimko Bob Braner Elwood Wheaton Don Dorney Joe Antolik J. “Hunky” Horvath

SP SP

George Hennessey Joe Fryer

Team Sunbury Trenton Hazleton Sunbury Allentown Hazleton Allentown Allentown Hazleton

Allentown Allentown

G 103 101 64 88 104 101 97 96 94 G 33 31

AB 403 389 218 323 399 432 380 320 373

GS — —

H 163 106 71 92 134 185 118 94 122

CG — —

R 88 71 31 52 74 98 64 61 51

SH — —

Phil Jannazzo of Allentown was my third base choice. He hit .3¡8 and had 7¡ runs and 74 RBIs, more than twice as many as Long in fewer than twice as many at bats. Wheaton’s stats are messed up, and I can’t figure out how to reconcile them. The league has him hitting .330, but figuring the actual o‡cial numbers (¡85–432) gives him a .428 BA and a .482 OB%. Now, what makes it di‡cult is the fact that his published TB total of 237 matches up with getting ¡85 hits, not with the ¡43 hits that would give him a .33¡ BA. It is hard to believe that the league would not publicize a

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 242 25 6 14 86 31 6 .404 .600 .451 144 10 5 6 57 53 8 .272 .370 .363 91 9 4 1 33 33 7 .326 .417 .421 136 10 5 8 62 30 3 .285 .421 .346 193 25 11 4 89 51 15 .336 .484 .411 237 17 16 1 52 44 11 .428 .549 .482 164 15 2 9 69 15 6 .311 .432 .342 147 19 8 6 31 27 2 .294 .459 .349 162 24 5 2 68 19 7 .327 .434 .365 W 14 9

L 7 9

% .667 .500

IP 158 175

H 169 203

ER 69 107

SO 68 159

BB 22 71

ERA 3.93 5.50

BR/9 11.1 14.2

.428 hitter. Also, there is the fact that it is impossible to hit .330 with 432 ABs (¡42 hits gives you a .329, ¡43 hits gives you .33¡). I hate to admit it, but I’m stumped. Hazleton outfielder John Kramer hit .35¡, slugged .48¡, and had an OB% of .38¡, making him clearly superior to Dorney in the race for a spot in the Interstate garden. Horvath played outfield and caught. Walter DeFreitas of Trenton played third, short, and the outfield and hit much better than did Horvath. His BA was .342, his SA .48¡, and his OB% was an even

132

Minor League All-Star Teams

.400. He was second in runs with 94 and in RBIs with 87. Fryer was not an All-Star quality pitcher. Russ

Bailey of Trenton was. He was ¡3–9 with a league-best 3.¡2 ERA.

Middle Atlantic League ( ) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Edward Murphy Archie Horne Laney McConnell Ed Pellagrini Stanley Hoyinski Peter Kraus Paul O’Dea Stew Ho›erth “Horace “”Pip”“ Koehler”

SP SP

Robert Waugh Al Hodkey

Akron Canton

Team Portsmouth Portsmouth Erie Canton Charleston Youngstown Springfield Dayton Akron G 42 33

GS — —

G 106 111 124 99 68 131 122 110 114

CG — —

AB 392 446 457 367 252 496 477 389 417 SH — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 147 71 252 29 5 22 98 48 4 .375 .643 .444 134 76 164 20 5 0 30 58 15 .300 .368 .387 138 69 177 30 3 1 57 62 1 .302 .387 .385 111 65 154 21 2 6 60 52 10 .302 .420 .392 88 46 115 15 3 2 50 35 23 .349 .456 .431 172 106 256 39 9 9 87 64 17 .347 .516 .426 163 85 224 37 0 8 65 35 10 .342 .470 .389 122 66 190 23 6 11 75 41 3 .314 .488 .379 122 45 150 20 1 2 51 25 7 .293 .360 .333 W 20 12

Koehler, who played second, third, and outfield, was a playing manager. An unusual happenstance: All eight teams placed a player on the All-Star squad. Al Mazer of Canton was my second base choice. He hit .298, slugged .394 and had an OB% of .406. He also scored 98 runs to Horne’s 76 and had more than twice as many RBIs, 63. My three outfielders were Kraus and two Canton teammates, John Lazor and Frank Genovese. The two Terriers brought complimentary skills to the table. Lazor hit .334, was over the magic .500 line in slugging (.5¡6) and just under the equally magical .400 line in OB% (.39¡). He led the league in RBIs with ¡03 and scored 96 runs. Genovese hit just .304, but he led the league in both walks (¡33) and OB% (.456), as well as setting the pace in runs with ¡¡3. The selected flyhawks hit a robust .345, slug .486, and have an OB% of .4¡2. The Kraus/Lazor/Gen-

L 13 7

% .606 .632

IP 248 165

H 246 138

ER 70 56

SO 160 183

BB 78 85

ERA 2.54 3.05

BR/9 11.8 12.4

ovese coalition hits slightly lower (.329), slugs slightly higher (.492), and has a .424 OB%. It is close indeed. Which trio would you go with? I thought that the catching choice was rather odd. Ho›erth did not have a bad year by any means, but Akron’s Aaron Robinson hit an outstanding .353, was second in slugging (.563) and third in OB% (.440). A dual-catchership seems needed. Portsmouth pitcher/manager Joe Davis erred mightily. The poor sap led the M.A.L. in ERA (2.49) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.6), thereby destroying forever any chance of being selected for post-season honors. He went ¡7–9, by the way. Ralph Waite (yet another overlooked Terrier) led the league in winning percentage (.792 on a ¡9–5 record) and had a good 2.80 ERA. Please note that Hodkey turned the unusual (for a pre–60’s pitcher) feat of striking out more than one batter an inning.

Pioneer League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Tony Robello Ernest Bishop Chester Rosenlund Jack Charles Murphy Mike Reser Judson “Jay” Kirke Jr. Gabriel “Pete” Hughes Joe McNamee Sempert Joe Serpa

SP SP

Charley Wry Jack Andrews

Team Pocatello Twin Falls Ogden Pocatello Lewiston Pocatello Ogden Twin Falls Ogden

Twin Falls Salt Lake City

G 36 24

G 124 115 124 123 112 123 122 83 116

GS — —

AB 507 484 519 489 455 533 477 288 473

CG 22 12

H 205 156 182 135 152 203 195 108 159

SH — —

HB not recorded for pitchers, so BR/9 is approximate.

R 168 125 114 95 86 130 140 65 93 W 19 10

TB 426 192 255 173 201 353 368 190 194

L 7 10

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB 33 7 58 179 70 5 22 4 2 52 88 42 31 6 10 88 50 20 24 7 0 66 64 20 32 4 3 65 76 25 46 13 26 145 38 14 40 5 41 133 101 7 24 2 18 87 30 0 30 4 0 55 24 19

% .731 .500

IP 245 180

H 316 239

ER 139 106

SO 153 103

BA .404 .322 .351 .276 .334 .381 .409 .375 .336

SA OB% .840 .487 .397 .432 .491 .414 .354 .370 .442 .432 .662 .427 .771 .515 .660 .443 .410 .375

BB 59 61

ERA 5.11 5.30

BR/9 13.8 15.0

¡939 Robello was a playing manager. Wry managed part of the season. Folks, this was a hitters league. The Pioneer as a whole batted .309 and ¡4.8 runs a game were scored (the worst hitting team, Lewiston, hit .292 and averaged 6.6 runs a game). Pocatello hit .324, slugged an incredible .532 and had an OB% of .399. They also scored 8.6 runs a game. Check out Robello’s season: .404, .840, and a good .487 OB%. His runs, homers, and RBIs extrapolate out to 203, 63, and 2¡7 over ¡50 games. I had Bishop as only the third best second baseman in the league. Pocatello’s Mel Cabral hit only .3¡3, but he had a better .468 SA and matched Bishop with a .435 OB%. Cabral scored ¡38 runs and walked ¡06 times. The number one man in my estimation was Salt Lake City’s John Larrieu. He was by far the worst fielder of the three (Bishop fielded .958 with a most excellent 6.5 TC/G, Cabral fielded .968 with a 5.5 TC/G ratio, and Larrieu had a horrid .9¡6 FA and an average 5.2 TC/G ratio). His hitting, however, was marvelous: .372 BA, .547 SA, .423 OB% with ¡08 runs and ¡22 RBIs. Third baseman Ora Burnett of Pocatello accomplished a much rarer feat than having a 30–30 yearHe hit over 20 home runs (24, to be exact) and stole over 50 bases (54). He hit .334, lower than “Roseland” Rosenlund, but slugged a lofty .602. He added ¡26 runs and ¡¡¡ RBIs also. The infield as named hit .339, slugged a worthy .523, and had a good .427 OB%. The foursome scored 502 runs (¡26 a man), drove in 385 runs (96 per) and hit 70 homers (83% by Robello). A Robello/Larrieu/Burnett/Murphy crew hits a robust .347, slugs a powerful .588, and has an acceptable .4¡5 OB%. They score 497 runs (¡24 a man), drive in 478 (¡20 per) and Robello only hits 6¡% of this groups 95 homers. The problem with the second

133

group is fielding, as Larrieu was poor and Burnett was terrible. How much does hitting make up for poor fielding? Do you want to win ¡¡–7 or lose 4–5? In the outfield, I would replace Reser with Steve Bogdano› of Twin Falls. Bogdano› hit .330, and slugged an even .500. His .409 OB% was poor, compared to Reser’s .432, but he scored ¡2¡ times and drove in ¡¡0 runs. He also contributed seventeen homers to Reser’s three. The chosen outfield hits a huge .375, slugs a huger .629, and has a terrific .459 OB%. The three selectees hit 70 homers, scored 356 runs, and drove in 343. The addition of Bogdano› and the deletion of Reser changes the BA by one point (.374), lowers the OB% to a still very good .45¡, and raises the SA to an even better .644. The latter group hits 84 homers, scores 39¡ runs, and drives in 388. I’d take group two despite the slight OB% decrease. Please note Hughes’s .409, .77¡, .5¡5 season. He will become a familiar name in years to come. Sempert Serpa played first and outfield. I would have gone with Gordon Williamson of Lewiston. He hit a lot lower than Serpa (.277), but his SA was just about the same (.407) and his OB% was higher (.389), despite the lower BA. He scored ¡¡4 runs and drove in 63 while playing second, third, and short. The tenth rated pitcher had an ERA of 5.50 (!), and seven qualifying pitchers had ERAs of over 6.00. Bob Costello of Ogden led the league with an ERA of 3.69 (the only one under 4.30) and with a ¡3.4 BR/9 ratio. He was only 9–¡0, however. Mel Marlow of Salt Lake City was ¡7–¡¡ and had the 4.30 ERA just mentioned. Bill Schubel of Twin Falls was ¡9–¡0 with a 5.04 ERA and was third in BR/9 allowed at ¡3.8. Stanley West, short-term pitcher for Ogden (90 IP), hit .444 with a .907 SA, and had four homers and ¡9 RBIs.

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Cyril “Butch” Moran “Jumpin’” Jimmy Jordan Harry Goorabian Harry “Peanuts” Lowrey Jack “Ned” Tighe Richard Lang Albert White James Sheehan Lloyd Rigby

SP SP

Charley Wenslo› Steve Tramback

Team Muskogee Hutchinson Topeka St. Joseph Joplin Springfield Topeka Fort Smith Salina

Joplin Fort Smith

G 31 37

GS — —

No ER recorded, so no ERA figures possible.

G 129 129 123 137 130 139 138 125 106 CG 26 23

AB 492 523 430 517 500 551 541 447 436 SH — —

H 168 182 136 178 163 178 175 144 140 W 26 21

R 115 93 99 122 113 125 139 85 88 L 4 8

TB 278 233 281 276 263 285 257 202 179

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB 28 2 26 146 49 5 37 4 2 57 33 4 23 4 38 102 95 11 39 7 15 108 82 30 24 8 20 88 53 40 36 4 21 130 64 48 34 9 10 78 107 80 27 5 7 93 52 6 27 3 2 35 38 37

% .867 .724

IP 249 238

H 223 234

ER — —

SO 172 159

BA .341 .348 .316 .344 .326 .323 .323 .322 .321 BB 69 83

SA OB% .565 .401 .446 .388 .653 .442 .534 .435 .526 .394 .517 .398 .475 .435 .452 .394 .411 .381 ERA — —

BR/9 10.7 12.1

134

Minor League All-Star Teams led the league with a .452 OB%. He scored ¡07 times and drove in ¡¡6 runs. The team as chosen stole 26¡ bases, a bus load o’ steals for the era. The lads also scored 979 runs and had 837 RBIs. There were five twenty-game winners in the ’39 edition of the old W.A.. Maurice Newlin of Topeka went 26–6, struck out ¡86 opposing batters, and allowed ¡¡.8 BR/9. Harry Feldman of Fort Smith was 25–9, and Burton B. Barkelew of St. Jo was 2¡–9. (And, wouldn’t ya know it — just one league removed from remarking on the fact that every team in an eight team league and it happens again.)

Jordan was a playing manager. Well, I had Goorabian as my utility man (he split his time just about equally between second and short) instead of Rigby (who played all of his games at second). My third baseman was George Oldenburg of Joplin. He hit .287 with a .490 SA, ¡7 homers, 84 runs, and ¡04 RBIs. I had Fort Smith’s Walt Shinn in the outfield in place of Tighe. Shinn socked 33 homers and had ¡28 RBIs, second and third in the league, respectively. He hit .3¡3, had the number two SA (.606), and had an OB% of .407. I also had a fourth outfielder, Mel Wasley of Springfield. He hit .335, slugged .5¡9, and

Alabama-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Team Holt “Cat” Milner Troy Tom Kane Tallassee Woodrow Davis Panama City James Cox Dothan Ross “Rosey” Gilhousen Tallassee Gordon Goodell Tallassee Paul Armstrong Andalusia Malcom DeWeese Tallassee Elmer Bohannon Troy

SP SP

Charleston Jones Jack Weston

Dothan Andalusia

G 30 35

G 112 98 127 129 121 88 128 103 121

GS — —

AB 428 344 524 502 407 345 489 358 437

CG 14 15

H R TB 2B 163 94 242 29 102 53 146 20 164 103 256 21 166 126 243 35 141 66 167 17 120 73 194 16 165 105 223 31 115 62 160 25 129 87 207 25 SH — —

W 19 14

L 4 5

% .826 .737

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 7 12 119 49 9 .381 .565 .454 3 6 51 33 10 .297 .424 .360 19 11 111 31 22 .313 .489 .359 12 6 91 104 29 .331 .484 .446 3 1 63 85 20 .346 .410 .473 5 16 66 27 12 .348 .562 .400 9 3 91 49 23 .337 .456 .407 1 6 84 50 2 .321 .447 .406 1 17 73 69 3 .295 .474 .395 IP 223 189

H 194 184

ER 62 82

SO 96 120

BB 63 99

ERA 2.50 3.90

BR/9 10.4 13.7

be fun to pull out my trusty pocket extrapolator and put that bad boy to work. Over a ¡50 game, 550 AB season, Herr Fehrenbacher would have garnered 233 hits, scored 2¡2 runs, driven in ¡83, and popped 54 homers. Andalusia’s John Kone› pitched in but eleven games, but ten were CGs and his record was ¡0–¡. He posted an ERA of 2.84, allowed ¡0.4 BR/9, and hit .342 himself. Tallassee’s Bill Gorman went ¡7–8, had an ERA of 2.85, and allowed ¡0.9 BR/9. I would take either or both ahead of Weston.

Milner and Gilhousen were playing managers. I would agree with all the position player choices save one, the utility spot (aside from the fact that Bohannon played only outfield). A certain Hal Fehrenbacher of Troy played outfield and caught. He was only in 36 games, however. Now, before you get your shorts in a knot, check this out: .423 BA, .8¡7 SA, and an OB% of .503. The dude finished sixth in homers (¡4) despite only playing in those aforementioned 36 games. He had 5¡ runs and drove in 44. Despite the small sample size, I thought it would still

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Leo “Muscle” Shoals Burton Hodge Don Cross Cornell Kohlmeyer Claude Trivette Mike Surgent Emil Kreshka Dick Bouknight Charles He›ner

SP SP

Paul Onkotz Dick “I” Douthat

Team Johnson City Elizabethton Elizabethton Pennington Gap Kingsport Pennington Gap Kingsport Johnson City Kingsport

G 106 118 107 118 107 110 119 118 103

AB 373 476 379 437 395 402 522 481 395

H R TB 2B 136 87 234 22 136 66 179 21 121 65 167 16 116 68 171 23 132 92 187 21 144 84 200 13 169 106 220 14 161 87 231 32 121 59 165 18

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 14 16 91 72 10 .365 .627 .476 7 3 53 20 15 .286 .376 .321 15 0 61 41 8 .319 .441 .389 10 4 64 40 10 .265 .391 .327 8 6 49 47 32 .334 .473 .406 14 5 73 74 17 .358 .498 .464 8 7 45 28 19 .324 .421 .362 12 4 65 34 7 .335 .480 .381 77 4 48 25 18 .306 .418 .352

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

Kingsport 30 Greeneville 30

25 24

21 21

1 2

19 14

7 8

.731 .636

240 209

202 226

67 82

103 131

54 47

2.51 3.53

9.9 11.9

¡939 Trivette was a playing manager. A well selected team, I only take issue at third and would add some pitchers. Bill Justice, Greeneville third baseman, hit .3¡0, slugged .476, and had an OB% of .389, pretty close to matching the season put up by Cross. Justice scored 87 runs, which may be a factor of where in the line-up he batted. The real di›erence, as slight as it is, comes in the field, where Justice had a league best .932 FA and Cross a .9¡9, both having the same 3.3 TC/G ratio. It’s not much, but with all else being

135

equal, why not go with the fellow with the slightly surer glove? He›ner played second, third, short, and outfield. Two pitchers for the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox deserve mention: Ed Rosenbaum and Rudy Parsons. Parsons was ¡7–¡0 with a 2.80 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.2. Rosenbaum relieved in 3¡ of his 49 games and led the Appy in wins (he went 2¡–¡¡), ERA (2.35) and BR/9 ratio (a really excellent 8.9). It was the same old story: the poor guy pitched himself right o› of the All-Star team by pitching too darned well.

Arizona-Texas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Roy Myers Sam Arico Willie Reyes Len Ratto Bob Joratz Donald White Joe LaPiana Bill Salkeld Shaun Denniston

SP SP

Eddie King Jack Hawkins

Team Bisbee Bisbee Albuquerque El Paso Albuquerque Albuquerque Bisbee Tucson El Paso

Bisbee El Paso

G 36 36

G 127 83 130 131 117 129 114 102 117

GS 31 26

AB 478 303 502 537 445 466 458 360 482

CG 29 14

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 155 75 183 14 7 0 73 54 5 .324 .383 .399 102 74 174 21 3 15 68 53 21 .337 .574 .440 166 95 245 38 19 1 124 69 7 .331 .488 .413 127 90 180 19 14 2 60 68 20 .236 .335 .327 155 126 241 27 16 9 105 90 28 .348 .542 .461 134 77 191 24 12 3 73 95 22 .288 .410 .411 157 94 223 20 14 6 75 56 17 .343 .487 .417 109 69 180 21 13 8 59 68 6 .303 .500 .424 139 76 185 24 8 2 84 42 11 .288 .384 .350 SH 2 1

W 25 11

Salkeld was a playing manager. I dispute the perspicacity of the selections for the left side of the infield. Jim Jewell (El Paso) led all third basemen in FA, assists, put-outs, and TC/G (his 3.9 figure being over half a chance a game higher than Reyes’s 3.2). He was not exactly a slouch at bat either, hitting .320, slugging .472, and compiling a .4¡5 OB%. His ¡9 triples tied for the league high. His 38 steals led the league, his ¡¡5 runs were third, as were his ¡00 RBIs (admittedly behind Reyes’s league high ¡26). When taking all facets of the game into consideration, this Jewel was a diamond to Reyes’s cubic zirconium. Bisbee shortstop Dale Gill hit .332 (94 points higher than selectee Ratto), slugged .443 (¡08 points higher), and had an OB% of .386 (59 points higher). He scored ¡20 runs (second in the league) and drove in 83 runs, aided no doubt by his ¡8 triples. The fielding points are all on Ratto’s side also: .9¡2 FA to .905, 5.3 TC/G to a below average 4.7. Nevertheless, I think Gill’s hitting more than cancels out Ratto’s fielding. You, of course, are free to disagree about these di›erences of opinion. Allow me however to point out the following: as selected, the infield hits .302, slugs .430, and has an OB% of .389. The Myers/ Arico/Jewell/Gill edition hits .327, slugs .457, and has an OB% of .407. I believe that Ratto’s fielding advan-

L 6 14

% .806 .440

IP 269 219

H 267 177

ER 120 104

SO 191 257

BB 104 140

ERA 4.01 4.27

BR/9 12.8 13.3

tage over Gill is balanced out by Jewells’ over Reyes. Take your pick. I had Al Montgomery of Bisbee as my catcher. He batted .320, slugged .559 (second in the league) and had a .424 OB%. He led the circuit in homers with ¡7 and both scored and drove in ¡00 runs. Denniston played first, third, and outfield. Salkeld was my utility man (which opens the gate for the above mentioned Al Montgomery at the catcher slot), as he played only 43 games behind the plate. He also played in the outfield and at first base. Bob Sedwick pitched for the 3¡ games under .500 Tucson Cowboys (the only team under .500 in this four team league). He was ¡3–¡2 and eighth in ERA with a 4.¡¡ mark. The Cowboys played .3¡8 ball when he was not involved in the decision. R. Christopher went ¡8–7 for El Paso, was second with an ERA of 3.68, and was also second in BR/9 ratio at ¡2.3. Please note that Hawkins struck out ¡0.6 batters every nine innings, a most excellent figure for the day. A pitcher who did not get consideration, young master Archie Templeton, had ¡80 Ks in ¡¡4 innings, an incredible ¡4.2 every 9 IP. He also had more walks than innings pitched (¡29) and allowed ¡6.7 BR/9. That this league was desperately hard up for pitching is proven by Burton Warner’s line for Albuquerque. In nine games, seven of which were starts, he pitched 4¡ innings, gave up 63 hits (¡3.8/9 IP),

136

Minor League All-Star Teams

walked 55 men (¡2.¡/9 IP), allowed 26.3 BR/9, had an ERA of ¡2.73 and allowed ¡6.46 runs for every nine innings he pitched.

Arkansas-Missouri League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Adolph Arlitt Frank Oceak Grant Harris Ed Checkley Ansel Owen Bill Sarver Harvey Beaster Ralph Houk Clarence Collins

SP SP

George Bender Francis Henry

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% Carthage 115 413 148 77 229 28 4 15 106 65 7 .358 .554 .448 Fayetteville 107 393 122 82 150 20 4 0 66 47 18 .310 .382 .390 Carthage 110 458 137 92 183 21 8 3 51 41 21 .299 .400 .362 Fayetteville 115 425 122 82 175 24 7 5 59 35 12 .287 .412 .347 Neosho 121 422 127 99 184 27 0 10 81 80 44 .301 .436 .417 Neosho 123 476 135 113 203 40 8 4 61 59 48 .284 .426 .363 Carthage 120 484 171 101 231 37 4 5 64 46 12 .353 .477 .417 Neosho 119 427 122 69 152 15 6 1 56 36 27 .286 .356 .345 Fayetteville 90 313 81 53 125 16 5 6 55 16 4 .259 .399 .297

Fayetteville Monett

G 26 24

GS 25 15

CG 24 13

SH 5 0

W 20 4

L 4 8

% .833 .333

IP 210 122

H 179 138

ER — —

SO 208 74

BB 60 91

ERA 2.35 5.60

BR/9 10.3 17.6

ER not recorded, though ERA was.

Arlitt and Oceak were playing managers. This was another four team league where three teams played above .500 and one, Monett in this case, played under .400 (in fact, under .300, coming in at 35–89, .282). Monett fielded, as a team, .907, and committed 3.5 errors a game. The other three teams hit .28¡, Monett hit .248. From the pitchers who pitched more than ¡5 innings for Monett (there were five who pitched less and two who spent time with other clubs), I came up with the figure of 9.37 runs (not earned runs) allowed a game. They were lucky to win 35 games. I prefer Harry Hatch of Fayetteville at third. His stats simply overwhelmed those of Harris, as he hit .342, third in the league, slugged .460, also third, and had an OB% of .427, which was second. He scored ¡00 runs and drove in 74. Looks like a slam-dunk to me. I would have an Angel in the outfield. A Fayetteville Angel, that is. Joe Szuch hit .309, scored ¡07 runs, and was fourth with 90 RBIs. He would replace Sarver on my roster.

Ralph Houk had a fine year. The problem is, yet another Fayetteville player, in this case Rudy Briner, had a better one. Rudy hit .295 (a small advantage over Houk) and had a .340 OB% (a slight disadvantage), but he slugged .447 and both scored and drove in 76 runs. He’s the guy for me, I’m afraid. Collins played second, outfield, caught, and pitched. His hitting was weak, and his OB% was atrocious, however. So, despite his ability to play anywhere, I would have gone for Neosho third baseman/outfielder Steve Greble. Greble hit .308, was second in the league with a .553 SA and a .434 OB%, third in the league with 95 RBIs, and led in runs with ¡29 and homers with 24. Cli› Stebe of Fayetteville was ¡7–9, had a 2.85 ERA (2.75 ER a game lower than Henry) and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.9 (5.7 fewer than Henry). Even better was Roman Deller of Carthage (hmmm, I just noticed that: a Roman from Carthage). He was ¡3–4 with a 2.56 ERA and a league-topping BR/9 ratio of 9.9.

Bi-State League (D) L-S-D manager Arn Anderson would have been my first base choice. In 34 fewer PAs, he scored 2¡ more runs and had 2¡ more RBIs. He hit .333, slugged .496, and had an OB% of .383, all better than the marks of the selectee. In the outfield, Americo Scagliarini of Mayodan led the loop with 27 homers, scored ¡0¡ runs, and had 9¡ RBIs. He hit .333, was tied for third in SA with a .604 mark, and was second in OB% at .463. Reidsville’s Stanley Platek hit .34¡, was second with 2¡

homers, drove in ¡07 runs in ¡05 games, and led in SA with a .62¡ figure. His OB% was an acceptable .427. It seems that there are two di›erent ways one could have gone with the Bi-State outfield, one which highlighted BA and one which highlighted slugging. Either one would have an acceptable OB%. The league went with option one, batting average. The selectees hit a robust .376, slugged .562, and had a .439 OB%. They scored 298 runs, drove in 304, and hit a puny 27 home runs. An outfield of Payne,

¡939 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Richard Bohl Jim Gruzdis Emmitt Johnson Richard Culler Joseph Zentara James Cecil Payne Sam Gentile Frank Warren Don Prather

Team South Boston L-S-D L-S-D Reidsville Bassett L-S-D D’ville-Schoolfield Mt. Airy/Bassett South Boston

G 109 115 112 94 111 114 113 96 110

AB 429 424 447 377 420 455 508 360 397

137

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 129 65 181 20 5 4 70 31 17 .301 .422 .352 156 145 257 42 4 17 77 81 46 .368 .606 .486 139 85 187 20 11 2 69 45 16 .311 .418 .380 131 88 191 29 2 9 49 54 12 .347 .507 .429 144 81 206 36 4 6 95 62 10 .343 .490 .432 177 110 275 38 12 12 126 47 8 .389 .604 .454 199 107 296 54 8 9 83 31 34 .392 .583 .431 101 64 153 27 2 7 63 58 2 .281 .425 .386 115 57 146 21 2 3 45 29 17 .290 .368 .343

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Raymond Poat L-S-D 42 — 8 — 15 4 .789 190 232 94 137 93 4.45 15.8 SP George Kadis D’ville-Schoolfield 25 — 20 — 18 6 .750 201 174 87 199 138 3.90 14.4

L-S-D is Leaksville-Spray-Draper. D’ville is Danville.

Scagliarini, and Platek hits .356, has a very good .609 SA, and an even better .448 OB%. Team two scores 289 runs, drives in 324, and hits a much better 60 homers. To be honest, I would have gone with all five flyhawks. Prather played third, short, and outfield. I do not agree with either pitching selection, despite their high winning percentages. My first choice would have been the oddly (but coolly) forenamed Sulo Mattson. He pitched for last-place Mount Airy, which finished 28 games under .500. He was ¡¡–7 for the Graniteers, and finished eighth in the league with

a 3.75 ERA and in the top five with a ¡3.7 BR/9 ratio. Mount Airy played .330 ball when he was not involved in the decision. My second choice would have been the .3¡6-hitting Eugene Lambert of Mayodan. He was ¡3–2, 3.86, and had the league’s best BR/9 ratio at ¡2.5. And, I would have had a third pitcher, John Mirabito of Danville-Schoolfield. He was ¡7–6 with a 3.84 ERA. Oh, and as an interesting aside (well, interesting to me anyway): Osceola Guy Lacey Sr. played on the same team as his son, Osceola Guy Lacy Jr., Mount Airy, where Sr. was the manager.

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Soufas Harry Christopher Tony Maisano Clarence Allen Claude Capps Uriah “Heep” Norwood Luis Olmo Jesse Overton Sidney Stringfellow

SP SP

Harry Swain Don King

Team Snow Hill Greenville Snow Hill Greenville Goldsboro New Bern Wilson Goldsboro Kinston

Williamston Greenville

G 41 28

GS — —

G 121 112 94 122 124 114 56 105 78

AB 447 441 337 503 497 416 219 385 228

CG — —

H 151 124 102 149 153 142 72 115 62

SH — —

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 92 — — — — — — — .338 — — 74 — — — — — — — .281 — — 69 — — — — — — — .303 — — 88 — — — — — — — .296 — — 99 — — — — — — — .308 — — 74 — — — — — — — .341 — — 27 — — — — — — — .329 — — 62 — — — — — — — .299 — — 29 — — — — — — — .272 — — W 22 20

L 7 7

% .759 .741

IP 262 263

H — —

ER — —

SO 186 —

BB — —

ERA 2.34 1.06

BR/9 — —

Only G, AB, H, R, and BA stats published for hitters. Only G, W, L, %, and ERA stats published for pitchers. The Bistro› (whose name appeared as “Bistrau›” in the hitting stats) home run and RBI totals and the Swain strike-out total are from the 1997 edition of The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. ( Be sure and watch for the new edition which will be coming out soon).

Even given the limited information which was published, a pair of outfielders a catcher and a pitcher seem to have been overlooked. The outfielders were Sanford Peele of Goldsboro and Ed Black of Greenville. Peele hit .334 with 74 runs, and Black hit .329 with 87 runs. The non-selection of Snow Hill Billie catcher Joe Bistro› seems to

be the most egregious error. He hit .289 and led the league with 32 homers and ¡08 RBIs. Bill Herring of Kinston, where he managed part of the season, was 22–¡¡ with an ERA of ¡.97. Please take special note of King’s princely ERA. How did he manage to lose seven games?

138

Minor League All-Star Teams

Eastern Shore League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Irving Kolberg Herb Freeman Henry Schluter Alex Monchak Martin Steinman James Johnson Ron Northey Sam Holbrook Robert Maier

Team Federalsburg Centreville Dover Dover Milford Centreville Federalsburg Federalsburg Salisbury

G 122 116 116 104 96 92 79 98 119

AB 472 482 429 389 394 324 321 305 470

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 160 111 261 34 2 21 121 62 7 .339 .553 .429 142 100 189 20 3 7 47 51 21 .295 .392 .369 139 92 258 26 6 29 100 49 14 .324 .601 .396 131 88 210 22 6 15 73 49 17 .337 .540 .414 149 81 247 39 4 17 94 34 4 .378 .627 .430 92 50 136 15 7 5 44 42 14 .284 .420 .371 110 85 214 23 6 23 70 32 11 .343 .667 .404 110 65 191 17 2 20 81 77 5 .361 .626 .494 153 77 225 33 3 11 79 19 28 .326 .479 .357

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Les Hinckle Federalsburg 41 — 29 — 27 6 .818 282 231 78 309 84 2.49 10.3 SP William McLaughlin Federalsburg 38 — 21 — 18 11 .621 238 185 68 229 97 2.57 10.8

Holbrook was a playing manager (his team went 83–38, .686 and had a ¡4 game lead over second place Cambridge). Centreville third baseman Frank Walsh should have been a co–All-Star. He hit .335, slugged .600, and had a .385 OB%. He smacked 28 homers, scored 94 runs, and drove in a league-leading ¡29 runs. He also fielded .952 to Schulter’s .905. Milt Vergnani would have been in my outfield instead of the curiously selected Johnson. Vergnani led the league in POs and assists, hit .3¡¡ with a .499 SA, scored 85 runs and stole a huge 6¡ bases.

Maier played third and the outfield. I would have added two pitchers to the roster. Charles Brumbeloe (Cambridge) went 20–5, had an ERA of 2.84, and had a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.2. Tom Hughes spent only part of the year pitching for Dover, but he made the most of it, going 9–0. He had an ERA of ¡.80 and allowed only 9.7 BR/9. Please note Hinckle’s 309 Ks and the fact that the two selected pitchers had 538 strike-outs in 520 innings.

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jerry Witte Ray Taylor Edgar Busch Robert Ludwig Gordon Donaldson Robert Patrick Anse Moore Dennis Gleason J.R. Corbitt

SP SP

Ed Head Walter Navie

Team Lafayette Abbeville Lafayette Opelousas Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria New Iberia Lake Charles

Abbeville Rayne

G 34 31

G 138 133 128 126 123 139 111 131 123

GS — —

AB 520 508 497 448 473 539 422 478 488

CG — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 184 92 291 55 5 14 134 67 4 .354 .560 .437 178 89 243 34 14 1 55 57 22 .350 .478 .423 148 78 187 27 6 0 69 35 27 .298 .376 .348 116 53 152 17 8 1 54 58 6 .259 .339 .346 156 90 252 24 12 16 98 40 18 .330 .533 .393 181 111 254 33 5 10 109 60 16 .336 .471 .415 135 80 188 14 4 8 77 51 2 .320 .445 .406 145 76 202 31 4 6 82 59 13 .303 .423 .382 154 73 222 34 5 8 77 52 9 .316 .455 .381 SH 2 6

W 19 20

A very well selected team, I would only add another utility man and two pitchers. Corbitt played first and second. Woody Fair of New Iberia played the rarely seen combination of outfield, catcher, and shortstop. He hit .309, slugged .5¡6, and had an OB% of .399. In addition, he scored 89 runs, drove in 83, and tied for second in home runs with sixteen. You will note that all three selected outfielders

L 8 11

% .704 .645

IP 232 278

H 184 218

ER 67 70

SO 220 223

BB 47 70

ERA 2.60 2.27

BR/9 9.1 9.4

were from the same team (Alexandria, in this case), quite an unusual happenstance indeed. To the mounds corps, I would have added Max Fugerson of Abbeville and Howie Pollett of New Iberia. Fugerson went 22–7, had a good BR/9 ratio of ¡0.2, and led the circuit in ERA with a cunning 2.04. Pollett was ¡4–5 with a 2.37 ERA and had the best BR/9 ratio in the loop, 9.0. He also only gave up 5.6 hits/9 IP, one of the year’s best performances.

¡939

139

Florida State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Walton McMullen Lyle Judy Lowell Barnett Gene Geary Al Smathers Joe Niedson Wilmer Skeen Tommy West Ike Livingston

Team Gainesville St. Augustine Sanford DeLand DeLand Daytona Beach Sanford Daytona Beach Gainesville

G 132 139 116 87 137 130 131 122 135

AB 502 529 453 344 537 499 543 487 525

H 160 161 130 121 186 149 169 186 148

R 96 103 103 84 78 107 118 119 65

TB 212 198 161 174 255 245 220 255 195

2B 16 23 23 21 44 45 23 35 17

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 15 2 64 79 37 .319 .422 .414 7 0 53 78 51 .304 .374 .399 4 0 56 90 26 .287 .355 .406 13 2 55 55 25 .352 .506 .443 5 5 134 58 7 .346 .475 .412 9 11 108 68 9 .299 .491 .389 11 2 68 62 35 .311 .405 .385 11 4 96 57 15 .382 .524 .451 9 4 82 38 14 .282 .371 .330

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Sylvester Donnelly Daytona Beach 28 23 21 2 19 4 .826 184 156 66 182 94 3.23 12.3 SP Milt Haefner DeLand 42 30 25 4 24 9 .727 272 247 70 176 76 2.32 10.8

West and Livingston were playing managers. Speaking of playing managers, Sanford first baseman/skipper Dale Alexander should have been the league’s All-Star at that position. It’s not only that he hit .345, slugged .476, and had a .435 OB% (second in the league, incidentally). It’s not even that, in ¡59 fewer PAs he had sixteen more RBIs (80) than McMullen. No, it’s the fact that he managed the Lookouts to a fantastic 98–35, .737 season, winning both the pennant and the play-o›s. He, I repeat, was deserving. Daytona Beach third baseman Ernest Stefani hit .33¡ and slugged .42¡, both markedly superior to the numbers posted by Barnett. While he only scored 77 runs, he did drive in 8¡. I am not sure that I would replace Barnett, but Stefani deserved being mentioned. I would add Daytona Beach’s Bill Rabe to the outfielding corps. He hit .303, slugged .49¡, and had an OB% of .399, not at all out of line with the marks posted by Niedson and Skeen. He led the league with 23 triples and, more importantly, ¡20 runs.

West played second, short, outfield, and pitched. Another Daytona Beach Islander, Henry Wayton, was not quite so handy, playing only second and short, but he was more adept at the bat, hitting .3¡7 with a .400 OB%, ¡¡¡ runs, and ¡0¡ RBIs. I would add four pitchers: Joe Radney (Gainesville), J.H. Dean and Sid Hudson (Sanford), and Frank Hudson (Palatka and Sanford). Radney was ¡¡–3 with an excellent ¡.60 ERA (he fell three innings short of qualifying for the league lead). Dean went 2¡–4 and posted a 2.33 ERA, allowing only ¡0.2 BR/9, second best in the league. Sid Hudson was even better at 24–4 (.857) with a good ¡.80 ERA and a leaguebest 9.9 BR/9 ratio. Frank Hudson spent part of his season with the woeful Palatka Azaleas. (The Azaleas finished at 36–99, a miserable .267, 63 games out of first and ¡7∂ out of seventh.) On the season he went 8–¡0 with a 2.¡7 ERA. I don’t know what his record was before he was sent to the Lookouts, but nine wins and 33 losses for Palatka are up for grabs amongst twenty pitchers, eighteen of whom pitched “LT45.”

Georgia-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Cecil “Turkey” Tyson E. Thomas Vandergrift Carl Bethman Lou Lucas Edgar Hartness Casey Kimbrell Eddie Lukon Albert Leitz Pat Dove

SP SP

Vernon Horn Weldon West

Team Tallahassee Thomasville Moultrie Albany Americus Tallahassee Valdosta Waycross Thomasville

Albany Americus

G — —

GS — —

G 118 136 139 134 129 130 137 92 115

AB 429 502 568 572 491 478 516 318 403

H 138 167 175 166 175 148 155 99 107

CG — —

SH 4 2

W 18 18

Leitz was a playing manager. I agree in every detail with the starting eight, the

R 73 87 92 85 89 95 86 38 60 L 6 11

TB 180 223 268 215 223 195 217 127 136

2B 19 32 41 34 27 12 24 19 18

% .750 .621

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 14 0 74 64 12 .322 .420 .413 6 4 79 81 21 .333 .444 .426 12 9 111 41 22 .308 .472 .363 6 1 77 37 4 .290 .376 .336 9 1 69 47 20 .356 .454 .419 8 6 83 89 37 .310 .408 .418 17 3 104 39 28 .300 .421 .362 3 1 59 43 2 .311 .399 .395 1 3 42 28 3 .266 .337 .316 IP 197 294

H 157 240

ER 48 95

SO 132 245

BB 67 113

ERA 2.19 2.91

BR/9 10.3 11.1

utility man, and the pitchers. I would, however, add three more hurlers to the roster.

140

Minor League All-Star Teams

Fred Schmidt of Albany went ¡4–5 with a leaguetopping ¡.8¡ ERA. He allowed ¡¡.0 BR/9. Lloyd Gross, ace of the Moultrie Packers, led the league in wins with 22 (against ¡0 losses), had an ERA of 2.76, and allowed ¡0.9 BR/9. Paul Smith, the Hector of the Valdosta Trojans, was 2¡–¡¡ with an ERA of 2.35 and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.9, matching Gross for the runner-up spot in that important stat.

Please notice the Bethman led the league with his puny nine home runs (four would have gotten you a tie for eighth) and his .472 SA. That’s right, not only did no one reach the .500 plateau, only one other hitter managed to acquire a .450 mark. Only ten players had as many as 200 TBs, and only ten reached .400 in slugging.

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Eddie O’Connell Clint Andercek Dan DeVault Vern Stephens Joseph “Joe” Morjoseph Carl Alto Jack DeVincenzi Harry Griswold Vincent “Moon” Mullen

Team Owensboro Bowling Green Owensboro Mayfield Mayfield Hopkinsville Owensboro Hopkinsville Jackson

SP Howard Schumacher Owensboro SP Chauncey Scott Union City

G 93 109 125 122 124 115 85 122 135

AB 379 440 526 485 509 449 311 467 435

H 119 154 164 175 164 156 107 137 127

R 52 95 78 105 120 101 54 62 100

TB 156 206 207 323 311 236 175 187 196

2B 20 34 20 44 35 20 27 22 35

3B HR RBI BB SB 1 5 48 20 7 7 1 56 36 9 7 3 75 22 13 7 30 123 25 6 17 26 102 59 18 21 6 63 78 9 1 13 61 46 3 11 2 67 35 6 5 8 92 97 10

BA .314 .350 .312 .361 .322 .347 .344 .293 .292

SA OB% .412 .348 .468 .409 .394 .344 .666 .397 .611 .393 .526 .448 .563 .435 .400 .348 .451 .424

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 32 — 21 — 22 5 .815 242 229 67 178 66 2.49 11.2 26 — 18 — 13 10 .565 204 160 65 213 96 2.87 11.8

Mullen and Griswold were playing managers. I had four outfielders on the squad I selected, and three of them were di›erent from the Gods of the Garden as chosen by the Kitty scriveners. Al Simmons of Fulton hit .336, slugged .592 and registered a .396 OB%. He had 23 triples and ¡9 homers, scored 98 runs and drove in ¡¡4. Stan Stencel of Hopkinsville hit .359, slugged .566, and had an OB% of .406. He hit 24 triples and scored ¡0¡ runs while driving in ¡¡8. John Newman of Owensboro hit only .3¡5, but his SA and OB% were the highest of the three outsiders at .607 and .462, which were third and first in the league. The chosen three hit .336, slugged .569, and had an OB% of .423. They had 45 homers, scored 275 runs, and drove in 236. (Now, I know that DeVincenzi had a shortened data base, so, I extrapolated his figures out over a 500 AB season, which would give the three selectmen 304 runs, 263 RBIs, and 53 homers.) A line-up of my three additional fellows hits .338, has a SA of .588, and an OB% of .422. They score 282 runs, drive in 345, and hit 6¡ homers. The starting three for a team selected by me would have been Morjoseph, Stencel, and Newman. These three hit .332, slugged .594, have a .420 OB%, hit 68 homers, score 304 runs, and total 333 RBIs. Clearly, just about any combination of three of the six guys

in contention gives almost the same BA, SA, and OB%. Some have more home run power (in fact, an Alto/Simmons/Stencel outfield yields 68 triples, and when was the last time an outfield threesome — or any threesome, for that matter — had over 20 triples a man?). I guess what I’m trying to say, in a roundabout and somewhat convoluted way, is that my ’39 Kitty league outfield roster would have six ball players instead of three. Feel free to select any three, four or five from the pro›ered candidates, keep the select three, or like me, go with all six. Either choice results in a good outfield. My catcher was Roy Clonts of Fulton. Not only were his .3¡0/.400/.369 averages better than Griswold’s, he also drove in 80 runs. Mullen was a second baseman. My utility choice, Frank Filchok of Fulton, also played second but added 40 games in the outfield and he hit .287. (Filchok’s main claim to fame is the fact that he was the Denver Bronco’s first head coach back in the late, much lamented A.F.L. days.) I would add a pitcher to the mound sta›, one William Scott of Mayfield. He went 20–7 with a league-best 2.3¡ ERA and a league-best ¡0.6 BR/9 ratio. The combination of those two league-bests apparently making him no better than the third best pitcher in the league, according to the scribes.

Mountain State League (D) Wickel was a playing manager. Charles Jordan, Keystoner for the Bluefield Blue-

Greys, hit .3¡7 (49 points higher than Beals), slugged .428, and had an OB% of .389. He topped the circuit

¡939 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John Streza Alfred Norman Beals Thad Cash Harrison Wickel Lewis D’Antoni Gordon Du› Walter Sessi Sam Hayden Joseph Bezdek

SP SP

John Patterson Russell Meers

Team Williamson Welch Welch-Bluefield Williamson Bluefield Welch Williamson Logan Ashland

Huntington Huntington

G 34 31

G 126 129 127 126 129 114 126 122 84

GS 26 28

AB 530 485 516 446 484 448 465 470 307

CG 18 20

H 185 130 166 164 158 141 173 144 87

SH 1 0

141

R 127 84 116 106 115 95 104 61 53

W 18 14

TB 294 193 236 281 246 218 288 197 125

L 10 14

2B 35 26 40 36 39 21 32 34 15

% .643 .500

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 13 16 105 43 3 .349 .555 .401 8 7 80 70 29 .268 .398 .363 6 6 105 52 4 .322 .457 .391 6 23 142 84 8 .368 .630 .468 11 9 101 87 10 .326 .508 .429 13 10 77 58 25 .315 .487 .397 10 21 125 75 7 .372 .619 .470 2 5 75 45 3 .306 .419 .367 4 5 53 25 2 .283 .407 .343 IP 223 227

H 210 191

ER 116 98

SO 206 297

BB 139 191

ERA 4.68 3.89

BR/9 14.5 15.5

able 54 assists from their flyhawks, but the putative second squad had an almost as good 52. You, of course, can decide for yourself, but my Mountain State outfield is Sessi, Shewey, and Guinther.) Bezdek caught, played outfield and third. I am afraid that I must come down as opposed to Patterson as an All-Star pitcher. I propose three other, more worthy candidates: Howard Smith of Williamson, and pitcher/managers Sam Grey of Welch and Vic Sorrel of Bluefield, 38-year-old former Tiger stalwart. Smith led the league with ¡9 wins (against just seven losses), was fourth in ERA with a 3.64 mark, and struck out 2¡4 batters. Sorrel was second in ERA (3.43) and BR/9 (¡¡.7) en route to a ¡2–6 season. Gray was ¡6–7 and had the misfortune of leading the league in both ERA and BR/9 ratio with 3.03 and ¡¡.0 marks respectively, killing any chance at post-season honors. Please note that Meers averaged ¡¡.8 K/9 IP, and that the two selectees had 503 Ks in 450 IP, ¡0.¡ Ks every nine innings. It should go without saying that that is very unusual for the time.

with 4¡ doubles and scored ¡¡2 runs. He also handled 5.8 TC/G to Beals’s 5.2. Jordan was a solid selection who was passed over for a lesser Mountain State light. I passed on Du› and D’Antoni in the outfield, opting instead for Bill Shewey of Williamson and Edison “Tesla” Guinther of Logan. Guinther hit but .303, but he had a SA of .559 and an OB% of .44¡, both better than the two incumbents. He popped 26 homers, a league best, scored ¡¡8 runs, second in the league, and had ¡08 RBIs, third. Shewey led the league with a .376 BA, had a SA of .574 and an OB% of .430. He stole a league-topping 48 bases and scored ¡09 runs. (As an aside, the scribal choice for the three outfield spots hit .338, slugged .538, and had an OB% of .433, not bad numbers at all. Collectively, they scored 3¡4 runs, had 303 RBIs, hit 40 homers, and stole 42 bases. An outfield of Sessi, Shewey, and Guinther hits .349, slugs .584, and as a .448 OB%, all markedly better than the o‡cial version. They score 33¡ runs, have 308 RBIs, pop 5¡ homers, and steal 83 bases. The o‡cial flyhawks had a commend-

North Carolina State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ted Mueller Ulmont Baker George Motto Webster Templeton William Carrier Claude Wilborn Borden Helms John Pare Harvey Black

SP SP

Ray Lindsay Clyde Teague

Team Thomasville Concord Cooleemee Mooresville Mooresville Cooleemee Salisbury Concord Mooresville

G 108 108 105 76 105 76 110 110 90

AB 412 418 418 396 416 327 428 390 319

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 161 93 245 34 10 10 63 55 52 .391 .595 .465 139 83 213 44 3 8 76 35 13 .333 .510 .389 139 76 190 19 10 4 71 41 22 .333 .455 .396 121 100 161 24 2 4 55 53 34 .306 .407 .398 145 73 216 32 3 11 92 40 12 .349 .519 .407 111 48 176 24 10 7 69 13 2 .339 .538 .368 139 100 189 28 8 2 42 81 44 .325 .442 .436 115 52 156 26 6 1 63 36 3 .295 .400 .357 96 50 136 18 5 4 49 17 7 .301 .426 .338

G 35 35

GS — —

CG 26 25

SH — —

Thomasville Mooresville

Another league where I am in complete agreement with the selectors except for the fact that I would add a pair of pitchers.

W 22 21

L 10 8

% .688 .724

IP 271 250

H 234 221

ER 57 73

SO 237 182

BB 35 62

ERA 1.89 2.63

BR/9 9.1 10.5

Richard Robinson of Mooresville was 23–6 and sported a fine 2.45 ERA. John Berry of Concord was 2¡–5, leading the loop with a .808 winning percent-

142

Minor League All-Star Teams By the way, the last place Landis Sens scored only 3.8 runs a game and gave up 6.¡. First place Mooresville, on the other hand, scored 6.4 RPG and only allowed 4.¡ RPG, one of the year’s best performances. Those stats just may have something to do with why Landis played .333 ball and Mooresville played at a .65¡ pace.

age. He also had an ERA of 2.69 and finished second to Lindsay in BR/9 ratio with a good ¡0.0 figure. And, speaking of Lindsay, notice that he somehow escaped the curse of having too fine a season. He had a very good ERA and a terrific BR/9 ratio, plus he walked only ¡.2 men every 9 IP, and yet he managed not to be overlooked.

Northeast Arkansas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Louis Leiter Robert Stanton Lou Miller John Dantonio Stan Bazan Ray Zimmerman Edward Filo Frank Grube Elmer Kircho›

SP SP

Johnny Sain Edward Hughes

Team Jonesboro Caruthersville Paragould Caruthersville Jonesboro Caruthersville Caruthersville Jonesboro Paragould

Newport Newport

G 29 34

G 108 115 121 71 102 106 118 72 121

AB 421 426 461 262 339 404 425 241 466

H 139 145 126 103 114 125 139 77 153

R 63 93 80 68 52 86 91 30 79

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 204 37 5 6 88 38 15 .330 .485 .391 207 36 7 4 93 60 13 .340 .486 .424 188 22 8 8 58 69 13 .273 .408 .369 147 19 8 3 53 32 12 .393 .561 .465 181 21 8 10 55 35 8 .336 .534 .408 216 30 11 13 93 58 16 .309 .535 .397 235 30 9 16 87 55 6 .327 .553 .416 99 14 1 2 30 34 8 .320 .411 .406 202 27 5 4 60 53 21 .328 .433 .397

GS — —

CG 27 27

SH — —

W 18 16

L 10 14

Kircho› was a playing manager. Kircho› played only second base. Johnny Sain played outfield and pitched, and he hit .3¡5. Clarence “Hooks” Iott of Paragould was ¡7–8 with a 2.26 ERA. He struck out 2¡5 batters in ¡95 innings. Two Caruthersville pitchers, Charles Fichter and Milt Lowrey had very good years, especially in the winning percentage column. Fichter went ¡8–4, .8¡8, and led

% .643 .533

IP 220 258

H 174 206

ER 80 75

SO 175 207

BB 76 77

ERA 3.27 2.62

BR/9 10.6 10.1

the league in ERA at 2.¡4. His BR/9 ratio was ¡¡.0. Lowery was 20–4, .833. His ERA was 2.64. The four team NEArk League had a .669 team (Caruthersville) which was ¡7 games ahead of the second place team, and a .309 team (Jonesboro) which was 24 games out of third (and 43∂ behind Caruthersville). Not much “competitive balance” there, I’m afraid.

Northern League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Hugh Gustafson Walter Kordenbrock Robert Schmidt Harry Semczak Marion Cibrowski James Cookson William Barnacle Vincent Castino Winfred Hansch

SP SP

Jack Dawson Joe Hatten

Team Winnipeg Fargo-Moorhead Duluth Fargo-Moorhead Superior Duluth Winnipeg E. Claire-G. Forks Winnipeg

Fargo-Moorhead Crookston

G 28 31

G 111 117 120 115 117 121 110 83 121

GS — —

AB 406 435 440 425 471 496 448 280 484

CG 20 26

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 149 91 215 27 3 11 106 50 4 .367 .530 .443 118 53 139 13 1 2 53 26 6 .271 .320 .315 194 114 334 29 9 31 133 62 17 .441 .759 .514 131 65 177 31 1 4 47 45 3 .308 .416 .378 142 58 198 23 6 7 40 25 13 .301 .420 .341 151 94 219 26 6 10 79 28 33 .304 .442 .348 149 108 221 35 5 9 56 56 15 .333 .493 .409 86 35 123 21 2 4 46 32 3 .307 .439 .384 139 92 201 26 3 10 65 49 15 .287 .415 .356 SH — —

W 13 14

L 8 14

% .619 .500

IP 191 244

H 171 213

ER 57 74

SO 106 299

BB 51 143

ERA 2.69 2.73

BR/9 10.6 13.4

E. Claire is Eau Claire, G. Forks is Grand Forks.

Charles “Dutch” Dorman, manager/second baseman of Duluth (which finished a half game out of first), should have been a walk-away choice at the keystone slot. He hit .29¡, had a .427 OB% (a full ¡¡2 points higher that Kordenbrock), scored 9¡ runs (tied for sixth in the league) and stole 25 bases (second). He also led all second basemen in FA, POs, As, and TC/G.

Joe Mowry, outfielder/manager of the Winnipeg Maroons was not selected for the squad. What a bunch of maroons the scribes were not to have picked him. Stout-hearted Joe hit .375, slugged .6¡4, and had an OB% of .454, all second in the league, as were his 20 homers and ¡¡8 RBIs. How could anyone not vote for Ol’ Joe? It boggles the mind. I also had Paul Welch of Fargo-Moorhead in the outfield I

¡939

143

.759, .5¡4. That is some high quality Whack-A-Moleing. Hatten’s Crookstown Pirates finished 33 games under .500. Joe won 33% of the Pirate’s games, and they played .3¡9 ball if he was not involved in the decision. A very good (and unusual for its perspicacity) choice. Robert Haas of Fargo-Moorhead was a sterling ¡5–4 and led the circuit in ERA at 2.57. Winnipeg’s Galen Shupe was ¡8–7 and his ERA was 2.97. He led the league in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.2 mark.

selected. Welch hit .303, slugged .494, and scored 93 run, and he led in most POs. (The three selectees hit .3¡2 with a paltry .45¡ SA and a rather low .366 OB%. They scored a mere 260 runs and drove in only ¡75 — not even 60 a man. My Mowrey/Welch/Barnacle trio hit .335, slugged .532, and had a more acceptable .4¡3 OB%. They scored 279 runs and drove in 2¡7.) “Utility” choice Hansch played only second base. Vince Cicero of Winnipeg played first, third, and the outfield. He hit .276 and had 84 RBIs. Please be sure and note Schmidt’s season: .44¡.

Pennsylvania State Association (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bob Sche‡ng Orval Cott Bernard Dunn Charles Gillespie Arnold Evans Leonard Fresh Charlie Jamin Ted Bosciak Tony Venzon

SP SP

Wilson Koewing Earl Jones

Team Washington Washington Beaver Falls Johnstown Butler Washington Butler Butler Greensburg G 23 29

Washington Beaver Falls

G 109 89 111 43 110 109 92 78 110

AB 418 317 415 148 433 426 357 225 384

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 138 81 221 22 8 15 96 60 27 .330 .529 .414 108 67 176 20 9 10 71 66 14 .341 .555 .460 128 79 167 24 3 3 52 59 12 .308 .402 .395 56 41 88 12 4 4 26 32 7 .378 .595 .495 151 103 180 16 5 1 64 80 64 .349 .416 .459 143 101 188 21 6 4 42 76 34 .336 .441 .440 131 67 176 19 10 2 81 50 23 .367 .493 .447 75 41 95 6 4 2 38 33 6 .333 .422 .419 92 62 132 12 8 4 59 74 23 .240 .344 .368

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 15 15

L 6 7

% .714 .682

IP 173 184

H 164 151

ER 68 72

SO 143 205

BB 66 143

ERA 3.54 3.52

BR/9 12.1 14.8

I would have had a three man sta›, and neither Koewing nor Jones would have been one of the three. Doyle Mills of Washington was ¡4–6, led the league in ERA (2.3¡) and was second BR/9 ratio (¡¡.0). John Kernoski of Butler was ¡5–9 with a 2.83 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.0, both third best in the PSA. Merle Hahn of McKeesport (which played .395 ball when he was not involved in the decision) was ¡5–9. He was second in ERA with a 2.36 mark and led in BR/9 allowed at ¡0.8. The two selectees had an ERA of 3.53 and allowed ¡3.5 BR/9. My trio’s numbers were 2.50 and ¡¡.2.

Sche‡ng was a playing manager. Cott played fewer than ten games at second, and on my team, he was a third baseman. My keystone choice was Walt She‡c of Beaver Falls and Johnstown. She‡c hit .293 and slugged .409. He had 62 RBIs. Gillespie had a terrific year, what there was of it. If you prefer your All-Stars to have more meat on their bones, then Norm Stauder of Beaver Falls is the shortstop for you. He hit .292, slugged .40¡, and scored 64 runs. Venzon played outfield, first, second, third, and pitched.

PONY League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Charles Lamendola George Sandford Robert Blanchard Stan Rojek Arthur Strott Harold Gold Henry Redmond Mike Sandlock James McKenna

SP SP

Hayden Shupe George Dockins

Team Olean Batavia Bradford Olean Niagra Falls Olean Hamilton Bradford Hamilton

G 100 83 96 103 77 79 103 94 85

AB 405 296 339 403 293 306 418 307 193

H 126 82 87 129 110 89 166 92 85

R 77 47 59 66 80 61 73 43 38

G 30 29

GS — —

CG 17 12

SH 0 3

W 17 15

Olean Hamilton

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 206 25 8 13 85 56 7 .311 .509 .403 117 17 6 2 45 37 9 .277 .395 .361 118 14 4 3 44 51 6 .257 .348 .364 178 29 4 4 69 32 12 .320 .442 .373 198 17 10 17 69 55 2 .375 .676 .477 132 18 5 5 47 38 21 .291 .431 .376 248 32 10 10 84 39 3 .397 .593 .450 142 14 6 8 57 44 6 .300 .463 .393 112 13 4 2 44 20 4 .440 .580 .495 L 6 5

% .739 .750

IP 205 175

H 203 183

ER 80 57

SO 170 137

BB 86 31

ERA 3.51 2.93

BR/9 12.8 11.1

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Minor League All-Star Teams McKenna played outfield and was ¡0–6 on the hill. (As an aside, the selected starting eight hit .3¡8, slugged .484, and had a .400 OB%. My eight hit .329, slugged .478, and had an OB% of .4¡7. Pretty close, but for me the deciding factor is the OB%.) Norm Russell of Hamilton was ¡4–6 and had a league-best 2.63 ERA. He was third in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.3. Jesse Cole of Olean was ¡5–8 with a 3.07 ERA and a league-low ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio. Unusual for the time (and the classification), the PONY had a full-time reliever, Pete Wigton of Olean. He pitched ¡¡2 innings in 33 games and went 7–7, 3.46.

My second baseman was James Cooney of Olean, who hit .329. He had a .400 OB% and scored 88 runs. At third, I had Jamestown’s Robert Barnhardt. He too hit .329, with a .437 SA. I had four outfielders, but only Redmond was a matcher with the scribe’s choices. Andrew Thomas (Niagra Falls) hit .333 and had a league-best (and very good) .495 OB%. He scored 77 runs in 77 games. His Rainbows teammate Amil Brinsky hit .3¡¡ with a .498 SA and was second with 84 RBIs. John McGowan of Hamilton hit .303, slugged .490, and had a .4¡4 OB%. He scored ¡¡0 runs in only 97 games.

Tar Heel League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Michael Natisin James Guinn Henry Weiting Joe Zanolli Hooper Triplett Cleston Ray Norman James Marvin Felderman Edwin Martin

SP SP

Miles Gardner William Skinner

Team Gastonia Shelby Lenoir Statesville Gastonia Statesville Hickory Lenoir Shelby

Gastonia Hickory

G 28 36

G 102 100 73 108 105 109 109 95 100

AB 400 434 265 461 378 425 417 344 396

GS — —

CG 17 20

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 141 98 229 35 7 13 106 55 10 .353 .573 .434 161 84 232 30 7 10 69 27 13 .371 .535 .408 79 38 116 18 2 5 41 38 1 .298 .438 .390 133 98 187 23 8 5 58 58 40 .289 .406 .369 148 116 270 33 4 27 115 81 15 .392 .714 .503 127 65 160 13 4 4 49 62 18 .299 .376 .389 145 82 246 27 10 18 105 64 23 .348 .590 .437 108 53 167 12 4 13 55 32 7 .314 .485 .374 136 82 222 26 6 16 85 41 11 .343 .561 .405 SH — —

I would only change one outfielder and add another first baseman and another utility man to the line-up, and also add two pitchers. The first baseman is William Birch Douglas of Lenoir. Birch hit a robust .365, had an equally robust .595 SA, and an equally robust .453 OB%. He stole a very un–first baseman–like 5¡ bases, hit ¡7 homers, drove in 9¡ runs and scored a league high ¡27 times. Shelby flyhawk Herman Vanderber hit .325, slugged .553, and had an OB% of .433. He hit ¡7 homers, scored 83 times and drove in 9¡ runs. Simply put, Cleston Ray has Herman Vanderber’s outfield spot in my outfield. Switching the two changes the outfield’s collective BA from .344 to .355, the SA from .554 to a whopping .6¡8, and the OB% from a good .442 to a better .458. The runs go from

W 17 14

L 5 15

% .773 .483

IP 188 245

H 189 226

ER 92 90

SO 118 212

BB 79 93

ERA 4.40 3.31

BR/9 12.9 11.8

263 to 28¡, the RBIs from 269 to 3¡¡, and the homers from 49 to 62. I think the change would do the outfield (and by extension the team) good. Martin played first, third, and outfield. Gastonia’s pennant and play-o› winning manager Al Unser should at least have been a co-utility man. He played catcher, second, third, outfield, and was 3–¡ as a pitcher with an ERA of 2.86. That, my friends, is a utility year. Oh, by the way, he hit .370, slugged .602 and had a very good .475 OB% (he was hit by pitches 20 times). Al scored ¡02 runs in 99 games and had 8¡ RBIs. Witt “Dis” Guise of Lenoir was ¡5–7 and led the league in ERA (2.82) and BR/9 ratio (¡¡.2) Ralph Fox who pitched for Newton-Conover and Statesville, was ¡7–¡¡ with 3.23 and ¡2.3 numbers.

Virginia League (D) Co-shortstops would not have been amiss out ol’ Virginny way. Mike Scott of Lynchburg hit .359, slugged .52¡, and had an OB% of .445. The two shortstops combined to bat .354, slug .509, and garner a terrific .469 OB%. Harrisonburg outfielder Vance Dinges hit .359,

had a .52¡ SA, and got on base .445 percent of the time. If you ouster Utz, I believe you have a more productive outfield (.375–.367 advantage in batting, .568–.556 in slugging, and .426–.448 in OB%). Fesh was 9–6 as a pitcher and played 20 games elsewhere. Louis Cipala (Harrisonburg and Lynch-

¡939 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Kenneth Moore Henry Schenz William Sheridan Steve Sloboda Russ Mincy Warren Hu›man W. Lewis Utz J. Fenton Beaman John Fesh

SP SP

Paul Crain Ernie Utz

145

Team G AB H R TB 2B Salem-Roanoke 90 371 132 71 196 23 Salem-Roanoke 83 333 104 87 157 23 Staunton 101 375 129 85 194 27 Staunton 97 324 113 89 160 21 Salem-Roanoke 109 399 138 92 224 41 Staunton 97 369 153 72 225 29 Staunton 68 281 94 50 134 19 Harrisonburg 38 311 77 76 109 13 Lynch./Harrison. 38 81 20 18 32 4 G 29 33

Lynchburg Harrisonburg

GS — —

CG 15 15

SH 2 2

W 14 15

L 10 6

3B HR RBI BB 7 9 95 15 6 6 51 45 16 2 60 41 10 2 56 87 9 9 77 64 14 5 61 28 6 3 66 9 5 3 40 86 1 2 18 23

% .583 .714

IP 153 224

H 156 199

ER 67 87

SB 10 23 12 33 16 23 3 13 0 SO 90 183

BA .356 .312 .344 .349 .346 .415 .335 .248 .247

SA OB% .528 .382 .471 .405 .517 .421 .494 .494 .561 .443 .610 .456 .477 .355 .350 .415 .395 .425

BB 53 54

ERA 3.94 3.50

BR/9 12.6 10.2

Roanoke Friends to the pitching sta›. He was ¡8–8 with a 3.33 ERA.

burg) played second, third, and outfield and hit .279 with 75 runs and 74 RBIs. I would add Vince Palumbo of the Salem-

Western League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Pete Monahan Wendell Finders Ted Kakaloris Floyd McDaniel Ed Wernet William Morgan Hans Krueger Karl Hower Gottleib Leipelt

Team Sioux City Norfolk Lincoln Lincoln Sioux Falls Norfolk Lincoln Norfolk Mitchell

SP SP

John Miller Leonard Bobeck

Lincoln Norfolk

G 40 29

G 115 119 119 118 94 119 109 114 84

AB 391 506 486 478 358 468 463 463 302

GS — —

H 133 167 166 143 128 160 161 158 104

CG — —

R 102 139 107 82 86 125 92 103 57

SH — —

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 210 20 6 15 106 101 18 .340 .537 .476 239 19 11 5 68 49 51 .330 .472 .389 256 31 25 3 114 71 22 .342 .527 .429 199 21 13 3 67 35 52 .299 .416 .352 209 24 9 13 106 70 12 .358 .584 .463 269 32 13 17 91 75 9 .342 .575 .435 235 27 16 5 88 30 33 .348 .508 .395 233 34 7 9 105 37 5 .341 .503 .390 170 19 10 9 43 33 6 .344 .563 .412

W 21 19

L 12 3

% .636 .864

IP 257 207

H 259 211

ER 97 79

SO 208 174

BB 107 77

ERA 3.40 3.43

BR/9 13.2 12.6

I would add Lawrence Kempe to the sta›. The Sioux Falls Canary went ¡9–7 and, you guessed it, led the league in ERA and BR/9 ratio (3.0¡ and ¡2.4). By the way, the starting eight stole 202 bases.

A well selected team, I would have gone with two second basemen. Bob Dillinger of Lincoln hit .3¡4 with .500 SA and a .420 OB%. He scored ¡39 runs in ¡¡7 games, hit 2¡ triples, and stole 67 bases. Leipelt played outfield and was 6–7 as a pitcher.

West Texas-New Mexico League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Malone Sanders Bob Decker William Capps Francis “Salty” Parker Gordon Nell Grover Seitz Pat Stasey James Miller Joseph Piet

SP SP

Lee Harris Bus Dorman

Lubbock Amarillo

Team Amarillo Big Spring Big Spring Lubbock Pampa Pampa Big Spring Lubbock Midland G 30 33

GS 22 17

G 115 130 138 133 135 137 138 117 79 CG 16 15

AB 457 548 490 480 528 537 561 430 194

H 148 163 180 150 207 186 193 141 66

SH 2 0

R 92 110 120 96 152 145 131 95 37

W 18 15

Parker and Seitz were playing managers. Odd that in a league which hit .288 and where ¡3.3 runs were scored every game, the best first baseman hit .324, only ¡7th in the league. Odd that he

L 4 6

TB 220 211 296 214 415 270 328 243 102

2B 37 23 36 25 60 44 34 29 7

% .818 .714

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 7 7 69 61 18 .324 .481 .408 8 3 49 73 29 .297 .385 .383 10 20 100 89 16 .367 .604 .479 9 7 93 81 17 .313 .446 .425 8 44 189 61 15 .392 .786 .463 11 6 95 66 44 .346 .503 .425 13 25 134 55 27 .344 .585 .407 2 23 120 55 13 .328 .565 .407 4 7 37 29 1 .340 .526 .426 IP 194 195

H 209 184

ER 64 86

SO 114 171

BB 70 71

ERA 2.97 3.97

BR/9 13.2 12.0

slugged below .500. And, in a league with twelve batters who had at least ¡00 RBIs, the league’s All-Star first baseman finishes tied for 3¡st. What is even odder is the fact that Sanders may

146

Minor League All-Star Teams Utility man Piet played outfield and was ¡3–¡3 as a pitcher. Matt Zorko of Lubbock played second and outfield and hit .3¡8, slugged .5¡4 and had an OB% of .449. He scored ¡35 runs in his ¡¡9 games and popped ¡6 homers. I would have a pair of jacks-ofsome-trades. Dorman’s team finished last, 22 games under .500 (.4¡9). The Gold Sox would have played .365 without an exact replica of him on the mound for them. I would have added Jodie Marek of Big Spring, Clovis Bridwell of Lubbock (it’s too bad he didn’t play for Clovis), Clem Hausman of Abilene-Borger, and the delightfully monickered Orby Hay of Lamesa to the sta›. Marek was 23–¡0 for the Barons with a 4.22 ERA and finished third in BR/9 ratio at ¡2.0 (¡2.0¡¡ to Dorman’s ¡¡.954, if you want to be all Vulcan about it). Bridwell was ¡5–7 for the Hubbers and finished second in ERA with a 3.36 mark. The Apaches-Gassers finished fifteen games under .500 with Hausman. Without him, their winning percentage drops from .445 to .4¡7. He led the league in BR/9 ratio with an ¡¡.9 (¡¡.936) figure. Hay, head hurler for the Lobos, was ¡5–¡¡ and fifth in ERA and BR/9 ratio at 3.84 and ¡2.4 respectively.

have indeed been the league’s premier first baseman. There is only one real challenger for the spot, Clovis’s Tom Wagner, but he hit only .293. So, it’s Sanders by default, de fault being that he was the best available player for the spot. Seitz is the odd man out in my outfield, Emmett Fullenwider of Lamesa being my man. Emmett hit .335, slugged a huge .684, blasted 43 homers, and had ¡40 RBIs in ¡¡8 games. It must be said that adding Fullenwider takes away some OB percentage points and 3¡ fewer runs are scored. On the other hand, the already good SA goes way up and there are 45 more RBIs. The numbers are as follows: Nell/Seitz/Stasey, .360 BA, .623 SA, .432 OB% with 428 runs, 4¡8 RBIs, ¡38 doubles, and 75 home runs. Nell/Fullenwider/Stasey, .357 BA, .683 SA, .4¡8 OB% with 397 runs, 463 RBIs, ¡26 doubles, and ¡¡2 home runs. Note that version one averages ¡43 runs, 46 doubles and 25 home runs a man, and version two averages ¡54 RBIs, 42 doubles, and 37 homers. A four man outfield crew would certainly solve any questions on which of the candidates to expunge from the role of the WTNM immortals.

! ¡940 ! In ¡940, there were forty four leagues in the National Association. Thirty seven of them (84%) named all-star teams.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Al Flair Maurice Jacobs Pete Suder Hal Quick Kermit Lewis Danny Litwhiler John Lazor Mickey Livingston Bill Jackson

SP SP

Owen Sheetz Virgil Brown

Team Scranton Elmira Binghamton Springfield Albany Wilkes-Barre Scranton Springfield Hartford

Scranton Albany

G 26 35

G 139 136 140 116 144 103 135 93 128

GS 21 29

AB 504 522 571 457 388 374 500 296 424 CG 16 18

H 157 127 172 110 126 114 153 84 116 SH 3 3

This was not a hard hitting league. Only one qualifying batter had an OB% over .400, only two had SAs over .500. No one scored or drove in ¡00 runs (only twelve players scored as many as 70 runs, only eleven had as many as 70 RBIs). Only 8.6 runs were scored in the average E.L. game in ¡940. Ten league pitchers had ERAs under 3.00, only eight qualifying batters reached the .300 mark, most unusual for the day.

R 85 59 73 57 86 68 84 37 49 W 15 22

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 196 28 4 1 75 67 5 .312 .389 .394 160 23 5 0 40 49 9 .243 .307 .311 257 25 6 16 78 18 9 .301 .450 .323 135 13 6 0 20 14 3 .241 .295 .263 199 19 3 16 66 71 23 .325 .513 .443 203 29 9 14 65 34 3 .305 .543 .367 206 28 8 3 74 41 8 .306 .412 .363 117 13 4 4 39 26 0 .284 .395 .352 163 21 4 6 71 69 8 .274 .384 .382 L 5 9

% .750 .710

IP 177 234

H 165 233

ER 57 86

SO 60 79

BB 36 66

ERA 2.90 3.31

BR/9 10.3 11.6

The selected middle infielders (Jacobs and Quick) hit .242, “slugged” .30¡, and had an excruciatingly bad .289 OB%. Together, they contrived to drive in all of 60 runs. I think we can do better, and we shall. Jack Burman, Albany second baseman, hit .298 (seventh in the league). His .380 SA was nothing to write home about, but it was 73 points better than Jacobs’s. Ditto for his .369 OB%, 58 points up on Jacobs. Scranton shortstop Eddie Pellagrini hit .259,

¡940 slugged a mediocre .363 (a 68 point advantage over Quick) and had a not-so-good .347 OB% (a mere 84 points better than Quick’s, which may have been the years worst). My DP combo hits .279, slugs .372, and has an OB% of .357, and added 82 RBIs. (Oh, and I checked to see if it was fielding which handed the laurels to Jacobs and Quick. It wasn’t. In fact, if anything, the fielding stats strengthened the case for Burman and Pellagrini. Jacobs fielded .973 and got to 5.5 TC/G. Burman’s FA was a bit lower [.967], but he got to more chances [5.9 a game], so it is about a wash at second. At short, Quick was anything but, having an impossibly [one would have thought] 3.¡ TC/G figure. That would be average for a third baseman, but for a shortstop … well, you could have placed three milk buckets between second and third and they would have had just about as many balls hit into them as the bipedal and ostensibly mobile Quick. Pellagrini fielded .943 and had a much, much better 5.¡ TC/G ratio.) There’s just no way around it — Burman and Quick were terrible selections. End of story.

147

Even though he was only in the league for 67 games, I would still have given an outfield spot to Pete Rieser. He hit .378 for Elmira, slugged .6¡8, and reached base .464 percent of the time, and he led the league with 28 steals. Utility choice Jackson was a catcher, catching choice Livingston both caught and played short. I would have switched their positions on the squad. I would also have added Jack Graham of Binghamton as another utility man. He played first and outfield, hit.280 with a .487 SA (third in the league), drove in 7¡ runs, scored 83 and led the circuit with 20 homers. I would have added two pitchers to the sta›: Mickey Harris and Tommy DeLaCruz. Harris, who toiled for Scranton, was ¡0–5 in limited service (only ¡6 games and 96 innings), but he had a 2.25 ERA and struck out ¡06 batters in those 96 innings. DeLaCruz pitched for Springfield and went ¡8–8 with a 2.37 ERA. He led the league with a 9.7 BR/9 ratio.

Interstate League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Arnold Greene Lyle Judy Bill Homan Billy Cox Elmer Valo Tom Oliver Robert Hamilton Walter Klimczak Frank Colman

Team Harrisburg Reading A’town-Harrisburg Harrisburg Wilmington Reading Reading Wilmington Wilmington

G 90 128 96 120 120 112 125 47 73

AB 314 478 340 462 437 426 470 161 205

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 102 54 185 14 3 21 76 49 2 .325 .589 .419 140 107 182 21 3 5 51 84 46 .293 .381 .402 105 51 145 17 1 7 51 38 4 .309 .426 .378 133 55 191 24 5 8 53 32 8 .288 .413 .335 159 89 240 31 16 6 80 63 31 .364 .549 .448 136 84 168 20 3 2 69 35 14 .319 .394 .371 153 88 230 27 10 10 94 36 17 .326 .489 .383 50 23 73 8 3 3 26 6 3 .311 .453 .343 74 39 103 8 3 5 34 5 2 .361 .502 .376

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP George Hennessey Trenton 27 — 19 4 18 4 .818 193 197 53 63 45 2.47 11.4 SP Fred Archer Haz’ton/Lancaster 29 — 26 1 17 11 .607 238 237 81 116 73 3.06 11.9

A’town is Allentown. Haz’ton is Hazleton.

Oliver was a playing manager. A fairly well selected team, I only disagree with the catching choice and would add another utility man and two more pitchers. Forty-seven games just aren’t quite enough for me for a spot on the Super-Squad (unless such a short-timer had hit about .400, had a SA above .600 and popped at least a dozen homers). Siggy Broski of Hazleton/Lancaster led the league in games caught with 92, hit .276, had a .387 OB% and 48 RBIs. Not great, but the best of any catcher who caught at least 50 percent of his teams games.

Coleman played outfield and was an excellent ¡0–4, 2.76 on the hill. Robert “Ducky” Detwhiler played third, second and outfield, hit .3¡3 and stole 20 bases. James Kerr of Harrisburg went ¡5–8 with an ERA of 2.60 and was second with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8. Norman Hibbs of the Hazleton Mountaineers/Lancaster Red Roses was ¡5–7, 2.68 and had the league’s best BR/9 ratio, 9.7.

148

Minor League All-Star Teams

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Len Prout “Snu›y” Stirnweiss Joe Bestudik Johnny Pesky Walter Schuerbaum James Maynard Irving Plummer Richard Hahn Gil Torres

SP SP

Ken Burkhart Max Wilson

Team Richmond Norfolk Durham Rocky Mount Asheville Richmond Rocky Mount Charlotte Charlotte

Asheville Portsmouth

G 33 39

G 138 86 138 136 136 130 136 128 56 GS — —

AB 537 300 515 576 538 486 492 427 130 CG 19 20

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 178 104 286 24 6 24 103 75 21 .331 .533 .414 92 68 153 17 4 12 51 47 19 .307 .510 .404 164 93 246 21 14 11 93 61 17 .318 .478 .392 187 114 259 28 16 4 55 59 7 .325 .450 .390 155 81 231 23 10 11 95 37 4 .288 .429 .341 164 113 296 30 6 30 98 65 24 .337 .609 .426 155 80 236 23 2 18 97 87 2 .315 .480 .419 123 78 210 11 5 22 67 58 5 .288 .492 .377 37 18 48 6 1 1 19 9 5 .285 .369 .331 SH 6 6

A well selected squad, I would but change one outfielder and the utility man, and add a pitcher. I bid a hearty and gemütlich auf wiedersehen to Herr Schuerbaum and welcome George Ferrell (Richmond) to my outfield. The Colt flyhawk hit .290, slugged .430, and had an OB% of .395. He scored 86 runs and drove in 89. Old utility standby Al Unser (Winston-Salem) should have hoisted the handyman’s gonfalon. He

W 20 20

L 6 10

% .769 .667

IP 233 253

H 192 232

ER 68 85

SO 145 133

BB 76 58

ERA 2.63 3.02

BR/9 10.6 10.4

played first, third, outfield, caught, and pitched, hitting .272 in the process. He drove in 55 runs and scored 54. Torres, by the way, was 9–7 as a pitcher and appeared elsewhere, all, however, in the legendary lost “LT¡0” netherworld. The additional pitcher is Barney DeForge of Durham. He led the league in ERA with a 2.40 mark and had a ¡0.8 BR/9 ratio.

Quebec Provincial League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name James Walsh Tony DiNubilo Arnold Banta Edward Alberston Edwin Martin Joseph Cicero Stanley Platek Arthur Galen Paul Martin

SP SP

Bruno Shedis Bill Yocke

Team Granby Trois Rivieres St. Hyacinthe Sherbrooke/Granby Trois Rivieres St. Hyacinthe St. Hyacinthe Sherbrooke/T.R. Trois Rivieres

St. Hyacinthe Quebec

G 34 27

GS — —

G 89 79 79 78 76 80 80 72 72

AB H R TB 295 94 55 174 308 93 61 130 284 75 42 107 284 63 39 87 283 82 46 104 296 84 52 124 316 105 57 165 253 57 18 71 288 90 34 118

CG 14 21

SH — —

W 18 14

L 5 6

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 25 2 17 63 78 4 .319 .590 .461 16 6 3 34 34 23 .302 .422 .371 12 4 4 43 29 21 .264 .377 .332 10 4 2 21 47 10 .222 .306 .332 14 1 2 21 29 10 .290 .367 .356 10 6 6 48 43 19 .284 .419 .375 23 5 9 60 30 15 .332 .522 .390 12 1 0 23 19 0 .225 .281 .279 11 7 1 49 20 8 .313 .410 .357

% .783 .700

IP 180 204

H 150 158

ER 57 48

SO 89 127

BB 67 41

ERA 2.85 2.12

BR/9 11.1 8.9

No HBP for batters, so OB% is approximate.

My chosen squad included outfielders Alex Pitko (Trois Rivieres) and Joe Dooley (Quebec) in place of Martin and Cicero. Pitko hit .30¡ and slugged .497, tied for the lead in doubles with 25 and was second in homers with ¡2. Dooley hit .297, had a .408 OB%, and led the QPL with 64 runs.

Lou Lepine of Quebec was ¡5–5 and led the league with a fine ¡.68 ERA. His 9.3 BR/9 ratio was second to Yocke’s most excellent 8.9. Shedis also appeared as Chedis in the o‡cial stats.

South Atlantic League (B) Rhodes was a playing manager. I am leaning toward Connie Ryan at second. The Savannah keystoner hit .3¡6, slugged .480 and had a .397 OB%. He scored 83 runs and drove in 73. Rhodes was dealt a very short straw in managing Spartanburg/Charleston (the team moved on ¡5

July). The Spartans/Rebels finished a horrid 44–¡06, .293, fifty games out and nineteen games out of seventh. I would replace McBryde with Ed Knoblauch of Columbus in the outfield. Ed hit .345, slugged .480 and had an OB% of .4¡2. He led the league in runs

¡940 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Ray Sanders Cecil Rhodes William Johnson Eddie Stankey Hooper Triplett Garrett McBryde Art Rebel Herb Crompton Robert Winters

James Davis Robert Chipman

Team Columbus Sp’burg/Charleston Augusta Macon Columbus Sp’burg/Charleston Augusta Savannah Columbia

Augusta Savannah

G 149 145 150 138 130 151 146 141 145

AB 562 535 593 529 483 587 574 546 613

H 196 176 205 160 178 190 200 185 204

149

R 108 81 107 116 131 88 102 74 109

TB 298 225 288 211 283 257 306 264 278

2B 28 28 34 36 36 29 47 39 41

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 16 14 152 67 13 .349 .530 .422 9 1 51 49 16 .329 .421 .386 20 3 95 53 13 .346 .486 .409 3 3 55 79 18 .302 .399 .413 12 15 105 86 17 .369 .586 .467 13 4 88 34 17 .324 .438 .371 19 7 123 40 15 .348 .533 .393 2 12 115 31 2 .339 .484 .378 12 3 82 50 22 .333 .454 .385

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

41 29

— —

21 15

2 3

23 17

9 5

.719 .773

276 195

239 171

83 67

164 112

113 87

2.71 3.09

12.0 12.1

Sp’burg is Spartanburg.

with ¡35. The selected three hit .345, slugged .5¡5 and had an OB% of .4¡4 with 32¡ runs and 3¡6 RBIs. A Triplett/Rebel/Knoblauch outfield hits .353, slugs .5¡2, and has a .422 OB% with 368 runs and 300 RBIs. The second three seem to me to be better than the first three. (By the way, McBryde finished first in put-outs, Knoblauch second.) There were no less than four other pitchers who deserved a roster spot by my reckoning. Witt Guise of Columbia was ¡3–6 with a league-leading 2.06 ERA. He put the nails in his own co‡n (as far as post-season honors were concerned) by also leading

the circuit in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.5 mark. Agapito Mayor of Greenville was ¡3–4 with a 2.37 ERA and allowed but ¡0.8 BR/9, thanks to his ¡.2 BB/9 ratio. John Intelkofer of Macon had even better control, allowing only ¡.¡ BB/9 while going ¡7–7 with a ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio. Finally, there is Leo Moon of the woeful Spartans/Rebels. He managed to somehow go 9–¡¡ for that hapless squad (which played .269 ball when he was not involved in the decision). And, he walked only ¡6 batters in his ¡66 innings, for the years best control mark, 0.9 (actually, 0.86) BB/9.

Southeastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Paul Fugit Marion “Bill” Adair Grover Resinger Les Floyd Bill Endicott Thomas McBride Frank Kalin Donald Vettoriel Tom Cafego

Team Jackson Montgomery Selma Pensacola Mobile Jackson Jackson Jackson Montgomery

G 151 146 123 151 130 149 135 132 74

AB 602 544 464 610 478 614 510 462 205

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 191 98 286 46 8 11 101 37 1 .317 .475 .364 179 113 293 36 9 20 113 63 10 .329 .539 .408 146 72 188 33 3 1 46 47 7 .315 .405 .379 173 78 216 27 8 0 41 26 10 .284 .354 .313 153 89 201 24 12 0 52 71 8 .320 .421 .411 194 107 285 47 16 4 88 35 8 .316 .464 .354 163 78 235 27 9 9 84 41 6 .320 .461 .373 143 41 203 38 5 4 90 33 1 .310 .439 .357 76 40 105 13 5 2 37 28 6 .371 .512 .449

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Roy “Goat” Walker Montgomery 36 — 28 2 22 10 .688 262 293 108 92 36 3.71 11.4 SP Frank Hoerst Pensacola 28 — 16 6 16 7 .696 183 147 52 130 49 2.56 9.7

Les Floyd is not impressive at short, at least hitting-wise. Afield, he led the league in, well, in everything: FA, put-outs, assists (an impressive 5¡3) double plays and TC/G. Oddly, home run king Norm DeWeese of Pensacola and his 22 circuit clouts were left o› of the squad. Big Norm also finished second with ¡¡¡ RBIs, fourth with ¡03 runs, and led the league with his .56¡ SA. His .338 BA was second. Swapping DeWeese for Endicott changes the All-Star outfields batting stats

from .3¡8/.450/.378 with a wee ¡3 homers, 274 runs and an outfield-puny 224 RBIs to a better (but still, to be honest, not that impressive) .324/.495/.366 with a not quite so wee 35 homers, 288 runs and a much better (if not awe-inspiring) 283 RBIs. Cafego played first, outfield, and catcher. Jackson’s Gordy Maltzberger went ¡6–6 and had the league’s best ERA, 2.20 as well as the number two BR/9 ratio, ¡0.2. Garth Mann of Pensacola was 20–8 with a 3.04 ERA (fifth in the league).

150

Minor League All-Star Teams

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Hershey Albert Roberge Alex Pecora Stanley Galle Lou Sco‡c Clarence Bray Charles Workman Alvin Montgomery Steve Tramback

Team Cedar Rapids Evansville Clinton Madison Decatur Evansville Cedar Rapids Moline Clinton

SP SP

Max Surkont Decatur Mike Kash (Kaiserski) Madison

G 126 102 90 123 121 106 126 116 120 G 33 33

AB 469 396 327 487 458 405 478 417 444

GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 149 89 278 30 9 15 99 62 3 .318 .593 .401 119 65 165 17 10 3 48 30 5 .301 .417 .350 109 52 148 14 8 3 33 44 2 .333 .453 .414 144 70 194 24 7 4 77 36 7 .296 .398 .347 164 92 233 23 8 10 93 59 27 .358 .509 .432 136 70 200 24 8 8 59 35 11 .336 .494 .398 153 108 278 20 9 29 105 75 23 .320 .582 .417 131 73 205 21 10 11 95 54 0 .314 .492 .395 138 75 188 16 11 4 59 49 32 .311 .423 .384

CG 19 24

SH 5 6

W 19 20

L 5 9

% .792 .690

IP 234 235

H 193 237

ER 65 77

SO 212 152

BB 94 51

ERA 2.50 2.95

BR/9 11.3 11.2

Tramback was an outfielder. Don Manno was too, but he also played 7¡ games at first base. Manno hit .30¡, was fourth in slugging with a .535 mark and had a .404 OB%. He scored 96 runs, led in triples with ¡8, was second in homers with ¡6, and was top dog in RBIs with ¡¡3. Ben Kneupper of Springfield was in 38 games for a total of ¡¡8 innings and went 8–6 with a 3.66 ERA.

Sco‡c was a playing manager. Not a poorly selected team by any means, I would only debate an outfield choice, the utility selection, and add a reliever. Dain Clay of Decatur hit for a .355 average, had a .543 SA, and managed a .4¡4 OB%. He scored 87 times and had 90 RBIs. He outdoes Bray on every aspect of hitting, and should have had his place in III All-Star heaven.

Western International League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name William Reese John Stamper Henry Martinez Ned Stickle Tony “Wild Bull” Firpo Ralph Samhammer Smead Jolley Roy Younker Bill Harris

SP SP

George Windsor Frank Isekite

Team Yakima Yakima Spokane Spokane Tacoma Vancouver Spokane Yakima Salem

Spokane Tacoma

G 33 32

G 135 146 142 141 115 141 145 116 140

GS — —

AB 535 623 539 563 473 588 601 419 526

CG 18 24

H 172 213 170 188 167 195 224 124 174 SH 1 3

This was a hitter’s league; 29 qualifiers hit over .300, and the league as a whole hit .293. An average of ¡2.9 runs were scored in every game (22 fellows scored at least ¡00 runs, and if you had scored ¡25 runs, you would be out of the top ten). There were 3.9 doubles hit in every game, and the tenth highest total was 37. A batting average of .33¡ would place you tenth in the W. Int. of ’40, as would an ERA of 4.54, where ¡5 qualifiers had ERAs over 5.00 and six were over 6.00. My first base choice was one J. Wellington Quinn, known as “Wimpy.” The Vancouver Capilano first sacker hit .342 and slugged .588. He had 208 hits, 39 doubles, ¡5 triples, and 27 homeruns. His ¡50 RBIs were second in the league. At third, I had Wimpy’s fellow Capilano, Ray Orteig. He hit .342, slugged

R 144 128 130 150 81 151 117 87 107 W 20 18

TB 273 281 254 265 248 332 365 205 281 L 6 9

2B 39 33 24 35 27 38 56 29 35

% .769 .667

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 4 18 82 108 17 .321 .510 .436 7 7 90 70 14 .342 .451 .409 15 10 98 79 46 .315 .471 .413 15 4 74 129 13 .334 .471 .462 9 12 87 34 7 .353 .524 .402 12 25 92 101 14 .332 .565 .431 5 25 181 71 2 .373 .607 .441 2 16 95 51 9 .296 .489 .383 18 12 116 93 5 .331 .534 .431 IP 252 249

H 264 222

ER 119 92

SO 110 225

BB 95 115

ERA 4.25 3.33

BR/9 12.9 12.2

.524, and had a .424 OB%. He had 203 hits, ¡9 home runs, scored ¡26 runs and drove in ¡¡6. The infield as selected batted .329, slugged .474, and had an OB% of .43¡. It scored 552 runs (¡38 per man), hit ¡3¡ doubles and 39 home runs, and drove in 344 runs (86 per). An infield of Quinn/Stamper/ Orteig/Stickle infield hits .340 (garnering 8¡2 hits, 203 per man), slugs .509, and has an OB% of .420. It scores 506 runs (¡27 per), hits ¡38 doubles, 57 home runs, and drives in 430 runs (¡08 per). You can’t argue with production (well, you can, but what would be the point?). I would add a fourth outfielder, Levi McCormack of Spokane. Levi hit .327 and had a .424 OB%, drove in ¡08 runs and scored ¡30. He had 35 doubles and ¡5 triples.

¡940

151

the league, and slugging a league-best .672. He had 47 doubles, hit 25 home runs, drove in ¡0¡ runs, and scored ¡23 times. Robert Kinnaman of Spokane pitched ¡¡8 innings in 33 games and was the league’s foremost reliever. He was 6–¡ with an ERA of 3.89.

Harris had ¡8 games at first base, the rest were in the outfield. I would have gone with Dan Escobar of Wenatchee. He, like Harris, was an outfielder who played some first (in his case, 38 games). He was a much better hitter than was Harris, however, batting .365 and compiling a .45¡ OB%, both second in

Arizona-Texas League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Tucker Elwood Curtis Harry Clements Burman Bare Elmer Olsen Fay Starr Joe “Ox” Brovia Frank Morris Elmer “Spec” Williamson

Team Tucson Albuquerque Tucson Tucson Tucson Bisbee El Paso El Paso El Paso

SP SP

Bob Raines Frank Totaro

G 33 31

El Paso Bisbee

GS — —

G 119 118 124 99 98 123 104 118 100

CG 18 19

AB 506 514 523 406 407 535 415 406 302

SH — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 169 107 243 22 14 8 100 29 15 .334 .480 .377 160 118 187 16 4 1 62 57 22 .311 .364 .386 175 91 227 28 12 0 83 33 10 .335 .434 .386 131 82 208 27 13 8 89 44 7 .323 .512 .393 116 88 152 11 11 1 45 58 9 .285 .373 .383 165 106 237 19 19 5 102 49 10 .308 .443 .371 159 73 227 21 19 3 103 34 4 .383 .547 .437 140 87 198 13 15 5 82 89 4 .345 .488 .469 81 42 99 10 4 0 48 24 7 .268 .328 .322 W 18 14

L 8 12

% .692 .538

IP 209 225

H 250 265

ER 101 121

SO 117 251

BB 66 94

ERA 4.35 4.84

BR/9 14.0 14.6

Short-time outfielder Bob Joratz needs mentioning. He hit .328 and slugged .598, hit ¡6 triples, scored 56 runs, and had 60 RBIs in his 59 games. Williamson played second, third, short, outfield, and pitched. Very handy indeed, but I would have cast my vote for Bisbee native Clarence Maddern. Clarence played second, short and outfield and hit .33¡ with 87 runs and an even ¡00 RBIs. Luther French was only ¡0–¡¡ for Albuquerque. He did, however, lead the circuit in ERA (3.50) and BR/9 ratio (¡2.4). Earl Pettit of Tucson was ¡6–¡2 and was second in both ERA at .356 and in BR/9 allowed with a ¡2.9 figure.

Williamson was a playing manager. This was another hitter’s league. The four teams batted a cool .290, and an average of ¡3.6 runs was scored every game. Two teams (Tucson and El Paso) averaged almost a triple a game, and eighteen players had a least ¡0 three-baggers. The number ten batter hit .322, and the tenth best ERA was 4.84. Tucson catcher Leonard Morrison Hit .354, led the league with a .535 SA, had ¡8 triples, scored 88 runs and had 9¡ RBIs. Morrison was strongest where Morris was weakest (SA), and vice versa (OB%). I would have (in fact, I did) select both for my version of the A-Tex All-Star posse.

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Conrad Wotjkowiak Harry Marnie Paul Badgett George Jumonville Barney Hearn Leon Riley Eddie Sawyer Homer Howell Albert Zachary

SP SP

Bethel Rehm Eugene Davis

Team Oswego Ottawa-Og’sburg Amsterdam Ottawa-Og’sburg G’ville-Johnstown Oneonta Amsterdam Ottawa-Og’sburg Utica

G’ville-Johnstown Ottawa-Og’sburg

G 35 25

G 90 123 123 125 128 116 120 45 63

AB 340 503 495 500 506 394 450 146 157

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 107 59 152 13 7 6 64 35 1 .315 .447 .385 163 92 214 29 2 6 82 37 3 .324 .425 .372 156 120 291 26 8 31 119 50 3 .315 .588 .380 166 107 264 38 6 16 100 47 10 .332 .528 .399 169 95 218 18 5 7 80 55 22 .334 .431 .400 134 96 217 21 10 14 87 84 5 .340 .551 .466 148 87 215 24 8 9 99 48 4 .329 .478 .395 53 39 85 7 2 7 34 24 3 .363 .582 .456 59 31 95 10 4 6 36 17 3 .376 .605 .440

GS — —

CG 20 21

SH — —

W 19 15

L 7 7

% .731 .682

IP 239 196

H 242 172

ER 86 54

SO 101 113

BB 67 34

ERA 3.24 2.48

BR/9 11.8 10.0

Og’burg is Ogdensburg, G’ville is Gloversville.

Riley and Sawyer were playing managers. I would just add a catcher and three pitchers to this squad.

Oneonta backstop Pete Radell hit .306 and had 65 RBIs. (I add him just because Howell’s 45 games seem to me to need a bit of backstopping.)

152

Minor League All-Star Teams

Zachary played outfield and pitched, going ¡5–¡¡ with a 3.29 ERA. The three additional pitchers are Johnny Podgajny and Paul Masterson of Ottawa-Ogdensburg and

Steven Wilski of Gloversville-Johnstown. Podgajny went ¡8–7 a 2.57 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8. Masterson was ¡9–9, 2.93. Wilski went ¡6–7 with a 3.06 ERA, and he also hit .307 with 22 RBIs.

Cotton States League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John “Monte” Clancy Burton Hodge Dexter Savage Ed Zydowski Jack Grantham Clary Hack (Hackbarth) Al Zarilla Robert Schang Gerald Lipscomb

SP SP

Lloyd Finck Tom Perry

Helena Monroe

Team Helena Greenville Helena Hot Springs Clarksdale El Dorado Helena Monroe Greenwood G 32 38

GS — —

G 134 122 130 117 137 120 124 125 73 CG 15 19

AB 522 502 512 481 552 448 524 424 232

H 178 153 156 187 194 127 183 113 75

R 94 70 96 114 105 104 119 49 29

TB 249 202 205 326 302 204 269 136 101

SH — —

W 20 21

L 5 7

% .800 .750

Clancy and Lipscomb were playing managers. Pete Medak of Monroe was the first baseman for me. He hit .343, slugged .507 and was second in OB% with a .457 mark. He also scored ¡0¡ runs and drove in ¡04. He appears to be superior to Clancy in all respects. In my outfield, both Hack(barth) and Zarilla were absent, their places taken by Clarksdale’s Thurman Tucker and LaMonte Duncan of Hot Springs. Tucker was in 97 games and scored ¡0¡ runs. He hit a leagueleading .390, slugged .597, and had another league topper with his fine .490 OB%. He had ¡6 triples and stole 36 bases. Duncan’s averages were .307, .499, and .398. He tied for the home runs lead with 25, drove in ¡¡7 runs and topped the circuit with ¡27 runs.

2B 35 23 20 40 58 18 27 10 17

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 12 4 111 56 14 .341 .477 .407 8 4 89 31 17 .305 .402 .346 13 1 108 59 10 .305 .400 .380 12 25 157 50 10 .389 .678 .450 10 10 141 47 7 .351 .547 .402 7 15 88 70 39 .283 .455 .384 19 7 79 30 21 .349 .513 .389 5 1 66 59 10 .267 .321 .356 3 1 34 39 3 .323 .435 .421

IP 222 228

H 221 224

ER 81 75

SO 87 148

BB 92 55

ERA 3.28 2.96

BR/9 13.0 11.2

The outfield as selected hit .33¡, slugged .509, and had an OB% of .392. It scored 328 runs and drove in 308. An outfield of Grantham, Tucker, and Duncan hits .346, slugs .543, and has a .425 OB%, all superior to the selectees figures. And, despite Tucker only being in 97 games, the selectmen are outscored (333) and out RBI-ed (309). Helena catcher Alex Boden hit .28¡ and slugged .366 while scoring 57 times and driving in 84 runs. Lipscomb played second and caught. I would add Floyd Speer to the sta›. The man from Monroe went 20–¡0 with a 3.26 ERA and a league-best ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio.

East Texas League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Heinz Becker Ford Mullen Sam Hancock Francis “Salty” Parker Tom Je›erson Jordan Wally Die›enbach Nick Gregory Joe Erautt George Kovach

SP SP

Grover Miller Ado Severi

Team Longview Henderson Tyler Marshall Marshall Kilgore Tyler Henderson Palestine/Tyler

Palestine/Tyler Kilgore

G 28 38

G 131 104 133 131 128 134 103 102 134 GS — —

AB 477 429 485 444 514 529 432 357 553 CG 21 25

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 152 109 219 35 7 6 106 116 12 .319 .459 .457 146 84 179 23 5 0 46 46 15 .340 .417 .407 157 115 229 25 1 15 87 108 21 .324 .472 .451 155 92 216 46 6 1 71 94 11 .349 .486 .470 162 74 269 36 7 19 102 20 6 .315 .523 .342 160 75 215 41 1 4 73 52 21 .302 .406 .371 140 94 224 31 1 17 98 34 6 .324 .519 .385 95 46 127 25 2 1 38 26 6 .266 .356 .316 175 86 228 38 0 5 108 56 9 .316 .412 .381 SH — —

The entire league hit only 97 triples. There were ten teams in O.B. which hit as many or more. Kilgore had just nine three baggers, and Texarkana legged out a mere six copies of the single most exciting play in baseball.

W 18 14

L 7 17

% .720 .452

IP 204 282

H 196 287

ER 65 115

SO 132 200

BB 80 88

ERA 2.87 3.67

BR/9 12.5 12.0

Hancock and Parker were playing managers. This is a very well selected team (even despite the appearance of several poor OB percentages), and I would only switch catchers and add a pitcher to season it to perfection.

¡940

153

Pat Beasley of Longview went 20–¡¡ and led the league in ERA with a fine 2.33 mark, and he lost the BR/9 ratio cup by just slightly more than one tenth of a point, surrendering ¡2.074 to Severi’s ¡¡.968.

The preferred catcher is one Dick Willett of Marshall who hit .264. He “slugged” a poor .3¡9, but his still poor OB% of .333 was superior to Erautt’s dismal .3¡6. He also had 52 RBIs to Erautt’s 38. Kovach played short, third, and outfield.

Michigan State League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Elmer Sidlo Joe Wessing Dick Sho› Tom Woodru› Bill Fuchs Ralph Brande Norman Peterson Jack Tighe Frank Gunkel

SP SP

Larry Gardner Vernon Kohler

Team Flint Muskegon Flint St. Joseph Saginaw Grand Rapids Lansing Muskegon Saginaw

Lansing Flint

G 21 30

G 108 105 107 27 52 106 106 93 90 GS — —

AB 455 424 452 109 182 419 456 297 339 CG 15 17

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 146 109 235 27 7 16 50 58 5 .321 .516 .399 132 83 182 24 1 8 46 52 9 .311 .429 .390 166 85 248 38 4 12 84 28 4 .367 .549 .409 44 29 68 9 0 5 17 16 17 .404 .624 .480 57 32 97 10 3 8 39 35 9 .313 .533 .424 131 75 198 28 3 11 78 42 11 .313 .473 .375 150 107 228 31 10 9 55 56 9 .329 .500 .410 85 41 126 15 1 8 51 33 4 .286 .424 .360 94 60 154 19 4 11 60 50 10 .277 .454 .377 SH — —

W 10 18

Tighe was a playing manager. Josef Wojciechowski (who played as Joe Wojey) was the second baseman for Grand Rapids. He led the league in FA and home runs, a nice combo. He hit .303, had a .5¡8 SA, and he had a .4¡5 OB%. He scored 78 runs and drove in 82. Woodru›’s .404 was impressive, but let’s face it, it was only done over 27 games. Fred Pfeifer of Lansing hit only .303, but he did play in 92 games. He scored 7¡ runs. The Bill Fuchs choice makes no sense, not only because he had a mere ¡82 ABs, but because it meant that a .333 hitting, .526 slugging outfielder with a .426 OB% was left o› of the team for him. The fellow who disappeared from history was Norm Snyder.

L 8 5

% .556 .783

IP 150 181

H 167 181

ER 53 75

SO 79 109

BB 16 66

ERA 3.18 3.73

BR/9 11.0 12.3

Gunkel played second and third. Overlooked for the .277 stylings of the Gunkelator was Gerald Burmeister of Lansing. Gerald hit .360 (yes, a .360 hitter was overlooked for a .277 one by the Michigander scribes), led the loop in slugging with a mark of .573, and also led in OB% (.447). He hit ¡5 homers, scored 87 runs and drove in 86. He played first and caught. Poor, poor Clarence Gann. The Muskegon ace led the league in ERA (2.80) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.5), the surest route to obscurity for any pitcher in these Olde Timey minor leagues. He was ¡6–9. Note that Gardner only walked 0.95 batters every nine innings, a top five mark on the year.

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jerry Witte Bob Dillinger John Schmidt Stan Rojek Henry Meyer Albert White Elmer “Butch” Nieman Lou Kahn Horace “Pip” Koehler

SP SP

Steve Minsarik Clem Dreisewerd

Team Youngstown Youngstown Portsmouth Dayton Dayton Youngstown Canton Charleston Akron

G 124 124 126 123 127 98 121 106 14

AB 502 522 480 470 497 384 441 363 42

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 161 87 266 36 0 23 124 65 4 .321 .530 .400 163 109 219 21 13 3 76 65 67 .312 .420 .388 153 82 228 24 3 15 94 68 15 .319 .475 .404 135 57 164 17 6 0 55 46 9 .287 .349 .351 155 69 258 44 7 15 87 58 7 .312 .519 .387 122 67 138 12 2 0 48 49 27 .318 .359 .395 135 83 238 20 10 21 85 73 15 .306 .540 .406 106 63 165 26 6 8 57 73 18 .292 .455 .417 10 6 13 3 0 0 4 1 0 .238 .310 .256

G 36 38

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

Charleston Portsmouth

Koehler was a playing manager. I stand second to none in my appreciation of Bob Dillinger, but he did not deserve to be chosen over Akron’s Tony Sams. Sams hit .3¡8, had a (very good for

W 17 23

L 8 9

% .680 .719

IP 204 247

H 178 227

ER 63 68

SO 121 165

BB 71 49

ERA 2.78 2.48

BR/9 11.2 10.1

a middle infielder) SA of .54¡— in fact, he led the league in that department. He had ¡9 homers, drove in 95 runs, and scored ¡09 times. Most impressive, however, was his 6.4 TC/G mark, one of the year’s best.

154

Minor League All-Star Teams Dreisewerd pitched for a last place team and won 39% of his team’s games. Portsmouth played .379 ball when he was not the pitcher of record.

As far as Koehler’s selection as an All-Star, comment would be superfluous. There was a real utility player in the league though, in the person of one William Mongiello of Canton. He played second, third, and short and hit .275 with an OB% of .400 and he scored 75 runs.

Pioneer League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Walter Lowe Albert Steele Ray Perry Dale Laybourne Robert Joratz Joe Egnatic Gabriel “Pete” Hughes Roy Partee Elden Lorenzen

SP SP

Larry Jensen Melvin Restau

Team Boise Salt Lake City Salt Lake City Ogden Pocatello Boise Ogden-Twin Falls Salt Lake City Boise

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City

G 31 30

G 123 125 130 126 62 129 130 109 111

GS — —

AB 502 476 542 513 254 505 471 419 389

CG 22 17

H 171 137 160 168 80 142 147 119 110

SH 2 2

R 111 72 115 98 47 119 113 74 53

W 20 17

TB 291 176 264 241 115 262 259 174 163 L 7 9

2B 38 16 41 22 12 34 30 20 23

% .741 .654

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 8 22 121 56 18 .341 .580 .411 10 1 65 60 15 .288 .370 .375 6 17 94 76 14 .295 .487 .387 15 7 97 77 19 .327 .470 .417 4 5 52 26 5 .315 .453 .389 10 22 79 106 16 .281 .519 .412 11 20 112 129 11 .312 .550 .464 7 7 79 58 9 .284 .415 .374 3 8 72 55 0 .283 .419 .373 IP 214 215

H 194 218

ER 52 86

SO 148 136

BB 69 99

ERA 2.19 3.60

BR/9 11.2 13.7

83 runs and the same number of RBIs. He finished second in OB% with a .440 mark. Lorenzen played third, outfield, and catcher. “Wild” Bill Caplinger of Pocatello led the league in wins with 2¡ (against 9 losses) and strike-outs with 267 (in 265 innings). I would have added him to the sta›.

My choice was a pair of first basemen, Lowe and Salt Lake’s playing manager Tony Robello, who had almost exactly the same season. Robello hit .343, slugged .570, and had a .433 OB%. He hit 22 homers, drove in ¡07 runs, and scored ¡¡4. In the outfield, I would replace Joratz with Mike Reser, Idaho Falls Russet flyhawk. He hit .335 with

Alabama State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gilbert Leatherwood William Hodgins James Persons Ray Quimby Oscar Martin Gordon Goodell John Ostrowski Emory Lindsey Malvern Morgan

SP SP

Steve “Nab” Bysco John Travis

Team Brewton Troy Tallassee Brewton Tallassee Tallassee Troy Tallassee Tallassee

Tallassee Greenville

G 129 114 123 93 120 91 113 125 121 G 30 50

AB 532 479 524 382 493 362 472 486 475 GS — —

H 152 144 172 108 168 136 161 170 159 CG 21 15

R 75 106 111 72 95 107 116 95 80 SH 3 2

Bysco was a playing manager. His Tallassee Indians finished 84–45 (.65¡) but lost the playo›s. Holt “Cat” Milner, manager/first baseman of the doughty Dothan Browns (not a‡liated with the St. Louis variety) hit .303, slugged .4¡8, and had a .394 OB%. He scored 86 runs and drove in 85, not the kind of production you would like from an All-Star first baseman, but better than Leatherwoods by at least two bodylengths. At second, I would select Felix Jurwiak, another Brown, despite his .263 BA and .34¡ SA. For one

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 214 26 6 8 67 30 11 .286 .402 .326 206 22 5 10 61 75 12 .301 .430 .397 268 29 14 13 104 55 21 .328 .511 .395 138 20 5 0 40 58 55 .283 .361 .379 270 49 7 13 101 50 13 .341 .548 .413 251 14 4 31 86 58 41 .376 .693 .466 306 35 10 30 120 50 14 .341 .648 .406 265 34 8 15 93 53 5 .350 .545 .415 219 34 4 6 94 61 7 .335 .461 .413

W 20 20

L 7 11

% .741 .645

IP 246 255

H 283 259

ER 103 90

SO 76 138

BB 44 82

ERA 3.77 3.18

BR/9 12.0 12.1

thing, he stole 3¡ bases. For another, he led the loop in runs scored with ¡2¡. But, mostly and primarily, it is because of his fielding. The Dothan keystoner had an incredible (and I do not use that word lightly) 7.4 TC/G number. This may well be one of the best marks, at any level, since the Dead Ball era. I would have picked Jurwiak if he had hit .230 and scored only 80 runs, but when his fielding and run scoring ability are combined, he is, to my reckoning, unbeatable. Fielding also enters into my choice at short, but

¡940 to far less a degree. Quimby and Tallassee’s Ernest McDermott both handled 5.8 chances a game, but the Q-ster fielded .897 to McDermott’s still-notgood-but-much-better .9¡8. McDermott hit .26¡ and scored 89 runs, but the deciding factor for me was his .424 OB% (he led the league with ¡09 walks), 45 points higher than Quimby’s. I also had a fourth outfielder in the person of Ralph McDu‡e of Andalusia. He hit .330, slugged .553 (third in the league), and had an OB% of .472, the best the Alabama State had to o›er. He hit ¡9 homers, drove in 93 runs, and scored ¡¡5 times. Morgan played first, third, and the outfield. Please note that Goodell had a 30–30 season (3¡ homers, 4¡ steals), the only such in the history of the Al-

155

abama State League. Please note also that he led in BA, SA, and OB%, pulling o› a very rare triple crown. Bysco only struck out 2.8 hitters every nine innings, rather low for a twenty game winner. He was no doubt aided by the fact that he only walked ¡.6 hitters over that same nine innings. Well, that and the fact that Tallassee scored 7.5 runs a game. I would add Royce Lint of Andalusia to the sta›. He was ¡2–¡¡ for a team which finished 3¡ games under .500. He posted a 3.44 ERA, fourth best in the league, and allowed ¡¡.9 BR/9, bettered only by a pitcher who threw only 96 innings (but who had ten CGs, which was the qualifying standard at the time). Royce also roamed the outfield, and hit .288 with ¡6 doubles and 3¡ RBIs.

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Williams Lou Rochelli George Torres Herb Stein Greyson Davis C.A. Whaley Lew Flick Dick Bouknight John He›ner

Team Elizabethton Elizabethton Newport Erwin Greenville Elizabethton Elizabethton Johnson City Kingsport

G 117 99 71 95 118 115 114 118 117

AB 429 386 286 368 446 448 495 455 467

H 147 129 93 125 158 165 181 171 127

R 100 81 45 66 113 116 124 106 75

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 254 22 14 19 125 78 15 .343 .592 .448 194 18 13 7 82 33 29 .334 .503 .391 126 12 9 1 45 23 13 .325 .441 .381 203 17 8 15 54 47 10 .340 .552 .419 260 25 19 13 89 86 17 .354 .583 .464 253 28 9 14 106 54 32 .368 .565 .437 296 27 23 14 113 23 32 .366 .598 .394 256 38 7 11 107 60 4 .376 .563 .453 159 21 4 1 55 52 31 .272 .340 .350

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Art Richard Cyrulewski Johnson City 33 — 15 3 20 3 .870 190 143 64 194 123 3.03 12.7 SP Arthur Boyes Elizabethton 32 — 11 1 15 3 .833 151 119 48 132 77 2.86 11.7

Only eighteen players in the entire league played as many as ¡00 games at a single position. Two teams, the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox and the Johnson City Cardinals, finished above .700 (!), Elizabethton at .7¡8 on an 84–33 record and Johnson City at .7¡2 on an 84–34 record. The other six teams finished below .500. I am fairly certain that no other eight team league ever had only two teams above .500. The hapless Erwin Mountaineers finished a full 56 games out of first and 23∂ out of seventh, going 27–88 (.235) on the season. Johnson City hit .307, had a .482 SA and a .389 OB%. The Betsey Red Sox scored 7.4 runs a game and gave up 4.5. Elizabethton hit .305, slugged .44¡, and had an OB% of .382. They scored 7 runs a game and gave up 4. Erwin hit .253, seven points behind the next lowest average, slugged .355, and had an OB% of .34¡. The Mountaineers scored 4.3 runs a game (the next-worst scoring team scored at a 4.9 a game clip) and gave up 7.5 runs a game, two more than the next highest scored-upon team. Okay then, down to the business at hand. Williams was the best whole-season first baseman, but mention should be made of Johnson City’s Hal

Bush. He was only in 67 games, but he hit .393 with a .676 SA and scored 73 runs and drove in 69 in those 67 games. I believe that at third I would have voted for Erwin’s James R. Ho›, had I a vote (which would have been predicated on my being born thirty years earlier than I actually was and also my being born in some isolated coal mining town in the hill country instead of the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn). Anyways, Ho› had neither the hitting (.276) nor slugging (.387) abilities of Torres, but he whomped him in OB% by 36 points with a mark of .4¡7. He also scored 88 runs, ¡8% of Erwin’s entire years output. Had he played for one of the two .700 teams, he would almost certainly scored in the vicinity of ¡30 runs. At short, my vote would have been split between Stein and Lou Lukasiak of Johnson City. Lukasiak hit .336, slugged .564, and had an OB% of .397. He crossed the plate ¡¡9 times. (As and aside, it must be noted that, if Stein’s numbers are taken away from Erwin’s seasonal stats, the Mountaineers slip into the grim netherworld of a .244 BA. Stein made that much of a di›erence.)

156

Minor League All-Star Teams was 23–7, finished fourth in ERA with a 3.¡9 mark and led the circuit in BR/9 ratio with an ¡¡.¡ figure. Please note that Cyrulweski averaged more than a K per inning.

He›ner played second, third, and outfield. Basically, you could have taken the top three starters from Elizabethton and Johnson City (they were ¡09–35, .757) and had your sta›. However, I will just mention Elizabethton’s Frank Radler. He

Bi-State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Richard Bohl Jim Gruzdis Emmitt Johnson Noel Casbier Dan Amaral Clyde Vollmer Walter Stewart Luther Hendrix James McDu‡e

Team South Boston Reidsville L-S-D Bassett Mayodan Bassett South Boston Danfield-Schoolfield Danfield-Schoolfield

G 116 100 119 105 86 119 112 92 93

AB 450 371 478 423 349 473 437 352 333

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 157 108 222 20 3 13 77 74 20 .349 .493 .450 137 88 225 29 4 17 85 67 21 .369 .606 .475 168 81 234 45 6 3 71 52 7 .351 .490 .417 128 82 193 20 3 13 67 40 9 .303 .456 .367 135 88 240 32 2 23 86 46 9 .387 .688 .466 173 104 287 45 3 21 117 62 3 .366 .607 .441 162 73 279 34 7 23 94 39 11 .371 .638 .428 113 77 182 20 2 15 62 32 1 .321 .517 .382 111 72 210 30 3 21 86 24 6 .333 .631 .387

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Paige Dennis Reidsville/Mt. Airy 42 — 27 — 16 19 .457 280 277 111 187 115 3.57 12.8 SP Roy Peeler Bassett 31 — 16 — 17 5 .773 209 207 75 128 57 3.23 11.6

.640/.444 averages. If you add Orville, the numbers become .372/.650/.444, virtually the same but with a skosh more power. McDu‡e played first, outfield, and catcher. I am sure you know what is coming re. the pitching selections. Florian Wojcik, ace hurler for the Bassett Furniture Makers (you know by the name that this is a pre–WTO era team), went ¡7–7 and led the league in ERA and BR/9 ratio with marks of 2.95 and ¡0.8. Poor doomed Florian. When, I say when, will these pitchers from the pre–’60’s leagues ever learn not to lead the league in the two most important statistical categories a chucker can lead in if they want their names chiseled into the Halcyoned Marble Halls of Asgardian Immortality that can come only from being named to a Class D league All-Star Team. Oh wait — I guess it’s already too late. Well, that’s why this book is being written.

Gruzdis managed part of the year. The by-¡940 unfortunately surnamed Stan Stuka was a co-catcher on my post-selected roster. The Martinsville backstop hit .297, hit ¡2 homers, and drove in 93 runs, the highest total for a catcher in the circuit. The league outfield position was packed with powerful players, so much so that one unfortunate but most eminent fellow was passed over in the race for post-season posterity. But, not here! Not on my watch! Ladies, gentlemen, and distinguished scholars, I have the honor of presenting the pride of the South Boston Wrappers, Mr. Orville Nesselrode. Orville hit .369, slugged .688 (and, if I may slip into Vulcan mode once more, lost the slugging title to Amaral by a mere ¡.79 ten thousandths of a point, .687500–.687679), had a .442 OB%, led the loop in homers with 25 (despite only playing in 86 games), and drove in 95 runs. The three selectees had .373/

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Phil Morris Harry Schenz Floyd Harper Walter Robb Earl Carnahan Art “Cowboy” McHenry Roy Kennedy Norm McCaskill Sid Stringfellow

SP SP

Joe Talley Fred Caligiuri

Team Wilson Tarboro New Bern Snow Hill Wilson Tarboro Kinston Snow Hill Kinston

Wilson Greenville

G 26 33

G 126 125 115 128 129 75 123 118 69

GS — —

AB 523 500 450 514 505 288 487 427 185

CG 21 22

H R TB 2B 185 99 241 39 164 87 232 22 128 67 180 21 139 72 173 19 179 106 278 40 102 63 149 21 162 103 257 31 116 59 154 25 35 21 42 1 SH — —

W 17 20

L 7 6

% .708 .769

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 4 3 93 51 24 .354 .461 .415 11 8 109 45 27 .328 .464 .386 2 9 76 32 5 .284 .400 .335 3 3 49 50 10 .270 .337 .337 10 13 119 67 8 .354 .550 .438 1 8 79 61 6 .354 .517 .467 17 10 65 65 29 .333 .528 .418 5 1 67 36 7 .272 .361 .333 3 0 14 17 3 .189 .227 .265 IP 217 228

H 224 211

ER 85 55

SO 127 90

BB 86 59

ERA 3.53 2.17

BR/9 13.1 10.9

¡940 McHenry was a playing manager. Excepting for catcher and adding two pitchers, this team is as fine and dandy as chocolate candy. McCaskill was only the third best catcher in the league. Second best was Goldsboro’s Sanford Peele. He hit .308, had a .42¡ SA, scored 77 runs and drove in 84. The top dog was Ray Murphy who caught for Wilson. He hit a robust .338, had a SA of .5¡4 and had the league’s number two OB%, .447. In ¡49 fewer PAs than Peele, he had only thirteen fewer RBIs and scored only ¡4 fewer runs (and in 74 fewer than McCaskill, had four more RBIs and scored four more runs). Stringfellow caught and pitched (¡¡–¡0), and may well have been the best utility man the CP had to o›er (though I doubt it, as players were only listed at one position in the fielding stats). Bill Zinser (Kinston) went ¡7–9 and led the league

157

in ERA with a 2.08 mark. He was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.¡, and would have been on my four-man sta›. Harry Swaim, who managed part of the season for the Williamston Martins, was ¡4–¡8, but, obviously, that does not tell the whole story. His ERA was seventh (2.90), his ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio was third, and he led the league with 2¡5 strike-outs, 46 games, 27 complete games, and 323 innings pitched. But even those impressive, though dry, facts do not tell the real tale of Swaim’s season. His team finished last, 3¡ games under .500. He won 30% of the Martin’s games, and the team played .355 ball when someone else was the deciding pitcher. Which brings up Fred Caligiuri, who was an AllStar selection. His Greenies finished seventh, ¡8 games under .500. He won an amazing 38% of his teams games, and without him, the Greenies played a poor .337 brand of ball.

Eastern Shore League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Paul Swoboda Paul Gaulin Harold Harrigan Louis Lowe Lloyd Rice Victor Weiss Randall Phillips John Clark Bobby Maier

Team Dover Dover Milford Milford Federalsburg Pocomoke City Dover Dover Salisbury

G 117 121 113 95 97 99 100 102 124

SP SP

Jorge Comellas John Thompson

Salisbury Centreville

G 47 27

GS — —

AB 437 466 444 366 342 385 358 331 511 CG 22 21

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 136 87 171 25 5 0 75 64 13 .311 .391 .400 117 102 153 21 0 5 35 80 20 .251 .328 .362 117 72 186 21 6 12 66 26 6 .264 .419 .304 110 48 142 13 5 3 62 27 14 .301 .388 .352 124 63 169 22 1 7 54 60 13 .363 .494 .470 137 81 226 30 4 17 60 48 41 .356 .587 .435 111 52 145 14 1 6 72 68 9 .310 .405 .426 116 52 169 22 2 9 66 53 5 .350 .511 .443 146 70 168 19 0 1 61 20 21 .286 .329 .318 SH 3 3

Clark and Maier were playing managers. First base was not an Eastern Shore strong point in ’40. Nevertheless, a zero total in the home run column seems rather weak to a practiced eye. Norm Jaeger of Milford may have only hit nine, but it was nine more than Swoboda (whose name means “Freedom” in Russian, despite the fact that a popular expresident once told the world that the Russians did not even have a word for freedom). Jaeger hit .3¡7, managed to squeak over the coveted .500 barrier in slugging with a .508 mark, and had an OB% of .433. Cambridge Canners third baseman Hal Olt hit .322 (58 points higher than scribe choice Harrigan) and had a .385 OB% (an 8¡ point advantage over Harrigan). I’d vote for Olt. At short, Dover’s Mike Kardash had .297/.373/.4¡4 averages, a skosh behind in batting and slugging,

W 21 18

L 10 5

% .677 .783

IP 258 208

H 252 144

ER 63 36

SO 203 268

BB 60 74

ERA 2.20 1.56

BR/9 11.1 10.0

but a large 62 point advantage in the third and most important, OB%. Maier played second, third, and outfield. I would have opted for Salisbury manager “Round” Ed Kobesky. He played third, outfield, and caught, hitting .3¡9, slugging .599, and collecting an OB% of .4¡¡ in the process. Although he played in just 75 games, he led the league with ¡8 round trippers. The pitching choices were good, but I would have added two more to the sta›. J.E. Jaust (Grzech) who pitched for both Dover and Centreville was ¡6–4 for a league topping .800 winning percent, had a 2.44 ERA, and was second with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.¡. Rich Mulligan of Federalsburg went ¡6–8 and was third in both ERA and BR/9 ratio at 2.25 and ¡0.3. Please note that Thompson averaged ¡¡.6 Ks per 9/IP.

158

Minor League All-Star Teams

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Yourkovick Danny Menendez Carl Kott Paul Moore Ray Parrott Anse Moore Woody Fair Bobby Birchfield Conrad Flippen

Team Opelousas Opelousas Alexandria Lake Charles Lafayette Alexandria New Iberia Port Arthur Lake Charles

SP SP

Sam Eaton Alexandria William Ratteree Port Arthur

G 118 117 110 134 132 137 135 123 134

AB 453 431 411 503 545 541 510 452 496

H 146 102 132 138 175 158 162 147 152

R 73 68 71 113 112 98 101 57 110

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 227 32 8 11 104 71 5 .322 .501 .414 123 6 6 1 37 68 6 .237 .285 .345 191 23 6 8 73 51 17 .321 .465 .410 190 28 12 0 64 111 32 .274 .378 .407 264 21 16 12 117 51 9 .321 .484 .380 237 40 3 11 99 63 21 .292 .438 .367 272 26 4 24 125 96 27 .318 .533 .430 206 20 12 5 77 32 9 .325 .456 .375 230 34 1 14 112 78 35 .306 .464 .407

G GS CG SH W L % 37 — — — 23 11 .676 25 — — — 15 5 .750

IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 295 203 58 256 145 1.77 10.9 174 163 59 111 65 3.05 11.9

The infield as constituted bats .288, slugs .407, and has a .395 OB% with 325 runs and 278 RBIs. With Strohm, the averages climb to .3¡9, .457, and .4¡7 with 348 runs and 339 RBIs. Flippen played first and third. Ed Schaak of Lake Charles was ¡3–3 with a 2.34 ERA (second) and allowed ¡0.¡ BR/9, which was the best mark in the loop. New Iberia’s Gordon Pixley won 26 games (he lost 7) and came in with a 3.00 ERA and allowed ¡0.6 BR/9. Finally, the Rayne Rice Birds ace Ed Scheibal should — no, must — be mentioned. The Rice Birds were really rotten, playing hardly scintillating .280 ball on the year, and finishing 58 games under .500. Big Ed went ¡4–¡7 for that dreary assemblage, winning an amazing 38% of Rayne’s victories. Without the stylish slants of Scheibal, who knows how far the Rice Birds would have fallen? What we do know is that they played .228 ball when Scheibal was not the pitcher of record.

Kott and Flippen were playing managers. Lafayette manager/second baseman Harry Strohm must’ve had some bad mojo worked on him. Nothing else can explain why he was not selected to join the post-season Evangeline Elect. Let’s see now… He led the league in FA (.976 to Menendez’s .942), As, and TC/G at 6.2 (to the 5.9 of Menendez). He led the loop in batting with a .36¡ mark (a whopping ¡24 points higher than Menendez), and his SA, third in the league, was 206 (!) points higher. (By the way, seven Evangeline players with over 400 ABs had slugging percentages under .300, including the league leader in ABs, Billy Rigdon, who hit .¡96 with a 237 OB%). Strohm led in OB% with .435, 90 points higher than that posted by Menendez. Strohm led the league with his 44 doubles. Menendez had six. Strohm scored 9¡ times and drove in 98 runs, squeaking by Menendez by a mere 6¡ RBIs. At this point, I think it best to take the old Stan Lee route and plead “’Nu› said.”

Florida East Coast League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jack Westley Herb Thomas Charlie Mueller Tommy O’Rourke Max Rosenfeld Bill Baker William Hooks John Dillon Thomas Cornish

SP SP

Theron Thomasello Chet Covington

Team Ft. Laud./Hollywood Ft. Lauderdale Ft. Lauderdale West Palm Beach Miami Beach Ft. Lauderdale Ft. Laud./W. P. B. Hollywood Miami Ft. Pierce Hollywood

G 40 32

G 102 102 83 91 89 111 84 109 100

GS — —

AB 387 389 310 339 343 438 309 429 389

CG 20 28

H 146 137 97 102 117 143 105 110 124 SH 4 3

R 96 65 67 52 58 77 42 46 68 W 16 21

TB 228 164 138 124 137 167 158 134 157 L 9 10

2B 3B HR RBI BB 25 12 11 98 57 25 1 0 38 27 10 5 7 56 43 6 5 2 40 40 12 4 0 52 35 10 7 0 64 24 15 7 7 55 21 13 4 1 72 25 15 6 2 70 72 % .640 .677

IP 250 266

H 191 254

ER 65 62

SB 26 6 14 11 4 25 3 15 9 SO 140 212

BA .377 .352 .313 .301 .341 .326 .340 .256 .319

SL OB% .589 .464 .422 .417 .445 .403 .366 .378 .399 .402 .381 .361 .511 .384 .312 .300 .404 .429

BB 85 72

ERA 2.34 2.10

BR/9 10.2 11.1

No fielding stats were published, so I do not know where any one played, making adjustments impossible.

Thomas was a playing manager. Please note that Westley led in runs, doubles (tied), home runs (tied), RBIs, TBs, steals, BA, SA, and OB%. He was second in hits and triples. Gene Beardon of Miami Beach was ¡8–¡0 and led

in ERA with a good ¡.63 mark. His 9.9 BR/9 ratio was second. John Myers (West Palm Beach) was only ¡0–6, but he had a 2.¡3 ERA and led the league with an exceptional 8.8 BR/9 ratio.

¡940

159

Florida State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bill Davis Henry Wayton Raymond Goolsby Lou Klein Leslie Voshell Ralph Hyder Wilmer Skeen Manuel Onis Buddy Lake

SP SP

Richard Hearn Stan Musial

Team Gainesville/DeLand Daytona Beach St. Augustine Daytona Beach Leesburg Sanford Sanford Orlando St. Augustine G 37 28

St. Augustine Daytona Beach

G 111 142 141 142 132 130 128 139 124

GS — —

AB 394 558 527 537 529 559 518 479 475

CG 26 19

H 132 172 155 187 172 196 160 136 167 SH — —

R 53 106 88 115 111 126 90 64 84 W 22 18

TB 184 246 229 273 219 229 205 165 207 L 10 5

2B 28 29 18 23 23 24 30 17 19

% .688 .783

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 3 6 56 14 1 .335 .467 .366 12 7 88 67 27 .308 .441 .386 19 6 89 84 14 .294 .435 .396 18 9 81 71 45 .348 .508 .424 12 0 68 80 42 .325 .414 .418 3 1 43 48 64 .351 .410 .408 6 1 97 48 9 .309 .396 .367 6 0 60 43 1 .284 .344 .347 6 3 64 52 31 .352 .436 .419 IP 288 223

H 206 179

ER 62 65

SO 305 176

BB 147 145

ERA 1.94 2.62

BR/9 11.3 13.3

sists), so the advantage there goes to Clarence. I am afraid that the only equitable solution for me was to go the four outfielder route. Lake played second, outfield, and pitched (8–3, 2.56). There were three pitchers I would have selected over “The Man.” Portsider Bill Kennedy of Orlando was ¡9–¡3 with a 2.53 ERA, 204 strike-outs, and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.6. J.D. Creel, Stan’s Islander teammate was 22–7 and (prepare to be shocked) led the league with a dynamite ERA of ¡.5¡ and a good BR/9 ratio of 9.6. Ellaire Baldwin, in addition to having a cool name, was ¡7–5 for the Ocala Yearlings. His ERA was ¡.63 and he allowed ¡0.7 BR/9, second on both counts to Creel. The important thing to factor in to Ellaire’s being worthy of a spot on the squad is the fact that the Yearlings finished 25 games under .500 and played a horrid .342 ball when the deciding pitcher was not named Ellaire. It was interesting to note that the two selectee’s were 40–¡5 (.727) with a 2.24 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.¡. Creel and Baldwin, both scribeshunned, were 39–¡2 (.765) with an exceptional ERA of ¡.56 and a BR/9 figure of ¡0.¡. Please take note of Hearn’s huge 305 Ks.

Second sacker Robert Thomas (Gainesville and Leesburg) hit .328 and had a league-topping OB% of .468. He scored ¡08 runs and stole 43 bases. He also handled an exceptional 6.7 TC/G to Wayton’s 5.8. The infield as chosen hit .320, slugged .462, and had an OB% of .395. The featured four scored 362 runs and stole 87 bases. Substitute Thomas for Wayton, and the BA goes up to .333, the SA drops a bit to .449, and the OB% rises to .4¡8. The runs remain about the same (a gain of two), and the steals climb to ¡03. And, the fielding improves. I gave serious consideration to replacing Skeen with Leesburg Anglers outfielder Clarence Groat, despite the fact that Clarence hit only .274. His SA was virtually the same as Skeen’s (.395), and his OB% was better (.389). He had 43 fewer RBIs (54), but scored 33 more runs (¡23). He also stole 26 bases, which would give the three outfielders ¡32 steals, a cool 44 per man. What it boils down to is the fact that wherever one of the two was weak, the other was strong. Groat, it must be added, was an average fielder (.955) with a good arm (2¡ assists) and Skeen was a poor fielder (.922) with an average arm (¡2 as-

Georgia-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Eddie Ho›man Eddie Kazak (Tkaczuk) Cy Lowrey Charlie Brewster Pershing Thomassie Ervin Dusak Charles Farrar Albert Leitz Pat Dove

SP SP

Elmer Rummans Ellwood Lawson

Team Americus Valdosta Tallahassee Waycross Waycross Albany Waycross Waycross Thomasville

Valdosta Waycross

G 37 38

G 139 130 140 140 139 141 140 121 121

GS — —

AB 529 528 562 584 570 544 585 449 448

CG 20 20

H 160 154 186 178 193 182 187 144 141

SH — —

R 87 83 81 114 112 125 110 48 87 W 18 26

TB 207 220 233 255 262 263 279 183 188

L 10 6

2B 26 38 23 23 31 37 31 18 27

% .643 .813

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 6 3 80 69 16 .302 .391 .386 8 4 101 34 7 .292 .417 .340 12 0 71 48 11 .331 .415 .390 9 12 98 32 35 .305 .437 .348 13 4 91 37 34 .339 .460 .385 13 6 98 84 9 .335 .483 .424 14 10 131 48 2 .320 .477 .372 9 1 78 33 7 .321 .408 .369 7 2 68 65 11 .315 .420 .408 IP 263 251

H 239 233

ER 64 88

SO 220 157

BB 76 147

ERA 2.19 3.16

BR/9 10.9 13.9

160

Minor League All-Star Teams

Leitz was a playing manager. Ho›man was indeed in the upper echelons of first basemen in the old Ga-Fla of ¡940, but the best of the lot? I think not. Ahead of him was Russell Leach of Albany, who hit .337 and had an OB% of .4¡6. He scored a league-best ¡33 runs. Ahead of Leach was 37 year old Dale Alexander, playing manager of the Thomasville Tourists. Old Dale led the league in batting at .388, slugging at .639, OB% at .499, and in home runs with ¡4. He had 96 RBIs in his 9¡ games. At second, I had Waycross’s John DeJohn. John D. had .309/.440/.386 averages and scored ¡¡8 runs. The infield as chosen hit .308, slugged .4¡5, and had an OB% of .366. The foursome scored 365 runs and drove in 350. An Alexande/DeJohn/Lowrey/

Brewster infield would have hit .327, slugged .440, had an OB% of .397, scored 39¡ runs and driven in 333. On the outfield front, Sherwood McKenzie and Ralph Ellis of Thomasville deserve mention. Sherwood hit .378 with a .485 SA and a .43¡ OB%. He had 97 RBIs. Ellis hit .368, slugged .5¡7, and had a .402 OB%. He scored ¡¡5 runs. Stan Ferens of Albany was 20–¡¡ and had a 2.34 ERA. He topped the circuit in BR/9 ratio with a 9.9 mark and in strike-outs with 253. I would either have had three pitchers or, if limited by league constitution instead of mere convention, gone with Rummans and Ferens.

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank McElyea Joe Lehan Don Devault Len Novak James Cookson Edward Urban Joe Polcha Lem Stewart V. “Moon” Mullen

SP SP

Leon Balser Elmer Haas

Team Owensboro Bowling Green Owensboro Owensboro Union City Owensboro Jackson Paducah Fulton

Paducah Bowling Green

G 37 37

G 120 125 69 96 115 119 123 76 125

AB 520 496 297 373 474 478 446 287 467

H 208 178 106 118 166 165 130 84 159

R 125 98 64 83 87 112 103 37 141

TB 317 249 144 196 243 313 256 123 237

2B 3B HR RBI BB 49 12 12 108 30 47 5 6 95 68 18 4 4 66 28 33 3 13 70 53 32 12 7 84 28 32 7 34 107 65 29 8 27 97 79 17 2 6 56 29 41 5 9 77 137

GS — —

CG 25 25

SH — —

W 22 23

L 11 9

% .667 .719

The league hit .287 and an average of ¡2.6 runs were scored in each game. Bowling Green manager/first baseman Ellis “Mike” Powers was deserving of a co-first base berth. He hit .380, slugged .602, and had an OB% of .472— second, third, and second in the league respectively. He scored ¡¡2 runs, hit 60 doubles, and drove home ¡55 runs, 46 more than the next best total (and 46 more than McElyea). Paducah outfielder Roy Bueschen would also be added to my roster. He hit .347, slugged .548, and had a .437 OB%, third best in the league. He whacked 46 doubles, scored ¡0¡ runs, and drove home 94. My catcher would have been Marcus Carrolla of Mayfield. His averages were .292, .423, and .364, and he scored 69 runs while driving in 82. Mullen played third and the outfield.

IP 258 260

H 264 269

ER 91 90

SB 33 8 9 13 45 10 36 8 12 SO 216 157

BA .400 .359 .357 .316 .350 .345 .291 .293 .340

SL OB% .610 .438 .502 .436 .485 .416 .525 .404 .513 .390 .655 .427 .574 .408 .429 .360 .507 .493

BB 87 63

ERA 3.17 3.12

BR/9 12.3 11.8

I would have had a four man sta›, adding Ellis “Not Yet Old Folks” Kinder. His ERA of 2.38 was the only one in the league under 3.00, and his ¡0.6 BR/9 ratio was the only one under ¡¡. If that wasn’t enough to remove him from consideration for post-season honors, he was also 2¡–9 and struck out 307 batters in 276 innings for Jackson. Another future big leaguer, Dave Koslo of Paducah, was ¡7–9 and finished second in ERA (3.03), BR/9 ratio (¡¡.0), and strikeouts (246 in 229 IP). The two selectees were 45–20, .692 with a 3.¡4 ERA and allowed ¡2.¡ BR/9. In 5¡8 innings, they struck out 373 batters. The two pitchers I would have selected ahead of them went 38–¡8 (.679) with a 2.67 ERA, a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8, and struck out 553 batters in 505 innings. Balser, by the way, hit .286 with ¡9 RBIs, Haas .273 with ¡8.

Mountain State League (D) Stuart was a playing manager. Yet another hitters league, the ¡940 edition of the Mountain State hit .296 (.302 if you subtract the

lowly .270 hitting Aces of Huntington). An average of ¡3.¡ runs was scored in each game. The number ten hitter hit .335.

¡940 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Clarence” Buck” Etchison Pat Capri Joe Bezdek Harold Kase Bill Shewey Stan Wetzel Pete Mihalic Byron “Tex” Stuart Marvin Lorenz

SP SP

Ernest Peters Jake Schoettle

Team Welch Williamson Ashland Logan Williamson Logan Bluefield Welch Bluefield

Williamson Huntington

G 28 32

GS 22 16

G 127 121 115 124 117 126 111 119 100 CG 20 6

AB 452 461 432 476 484 521 442 412 375

H 164 149 146 130 162 164 144 142 128

SH 2 3

161

R 106 98 110 67 134 118 97 75 64

W 17 8

TB 291 218 239 176 264 287 246 206 193

L 5 12

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 31 12 24 132 95 16 .363 .644 .478 34 7 8 105 63 26 .323 .473 .409 27 6 18 71 77 19 .338 .553 .446 20 4 6 68 39 5 .273 .370 .335 30 21 10 83 62 59 .335 .545 .415 29 8 26 97 47 6 .315 .551 .375 24 6 22 102 59 3 .326 .557 .409 27 5 9 91 40 8 .345 .500 .407 26 3 11 68 29 2 .341 .515 .389

% .773 .400

IP 203 147

H 206 185

ER 72 81

SO 99 139

BB 75 74

ERA 3.19 4.96

BR/9 12.8 16.2

¡03 runs (+36), had ¡29 RBIs (+63), and even stole 27 bases, 22 more than Kase. I added another outfielder to my roster, Worthington Day of the Ashland Colonels. Colonel Worthington Day — has a ring of the Confederacy about it, doesn’t it? The worthy Worthington proved his worth to the Colonels by hitting .363, slugging .543, and compiling an OB% of .44¡, good for fourth in the loop. Day stole 4¡ bases, drove in a nice round ¡00 runs, and scored ¡¡0 runs himself. I would also like to mention Bluefield catcher Marv McNulty. Marv only graced the grounds of the Mountain State parks for 52 games, but he left his mark: .393, .699, .49¡ averages, ¡4 homers in just ¡83 ABs, and 60 runs and 7¡ RBIs in those 52 games. He was, to quote Buster Poindexter, Hot-Hot-Hot! Schoettle? I don’t think so. How about Harry Potts and Hal Sharp instead. Potts, pitching for Logan, was ¡6–9 with a 2.89 ERA and a league-best ¡¡.4 BR/9 ratio. Sharp of Williamson was ¡8–7, sported a 3.25 ERA (fourth in the league) and allowed ¡2.4 BR/9, second. There was even a reliever of sorts. Tom Triner was in ¡9 games, ¡4 of them out of the pen. He was 3–3 with a fine-for-the-league 2.76 ERA.

There was no displacing “Buck” Etchison at first, but the initial sacker for Logan had a decent year: .357 BA, .586 SA, .390 OB%, and ¡¡8 RBIs. The main reason I mention the Loganite however (and apologies to any strict constructionalists out there) is because his name was Tennis Mounts. At second, Charlie Jordan of Bluefield hit .337, slugged .458, scored ¡¡3 runs, and committed 28 fewer errors than did league selection Capri. At third, I went with the .343 hitting, .5¡5 slugging Steve Urick, also of Bluefield. His averages were .343, .5¡5, and .423, and he scored 99 runs while driving in ¡00. Besides, Bezdek played only 53 of his games there. To be honest, I must say that Urick was a horrid fielder (.87¡) but Bezdek was not much better (.882). My biggest beef is at short. Pennant and play-o› winning manager Harrison Wickel made Swiss cheese out of Kase in almost every aspect of the game. He fielded .956 to Kase’s .9¡9 (but again, in the interest of full disclosure, it must be said that Kase got to a full chance a more than Wickel, 6.0–5.0, and that is huge). Wickel hit .3¡9 (46 points up on Kase), slugged .465 (a 95 point advantage), and had a .442 OB% (a whopping ¡07 point edge). He scored

North Carolina State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Michael Schemer Stahle Brown Ulmont Baker Lester Smith Roy Pinkston Norman Small William Carrier Jimmy “Mickey” Maus Harvey Black

SP SP

Ray Lindsay John Tansey

Team Salisbury Concord Concord Lexington Landis/Lexington Mooresville Kannapolis Thomasville K’apolis/Mooresville

Thomasville Salisbury

G 38 23

GS 30 20

CG 27 17

G 110 93 110 80 96 103 109 77 95

AB 427 374 460 289 371 437 405 247 368

SH 3 2

Maus and Smith were playing managers. At second, Mel Dry of Thomasville compiled a

W 20 12

H 156 106 154 91 142 151 144 61 109

R 89 71 75 52 74 95 76 25 59

L 11 7

TB 191 166 246 131 210 279 208 105 137 % .645 .632

2B 3B HR RBI BB 27 4 0 53 68 28 4 8 53 45 48 7 10 103 32 20 1 6 58 46 27 4 11 90 53 41 6 25 115 35 28 6 8 97 69 25 0 3 28 32 17 1 3 64 30 IP 270 172

H 279 164

ER 58 57

SO 269 86

SB 15 12 16 11 7 5 7 1 9

BA .365 .283 .335 .315 .383 .346 .356 .247 .296 BB 48 46

SL OB% .447 .454 .444 .360 .535 .384 .453 .412 .566 .464 .638 .395 .514 .454 .425 .340 .372 .359 ERA 1.93 2.98

BR/9 11.0 11.1

.3¡9 BA and a .4¡5 OB% while rapping 35 doubles scoring 86 runs.

162

Minor League All-Star Teams runs and 52 RBIs), but he played second, third, short, outfield, and pitched some. James White of the Kannapolis Towelers was ¡6–9, and, unfortunately for him, led the league in ERA (¡.85) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.4), dooming him to nonpersonhood in the eyes of the scribes. I’m sure that the fact that he also struck out 227 batters in 224 innings didn’t help his case any either.

Oscar Galipeau, the catcher for the woeful Cooleemee Cards (27–84, .243) was the only player from that dismal squad who even merited consideration for mention as a possible candidate for an All-Star spot. He hit .258 and his nine homers and 58 RBIs led all catchers (as well as being the top marks posted by the Cooleemee team). Black was a second baseman. Vince Russello of Concord was not the hitter Black was (.26¡ with 55

Northeast Arkansas League (D) Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Henry “Bow Wow” Arft Gus Albright Ernest Stefani Jerry Nemitz D. C. “Doc” O’Neill William Mitterman John Snyder James Van Wey Chandler Duncan

Paragould Paragould C’Ville/B’Ville Paragould Jonesboro Jonesboro Newport Paragould Newport

SP SP

Edward Nolden John Menley

Jonesboro Paragould

G AB

G 25 18

GS — —

121 88 116 121 142 117 117 113 122

493 369 423 483 472 471 453 428 460

CG 13 5

H

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB

147 98 246 23 11 118 66 139 16 1 120 66 165 15 12 130 106 170 29 1 149 89 251 36 3 148 94 209 17 10 140 68 220 24 13 122 70 169 19 5 142 87 205 26 14

SH — —

W 14 8

L 6 3

% .700 .727

IP 166 106

BA

SL OB%

18 94 44 9 .298 .499 1 40 35 11 .320 .377 2 53 45 12 .284 .390 3 47 100 8 .269 .352 20 111 43 11 .316 .532 8 70 46 34 .314 .444 10 91 37 12 .309 .486 6 87 40 2 .285 .395 3 53 65 16 .309 .446

.362 .380 .362 .397 .376 .376 .370 .348 .400

H 168 94

BR/9 13.8 14.4

ER 53 42

SO 112 94

BB 86 74

ERA 2.87 3.57

C’ville/B’ville is Caruthersville/Batesville. The Pilots franchise moved from one metropolis to the other on 7 July

Stefani was a playing manager. I would have had Matt “Mark of the Z” Zorko, Jonesboro, at second. He hit .279, slugged .453, and led the league in OB% by a wide margin at .426. He also scored 78 runs and had 60 RBIs. Lou Miller (of Paragould) would have been my third base choice instead of Stefani. Miller hit .287, slugged .408 and finished second in OB% at .400 (actually, .4004 to utility choice Chandler’s .4000). He scored 7¡ runs and drove in 64. As it stands, the featured foursome has .29¡/.4¡2/ .376 averages with 336 runs and 234 RBIs. The infield of Arft, Zorko, Miller, and Nemitz hits .285, has a .430 SA, and a much-improved .396 OB%. It scores 353 runs and has 265 RBIs.

There are also two Paragould outfielders who deserve mention: Joe Marco and Clarence Collins. Marco hit .334, slugged .477, and had a .388 OB%, first, fourth and fourth in the league. His 90 runs were fifth and his 96 RBIs were second. Collins hit .298, scored ¡02 runs (second) and had 93 RBIs (fourth). Duncan played second and short. Mel Gordon, pitching for 56–68 Newport, only went ¡2–¡3. He also led the league in ERA at 2.52 and BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.0. It’s your decision on this one, but I would have had him in place of Menley.

Northern League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Herbert Wilson Frank Danneker John Blatnik Robert Mason Joe Mowry Paul Welch Chet Cichosz Herman Bauer Donald Turck

Team Duluth Winnipeg Fargo-Moorhead Crookston Winnipeg Fargo-Moorhead Wausau Grand Forks Crookston

SP SP

Robert Peterson Dwain Sloat

Winnipeg Grand Forks

G 26 26

G 124 118 116 90 118 101 102 124 110 GS — —

AB 485 483 471 361 474 405 372 493 377 CG 17 16

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 144 85 229 29 7 14 95 33 8 .297 .472 .348 159 115 270 41 8 18 98 77 42 .329 .559 .427 136 85 202 30 3 10 67 32 7 .289 .429 .338 99 58 145 27 2 5 36 44 14 .274 .402 .356 177 100 276 41 2 18 125 62 11 .373 .582 .448 117 85 203 19 14 13 47 62 12 .289 .501 .387 150 110 253 30 5 21 102 57 8 .403 .680 .485 145 70 221 24 8 12 86 29 8 .294 .448 .340 122 53 181 21 4 10 74 60 4 .324 .480 .423 SH 1 0

W 17 15

L 5 7

% .773 .682

IP 196 201

H 134 155

ER 91 55

SO 101 158

BB 59 96

ERA 4.18 2.46

BR/9 9.1 11.6

¡940 Mowry was a playing manager. A nicely selected team, I disagree with only the third base and utility selections and would add a pitcher or two. Third baseman Walter Gilbert of Wausau hit .360, sported a good .592 SA, and reached base 4¡ percent of the time. He scored 90 runs and drove in 9¡. He was apparently rather immobile afield, handling only 2.6 TC/G to Blatnik’s 3.¡, but he did handle his more cleanly (.939–.903). The 72 point di›erence in OB% is enough for me to go with Gilbert. I would add Wausau Timberjack Robert “Double” Decker to the outfielding crew. He hit only .3¡4, but led the league with ¡2¡ runs. Utility choice Turck was an outfielder who pitched a little (LT45). My choice would have been Austin Knickerbocker, another Timberjack. He hit .337, was second in SA at .592, led in homers with 22, scored 96 runs and drove in ¡00. He played outfield, caught, and, like Turck, pitched a bit. Please note that Cichosz led in BA, SA, and OB%. Grand Forks turned in one of the era’s best pitching performances. The Chiefs sta› allowed only 3.78 runs a game, and finished first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in ERA. With at least 95% of the teams innings accounted for (minus the eight LT45 pitchers) and 76 of their 79 wins and 38 of their 44 losses also accounted for, their ERA stands at 2.58.

163

There is also an irresolvable problem (due to the time elapsed and the impossibility of using even educated guess to figure out where and which mistakes were made) with Robert Peterson’s record as entered into the o‡cial stats. There is just no way that a pitcher with a BR/9 ratio of 9.¡, one of the year’s top marks, is going to have a 4.¡8 ERA. Now, I can assume that he gave up 234 hits, and they were simply mis-entered, but the mistake could also have been in the walks or ER columns. From this remove, all I can do is italicize his 9.¡, because it just doesn’t fit. Danny Horton of Grand Forks was ¡0–2 with a terrific ¡.29 ERA and a gaudy 9.5 BR/9 ratio. Hugh Orphan of Wausau was ¡9–¡2 with unimpressive 3.95 and ¡4.7 ERA and BR/9 numbers. However, he whi›ed 307 batters in 237 innings, ¡¡.7/9 IP. That is some smokin’ stu›. He also plunked an incredible 3¡ hitters (a mark matched by Clarence Lemmer of Wausau). Duluth manager Joe Davis was ¡8–7 and was fourth (or third, depending on whether or not you swallow the Peterson BR/9 line) in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.3. His Dukes played only .453 ball when he was not the pitcher of record. Finally, I o›er for your inspection Karl Wolfsberger of Grand Forks was ¡2–8 with a 2.35 ERA and an ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio.

Ohio State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John Cindric Jack Cassini Harlan Kiersey Ray Kozak Gene Woodling Bobby Jones Stanley Mazgay Ralph Weigel Ted Haas

SP SP

Walter McHugh Frank Biscan

Team Lima Ti‡n Lima Lima Mansfield Fostoria Findlay Lima Fremont/Lima

Ti‡n Lima

G 30 33

G 116 99 119 119 85 106 113 119 93 GS — —

AB 423 391 487 485 332 384 468 457 349 CG — —

H 152 155 166 169 132 138 175 140 104

R 141 118 98 142 78 109 112 96 63

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 313 32 6 39 150 — 33 .359 .740 — 194 17 5 4 54 — 51 .396 .496 — 247 27 15 8 121 — 40 .341 .507 — 255 29 3 17 93 — 39 .348 .526 — 185 29 6 4 68 — 7 .398 .557 — 200 31 5 7 55 — 30 .359 .521 — 305 40 12 22 116 — 15 .374 .652 — 215 29 6 12 70 — 14 .306 .470 — 138 12 5 4 64 — 9 .298 .395 —

SH — —

W 16 26

L 6 4

% .727 .867

IP 189 250

H 197 215

ER — —

SO 93 243

BB 113 66

ERA — —

BR/9 15.0 10.8

No walks or HBP noted for hitters, so no OB% compilation possible. No individual fielding stats released. No ER kept, so no ERA figures possible.

Lima hit .305, slugged .459, and had an OB% of approximately .392. The Pandas scored 8 runs a game, and had 249 steals, 2.¡ per game. They also drew 5.¡ walks a game (walks were included in the team stats). Five Pandas stole more than 30 bases, six scored at least 96 runs (in a ¡20 game season). Jones was a playing manager. The eight selected position players hit .358 and

slugged .559. They also scored 894 runs and stole 229 bases. Cindric was a 30–30 man. Please also note that he achieved this as a first baseman, a quite unusual feat. Extrapolated out over a ¡50 game season, Cindric would have hit 5¡ homers, scored ¡82 runs, and driven in ¡95. Claire Crum, Lima second baseman, hit .290 and

164

Minor League All-Star Teams season, and allowed only 9.7 BR/9. He walked but ¡.¡ batter every 9 IP.

scored ¡40 runs in ¡¡8 games. He hit 36 doubles and stole 42 bases. Lima manager Merle Settlemire was ¡5–0 on the

Pennsylvania State Association (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Collins Frank Oceak Larry Hartman Robert Ramazzotti Nick Orange Joe Smith Steve Greble Elmer Klumpp George Jenkins

SP SP

Ralph I›t Bill Sample

Team Butler Beaver Falls Butler Johnstown Johnstown Johnstown Butler McKeesport/Oil City Washington

Beaver Falls Johnstown

G 18 27

GS — —

G 99 94 82 109 102 109 110 65 96

CG — —

AB 381 341 329 467 400 448 407 186 316

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 122 80 175 16 5 9 65 47 104 59 148 22 5 4 58 58 109 72 165 18 4 10 60 29 143 105 218 30 6 11 71 38 141 69 211 8 4 18 96 33 140 77 188 19 4 7 60 41 128 111 237 19 12 22 100 77 64 35 87 11 0 4 45 33 88 55 155 12 5 15 55 36

SH — —

W 14 20

This is exactly the same team which I would have picked. I guess that means that either the scribes and I got it right, or that we both messed it up completely.

L 4 6

% .778 .769

IP 161 219

H 145 179

ER 36 55

SO 82 206

SB 23 17 12 23 4 21 40 1 2

BA .320 .305 .331 .306 .353 .313 .314 .344 .278 BB 43 94

SL OB% .459 .396 .434 .412 .502 .399 .467 .365 .528 .409 .420 .383 .582 .434 .468 .443 .491 .360 ERA 2.01 2.26

BR/9 10.7 11.4

Oceak and Klumpp were playing managers. Jenkins played first, outfield, and pitched. He was 9–¡2, third in the league in ERA at 2.48, and first in BR/9 ratio at 9.9.

PONY League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Herb Fash Bill Burich Donald Richmond Tom Kister Lawrence Mancini Wesley Cox Henry Redmond Warren Robinson Everett Johnston

SP SP

John Castoldi Tom Hammill

Team Olean Olean Batavia Bradford Olean London Hamilton Hamilton Hamilton

G 66 68 107 106 105 103 102 99 50

AB 275 296 446 410 477 376 402 401 148

G 33 40

GS 21 18

CG 16 10

Batavia Olean

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 112 63 162 25 5 5 81 44 4 .407 .589 .495 89 72 126 18 2 5 47 44 5 .301 .426 .393 147 108 212 23 12 6 63 68 36 .330 .475 .419 112 84 164 25 12 1 59 64 12 .273 .400 .375 174 103 287 29 5 25 109 35 7 .365 .602 .408 127 70 211 26 14 10 94 69 16 .338 .561 .442 138 85 225 35 5 14 87 66 5 .343 .560 .436 125 58 184 22 8 7 65 26 4 .312 .459 .355 49 31 70 9 1 3 25 11 2 .331 .473 .389 SH 0 2

W 18 14

Olean shortstop Robert Gorbould was in a dead heat with Kister on my Baseball Worth-o-Meter (patent pending). He hit .3¡2, slugged .4¡5, and had a .362 OB%, scored 82 runs and drove in 7¡. In the outfield, I chose short-timer (64 games) Al Simmons. He hit .350, slugged .609, and had an OB% of .438. He hit ¡5 home runs, and scored 64 runs while driving in 67.

L 7 9

% .720 .609

IP 190 202

H 175 187

ER 60 70

SO 122 128

BB 88 76

ERA 2.84 3.12

BR/9 12.6 11.9

Johnson pitched and played some twenty games at other positions. In fact, I would have added him to the pitching sta›. He was ¡2–8 for a team which finished under .500 and was third in ERA at 3.25 and second in BR/9 ratio at ¡2.5.

Tar Heel League (D) McCrone, Bocek, and Rice were playing managers. I had a di›erent playing manager at first, R. Woodrow Traylor of Hickory. He hit at a .3¡6 pace, slugged .549, and had an OB% of .439. He tied for the league lead in homers with ¡6 and drove in 76 runs in 78 games.

At short, Dvorak handled a pedestrian 4.8 TC/G. My choice, Walt “Half Mast” Flagler of Lenoir a closer to good 5.4. He also outhit Dvorak by 7¡ points (.303) and outslugged him by ¡00 (.399). He both scored and drove in 64 runs. In the outfield, I had a fourth in a short-timer

¡940 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Clar. “Stu›y” McCrone Bill Hu›stetler George Motto Henry Dvorak James Miller Frank Shone Milt Bocek Ray Rice Copeland Goss

SP SP

Price Ferguson Herman Drefs

Team Statesville Statesville Statesville Hickory Statesville Lenoir Gastonia Lenoir Hickory

Statesville Statesville

G 22 28

G 95 108 102 69 105 108 108 74 65 GS — —

AB 323 437 384 254 391 435 431 243 229 CG 13 20

H 87 154 106 59 133 132 157 80 68 SH 2 3

165

R 74 83 72 34 79 81 98 57 44

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 148 13 3 14 59 88 5 .269 .458 .427 220 26 17 2 65 37 18 .352 .503 .408 159 17 6 8 66 37 39 .276 .414 .343 76 11 3 0 20 43 9 .232 .299 .356 190 26 8 5 85 45 28 .340 .486 .418 228 22 13 16 64 32 23 .303 .524 .351 253 31 13 13 109 59 25 .364 .587 .448 126 21 2 7 43 32 16 .329 .519 .409 92 14 2 2 38 44 12 .297 .402 .415

W 14 17

L 3 5

% .824 .773

IP 155 200

H 118 166

ER 37 58

SO 65 134

BB 61 48

ERA 2.15 2.61

BR/9 10.4 10.0

5¡ runs, and driven in 60. May I have the honor of introducing for your deipnosophic pleasure, the one, the only, the ineluctable, wholly ineradicable, and incomprehensibly dubitational … Tufeck Ska›. Goss played second and short, and was also referred to as “Coss” in the stats.

from Newton-Conover, which dropped out of the league on ¡9 July. When he lost his job, he was hitting .370, slugging .59¡, and had an OB% of .448, all three of which were (and would have been) league leading figures. (Mr. Spock tells me to inform you that our fellow was leading Bocek in OB% .44828– .44758.) In his 65 games he had hit ¡6 homers, scored

Virginia League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John Brennan Henry Loman Mike Winseck Robert Schibi William Booker Crawford Howard Royce Watson Robert Kubicek Julian Harrington

SP SP

Forrest Zeiger Dick Tate

Team Staunton Harrisonburg Lynchburg Salem-Roanoke Lynchburg Lynchburg Lynchburg Lynchburg Lynchburg

Staunton Lynchburg

G 30 32

G 115 105 112 114 109 114 72 106 73

GS 23 25

AB 444 438 391 424 437 462 266 403 259

CG 18 16

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 129 78 192 14 11 6 42 34 8 .291 .432 .344 141 61 174 20 5 1 89 20 6 .322 .397 .356 125 99 181 26 6 6 68 89 8 .320 .463 .452 110 88 190 26 9 12 47 82 22 .259 .448 .387 138 59 168 24 3 0 77 18 5 .316 .384 .346 139 101 216 23 3 16 89 39 10 .301 .468 .362 81 54 103 7 3 3 31 48 8 .305 .387 .411 125 63 164 28 4 1 60 32 7 .310 .407 .364 62 49 101 10 4 7 44 18 4 .239 .390 .296 SH 0 1

Brennan managed part of the season. Vance Dinges, Harrisonburg first baseman, had .307/.393/.390 averages, 77 runs, and 63 RBIs. Not an heroic season, but a skosh better than Brenna’s by my reckoning. The league scribes were correct in naming a shorttimer to the outfield. Unfortunately, they named the incorrect one. Harrisonburg Turk Warren Hu›man hit .35¡, slugged .479, and had a .404 OB%. In his 82 games he scored 78 runs and drove in 80. Although the league gives the batting title to Loman, Hu›man would have had to go 0–32 before dropping to Loman’s .322. Catcher Kubicek’s name also appeared as Kubiseck in the stats. Harrington played second and outfield. He would certainly not have been my utility selection. Lynchburg’s Mickey Balla scored 89 runs while playing

W 9 17

L 12 6

% .429 .739

IP 208 209

H 211 209

ER 84 97

SO 104 121

BB 79 108

ERA 3.63 4.18

BR/9 12.7 13.9

short and second. His BA, SA, and OB%, however are open to dispute. The o‡cial stats have him with 339 ABs, ¡¡5 hits, and a .288 BA. Now, ¡¡5 for 339 comes out to .339, so either the at bats or the BA are incorrect (or both). It is impossible to hit .288 with 339 ABs, however, as 98 hits yields a .286 BA, and 97 yields a .289. His TBs are consistent with his having ¡¡5 hits, so I think that is the correct total. If the atbats had been misentered as 339 instead of 393, his ¡¡5 hits would have given him a .293 BA, so that is not the answer. To hit .283 with 393 ABs, he would have had to have ¡¡3 hits— but that would make his TB total wrong, and that’s the one stat that does add up correctly. I felt that I had no choice put to put his BA, SA, and OB% in italics. Lynchburg pitcher Ed Galasso was ¡3–9 with a 3.03 ERA and a ¡2.9 BR/9 ratio. He also hit .339 with three homers and sixteen RBIs.

166

Minor League All-Star Teams

Western League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Fred Schenk William Baker Mike Portner Lester Hackett Russell Burns Tony Koenig John Lucas Harry Heslet Albert Dudas

Ralph Sche› Joe Riss

Team Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Worthington Norfolk Sioux Falls Worthington Norfolk Worthington

G 113 113 101 71 113 118 105 103 109

Worthington Worth./Sioux Falls

G 33 25

AB 455 477 389 286 437 431 419 369 443 GS — —

H 139 152 123 91 144 144 149 106 142 CG — —

R 89 93 81 40 93 99 81 71 82 SH — —

Norfolk was 73–39, .652, and won the pennant by ¡6∂ games. The Yankees hit .292, 24 points higher than the next best team, and scored 774 runs (6.8 a game), to the next best teams 6¡3 (5.2). They slugged .408, and the rest of the league slugged .335. They gave up approximately 380 runs (I am missing an 0–¡ pitcher), about 3.4 a game, and their ERA (minus that same pitcher) is a terrific 2.62. I would only change the catcher, add an outfielder, and maybe two pitchers. Robert Fenner, Sioux Falls manager/catcher, hit .344, had a .463 SA, and compiled a terrific .503 OB%. He led the circuit in walks with ¡05 in ¡07 games. He only had 59 RBIs to Heslet’s 66, but that .503 speaks volumes. In the outfield, I would add Norfolk’s Robert

TB 205 189 174 116 246 199 207 169 192 W 14 15

2B 15 23 20 13 25 20 14 20 25

3B 12 4 8 6 13 7 13 8 8

L 6 5

% .700 .750

HR 9 2 5 0 17 7 6 9 3 IP 215 173

RBI 97 65 58 41 87 77 70 66 56

BB 55 39 60 21 65 86 37 43 43

SB 10 27 24 10 25 52 27 16 9

H 208 159

ER 67 52

SO 172 159

BA .305 .319 .316 .318 .330 .334 .356 .287 .321

SL .451 .396 .447 .406 .563 .462 .494 .458 .433

OB% .380 .370 .408 .365 .416 .445 .408 .362 .381

BB 72 60

ERA 2.80 2.71

BR/9 11.8 11.7

Duby. He hit .323 and scored ¡¡2 runs in ¡¡¡ games, the only league player to reach triple digits. Fred Whalen of Norfolk was ¡¡–3 with an extraordinary ¡.36 ERA. He allowed only 5.8 H/9 IP, and led the league with a terrific 8.9 BR/9 ratio. In other words, his chances for post-season honors were practically nil. Sioux Falls Canary flinger Frank Wagner was ¡7–¡0, and was second in both ERA (2.09) and BR/9 ratio (9.9). He led the league in wins and strikeouts with ¡93. Bill Davis of Norfolk went ¡5–8, was third with a 2.4¡ ERA and a ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio. The two pitchers selected by the scribes were 29–¡¡ (.725) with an ERA of 2.76 and allowed ¡¡.8 BR/9. Whalen and Wagner were 28–¡3 (.683) with a ¡.84 ERA and allowed only 9.3 BR/9. Simply put, the two best pitchers were overlooked.

West Texas-New Mexico League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Murl Argus Prather Steve Niedziela Jodie Beeler Larry Gilchrist Gordon Nell Grover Seitz Edwin Schweda Bill Ratli› Sammy Hale

SP SP

Lloyd Patterson Rex Dilbeck

Team Pampa Lubbock Lamesa Borger Borger Pampa Lubbock Amarillo Midland

G 125 133 138 115 133 136 114 120 111

AB 461 537 542 493 529 517 469 451 387

H 177 198 178 141 206 184 198 136 138

R 132 162 125 135 137 163 142 69 93

G 39 36

GS — —

CG 25 21

SH — —

W 22 23

Lamesa Pampa

The WTNM League slugged .44¡, had a .373 OB%, and hit .294 in ’40 (.297 minus Big SpringLamesa’s .269). The number ten batter hit .348, number twenty hit .327, and .3¡2 would have gotten you thirtieth. In an average game, ¡4.2 runs were scored. Thirty players scored at least ¡00 runs (twelve players in at least ¡00 games scored more than one run a game), and ¡36 runs scored would have only

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 315 47 5 27 167 118 9 .384 .683 .515 300 37 13 13 98 97 20 .369 .559 .467 325 42 6 31 127 73 9 .328 .600 .413 180 19 7 2 54 66 26 .286 .365 .371 404 48 15 40 175 66 15 .389 .764 .463 261 36 7 9 96 90 32 .356 .505 .458 300 35 15 11 118 50 7 .422 .640 .483 194 24 5 8 71 53 8 .302 .430 .384 218 39 1 13 77 39 3 .357 .563 .421 L 10 7

% .688 .767

IP 258 240

H 259 279

ER 110 92

SO 217 202

BB 175 39

ERA 3.84 3.45

BR/9 15.8 12.2

been enough to make you the league’s number ten scorer. In an average game, 4.2 doubles were hit. Ten players had at least forty doubles, and thirty had at least thirty. Twenty-one players drove in at least ¡00 runs, and nine of those had more than an RBI a game. Seitz and Hale were playing managers, and Nell managed part of the season.

¡940 I had Niedziela as one of my two utility men, as he split his time between second and third. In his place at second I had Borger’s Robert Decker, who hit .320 and slugged .486, and scored ¡30 runs in ¡28 games. At short, I selected Lamesa’s Ed Guynes. Guynes fielded only .9¡3, but he got to a very good 6.¡ chances a game, while Gilchrist fielded .940 but only reached 5.4 TC/G. The main problem that I had with Gilchrist, however is his batting. Why have a .286hitting shortstop when you can have a .320 hitting one? Why have a .365 slugging shortstop in league which slugged .44¡, or an All-Star whose OB% is lower than the league average? Well, I chose not to do any of the above. Guynes hit .320, slugged .560, and had an OB% of .439. He hit 37 doubles and 23 home runs, scored ¡40 runs and drove in ¡26. The infield with Gilchrist at short hit for .34¡/ .55¡/.442 averages, scored 554 runs (¡39 apiece), hit ¡45 doubles (36 per man), 73 homers (¡6 per) and drove in 446 runs (¡¡2 per). If you substitute Guynes for Gilchrist, the numbers go up to .349, .597, and .453, numbers, incidentally, not matched by many All-Star outfields. The runs only go up to ¡40 apiece, but the RBIs climb to ¡30, the doubles to 40, and the home runs to 24. In the outfield, I had Emmett Fullenwider of Amarillo in place of Seitz. Fullenwider hit “only” .332 and had a “low” .4¡9 OB%, but he slugged .630 and had 40 doubles, 39 homers, ¡28 runs and ¡49 RBIs. It seems that we can have two di›erent but equally productive outfields here. The league’s threesome hits for .388/.637/.467 averages, all terrific, no doubt. They score 442 runs (¡47 per man), drive in 389 runs (¡30 per) and hit 60 home runs (I trust that I don’t have to divide 60 by three for the obviously intelligent readers of this work). Substitute Fullenwider for Seitz, and the numbers become .379, .679, and .453. The runs dip to ¡36 a man, the RBIs climb to ¡48, and the homers rise to 90 (ditto my home run comment directly above). I hate to sound repetitious, but why have a .302/.430/.384 catcher (Ratli›) when you could have had Lloyd Summers of Pampa? Summers hit .354, slugged .505, and had an OB% of .47¡. He scored 97 runs and drove in ¡05. The starting eight as selected hit .355, slug .570,

167

and have an OB% of .444. They hit 288 doubles, ¡4¡ home runs, and have 906 RBIs. All very impressive. However, if you accept my substitutes (Guynes, Fullenwider, and Summers), the BA goes up to .36¡, the SA goes up to a sky-high .6¡8, and the OB% climbs to .456. 3¡5 doubles were hit by this eightsome (39 a man), and ¡92 homers. The hybrid eight score ¡063 runs and drive in ¡065 (an amazing ¡33 per man each). As always, the call is yours, but I know which eight I’d take. On to the utility slot. Hale played third, but anywhere else he played was LT¡0. If you leave Niedziela at second, the next guy on my list was Willis Altenburg of Amarillo. He played third and short, hit .3¡5, slugged .567, hit 39 doubles and 28 home runs, and, in ¡40 games, scored ¡47 runs and drove in ¡50. Your pop quotient goes up quite a bit with Willis. (By the way, Willis’s brother Emmett played outfield for Amarillo. The brothers combined to hit .3¡8 and slug .548 with 255 runs, 74 doubles, 49 homers, and 280 RBIs. I wish I had complete stats for every brother combo in O.B. to see where these one-season, same-team totals stand.) Pitcher Patterson also played outfield. He hit .358, slugged .600, and had an OB% of .408. He hit eleven homers and drove in 46 runs. Dilbeck only walked ¡.5 men every 9/IP. Left o› of the sta› was Pat Ralsh of Lubbock. He led in winning percentage (.833 on a 20–4 record), ERA (3.25) and, of course, BR/9 ratio with a mark of ¡¡.5. How rash of Ralsh to lead in so many pitching categories. Also left o› was J. Willard “Willie” Ramsdell, who pitched for the Big Spring Barons/Odessa Oilers (the team moved on 20 June). He led in games (47), CGs (33), IP (35¡), and he went 23–¡8 for a 45–95, .32¡ team which finished 38∂ games out of first, hit only .269 (if you recall, the rest of the league hit .297), scored only 5.4 runs a game (the rest of the teams scored an average of 7.3 runs a game), gave up 7.2 runs a game, and committed 373 errors. Willie won an incredible 5¡% of his team’s games, and the team played miserable .222 ball when Ramsdell was not the deciding pitcher. The rest of the sta› surrendered an average of eight runs a game. This may be one of the most heroic pitching performances of the past eighty years.

Wisconsin State League (D) I would have added a fourth outfielder, Mike Rudniki of the Green Bay Blue Jays. Rudniki only hit .308, but was third in runs with 97. He also led in OB% by a wide margin, coming in at .462.

Afield, he led the loop in POs and was second in assists. Feret played a little third (¡4G), outfield, and pitched (LT45). William Duex of Fond du Lac seems

168

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Murphy Malattia John Schroeder Charles Herich Gordon Foth Maxie Muhr James McCarthy Rudy Novak Frank Cominsky Leo Feret

SP SP

Merv Henley Lawrence Johnson

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% Appleton 109 399 122 98 206 27 12 11 56 79 13 .306 .516 .429 La Crosse 82 326 110 65 147 27 2 2 58 38 13 .337 .451 .407 Sheboygan 96 383 128 73 175 27 7 2 56 33 9 .334 .457 .391 Fond du Lac 81 313 95 49 123 20 4 0 51 35 16 .304 .393 .375 Wisconsin Rapids 110 380 126 81 210 27 9 13 84 50 19 .332 .553 .413 Fond du Lac 89 346 115 65 178 25 1 12 64 20 41 .332 .514 .384 Green Bay 95 372 137 76 237 22 9 20 94 37 0 .368 .637 .434 Wisconsin Rapids 109 392 128 45 168 19 9 1 62 8 11 .327 .429 .342 Green Bay 86 273 65 36 93 6 2 6 46 24 0 .238 .341 .318

La Crosse La Crosse

G 31 24

GS 58 78

CG 19 19

SH — —

a better choice, if only because of Feret’s poor hitting, weak slugging, and pitiful OB%. Duex played second and short, hit .299, was seventh in OB% at .395, and fourth in runs with 94. Please note Cominsky’s incredibly low BB total. I believe that that is the year’s lowest for any player with at least 400 PAs.

W 20 17

L 3 5

% .870 .773

IP 208 197

H 147 178

ER 42 58

SO 148 113

BB 60 57

ERA 1.82 2.65

BR/9 9.1 11.1

The La Crosse Blackhawk sta› (aided by the league’s premier defense, which committed 39 fewer errors than the next best defense) only allowed 3.68 runs a game to be scored against them. Missing only the inning accrued by the six LT45 pitchers (who went 0–7), the Blackhawk ERA was a very good 3.07.

! ¡94¡ ! In ¡94¡, there were forty one leagues in the National Association. Thirty five of them (85%) named all-star teams.

Interstate League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Edward Murphy Bill Burich Leighton Kimball Billy Cox Elmer Valo Felix Mackiewicz Emil Brinsky Paul Chervinko Milt Stroner

SP SP

Fred Caligiuri Dick Mulligan

Team Allentown Allentown Reading Harrisburg Wilmington Wilmington Hagerstown Reading B’port-Wilm.

Wilmington Trenton

G 27 30

G 124 107 125 128 125 129 118 100 122 GS — —

AB 464 388 454 496 447 493 428 315 432 CG 19 16

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 143 78 259 19 14 23 104 36 3 .308 .558 .358 109 62 160 17 2 10 67 38 2 .281 .412 .345 133 74 179 15 5 7 76 49 13 .293 .394 .362 180 104 270 42 15 6 99 62 14 .363 .544 .434 145 80 206 14 7 11 67 86 14 .324 .461 .433 143 87 227 25 16 9 81 34 7 .290 .460 .336 136 69 202 23 11 7 104 50 8 .318 .472 .389 87 27 101 12 1 0 47 57 1 .276 .321 .387 119 59 182 24 3 11 73 50 5 .275 .421 .351 SH 6 3

W 16 10

L 7 11

% .696 .476

IP 206 221

H 156 164

ER 41 56

SO 111 167

BB 56 84

ERA 1.79 2.28

BR/9 9.3 10.1

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate. B’port is Bridgeport.

Fielding determined my second base choice. Harvey Johnson of Harrisburg had about the same year at bat that Burich did, hitting .273 and slugging .423. He did have a 28 point OB% advantage (.373), but that was not su‡ciently large to sway me. Both players had a fine TC/G ratio (6.¡ for Johnson to 5.9 for Burich), so there was no clear decision maker there either. For me, it came down to the fact that Johnson handled so many more of his chances cleanly (.975–.936 FA). At third, Hagerstown manager Fred “Dutch” Dor-

man was my choice, based on his .4¡6 OB% which came as a result of his drawing ¡¡7 walks. He was however a weak hitter with no power whatsoever (.244/.296), so leaving Kimball at the slot would draw no howls of outrage from me. My outfield included Dan Taylor and Bill Luzansky from Harrisburg. Taylor hit .335, was third in slugging at .500, and had a .4¡4 OB%. His 93 RBIs were fourth. Luzansky hit but .292, but his .432 OB% was third and he led the league with 30 steals and ¡2¡ runs.

¡94¡

169

league in wins and winning percentage (20–4, .833) as well as ERA (a fine ¡.6¡), and was third in BR/9 ratio at ¡0.4. Harrisburg’s Harry Shuman was ¡8–6 with a 2.24 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8. Mulligan is another fine example of the “It’s Better to be Lucky than Good” law. His team played .625 ball when was not the pitcher of record. It’s hard to go ¡0–¡¡ for a .600 team, especially with an ERA of 2.28 and allowing only ¡0.¡ BR/9, unless the baseball gods directly intervene.

The selected three had .3¡0/.464/.386 averages with 236 runs and 232 RBIs, kinda weak for an outfield. An outfield of Valo, Taylor, and Luzansky has .3¡6/.458/.428 averages with 256 runs and 203 RBIs. This is still pretty weak, but the 42 point di›erence in OB% is the clincher for me. Hagerstown catcher Ferrell Anderson hit .304 and slugged .429, and was a co-catcher on my squad. Stroner played first, second, and third. Anderson Bush, Hagerstown ace hurler, led the

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Herb Sche·er John Burman Robert Ramazotti Stan Rojek Luis Olmo Bill Shewey Roberto Ortiz Bill Steinecke Emil Verban

SP SP

Ed Albosta Max Wilson

Team Greensboro Durham Durham Durham Richmond Asheville Charlotte Portsmouth Asheville

G 138 136 140 140 137 132 132 113 138

AB 524 495 560 502 515 520 467 389 562

G 26 31

GS — —

CG 16 25

Durham Portsmouth

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 157 76 226 29 8 8 78 58 6 .300 .431 .375 162 86 199 24 5 1 65 81 13 .327 .402 .423 148 99 181 18 6 1 49 61 9 .264 .323 .340 155 58 183 12 8 0 57 49 15 .309 .365 .371 160 78 253 20 17 13 89 44 6 .311 .491 .365 157 107 214 21 9 6 50 74 42 .302 .412 .394 141 74 217 35 13 5 69 48 21 .302 .465 .386 97 35 130 21 6 0 49 32 9 .249 .334 .308 149 82 171 20 1 0 43 32 9 .265 .304 .308 SH 8 4

W 15 19

L 5 9

% .750 .679

IP 192 249

H 113 259

ER 37 66

SO 158 111

BB 100 74

ERA 1.73 2.39

BR/9 10.1 12.1

The Durham Bulls’ pitching sta› gave up only 3.5 runs a game, and, lacking only ¡0 IP, had an ERA of 3.05, both excellent numbers. The sta› allowed only ¡2.0 BR/9 as a whole, which would have been good enough for a spot in the top seven individual ratios. Albosta allowed but 5.3 H/9. Greensboro moundmates Mel Deutsch and Norm Brown earned a mention. Mel was ¡¡–4 with a 2.23 ERA and allowed a low ¡0.5 BR/9, second in the league. Brown was ¡3–8, 2.3¡ Wandel Mosser of Portsmouth must have been born under a bad sign. He was second in ERA and allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9, yet wound up a miserable 5–¡0 for a team that played .560 when he was not involved in the decision.

Other than changing shortstops and adding a catcher and two pitchers, this team is just about smack on. Richmond’s Larry Kinzer out hit Rojek by ¡8 points (.29¡), but out slugged him by 58 points (.423) and had an OB% 58 points higher (.429, the league’s best). Kinzer had 62 RBIs and scored 87 runs, fourth high in the ’4¡ Piedmont. Charlotte catcher Dick Hahn had .262/.3¡9/.398 averages, all better than Steinecke’s (whose .304 SA and .308 OB% are especially poor), and I would have had him as a second backstop. Verban played ¡4 games at second and the rest at short.

South Atlantic League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Les Goldstein Cy Block Nick Polly Eddie Stankey Jack Barnes Ed Knoblauch Arnie Traxler Floyd Beal Stan Sonnier

Team Columbia Macon Columbia Macon Charleston Columbus Augusta Columbus Jacksonville

SP SP

Frank Marino Stan Ferens

Macon Columbus

G 140 123 133 139 72 139 92 122 135 G 32 29

AB 576 460 480 505 261 568 348 476 514 GS — —

H 179 164 145 159 92 191 110 134 146 CG 13 21

R 98 90 81 112 53 114 53 76 90 SH 5 4

TB 257 249 215 198 137 237 150 217 181 W 19 19

L 1 5

2B 48 18 20 26 21 18 23 33 24

3B 6 15 4 5 6 11 7 4 4

% .950 .792

HR 6 9 14 1 4 2 1 14 1 IP 192 220

RBI 86 112 84 84 31 71 63 74 69 H 150 154

BB 79 49 91 69 28 74 37 24 48 ER 46 63

SB 7 11 5 11 6 12 7 1 13

BA .311 .357 .302 .315 .352 .336 .316 .282 .284

SL .446 .541 .448 .392 .525 .417 .431 .456 .352

OB% .399 .422 .415 .414 .415 .416 .388 .319 .349

SO 121 185

BB 69 79

ERA 2.16 2.58

BR/9 10.4 9.7

170

Minor League All-Star Teams judgment of the reader is to stick with the o‡cial outfield, I would not presume to gainsay your decision. Sonnier played second, third, and short. The two best pitchers were indeed selected for the All-Star squad. Two other starters deserve mention, however. Stan West of Macon was 23–7 and compiled a 2.88 ERA. Adrian Zabala, who pitched for the ¡3 games under .500 Jacksonville Tars, managed to go 20–¡7 with a 3.09 ERA.

My first base choice was John Streza of Columbus. He hit .333, slugged .455, fourth in the league, and had a .406 OB%. He scored 86 runs and drove in 92. In place of outfield short-timers Barnes and Traxler, I had Macon’s Cecil Garriott and Jacksonville’s Hugh Todd. Garriott hit only .283, but he scored ¡08 runs and led the league with 26 steals. Todd hit .298 and slugged .43¡ and finished second in RBIs with 94. Now, if you substitute my two choices, the BA, SA, and OB% all decline, so if the

Southeastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ted Mueller Benny Hassler Gene Nance Guy Miller Ralph Ellis Paul Armstrong James Russell D.C. “Dee” Moore Pat Dove

SP SP

Norman Russell George Dockins

Team Selma Selma Meridian Meridian Selma Montgomery Meridian Anniston Selma Mobile Mobile

G 23 38

G 137 135 105 110 114 149 125 124 54 GS — —

AB 519 507 394 474 452 586 479 454 188 CG 11 20

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 156 85 235 34 9 9 88 62 34 .301 .453 .375 146 87 219 34 9 7 78 62 20 .288 .432 .366 152 70 227 33 3 12 86 50 4 .386 .576 .455 152 80 213 27 8 6 40 35 10 .321 .449 .367 146 73 237 28 6 17 77 21 15 .323 .524 .353 199 88 260 40 3 5 78 24 21 .340 .444 .366 174 112 272 52 8 10 88 74 51 .363 .568 .448 153 103 252 21 9 20 103 70 9 .337 .555 .426 58 26 74 8 1 2 26 5 1 .309 .394 .326 SH 1 8

W 16 20

L 4 6

% .800 .769

IP 153 233

H 143 205

ER 51 53

SO 71 131

BB 47 45

ERA 3.00 2.05

BR/9 11.5 9.8

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Gadsden, which finished at 37–¡04, .262, 54 games out for first and 27∂ out of seventh, pulled a trick out of the ¡899 Cleveland Spider bag and became a road team after the eighth of July. The Pilots scored 4.¡ runs a game and gave up 6.5. The league, minus Gadsden, hit .29¡ and slugged .406. The Pilots hit .254 and slugged .345. Anniston second baseman Allec Dernback hit .322, slugged .46¡, and had an OB% of .450—34, 29, and 84 points higher than Hassler, respectively. He scored ¡¡9 runs, second to another second baseman, A.C. Phillips of Mobile. Phillips hit .30¡ with a .399 OB%, and had ¡20 runs. I would go with Dernback, because while Hassler got to 5.0 TC/G and Phillips about the same, he was compiling an exceptionally good 6.¡ TC/G ratio. The choice of Miller at short is puzzling. Puzzling because James Cox of Selma hit .356 and slugged .50¡, and added a .409 OB% to boot, a cumulative ¡29 advantage for Cox. He hit 39 doubles, scored 82 runs, and drove in 73. The infield as selected hit .320, slugged .449, and had an OB% of .367 while scoring 322 runs and driv-

ing in 292. An infield of Mueller, Dernback, Nance, and Cox, even with Dernback’s .262 BA, hits .32¡, slugs .469, and has a .402 OB% with 356 runs and 298 RBIs. As a bonus, it also fields better. Two outfielders deserve mention, although I am not sure if I would replace any of the selected threesome with either of them. (Nor am I sure that I wouldn’t.) Meridian’s Fred Stroble hit .289, slugged .522, and led the league with 25 homers and ¡¡5 RBIs. Gil Turner of Pensacola hit .348, slugged .525, and had an OB% of .437, fourth in the league. Dove played outfield and caught, but he is still an odd choice. Charles Quimby, who spread his handyman talents among Montgomery, Anniston, and Gadsden, played second, third, short, and outfield. He hit .305, had a .384 OB%, and scored 77 runs. Another Mobile Shipper hurler was worthy of a spot on the sta›, more so than Russell, in fact. Adell White was ¡6–5 with a 2.66 ERA and allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9. I may also have added Ray Scarborough of Selma. He was 2¡–¡0, 3.¡7, ¡2.¡ and led the circuit with 220 strike-outs.

Three-I League (B) Williams and Mowry were playing managers. Moline Plow Boys manager Mowry may have

been the fifth outfielder on my squad, if I went five deep. Sure, his .352 is impressive, but is lacking in

¡94¡ Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Norman Jaeger Dibrell Williams Joe Gulledge Floyd Baker Chester Clemens Henry Edwards Joe Mowey Sigmund Broskie Robert Hargrave

SP SP

John Clay Warren Spahn

Team Clinton Decatur Evansville Springfield Evansville Cedar Rapids Moline Evansville Moline

Decatur Evansville

G 39 28

171

G 124 123 118 124 117 121 96 102 123

AB 476 468 439 486 433 473 315 318 475

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 171 74 270 36 15 11 87 30 11 .359 .567 .402 160 77 225 27 10 6 97 55 8 .342 .481 .411 129 69 183 21 9 5 70 51 6 .294 .417 .367 154 79 201 25 8 8 65 58 5 .317 .414 .396 142 84 214 28 7 10 71 40 11 .328 .494 .394 172 101 292 31 10 23 113 39 5 .364 .617 .412 111 42 146 18 7 1 58 39 6 .352 .463 .427 91 53 137 20 1 8 64 62 15 .286 .431 .404 125 64 195 18 11 10 67 50 22 .263 .411 .333

GS — —

CG 21 21

SH 3 7

W 19 19

L 13 6

% .594 .760

IP 237 212

H 229 154

ER 99 43

SO 204 193

BB 119 90

ERA 3.76 1.83

BR/9 13.4 10.6

almost one per. His ¡¡.6 BR/9 ratio was the second best among qualifiers. Evansville’s Jewett Wolf was the league’s best reliever. He worked 74 innings in 30 games, had a 2.07 ERA, and allowed ¡0.7 BR/9. Two short-service pitchers also deserve mention, if not a spot on the squad. Ivy Andrews of Waterloo was 9–¡ with an ERA of 2.7¡ in twelve games. George Diehl of Evansville went 8–0 in eight games with a 3.¡8 ERA. Both pitchers allowed only 9.7 BR/9.

productivity. Del Jones of Cedar Rapids hit .34¡ with a .439 OB%, the best in the Three Eye. He also tied for the most runs with ¡0¡. John Novosel of Springfield only hit .302, but his .487 SA was third in the league, his 90 RBIs were fifth, and so were his ¡4 homers. Hargrave played first and outfield. Ray Poat of Cedar Rapids went ¡7–6 and had a 2.90 ERA. He struck out 203 batters in 2¡¡ innings,

Western International League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C

Name William Reese Henry Martinez Ray Orteig Joe Gedzius Levi McCormack William Johnson Smead Jolley Bill Beard

SP SP

Don Osborn Royal Helser

Team Yakima Spokane Vancouver Spokane Spokane Yakima Spokane/Vanc. Spokane

Vancouver Salem

G 31 21

G 129 132 73 134 132 132 133 87 GS — —

AB 476 490 288 514 565 492 533 288 CG 16 17

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 138 84 191 27 7 4 71 85 12 .290 .401 .402 166 131 248 32 14 4 88 107 33 .339 .506 .460 94 64 156 19 5 11 44 38 2 .326 .542 .409 159 90 226 32 7 7 121 80 10 .309 .440 .402 191 131 274 42 7 9 107 55 14 .338 .485 .401 161 84 228 25 9 8 95 58 21 .327 .463 .406 184 86 294 30 4 24 128 68 5 .345 .552 .419 90 54 124 18 5 2 57 38 2 .313 .431 .394 SH 2 2

W 18 15

L 3 3

% .857 .833

IP 187 149

H 200 139

ER 57 50

SO 59 139

BB 26 69

ERA 2.74 3.02

BR/9 10.9 12.6

No HB recorded for pitchers, so BR/9 is approximate.

Ray “Moose” Perry is the third baseman for me. He hit .3¡3 and slugged .47¡ for Tacoma, had ¡4 homers, drove in 88 runs and scored 96. I do not understand the apparently conscious (though far from rational) decision to omit Gabriel “Pete” Hughes from the Western Int.’s outfield of heroes. He led the league in walks (¡56), runs (¡30), homers (34), RBIs (¡25), SA (.603), and OB% (.493). He simply was by far the best over-all hitter in the league, period. He played for Spokane. My catcher was Harold “So” Sueme” of Yakima.

His averages were .305, .432, and .422. He had 60 RBIs and scored 65 times. Younker was an outfielder who occasionally played third (¡¡ games). Al Lingua of Vancouver played third, outfield, and caught. He hit .322, slugged .494, and had an OB% of .4¡5, in addition to scoring 8¡ runs. I would but add a pitcher to the sta›, Robert Kinnaman of Spokane. He was 22–8 with a 2.85 ERA and allowed ¡¡.2 BR/9.

Arizona-Texas League (C) Williamson was a playing manager. That Dyke has no place in the A-Tex outfield. I had four outfielders, Maddern, Lawrence, Burl Hor-

ton of El Paso, and Doug Smith of Tucson. Smith was number four, as he only hit .279. He did, however have a .500 SA, as he finished tied for third with

172

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Warren Williams Jodie Beeler Harry Clements James Estrada Clarence Maddern Paul Dyke Allan Lawrence George Galios Elmer “Spec” Williamson

SP SP

John Hetki George Burpo

Team Bisbee Tucson Tucson Albuquerque Bisbee Albuquerque Tucson El Paso El Paso

Albuquerque Tucson

G 43 25

GS — —

G 128 124 131 129 127 55 115 126 54 CG — —

AB 507 479 505 512 520 204 468 482 150

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 171 88 228 33 8 2 96 59 10 .337 .450 .412 158 123 239 34 11 9 93 80 27 .330 .499 .431 167 84 224 32 12 1 113 41 7 .331 .444 .402 165 112 214 25 12 0 86 60 33 .322 .418 .401 185 117 258 37 11 4 129 51 25 .356 .496 .423 54 49 82 14 4 2 29 40 8 .265 .402 .393 162 97 211 31 6 2 111 36 14 .346 .451 .399 175 77 244 29 14 4 97 52 6 .363 .506 .426 48 32 67 5 7 0 24 19 5 .320 .447 .396

SH — —

W 16 10

L 10 8

% .615 .556

IP 243 147

H 287 87

ER — —

SO 179 176

BB 75 129

ERA 4.41 3.14

BR/9 14.0 13.8

No ER published for pitchers, but ERA was.

2¡ triples and led the loop with ¡5 homers. He also led with 45 steals and ¡47 runs (in ¡32 games). To his detriment, he struck out a huge (for the times and still quite [un]impressive) ¡70 times. Horton led the league in batting (.375), slugging (.563), and triples (29), and was second in homers (¡0), runs (¡27), and RBIs (¡22). He was also fourth in OB% (.4¡4). I would be interested in examining the workings of a mind that deemed Dyke worthy of post season honors and found Horton’s season without any obvious merit. Hetki hit .290 with ¡9 RBIs. Burpo allowed only 5.3 H/9 IP.

Lee Porterfield of Tucson led the league in ERA with a 3.0¡ mark and was the number two man in BR/9 ratio at ¡2.¡. He was 20–6, and led the league with a .769 winning percentage. Harry Parks of Albuquerque was 24–9 with a 3.43 ERA and a league best ¡¡.8 BR/9 ratio. I am afraid that I would have taken both over the scribes’ choice of chuckers. By the way, the league as a whole batted .294 with a .374 OB%, and ¡3.3 runs were scored on average in each game.

California League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John “Bud” Clancy William Hebert John Jorgenson Ray Tran Dick Adams Keith Frazier Charles Strada Frank Kappelman Edward Wheeler

Team Santa Barbara Merced Santa Barbara Anaheim Fresno Stockton Stockton Santa Barbara Bakersfield

G 108 130 140 120 132 117 140 124 135

AB 398 506 554 461 488 407 532 429 571

H R TB 137 67 182 166 99 267 184 107 272 108 56 126 155 112 246 122 75 168 159 84 257 115 64 152 173 110 227

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 25 4 4 82 57 6 .344 .457 .433 31 17 12 68 65 20 .328 .528 .410 43 9 9 82 61 15 .332 .491 .404 8 5 0 40 34 10 .234 .273 .293 30 8 15 91 65 13 .318 .504 .403 14 7 6 45 69 9 .300 .413 .404 29 6 19 99 57 11 .299 .483 .374 24 5 1 57 59 4 .268 .354 .362 31 7 3 65 75 74 .303 .398 .388

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Manuel Perez S. Bern./Santa Barb. 36 — 27 — 24 8 .750 281 220 58 197 106 1.86 10.6 SP Chet Johnson Bakersfield 40 — 22 — 18 12 .600 265 257 87 213 103 2.95 12.5

Clancy and Frazier were playing managers. Herbert was the first ballplayer in World War II to be killed in action. He died of wounds su›ered at Guadalcanal, October 30, ¡942. I might have gone the co–first basemen route, adding Fresno manager George Silvey. Long George hit only .299, but slugged a slightly better .473. Silvey also hit ¡9 triples, scored 93 runs, drove in ¡02 (second best) and even stole 33 bases. Now, I said that I might have gone the co-route, but upon further review, I didn’t. Silvey is the man for me.

At third, my choice was Fresno’s Mel “Seraphim” Serefini. He hit .336, and led the league in homers with 20, RBIs with ¡25, SA with .562, and OB% with .463. Jorgensen’s year was good, but Serefini’s was better. If Tran had had transcendental fielding stats, then that might have translated into an earned All-Star spot. In the event, that was not the case, and Bob Gorbould of Santa Barbara deserved to be the man. He hit .250, slugged .365 (92 points up on Tran), and had an OB% of .337 (poor, but 44 points higher than Tran’s lamentable mark). Also Gorbould scored

¡94¡ ¡04 runs, fifth highest total in the circuit. The selection of Tran was, in a word, in error. Wheeler played second, and perhaps should have been named to the team as such. A superior utility choice would have been Merced’s Steve Bogdano›. He played first, third, outfield, and was 5–9 as a pitcher. He hit .268 with 64 RBIs. William Whaley pitched for the 70–70 Stockton Fliers. When he was not involved in the decision, the Fliers played .435 ball. Whaley went a terrific 23–8

173

with a 2.08 ERA. He led the league in BR/9 ratio with a fine 9.4 figure. Fresno’s Warren Sandel was 24–9 with a 2.49 ERA, and allowed ¡0.3 BR/9. The league would have been better served by having a four man sta›. The two selected hurlers were 42–20 (.677) with a 2.39 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.5. The two unselected pitchers went 47–¡7 (.734) with a 2.27 ERA and allowed 9.8 BR/9. The four together would actually make quite a sta›, going 89–37 (.706), with a 2.33 ERA and a ¡0.6 BR/9 ratio.

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bass Clifton Lloyd Moore Bill Sinram Arthur Funk Austin Knickerbocker Frank Genovese Leon Riley Edward McGah Roland Gladu

SP SP

John Robinson Walter Duda

Team Rome Pittsfield Amsterdam Pittsfield Oneonta Oneonta Rome Oneonta Quebec

Amsterdam Pittsfield

G 28 21

G 129 124 123 116 120 124 120 114 125

AB 509 497 502 432 488 485 404 425 469

H 184 161 168 134 202 178 158 140 164

R 119 104 98 70 113 145 120 84 95

TB 256 239 277 193 303 295 293 224 263

2B 32 36 32 19 45 37 27 31 46

GS — —

CG 22 12

SH 4 1

W 22 9

L 5 6

% .815 .600

Funk, Riley, and Gladu were playing managers. Oneonta batted .308, scored 6.9 runs a game, and had a terrific team OB% of .399. Frank Jelincich, first baseman for Utica, may have been overlooked because his team finished dead last, 33 games out. That should not diminish his accomplishments, however. He hit .3¡8, slugged .556, and had 23 triples and ¡6 homers to go with 93 runs and ¡02 RBIs. My shortstop was Oliver Blakeney of GloversvilleJohnstown. He hit .308, slugged .434, had a .38¡ OB% and scored 85 runs. The outfield had great (and I use this in the Stan Musial–Ted Williams–Bob Feller sense, not in the ESPN Mark Grace–Tino Martinez–C.C. Sabathia sense) .39¡, .647, .485 averages. This means that a couple of players who had very good years just didn’t make the cut.

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 5 10 62 39 7 .361 .503 .412 15 4 77 59 7 .324 .481 .398 16 15 102 50 15 .335 .552 .398 11 6 69 39 2 .310 .447 .369 10 12 135 48 18 .414 .621 .469 19 14 97 96 28 .367 .608 .475 6 32 118 97 4 .391 .725 .512 10 11 82 56 9 .329 .527 .410 7 13 91 55 14 .350 .561 .421 IP 208 139

H 199 168

ER 66 70

SO 94 30

BB 63 42

ERA 2.86 4.53

BR/9 11.4 14.0

For example, Henry Bloch of Rome Hit .348 with a .576 SA, 22 homers, ¡04 runs and ¡¡6 RBIs, and didn’t make it onto the squad. The third Oneonta outfielder, Emil Barnes, hit .37¡ with a .57¡ SA and a terrific .5¡6 OB%. (The three Indian flyhawks, by the way, hit .386, slugged .595, and had a .484 OB%.) Gladu played first, third, second, and outfield. Duda may have been a Dadaist (for all we know), but he was not an All-Star caliber pitcher, even if he did hit .329. The Dude averaged a not-quiteDalkowskian ¡.9 Ks per 9 IP, and finished 48th in the league in strike-outs. Harold White and Tom Fine of Oneonta were the numbers two and three pitchers in the Can-Am in ’4¡ by my reckoning. White went ¡9–6, 3.70 (fifth) and allowed ¡2.7 BR/9. Fine was a fine 22–9 and had an ERA of 3.83 (eighth).

Cotton States League (C) Hot Springs hit .3¡4, had a .468 SA and a .399 OB% while averaging 7.3 runs a game. Philley’s .346 was the tenth highest BA in the league among qualifiers. Coble was a playing manager. Hot Springs Bathers manager/first baseman Ellis “Mike” Powers had averages of .356, .535, and .448, and he led the league with 47 doubles and ¡37 RBIs.

He also scored ¡¡9 runs. I could be persuaded to have dual first basemen. I need no persuasion, however, in declaring that my third base choice would have been Guy Pruitt of Monroe. He hit .363, slugged .54¡, and had a .445 OB%. In addition, he hit 37 doubles and ¡7 homers, scored ¡¡4 runs and drove in ¡07. At short, it was fielding which decided the con-

174

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Mervin Connors Roy Marion Clarence Collins Jim Lucas Roy Bueschen Dave Philley Ben “Rosie” Cantrell David Coble Robert Hill

SP SP

Stanley Todd Charles Pescod

Team Texarkana Hot Springs Helena Helena Greenville Monroe Monroe/Helena Greenville Monroe

Greenville Hot Springs

G 33 27

G 115 130 111 138 140 124 133 114 123

GS — —

AB 411 567 467 559 540 503 538 376 478

CG 22 20

H 143 207 160 163 200 174 187 112 166 SH — —

test for me. Richard Jones of the Greenville Buckshots hit a lowly .28¡, six points below the league’s .287 BA (by the way, the rest of league hit .290 if you leave o› the .270-hitting El Dorado Oilers). Despite his low average, he still scored ¡23 runs. He fielded .92¡ with a 5.4 TC/G ratio to selectee Lucas’s .900/4.7 figures. The infield as selected hit .336, slugged .5¡¡, and had an OB% of .407. The foursome scored ¡20 runs and drove in 36¡. An infield of Connors, Marion, Pruitt, and Jones hits .338, slugs .50¡, has a .422 OB%, and scores 464 runs while driving in 37¡. It also is a better fielding group. My catcher was Charles Zachritz of Marshall and El Dorado. His averages of .344, .524, and .394 were superior to those of Coble in every respect. He also

R 93 134 85 108 134 109 97 57 102 W 19 17

TB 263 293 222 246 330 259 299 142 232 L 7 6

2B 29 41 27 33 37 27 38 20 33

% .731 .739

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 2 29 112 82 1 .348 .640 .457 9 9 100 54 16 .365 .517 .421 7 7 93 14 10 .343 .475 .367 16 6 56 84 28 .292 .440 .386 15 21 129 80 11 .370 .611 .454 5 16 110 57 24 .346 .515 .414 13 16 133 46 14 .348 .556 .400 2 2 48 49 6 .298 .378 .383 9 5 79 47 26 .347 .485 .407 IP 239 198

H 270 207

ER 111 66

SO 128 171

BB 52 54

ERA 4.18 3.00

BR/9 12.4 12.2

hit ¡6 homer runs and drove in 57. Replacing Coble with Zachritz changes the starting eights’ BA from .340 to .344, the SA from .5¡9 to .532, and the OB% goes up two percentage points from .4¡¡ to .4¡3. Hill played outfield and caught. The Clarksdale Ginners/Marshall Tigers (Clarksdale moved to Marshall on ¡0 July; they were 33–47, .4¡2 before the move and ¡5–4¡, .268 after it) boss hurler, Willard “Bill” Vandenberg deserved a spot on the sta›. He went ¡7–9, and won 35% of the Ginners/Tigers games. When he was not the pitcher of record, his team played .282 ball on the season. He also hit .3¡5 with 28 RBIs. Another pitcher worthy of mention was Verne Williamson of Monroe. He was ¡6–6 and was top five in ERA (3.86) and BR/9 (¡2.6).

Michigan State League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ev “Sheri› ” Robinson Adam Bengoechea Carl Fiore John Lipon Stanley Platek Gordon Goodell Norman Snyder Jack Tighe Charles Moore

SP SP

Steve Gromek Thomas Hamill

Team Lansing Muskegon Flint Muskegon Saginaw Flint St. Joseph Muskegon Lansing

Flint Grand Rapids

G 19 34

G 103 119 105 119 92 105 113 70 108

GS — —

AB 377 435 461 490 344 427 410 231 428

CG 12 14

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 130 83 230 31 15 13 93 85 5 .345 .610 .469 153 110 252 28 1 23 106 96 29 .352 .579 .479 149 92 235 28 8 14 76 56 5 .323 .510 .398 176 126 316 31 2 35 115 74 8 .359 .645 .450 110 76 201 20 10 17 91 73 9 .320 .584 .440 134 90 226 26 6 18 98 50 14 .314 .529 .387 131 107 249 29 4 27 115 87 3 .320 .607 .439 81 50 119 17 0 7 58 44 8 .351 .515 .455 119 76 199 29 0 17 88 40 4 .278 .465 .344

SH 3 0

The Lansing Senators were 35–78, .3¡0, but they really weren’t that good. They gave up 8.6 runs a game over the course of the season. I figured out the stats for the pitchers who pitched over 45 innings (it came to 833 of the 955 [87%] the “sta› ” threw during their trek towards oblivion), and the results were

W 14 15

L 2 9

% .875 .625

IP 143 211

H 111 219

ER 46 113

SO 126 188

BB 44 127

ERA 2.90 4.82

BR/9 9.8 14.8

pretty frightening: 7.09 ERA, 8.55 RPG, ¡7.2 BR/9, and 5.5 BB/9. The seven pitchers with LT45IP (¡¡6 total innings) and who had a decision allowed ¡3 runs, ¡4.7 hits, 7.7 walks, and 22.4 BR/9. There were six innings pitched by chuckers who had no decisions, and they gave up ¡7 runs (25.4/9). So, the sta›,

¡94¡

175

in 96 games and scored 90 runs with ¡03 RBIs. He was second in the league with 30 home runs, and hit a rather low .308 with a league high .65¡ SA. It should be noted that Gene Woodling hit .394 with a .552 SA and an OB% of .469 (.4695, actually, beating Robinson’s .4688 for second best in the circuit). Only fourteen shut-outs were pitched in the Mich. State in ¡94¡. To be frank, I would have chosen Frank Schulz of Flint and Frank Overmire of Muskegon ahead of Hamill. Schulz was ¡4–4 with a 3.¡9 ERA (third) and an ¡¡.6 BR/9 ratio (also third). “Stubby” was ¡2–4, and second in both ERA (3.¡0) and BR/9 (¡¡.3). Overmire’s Muskegon teammate Roy Clark (¡¡–¡3, 5.4¡ ERA) walked 2¡6 batters in ¡83 innings, ¡0.6 every nine IP. Finally, Gromek batted .297 with 25 RBIs.

minus 6 IP, gave up ¡7.9 BR/9. William Fiora pitched 82 innings in 20 games (he had 4 CGs) and had an ERA of ¡0.65 with a BR/9 allowance of 23.5. Veito Zande (cool name, terrible pitcher) pitched 57 innings in ¡3 games (three complete) and allowed 22.4 BR/9 with an ERA of ¡0.74. (On the plus side, Ken Miller, one of Lansing’s better pitchers [6.06 ERA], hit .429 with a .929 SA, thanks to six homers in 56 ABs.) Tighe was a playing manager. Moore played second, outfield and caught, but I had Bengoechcea as my utility man (he played second and third) and Flint’s Tony Guzak at second. Guzak hit .363, had a .577 SA, and an OB% of .439. He scored 82 runs and drove in 89. I also had St. Joseph’s Joseph “Joe” Morjoseph in the outfield in place of Goodell. Morjoseph played

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Walter Alston Mike Portner Bill Mongiello C. Robert Collett Robert Jones Cosmo Como Cotelle Borden Helms Gus Niarhos George Verbeck

SP SP

Lou Lucier William Baker

Team Springfield Akron Erie Springfield Youngstown Dayton/Erie Zanesville/Akron Akron Akron

Canton Akron

G 36 25

GS — —

G 125 114 110 119 111 112 104 112 61

CG — —

AB 456 412 416 426 402 409 401 382 149 SH — —

One of the weakest hitting leagues in a while, the MAL hit only .255 and slugged but .334. Only 9.3 runs were scored in the average game. Only fourteen players scored as many as 70 runs, only nine had at least 60 RBIs. A .290 BA and 24 doubles would have gotten you tenth in the league. Dayton scored only 3.9 runs a game, slugged .3¡7 and had a .3¡0 OB% (and had thirteen “LT¡0” players who went a combined 0–8¡!). Youngstown “slugged” .29¡ with a .320 OB%. Alston, who led the league in runs, RBIs, homers, RBIs, slugging, and walks, was a playing manager. I would have added Elmer “Butch” Nieman to the outfield crew. He was fourth in batting at .32¡, second in slugging at .526 (actually, .5255 to Alston’s .5263), and second in OB% at .434. At catcher, Joe Neidson of Springfield seemed (to me at least) to be the obvious choice. He hit .323,

H 131 110 120 109 122 150 131 117 33

R 88 73 77 58 59 73 59 61 20

TB 240 169 148 147 153 196 175 169 48

W 23 14

L 5 7

% .821 .667

2B 26 28 12 16 21 21 14 24 8

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 4 25 102 85 4 .287 .526 .400 2 9 56 56 13 .267 .410 .355 5 2 52 72 18 .288 .356 .396 2 6 67 65 10 .256 .345 .357 2 2 64 57 9 .303 .381 .395 11 1 56 54 17 .367 .479 .452 15 0 64 54 16 .327 .436 .409 10 3 57 40 12 .306 .442 .375 2 1 24 11 2 .221 .322 .275

IP 247 195

H 180 153

ER 41 43

SO 199 181

BB 87 78

ERA 1.49 1.98

BR/9 9.9 10.8

third in the league, slugged .487, also third, had a .408 OB%, and was second in both runs (78) and RBIs (79). Verbeck played a little outfield and was 9–5, 2.68 as a pitcher. As an aside, you may be interested in an example of how weak the bats were in the MAL. Akron shortstop Odie Strain finished second in the league with 483 ABs. He also hit .¡72 with a laughable .204 (!) SA and on O› Base Percentage of .762 (that equates to an OB% of .238, by the way). He had nine extra base hits in those 483 ABs, including a Roy Thomaslike four doubles. I included Henry Mestnick of Youngstown on my sta›. Pitching for the 26-games-under-.500 Browns, he was a mere 7–6. However, he had a marvelous ¡.30 ERA and allowed a low 9.3 BR/9.

Northern League (C) Bettencourt was a playing manager. A very well-selected team, I would just have had

two third basemen, two catchers, and added a pitcher.

176

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Richard Rome Adrian Thompson James Grant Arthur Tourangeau Chet Cichosz Robert Decker Larry Bettencourt Wes Westrum Don Turck

SP SP

Hugh Orphan Morrie Martin

Team Wausau Duluth Grand Forks Wausau Wausau Superior Grand Forks Eau Claire Crookston

G 111 101 113 111 106 84 98 98 111

G 31 27

GS — —

Wausau Grand Forks

AB 442 415 468 474 388 356 355 349 391 CG 18 15

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 137 87 191 21 6 7 88 41 15 .310 .432 .374 129 85 185 22 8 6 64 30 22 .311 .446 .359 155 107 245 35 8 13 77 58 13 .331 .524 .408 151 73 178 25 1 0 46 21 28 .319 .376 .349 138 108 272 29 6 31 133 79 14 .356 .701 .468 126 61 180 14 14 4 68 27 4 .354 .506 .401 130 72 192 18 7 10 74 68 26 .366 .541 .473 115 69 176 32 4 7 70 46 18 .330 .504 .416 121 86 188 19 3 14 80 80 3 .309 .481 .430 SH 2 3

Glen Crawford, Duluth, had .326, .493, and .42¡ averages holding down the hot corner for the Dukes. He scored ¡09 runs and drove in 76. Wausau catcher William Peterman hit for .336, .468, and .383 averages while scoring 79 runs and driving in 85. Both of these fellows would have been “co” All-Stars at their positions on my roster. Turck played first, third, and outfield. Please note Cichosz’s terrific .70¡ SA. His num-

W 21 16

L 8 7

% .724 .696

IP 220 193

H 152 170

ER 90 44

SO 261 103

BB 147 58

ERA 3.68 2.05

BR/9 13.1 10.9

bers extrapolate out to ¡88 RBIs and ¡60 runs over a ¡50 game season. Frank Mottley of Duluth led the league in winning percentage with an .826 mark on a ¡9–4 record. He had an ERA of 3.¡8 and allowed ¡2.¡ BR/9. If I might be allowed another aside, Orphan was no hitter. He struck out 53 times in 86 ABs, 62% of the time. He also hit 2¡ batters.

Pioneer League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Tom Canavan Jack Radtke Mike Winseck Mervin Bensmiller Charles Henson Joe Egnatic Frank Baumholtz Cli›ord Barker Jack Hatchett

SP SP

Gerry Staley Ken Polivka

Team Ogden Boise Ogden Pocatello Salt Lake City Boise Ogden Boise Salt Lake City

Boise Ogden

G 39 32

GS — —

G 127 124 118 130 129 127 74 109 116 CG 23 18

AB 453 480 438 511 501 423 279 373 409 SH 1 1

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 145 78 194 22 9 3 53 65 13 .320 .428 .411 154 107 215 26 4 9 59 91 33 .321 .448 .436 119 67 185 26 14 4 66 51 14 .272 .422 .353 151 127 206 30 5 5 60 103 40 .295 .403 .414 170 92 233 26 8 7 86 61 6 .339 .465 .416 110 92 177 14 4 15 80 89 31 .260 .418 .396 79 36 104 12 5 1 42 29 16 .283 .373 .353 107 49 157 15 7 7 68 52 1 .287 .421 .376 123 91 155 10 5 4 44 82 12 .301 .379 .428 W 22 13

I was unimpressed with Canavan’s P&P numbers, so my first baseman was Stephen Andrade of Pocatello. He hit .295 and only had a .400 SA, but he did score 93 runs and drive in ¡00. Bensmiller actually split his time between short and second, but he still deserves the spot based on performance. I would replace Baumholtz with SLC Bee outfielder Bill Enos. Enos hit .29¡, was third with a .443 SA (no one in the league reached .500), and had ¡20 RBIs, tops in the Pioneer of ’4¡. Hatchett played first, third, outfield, and catcher. Poor Clayton Lambert (Ogden). He led the loop in winning percentage (.778 on a 2¡–6 record), ERA

L 8 11

% .733 .542

IP 261 216

H 253 184

ER 81 69

SO 110 148

BB 69 110

ERA 2.79 2.88

BR/9 11.4 12.5

(2.2¡), and BR/9 ratio (¡0.3, thereby robbing himself of any chance at Pioneer immortality). Jack Hawkins, head hurler for the Idaho Falls Russets, was a fine ¡6–¡0 for a sub–.500 team. He had a 2.6¡ ERA and allowed ¡2.¡ BR/9, primarily due to control problems (he walked ¡52 batters, 6.2 every nine innings; he only allowed 5.9 H/9). He also had 242 strike-outs in 224 IP. (As an aside, the Twin Falls Cowboys finished a horrid 39–90, .302, 4¡∂ games out of first and ¡9∂ out of fifth in a six team league. They hit .229, 59 points under the .268 averaged by the other five teams. They scored only 3.8 runs a game [and gave up 6], slugged .302, and had an OB% of .325.)

¡94¡

177

Virginia League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ben Drake William McCann Glen Adkins Noel Casbier William Booker Carl Shawver Royce Watson Vernon Mackie Francis Archer

SP SP

Toy Bowen Dick Tate

Team Newport News Petersburg Harrisonburg Salem-Roanoke Lynchburg Salem-Roanoke Lynchburg Salem-Roanoke Salem-Roanoke

G 113 87 105 110 117 119 119 77 104

AB 434 339 440 429 475 440 488 248 391

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 143 106 251 26 11 20 117 64 29 .329 .578 .417 94 64 130 18 3 4 43 37 8 .277 .383 .359 134 82 181 22 8 3 51 38 30 .305 .411 .372 140 95 230 25 1 21 81 61 4 .326 .536 .414 155 80 209 37 4 3 98 19 9 .326 .440 .357 141 70 232 35 15 9 69 35 16 .320 .527 .376 159 125 261 31 7 19 80 73 21 .326 .535 .414 88 53 136 13 4 9 66 40 5 .355 .548 .463 127 66 208 35 8 10 81 24 31 .325 .532 .376

G 29 33

GS 26 28

CG 18 19

SH 2 1

Salem-Roanoke Lynchburg

Mackie was a playing manager. Newport News second baseman Joe Rullo hit .305, slugged .504, led the league with 40 doubles, scored 85 runs and drove in 93. The infield as selected hits .3¡¡, slugs .482, and has a .357 OB% with 347 runs and 292 RBIs. Substituting Rullo for McCann changes those figures to .3¡6, .507, and .393 with 368 runs and 342 RBIs. I think that that is quite an improvement.

W 17 16

L 8 10

% .680 .615

IP 207 205

H 214 205

ER 91 96

SO 95 162

BB 61 114

ERA 3.96 4.21

BR/9 12.1 14.2

Archer played second, third, outfield, and caught. Don Black of Petersburg was ¡¡–5 and led the league in ERA with 2.35 (over a run lower the next best mark) and BR/9 ratio with 9.5, the only mark under ¡2.0. He never had a chance at making the team.

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Melvin Hicks Jerry Crosby Ed Bockman Frank Mabrey Roy Broome Ray Baker Stan Musial Frank Mancuso James Van Wey

Team Muskogee Muskogee Joplin Joplin Springfield Topeka Springfield St. Joseph/Carthage St. Joseph/Carthage

SP SP

Blix Donnelly Lloyd Hopkins

Springfield Springfield

G 39 22

G 130 130 136 136 137 133 87 134 132

GS — —

AB 493 538 517 507 540 519 348 468 492 CG 30 17

H 167 138 150 148 165 157 132 142 134 SH 6 0

R 97 87 106 121 107 121 100 92 62 W 28 17

TB 264 218 239 218 260 201 257 245 175 L 6 4

2B 28 32 24 27 34 21 27 33 18

% .824 .810

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 6 19 101 66 6 .339 .535 .417 6 10 65 54 14 .257 .405 .324 20 5 72 75 27 .290 .462 .380 12 7 76 51 34 .292 .430 .357 11 13 103 48 16 .306 .481 .362 4 5 54 111 20 .303 .387 .425 10 26 94 46 16 .379 .739 .452 8 18 97 85 4 .303 .524 .410 4 5 56 39 11 .272 .356 .326 IP 271 182

H 186 170

ER 68 49

SO 304 127

BB 100 55

ERA 2.26 2.42

BR/9 9.7 11.3

No HBP for hitters, so OB% is approximate.

There was a struggle of opposing world views at first. Mike Schemer of Fort Smith hit .342 with a .440 OB%. He also scored ¡25 runs, tops in the W.A. He had 36 sacrifice hits, more than double the next highest total in the W.A. However, his SA was only .390 and he had only 59 RBIs. It’s another U-Pik-Em. Third baseman Howie “Howitzer” Moss of Fort Smith hit .346 (56 points up on Bockman), slugged a manly .630 (¡68 points up), and had a .397 OB%. His 24 homers were tied for second, as were his ¡23 RBIs. Bockman fielded .939, but only got to a Sphinx-like 2.9 TC/G. Moss was down at .9¡2, but reached a better 3.3 TC/G. Whatever the fielding proves (or doesn’t), Moss’s hitting crushes Bockman.

The infield as selected hit .293, slugs .457 and has an OB% of .369 with 4¡¡ runs and 3¡4 RBIs. Switch Moss for Bockman, and the numbers change to .306, .493, and .372 with 395 runs and 365 RBIs. Outfielder Kay Eakin, yet another Fort Smith player, hit .328, slugged .495, and had an OB% of .44¡. He also scored ¡¡0 runs on only ¡08 hits in just 85 games (that’s an extrapolated total of ¡94 over ¡50 games). I would replace Broome with Eakin, which would change the outfield averages from .323/.5¡0/ .409 to .332/.5¡9/.437. Van Wey played outfield and caught. Harry Heslet of Joplin also played outfield and caught. His averages were .28¡, .452, and .328, and he had 87 RBIs.

178

Minor League All-Star Teams league. The Millers played .296 ball when he was not involved in the decision. The St. Joseph Ponies/Carthage Browns (the team moved on 3 June) allowed 7.2 runs a game.

If you’re going to go with an outfielder/catcher, why not go with the more productive one? Walter Brown, who toiled for the 42 games under .500 Salina Millers, was ¡2–7 with a .24¡ ERA and allowed ¡0.4 BR/9, both figures being second in the

Alabama State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gilbert Leatherwood Wilburn Downs Marion Johnson Luther Gunnells Forrest Austin Ray Knowles Bob Madison Ralph McAdams Malvern Morgan

SP SP

Joe Rivers William Whatling

Team Andalusia Tallassee Dothan Dothan Tallassee Tallassee Andalusia Andalusia Tallassee

Dothan Andalusia

G 51 118 95 118 118 119 98 108 108 G 35 29

AB 211 435 377 491 493 520 401 384 463

GS — —

H 67 125 117 194 177 199 135 141 172

CG 18 19

R 36 108 82 143 129 118 73 86 100

SH 0 2

Another hitter’s league, the Ala. State hit .295 and averaged ¡2.5 RPG. Tallassee, which averaged 7.5 runs a game, hit .3¡5 and had an OB% of .392, Greenville hit .304 and had a .390 OB% (the Lions, however, somehow contrived to score only 6.2 runs a game, while their sta› surrendered 7.¡). On the flip side, Brewton gave up 7.3 RPG. McAdams was a playing manager. I went with Dothan manager Holt “Cat” Milner at first. He hit .338, slugged .442, and had an OB% of .425. He scored 8¡ times and drove in ¡¡8 runs. Leatherwood is an odd selection. Even if you triple his output to make up for his only playing in 5¡ games, he still comes up ¡9 RBIs short of Milner. Morgan struck out only nine times all year (once every 5¡ at bats). He played first, third, short, and

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 85 12 0 2 33 16 3 .318 .403 .366 169 18 13 0 44 100 23 .287 .389 .423 153 25 4 1 56 58 21 .310 .406 .406 271 36 10 7 113 59 66 .395 .552 .466 315 26 8 32 149 55 8 .359 .639 .430 319 35 11 21 137 26 14 .383 .613 .416 191 22 8 6 63 38 14 .337 .476 .402 209 33 7 7 74 43 8 .367 .544 .431 256 42 9 8 113 34 4 .371 .553 .417

W 20 12

L 6 13

% .769 .480

IP 223 209

H 233 217

ER 93 89

SO 92 143

BB 77 86

ERA 3.75 3.83

BR/9 12.7 13.2

was ¡–0 in two games as a pitcher. Hargrove Davis, who played for Troy/Tuskegee, played first, second, outfield, and caught. He hit .340 and slugged .582, hit 23 homers, drove in ¡05 runs, and scored ¡00 times. I would have had matching handymen on my squad. You know what’s coming: Cyril Moore, who pitched for Tallassee, led the league in ERA with a 2.84 figure and in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.4. He was ¡7–8. Not on the squad. His moundmate Francis Mannheim was ¡7–7 with a 3.26 ERA and led the loop with ¡84 Ks. Finally, Charles Richards was ¡5–9 for the 48–7¡ Dodgers/Airmen, which means they played .347 when he was not involved in the decision. He won 3¡% of his team’s games, and had an ERA of 3.¡3, second best in the league (as was his ¡2.¡ BR/9 ratio).

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Richard Connell Oscar McClure Thad Cash Alfred Livingston Lew Flick Joseph Molina Harold Martin Harold Michel Andy Seminick

SP SP

Lee Sherrill James Mooney

Team Johnson City Greeneville/Bristol Elizabethton Newport Elizabethton Johnson City Greeneville Johnson City Elizabethton

Bristol Johnson City

G 23 9

G 114 119 118 116 117 121 117 117 112 GS — —

AB 482 488 492 457 502 462 462 420 399 CG 19 7

H 184 151 190 163 210 162 149 164 105 SH 3 1

This was an exceptionally well-selected team. I might add an outfielder and a pitcher or two, but would delete not a soul.

R 100 103 99 92 127 100 109 115 81 W 18 8

TB 292 202 265 214 288 229 267 251 193 L 4 2

2B 35 30 37 26 37 31 37 31 20

% .818 .800

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 20 11 111 28 17 .382 .606 .420 9 1 64 81 6 .309 .414 .410 13 4 110 32 10 .386 .539 .427 8 3 83 41 16 .357 .468 .412 13 5 116 45 20 .418 .574 .466 9 6 89 66 9 .351 .496 .434 12 19 87 48 30 .323 .578 .392 4 16 116 74 20 .390 .598 .489 10 16 86 36 8 .263 .484 .338 IP 190 70

H 163 69

ER 45 19

SO 136 64

BB 24 4

ERA 2.13 2.44

BR/9 9.0 9.4

Michel managed part of the season. Daniel Drew played for the Newport Canners and hit a fine .356. He slugged .529 and had a .4¡9 OB%,

¡94¡

179

The Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox hit a tremendous .323 on the year with a .389 OB%. They averaged 7.5 runs a game. On the other side of the coin, the Greeneville Burley Cubs struck out 6.¡ times a game and gave up 7.2 runs. The Kingsport Cherokees scored 5.3 RPG and gave up 7.6, which would explain why they went 37–80, .3¡6.

along with scoring 86 runs and driving in ¡04. Seminick played outfield, second, and caught. 37 year old John “Red” Marion, Newport manager, brother of Marty, and former outfielder, was ¡6–8 with a 3.¡3 ERA. Hank Dorin, Elizabethton, was ¡9–7, and his 4.04 ERA was eighth in the ’4¡ Appy. Please note that Mooney walked only .5 batters every nine innings.

Bi-State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bernardo Fernandez Daniel Reynolds Richard Kalal Walter “Teapot” Frye Tom Burnette Cecil Payne Albert Behrends J.B. Ruark Ned Butcher

SP SP

Roy Boles George Bortz

Team L-S-D Martinsville Danville-Schoolfield Martinsville Martinsville L-S-D Martinsville Sanford Sanford

Mt. Airy Sanford

G 20 29

GS — —

G 86 109 114 112 107 100 112 107 56

CG 11 16

AB 335 460 456 438 437 412 452 386 167

SH 0 1

H 116 137 148 122 146 147 171 111 42

W 10 13

R 71 111 119 61 112 89 115 65 22

L 4 12

TB 180 177 253 155 278 208 276 192 66

% .714 .520

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 20 1 14 87 — 2 .346 .537 — 26 7 0 43 — 3 .298 .385 — 30 12 17 74 — 27 .325 .555 — 21 3 2 52 — 6 .279 .354 — 35 5 29 114 — 34 .334 .636 — 33 5 6 75 — 1 .357 .505 — 37 1 22 96 — 0 .378 .611 — 29 2 16 82 — 1 .288 .497 — 14 2 2 20 — 2 .251 .395 — IP 124 192

H 106 175

ER — —

SO 149 145

BB 40 93

ERA — —

BR/9 10.7 12.8

Walks and HBP not available for hitters, so no OB% figures possible. ER not compiled, so no ERAs either. L-S-D is Leaksville-Spray-Draper.

He hit 20 homers in just 253 at-bats, and had 70 RBIs in 74 games (he was also 3–¡ as a pitcher). Butcher played second, third, and pitched a bit. Sanford Spinner pitcher Dave Odom went ¡6–9, allowing ¡¡.8 BR/9. L-S-D twirler Charlie Cuellar was ¡6–¡¡ and allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9, the second best mark in the league.

I would have selected Martinsville Manufacturer manager George Ferrell for the third base spot. He hit over .350 and had a .575 SA. He tied for the league lead with ¡¡4 RBIs, led with 4¡ doubles, and scored 86 runs. I would also have added his brother Wes, manager/outfielder for L-S-D to the outfield crew. Wes hit .332 and led in SA, .6364 to the .636¡ of Burnette.

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Doyt “Phil” Morris Irv Dickens Bill Upchurch W.E. “Pete” Stuart Earl Carnahan Dowd Averette Harry “Jack” Clifton Charlie Wilcox Dick Hoyle

SP SP

Peter Kunis Joe Talley

Team Wilson Wilson Kinston Wilson Wilson New Bern Goldsboro Williamston Wilson

Williamston Wilson

G 30 28

G 112 109 102 117 117 106 94 67 98 GS — —

AB 465 471 387 446 476 390 373 241 334 CG 25 22

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 145 70 183 28 5 0 64 33 10 .312 .394 .361 136 114 188 26 10 2 61 56 28 .289 .399 .368 120 54 160 20 1 6 57 33 2 .310 .413 .367 114 78 141 22 2 0 56 61 12 .256 .316 .350 176 81 263 38 11 9 94 37 14 .370 .553 .419 122 76 208 29 3 17 99 76 11 .313 .533 .426 134 65 181 23 9 2 58 33 8 .359 .485 .413 75 27 101 12 4 2 33 12 2 .311 .419 .349 113 70 161 26 2 6 54 81 10 .338 .482 .467 SH 2 6

The Wilson Tobs played amazing .744 ball, finishing an equally amazing 23∂ games ahead of the second place team. They scored at a 6.4 RPG clip, amassing 92 runs more than the next highest scoring team, and allowed only 3.7 RPG, ¡47 fewer than any

W 17 21

L 8 3

% .680 .875

IP 251 224

H 239 173

ER 57 48

SO 154 63

BB 42 80

ERA 2.04 1.93

BR/9 10.2 10.4

other C.P.L. team. Their .298 BA was 25 points up on the number two hitting squad, and their .4¡7 SA was the only one above .400. (Last place Kinston was outscored by 288 runs on the year, surrendering 7.5 while scoring 5 RPG.)

180

Minor League All-Star Teams boro. T.T. hit .3¡9 and scored 94 runs (third in the league) with 85 RBIs (ninth). McHenry hit .308 and was fifth with ¡4 homers and third with 99 RBIs. I would — no, must — also mention a very short-time (25 games) outfielder, New Bern’s inimitable Worlise Knowles. Worlise did some serious damage in those 25 games: .426 BA, .822 SA, .500 OB% with 26 runs, 3¡ RBIs, and ten home runs in just ¡0¡ atbats. Utility man Hoyle played third and outfield. I would have added a second utility man, Peter Kunis of Williamston. Pete hit .308, was second in SA with a .534 mark, second with ¡05 RBIs, tied for third with 93 runs, and led the league by a wide margin with 26 home runs. He played second and short (and how unusual was it for a middle infielder to lead a league in homers?). There are no problems at all with the two man sta›; I just would have named four pitchers. John “Monk” Webb was 23–4 and had a 2.27 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.2 (actually, ¡0.23 to Kunis’s ¡0.¡8). Wilson manager Bill Herring was ¡6–3 with an ERA of 2.25 and allowed ¡0.7 BR/9. The “Big Three” of Wilson went 60–¡0 (.857) with a 2.¡5 ERA and allowed a measly ¡0.4 BR/9. All of those marks were simply superlative. (Their four man rotation went 72–¡6 [.8¡8] with a 2.45 ERA and a ¡0.9 BR/9 ratio.) How good was Wilson? Outfielder Earl Carnahan (he of the .370 BA) pitched in four games, had three CGs and went 3–0, walking only four batters in 33 innings (¡.¡ BB/9) and allowed only five runs (¡.36 per 9 IP).

First base was not a Tob strongpoint, despite the selection of Morris. New Bern Bear Lyle Thompson hit .333 with a .497 SA, and was second with an OB% of .447, the latter two far superior to Morris’s marks. Thompson hit only eight homers, but that was infinity more than Morris’s absolutely nothin’, and his ¡¡¡ RBIs led the loop (and were 57 more than Doyt could muster on the league’s most productive team). A Greenville Greenie seems to have been wrongfully snubbed at the third base spot. Harry Jenkins was third in homers with ¡6 and sixth in RBIs with 93. He was ninth in batting at .322 and third in slugging at .527. Also, Upchurch “fielded” a Leonard Plinth Garnell bad .862, a mark usually found in slow-pitch soft ball territory. At short, Goldsboro Goldbug John Fessler hit .279 with a .360 SA and scored 88 runs, fielding a merely poor .9¡6. He also led the league with 37 steals, one of only sixteen players to reach double figures in that category in the ’4¡ CPL. So, I disagreed with three of the four scribe-selected infield All-Stars. The Scribe Squad hit .29¡, slugged .380, had a .362 OB%, and scored 3¡6 runs while driving in 238. My Thompson/Dickens/Jenkins/Fessler crew, on the other hand, hit .309, slugged .443, and had an OB% of .392 with 340 runs and 308 RBIs. It wasn’t even close. I would here mention two outfielders who were a skosh behind the celestial trio, Thad Treadway of Wilson and Arthur “Cowboy” McHenry, who played for and managed both Kinston and Golds-

Eastern Shore League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Walter Mahoney William Morrison Alvin Kaiser Hal Gruber Tommy Koval Charles Price Art Flesland James McDu‡e Walter Forwood

SP SP

Oliver Holmes Bill Boland

Team Salisbury Cambridge Cambridge Milford Cambridge Milford Milford Centreville Federalsburg

Easton Milford

G 29 31

G 100 75 100 92 105 94 110 91 99 GS — —

AB 416 286 388 325 371 365 474 317 387 CG 13 20

H 112 72 105 100 121 115 157 84 131 SH 6 3

Milford hit .289 and slugged .39¡. The rest of the league hit .24¡ and slugged .3¡5. Federalsburg was the worst hitting team in baseball, hitting .220 with a .275 SA and a puny .3¡5 OB% and scoring only 3.¡ runs a game. Gruber was a playing manager. Mahoney was the weakest hitting first base All-

R 50 43 51 57 94 66 80 49 44

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 129 9 4 0 37 37 6 .269 .310 .341 83 7 2 0 22 35 7 .252 .290 .337 141 15 3 5 52 29 11 .271 .363 .321 129 11 3 4 48 42 5 .308 .397 .389 209 22 9 16 66 74 40 .326 .563 .441 173 20 7 8 66 35 10 .315 .474 .378 189 18 4 2 31 36 9 .331 .399 .388 106 9 2 3 35 34 1 .265 .334 .351 175 23 6 3 66 37 8 .339 .452 .398

W 13 20

L 7 5

% .650 .800

IP 185 205

H 149 167

ER 47 49

SO 139 187

BB 63 60

ERA 2.29 2.15

BR/9 10.5 10.1

Star of the year. The Eastern Shore was not exactly flooded with great (or even good) hitters, but we can do better. John Greenwald of Easton had .270/.37¡/ .353 averages, and his 65 RBIs were fourth in the league as were his 66 runs. At third, Hal Harrigan of Milford played in only 3¡ games but finished ¡3th in RBIs with 47 and third

¡94¡ in home runs with 9. He hit .392, slugged .692, and had a .435 OB%. I would choose him despite those 3¡ games. The selected infield hit .275 and slugged .34¡ with an OB% of .346. That is just plain poor. I would put two more Milfordians in the outfield, one of them, like Harrigan, a short-timer. Nicholas Soloman was in only 49 games, yet he finished seventh in the league with 55 RBIs. He hit .37¡, slugged .54¡, and had an OB% of .446. Gordon McKinnon hit .344, slugged .474, and had a .424 OB%, first, second (.47405 to Price’s .47397, a close-as-they-come eight one hundred thousandths of a percentage point advantage), and second among qualifiers. His 98 runs were first, his ¡0 homers second, and his 60

181

RBIs tied for sixth. Koval’s real name was Kovalauskas. At catcher, Milford’s Francis Gunning was fourth in batting at .329 and fourth in slugging at .438. His 67 RBIs were the best in the league, a rare instance of a catcher leading the league in that category. “Hand Me My” Forwood played second and outfield. Joe Ostrowski of Centreville led the Eastern Shore in ERA with a good ¡.7¡ figure and in BR/9 allowed with an excellent 8.8 mark, one of the year’s best. He was ¡0–4. Rudy “Roundhouse” Rundus of Cambridge was ¡7–¡3 and second in both ERA (¡.80) and BR/9 (9.5). They would have been my first and third choices, with Boland second and Holmes fourth.

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Phil Wells Fred Barocco John Rigdon William Spears Glenn Dale Murray Woody Fair Bob Stoner Walter Novick Fred Chumley

SP SP

Alfred Hardouin Tom Finger

Team Opelousas New Iberia Alexandria Opelousas Rayne/Opelousas New Iberia Lafayette New Iberia Lake Charles

Port Arthur Lafayette

G 31 33

G 56 130 131 130 124 131 113 108 89 GS — —

AB 209 443 504 441 479 502 435 399 313

H R TB 2B 58 32 72 7 165 116 240 47 153 89 205 31 126 51 148 18 148 76 207 26 153 89 238 29 144 68 196 19 106 65 137 15 83 43 128 20

3B HR RBI BB 2 1 30 17 11 2 77 124 6 3 76 72 2 0 49 66 9 5 73 45 8 13 113 65 6 7 67 43 5 2 74 60 5 5 40 4

CG — —

SH — —

IP 220 260

Only twelve players hit even as many as five home runs in the ’4¡ Evangeline. David Sarver was Port Arthur’s first baseman, and he was mine also. His averages were .27¡, .360, and .383. Neither they nor his 4¡ RBIs were anything to write home about, but he did score 86 runs. At short, Sarver’s fellow Tarpon Robert Ludwig hit .275 with no power, but he did have 7¡ runs and 73 RBIs, the latter being the number seven total in the league. Please note that Barocco led the league in BA, SA, OB% (note especially that terrific .5¡¡, the only mark in the league over .394), doubles, runs, and steals. Alexandria outfielder Adolph Wedding hit .3¡9, was sixth with a .424 SA, and tied for fifth with a .382 OB%. His 89 runs were tied for fourth and his 83 RBIs third. Gene Fodge of Lake Charles hit .3¡4, was fifth with a .430 SA, his 8¡ runs were tenth, and his 90 RBIs were second. Chumley played first, second, and the outfield.

W 21 20

L 5 8

% .808 .714

H 185 220

ER 65 83

SB 5 28 13 10 6 13 7 11 0

SO 90 172

BA .278 .372 .304 .286 .309 .305 .331 .266 .265 BB 102 82

SL OB% .344 .338 .542 .511 .407 .394 .336 .382 .432 .368 .474 .386 .451 .392 .343 .364 .409 .274 ERA 2.66 2.87

BR/9 11.9 10.8

The were three pitchers I would have selected before the two who won the honor of Evangeline AllStar-hoodom. The first would have been Edward Puck of New Iberia. The plucky Puck was ¡7–3 (league best .850 winning percentage) and had a fine ¡.77 ERA and a league-leading 9.7 BR/9 ratio. Joe Winfield of Port Arthur was ¡4–7, led in ERA (¡.65) and was second in BR/9 ratio (¡0.7). Kennon Black, stopper of the Lake Charles Skippers, was 20–¡¡ for a sub .500 team and sported a very good ¡.86 ERA. Finger, by the way, hit .324 with ¡7 RBIs. The Rayne Rice Birds withdrew from the league on 23 July. They were 20–69, .225 and were allowing 6.8 runs per game when they disappeared like the morning mists on the desert shores of Namibia. The eighteen pitchers who threw “LT45” for the Rice Birds had an 8.¡9 ERA in a collective ¡¡¡ innings. Harold Rogers, whose 99 innings were the second most of any Rayne pitcher, was 0–¡3 with an 8.36 ERA and allowed ¡9.6 BR/9.

Florida East Coast League (D) Cocoa (48–9¡) fielded, as team, a nineteenth century-like .9¡4 with 455 errors (31 ⁄4 a game). The second basemen (there were six who tried their hand at

the position for the Fliers) committed ¡¡¡ errors and fielded .834. First baseman Harry Hughes of West Palm Beach

182

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Hughes Edmund Arthur Charles H. Henderson William Miller William “Para” Chute Buster Kinnard Jack Troupe Joe Mur› “Truck” Melvin

SP SP

Gibbs Miller Gene Beardon

Team West Palm Beach Miami Beach West Palm Beach Miami Beach West Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale Miami Fort Pierce West Palm Beach G 40 30

Fort Lauderdale Miami Beach

G 137 83 137 111 133 141 137 123 132

GS — —

AB 472 308 529 409 520 573 526 423 462

CG 25 21

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 160 90 221 26 10 5 97 107 25 .339 .468 .462 81 46 98 11 3 0 28 26 11 .263 .318 .324 156 82 213 26 5 5 76 58 41 .295 .403 .366 108 83 132 18 2 0 39 76 7 .264 .323 .382 151 89 207 23 3 9 73 38 32 .290 .398 .349 210 105 324 37 13 17 123 42 20 .366 .565 .414 169 92 262 20 14 15 105 64 20 .321 .498 .402 125 86 234 32 7 21 107 87 6 .296 .553 .420 136 71 182 13 12 3 58 37 34 .294 .394 .360

SH — —

and outfielder Buster Kinnard of Fort Lauderdale were playing managers (Kinnard for only part of the season). Henderson “fielded” an abominable .848 and had the range of the third base bag he was supposed to be the guardian of. Jim Caldwell of Cocoa fielded .92¡ with a TC/G ratio of 3.4. He hit .264 (2.3 TC/G). Jack Howard, center fielder for the Miami Beach Flamingos, hit .294 with a .400 SA. He drove in 75 runs and scored ¡06. I would choose him over Chute for engraving on the F.E.C.L. Scroll of Honor. Melvin was a catcher. My utility man was Gene

W 23 17

L 12 7

% .657 .708

IP 300 214

H 260 202

ER 74 57

SO 142 91

BB 63 58

ERA 2.22 2.40

BR/9 10.1 11.0

Beardon of Miami Beach. He hit .276 with 65 RBIs in ¡03 games. Beardon the pitcher would not have been of my first two pitching picks. “Chesty” Chet Covington was 22–7 for Fort Pierce. He led in ERA at ¡.90 and was second in BR/9 ratio at 9.9 and in strike-outs with ¡97. Milt Rosenstein (Miami Beach) was 20–¡2, 2.63. He allowed the fewest BR/9, 9.6, and struck out 238 batters.

Florida State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jerry Tiemann Mike Conroy Maurice Lee J.C. Williams Paul Varner John Danyo Clarence Groat Russell Go› Erby Carroll

Team St. Augustine Leesburg Orlando Sanford/Orlando St. Augustine DeLand Leesburg St. Augustine Daytona Beach

SP SP

Charles Kane Edward Harper

St. Augustine DeLand

G 29 33

G 107 106 122 104 126 122 129 120 123 GS — —

AB 394 414 448 373 437 488 471 383 458

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 130 55 167 23 7 0 63 33 8 .330 .424 .389 150 83 187 18 8 1 50 64 23 .362 .452 .450 110 62 145 13 8 2 66 44 14 .246 .324 .314 105 52 154 33 5 2 51 47 11 .282 .413 .365 145 85 189 13 5 1 66 66 30 .332 .432 .424 149 94 207 21 8 7 88 24 16 .305 .424 .343 146 126 213 23 16 4 58 125 22 .310 .452 .457 94 38 115 14 2 1 51 52 2 .245 .300 .339 146 65 187 30 1 3 73 18 6 .319 .408 .347

CG 25 26

SH — —

Tiemann was a playing manager. His Saints won the pennant, but lost the playo›s. The enchantingly forenamed Faulene Kirkland played third for Ocala and Gainesville. His .296, .436, .387 averages cast a shroud of insignificance over Lee’s puny e›orts. He was tied for third with 82 RBIs and led the circuit with eleven home runs. The league’s slugging leader was outfielder John Lavell of Orlando. He hit .3¡9 and had a .46¡ SA, and also led with 94 RBIs. I probably would have had him on my squad in place of Danyo.

W 22 21

L 4 9

% .846 .700

IP 238 250

H 177 251

ER 62 85

SO 181 129

BB 114 85

ERA 2.34 3.06

BR/9 11.1 12.2

I felt that St. Augustine’s catcher Bernard Lake had a better season than did Go›, but it would have been hard not to. Lake hit for .25¡, .349, .358 averages and scored 56 runs while driving in 59. Carroll played outfield and caught. Wallace McCormick joins the list of pitching untouchables by leading his league in ERA and BR/9 ratio, poor fellow. He was ¡9–8 for St. Augustine with ¡.67/¡0.¡ marks. Fred Swindells of Orlando was 23–6 with a 2.00 ERA and allowed ¡0.2 BR/9.

Georgia-Florida League (D) Leitz was a playing manager. Despite Leach’s good stats, I had Moultrie manager

Adolph “Buzz” Arlitt at first. Arlitt hit .346, slugged .473, and had an OB% of .42¡, all three of which were

¡94¡ Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Russell Leach Ed Kazak Pete Castiglione John Sullivan Roland LeBlanc Lou Roede Marion Cibrowski Alber Leitz Francis McVay

SP SP

Melvin Gordon Earl McGowin

Team Albany Albany Moultrie Thomasville Albany Thomasville Valdosta Waycross Thomasville

G 136 135 92 136 116 130 129 128 127

AB 565 584 403 567 488 483 514 492 529

H 184 221 113 183 155 137 166 155 170

R 128 133 68 124 91 86 103 69 82

G 27 31

GS — —

CG 18 26

SH — —

W 16 14

Valdosta Waycross

183 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 239 28 9 3 117 78 18 .326 .423 .408 290 45 9 2 113 59 5 .378 .497 .441 141 20 4 0 42 26 1 .280 .350 .326 219 21 6 1 56 72 23 .323 .386 .400 212 29 8 4 114 38 10 .318 .434 .368 220 25 14 10 81 94 10 .284 .455 .400 213 29 6 2 82 49 31 .323 .414 .386 202 25 5 4 98 40 4 .315 .411 .367 222 29 10 1 87 37 9 .321 .420 .368 L 7 14

% .696 .500

IP 177 251

H 148 211

ER 39 76

SO 103 180

BB 31 75

ERA 1.98 2.73

BR/9 9.3 10.5

plate appearances, the alternate trio outscored the trumpeted threesome with 29¡ runs and drove in only ¡5 fewer runs. I would have named another playing manager as co-catcher. Stuart Ho›reth of Valdosta hit .338 with a SA of .43¡ and a .400 OB%. He scored 7¡ runs and drove in 92. McVay only played second. There was no true handyman in the ’4¡ Ga-Fla League. Kip Sauerbrun, who pitched for Moultrie and Thomasville (and managed at the latter), was a nondescript 8–5 for the season. He did, however, lead in ERA with an outstanding ¡.40 mark and allowed the fewest BR/9, 9.¡. Charles Samaklis of Valdosta was 20–6 with a 2.¡5 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.9. Robert Hill of 5¡–8¡ Cordele deserves mention. He was ¡8–¡2 for this sub-.400 squad, and his 3.45 ERA was complied for a .927-fielding amalgamation which only handled 3.7 chances cleanly for every error — and there were 372 of the latter. The Reds played at a .324 clip when he was not the pitcher of record, and complied an ERA of approximately 4.88 (approximate because one pitcher was 0–2 for them but also lost a game for Thomasville, and a few innings were pitched by players who had no decisions and who were therefore not recorded). The rest of the sta› allowed ¡5.5 BR/9 to his ¡2.2.

higher than the numbers posted by Leach. Arlitt scored ¡02 runs and drove in 92 in 58 fewer PAs than Leach, and did it for a team which scored 250 fewer runs. Valdosta third baseman Steve Summerhill had .303/.4¡8/.336 averages, nothing exceptional, but all better than Castiglione’s. He scored 84 runs and drove in 63. I selected an entirely di›erent outfield. Mine consisted of Joe Bob Mitchell of Cordele, Walt Brickner of Moultrie, and Pat Riley of Americus. Joe Bob only played in 85 games, but still led the league with ¡2 home runs. He hit .354, and his .566 SA was the only one above .500 posted in the league, regardless of the number of plate appearances (Kazak led the qualifiers with his .497). If Joe Bob had gone 0–40, he still would have led in SA with a .499 mark. Likewise, his .456 OB% was the best mark in the loop. Brickner hit .337, his .457 SA was third among qualifiers, as was his .430 OB%. He scored 95 runs. Finally, Riley hit .32¡, slugged .473 (second among qualifiers), and had an OB% of .42¡ (fourth). He scored ¡23 runs and had 95 RBIs. The selected outfield hit .308, slugged .434, had a .385 OB%, and scored 280 runs while driving in 277. The three selected by me hit .335, slugged .488, and had an OB% of .432. And, despite having ¡79 fewer

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Murphy Malattia Joe Reese Vincent “Moon” Mullen Wallace Noon Norman Litzinger Eddie Urbon Al Cuozzo Paul Kluk Chet Wilburn

SP SP

Arnold Heft Carl Gaiser

Team Bowling Green Fulton Fulton Jackson Mayfield Owensboro Jackson Owensboro Hopkinsville

Owensboro Jackson

G 42 32

GS — —

G 123 101 127 126 126 52 97 98 84 CG 23 26

AB 421 437 457 540 542 202 416 398 219

H 149 144 147 168 188 69 145 130 68

R 113 73 113 121 130 60 74 76 38

TB 257 167 211 247 311 146 257 214 95

SH — —

W 22 26

L 14 5

% .611 .839

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 32 8 20 104 118 26 .354 .610 .506 19 2 0 49 41 10 .330 .382 .387 37 3 7 67 139 11 .322 .462 .485 41 7 8 65 48 7 .311 .457 .372 33 12 22 103 47 35 .347 .574 .401 14 0 21 59 40 7 .342 .723 .453 27 8 23 99 19 9 .349 .618 .380 20 8 16 85 20 6 .327 .538 .363 21 0 2 43 39 3 .311 .434 .415 IP 283 275

H 205 297

ER 76 95

SO 264 205

BB 136 83

ERA 2.42 3.11

BR/9 11.0 12.4

184

Minor League All-Star Teams

Mullen and Wilburn were playing managers. Malattia was the best full-season (or even half season, for that matter) first baseman in the league. There is, however, a first baseman who was only in 20 games who’s stats cry out for recognition. Newt Parker of Jackson hit .405, had an OB% of .500, and slugged .¡¡49 in those 20 games. He scored 30 runs and had 37 RBIs, and, in only 74 ABs, hit ¡6 home runs. I know that it is absurd to project a full season from such a small sample, but I did it anyways. If Newt had continued to punish the Kitty league at the same rate over the Generals full ¡26 game season, he would have accrued ¡90 runs and 233 RBIs and he would have hit ¡0¡ home runs. An escape into fantasy? Yes, but totally cool beans nonetheless. “High” Noon fielded only .90¡ and had a very poor 4.4 TC/G rating. Fulton shortstop Dave Derrick fielded .924 with an excellent 6.2 TC/G ratio. He hit .293, had a .397 OB%, and had 62 RBIs. Does his fielding cancel out Noon’s hitting? I don’t know, but I wanted to o›er evidence for the reader to decide which shortstop deserved the title “All-Star.” I added a fourth outfielder to my crew, Ray Coleman of Mayfield. Coleman hit .346 with a .4¡5 OB%, hit a league-high 52 doubles, and drove in ¡22 runs, another league topper. Wilburn played all around the infield and, in 2¡ games as a pitcher, was ¡–4, 4.82. I would have gone with first baseman/outfielder Mervin Merkle of Jackson. Merkle’s averages were .333, .603, and .447, eighth, third, and third, respectively. He led the Kitty with 30 home runs, scored ¡¡6 times, and had ¡00 RBIs.

Please note Malattia’s .506 OB%. The pitching stats revealed a plethora of worthy choices, Heft and Gaiser being numbered among them. There were no fewer than six 200 K pitchers (in fact, Paducah batters struck out a 2¡st century ¡070 times, fully 8.4 whi›s a game). Roy Lee of Hopkinsville stood only ¡0–7, but was third in ERA at 2.45 and led in BR/9 ratio with a very good 9.5 figure. Two Union City pitchers stood out on a sub-.500 team, claiming 53% of the teams 62 wins. John Herr was ¡7–¡0 with a 2.60 ERA and a BR/9 allowance of ¡¡.7. He had 22¡ strike-outs in 239 innings. Don Bakkelund was ¡6–¡3, had a leaguebest ERA of 2.¡2, and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9. He had 205 Ks in 238 IP. Ellis Kinder of Jackson was ¡¡–6 with a 2.88 ERA and was second in BR/9 allowed at 9.6. He had ¡79 Ks in just ¡53 IP. His fellow General Jess Webb was an impressive 25–6, was ninth in ERA at 3.05, allowed ¡¡.6 BR/9, and struck out 248 batters in 260 innings. The “Big Four” (remember when sta›s had a four man rotation?) of the Generals went 73–27 (.730) and had a good 3.43 ERA, allowing ¡2.5 BR/9 (mostly because starter four, Charlie Graves, who had 243 Ks in 2¡2 innings, walked ¡62 batters). With 875 strike-outs in 900 innings, this sta› was blowing hitters away at an almost record pace. I can be sure of only 954 strike-outs in ¡0¡8 innings, but there is a possibility that the sta› reached ¡000 Ks. A pitcher who threw for both Jackson and Mayfield had ¡5¡ Ks in ¡5¡ IP and almost certainly accounted for Jackson’s three missing wins and several of the Generals’ six missing losses.

Mountain State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Tennis Mounts Leon Tioga Paul Atwater Harrison Wickel Dick Williams Edison Guinther Oliver Bass Charley Carman Cli› Burkhart

Team Logan Welch Williamson Williamson Bluefield Ashland Bluefield Will’mson/Ashland Williamson

SP SP

Tom Triner Joe Pennington

Welch Logan

G 33 28

GS 25 28

G 128 126 120 127 118 121 104 128 53

AB 538 520 501 500 423 461 415 478 143

H 179 154 171 178 140 161 134 136 37

R 90 124 109 116 104 121 78 63 15

CG 24 23

SH 3 3

W 17 21

L 10 6

A well-selected team for the most part, I would change one outfielder, add another catcher, have two utility men (neither of whom was selected by the scribes), and add a pitcher. Atwater, Wickel, and Carman were playing managers, Carmen for his time at Ashland.

TB 295 210 241 303 220 245 219 166 44

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 36 4 24 129 28 2 .333 .548 .369 20 3 10 52 63 14 .296 .404 .373 30 8 8 96 56 23 .341 .481 .412 53 6 20 147 70 12 .356 .606 .441 27 7 13 80 92 9 .331 .520 .450 28 13 10 75 99 85 .349 .531 .473 29 4 16 93 26 16 .323 .528 .369 19 1 3 77 72 2 .285 .347 .382 3 2 0 16 6 3 .259 .308 .298

% .630 .778

IP 230 239

H 244 183

ER 74 68

SO 175 229

BB 74 81

ERA 2.90 2.56

BR/9 12.6 10.2

Huntington Aces ace outfielder Don Smith hit .406 and also led with a .474 OB%. He stole 6¡ bases and scored 28% of his team’s runs (¡07). Without him, Huntington’s BA drops from .282 to .267. My catching choice was Welch manager Fred

¡94¡

185

¡2.4 BR/9, while hitting .342 with a .550 SA. He had four home runs and drove in 27 runs. Personally, my utility selection was third baseman/outfielder/ catcher Nelson Burbrink of Ashland. He hit .3¡5, had a .389 OB%, scored 72 runs and drove in 77. I would have had two handymen: W. Mounts and Burbrink. Harry Potts of Logan went ¡7–8 with a 2.94 ERA and was second to Pennington in BR/9 allowed at ¡0.5.

Neisler. He hit.326, slugged .404, and had 64 RBIs in ¡45 fewer PAs than Carman. Burkhart, despite his 8–5 pitching record, was a poor utility choice. He played “LT¡0” at any other position and was a poor hitter besides. If you wanted a part-time pitcher to be your utility man, you would have been much better served by selecting Willis Mounts (three Mounts boys played for Logan—Tennis, Willis, and Lawrence). He was ¡5–9 and allowed

North Carolina State League (D) Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Woodrow Traylor Fletcher Heath Harold Harrigan Glenn Vaughn Dan Amaral Norman Small William Carrier James “I’m So” Gladd Vincent Russello

Kannapolis 87 345 112 94 200 25 Kannapolis 92 349 106 59 150 26 Salisbury 73 281 101 72 197 10 Kannapolis 100 445 131 92 176 35 Thomasville 87 318 108 70 172 27 Mooresville 95 386 128 75 220 22 Kannapolis 88 350 117 73 193 22 Salisbury 101 363 90 45 140 23 Moores.-Concord 97 385 107 68 154 23

G AB

SP SP

James White Richard Robinson

Kannapolis Mooresville

G 27 23

GS — —

CG 21 20

H

SH — —

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB

W 20 16

L 5 5

% .800 .762

6 4 4 5 5 8 6 3 2

17 3 26 0 9 18 14 7 7

IP 219 195

H 172 171

BA

SL OB%

87 51 10 .325 .580 67 60 8 .304 .430 74 38 18 .359 .701 68 35 15 .294 .396 57 46 17 .340 .541 73 31 3 .332 .570 88 50 7 .334 .551 48 28 4 .248 .386 45 35 4 .278 .400 ER 68 55

SO 192 88

BB 95 47

ERA 2.79 2.54

.430 .417 .441 .349 .434 .381 .422 .309 .344 BR/9 11.1 10.2

Howard DeMartini of Salisbury was ¡7–7 with a 2.3¡ ERA and led the loop in BR/9 allowed with a 9.6 figure. Reid Gowan of Landis was 9–6, 2.57, with a second place BR/9 ratio of 9.9. What’s the big deal about a 9–6, you ask? Well, Landis was a wretched 29–7¡, and Gowan won 3¡% of their games. When he was not the pitcher of record, Landis struggled to a .235 winning percentage (or gamboled to a .765 losing percentage, if you look at it from another angle). Gowan, by the way, hit .368. (As an aside, Kannapolis won a terrific 70% of its games, Landis, as mentioned above, was 29–7¡, and Cooleemee wound up an even worse 28–72, 42 games out of first in a ¡00 game season.)

Another well selected team, I would only change catchers, have a di›erent utility man, and add two pitchers. Marvin Watts, Mooresville catcher, had .272/.438/ .357 averages, all clearly superior to Gladd. He also scored ¡5 more runs and had ¡7 more RBIs in exactly the same number of plate appearances. Russello played outfield, caught, and pitched a bit. Ulmont “Have Mercy” Baker, Concord manager, played second and third and also pitched a bit. The main di›erence between the two men is at the plate. Baker hit .333, fifth in the N.C.S.L., slugged .50¡, and had an OB% of .396. He drove in 78 runs, and finished third in that department.

Northeast Arkansas League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Oscar Humphries Gus Albright George Kell Bill Adams Charles Pittman John Snyder Boris Martin John Joyce Sam Shotwell

Team Batesville Paragould Newport Batesville Batesville Newport Paragould Batesville Batesville

Carl Keeter Clarence “Hooks” Lott

G 42 51 117 97 94 118 75 109 77

Newport Paragould

G 37 24

AB 175 186 462 374 334 405 261 424 233 GS — —

H 47 58 143 93 80 107 91 120 65 CG 25 15

R 32 37 71 77 57 68 47 61 37 SH — —

TB 61 64 182 131 109 150 150 203 82 W 21 13

2B 5 4 26 18 8 16 17 24 11

3B 0 1 5 5 4 9 7 7 3

L 8 6

% .724 .684

HR 3 0 1 3 4 3 9 15 0 IP 250 159

RBI 20 18 75 43 46 77 54 100 28

BB 34 16 28 24 43 62 31 32 19

SB 9 5 18 6 19 15 7 2 5

H 192 112

ER 49 48

SO 147 242

BA .269 .312 .310 .249 .240 .264 .349 .283 .279

SL .349 .344 .394 .350 .326 .370 .575 .479 .352

OB% .393 .382 .352 .299 .330 .375 .422 .335 .336

BB 50 86

ERA 1.76 2.72

BR/9 9.0 11.3

186

Minor League All-Star Teams

Albright managed part of the season. Albright also was hardly deserving of an All-Star spot; 37 runs and ¡8 RBIs do not a meritorious season make. Newport’s Cli› Pemberton hit .30¡ with a .386 SA (fifth) and a .3979 OB% (third to Heim’s .3984). He stole 28 bases and led the league with 88 runs. I had Boris Martin as my utility man (he played outfield, caught and had ¡8 games at “utility,” probably first and third), and in his place in the outfield I had Val “Halla” Heim of Jonesboro. He hit .323 (second in the league), slugged .442 (third) and had an OB% of .398 (second). Shotwell played 58 of his games of his games in the outfield. Other candidates for the utility spot, aside from Martin, were outfielder/catcher John Zager of Newport and second baseman/outfielder William Mueller of Jonesboro. Zager only hit .232, but his 76 walks led the league and gave him a .369 OB%, sixth in the league, and his 8¡ runs were second. Mueller of Jonesboro hit .278, slugged .365 (seventh) and had an OB% of .382 (fifth). His 78 runs were third.

(It was interesting to me to note that Jonesboro first baseman Henry Glombicki was eighth in OB% with a .358 mark. Interesting, because he hit .¡93 with a puny .252 SA. He scored 52 runs on 46 hits with ¡6 RBIs. The league as a whole slugged a benthic .296, hit only .235, and had an OB% of .324. Only 9.5 runs a game were scored, compared to ¡3.6 strike-outs. Four home runs would have tied you for tenth.) Jim Winford took over the reins of Batesville in midseason, and went 8–3 with a ¡.54 ERA. He allowed 9.¡ BR/9, and walked ¡.¡ batters every 9 IP. Robert Eisiminger, also of Batesville, led the league with a ¡.73 ERA and allowed ¡0.3 BR/9. He was 20–¡0. Joe Coveleski of Paragould was ¡5–¡2, 2.43 and allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9. He also had 267 Ks in 226 IP. 949 of Paragould’s innings were recoverable, and in those innings, the Browns struck out 966, 9.2 for each nine innings. They also allowed only 8.¡ hits. Lott, by the way, finished tied for ¡3th in the league with three home runs. He struck out a très formidable ¡3.7 batters every nine innings.

Ohio State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Fred “Pickles” Gerken Harry Stephenson C.E. Hubbard R.V. Ankrum Albert Gerlach Eugene Kavanaugh Lester Pruett William Campau John Cindric

SP SP

J.G. Stasaitis Lloyd Fisher

Fremont Fremont

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% Fremont 86 422 129 98 172 22 6 3 69 — 20 .306 .408 — Findlay 89 373 117 86 196 23 13 10 50 — 30 .314 .525 — Lima 101 426 129 88 179 22 2 8 77 — 10 .303 .420 — Mansfield 96 381 123 70 187 31 6 7 54 — 14 .323 .491 — Ti‡n 97 403 137 84 218 28 7 13 81 — 9 .340 .541 — Lima 100 406 129 90 188 30 6 5 73 — 47 .318 .463 — Fostoria 87 321 109 69 161 24 8 4 48 — 4 .340 .502 — Ti‡n 74 303 101 59 153 22 3 8 65 — 3 .333 .505 — Lima 92 340 96 85 187 22 4 21 81 — 10 .282 .550 — G 22 24

GS — —

CG — —

SH — —

W 19 18

L 4 3

% .826 .857

IP 176 186

H 152 163

ER 63 49

SO 139 144

BB 46 52

ERA 3.22 2.37

BR/9 10.3 10.8

No BB or HBP for batters, so no OB% calculations possible. No ER for pitcher, so no ERA computations possible. (These ERAs courtesy of Ray Nemec.) No individual fielding stats, so no positional commentary possible.

Kavanaugh was a playing manager. A certain Mazgay of Findlay (no first name known) was in 53 games and hit .394 with a .634 SA. He had 5¡ RBIs and scored 60 runs in those 53 games. Ramsey (no first name) of Fremont hit .368

and slugged .627 in 52 games with 58 RBIs and 49 runs. Ed Mutryn of Mansfield hit .309 and slugged .566. He led the circuit with 22 homers. Henry Miesle of Fremont hit .327 with a .546 SA and had 86 RBIs, the Ohio State’s top mark.

Pennsylvania State Association (D) Schæ›er was a playing manager. Butler first baseman T.A. Hawke hit .365 to lead the league. He slugged .524 and had a .4¡3 OB%, drove in 93 runs, and scored ¡00. Shupe got Hawke’s spot, by my reckoning. And speaking about getting someone else’s spot, what is up with Durrett and Masserini? John Raczka

of Washington hit .359, slugged .504, had a .397 OB% and scored 93 runs. Bill Burgo of Beaver Falls hit .339, slugged .577, had a .394 OB%, was second with 22 homers, tied for fourth with ¡03 runs, and third with ¡0¡ RBIs. The outfield as selected has averages of .3¡8, .565, and .404, hits 65 homers with 276 RBIs, and scores 326 runs. Using my choices,

¡94¡ Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Vincent Shupe Nick DeLuca Floyd Peters Raymond Scott Elmer Durrett Sam Masserini Howard Murdeski William Johnson Glen Schae›er

SP SP

Joe Smolko Victor Lombardi

Team Johnstown Beaver Falls Oil City Warren Johnstown Butler Johnstown Johnstown Beaver Falls

G 107 87 110 109 91 110 108 85 99 G 28 19

Johnstown Johnstown

AB 428 340 460 469 358 454 408 317 343

GS — —

187

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 151 92 205 29 2 7 84 50 9 .353 .479 .423 123 70 162 23 2 4 73 33 6 .362 .476 .427 166 92 238 28 8 10 115 37 24 .361 .517 .412 166 99 245 29 7 12 57 32 6 .354 .522 .396 110 94 174 21 11 7 57 46 20 .307 .486 .389 139 103 234 27 4 20 80 32 9 .306 .515 .360 139 129 281 22 3 38 139 86 7 .341 .689 .457 99 58 146 16 5 7 70 47 3 .312 .461 .408 91 48 140 7 3 12 75 26 16 .265 .408 .324

CG — —

SH — —

W 20 12

L 3 3

% .870 .800

IP 210 136

H 197 98

ER 72 28

SO 220 204

BB 45 51

ERA 3.09 1.85

BR/9 10.8 10.1

Lombardi had ¡3.5 strike-outs every nine innings pitched.

the numbers become .347, .587, and .425 with 72 homers, 308 RBIs, and 325 runs. I would take version two and then take my chances.

PONY League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank Heller Greg Mulleavy Robert Barnhart John O’Neill John Newman Gene Nafie Gene Hermanski George Zimmerman Paul Schrock

SP SP

Joseph Belforti Paul Wargo

Team G Jameston 112 Jameston 107 London 87 Jamestown 109 Jamestown 111 Bradford 111 Olean 105 Olean 90 London 103

Bradford Hamilton

G 29 33

AB 440 403 322 467 380 443 422 346 368

GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 145 98 209 28 6 8 71 45 3 .330 .475 .398 143 67 206 31 10 4 94 47 5 .355 .511 .422 97 49 148 11 17 2 56 39 9 .301 .460 .380 133 86 175 18 12 0 46 39 9 .285 .375 .341 136 112 265 28 7 29 96 101 31 .358 .697 .495 134 89 219 33 5 14 63 44 24 .302 .494 .369 144 84 204 22 7 8 63 50 12 .341 .483 .415 105 56 151 13 6 7 60 28 1 .303 .436 .356 97 57 134 12 11 1 50 52 7 .264 .364 .356

CG 21 21

SH — —

Mulleavy was a playing manager. The only position player choice with which I disagreed was third base, where I chose Frank Carswell of Jamestown. He was in 70 games, hit .338, slugged .498 and had a .379 OB%. He also fielded .933 to Barnhart’s .894. Schrock played outfield and catcher, and I believe he played first and third (LT¡0) also.

W 17 16

L 7 11

% .708 .593

IP 211 229

H 225 228

ER 87 96

SO 131 143

BB 84 73

ERA 3.71 3.77

BR/9 13.4 11.9

Mike Clarke of sub-.500 Hamilton was ¡5–¡2 with a 3.22 ERA and an ¡¡.3 BR/9 ratio. Stan Rogalla was in 30 games with only 5 CGs and ¡00 IP, so I think he was used in relief in most of his appearances. He was 4–7 with a 2.79 ERA.

West Texas-New Mexico League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Paul Schoendienst Hugh Willingham Stewart Williams Larry Gilchrist Homer Matney Gordon Nell Frank Hargrove William DeCarlo Hayden “Stubby” Greer

SP SP

Udell Moore Raymond Lucas

Team Clovis Borger Borger Borger Pampa Borger Amarillo Amarillo Big Spring

G 132 134 136 124 130 121 109 125 135

AB 521 516 580 471 508 459 441 527 531

H 192 180 210 122 151 145 171 166 178

R 77 102 99 111 88 101 119 78 99

TB 259 286 309 154 227 272 306 235 278

G 20 33

GS — —

CG 15 29

SH — —

W 14 18

L 3 12

Borger Wichita Falls

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 42 2 7 133 39 5 .369 .497 .416 34 6 20 120 64 15 .349 .554 .423 38 17 9 105 14 39 .362 .533 .384 10 8 2 53 107 45 .259 .327 .400 28 6 12 81 46 11 .297 .447 .357 33 5 28 115 55 18 .316 .593 .393 42 9 25 113 37 23 .388 .694 .438 25 1 14 97 34 7 .315 .446 .364 30 11 16 115 59 18 .335 .524 .405 % .824 .600

IP 162 268

H 151 251

ER 44 82

SO 74 228

BB 52 51

ERA 2.44 2.75

BR/9 11.6 10.3

188

Minor League All-Star Teams and the ERA is still an outstanding 2.85. If I add all the Bomber pitchers whose numbers I can say with ¡00% assurance were thrown for Big Spring (there was a pitcher who also pitched for Borger), the sta› (missing four wins and three defeats) still has an ERA of 2.93, the all-time WTNML record. The four Borger starters were 68–25 (.73¡) with a 2.89 ERA (adding their spot starter, the ERA changes to 3.24— still exceptional for the league). Okay, now that that business is out of the way, on to the individual pitchers. Raymond Lucas deserved more than a mere All-Star berth. Look, the Spudders (should have been the Sputters for the ’4¡ season) were a dismal 43–95 (52 games under .500), a lowly .3¡2 for the year, 49 games out of first. They were last in fielding (they committed 364 errors) and last in hitting (their .24¡ was ¡9 points worse than any other team and they scored ¡96 fewer runs than the nextpoorest scoring team). Lucas won an amazing 42% of his teams victories, and when he was not the pitcher of record, they stumbled (or should I say, sputtered) to a .769 losing percentage. Not selected (but way worthy of being so) pitchers include John McPartland of Pampa, Charles Whelchel and Willie “The Knuck” Ramsdell of Big Spring, and James Rollins of Clovis. Whelchel was 20–5 with an ERA of 2.¡8 and led with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.¡. Old standby Ramsdell racked up 25 wins (against 9 losses) and had a 2.93 ERA. Rollins was 2¡–8 with a 2.59 ERA and was second in BR/9 ratio (¡0.296–¡0.3¡0 over Lucas). McPartland played the same role for Pampa that Lucas did for the Spudders. He was ¡9–¡¡ for the 25-games-under-.500 Oilers, and accounted for 35% of their wins. The Oilers played .346 ball when McPartland (who set and still holds the All-Time low WTNML record with 2.¡¡) was not the pitcher of record. He allowed ¡0.7 BR/9.

Nell was a playing manager. Schoendienst had a pretty nice, serviceable, season. He didn’t have a WTNML-type All-Star first baseman’s season, however. The closest thing to that was in ’4¡ was Murle Argus “Dutch” Prather’s year. He played for Amarillo and Pampa (and managed at the latter), and was third in batting at .369, second in slugging at .6¡0 (a number that, in a normal WTNML year might not make the top ten), and had an OB% of .482, the year’s best mark. He popped ¡7 homers, scored ¡06 runs, and led the circuit with 55 doubles and ¡42 RBIs. I had “Stubby” Greer at short instead of utility, as he played all of his ¡35 games there. (He fielded .948 to Gillchrist’s .929 with virtually the same TC/G ratio, by the way.) This left the utility spot open, and I filled it with Hargrove who played roughly half of his games at first. This in turn opened an outfield slot which I filled with Marshall Brown of the Lamesa Lobos. Brown hit for .3¡9/.506/.433 averages, stole 24 bases, drove in 93 runs, and scored ¡24 times. In another OF slot, I just had to replace Matney. I don’t know how he voted or whether he was a good husband (although I do know that by the ’43 season he was in the service), but his season was the absolute worst of any WTNM All-Star outfielder ever. His spot was taken, in my reckoning, by James Haney of Big Spring (who beat Matney into uniform by a year, incidentally). He hit .3¡8, slugged .490, had a .420 OB% and led the loop in steals with 42 and runs with ¡43. Nineteen forty-one was the best year ever for WTNML pitching. Ten pitchers with at least ¡¡5 IP came in at 3.00 or under (some years there were none). The four Big Spring starters went 8¡–3¡ (.723) with a 2.7¡ (!) ERA. Add the Bombers spot starter,

Western League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bernard Steele John Kerr Jerry Jordan Maurice McKnight Orin Crider Milton Frank Bocek Allen Dudas Vern Hoscheit Francis Tichacek

SP SP

Lyle Fritsch George Milstead

Team Pueblo Cheyenne Cheyenne Cheyenne Sioux City Norfolk Sioux City Norfolk Sioux City

Sioux City Cheyenne

G 26 25

G 102 96 103 103 106 101 109 93 104 GS — —

AB 412 358 447 435 401 397 396 341 352 CG 17 22

H 158 96 132 103 116 137 113 97 83 SH — —

Cheyenne had a team for the first time since ¡9¡2 in the old Rocky Mountain League. They would not

R 88 77 76 69 73 86 63 44 53

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 219 24 14 3 87 41 22 .383 .532 .443 127 14 4 3 52 53 29 .268 .355 .366 178 12 8 6 74 22 15 .295 .398 .330 136 15 3 4 44 58 6 .237 .313 .336 146 14 8 0 27 63 28 .289 .364 .392 226 25 20 8 92 53 15 .345 .569 .427 155 21 9 1 52 66 19 .285 .391 .393 130 12 6 3 57 36 4 .284 .381 .356 115 11 6 3 38 55 10 .236 .327 .347

W 10 19

L 12 5

% .455 .792

IP 181 217

H 150 210

ER 57 55

SO 135 135

BB 65 29

ERA 2.83 2.28

BR/9 11.0 10.2

have another, and the two Cheyenne teams would remain Wyoming’s only O.B. representatives.

¡94¡ Only ¡25 home runs were hit in the Western League in ¡94¡ (Sioux City hit a mere nine, but still out-homered Sioux Falls, which jolted an unmajestic seven). That comes to approximately 0.¡94¡ a game. I find that sort of odd, since the average altitude of the Western League towns was 3,35¡ feet, topped by Cheyenne’s 6,062 feet. Sheer physics would seem to demand that there were more home runs hit, but noooo. The towns of the Florida East Coast League, for instance, averaged a mere 38' of elevation (plus the balls hit in the air were slowed down by all the mosquitoes they scrunched into on the way to the fences) yet doubled the Western League’s home run output with 264. Kerr and Tichacek were playing managers. At third, Denver’s “Wild’ Bill Haddican hit only .290 but was second in OB% at .430 and also second in runs with 86. He was also a better fielder than was Jordan. Tichacek plated outfield, caught, and pitched in three games. George Milstead was 38 and had pitched in the majors in ’24, ’25, and ’28. He was the only major leaguer, either future or ex-, ever to have played for a Wyoming O.B. team, I do believe. In the “It’s better to Be Lucky Than Good” files, enter Sioux Falls pitcher Frank Wagner in the “Opposites That Prove the Rule” chapter. He led the

189

league in ERA with a good 2.¡6 mark and had the lowest BR/9 ratio, ¡0.¡, but he only went ¡¡–¡8 and led the league in losses for a team that was only five games under .500 and which played .5¡3 ball when he was not the pitcher of record. As an aside (and a corollary to the IBTBLTG rule mentioned above), the Sioux City Soos hit .227, “slugged” .288 and had an o› base percentage of .688, yet managed to finish third (two games under .500), despite being out-scored by 77 runs on the year (and what are the odds of that, all you sabrmetricians out there?). And if you will forgive yet another digression, I would like to return to the subject of altitude. The ¡9¡2 Rocky Mountain League towns averaged over a mile above sea level (593¡ feet, to be exact). That is the highest a league has ever been (at least one without Keith Hernandez or the Pirates and Royals of the ¡970s). Four of the franchises were located at over 6000 feet (Dawson, N.M., at 6680, Raton, N.M., coming in at a double Mark of the Beast 6666, Cheyenne at 6062, and Colorado Springs at 6008). The ¡886 Western League, despite including Leadville at ¡0,¡90 feet, only averaged 3,229 feet in altitude. So, of the five teams in baseball history to be located at over 6000 feet, only Cheyenne and Colorado Springs spent more than one year in O.B.

Wisconsin State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gilbert Neuman Clyde Lorenz Joe Janet Gus Gregory Ordie Timm Harold Schadt Pat Seerey Frank Cominsky Donald Opperman

Team La Crosse Wisconsin Rapids Green Bay Appleton Green Bay La Crosse Appleton Wisconsin Rapids Fond du Lac

G 111 109 110 107 106 111 104 100 72

AB 390 440 455 434 409 397 409 351 169

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 112 78 189 24 4 15 88 59 20 .287 .485 .390 135 99 195 23 5 9 50 46 38 .307 .443 .380 139 100 195 31 5 5 67 54 13 .305 .429 .383 140 91 202 26 3 10 78 38 5 .323 .465 .382 135 89 212 25 2 16 89 40 12 .330 .518 .394 135 112 200 33 1 10 54 88 50 .340 .504 .466 135 92 267 29 5 31 117 40 15 .330 .653 .396 108 52 136 14 4 2 52 13 10 .308 .387 .334 48 19 65 6 1 3 23 19 1 .284 .385 .363

SP SP

Roland Marquardt Eugene Joselane

Fond du Lac Janesville

G 22 32

GS — —

CG 19 27

SH — —

Adolph Krauss, Sheboygan third baseman, who led the league with a .366 BA and an excellent .496 OB%, was the number two man with a .52¡ SA, and drove in 85 runs. Janet fielded .954, but only reached 2.8 TC/G. Krauss fielded a poor .896, but reached a good 3.6 TC/G, so, to me the fielding question is a wash. Krauss by a landslide. I would put Green Bay’s Richard Ronovsky in the outfield. He hit .342, slugged .506, had an OB% of .400 and drove in ¡00 runs while scoring 89 times himself.

W 11 13

L 8 15

% .579 .464

IP 168 228

H 133 219

ER 43 69

SO 158 224

BB 76 71

ERA 2.30 2.72

BR/9 11.5 11.7

Opperman played first and outfield and caught in one game. My utility man played first, third, outfield, and caught. He was (and may still be) William Deininger, who played for Sheboygan. He hit .326, slugged .465, and had an OB% of .402. Jerome Crowley of Green Bay was ¡5–8. He had a fairly high 3.5¡ ERA, but was in the top ten with a ¡2.0 BR/9 ratio, and struck out a league-best 242 batters in ¡95 innings, ¡¡.¡ K/9.

190

Minor League All-Star Teams

! ¡942 ! In ¡942, there were thirty one leagues in the National Association. Five of them (¡6%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UT UT UT

SP SP SP SP

Name John McCarthy Frank Dews Joseph Bestudik Gene Geary Eric Tipton Joe Vosmik Wayne Blackburn Willis Norman Chester Morgan Kenneth Sears George Lacey Thomas Heath Ralph Kress George Myatt Mark Christman

Harry Brecheen Charles Wenslo› George Munger Milton Haefner

Team Indianapolis St. Paul Indianapolis Minneapolis Kansas City Minneapolis Indianapolis Milwaukee Louisville Kansas City Louisville Columbus Louisville Columbus Toledo

Columbus Kansas City Columbus Minneapolis

G 154 148 154 89 91 147 152 129 155 127 102 117 119 116 147 G 33 33 39 48

AB 597 519 568 337 318 513 569 418 584 439 314 318 373 322 533

GS 29 31 32 35

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 176 103 287 34 13 17 113 54 2 .295 .481 .353 133 65 199 21 6 11 58 77 8 .256 .383 .355 185 91 262 37 11 6 94 71 11 .326 .461 .401 99 46 135 15 3 5 34 39 7 .294 .401 .367 97 50 147 17 9 5 44 40 12 .305 .462 .383 156 64 218 34 2 8 78 50 2 .304 .425 .367 171 91 219 22 7 4 38 102 14 .301 .385 .426 126 80 226 22 3 24 85 88 2 .301 .541 .426 156 67 187 22 3 1 61 59 12 .277 .320 .335 123 62 201 27 6 13 56 36 1 .280 .458 .362 79 29 104 13 3 2 40 33 2 .252 .331 .340 82 35 107 12 2 3 42 73 2 .258 .336 .402 93 40 126 20 5 1 46 28 1 .249 .338 .340 90 60 121 11 10 0 35 54 32 .280 .376 .400 147 75 201 28 4 6 43 34 8 .276 .377 .334

CG 23 25 19 17

SH 6 4 1 1

The choice of Geary over Eddie Stankey (Milwaukee) at short is a complete mystery. Stankey outhit Geary by 48 points, leading the league with a .342 BA. He outslugged him by ¡¡5 points (.5¡6–.40¡), and had a very good .457 OB%, 90 points higher than Geary’s. Stankey also led the league in runs with ¡24, had 56 doubles, and walked ¡08 times. In the outfield, the wizened scriveners chose five men, and yet disincluded Milwaukee’s Hal Peck and Albert Wright of Minneapolis. Peck hit .333 and had a .463 SA. He drove in 94 runs. Wright hit .29¡ with a .502 SA, had ¡00 RBIs, and was second in the league with 23 home runs. Tipton had only 44 RBIs, and Vosmik only scored 64 runs and Morgan but 67 compared to Peck and Wright’s 90 and 9¡. I would have four outfielders: Norman, Blackburn, Peck, and Wright. The league chose three utility men. Bob Dillinger

W 19 21 16 18

L 10 10 13 17

% .655 .677 .552 .514

IP 246 244 243 260

H 211 209 237 283

ER 57 67 95 122

SO 156 104 140 113

BB 53 64 90 90

ERA 2.09 2.47 3.52 4.22

BR/9 9.9 10.2 12.6 13.1

should have been the third choice in place of Christman, who played all of his games at short. Dillinger played second and third, and hit .305, with 8¡ runs and 23 steals. Kress played first, second and pitched, and Myatt second and outfield. The league also selected four pitchers. I would not have chosen Munger or Haefner. In their stead, I would’ve gone with Ted Wilks of Columbus and Nelson Potter of Louisville. Potter was ¡8–8 with a 2.60 ERA and had a ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio. Wilks was only ¡2–9, but he had an ERA of 2.4¡ and a 9.8 BR/9 ratio. The league named no relief pitcher, but there were two pitchers who could have filled an All-Star slot: Francis Barrett of Columbus and Herb Karpel of K.C. Barrett was 8–3 in 39 games (33 in relief ) with a 2.72 ERA. Karpel was even better: 38 games (34 in relief ) 2.48 ERA and an ¡¡–¡ record.

Southern Association (A1) Les Goldstein (Birmingham, .29¡/.444/.355) was neck and neck with Shilling in the battle for supremacy at first base. I think, however, that Goldstein’s 34 RBI advantage (he had ¡¡4) should have made him the All-Star. Schalk was the league’s MVP playing for a team which finished ahead of John Mihalic (Nashville) in the regular season (but which then lost to Mihalic’s

team in the playo›s). Mihalic hit .30¡, slugged .390, and had a .438 OB%, thanks to ¡30 walks. I don’t see any aspect of Schalk’s record as being of greater import than Mihalic’s 45 runs scored advantage (he had ¡24) or his 95 point OB% lead. Schalk had 26 more runs driven in, but, in my mind, no contest: Mihalic all the way. The league went with four outfielders, but did not

¡942 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP

Name Jim Shilling Roy Schalk Charles English William Hart Mike Dejan Gus Dugas Thomas McBride Murray Howell Gerald Burmeister Fermin Guerra No selection made

William Seinsoth Vito Tamulis James Trexler Lewis Carpenter Edward Heusser

Team Nashville Little Rock Nashville New Orleans Birmingham Nashville Little Rock Knoxville New Orleans Chattanooga

New Orleans Nashville Little Rock Memphis Birmingham

G 143 146 150 152 150 145 146 101 131 116

G 50 36 31 24 25

AB 554 553 590 537 515 528 554 356 424 386

GS 35 33 25 19 21

191

H R TB 158 80 227 159 79 221 201 99 289 157 79 221 171 110 263 163 80 259 182 77 225 116 54 168 138 72 194 119 55 150

CG 23 17 19 11 13

SH 6 0 4 0 2

choose Nashville’s Chuck Workman (.326/.583/.406) as one of them despite his finishing second in runs (¡¡9) and fourth in RBIs (¡¡0). It seems that he should be one of the top four, at least in place of the non-productive Howell. Tamulis, despite his 20 wins, is the poorest of the

W 24 20 19 10 12

L 10 8 7 10 6

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 29 8 8 80 54 4 .285 .410 .377 21 11 6 88 47 8 .288 .400 .343 50 4 10 139 46 1 .341 .490 .397 24 11 6 85 60 4 .292 .416 .363 25 8 17 99 122 20 .332 .511 .465 35 2 19 117 86 0 .309 .491 .409 18 11 1 85 52 8 .329 .406 .388 21 5 7 64 64 10 .326 .471 .431 30 7 4 64 62 1 .326 .458 .414 18 2 3 52 24 12 .308 .389 .393

% .706 .714 .731 .500 .667

IP 300 240 215 146 166

H 273 304 211 154 155

ER 93 114 67 62 51

SO 135 105 93 51 78

BB 105 72 90 56 31

ERA 2.79 4.28 2.80 3.82 2.77

BR/9 11.5 14.4 12.3 13.4 10.2

five choices based on ERA and BR/9. Bill Kennedy, who pitched for a team (Chattanooga) 20 games under .500, should have been named to the sta› on merit despite his .500 record (at the very least in place of another .500 hurler, Carpenter). Kennedy was ¡2–¡2 with a league-leading 2.43 ERA.

South Atlantic League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Edgar Hartness James Martin Alexander Pecora Harold Blaylock Henry Bradford Hugh Todd Jack Barnes James Pruett Alton Biggs

William Stewart Adrian Zabala

Team Macon Columbia Jacksonville Savannah Jacksonville Jacksonville Savannah Savannah Augusta

Charleston Jacksonville

G 93 121 138 139 139 140 114 128 135 G 34 25

AB 368 519 509 542 546 502 419 425 523

GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 120 77 172 15 14 3 49 17 15 .326 .467 .356 175 77 225 30 7 2 58 22 23 .337 .434 .364 156 79 206 27 4 5 75 54 9 .306 .405 .373 153 73 203 17 2 10 71 40 11 .280 .375 .332 187 113 285 45 7 13 107 47 11 .342 .522 .395 151 82 215 28 9 6 107 52 20 .301 .428 .366 124 88 165 18 10 1 57 46 16 .296 .394 .366 140 70 212 26 5 12 74 46 10 .329 .499 .395 153 83 195 23 8 1 95 36 17 .293 .373 .338

CG 27 20

SH 5 1

W 24 16

L 9 5

% .750 .762

IP 254 187

H 220 183

ER 62 47

SO 137 91

BB 53 39

ERA 1.88 2.26

BR/9 9.8 10.7

No HBP recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

The infield, despite looking rather weak, was truly the best the league had to o›er in ’42, although I could be persuaded to put Roy Zimmerman (Macon and Greeneville) at first. His .338/.430/.386 averages aren’t far from those posted by Hartness, but his 77 runs driven in is. In the outfield, Jack Barnes did not have the season either Macon’s Andy Pafko (.300/.459/.356) or Savannah’s Jesse Pike (.285/.438/.376) had. Pafko drove in 39 more runs than did Barnes, and Pike’s 93 were 47 more. Pike also scored ¡06 runs. My flyhawk trio would have been Pike, Bradford, and Barnes.

The league choice for catcher was Pruett, but he only caught 76 games. I would have named him at the utility spot, since he played third and outfield as well as catching. Jacksonville’s John Tonco› (.266/.402 .325) seems to be a better choice at catcher. Utility man Biggs, played second, third, and short and was quite productive. There was no relief pitcher chosen, but Macon’s Porter Witt fills the bill. He was the league’s only real reliever, appearing in 39 games with only six CGs. He was 7–4 with a 4.05 ERA.

192

Minor League All-Star Teams

California League (C) POS 1B 2B SS 3B OF OF OF C

Name John “Bud” Clancy Hayden Greer James Estrada Phil Salstrom Salvador Taormina R. “Ed” Harrison Louis Sco‡c Jerry Gardner

Team Santa Barb. Santa Barb. Santa Barb. San Jose San Jose San Jose Fresno Fresno

G 59 68 68 64 68 68 59 63

AB 219 276 245 282 249 230 208 216

H 72 88 57 72 89 72 65 48

R TB 2B 28 90 15 60 135 26 37 77 11 42 85 7 54 124 13 45 108 16 32 99 18 36 68 8

SP SP

Walter Olson Rex Cecil

Santa Barb. Bakersfield

G 17 17

GS CG SH — 6 — — 11 —

W 10 7

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 0 1 41 18 2 .329 .411 .380 6 3 39 18 11 .319 .489 .361 3 1 32 25 10 .233 .314 .306 3 0 24 21 8 .255 .301 .311 8 2 44 50 11 .357 .498 .472 7 2 44 61 5 .313 .470 .461 2 4 46 45 6 .313 .476 .435 3 2 20 28 3 .222 .315 .311

L % IP 1 .909 95 4 .636 116

H ER SO 81 32 71 102 27 52

BB ERA 38 3.06 52 2.06

BR/9 11.4 12.0

Santa Barb. is Santa Barbara. The league suspended operations on June 28.

Bud Clancy was a playing manager. At short, Salstrom was a better fielder than Bud Dawson (Santa Barbara), but not so much better as to overcome Dawson’s hitting, slugging, and OB advantage (.269/.363/.364).

At catcher, I feel that San Jose’s George Stephens’ 45 runs driven in and .255 BA make up for Gardner’s slight run scoring superiority (Stephens only had 26 runs or perhaps I just cringe at the idea of a .222 hitting “All-Star”).

Appalachian League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C

SP SP SP

Name Edward Zebro Oscar McClure Mercer Harris Harold Gruber Luis Flick Maurice Cook Jack DiGraziano Andrew Seminick

Paul Minner Paul Almonte Forrest Zeiger

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% Kingsport 106 379 108 61 150 27 3 3 55 59 8 .285 .396 .387 Bristol 107 440 122 78 161 20 8 1 56 46 2 .277 .366 .347 Johnson City 71 218 71 37 92 12 3 1 26 31 3 .326 .422 .419 Bristol 94 335 104 55 140 22 7 0 48 48 5 .310 .418 .400 Elizabethton 99 422 143 71 197 25 10 3 56 26 6 .339 .467 .381 Bristol 89 359 118 78 152 19 6 1 28 57 7 .329 .423 .423 Bristol 106 418 133 79 182 22 6 5 79 50 9 .318 .435 .394 Elizabethton 99 375 122 76 202 23 6 15 70 44 13 .325 .539 .409

Elizabethton Bristol Bristol

G 21 26 24

GS — — —

CG 18 15 19

SH 5 2 5

W 18 13 16

L 2 4 8

% .900 .765 .667

IP 179 174 192

H 125 154 165

ER 28 31 38

SO 142 83 92

BB 55 36 41

ERA 1.41 1.60 1.78

BR/9 9.3 10.0 9.8

Gruber and Harris were playing managers. An absolutely perfectly selected team. Plaudits are due the pundits.

! ¡943 ! In ¡943, there were ten leagues in the National Association. Only one had an All-Star team.

Appalachian League (D) Gruber was a playing manager. Only two outfielders were named to the ’43 Appalachian League All-Star team. I would most certainly have Beattie Feathers (the very first Heisman Trophy winner) as the third flyhawk. He managed the league playo› champs and rang up .346/.497/.459 numbers while doing so. I also, if it was etched in

stone that only three outfielders can be on an AllStar team, would have Richard “Dickie” Sipek (who, I believe, was deaf ) in place of Sinnott. Sipek played in but 37 games but he drove in more and scored more runs than did Sinnott (who only played in 49 games himself ). He also hit .424, slugged .605, and had an OB% of .47¡. If you are going to name a

¡944 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF C UT

Name Perry Roberts Oscar McClure Robert Cummins Hal Gruber Lee Schulte John Sinnott John Pramesa Don Fitzpatrick

Team G AB Kingsport 88 354 Bristol 77 309 Kingsport 50 181 Bristol 89 282 Bristol 86 351 Kingsport 49 196 Bristol 101 401 J. City/Kingsport 85 294

SP SP

Richard Hoover Reid Gowan

Bristol Erwin

G 13 14

GS — —

CG 11 9

H 119 104 46 104 112 50 143 104 SH 2 1

R 58 78 31 82 69 35 79 49 W 11 7

193 TB 143 139 81 154 149 67 206 132 L 1 3

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 14 2 2 59 8 7 .336 .404 .353 16 8 1 41 44 10 .337 .450 .424 10 5 5 30 12 3 .254 .448 .304 24 7 4 61 69 16 .369 .546 .500 16 6 3 68 22 14 .319 .425 .363 3 4 2 21 12 11 .255 .342 .301 24 15 3 91 19 0 .357 .514 .390 15 5 1 43 16 5 .354 .449 .393 % .917 .700

IP 97 86

H 84 89

ER —

SO 57 59

BB 27 9

ERA — —

BR/9 10.4 10.3

ER not kept for pitchers, hence (obviously) no ERA. J. City is Johnson City.

player who played less than half a season, Sipek should be the choice. At utility, Fitzpatrick played second and outfield. I would have had two utility men, the other being the unforgettably appelated Zelig Fruman. He played second, short and outfield, led the league in runs with 87 and had .302/.402/.356 averages. On the mound, I would’ve had four pitchers, the

other two being Andrew Hansen and Bob “Sugar” Cain, both of whom pitched for Bristol. Hansen was ¡2–3 with a fantastic BR/9 ratio of 8.8, one of the years best. Cain was ¡2–5 and led the league with ¡0¡ Ks. It should be noted that Gowan exhibited astounding control, only walking 0.9 men every nine innings.

! ¡944 ! In ¡944, there were ten leagues in the National Association. Only one had an All-Star team.

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF C UT

Name Earl York George Boniface William Cannon Bernard Creger Tony Matarazzo Gil Coan William Clausen Don Fitzpatrick

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% Erwin 78 328 113 54 156 13 9 4 74 14 30 .345 .476 .375 Johnson City 109 403 94 65 108 4 5 0 41 51 14 .233 .268 .345 Bristol 104 431 110 54 146 22 7 0 47 19 6 .255 .339 .290 Johnson City 90 376 120 66 159 15 6 4 65 14 13 .319 .423 .345 Bristol 88 324 101 51 125 10 4 2 47 29 5 .312 .386 .375 Kingsport 72 267 98 76 161 16 4 13 64 30 17 .367 .603 .448 Bristol 58 210 74 29 107 17 5 2 38 7 1 .352 .510 .373 Kingsport 84 311 107 53 133 17 3 1 70 44 5 .344 .428 .427

SP SP

Harold Breeding Bill “Hustle” Bustle

Bristol Erwin

G 23 25

GS — —

CG 15 15

SH 1 1

At second, I am unsure why the choice was the weak-hitting Boniface over Erwin’s Augustine “Mighty” Messuri. Gus led the league with ¡03 walks, was second with 92 runs and hit .284 with a .447 OB%. (Boniface was hit by a pitch eighteen times during the season.) Once again, as in ’43, the Appalachian League chose only two outfielders. I would have added Orbie Brewer of Erwin. He led the league with 97 runs and hit ¡5 triples to go with his .285 average.

W 14 13

L 7 6

% .667 .684

IP 174 175

H 146 164

ER 59 66

SO 180 161

BB 75 57

ERA 3.05 3.39

BR/9 11.7 11.8

At the utility spot, I would have certainly added a spot for D. Ray Stokes, the league’s leading hitter at .35¡, leading RBI man with 8¡ and who was also third in runs with 80. He played first, third, and outfield. League choice Fitzpatrick played outfield and caught. I would have also added a third pitcher, Kingsport’s Jim “Lefty” Akard. He led the league in ERA (2.24) and in BR/9 ratio (¡0.0) while going ¡3–5.

194

Minor League All-Star Teams

! ¡945 ! In ¡945, there were twelve leagues in the National Association. Three (25%) had All-Star teams.

American Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UT UT

Name Paul Schoendienst Frank Danneker Gene Nance Frank Zak Lew Flick Stan Wentzel Fred Reinhart Frank Genovese Art Rebel Bob Brady George Savino Joe Stephenson Gil English Byron LaForest

SP SP SP

Owen Sheetz Claude Weaver Charley Root

Team St. Paul Minneapolis Milwaukee Kansas City Milwaukee Indianapolis Toledo Louisville Columbus Louis./Indianapolis Louis./Minneapolis Milwaukee Indianapolis Louisville

Milwaukee St. Paul Columbus

G 27 45 22

G 127 142 152 104 142 154 138 154 94 116 106 123 137 91

GS 25 20 15

AB 432 536 574 376 575 574 507 541 340 387 292 405 504 306

CG 20 10 12

H R TB 2B 136 61 184 30 165 94 230 21 179 94 271 27 108 87 127 13 215 90 300 32 184 102 283 35 160 70 200 28 151 93 210 27 110 69 164 16 109 40 145 17 87 42 122 23 111 54 150 15 144 81 209 26 108 57 139 15

SH 4 1 2

Root was a playing manager. There were a lot of odd choices in this, the last of the war years. At first, which should be a power spot, Milwaukee’s Otto Denning (.369/.427/.466, 92 RBIs) was passed over for the non-productive Schoendienst. At third, Nance had a good year, but St. Paul’s Leighton Kimball had a better one. Kimball had .3¡5/.5¡7/.4¡3 averages, drove in 95 runs and scored ¡0¡ times in 69 fewer ABs than Nance. The league chose five outfielders but couldn’t make room for Harry Nowak of Minneapolis (.329/

W 19 15 9

L 8 10 8

% .704 .600 .529

3B HR RBI BB SB 6 2 48 26 8 4 12 76 64 50 7 17 106 57 5 3 0 30 78 19 10 11 92 25 12 11 14 103 48 30 6 0 52 60 4 10 4 49 121 25 4 10 70 55 6 8 1 63 35 4 0 4 61 40 2 6 4 50 35 0 6 9 97 48 2 5 2 43 35 14

BA .315 .308 .312 .287 .374 .321 .316 .279 .324 .282 .298 .274 .286 .353

IP 226 186 121

BB 58 46 20

H 206 185 112

ER 49 66 34

SO 124 54 64

SL OB% .426 .355 .429 .384 .472 .375 .338 .412 .522 .402 .493 .375 .394 .392 .388 .413 .482 .419 .375 .344 .418 .384 .370 .335 .415 .349 .454 .419 ERA 1.95 3.19 2.53

BR/9 10.6 11.3 10.0

.435/.377) who led the league in runs with ¡¡0. The league also chose three catchers, but Columbus’ Johnny Bucha (.328/.4¡9/.39¡) was not one of them. Utility man English played third and outfield, Laforest played third, short and outfield. James Wallace of Indianapolis, league leader in ERA (¡.83) and winning percentage (.8¡0 on ¡7–4) was not picked as an All-Star. The league chose no reliever, but Dwight Simonds (Louisville) relieved in 32 games, finished 26 and was a fine ¡3–5.

Carolina League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jerome Gutt August Granzig Richard Meyers Jaime Almendro Rudolph Adkins John Carenbauer Glennon Brundis Joe Borich Paul Ellington

SP SP

Art Fowler Bill “Hustle” Bustle

Team Martinsville L-S-D Burlington Danville Martinsville Danville Danville Winston-Salem Raleigh

G 96 133 134 135 73 139 130 117 96

G 30 30

GS 28 23

Danville L-S-D

AB 329 523 566 551 291 565 528 410 322 CG 27 18

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 98 68 159 15 5 12 70 60 6 .298 .483 .417 154 121 240 44 3 12 93 68 26 .294 .459 .380 166 92 230 20 7 10 75 41 15 .293 .406 .346 193 139 274 33 15 6 84 54 24 .350 .497 .419 100 59 154 27 3 7 56 22 4 .344 .529 .390 181 92 264 45 10 6 121 52 22 .320 .467 .382 193 132 241 25 10 1 96 59 21 .366 .456 .430 148 76 199 28 7 3 87 41 9 .361 .485 .422 84 68 105 9 6 0 47 86 24 .261 .326 .417 SH 1 2

W 23 16

L 6 7

% .793 .696

IP 253 202

H 221 178

ER 72 63

SO 177 162

BB 81 86

ERA 2.56 2.81

BR/9 10.8 12.1

L-S-D is Leaksville-Spray-Draper.

Although Meyers was a better hitter, I would still go with Emanuel Allegue of Martinsville at third.

His .263 BA and .328 SA would seem to preclude him from All-Star speculation, but his OB% was

¡946

195

man in the low minors should be; he played first, third, outfield, caught and even pitched. Bill Bustle, who made the team as a pitcher, would have been a good second utility man. He played 36 games in the outfield, hit .286 and slugged .398. On the mound, once again space should have been made for a third hurler. Charles Timm of Raleigh was ¡7–¡0 and led the league in ERA (2.36) and BR/9 ratio (9.9).

higher than was Meyers’ and he scored only one less run in ¡02 fewer ABs. The reason I would go the Allegue route, however, is the absolutely huge disparity in fielding. Allegue handled 6 chances a game at third, one of the year’s highest totals (if not the highest), while Meyers handled just 3.6. That is an enormous di›erence, enormous enough to think Allegue was not given all due consideration for a berth on the All-Star team. Ellington was truly the epitome of what a utility

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Arden McCaskey Jackson Hollis Billy Gardner Emil Stoecker Sal “Zip” Zunno Walter Rasmussen Ken Guettler No selection made Sidney Langston

Team Bristol Kingsport Bristol Bristol Bristol Elizabethton Kingsport

SP SP

Harold Jackson Jim “Lefty” Akard

Kingsport Kingsport

G 106 98 74 107 31 97 93

Johnson City G 22 30

AB 437 403 304 419 118 386 311

H 164 129 100 114 35 95 91

R 72 83 67 87 29 50 84

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 224 26 14 2 96 36 5 .375 .513 .425 174 18 9 3 56 35 50 .320 .432 .383 143 14 6 5 56 22 15 .329 .470 .389 146 11 9 1 41 46 17 .272 .348 .357 48 4 3 1 14 13 6 .297 .407 .371 112 11 3 0 20 49 28 .246 .290 .334 167 17 10 13 73 63 20 .293 .537 .420

84 341 124 56 180

18

GS — —

% .947 .760

CG 17 19

SH 6 3

Kingsport’s Eugene Verble (.306/.390/.357) seems a better choice at short. There was no catcher named to the All-Star team (!), but James Bryant would be

W 18 19

L 1 6

10 IP 171 179

6

65 H 172 127

18 ER 34 43

14 .364 .528 SO 152 207

BB 34 54

ERA 1.79 2.16

.399 BR/9 10.9 9.3

the best choice. The Kingsport backstop only hit .243, but he drove in 56 runs. Utility man Langston played first and third.

! ¡946 ! In ¡946, there were forty one leagues in the National Association. Twenty three (56%) named All-Star teams.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Len Kensecke Al Kozar Vic Barnhart Carl Cox Joe Frazier Sam Mele Don Manno Les “Tex” Aulds Ray Uniak Nick Picciuto

SP SP

Tom Fine Bob Kuzava

Team Scranton Scranton Albany Albany Wilkes-Barre Scranton Hartford Scranton Binghamton Utica

Scranton Wilkes-Barre

G 30 26

G 132 114 135 114 135 119 138 105 65 125 GS 25 26

AB 442 433 489 431 503 450 454 323 152 452 CG 21 18

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 135 101 182 252 5 4 70 85 13 .305 .412 .419 137 82 202 22 8 9 85 43 5 .316 .467 .379 151 75 207 30 7 4 96 63 15 .309 .423 .389 141 68 197 20 9 6 66 35 9 .327 .457 .379 151 82 210 25 8 6 91 69 8 .300 .417 .389 154 88 226 18 18 6 77 61 17 .342 .502 .422 137 93 210 29 4 12 97 97 18 .302 .463 .428 85 55 117 13 5 3 46 48 2 .263 .362 .360 34 22 41 5 1 0 3 37 1 .224 .270 .379 130 72 199 27 1 12 65 57 17 .288 .440 .372 SH 6 2

All in all, a very acceptable team, with just three possible changes/additions which seem reasonable to make. The first change is at catcher, where Hartford’s Rex Carr had almost the same year as Aulds 264/ .388/.34¡), but had 58 RBIs.

W 23 14

L 3 6

% .885 .700

IP 216 217

H 158 176

ER 50 57

SO 152 207

BB 83 73

ERA 2.08 2.36

BR/9 10.2 10.4

The second is at utility. Picciuto played third and outfield, and was a fine choice. Uniak played outfield and first, and was not. A far better selection would have been Robert Wilson of Wilkes-Barre. He played second and short, but hit .289 to Uniak’s .224 and

196

Minor League All-Star Teams leading 9.7 BR/9 ratio and ¡.30 ERA figures. Not an All-Star indeed. The Scranton sta›, minus only three LT45 pitchers (who went 3–¡), had a 2.7¡ ERA and allowed ¡¡.6 BR/9. Overall, they gave up 3.4 runs a game and 7.6 hits per nine innings. Their five starters went 80–27, for a .748 winning percentage.

slugged .360 to Uniak’s .270. He scored ¡03 runs to Uniak’s 22 and drove in 52 to Uniak’s unbelievable 3. Uniak is an un-star, not an All-Star, at least not in any sense of the word with which I am familiar. On the mound, Scranton’s Mel Parnell was yet another victim of a little thing I like to call “The Best Pitcher Curse.” He was ¡3–4, and compiled league-

South Atlantic League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Ashworth Ed Kazak Cli› Perez Alfred Livingston Bob Churchill Frank Baumholtz Ted Kluzewski Jack Warren Frank Dunlap

SP SP

Sheldon Jones Matthew Nolan

Team Augusta Columbus Augusta Charleston Macon/Gr’nville Columbia Columbia Columbia Macon

Jacksonville Greenville

G 34 33

G 127 124 125 140 123 119 90 105 122 GS — —

AB 513 483 484 530 469 472 335 385 439 CG 20 17

H 149 144 152 123 151 162 118 132 124

R 75 74 69 74 64 85 55 60 72

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 193 32 6 0 63 37 2 .290 .376 .343 212 22 2 14 73 41 7 .298 .439 .360 185 29 2 0 82 34 1 .314 .382 .360 181 15 11 7 60 50 5 .232 .342 .302 199 27 9 1 69 21 1 .322 .424 .355 237 43 13 2 81 46 12 .343 .502 .407 185 24 5 11 87 33 4 .352 .552 .412 188 24 13 2 75 23 7 .343 .488 .380 192 23 15 5 72 61 2 .282 .437 .373

SH 2 5

W 19 14

L 6 10

% .760 .583

IP 250 217

H 212 177

ER 71 57

SO 232 166

BB 115 90

ERA 2.56 2.36

BR/9 12.2 11.5

gusta). Mazurek (.303/.45¡/.352) had 9¡ runs driven in. Bocek (.3¡0/.407/.389) scored ¡03. Dunlap caught and played outfield. Richard Starr of Augusta was ¡9–¡0 with a 2.09 ERA and struck out 233 batters. Had a reliever been chosen, it would likely have been Kemp Wicker of Columbus. He was 7–2 in 23 games with a 2.00 ERA and a 9.5 BR/9 ratio.

Shortstop Richard Klaus (Jacksonville) hit for .277/.37¡/.380 averages, all better than Livingston. Of more importance, in 85 fewer at bats, he scored only 20 fewer runs and drove in only ¡0 fewer runs. In the outfield, Kluzewski was out of position (he was a first baseman who played 27 games in the OF). Ted should have been the first baseman on this team. This would have opened an outfield slot for either Tony Mazurek (Greenville) or Frank Bocek (Au-

New England League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Sperry Lawrence “Crash” Davis Alexander Suss James Coughlin Lucien Belanger Maurice “Mo” Mozzali Clinton Dahlberg Roy Campanella Charles Maloney

SP SP

Walker Cress George Kadis

Lynn Lawrence

Team Lynn Lawrence Providence Pawtucket Lawrence Manchester Manchester Nashua Pawtucket G 27 29

GS 22 25

G 121 113 124 122 117 113 97 113 88 CG 16 23

AB 512 440 456 504 439 419 328 396 292

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 175 109 262 26 14 11 83 33 13 .342 .512 .383 131 78 215 23 2 19 94 44 1 .298 .489 .366 148 94 204 27 4 7 80 61 10 .325 .447 .408 172 71 207 22 5 1 56 25 8 .341 .411 .372 130 77 235 27 6 22 77 40 4 .296 .535 .355 140 104 247 21 10 19 118 64 15 .334 .589 .427 96 72 166 6 8 16 88 56 1 .293 .506 .401 115 75 189 19 8 13 96 64 13 .290 .477 .393 81 48 125 9 10 5 42 54 4 .277 .428 .390

SH 5 7

The Fall River Indians finished a woeful 30–94 (.242), 53 games out of first. They hit .220 (which is better than the Bombay Indians would have hit), “slugged” .294, and had a .300 OB%. They gave up 6.5 runs a game while scoring 3.¡, and they still managed to finish 7∂ games ahead of the Portland Gulls. The Gulls went way beyond woeful, finishing at an incredible 20–99 (.¡68!), 60∂ games behind pennant-

W 19 18

L 3 8

% .864 .692

IP 191 230

H 121 182

ER 42 56

SO 174 151

BB 78 81

ERA 1.98 2.19

BR/9 9.8 10.3

winning Lynn. They managed to score 4.¡ runs a game, meaning they lost by an average of 4.6 runs a game. That’s right, they gave up a WT-NM style 8.7 RPG. As big a Roy Campanella fan as I am, I still think that Lynn’s Matt Batts should at least have been named as a co-catcher. He hit .337/.524/.393 with 8¡ runs driven in. “Utility” choice Maloney was a third

¡946 baseman. Non-selectee Robert Kellogg of Nashua hit .275 with 42 runs scored and 40 driven in — and he played first, second, third, and the outfield. If you are gonna name a utility man, then name a utility man. Pitcher Roger Wright of Lynn was ¡7–6 with an ERA of 2.08 and a league-leading 9.3 BR/9 ratio, and certainly warranted an expansion of the sta› to three. You may be interested to know that the Gulls used no fewer than nineteen pitchers who were in the

197

LT45 group. These fellows were actually better than the “over 45s,” going 9–33, .2¡4 compared to ¡¡–66, .¡42. The over 45s had an ERA of 6.88 and allowed 9.3 runs and ¡9.0 BR/9! They walked 6.4 men per 9 IP, and struck out a wee 2.7. Compare this with Nashua, which had eight LT45 pitchers (who were ¡7–¡0). The Dodgers whose stats were available had a 2.68 ERA and allowed ¡¡.9 BR/9. They gave up 3.3 RPG and only 7.¡ hits per 9 IP.

Southeastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bill McGhee Robert Fletcher Grover Resinger Pete Castiglione Nesbit Wilson Grover Bowers Joe Cavosie Dale Lenn Norbert Barker

SP SP

Everett Hill Robert Tart

Team Pensacola Pensacola Vicksburg Selma Anniston Gadsden Montgomery Gadsden Vicksburg

Anniston Pensacola

G 31 24

G 135 83 82 134 91 132 115 125 111

AB 502 302 273 476 344 546 427 455 373

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 175 89 232 35 2 6 96 66 11 .349 .462 .426 102 46 155 18 7 7 65 34 3 .338 .513 .407 88 53 123 23 3 2 35 36 4 .322 .451 .405 163 79 242 43 6 8 81 51 10 .342 .508 .407 118 66 205 27 3 18 88 39 3 .343 .596 .415 175 104 251 41 7 7 71 40 8 .321 .460 .373 146 91 193 21 4 6 57 56 20 .342 .452 .421 152 68 207 36 8 1 84 34 2 .334 .455 .382 122 67 188 25 4 11 56 47 3 .327 .504 .404

GS — —

CG 20 13

SH 3 1

W 17 14

McGhee and Cavosie were playing managers. Bowers and Cavosie over George Brown and J. Roy Pinkston of Gadsden? I think not. Brown hit .343, slugged .588 and had a .398 OB%. He smacked 55 doubles and had ¡05 runs both scored and driven in. Pinkston hit .346, topped the league with a .630 SA, and had a .40¡ OB%. His 33 homers and ¡42 RBIs were good for two-thirds of the triple crown and he missed by only three batting points of corralling all three.

L 5 6

% .773 .700

IP 210 159

H 203 128

ER 56 47

SO 154 140

BB 57 88

ERA 2.40 2.66

BR/9 11.1 12.6

Barker played second, third, short, and outfield. Non-selectee Ben Wade of Anniston was ¡5–4 with a 2.48 ERA and a league-leading 9.5 BR/9 ratio. Fellow non-selectee Ralph Hendrix of Pensacola was ¡7–4 (for a league-leading .8¡0 winning percentage). Russ Crider of Jackson would have been the reliever, had one been picked. He was 7–5 with a 3.3¡ ERA.

Three- I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank McElyea Edward Bachman James Lucas James Ackeret Andrew Skurski Cal Abrams Hank Bauer Al “Rube” Walker Robert Peterson

Team Evansville Springfield Springfield Terre Haute Waterloo Danville Quincy Davenport Davenport

SP Jean Davison Davenport SP William Linderman Terre Haute

G 111 123 79 120 123 123 109 96 58

AB 440 483 284 475 444 441 430 356 106

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 139 85 201 26 3 10 67 34 56 .316 .457 .369 126 68 167 13 8 4 47 34 14 .261 .346 .315 69 34 102 17 2 4 45 55 8 .243 .359 .366 145 104 211 19 7 11 80 35 36 .305 .444 .355 136 89 209 18 8 13 82 67 22 .306 .471 .397 146 100 194 16 13 2 56 86 20 .331 .440 .443 139 85 215 24 8 12 90 46 27 .323 .500 .391 126 53 195 18 6 13 85 34 2 .354 .548 .412 37 23 45 4 2 0 23 18 0 .349 .425 .444

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 24 — 7 0 13 2 .867 132 98 32 103 51 2.18 10.5 35 — 15 5 13 10 .565 188 191 86 142 102 4.12 14.3

Two of the infield selections are a bit shaky. Second baseman George Scherger of Danville hit .343 and scored 96 runs. At third, Danville’s Hal Younghans hit .265, slugged .422, scored 90 runs and drove

in 84. Add to that the fact that he fielded .920 to Lucas’ .887, and the scribes’ choice becomes even more of a mystery. Utility man Peterson pitched and played outfield.

198

Minor League All-Star Teams Joe Reardon (Evansville) who was 8–5, 2.72 in 29 games.

Danville’s Bob “K.O.” Kohout went ¡4–3 with a 2.29 ERA and was just flat out a better pitcher than was Linderman. The relief choice would have been

Tri-State League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Carl Miller Lawrence Womack Robert Morem Veo Story William Sayles Alex Kvasnak D.C. “Pud” Miller Dick Bouknight Herschel Held

SP SP

John Dixon Porter Witt

Team Charlotte Charlotte Charlotte Asheville Asheville Charlotte Spartanburg Asheville Anderson

Charlotte Knoxville

G 32 18

G 116 135 123 131 134 137 130 96 89

GS — —

AB 435 547 474 511 500 551 464 332 303 CG 24 7

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 125 71 175 16 11 4 70 66 4 .287 .402 .382 155 81 207 35 7 1 96 37 14 .283 .378 .332 146 69 193 23 6 4 71 25 5 .308 .407 .347 152 63 197 23 4 5 59 46 9 .297 .386 .362 167 77 229 24 10 6 105 47 3 .334 .458 .392 177 101 277 37 4 5 73 49 23 .321 .503 .379 132 75 243 28 8 19 89 64 5 .284 .524 .372 122 48 148 15 4 1 46 26 2 .367 .446 .415 93 59 152 21 4 10 59 60 10 .307 .502 .425 SH 3 2

W 19 8

L 11 6

% .633 .571

IP 244 121

H 246 141

ER 71 38

SO 90 53

BB 53 22

ERA 2.62 2.83

BR/9 11.3 12.1

hit .299, had 72 runs batted in and hit ¡5 triples. Utility man Held played second and third. At pitcher, two Charlotte pitchers were sti›ed. Roland Miller was ¡7–6, 2.¡3 with a league-leading 9.9 BR/9 ratio. Alex “Z-Man” Zukowski was the league’s premier pitcher, going ¡5–4 (.789) with an outstanding ¡.42 ERA. Asheville’s Erv Palica was ¡5–6 with a 2.5¡ ERA—not better than the three Charlotte pitchers, but much better than Witt. Mearl Strachan of Asheville would have been the relief choice, going ¡¡–4, 2.52 in 35 games.

Sayles was a playing manager. Anderson shortstop Sammy Meeks was better in all o›ensive departments (.3¡3/.4¡2/.379, 83 runs) than was Storey. Fred Marsh, Knoxville outfielder was in my judgment tied for being the second-best outfielder in the league (along with Kvasnak and Miller), but was left o› the team. He batted .337, scored 96 runs and stole 38 bases. Ralph Novotny, Shelby catcher, would have been an excellent choice as a second at that position. He

California League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

Name Frank Hecklinger Edward Samco› Harry Goorabian Tom Glaviano Alfonso Prieto Irv Noren Rupe “Tommy” Thompson Clarence Russell Jack Mele Robert Schang Theodore Harder

Mike Garcia Don Belton

Bakersfield Stockton

Team Visalia Stockton Stockton Fresno Bakersfield Santa Barbara Modesto Bakersfield Santa Barbara Visalia/Stockton Fresno G 41 42

GS — —

CG 20 19

G 107 113 107 126 98 130 115 126 118 106 117

AB 350 462 389 435 405 518 386 446 463 347 447

SH 3 3

Yet another in ¡946’s string of (mostly) well-selected All-Star squads. Goorabian, Thompson and Mele were playing managers. Santa Barbara shortstop Dan Holden deserves mention, if not a spot on the All-Star team. He hit .364, had a .463 OB%, and scored ¡35 runs. Very good, but not better than Glaviano.

W 22 23

H 97 140 140 147 154 188 126 150 141 108 135 L 9 9

R 74 97 114 142 85 138 111 127 79 67 99

TB 187 176 239 268 177 282 186 246 185 148 223

% .710 .719

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 13 4 23 71 79 8 .277 .534 .416 12 9 2 63 71 30 .303 .381 .400 13 7 24 110 86 17 .360 .614 .480 29 13 22 111 124 64 .338 .616 .488 15 4 0 43 36 25 .380 .437 .437 33 14 11 129 83 28 .363 .544 .455 14 2 14 87 114 17 .326 .482 .482 26 5 19 98 117 34 .336 .552 .483 19 2 7 71 38 13 .305 .400 .357 19 9 1 53 67 20 .311 .427 .423 22 6 18 91 68 41 .302 .499 .399 IP 236 246

H 218 243

ER 67 79

SO 186 120

BB 110 64

ERA 2.56 2.89

BR/9 12.7 11.3

The league chose four outfielders. I think that Prieto, despite his .380 BA was out-done by Stockton’s Nino Bongiovani. “Bongo” hit for .3¡6, slugged .454, and had an OB% of .42¡. He scored 95 runs and drove in 96. Harder played first and the outfield. Visalia gave up 8.5 RPG.

¡946

199

Carolina League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jim Blair Lee Mohr Bill Hockenbury Hilliard Nance Woody Fair Tom Wright Gus Zernial Milton Welch Gerard “Nig” Lipscomb

SP SP

Frank Paulin Willard Speaks

Team Burlington Durham Martinsville Martinsville Durham Durham Burlington Durham Greensboro G 42 39

L-S-D Greensboro

G 104 128 126 123 139 135 137 129 92

GS — —

AB 424 559 511 453 569 526 501 438 329

CG 31 16

H 140 179 167 149 198 200 167 117 97

SH — —

R 65 131 74 91 161 122 114 65 54 W 19 16

TB 204 217 238 254 335 300 325 165 137

L 14 13

2B 29 28 34 34 51 36 29 30 23

% .576 .552

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 10 5 81 — 10 .330 .481 — 5 0 54 — 14 .320 .388 — 5 9 88 — 5 .327 .466 — 12 16 77 — 61 .329 .561 — 7 24 161 — 7 .348 .589 — 11 14 116 — 11 .380 .570 — 3 41 111 — 10 .333 .649 — 3 4 71 — 4 .267 .377 — 1 5 73 — 13 .295 .416 — IP 303 238

H 316 236

ER — —

SO 220 172

BB 87 108

ERA — —

BR/9 12.1 13.3

BB and HBP not kept for batters, hence no OB%. ER not recorded for pitchers. L-S-D is Leaksville-Spray-Draper.

Not selected at catcher, Winston-Salem’s Robert Kubicek hit .335 and slugged .428. Lipscomb played first and third. Pitching non-choice Hector “Skinny” Brown of Durham was not only ¡5–5 with ¡¡.5 BR/9, but also hit .352 (with 20 RBIs). Jesse Plummer of Greensboro was ¡7–5 with ¡¡.0 BR/9 allowed.

A good hitting league in ’46, an average of ¡2.2 runs a game was scored in each game. John Streza, Durham first baseman, hit only .299 but it was a productive .299, as he drove in ¡¡7 runs. There were three outfielders in contention for the third outfield slot. The two who lost out were Joe Socey of Martinsville who hit .376 and slugged .532 with ¡¡6 runs batted in and Walt Hobson of L-S-D who hit .349 and slugged .566 with ¡¡¡ runs scored and ¡26 driven in, 2¡ homers, and 44 doubles.

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Anderson William Nichols Don Brennan Robert Gardner Bill Behie Gerald Scala William Harnick William Lance Arthur Frantz

SP SP

John Uber Joseph Och

Team Butler Erie Erie Youngstown Butler Erie Niagra Falls Erie Niagra Falls

Erie Butler

G 33 23

GS 24 21

G 131 128 120 121 128 95 104 93 106 CG 18 11

AB 509 518 431 454 464 327 364 299 368 SH 6 3

H 159 141 120 124 153 111 120 83 108 W 18 10

Johnstown first baseman–manager Cyril Pfeifer hit for averages of .344/.526/.463, and, in ¡86 fewer ABs than Anderson, had more runs batted in (59). At short, Erie playing manager Milt Rosner scored more runs (76) and drove in more (60) in 96 fewer ABs than Gardner. Both of these playing-managers would have been on my roster. Utility man Franz played first, third, caught, and pitched.

R 95 90 61 63 80 65 91 42 52

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 202 33 5 0 55 50 33 .312 .397 .383 176 19 2 4 44 54 40 .272 .340 .347 145 15 5 0 47 33 8 .278 .336 .333 167 17 13 0 57 45 15 .273 .368 .345 217 29 10 5 87 78 8 .330 .468 .426 162 27 9 2 45 51 22 .339 .495 .435 199 31 9 10 64 73 10 .330 .547 .449 116 8 2 7 55 35 8 .278 .388 .357 149 16 11 1 60 48 7 .293 .405 .378 L 4 7

% .818 .588

IP 215 140

H 140 103

ER 41 57

SO 192 119

BB 72 128

ERA 1.72 3.66

BR/9 9.0 15.4

Erie pitcher George Bamberger went ¡3–3 with a terrific ¡.35 ERA. Youngstown’s Johnny Kucab went ¡2–¡ with an ERA of ¡.86. Uber had an über Jahr, but “Bambi” and Kucab were done dirt and must have thought “Ouch” when the selection of Och was announced to a (doubtlessly) breathlessly waiting horde of M.A.L. partisans.

Western Association (C) Joplin manager/outfielder James Acton hit .334, was second in slugging at .560 and led the W.A. with a .44¡ OB%. He drove in 92 runs, more than Cole-

man and Watkins combined. He also scored 76 runs in only 398 ABs. Pete Deem, Muskogee catcher, hit .295 and

200

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Glenn “Rocky” Nelson Joseph Damato Jim Dyck Willard Elliott Al Lawrence Bob Coleman Byron Watkins Earl Skaggs Dale Hackett

SP SP

Anthony Jacobs Lewis Hester

Team St. Joseph Hutchinson Joplin Leavenworth Muskogee Fort Smith Topeka Joplin Joplin

Hutchinson Topeka

G 25 33

G 135 112 106 123 139 121 133 102 76 GS — —

AB 518 482 412 477 540 449 519 364 271 CG 11 24

H 165 156 150 129 172 120 176 95 94 SH 1 3

slugged .483. He had ¡8 homers and drove in 70 runs to Skaggs’ ¡ and 48. Hackett played first and short. Winlow Johnson of Topeka lived up to his name (and became a life-member of the “It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good” auxiliary) by going ¡¡–¡3 even while boasting league-leading figures of 2.22 ERA and 9.4 BR/9. Ralph Rosengarten, who chucked the

R 92 97 89 71 73 82 90 32 52 W 14 17

TB 257 259 246 195 253 175 233 125 128 L 5 11

2B 31 22 31 17 29 19 21 17 16

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 23 5 93 35 26 .319 .496 .367 18 15 85 47 38 .324 .537 .384 13 13 104 48 12 .364 .597 .437 14 7 78 49 14 .270 .409 .341 11 10 65 41 17 .319 .469 .373 9 6 43 81 16 .267 .390 .383 15 2 45 54 45 .339 .449 .406 5 1 48 29 3 .261 .343 .321 9 0 50 37 7 .347 .472 .425

% .737 .607

IP 151 237

H 147 213

ER 58 78

SO 112 154

BB 57 111

ERA 3.46 2.96

BR/9 12.3 12.6

ol’ pill for Leavenworth, 22–5, 2.30 with a 9.6 BR/9 ratio— not selected. Eulis Rosson, Muskogee, 20–9, 2.89 — not selected. Paul Almonte, Fort Smith, only ¡4–¡¡ but 2.68, 9.9 — not selected. By my reckoning, the ninth and tenth best W.A. hurlers were the ones chosen as “All-Stars.” Ahh, the vagaries of fate, how they do twist.

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gordon Goldsberry Verdun Gilchrist Leo Thomas Hayden “Stubby” Greer Bill Scopetone Richard Woldt Bob Crues Ted Clawitter Danny Ozark

SP SP

William Evans William Garland

Team Albuquerque Borger Abilene Abilene Lamesa/Amarillo Clovis Lamesa/Amarillo Borger Abilene

Amarillo Pampa

G 37 37

GS — —

G 129 136 137 135 115 112 124 114 136 CG 27 23

AB 449 497 534 565 456 411 502 396 526

H 167 187 194 202 166 139 171 134 171

R 110 176 153 146 87 108 106 89 133

TB 262 266 300 326 239 260 328 221 310

SH 3 1

W 26 23

L 7 8

% .788 .742

There was an average of ¡3.5 runs scored in each WT-NML game in ¡946. Twenty-three players scored at least ¡00 runs; nine had at least forty doubles. The Abilene Blue Sox socked the ball to a .3¡0 tune, slugged .502, and had a .40¡ team OB%. They scored 8.¡ runs a game. The Lamesa Lobos, who finished 62∂ games behind the Blue Sox, scored 5.2 runs a game, but their pitchers were wolfed up to the tune of 8.6 runs surrendered a game. The result? A 36–¡04, .257 season. Greer and Clawitter were playing managers. Borger non–All-Star first baseman Gordon Nell hit .335, slugged .660, had 47 doubles and 43 homers, and drove in ¡75 runs. Amarillo non–All-Star first baseman Joe Bauman hit only .30¡ but slugged .649 and, in ¡36 games, scored ¡37 runs and drove in ¡59 to go with his 48 homers. Neither was chosen over the 7 homer, 90 RBI Goldsberry, the only one of the three to reach the majors.

2B 32 42 42 39 40 24 46 27 34

3B HR RBI 21 7 90 11 5 86 8 16 99 8 23 131 3 9 88 11 25 104 12 29 120 3 18 88 6 31 142

IP 267 254

H 234 201

ER 98 80

BB 120 149 113 67 37 76 34 71 72 SO 297 273

SB 27 11 23 38 8 20 14 12 19

BA .372 .376 .363 .358 .364 .338 .341 .338 .325

BB 101 98

SA OB% .584 .506 .535 .527 .562 .479 .577 .430 .524 .412 .633 .443 .653 .386 .558 .440 .589 .420 ERA 3.30 2.83

BR/9 11.6 11.1

Pampa second baseman Redic Otey scored ¡50 runs in ¡36 games, but was far outclassed by Gilchrist. (Speaking of Gilchrist, the brother keystone combo of Verdun and Larry combined to score 307 runs, surely both a single-season brother and post–¡90¡ single season DP combo record.) Outfielder Ed Krage of Abilene (.377/.634/.502) would appear to be a better choice than Scopetone (whose last name sounds like something you used to be able to see advertised for 98¢ [plus shipping and handling)], right next to the “Hey Kids! Make Money Selling Grit!” ads in the back of comic books, back when said comic books sold for a dime). In 99 games and 377 ABs, Krage drove in 85 runs and scored ¡27. “Utility” man Ozark was a first baseman. Ike Palmer (Lamesa) only hit .282, but he drove in 94 runs while playing first, third, and catching (in other words, he was a utility man).

¡946 John Hall of Abilene should have been a third pitcher on the strength of his 20–9, 2.45 season. After

201

all, you didn’t see many sub-3.00 ERAs in the rollicking old wild W.T.-N.M.L.

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF C UT

Name Thomas Zikmund Charles Pepio John Knox Emil Stoecker John Kruckman Russell “Red” Mincy Jack Crosswhite Lou Bekeza

Team Bluefield Bristol Elizabethton Bristol/Bluefield New River Pulaski/Kingsport New River Elizabethton

SP SP

Shannon Hardwick Paul LaPalme

New River Bristol

G 36 27

G 93 93 95 87 113 123 112 119

GS — —

AB 366 341 364 361 434 452 400 447

CG 16 20

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 139 100 200 20 16 3 80 40 17 .380 .546 .448 103 67 146 22 9 1 71 53 4 .302 .428 .406 120 64 159 21 9 0 61 21 20 .330 .437 .371 116 73 149 19 7 0 38 39 19 .321 .413 .389 147 105 242 42 7 13 98 75 2 .339 .558 .444 179 131 286 51 10 12 136 109 20 .396 .633 .519 123 73 165 33 3 1 85 44 4 .308 .413 .384 145 93 204 24 4 9 60 50 26 .324 .456 .396 SH 3 1

W 23 20

L 3 2

% .885 .909

IP 209 191

H 212 192

ER 82 67

SO 97 181

BB 67 55

ERA 3.53 3.16

BR/9 12.5 11.6

numbers to Stoecker (.336/.473/.400), but his 89 RBIs should have swung the decision his way. Apparently, only two outfielders were selected for the squad. Conspicuous by his absence was Ray Rudisill of Pulaski. Roarin’ Ray hit .342, slugged .504, and, thanks to reaching first ¡26 times without benefit of a hit, had a .486 OB%. He had 93 RBIs and scored an incredible ¡63 runs (on only ¡54 hits). Over a ¡50 game season, that extrapolates out to a cool 207 runs. Bekeza played first, caught, and pitched. Bob Bowman, pitching for New River, was ¡2–3 with a 2.4¡ ERA and a league-leading ¡0.4 BR/9 ratio. He walked only ¡9 batters all year, a ¡.3/9 IP ratio.

Pulaski scored 8.6 runs a game and had a team .404 OB%. Hapless Welch, a tail-draggin’ 33–84, had a “pitching” sta› (or perhaps pitching staph is closer to the truth) that gave up 9 runs a game, 3.7 more than the Miners scored. Cross, Mincy, Crosswhite and Bekeza were playing managers. Leo “Muscle” Shoals, Kingsport first baseman hit .333, slugged .579 and posted a .442 OB% numbers with 2¡ homers (most in the ’46 Appy) and ¡06 RBIs. He was deserving of a “co” spot. Third baseman Sal “Man Oh” Mannarino (New River) had .295/.4¡8/.409 averages and scored ¡09 runs. Shortstop Don Cross of Bristol had similar

Blue Ridge League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Edwin Morgan Einar Sorenson Richard Kalal Noel Casbier Laddie Paul Doug Clarke Edward Wayne Serge Schuster Michael Brelich

SP SP

Edward Wallace Norman Southard

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% Mt. Airy/Galax 102 396 155 98 255 30 11 16 127 — 9 .391 .644 — Salem/Lenoir 97 381 121 83 148 19 1 2 65 — 9 .318 .388 — Salem/Lenoir 103 390 120 127 189 24 12 7 66 — 42 .308 .485 — Salem/Lenoir 91 357 119 76 193 29 9 9 97 — 19 .333 .541 — Galax 90 321 97 46 135 16 5 4 49 — 7 .302 .421 — Mt. Airy/Galax 103 418 126 94 174 18 6 6 58 — 15 .301 .416 — Salem/Lenoir 90 330 133 84 163 20 5 0 77 — 23 .403 .494 — Salem/Lenoir 87 332 95 64 135 11 4 7 64 — 1 .286 .407 — Radford 95 341 111 66 150 14 8 3 71 — 12 .326 .440 —

Salem/Lenoir Galax

G

GS

CG

SH

26 19

— —

13 12

1 0

With the exception of one pitcher, this was one the scribes got right. Morgan and Casbier were playing managers. Brelich caught and played outfield. It seems strange to have a sub-.500, over 4.00 pitcher as an “All-Star,” especially when Lenoir’s Richard Cooper was ¡0–5 and led in ERA with 3.09. Harry Cohick of Radford went ¡6–9 with a 3.35 ERA,

W

L

%

IP

H

13 4 .765 169 131 8 10 .444 133 120

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

62 148 60 112

119 60

3.30 4.06

13.8 12.6

fourth in the league. The Galax Leafs pitchers turned brown and fell from their perches while the year was in full vernal bloom, giving up 9 runs a game (4.2 than the hitters were able to score). That may be why they finished at 30–78, .278, 42 games back. That, and the fact that Galax fielded .9¡9 and made three errors a game.

202

Minor League All-Star Teams

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Vern “Moose” Shetler Irv Dickens Ed Bauer Ray Carlson Verne Blackwell John Wolfe Ed Musial Charles Munday Grover Fowler

SP

Bill Kennedy

Team New Bern Wilson Wilson Greenville Greenville Wilson Fayetteville Rocky Mount Rocky Mount

Rocky Mount

G 41

G 123 108 124 121 123 125 91 111 100 GS —

AB 403 408 477 473 473 496 317 361 361 CG —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 146 83 259 31 11 20 95 — 10 .362 .643 — 124 88 151 21 3 0 44 — 25 .304 .370 — 152 68 198 18 2 8 57 — 8 .319 .415 — 158 103 236 33 9 9 80 — 32 .334 .499 — 148 88 205 25 10 4 114 — 5 .313 .433 — 156 123 250 33 7 17 88 — 18 .315 .504 — 106 71 150 15 7 5 39 — 17 .334 .473 — 102 52 187 11 0 21 83 — 3 .283 .518 — 117 79 199 15 11 15 68 — 21 .324 .551 — SH —

W 28

L 3

% .903

IP 280

H 149

ER 32

SO 456

BB 101

ERA 1.03

BR/9 8.0

Walks not kept for hitters, so no OB% reckoning is possible.

such an extent that perhaps all other pitchers were forgotten. That 456 strike-outs is not a misprint, and it is an all-time N.A. record. Kennedy averaged ¡4.7 K/9, gave up a miniscule 4.8 hits per nine inning pitched, and his ¡.03 ERA is one of the best of all time.

Even better selected than the Blue Ridge immediately above. Dickens was a playing manager. Fowler caught and played outfield. Bill Herring, Goldsboro manager, was 2¡–6 with a ¡.72 ERA and only 8.9 BR/9, one of the year’s best marks. However, Kennedy dominated the league to

Eastern Shore League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Irvin Schupp Ray Nadel Stephen Nemeth Grady Wilson Nick Malfara Jimmy Stevens Don Marshall John Martin Goldsboro Tyler

SP SP

Mike Gast Jean Bournot

Team G Centreville 118 Milford 124 Milford 123 Milford 124 Centreville 119 Centreville 122 Dover 122 Easton 115 Cambridge 120

Centreville Cambridge

G 24 12

GS — —

AB 467 479 499 490 474 506 486 415 455

H 120 157 145 154 162 148 161 113 134

CG 21 7

R 98 97 80 111 103 132 108 63 76

SH 3 3

Dover first baseman Nick “Foul” Pole had .3¡¡/.467/.393 numbers with 88 runs and 77 RBIs in 54 fewer ABs than Schupp had. Fellow Doveronian outfielder Herman Kiel was likewise overlooked. He hit .339, led the league (by a lot) with his .63¡ SA, and also ranked high with his .4¡¡ OB%. He had 25 homers and 90 RBIs in 95 games. “Utility” man Tyler was an outfielder, and he was

W 16 8

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 222 21 9 18 84 72 8 .257 .475 .359 218 18 2 13 71 85 23 .328 .455 .434 196 19 4 8 88 46 11 .291 .393 .354 219 21 4 12 61 82 24 .314 .447 .418 232 22 9 10 99 54 16 .342 .489 .418 195 16 8 5 58 66 80 .292 .385 .376 280 24 4 29 110 48 9 .331 .576 .397 160 24 4 5 66 61 4 .272 .386 .368 190 27 7 5 46 68 17 .295 .418 .387 L 5 4

% .762 .667

IP 191 91

H 152 61

ER 66 27

SO 182 98

BB 95 69

ERA 3.11 2.67

BR/9 11.8 13.0

a bad outfielder, “fielding” .9¡7. (If the scribes were going to choose an outfielder for the “utility” spot, why not Kiel?) Don “Purina” Petschow would have been a much better utility man, as he played third, short, and the outfield for Federalsburg and Seaford. Two Centreville pitchers, Stan “Engine” Couling and Floyd “Bat” Cave had All-Star quality stats: ¡7–8, 2.88 for Couling and ¡4–8, 2.89 for Cave.

Florida State League (D) Good, Hoag, Steinecke, and Fuchs were playing managers. The Sanford Celeryfeds manager/first baseman Ed Levy (.3¡8/.43¡/.42¡) not only had better numbers than Eaton, he also had more runs scored and driven in fewer ABs.

At second, Estes McBride (Daytona Beach) hit .323 and slugged .402 in addition to driving in ¡00 runs, 58 more than Judy. Gene Ciolek (Gainesville/St. Augustine) should have been the shortstop, but only because Good was really a utility player, playing third, short and the outfield. Ciolek (.294/.379/.38¡

¡946 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Eaton Lyle Judy Jack Wilkes Wilbur Good Jr. Buddy Lake Myril Hoag Walter Harrington Bill Steinecke William Fuchs

SP SP

Robert Kennington Scott Carey

Team Gainesville St. Augustine St. Augustine Leesburg Sanford Palatka DeLand St. Augustine DeLand

DeLand Orlando

G 131 95 137 129 139 121 68 90 135

G 38 36

AB 509 361 563 488 529 403 219 253 529

GS — —

CG 26 23

203

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 158 85 218 25 10 5 89 66 7 .310 .428 .397 102 67 113 8 0 1 42 55 33 .283 .313 .382 160 85 184 18 3 0 78 38 17 .284 .327 .332 160 69 186 20 3 0 85 70 8 .328 .381 .423 175 100 247 33 12 5 140 72 34 .331 .467 .414 138 79 207 37 4 8 96 91 21 .342 .514 .468 64 41 87 11 3 2 44 34 10 .292 .397 .392 77 38 93 12 2 0 35 32 10 .304 .368 .397 154 114 222 29 8 8 97 104 57 .291 .420 .412 SH — —

W 21 22

L 10 7

% .677 .759

IP 283 247

H 331 160

ER 105 57

SO 61 244

BB 82 91

ERA 3.34 2.08

BR/9 13.2 9.3

Sosh hit .3¡6 and slugged .436 while driving in a respectable 78 runs, only 46 more than “Stone Corner” Steinecke. “Utility” choice Fuchs was an outfielder — and a poor one (¡7 errors). Richard Bass, manager of Gainsville (a team that finished 5¡ games under .500 and played .264 ball with a 5.65 ERA when he was not the pitcher of record) was ¡3–¡2, 2.87, winning 3¡ % of his teams games. Jodie Harrington (Sanford) was 20–7 with a 2.03 ERA. By the way, dream-teamer Kennington only averaged ¡.9 K/9.

with 8¡ runs and 76 RBIs) would not have been a bad choice. Walter Harrington’s choice is another of the continuing “Mysteries of Minor League All-Star Teams” series. In his 68 games he showed neither power nor exceptional hitting ability. John Lavell of Orlando showed both as his .330/.487/.43¡ averages will attest. He also scored ¡¡4 runs and drove in ¡09 to finish second in the Fla. State in both categories. But wait!— there is still another Florida State league mystery choice, that of Steinecke over the Daytona Beach Islander catcher/manager John Sosh.

Georgia-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bill Glynn Warren Brooks Walt Rogers Mike Romello Joe Angeli Joe Moody James McCarnes Norman Wilson Hal Haddican

SP SP

Lee Holloman Guinn Cronic

Team Americus Moultrie Valdosta Americus Tallahassee Waycross Waycross Waycross Tallahassee

Moultrie Waycross

G 37 29

G 114 103 123 114 125 122 125 106 85 GS — —

AB 470 370 490 423 465 470 503 347 321 CG 20 12

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 154 88 269 34 18 15 104 39 8 .328 .572 .384 116 104 131 13 1 0 36 81 31 .314 .354 .441 154 82 216 21 13 5 61 44 18 .314 .441 .374 116 99 147 13 6 2 57 70 19 .274 .348 .381 119 79 177 22 9 6 79 60 16 .256 .381 .345 147 102 203 27 7 5 98 72 3 .313 .432 .407 169 111 218 34 6 1 72 72 14 .336 .433 .426 100 51 123 21 1 0 58 60 15 .288 .354 .403 88 58 108 14 3 0 31 46 31 .274 .336 .377 SH 2 3

Moultrie first baseman Ken Rhyne led the league with 22 homers and ¡29 runs driven in, was second with ¡00 walks and a .5¡8 SA, and third with a .428 OB%, but was not selected. At third, Thomasville manager Vince “Moon” Mullen scored 87 runs in 90 games, hit .325 and had a terrific .5¡2 OB% but he too was overlooked. Joe Angeli’s selection is odd. A .256 average for an outfielder does not seem quite up to snu› for an “All-Star.” How about Ken Corley of Americus? He hit .3¡7 with 8¡ runs scored and 82 driven in—nothing special, but better than Angeli. Valdosta catcher/manager Bill Welp hit for .3¡0/.4¡2 averages and scored 65 runs. Haddican

W 20 12

L 5 9

% .800 .571

IP 216 165

H 154 147

ER 56 60

SO 184 143

BB 114 57

ERA 2.33 3.27

BR/9 11.3 11.3

played outfield and caught. Non-selectee Pat Dove (Thomasville/Cordele) hit .292 with 69 runs driven in and played first, second, and third. Americus’ John “the Mesmerizer” Asmer’s 24–6, 2.8¡ was not deemed worthy of selection. Nor was Albany’s Herb Moore who was ¡5–3 for a team ¡7 games under .500 (they played .376 without him) and who also led the league in ERA with a very fine ¡.44, had 2¡4 strike outs (¡¡ K/9) and only allowed an incredible 4.6 hits every 9 innings. Troubled by wildness, his BR/9 ratio was 9.4, still good enough to lead the league. Charles Dommer (Americus) was ¡7–5, 2.¡5 and was second with 9.8 BR/9. Elmo Comitti was ¡4–8, 2.02 for Thomasville, a team that

204

Minor League All-Star Teams (.278) and 53 games out, hit seven homers and slugged .305.

finished 35 games under .500, making at least four pitchers who had better seasons than did Cronic. As an aside, Cordele, which wound up 35–9¡

Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Adolph Arlitt Newt Keithly Ken Aubrey Richard Bulkley Larry Singleton Joseph Pollock Don Lenhardt Dave Dennis Jack Bumgardner

Team Carthage Miami Iola Chanute Iola Miami Pittsburg Miami Bartlesville

SP SP

Ross Grimsley Oscar Walterman

Chanute Carthage

G 119 119 117 118 84 85 63 113 72 G 26 31

AB 472 483 458 508 322 362 250 408 168 GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 161 80 221 44 5 2 82 83 15 .341 .468 .440 167 101 215 25 10 1 73 54 25 .346 .445 .412 112 86 178 23 3 9 50 86 6 .245 .389 .364 130 111 167 18 8 1 46 53 40 .256 .329 .326 100 59 157 20 7 10 61 49 10 .311 .488 .402 81 84 117 14 2 6 50 47 50 .224 .323 .313 92 45 149 18 9 7 58 34 7 .368 .596 .444 113 62 140 18 3 1 55 45 6 .277 .343 .349 37 28 46 9 0 0 9 3 3 .220 .274 .234 CG — —

SH — —

W 18 18

L 5 9

% .783 .667

IP 196 218

H 110 190

ER 42 53

SO 295 231

BB 123 75

ERA 1.93 2.19

BR/9 10.7 10.9

HBP not recorded for hitters or pitchers, so both OB% and BR/9 are approximate.

M), but much better than Pollock. It was not exactly a bounty year for utility players either, as the choice of Bumgardner shows. He played 37 games at positions other than pitcher (where he was 9–¡2), but those don’t show up in the fielding stats. In any event, he certainly hit like a pitcher.

Arlitt was a playing manager. Pollock may be a contender for the single weakest outfield choice for any league in any year — .224? .323? .3¡3? Man, that’s not even a good year for a shortstop. Glenn Chandler, Bartlesville, had .27¡/ .4¡6/.384 averages. Not that awe-inspiring (this was obviously a down year for outfielders in the K-O-

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Homer Johnston Elmer Gray Floyd Fogg Harold Boguskie Paul Zubak Ivan Kuester Wally Berger Frank Zubik Dan Verderbar

SP SP

James Burns Robert Schultz

Team Cairo Fulton Hopkinsville Hopkinsville Mayfield Owensboro Owensboro Madisonville Union City

Hopkinsville Fulton

G 64 119 121 126 123 98 121 90 105 G 27 34

AB 243 481 491 537 499 399 503 321 403

GS — —

H 110 128 160 190 150 121 174 97 117

CG 18 20

R 57 101 92 116 117 103 111 75 66

SH — —

Zubik was a playing manager. Wow! What a year for Kitty League first basemen. Egyptian first sacker Johnston played but half a year, but you cannot argue with averages like his. But, even with his incredible year, I still think that the league should have had co–first basemen. Owensboro Oiler manager Earl Browne had .429/.677/.5¡2 averages and drove in ¡04 runs in 92 games. That, my friends, is a great (and, once again, I don’t mean an ESPN “great” either) year, and should have been recognized as such. In the outfield, I would have chosen Hal Seawright (Hopkinsville) over Kuester ten times out of ten.

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 184 17 3 17 82 29 13 .453 .757 .520 183 21 11 4 59 62 12 .266 .380 .355 263 28 6 21 96 34 9 .326 .536 .374 274 35 5 13 80 61 16 .354 .510 .431 275 22 5 31 113 65 7 .301 .551 .386 173 18 5 8 71 41 2 .303 .434 .394 266 37 2 17 113 40 3 .346 .529 .403 160 19 4 12 70 32 8 .302 .498 .388 181 16 6 12 74 52 3 .290 .449 .381

W 17 19

L 6 10

% .739 .655

IP 176 221

H 189 148

ER 59 89

SO 105 361

BB 49 148

ERA 3.02 3.62

BR/9 12.6 13.2

Seawright had averages of .355, .585 and .404, hit 38 doubles and 23 homers, and drove in ¡22 runs in ¡¡7 games. It should be noted that Zubak was an horrific outfielder. He had no range, 25 errors, and fielded only .882. “Utility” man Verderbar was a third baseman. Two other players were more deserving of an all-star utility slot, Ray Fletcher (Owensboro) and Bill Haschak (Madisonville). Fletcher had a very good year at bat (.34¡, .629 and .4¡9 with 32 homers and ¡26 runs scored and ¡40 driven in ¡¡8 games). He played outfield and caught. Haschak, who played first, second, and outfield, hit .374 and scored ¡¡0

¡946

205

league with a 2.58 ERA and an ¡¡.0 BR/9 ratio. It should be noted that Schultz averaged an incredible ¡4.7 K/9.

runs. Either or both would have been a better choice than Verderbar. Owensboro pitcher George Buickel went ¡8–4 (a league best .8¡8), but had the misfortune to lead the

North Carolina State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name James Milner Sam Bell Hal Harrigan Walter Fiala Phillip Cardinale Norman Small Willard Mauney George Bradshaw Lewis Davis

SP SP

Robert Ennis Lacy James

Team Mooresville Hickory Salisbury Thomasville Thomasville Mooresville Concord Landis Concord

Concord Concord

G 23 31

G 101 100 94 97 103 99 96 102 103 GS — —

AB 409 335 336 375 363 388 355 350 401 CG 21 28

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 132 61 166 22 3 2 35 16 8 .323 .406 .359 100 64 139 17 8 2 43 65 4 .299 .415 .418 81 54 143 17 3 13 56 46 10 .241 .426 .338 132 77 172 20 4 4 44 25 33 .352 .459 .394 114 62 156 12 9 4 71 63 21 .314 .430 .420 135 100 240 31 10 18 69 50 8 .348 .619 .425 107 78 148 14 6 5 33 26 44 .301 .417 .362 114 35 151 17 4 4 57 17 1 .326 .431 .359 140 99 201 27 8 6 81 46 67 .349 .501 .421 SH 8 4

W 19 22

L 3 7

% .864 .759

IP 188 243

H 133 196

ER 22 75

SO 164 247

BB 30 101

ERA 1.05 2.78

BR/9 7.9 11.7

At third, Felix Stirewalt (Concord and Landis) had .324/.399/.395 averages and would have been my selection. Mooresville outfielder Ross Morrow would have been my third outfield choice over Mauney. Morrow hit .3¡9, slugged .503 and drove in 78 runs. Utility man Davis played second and the outfield. Please note Ennis’ fantastic ERA and BR/9 ratio. How did he lose three games? Hoyt Wilhelm should have been added to the sta›, as he went 2¡–8 with a 2.47 ERA and allowed ¡0.7 BR/9.

Salisbury hit only .2¡¡ and “slugged” .294, and only scored 3.7 runs per game. Thanks to a pitching sta› that only gave up 4.¡ RPG however, they still managed to finish above .500! Concord pitchers who pitched at least 45 innings and who spent the entire year with the Weavers were 66–22 (.750) with a 2.43 ERA. With twelve wins and eleven defeats unaccounted for, I am sure that the team ERA would still wind up under 3.00. Bell and Small were playing managers.

Ohio State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John Joslin Paul Fouts Joe DeStefano Frank Lanzetti Peter Shurman Maynard DeWitt Wayne Reside John Pluchino Ed Ott

SP SP

Hardy Holt Ewen Bryden

Team Richmond Dayton Zanesville Springfield Middletown Zanesville Lima/Sp’f ’ld Springfield Zanesville

Zanesville Springfield

G 36 28

G 78 132 136 65 122 131 131 119 131 GS — —

AB 291 545 466 254 426 533 508 351 469 CG 20 20

H 99 156 153 81 146 187 174 88 149

R 52 96 100 53 101 151 116 64 90

SH 2 2

At shortstop, James Massar of Zanesville has a valid claim to have been the one chosen by the league. He hit only .249, but he scored ¡¡¡ runs and walked ¡¡8 times. He also led the league in PO, A, TC, DP and FA, albeit with a poor .897 (Lanzetti was an even worse .872). At catcher, I would’ve gone with Lima’s Ramon McLeod. His .328/.386 averages were far superior to Pluchino’s, although Pluchino did draw ¡07 walks. Ott played first and outfield.

W 23 17

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 146 7 5 0 29 24 3 .340 .502 .396 217 31 9 4 98 24 32 .286 .398 .318 203 30 10 0 87 100 34 .328 .436 .449 96 13 1 0 30 30 19 .319 .378 .399 259 18 16 21 95 68 28 .343 .608 .438 226 6 12 3 64 63 110 .351 .424 .429 249 30 6 11 118 64 42 .343 .490 .420 102 10 2 0 47 107 8 .251 .291 .426 204 25 12 2 90 83 23 .318 .435 .423 L 7 9

% .767 .654

IP 232 202

H 213 184

ER 58 48

SO 116 219

BB 65 69

ERA 2.25 2.14

BR/9 10.8 11.5

Joe Roseberry, whose team (Marion) finished ¡3 games under .500, was 2¡–9 and had a 2.45 ERA. When he was not on the mound, his team played .393 ball. He also struck out 20¡ batters and hit .3¡9. Lewis Fox of Richmond went ¡7–9, 2.55 with 227 strike outs. Middleton made 455 errors during the season (3.25 per game), and each Ohio State game saw an average of 5.3 errors.

206

Minor League All-Star Teams

PONY League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Dick Kryhoski Joe Abreu Orval Cott Charles Koshorek Ken Humphrey George Lerchen Dick Kokos Charles Chian Stephen Kromko

SP SP

Bell Koszarek Jim Dimitriadis

Team Wellsville Wellsville Jamestown Jamestown Jamestown Jamestown Batavia Olean Batavia

Bradford Jamestown

G 66 106 126 117 77 66 125 116 105 G 29 21

AB 265 361 470 488 317 243 482 398 385 GS 26 21

H 105 127 148 146 116 82 166 92 111 CG 18 17

R 66 105 115 107 68 50 118 51 77 SH 3 7

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 196 28 3 19 85 24 5 .396 .740 .452 216 24 1 21 87 89 7 .352 .598 .489 219 26 9 9 105 86 20 .315 .466 .428 206 16 13 6 56 63 8 .299 .422 .382 153 22 3 3 46 22 3 .366 .483 .407 134 9 11 7 58 36 7 .337 .551 .435 290 37 12 21 114 78 12 .344 .602 .439 115 13 5 0 50 49 3 .231 .289 .322 170 33 1 8 77 59 3 .288 .442 .390 W 18 17

L 5 3

% .783 .850

IP 219 164

H 200 104

ER 73 37

SO 107 135

BB 81 63

ERA 3.00 2.03

BR/9 11.8 9.4

averages, 77 runs scored and 56 driven in. Why settle for a .23¡ hitting, sub-.300 slugging catcher who got on base less than a third of his plate appearances? Kromko played second and outfield. Of course, there was no reliever picked, but Earl Evans (Jamestown) finished 25 of the 26 games in which he appeared and, went 8–2, walked only 5 batters (less than one every nine innings) and had an ERA of ¡.80.

Abreu was a playing manager. I would have named Abreu as my utility man (he split his time between second and third) and had Norwood Ozark (the very name itself is redolent of that little bit of paradise where Missouri and Arkansas run smack into each other) at the keystone spot. Norwood hit .323 and had an OB% of .43¡. At catcher, Robert Perry of Bradford had 396 ABs to Charley “Chan” Chian’s 398, but had .283/.38¡/.40¡

Tobacco State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Phalti Sho›ner Mike Balla Lonnie Smith Andrew Cullen Willie Duke Edward Bass Orville Nesselrode William Campau William Ratteree

SP SP

Robert Keane George Bortz

Team Sanford Smithfield-Selma Clinton Wilmington Clinton Dunn-Erwin Sanford Clinton A’ngier-F’quay Sp’gs

Clinton Sanford

G 29 31

GS — —

G 116 103 116 115 96 109 114 108 71

CG 22 21

AB 456 347 460 453 328 446 449 437 226

SH 1 4

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 138 110 185 21 4 6 67 — 19 .303 .406 — 98 78 124 10 8 0 42 — 6 .282 .357 — 140 117 236 15 9 21 92 — 19 .304 .513 — 128 95 175 22 8 3 42 — 30 .283 .386 — 129 106 251 29 6 27 109 — 15 .393 .765 — 144 75 249 30 9 19 110 — 2 .323 .558 — 159 95 295 28 9 30 150 — 5 .354 .657 — 147 70 227 22 5 16 85 — 4 .336 .519 — 66 42 99 12 0 7 38 — 3 .292 .438 — W 23 14

L 4 14

% .852 .500

IP 229 237

H 219 220

ER — —

SO 104 193

BB 75 108

ERA — —

BR/9 12.0 12.6

Walks not kept for batters so no OB% reckoning possible. ER not kept for pitcher, so no ERA possible. F’quay Sp’gs is Fuquay Springs.

Balla and Duke were playing managers. Phalti Sho›ner … what a euphonious appellation (with my apologies to W.C. Fields). There were two worthy utility men in the Tobacco State League in ¡946. Rateree played second, caught, and pitched (at least, as 20 of his games are unaccounted for due to the fact that he appeared fewer than ten games at the other positions which he un-

doubtedly played). Riley Lamb (Wilmington) played first, second, third, outfield and pitched. He hit .272 and drove in 7¡ runs. Howard “Man’“ Auman of Sanford went 22–8 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.4, the league’s best. Earl Mosser of Clinton was 2¡–8, ¡2.7. Either would seem to have been a better choice than Bortz.

¡947

207

! ¡947 ! In ¡947, there were fifty two leagues in the National Association. Forty six (86%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UT UT

Name Paul Campbell Danny Murtaugh Don Lang Alvin Dark Cl› Mapes Ed Stewart Hank Bauer Eric Tipton Al Roberge John Riddle Wes Westrum Gus Niarhos Bobby Rhawn Chuck Koney

Team Louisville Milwaukee Columbus Milwaukee Kansas City Kansas City Kansas City St. Paul Milwaukee Indianapolis Minneapolis Kansas City Minneapolis Louisville

G 152 119 142 149 155 145 131 138 139 79 134 93 140 154

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Charley Stanceu Fred Bradley Frank Hiller Clem Dreisewerd Phil Haugstead Glenn Elliott

Columbus Kansas City Kansas City Louisville St. Paul Milwaukee

G 31 28 22 31 37 24

AB 601 444 483 614 542 528 457 452 515 210 398 237 503 607 GS 27 21 22 24 28 18

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 183 93 253 24 14 6 71 56 8 .304 .421 .365 134 96 180 15 2 7 49 76 2 .302 .405 .406 167 94 252 28 12 11 87 74 6 .346 .522 .440 186 121 279 49 7 10 66 60 14 .303 .454 .367 167 107 279 27 11 21 117 119 17 .308 .515 .434 189 107 277 33 17 7 102 52 17 .358 .525 .418 143 90 233 32 5 16 79 49 13 .313 .510 .384 139 96 224 18 5 19 106 130 15 .308 .496 .464 162 77 230 27 7 9 86 47 3 .315 .447 .375 71 17 92 9 0 4 24 18 0 .338 .438 .390 117 85 213 24 3 22 87 74 10 .294 .535 .408 76 44 90 11 0 1 26 62 2 .321 .380 .470 152 76 244 34 8 14 90 33 8 .302 .485 .346 177 88 225 28 4 4 78 42 8 .292 .371 .338 CG 15 11 12 17 16 10

SH 2 0 1 2 1 3

Milwaukee first baseman Heinz Becker led the league with a .363 BA and a .472 OB% (he also slugged .52¡). He scored 90 runs and drove in 90 in ¡44 fewer at-bats than Campbell. It should have been Becker all the way. The league chose five outfielders and three catchers. There seems to be one catcher too many to me. Riddle’s ¡7 runs and 24 RBIs are hardly the stu› dreams are made of (for his part, Niarhos at least had a terrific .470 OB%). The league chose position players as utility men and left two good utility men o› of the team. Rhawn was a third baseman who put in occasional appearances at short. Koney was a second baseman. Andy

W 12 13 15 18 16 14

L 12 4 5 7 6 5

% .500 .765 .750 .720 .727 .737

IP 221 157 175 201 230 138

H 214 163 193 202 199 149

ER 75 52 67 48 97 58

SO 109 74 73 101 145 75

BB 90 51 39 33 114 45

ERA 3.05 2.98 3.45 2.15 3.80 3.78

BR/9 12.4 12.3 12.0 10.7 12.5 12.7

Gilbert, who played for Toledo and Minneapolis, put in appearances at first, third and the outfield and hit a decent .29¡. Blas Monaco (Kansas City) played first, second, third, and outfield and scored 73 runs in only 284 PAs (he had a very good .455 OB%). The league also chose six pitchers, but left Steve Gerkin of Minneapolis (who was selected as the league’s MVP) o› of the sta›. Gerkin appeared in 83 games and was ¡0–2 with a 4.27 ERA. Despite Gerkin’s MVP status, I would have chosen another reliever over him if the league had had a relief slot: Ira Hutchinson of Columbus. Ira appeared in 62 games, went ¡0–3 and had a 2.9¡ ERA, in addition to allowing ¡¡.3 BR/9, second in the league to Dreisewerd.

International League (AAA) Baltimore second baseman Bob Wilson hit .28¡ and scored 87 runs. He also led the league with 36 stolen bases. Whitehead and Wilson were just about even afield, so there is no obvious reason why the league went with the weaker hitter. I would have added a fourth outfielder, John Graham of Jersey City. He compiled .289/.520/.358 averages to go along with his 34 homers and ¡2¡ runs driven in. No utility player was named, but Vernal “Nippy” Jones of Rochester not only played second, third, and

the outfield, he also led the league with a .337 average and slugged .539, not bad for a fill-in. The league’s best pitcher was passed over once again. In this case it was Toronto’s Luke “Hot Potato” Hamlin. He was ¡5–6 with league-leading figures of 2.22 (ERA) and ¡0.¡ (BR/9). No relief pitcher was chosen, but Alex Mustaikis of Newark and Syracuse was called in from the pen 33 times and was ¡¡–8 with a 2.79 ERA.

208

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ed Stevens Burgess Whitehead Oscar Grimes Virgil Stallcup Claude Corbitt Hank Sauer Al “Dutch” Mele Howie Moss Roy Campanella No selection made

SP SP

Ed Heusser Bob Kuzava

Team Montreal Jersey City Toronto Jersey City Syracuse Syracuse Syracuse Baltimore Montreal

Montreal Baltimore

G 26 30

G 133 141 154 76

AB 458 447 502 308 538 542 534 528 440

146 149 152 135

GS 22 29

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 133 89 244 22 4 27 108 84 5 .290 .533 .404 115 49 147 26 3 0 40 47 6 .257 .329 .329 137 74 193 15 7 9 58 133 7 .273 .384 .431 104 43 176 15 6 15 81 29 2 .338 .571 .396 160 84 195 19 5 2 41 54 13 .297 .362 .366 182 130 362 28 1 50 141 75 4 .336 .668 .428 168 90 265 27 5 20 100 82 12 .315 .496 .416 142 103 325 14 5 53 129 88 3 .269 .616 .374 120 64 190 25 3 13 75 66 7 .273 .432 .371

CG 16 18

SH 6 3

W 19 14

L 3 13

% .864 .519

IP 165 224

H 157 197

ER 50 79

SO 53 112

BB 51 76

ERA 2.73 3.17

BR/9 11.4 11.0

Pacific Coast League (AAA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Tony Lupien Dario Lodigiani Johnny Ostrowski Ron Nicely Max West Cecil Garriott Neill Sheridan Ed Fitzgerald Hillis Layne Francis Kelleher

SP SP

Bob Chesnes Cli› Chambers

Team Hollywood Oakland Los Angeles San Francisco San Diego Los Angeles San Francisco Sacramento Seattle Hollywood

San Francisco Los Angeles

G 186 141 173 173 167 171 153 144 138 153

G 34 37

AB 696 498 654 637 562 639 618 411 499 618

GS — —

H 237 155 191 161 172 181 177 149 183 177

CG 23 23

R 147 83 109 77 103 131 94 62 84 94

SH 1 4

I may have chosen two shortstops. Nicely handled around six chances a game to the 5.3 of Los Angeles’s Bill Schuster, but that .283 OB% looks like a Mets lead-o› hitter. Schuster’s other averages were about the same as Nicely’s, but his OB% was .34¡ (in other words, a Lou Piniella lead-o› hitter). I would call this just about a wash. I would replace Sheridan with Oakland’s Brooks Holder in the outfield. Holder hit .3¡¡ and slugged .47¡, but his ¡36 walks helped him to a .443 OB%. He would have been an ideal lead-o› batter for any team.

W 22 24

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 362 38 12 21 110 78 40 .341 .520 .410 218 26 2 11 92 76 7 .311 .438 .410 326 39 12 24 110 64 3 .292 .498 .357 234 29 10 8 73 26 7 .253 .367 .283 339 26 6 43 124 120 6 .306 .603 .434 285 28 5 22 77 131 25 .283 .446 .406 270 27 9 16 95 34 9 .286 .437 .325 204 22 9 5 49 45 26 .363 .496 .429 234 32 8 1 64 50 6 .367 .469 .429 270 27 9 16 95 34 9 .286 .437 .325 L 8 9

% .733 .727

IP 233 273

H 185 241

ER 60 95

SO 114 175

BB 83 99

ERA 2.32 3.13

BR/9 10.5 11.3

The two “utility” players chosen were in actuality one-position men, Layne at third and Kelleher in the outfield. It was not a good year for multi-position men in the PCL, but the best was Gene Lillard of Oakland who played third and caught while hitting .258. No reliever was chosen, but Oren Baker (L.A.) was 6–4 with a 3.¡4 ERA in 46 games. He only had two CGs, so obviously most of his outings came in relief.

Southern Association (AA) Walters was a playing manager. A well-selected team, the choice of Quick over Fred Hancock (Little Rock/Memphis) at short is somewhat puzzling. Hancock’s averages are similar (.296/.40¡/.373), but he scored ¡02 runs and handled a full half chance more per game than did Quick (5.0–5.5), a huge di›erence for the position.

Block, chosen as a “utility” player, played all but twelve of his games at third. Trippi was a third baseman/outfielder. Neil Saula of Nashville was the best reliever in the league. He was 5–5, 3.35 in 86 innings over 33 games.

¡947 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UT UT

Name Albert Flair Al Kozar Mickey Rutner Hal Quick Hal Je›coat Cal Abrams Tom Wright Gil Coan Al “Rube” Walker Cli› Dapper Fred Walters Charlie Trippi Seymour “Cy” Block

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Bob Hall Bill Kennedy Roy Boles Walker Cress Ben Wade Forrest Thompson

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Frank Heller Ralph Caballero Merrill “Pinky” May “Granny” Hamner Richie Ashburn Johnny Groth Ken Wood Stan Lopata Harry Heslet

SP SP

Mike Garcia Dick Koecher

Team New Orleans New Orleans Birmingham Nashville Nashville Mobile New Orleans Chattanooga Nashville Mobile New Orleans Atlanta Nashville

Mobile Chattanooga Mobile New Orleans Nashville Atlanta

G 152 148 153 121 153 154 134 151 128 136 98 106 120

AB 598 590 605 430 630 589 496 585 435 495 302 410 483

H 184 200 198 130 218 203 161 199 144 144 104 137 174

R 105 108 96 56 120 134 97 126 67 90 41 74 93

G GS CG SH 30 — — 9 39 — — 1 33 — — 2 24 — — 4 36 — — 2 31 — — 2

209 TB 312 268 261 165 292 286 272 333 232 213 150 185 242

2B 36 37 44 22 36 38 41 34 20 32 25 19 50

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 10 24 138 66 3 .308 .522 .380 12 2 75 51 8 .339 .454 .393 8 1 94 41 7 .327 .431 .375 2 3 59 22 2 .302 .384 .336 13 4 118 46 22 .346 .463 .392 9 9 63 124 10 .345 .486 .461 14 14 89 60 3 .325 .548 .404 17 22 92 56 42 .340 .569 .407 1 22 105 26 0 .331 .533 .369 5 9 105 81 4 .291 .430 .398 3 5 60 36 5 .344 .497 .421 10 3 42 56 14 .334 .451 .414 3 4 67 43 13 .360 .501 .414

W L % 18 8 .692 20 11 .645 15 7 .682 15 5 .750 17 11 .607 16 9 .640

IP 212 263 211 153 239 214

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 197 68 107 56 2.89 10.8 284 100 107 75 3.42 12.4 209 73 76 63 3.11 11.8 151 60 108 80 3.53 13.7 306 115 145 73 4.33 14.3 228 85 110 55 3.57 12.

Eastern League (A) Team Williamsport Utica Albany Utica Utica Williamsport Elmira Utica Binghamton

Wilkes-Barre Utica

G 34 36

G 131 115 117 138 137 121 137 115 131

AB 459 397 357 609 536 426 526 378 484

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 124 79 209 21 5 18 98 97 4 .270 .455 .402 114 60 131 13 2 0 60 47 6 .287 .330 .365 115 91 154 20 5 1 49 151 10 .322 .431 .526 177 90 227 26 6 4 79 25 10 .291 .373 .320 194 128 248 21 12 3 52 113 24 .362 .463 .475 136 88 220 26 14 10 78 58 9 .319 .516 .401 139 82 245 32 4 22 97 53 6 .264 .466 .332 128 68 196 20 13 9 88 65 2 .339 .519 .441 139 70 217 32 8 10 81 37 5 .287 .448 .340

GS — —

CG 19 17

SH 1 4

May was a playing manager. Third baseman James Ackeret (Utica) would probably have been an All-Star in an average year. His numbers are good (.303/.406/.394 with 40 doubles and ¡07 runs), but May’s fantastic .526 OB% just can not be beat. Wilkes-Barre outfielders Johnny Blatnik and Dick Kokos should have been added to the team as extra flyhawks. Blatnik (.334/.503/.4¡6) drove in 9¡ runs and scored ¡09, while Kokos (.324/.498/.427) drove in 72 and scored ¡¡5.

W 17 17

L 10 8

% .630 .680

IP 225 198

H 219 135

ER 81 67

SO 108 91

BB 91 54

ERA 3.24 3.05

BR/9 12.6 8.7

Joe Tipton deserved a co-catcher spot. The Wilkes-Barre backstop led the league with a .375 average and had 66 RBIs. Utility man Heslet played outfield and caught. Scranton’s Bill Kennedy was ¡5–2 (a league leading .882%) and led the league with a 2.62 ERA. Maurice “Mickey” McDermott (also of Scranton) was ¡2–4, 2.86 and averaged more than a strike-out per inning.

South Atlantic League (A) The league should have had co-first basemen, as Bollweg and Savannah’s Hank Biasatti were just about as even as you can get. Biasatti hit .298, slugged .480, had a .434 OB%, scored ¡03 runs and drove in ¡00. Biasatti was also known as a much better fielder, and had 50 more assists.

Russ Kerns (Macon third baseman) can be considered primarily because of Hockenbury’s execrable .293 OB%. Kerns hit .277, slugged .427and had a .354 OB% with 76 runs and 84 runs driven in. At short, I would have chosen Lloyd Lowe of Columbus, despite his.248 BA. He scored ¡¡4 runs

210

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Don Bollweg Clarence Difani Bill Hockenbury Mickey Livingston Don Mueller Ralph Brown Walter Schuerbaum Les Fusselman Richard Kaess Bob Churchill

SP SP

Lou Brissie Tom Poholsky

Team Columbus Augusta Savannah Charleston Jacksonville Augusta Augusta Columbus Macon Greenville

Savannah Columbus

G 35 28

G 145 125 145 153 122 148 148 129 111 136

AB 536 442 546 558 469 640 581 458 398 503

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 157 100 267 26 15 18 115 99 5 .293 .498 .407 141 90 199 23 4 9 63 74 29 .319 .450 .421 140 78 241 30 7 19 112 24 3 .256 .441 .293 141 69 188 21 7 4 70 60 9 .253 .337 .330 163 81 227 34 9 4 82 64 10 .348 .484 .427 228 117 333 45 18 8 84 37 44 .356 .520 .391 192 111 300 43 13 13 118 59 7 .330 .516 .397 141 77 207 23 8 9 67 46 2 .308 .452 .375 120 62 150 19 4 1 37 54 2 .302 .377 .388 159 62 234 25 10 6 96 34 3 .316 .465 .362

GS — —

CG 25 13

SH 2 3

W 23 16

L 5 3

% .821 .842

IP 254 174

H 167 162

ER 54 49

SO 278 88

BB 100 42

ERA 1.91 2.53

BR/9 9.6 10.6

Outfielder Bob Churchill was chosen as a “utility” player. Kaess played third and short. You will note that Brissie had a 9.9 K/9 IP ratio.

(45 more than Livingston) and drove in ¡05 (35 more), a darned good year for a .248-hitting Class A middle infielder in the ’40’s.

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Preston Ward Eddie Kazak Les Peden Ray Carlson Michael Conroy Carmen Mauro Reggie Clarkson John Bucha Ray Henningsen Russ Burns

SP SP

Sam Webb Herb Chmiel

Team Pueblo Omaha Des Moines Sioux City Omaha Des Moines Pueblo Omaha Omaha Des Moines

Sioux City Des Moines

G 125 93 124 130 131 123 125 73 131 43 G 31 21

AB 465 347 486 468 555 454 508 241 416 153

GS — —

H 151 113 157 124 190 140 170 87 104 63

CG 17 15

R 120 83 107 77 117 107 112 57 63 38

SH 1 1

Since Bucha was in only 73 games, I would add a second catcher, Don Wheeler of Sioux City. Wheeler hit .323 with 54 runs scored and 57 driven in. “Utility” man Henningsen was a third baseman, “utility” man Burns was an outfielder (but he certainly did tear up the league for the third of a season he was in it). The best true handyman was Cal McIrvin of Lincoln. He hit .252, played first and the outfield, and was 5–¡¡ on the mound for an absolutely horrible team (Lincoln, at 38–89, played .299 ball).

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 274 30 21 17 121 98 5 .325 .589 .444 202 19 5 20 88 40 4 .326 .582 .398 258 33 7 18 106 53 5 .323 .531 .396 186 20 6 10 49 92 7 .265 .397 .389 245 27 14 0 55 66 24 .342 .441 .413 200 21 12 5 53 85 15 .308 .441 .420 245 36 12 5 65 37 8 .335 .482 .385 137 21 4 7 55 47 11 .361 .568 .469 137 16 7 1 51 103 1 .250 .329 .403 106 7 3 10 47 23 5 .412 .693 .489

W 19 14

L 7 4

% .731 .778

IP 201 149

H 196 137

ER 68 37

SO 88 78

BB 72 40

ERA 3.04 2.23

BR/9 12.0 10.7

This was a very weak year for pitchers in the Western League. I’d’ve added Charles Harris of Lincoln, who had a 3.36 ¡0–¡¡ for a team which finished 5¡ games under .500 and played .264 ball when he was not involved in the decision. Lincoln hit .227, thirty points lower than the nextpoorest hitting team. The team scored 3.7 runs a game, almost a run and a half less than the next lowest scoring squad, and allowed 6.4 runs a game, meaning that during the season, they were outscored by an average of 2.7 runs a game.

Colonial League (B) Bonura and Acton were playing managers. I would have picked Quimby for third, where he played all of his games, over DeVito, and I’d’ve chosen DeVito for utility, as he played second, third, and short. Now, as to why the scribes chose to transpose these two, we shall never know. I would also have added a fifth outfielder, Stam-

ford’s Joe Koproski. He hit for averages of .332, .498, and .435, scored 97 runs and drove in 99. On the mound, I’d have left o› Welteroth. He was 6–¡2 for a team which played .6¡2 ball without him. In his place, I would add Al Yaklich, Waterbury Timers ace who was ¡3–3 with a 2.44 ERA. There was however a space reserved for the ¡9 year-old Wel-

¡947 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Zeke Bonura James Hanlon Vito DeVito Pedro Gomez Dan Perlmutter Connie Creedon Frank Lamanna Robert Sherwood James Acton Max Goldsmith Chuck Quimby

SP SP SP

Mike Kash Sidney Schacht Dick Welteroth

Team Stamford Waterbury Stamford New London Stamford Port Chester Waterbury Bridgeport Waterbury New London Poughkeepsie

G 99 95 113 90 95 113 110 112 103 99 94 G 27 25 20

Waterbury Stamford Poughkeepsie

AB 327 350 447 332 395 387 415 387 347 309 341

GS 25 24 16

211

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 126 78 196 17 1 17 100 90 6 .385 .599 .525 98 80 160 21 1 13 66 63 9 .280 .457 .391 145 128 229 24 9 14 82 71 17 .324 .512 .424 95 53 136 8 3 9 55 20 8 .286 .410 .338 146 106 174 22 3 0 47 49 40 .370 .441 .445 153 78 216 28 1 11 90 53 24 .395 .558 .473 141 112 248 26 9 21 123 72 30 .340 .598 .445 120 87 183 30 6 7 54 68 12 .310 .473 .429 124 84 202 20 8 14 93 63 10 .357 .582 .459 92 59 124 21 4 1 50 68 15 .298 .401 .427 115 67 164 23 4 6 90 35 6 .337 .481 .402

CG 23 18 15

SH 1 3 1

W 20 18 6

L 3 7 12

% .870 .720 .333

IP 200 190 144

H 182 179 125

ER 53 62 44

SO 92 180 113

BB 31 71 78

ERA 2.39 2.94 2.75

BR/9 9.9 12.2 12.9

ford and Poughkeepsie, who had the second highest ERA (4.40) of any qualifying pitcher and yet went ¡5–¡¡.

teroth on the “It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good” team, where he stand as the ¡947 Colonial league proof, paired forever with Lawrence Cauvel of Stam-

Interstate League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Herb Conyers Don Dwyer Richard Dresser Grady Wilson Steve Filipowicz Harold Bamberger Ed Sanicki Walter Novcik Bill Jennings Tom Burgess

SP SP

Andy Tomasic Curt Simmons

Team Harrisburg York Hagerstown Allentown Sunbury Trenton Wilmington Lancaster Trenton Allentown

Trenton Wilmington

G 33 18

G 135 104 94 125 142 134 140 98 137 106 GS — —

AB 543 338 347 483 530 534 510 286 495 360 CG 24 17

H 194 99 110 147 180 178 163 93 137 126 SH 2 2

Filipowicz was a playing manager. Third baseman Bruce Smith (.327/.5¡2/.458) seems to have quite an advantage over league choice Dresser. Smith also scored ¡¡5 runs. The shortstop position is another of those either/or which could have been settled by having co–All-Stars. Ray Feraco of York hit .3¡6, slugged .426 and had a.4¡4 OB%. He scored 88 times and drove in 78 runs.

R 109 46 57 100 90 107 127 45 87 61

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 294 29 10 17 118 57 4 .357 .541 .419 141 23 5 3 52 29 12 .293 .417 .352 144 14 1 6 60 25 18 .317 .415 .376 224 42 1 11 65 77 7 .304 .464 .402 273 46 4 13 114 62 8 .340 .515 .413 276 20 24 10 87 54 9 .333 .517 .398 306 26 3 37 109 109 6 .320 .600 .446 145 18 2 10 48 48 1 .325 .507 .424 219 19 18 9 94 60 7 .277 .442 .356 200 25 5 13 79 38 6 .350 .556 .412

W 18 13

L 10 5

% .643 .722

IP 243 147

H 166 107

ER 67 44

SO 278 197

BB 78 76

ERA 2.48 2.69

BR/9 9.1 11.2

The two “utility” players were monopositional. Jennings was a shortstop, Burgess an outfielder. As usual, there was no relief choice, but had there been, the choice would have been H. Ed “Dagwood” Bumsted. He was in 32 games and was 6–8 with a 3.83 ERA. Note that Tomasic averaged ¡0.3K/9 IP and Simmons a terrific ¡2.¡, making this a rare (for the time) sta› which had more strike-outs than innings pitched.

New England League (B) Kissell was a playing manager. Mylon Vukmire, named as a utility player, was actually a shortstop. Ray Bates (Pawtucket) would have made a nice second catcher. He hit .309 and had a .4¡8 OB%. Of the four utility players, only Banta was actually a multi-position player (2B/3B). A better choice for a utility slot would have been Stan Lipka of Nashua who played first, third, and short.

Dave Honan (Lynn) would have been the league’s reliever, if there had been one. He was called out of the bullpen 34 times and was 4–2 with a 3.06 ERA. It is interesting to note that the Red Sox pulled o› three (!) triple plays while he was on the mound.

212

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT UT UT

Name Ralph Atkins Law. “Crash” Davis Walter Rogers Harry Donabedian Edward Lynk Cli›ord Blake Edward Yaeger John Pramesa Peter Shurman Mylon Vukmire George Kissell Arnold Banta

SP SP

Don Newcombe George Kadis

Team Lynn Law.-Low./Pawt. Nashua Providence Lynn Portland Nashua Manchester Providence Manchester Law./Lowell Providence

Nashua L.-L./Paw.

G 29 22

G 125 118 117 63 125 124 118 85 114 108 123 126

GS 27 20

AB 438 420 419 220 474 498 439 316 422 351 454 448

CG 24 19

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 127 109 241 27 6 25 105 94 15 .290 .550 .419 128 71 179 23 2 8 79 30 5 .305 .426 .357 122 83 178 20 15 2 67 90 14 .291 .425 .418 78 44 107 9 4 4 24 44 5 .355 .486 .466 141 95 219 21 9 13 98 56 6 .297 .462 .373 171 93 258 35 8 12 109 47 2 .343 .518 .402 126 100 171 17 11 2 47 96 20 .287 .390 .415 100 44 139 12 3 7 73 18 1 .316 .440 .355 126 78 225 13 7 24 79 30 5 .299 .533 .351 101 75 151 17 9 5 58 81 9 .288 .430 .424 129 94 177 20 5 6 40 64 13 .284 .390 .374 130 90 199 18 6 13 83 96 13 .290 .444 .415 SH 2 6

W 19 17

L 6 5

% .760 .773

IP 223 187

H 180 157

ER 72 59

SO 186 130

BB 116 55

ERA 2.91 2.84

BR/9 12.3 10.4

Law.- Low. is Lawrence-Lowell, Pawt. is Pawtucket.

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Dee Fondy Johnny Sehrt Roy Allen Bud Hardin George W. Wilson Lou Colombo Bob Addis Bob Scherboth Steve Lembo Cl. “Ace” Parker

SP SP SP

John McCall Bob Porterfield Sol Coleman

Team Newport News Roanoke Roanoke Richmond Roanoke Newport News Norfolk Roanoke Newport News Portsmouth

Roanoke Norfolk Roanoke

G 30 32 28

G 136 136 133 137 141 127 120 103 99 130 GS — — —

AB 511 542 507 512 577 461 490 378 329 534 CG 18 20 15

H 172 161 148 141 206 158 153 100 75 168 SH 0 4 1

Glen “Rocky” Nelson of Lynchburg would have been my choice at first. His .37¡/.573/.423 averages are all better than Fondy’s, he drove in more runs (¡05) than Fondy in fewer games, and he scored only eleven fewer runs in fifty fewer ABs. At short, Bill Burke of Roanoke (.296/.385/.366) had at least as good a year as did Hardin. Outfielder Vernon “Moose” Shetler went .29¡/ .500/.370 for Norfolk with ¡06 runs and ¡¡6 runs driven in and led the loop with 20 homers.

R 109 116 89 80 124 86 83 61 30 114 W 17 17 13

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 279 39 13 14 99 70 37 .337 .546 .422 206 24 6 3 54 88 21 .297 .380 .396 241 36 6 15 110 88 13 .292 .475 .402 186 18 6 5 85 61 19 .275 .363 .356 323 45 12 16 136 77 8 .357 .560 .436 250 35 6 15 96 62 12 .343 .542 .423 231 29 8 11 68 38 15 .312 .471 .363 178 25 4 15 69 49 5 .265 .471 .352 100 14 1 3 39 29 3 .228 .304 .294 228 34 4 6 53 73 7 .315 .427 .398 L 9 9 5

% .654 .654 .722

IP 219 239 193

H 206 191 174

ER 92 63 68

SO 198 208 153

BB 93 82 96

ERA 3.78 2.37 3.17

BR/9 12.5 10.4 12.9

At catcher Harry Land of Portsmouth was more deserving of a spot on the all-star team than the .228hitting Lembo. Land hit .250 with 60 RBIs. “Ace” Parker played second, short and the outfield. Non-choice Norm Shope (Lynchburg) led the league with 23 CGs and 253 IP, he finished fourth in ERA (3.09) and was ¡4–¡8 for a fifth place team. Bill Smith of Roanoke would have been the reliever. He pitched 8¡ innings in 29 games and went 7–3 with a 3.44 ERA.

Southeastern League (B) Anniston first baseman Walter Stockwell had a better year in every way than did Grose. In 54 fewer ABs, he scored 86 runs and drove in ¡¡3, 32 more than Grose. His averages were .335/.524/.398, all better than the league’s choice. Anniston outfielder Robert Schmidt had a much superior year to that of league selectee Martin. His .333/.555/.402 averages, along with ¡02 runs scored

and ¡03 driven in, were all better than Martin’s, and were garnered in 82 fewer ABs. At catcher, Doolittle played so little that it would not have been amiss to add a second catcher. For that spot, I nominate “Baseball” Bobby Dews (yet another Anniston Ram). Just as his other (non-chosen) teammates, he out-performed his competition by compiling .325/.48¡/.354 numbers. Plus, check

¡947 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Dee Grose Bill Johnson Bill Seal Pete Spatafore Bill Martin Grover Bowers Nesbit Wilson Marland Doolittle Oscar Khederian Tom Sa›ell

SP SP

“Woody” Rich Chet Covington

Team Jackson Gadsden Vicksburg Meridian Montgomery Gadsden Pensacola Jackson Jackson Selma

Anniston Montgomery

G 138 139 143 133 131 140 140 66 133 99 G 35 28

AB 550 558 533 538 538 560 527 252 532 376

GS — —

H 170 177 185 162 172 210 171 79 175 130

CG 23 18

R 85 104 123 109 99 132 104 33 96 83

SH 2 1

out Doolittle’s walk total, staggering for its paucity. That may be among the list of the fewest walks ever for a season with over 250 ABs. Utility man Khedarian played second, third, and short. “Utility” man Sa›ell was strictly an outfielder.

213 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 235 36 4 7 81 34 6 .309 .427 .349 294 32 2 27 127 48 21 .317 .527 .372 308 48 6 21 101 89 11 .347 .578 .445 223 25 3 10 61 46 33 .301 .414 .358 234 22 8 8 80 36 78 .320 .435 .365 325 33 11 20 111 79 9 .375 .580 .454 303 45 6 25 129 87 9 .324 .575 .429 119 18 5 4 40 3 1 .313 .472 .324 255 36 13 6 93 48 12 .329 .479 .389 206 32 7 7 49 47 25 .346 .548 .418

W 19 13

L 10 6

% .655 .684

IP 236 187

H 233 180

ER 87 67

SO 197 126

BB 81 42

ERA 3.32 3.22

BR/9 12.5 10.8

I think I would’ve added Jackson hurler Luther Hamilton to the sta›. He went ¡6–7 with a 3.¡4 ERA. Out of the bullpen the best in the league was Carl Fischer of the Pensacola Fliers. He relieved 27 times and went 7–5, 2.39.

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Hank Arft Owen Friend Ed Ehlers Willie Jones Bernie Zender Emidio “Bob” Riga Gerald Scala Joe Stephenson Johnnie Logan Bill McCawley

Team Springfield Springfield Quincy Terre Haute Danville Springfield Waterloo Waterloo Evansville Decatur

SP SP

Ken Olson Stan Partenheimer

Danville Springfield

G 107 88 114 123 125 124 128 46 127 121 G 32 30

AB 377 346 412 489 463 474 481 160 486 430 GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 138 94 233 29 7 17 80 71 12 .366 .618 .469 83 53 135 16 3 10 41 35 5 .240 .390 .315 112 85 216 26 6 22 103 72 9 .272 .524 .384 150 99 235 37 9 10 107 51 11 .307 .481 .373 129 82 202 17 7 14 97 72 14 .279 .436 .377 155 114 234 25 15 8 62 87 46 .327 .494 .435 163 116 230 28 15 3 81 82 52 .339 .478 .437 45 23 71 7 5 3 25 18 1 .281 .444 .361 161 95 237 32 13 6 82 55 14 .331 .488 .404 130 72 226 18 12 18 63 78 17 .302 .526 .414

CG 21 14

SH 4 0

The ¡947 Three-Eye second base web is tangled indeed. No fewer than five players had similar enough years that any of them could have been the man chosen. Friend, the all-star selection, had the highest SA and the lowest OB%. Don Anderson (Quincy) was the only one to hit over .244 (he hit .270), but was the poorest in the field. Guy Glaser (Terre Haute) had the highest OB% (.390) and was the best fielder. Four of the five (Anderson, Glaser, Verle Minnis of Danville, and Joe Raso of Davenport) scored over 70 runs, but none scored 80. I guess that I would have selected two to the All-Star team: Glaser and Anderson. I would have also named two shortstops. Johnnie Logan of Evansville was named to the team as a utility player, but he played all of his games at short. In the outfield, Terre Haute’s Wally Jakowcyzk,

W 22 18

L 4 8

% .846 .692

IP 203 197

H 177 211

ER 70 92

SO 86 109

BB 55 75

ERA 3.10 4.20

BR/9 10.5 13.3

“The Polish Pounder,” hit .333, slugged .538 and had a.4¡5 OB%. I would have chosen him over Zender. It seemed odd that the league would choose a catcher who only played in 46 games as an All-Star. A better choice would have been Danville’s Paul Burris who caught in ¡¡6 games, hit .287 and drove in 64 runs. There was no true utility man in the league in ’47. Logan, as noted above, was a shortstop. McCawley was an outfielder. Partenheimer may have won ¡8 games, but 4.20 and ¡3.3 are not good numbers (outside of the West Texas-New Mexico League). Two Waterloo pitchers had better years: John Perkovich and Howie Judson. The former went ¡7–9, 2.50 with a ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio, and the latter was ¡6–8, 2.58 with an ¡¡.5 ratio.

214

Minor League All-Star Teams

Tri-State League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Harold Kollar Fred Barocco George Motto Sam Meeks Al Simononas Clarence “Rip” Russell William Sayles F. “Smokey” Burgess Len Okrie Cal Ermer Pete Milne

SP SP SP SP

James Kleckley Robert Callan Edward Craft Ralph Holland

Team Knoxville Anderson Reidsville Charlotte Anderson Spartanburg Asheville Fayetteville Fayetteville Charlotte Spartanburg G 37 24 49 29

Spartanburg Charlotte Anderson Spartanburg

G 140 126 128 140 135 137 127 99 79 136 104 GS — — — —

AB 548 432 502 572 491 517 483 388 287 488 389 CG 19 16 18 11

H 181 150 160 191 164 177 174 150 90 136 127

R 106 123 85 96 122 114 74 79 44 72 73

TB 273 223 202 276 316 296 254 215 127 200 178

SH 0 1 2 1

W 20 16 19 15

L 6 5 9 6

2B 35 29 25 42 33 27 28 28 18 27 18 % .769 .762 .679 .714

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 12 11 108 83 13 .330 .498 .425 7 10 82 100 19 .347 .516 .472 4 3 96 34 11 .319 .402 .371 11 7 109 40 8 .334 .483 .379 19 27 132 79 45 .334 .644 .430 16 20 123 80 17 .342 .573 .434 8 12 98 41 1 .360 .526 .413 2 11 76 43 8 .387 .554 .454 5 3 43 19 3 .314 .443 .362 8 7 82 45 5 .279 .410 .353 12 3 57 67 27 .326 .458 .425 IP 239 178 270 171

H 250 153 255 190

ER 87 61 93 79

SO 68 116 185 103

BB 74 73 117 82

ERA 3.28 3.08 3.10 4.16

BR/9 12.2 11.7 12.6 14.4

ond, third, short, and in the outfield. He hit .260 and scored 73 runs. It should be noted that an amazing ¡4 of Simononas’ steals were of home. With four pitching choices, you’d think that just about all the good moundsmen would be chosen. One hurler who was at least better than Holland was left of o› the team, however. Lyle Hurst of Asheville (which finished below .500) went ¡4–¡0 with a 3.60 ERA. His ¡2.¡ BR/9 ratio is not outstanding, but it is two fewer than Holland’s.

Believe it or not, in ¡947 the rotund-to-be Forrest “Smokey” Burgess played 75% of his games as an outfielder. That being said, the future “Round Mound of Pound” should indeed have made the team, but in a utility spot. His slot as a catcher should have been filled by Dick Bouknight of Asheville. He had a decent .306 BA, slugged .39 and had a .394 OB%. “Utility” man Ermer was a second baseman, “utility” man Milne an outfielder. There was, however a real Jack-o-Many-Trades in the league this year: Blaise Danos. This Anderson Rebel played first, sec-

Western International League (B) Pos 1B 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Jack Harshman Herb Gorman Art Lilly Bobby Morgan Clarence Hicks Frank Mullens Edward Murphy Bill White Earl Kuper Robert Hedington Glen Stetter

SP SP

Bob Costello Wandell Mosser

Team Victoria Spokane Yakima Spokane Spokane Vancouver Bremerton Victoria Tacoma Tacoma Tacoma

G 151 146 156 149 147 148 154 150 111 145 117

AB 585 579 592 529 578 585 591 657 368 584 445

H 179 203 155 155 193 188 184 208 143 198 156

R 134 124 144 116 115 126 113 111 83 114 82

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 338 31 10 36 142 101 16 .306 .578 .409 299 46 7 12 138 98 7 .351 .516 .448 222 31 6 8 76 127 23 .262 .375 .400 241 32 18 6 102 114 16 .293 .456 .424 263 29 13 5 101 76 6 .334 .455 .414 320 23 5 33 137 96 37 .321 .547 .420 273 30 7 15 109 51 81 .311 .462 .374 321 47 6 18 118 19 7 .317 .489 .338 226 28 14 9 96 56 2 .389 .614 .471 311 39 16 14 115 38 4 .339 .533 .385 219 40 4 5 78 47 2 .351 .492 .417

G 34 31

GS — —

CG 23 21

SH 3 1

W 21 18

L 10 10

Spokane Salem

The league named co-all-stars at first. Why they didn’t go on to do the same at second and third is a mystery. Leon Mohr, Vancouver second baseman, scored ¡40 runs and stole 40 bases to go with his .332 BA, .42¡ SA, and .407 OB%. Tacoma’s Bob Hedington, who played all of his games at third, was named as a utility player, which he was not.

% .677 .643

IP 252 230

H 265 198

ER 111 72

SO 202 216

BB 129 128

ERA 3.96 2.82

BR/9 14.2 12.8

At the minimum, two more outfielders put up numbers as good as or better than the o‡cially sanctioned selections. Charles Mead of Vancouver hit .354, slugged .554 and had a .44¡ OB%. He scored ¡20 runs, drove in ¡35 and hit 25 homers. Over at Tacoma, Pete Tedeschi hit .323, slugged .49¡ and had a .430 OB% with ¡33 runs. Other leagues have had five outfielders on their teams from time to time, and

¡947

215

Given the carnage wreaked on the pitchers, it seems odd that two of the three pitchers who had sub-3.00 ERAs were left of o› the sta›. The two were Bremerton teammates: Joe Sullivan and “Hub” Kittle. Sullivan was ¡3–5 with a 2.68 ERA. Kittle must have been laboring under a bad sign in ’47. He had a 2.79 ERA, led the league with a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.2 and seven shutouts, yet he wound up only ¡3–¡4.

this league in this year should have been one of those times. Utility man Stetter played second and outfield. As you can tell by the hitting of the All-Stars, this was a down year for pitchers in the Western International League. No fewer than 23 hurlers who had ¡00 or more innings had ERAs over 5.00, and 2¡ pitchers walked at least ¡00 batters.

Arizona-Texas League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Nick Sunseri Bob Keeler Billy Martin Joe DeMaestri John Ringler Pete Hughes Frank Finnegan Clint Courtney Alton Biggs Ray Conroy

SP SP SP

John Conant Don Cantrell Syd Cohen

Team Tucson Bisbee Phoenix El Paso Globe-Miami Phoenix Bisbee Bisbee Phoenix Tucson

Phoenix Phoenix El Paso

G 132 133 130 76 103 133 132 114 101 86

G 36 24 42

GS — — —

AB 551 548 586 299 386 442 530 427 432 338 CG 24 16 16

H 193 205 230 79 147 164 155 136 154 119

R 121 136 141 37 98 180 125 71 119 91

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 289 36 18 8 122 43 2 .350 .525 .400 303 33 19 9 130 48 44 .374 .553 .429 329 48 12 9 174 31 31 .392 .561 .427 98 11 4 0 37 20 3 .264 .328 .310 219 32 14 4 77 59 14 .381 .567 .467 330 36 8 38 167 193 3 .371 .747 .569 270 19 15 22 132 46 16 .292 .509 .360 200 23 13 5 80 33 6 .319 .468 .369 202 29 5 3 90 48 17 .356 .468 .422 170 16 16 1 55 44 3 .352 .503 .428

SH 0 1 0

W 19 16 17

L 10 5 5

% .655 .762 .773

IP 258 175 242

H 332 185 263

ER 107 74 91

SO 160 141 147

BB 44 98 76

ERA 3.73 3.81 3.38

BR/9 13.4 15.1 13.1

with a .490 SA and a .444 OB%, and Gephardt hit .30¡ with a .452 SA and an OB% of .445. (Please take note of Gabriel “Pete” Hughes’ season: .747 SA, .569 OB%, ¡.4 runs a game, ¡.3 RBIs a game, ¡.5 walks a game. What a great year.) El Paso won just 25% of its games when Cohen was not the pitcher of record. Going ¡7–5 for a team that was 44–86 is quite an accomplishment, and I am glad that the selectors took note of his labors in a fruitless cause.

Shortstop Wayne Douglas of Bisbee scored ¡2¡ runs to go with his .360/.468/.404 averages, yet the weak hitting, no power, DeMaestri got the nod. Ah, the mysteries of baseball… In the outfield, there was a profuseness of candidates, as one would expect in a league which hit .30¡. Two players who didn’t get chosen were Warren Howe of Bisbee and Don Gephardt of Phoenix. Both of these stalwarts scored over a run a game (¡35/¡33 for Howe and ¡42/¡33 for Gephardt). Howe hit .343

Border League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Fred Gerkin Bill Metzig Johnny Russian Bob Harmon Barney Hearn “Buddy” Heximer Anthony Gudaitis Al Grefe Bob Sanborn

SP SP

Charles Schupp Frank Fanovich

Team Watertown Ottawa Ottawa Auburn Auburn Kingston Ogdensburg Ottawa Ottawa

Ottawa Watertown

G 24 23

G 126 124 119 113 109 125 126 111 114 GS — —

AB 488 458 464 457 352 521 466 396 373 CG 15 12

H 172 145 152 138 127 165 168 133 103 SH 3 3

Hearn was a playing manager. This is a very representative Border League AllStar team. The only change I would have made would have been to add a fourth outfielder. Don Phelps of

R 111 103 101 83 84 80 122 62 74

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 290 27 23 15 95 76 24 .352 .594 .445 240 36 4 17 100 69 20 .317 .524 .412 207 35 4 4 73 56 37 .328 .446 .401 197 25 8 6 61 36 22 .302 .431 .353 201 13 5 17 91 55 3 .361 .571 .447 235 24 17 4 71 41 23 .317 .451 .371 279 22 7 25 99 74 9 .361 .599 .455 173 23 1 5 87 36 5 .336 .437 .401 143 16 6 4 53 64 36 .276 .383 .382

W 16 16

L 7 3

% .696 .842

IP 169 164

H 157 119

ER 51 44

SO 81 182

BB 49 94

ERA 2.72 2.41

BR/9 11.1 12.2

Geneva hit only .275, but he tied for the homer lead with 25 and led with ¡03 RBIs. Sanborn caught and played outfield.

216

Minor League All-Star Teams

California League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Ed Lenn Edward Samco› Bert Bonomi Dan Alfrano Ralph Samhammer James Trew Lou Vezilich Lilio Marcucci Arnold Reisgo Harry Clements Willie Enos

SP SP SP

Ray Hathaway Don Belton Lloyd Hittle

Team San Jose Stockton Fresno Visalia Ventura Visalia Fresno Stockton San Jose Stockton Modesto

Santa Barbara Stockton Stockton

G 136 127 140 132 120 140 133 107 111 118 129

AB 578 517 560 529 427 522 497 380 361 496 484

H 204 163 182 158 144 177 181 127 111 155 151

R 118 118 118 104 81 134 119 91 76 76 109

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 292 46 12 6 110 37 20 .353 .505 .396 229 41 8 3 74 84 22 .315 .443 .413 274 22 20 10 119 99 12 .325 .489 .431 227 32 2 11 87 58 15 .299 .429 .381 203 25 5 8 111 82 7 .337 .475 .446 248 35 12 4 85 130 24 .339 .475 .484 271 46 10 8 141 117 7 .364 .545 .489 213 18 10 16 87 49 2 .334 .561 .421 163 21 2 9 82 83 9 .307 .452 .437 211 25 11 3 99 29 6 .313 .425 .357 279 32 3 30 136 84 8 .312 .576 .416

G 33 31 31

GS — — —

CG 16 20 21

SH 3 1 4

W 18 21 20

Visalia first baseman Charles Abernathy may have hit a bit lower than Lenn, but otherwise had a superior season, hitting .335 with a .5¡8 SA and a .449 OB%. The real edge shows in his RBI (¡¡6) and runs scored (¡26) totals, garnered in 49 fewer ABs. He also drew ¡¡0 walks to Lenn’s mere 37. There should probably be four outfielders, as San

L 6 6 6

% .750 .778 .769

IP 188 221 229

H 170 249 182

ER 50 93 57

SO 131 95 193

BB 61 56 56

ERA 2.39 3.79 2.24

BR/9 11.2 12.4 9.4

Jose’s Robert Di Pietro compares most favorably to the three choices. He hit .3¡2, had a .52¡ SA, and was second in the league (by a single point) in OB% with a fine .488 mark. He scored ¡3¡ runs and drove in ¡¡¡ as well as drawing a terrific ¡60 walks. Clements played second and third, Enos played first and the outfield.

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Michael Genevrino Charles Dykes Stan “Packy” Rogers Lou Rochelli Benjamin Gregg Malcom “Bunny” Mick John Lorenz Stephen Salata Fred Campbell

SP SP

Charles Baker Irving Medlinger

Team Schenectady Schenectady Glove.-Johns. Trois Riviers Schenectady Amsterdam Schenectady Oneonta Glove.-Johns.

Schenectady Oneonta

G 27 28

G 127 132 116 107 138 109 130 99 95 GS 24 25

AB 444 509 416 364 541 418 517 321 294 CG 14 24

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 118 66 163 31 1 4 72 77 1 .266 .367 .374 153 98 234 28 13 9 78 58 11 .301 .460 .375 127 74 190 26 2 11 82 52 16 .305 .457 .384 93 46 119 15 1 3 58 49 9 .255 .327 .344 174 102 268 31 9 15 117 60 21 .322 .495 .392 149 98 211 22 2 12 61 84 31 .356 .505 .466 158 98 238 33 7 11 105 53 20 .306 .460 .375 100 47 147 17 12 2 39 42 10 .312 .458 .399 92 56 128 19 7 1 28 33 8 .313 .435 .388 SH 2 5

W 17 14

L 5 13

% .773 .519

IP 201 234

H 173 190

ER 60 53

SO 99 182

BB 86 97

ERA 2.69 2.04

BR/9 11.8 11.2

Glove.-Johns. is Gloversville-Johnstown.

Rogers and Rochelli were playing managers. It was a wash between league choice Genevrino and John Greenwald of Rome (.284/.385/.395, 60 runs and 75 RBIs), but I’d’ve gone with Greenwald as my first baseman. Second base choice Dykes was actually a third baseman, so the slot should have rightfully gone to Joe Hulik of Pittsfield (.305/.457/.449) with 75 runs, 78 RBIs and ¡¡9 walks.

Perhaps two catchers should have been on the team. Lawrence Ciesielki (Rome) would have been the back-up with decent .278/.376/.408 averages. Utility man Campbell had one of the more unusual lists of positions played: shortstop, catcher, and pitcher.

Carolina League (C) Duke and Bates were playing managers. Wow—what a choice for selectors to make at first.

Orge “Pat” Cooper of Martinsville had a .376 BA, a .438 OB%, and a terrific .70¡ SA. In ¡67 fewer ABs

¡947 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Cecil “Turkey” Tyson Jim Burns Bill Nagel Walter “Teapot” Frye Willy Duke “Buddy” Bates Emile Showfety Harry Sullivan Claude Swiggert

SP SP

Ken Deal Harvey Haddix

Team Durham Greens./Burl. L-S-D/Raleigh L-S-D Durham Burlington Burl./Greensboro Raleigh Burlington

Burlington Winston-Salem

G 40 27

G 141 127 134 137 122 117 138 137 133

GS — —

AB 542 505 545 543 439 460 543 512 521 CG 26 21

H 189 145 158 167 169 166 178 200 161

217

R 138 91 100 99 104 116 103 125 95

SH 4 3

W 23 19

TB 247 221 293 220 258 273 301 289 228 L 7 5

2B 30 26 39 29 42 35 25 27 36

% .767 .792

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 8 4 105 107 17 .349 .456 .459 7 12 103 69 20 .287 .438 .374 3 30 128 56 2 .290 .538 .359 9 2 79 40 35 .308 .405 .358 4 13 117 86 0 .385 .588 .486 9 18 82 47 11 .361 .593 .421 10 26 121 49 2 .328 .554 .390 13 12 109 87 3 .391 .564 .482 11 3 71 40 12 .309 .438 .363 IP 270 204

H 245 144

ER 103 43

SO 275 268

BB 130 70

ERA 3.43 1.90

BR/9 12.6 9.7

L-S-D is Leaksville-Spray-Draper.

than Tyson, he drove in ¡08 runs. Here is another perfect spot for co-All-Stars. Outfielder Charles Woodall (Burlington) hit .323 with ¡20 runs scored and ¡¡8 driven in. Perhaps the selection of four outfielders would not have been amiss for the Carolina League this year.

Utility man Swiggert played third and the outfield. Talmadge “Ted” Abernathy of Leaksville-SprayDraper, a team which finished 23 games under .500, was ¡4–¡2 with an ERA of 3.¡8. It should be noted that Haddix averaged ¡¡.8 K/9, and that he also hit .304 with 3 homers.

Central Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT UT UT UT UT

Name Joe Lutz Charles Balogh Joseph Ruddy George Lebedz Frank Pawalek Roy Sievers Edward Wiltsee Robert Westerkamp Paul Wittingham Gene DeAngelis Peter Mish Bill Cross Matt Zelinsky Fred Marsh Ralph Matzer

SP SP

Stanley Wnetzak Charles Funk

Team Hannibal Clinton Clinton Moline Rockford Hannibal Clinton Rockford Keokuk Clinton Burlington Hannibal Moline Burlington Moline

Clinton Hannibal

G 24 32

G 98 99 99 17 117 125 86 119 77 123 117 125 124 89 124 GS — —

AB 382 429 381 425 426 501 341 432 262 437 404 505 428 320 464 CG 19 15

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 125 104 216 19 9 18 76 63 34 .327 .565 .426 145 97 178 19 4 2 37 25 25 .338 .415 .374 109 54 144 15 4 4 58 36 4 .286 .378 .351 125 63 161 16 7 2 43 56 11 .294 .379 .381 154 90 270 28 11 22 115 76 17 .362 .634 .461 159 121 292 25 5 34 141 73 8 .317 .583 .407 132 62 160 15 5 1 53 34 15 .387 .469 .444 110 56 135 20 1 1 46 47 19 .255 .313 .331 75 35 98 14 3 1 36 22 2 .286 .374 .346 126 82 202 25 6 13 89 89 2 .288 .462 .413 114 64 177 19 13 6 65 39 17 .282 .438 .350 157 106 231 21 7 13 88 72 14 .311 .457 .398 134 86 179 14 14 1 63 82 18 .313 .418 .431 84 62 112 15 5 1 39 47 22 .263 .350 .359 107 76 134 14 5 1 47 73 13 .231 .289 .340 SH 3 1

Yes, the league did choose six “utility” players, four of whom were outfielders. Marsh played third and short, Matzer played second and third. Funk, despite being ¡9–9, hardly seems to be one of the two best pitchers in the league, especially with that ¡4.9 BR/9 ratio. Charles Fedoris (Keokuk) was

W 16 19

L 6 9

% .727 .679

IP 199 200

H 150 177

ER 38 83

SO 99 145

BB 42 150

ERA 1.72 3.74

BR/9 8.7 14.9

¡7–8 and allowed a full three fewer BR/9 than did Funk. Clinton manager Robert Peterson went 8–¡ in limited use (I guess the manager knew how to spot this pitcher) with a ¡.94 ERA and he allowed only ¡0.3 BR/9.

Florida International League (C) Miami third baseman Robert Morem (.3¡4/.45¡/ .337) scored only four fewer runs and drove in five more in 34 fewer ABs than Adkins. At short Manuel Hidalgo of Havana had .320/.435 averages to go with his ¡0¡ runs and 87 RBIs. He also had 200 hits. Both

players certainly appear to have had better seasons than the selectees. In the outfield, Ed Bass (Miami/Lakeland) would seem to be a better choice than Garmendia. Bass outhit and outslugged Garmendia and had almost the

218

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Ben Fernandez George Bucci Glen Adkins E.M. “Bitsy” Mott Lamar Perry Murphy Robert Ned Harris Oscar Garmendia Stanley Andrews Manuel Fernandez George Biershenk

SP SP SP SP SP

Catayo Gonzalez Melvin Nee Milford Howard Octavio Rubert Harold Graham

Team Tampa St .Petersburg W. Palm Beach Tampa Tampa W. Palm Beach Miami Beach St. Petersburg Tampa Lakeland

G 147 132 139 147 128 155 153 124 137 136

AB 565 558 509 605 489 540 572 477 452 480

G 39 43 22 47 31

GS — — — — —

CG 15 25 4 25 25

Tampa Miami Lakeland W.P.B./Tampa Miami Beach

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 183 91 259 26 1 16 107 56 11 .324 .458 .398 130 70 151 19 1 0 43 52 7 .233 .271 .298 130 81 182 29 1 7 52 58 43 .255 .358 .337 169 124 206 25 0 4 55 84 42 .279 .340 .370 173 101 246 30 8 9 92 71 22 .354 .503 .439 164 111 301 19 8 34 120 108 25 .304 .557 .423 157 88 222 26 6 9 79 55 21 .274 .388 .345 157 52 204 36 4 1 100 40 4 .329 .428 .389 123 62 196 18 1 17 66 75 3 .272 .434 .382 127 69 183 25 5 7 67 44 10 .265 .381 .329 SH 3 5 2 4 3

W 20 20 6 23 20

L 7 13 6 12 10

% .741 .606 .500 .657 .667

IP 243 301 105 299 257

H 234 265 112 244 244

ER 61 82 47 58 75

SO 106 145 43 214 58

BB 55 110 71 78 60

ERA 2.26 2.45 4.03 1.75 2.63

BR/9 10.7 11.7 15.9 9.8 11.0

Havana, which won 105 games and the playo›s, had no (zero, zip, zilch) players on the “All-Star” team. Can it be that the team, which was almost 100% native Cuban and included many dark-skinned players, was ignored for racial reasons?

same OB% (he hit .3¡7, slugged .446, and had an OB% of .340) and drove in ¡00 runs. Utility man Biershenk played third, short, and pitched. It is on the mound where Havana seems to have been particularly short-changed. No fewer than four Cubans allowed less than ¡0 BR/9: Dan Parra, Antonio Lorenzo, Julio Moreno, and Connie Marrero. Parra went ¡¡–4 with a ¡.8¡ ERA, Lorenzo was only ¡2–¡0, but had ¡.77, 9.0 numbers. Moreno was ¡9–4 with a 2.¡3 ERA and a 9.9 BR/9 ratio. Marrero was 25–6, ¡.53 with 25¡ Ks and allowed only 7.7 BR/9, the year’s best ratio (and one of the best since the end of the Dead Ball Era).

Finally, Tampa’s Chet Covington went ¡2–2, 2.09, 9.8. Any of the five mentioned could have taken the place of any of the “chosen ones” (except Rubert), and all of them should have been chosen ahead of Nee and Graham (with his 2 K/9 IP ratio). And don’t even get me started about Howard! Man, what the heck was the deal with that selection? The Havana sta› rang up an other-worldly 2.¡7 (!) ERA, and allowed only ¡0.2 BR/9 on the year. Many leagues did not have an individual with a mark that low. The sta› threw ¡¡0 complete games and racked up 23 shut-outs.

Lone Star League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Bob Marquis Wendell Finders Ruether Jones Connie Bean James “Lew” Morton John Stone Marshall Brown Joe Kracher Al Kubski Stan Bartkowski

SP SP

Robert Ross Danny Rowland

Team Lufkin Longview Tyler Jacksonville Henderson Henderson Kilgore Kilgore Marshall Kilgore

G 140 140 142 131 137 136 90 129 139 131

AB 598 556 582 531 556 566 409 489 524 499

H 207 200 194 128 202 224 145 163 171 160

R 145 117 112 103 145 136 83 115 109 109

TB 264 274 282 176 328 390 195 247 261 246

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 22 16 1 69 70 52 .346 .441 .418 36 13 4 99 74 34 .360 .493 .435 49 9 7 103 66 16 .333 .485 .407 15 12 3 60 94 15 .241 .331 .356 46 7 22 138 86 10 .363 .590 .451 46 12 32 185 52 23 .396 .689 .456 23 6 5 61 49 10 .355 .477 .424 46 7 8 96 68 7 .333 .505 .420 36 9 12 119 115 27 .326 .498 .453 29 9 13 91 91 2 .321 .493 .435

G 35 30

GS — —

CG 16 19

SH 4 1

W 21 16

L 7 12

% .750 .571

Kilgore Jacksonville

Kracher was a playing manager. At first Longview’s Merv Conners (.3¡8/.56¡/.383) would have been my choice over Marquis. Conners hit 26 homers, and, in ¡54 fewer at bats, scored only 2¡ runs less (¡24) and drove in 37 more (¡06) than did Marquis.

IP 250 226

H 276 258

ER 115 118

SO 134 105

BB 111 124

ERA 4.14 4.70

BR/9 14.3 15.4

Shortstop Chris Sidaris of Kilgore was at least the equal of selection Bean. He had much better range afield and was better in all hitting aspects (.260/.40¡/.383) as well as driving in 83 runs to Mr. Bean’s 60.

¡947 Let us here make special note of John Stone’s year: .396/.689 averages and ¡.4 RBI per game (that’s over 200 in a ¡50 game season). Mention should also be made of Lufkin outfielder Morris Jones. I don’t think that he should replace any of the league’s choices, but he hit .327 with ¡46 runs driven in. Kubski played first and third, but Bartkowski was an outfielder. The point being that, if you are going to put an outfielder in a utility slot, why not Jones?

219

¡4.3, ¡5.4. Do those seem like “All-Star” OB/9 ratios to you? Me neither, and, indeed, they should not have been. Many league pitchers had better years. Three of the best “unchosen men” include Marshall manager Paul Kardow (20–9, 3.5¡, league-leading ¡¡.8), Fred Smith of Lufkin (20–¡2, 3.¡9), and Frank Martin of Longview (¡8–8, 2.55).

Pioneer League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Walter Lowe Jack Radtke Lou Tamone Bobby Thomson Dale Markert George Leyrer Charles Balassi Harold Danielson Gordon Evans Earl Silverthorn

Team Boise Twin Falls Boise Pocatello Idaho Falls Twin Falls Twin Falls Twin Falls Idaho Falls Idaho Falls

G 137 136 130 116 131 136 136 122 105 138

AB 484 543 532 459 535 511 509 427 410 589

H 173 181 167 116 187 143 167 104 132 190

R 103 118 107 67 117 163 92 70 78 121

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 283 36 4 22 157 104 3 .357 .585 .473 248 32 7 7 98 103 29 .333 .457 .444 212 35 2 2 84 64 10 .314 .398 .391 199 19 5 18 80 39 25 .253 .434 .313 273 31 14 9 133 69 22 .350 .510 .425 206 26 8 7 65 160 59 .280 .403 .456 227 25 4 9 87 82 20 .328 .446 .430 133 14 3 3 61 50 4 .244 .311 .328 178 23 7 3 85 53 22 .322 .434 .406 264 26 21 2 89 52 60 .323 .448 .379

SP SP

Robert Drilling Walter Eads

Salt Lake City Twin Falls

G 37 16

GS — —

CG 22 7

SH 4 0

W 23 7

Shortstop choice Thomson led the league in strike-outs with ¡2¡. Ogden shortstop Robert Murphy had ¡24 runs to go with his .3¡¡/.4¡7/.394 averages. Besides, Thomson would have been a better choice for utility man anyways, as he played more games at first, third, and outfield than he did at short. And, speaking of utility players, the league did not do well at this slot. In addition to mispositioning Thomson, the league choices were both monopositional players, Evans at second and Silverthorn in the outfield. Silverthorn played almost well enough to be an All-Star outfielder, and ditto for Evans at second, but they were not utility men.

L 5 5

% .821 .583

IP 262 105

H 245 98

ER 78 51

SO 122 67

BB 75 86

ERA 2.68 4.37

BR/9 11.1 15.8

So, from whence then two true utility players? Well, we could start with the aforementioned Thomson at one slot. The second would be capably filled by Richard Buck (Ogden). He had credible .304/ .389/.4¡¡ averages, but, more importantly, he played third, outfield, and caught. There was a lot of hitting in the Pioneer League in ’47, but not enough to justify a 7–5, 4.37, ¡5.8 “AllStar” pitcher. Two far better choices would have been Connie Dempsey of Salt Lake City, only ¡6–¡3 but with a 2.95 ERA, and James Zavitka who was ¡7–6 and also rung up a 2.95 ERA.

Sunset League (C) The Sunset was truly sundown for pitchers. The league as a whole hit .302 and slugged .458. ¡4.7 runs were scored per game. El Centro, the weakest runproducing team in the league scored 6.3 runs a game. 24 players scored ¡00 runs, fifteen had at least ¡00 RBIs. 3.6 doubles a game were hit, as were 2.¡ homers. The number ten batter hit.33¡, the number ten pitcher had 4.59 ERA. Las Vegas hit 27¡ home runs in ¡947, breaking the old N.A. record of 204 (Salt Lake City, P.C.L., ¡923, set in a 200 game schedule) by 68. They did this in a ¡40 game season, averaging ¡.9 homers a game. This record would stand until ¡974, when the P.C.L. Sacra-

mento Solons, playing on a field with a 233 foot left field fence, would hit 305 in a ¡44 game season. Despite averaging 9.¡ runs a game, hitting .338, slugging .565, and having a .422 team OB% for the year, only two Wranglers were named to the All-Star team. Lloyd and Reagan were playing managers. Las Vegas first baseman Ken Myers only hit .303, but he slugged .556, had an excellent OB% of .465, hit 33 homers, drove in ¡2¡ runs and walked ¡36 times. Not an All-Star? Las Vegas second baseman Paul Godfry had marks of .320, .48¡, and .385 with ¡03 RBIs. Not an All-Star? Reno shortstop Manuel Serrano had .328/.504/

220

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Don Cena Glen Gaviglio Dick Schattinger Hubert “Bud” Dawson Paul Zaby Calvin Felix Phil Alotta Tom Lloyd Dan Reagan Ray Viers Bob Jaderlund

SP SP SP SP

Clarence Jaime Robert Mineo Glen Lierman Nate Moreland

Team Riverside Anaheim Riverside Anaheim Las Vegas Las Vegas Reno Riverside Ontario El Centro El Centro

Ontario Riverside Anaheim El Centro

G 39 31 38 42

G 140 130 104 140 133 140 129 129 126 98 133 GS — — — —

AB 574 578 432 546 531 610 505 485 456 317 548 CG 28 17 24 19

H 188 173 138 161 213 236 195 195 151 104 178

R 142 113 87 122 158 173 167 126 97 63 126

SH 0 0 2 1

W 22 12 19 20

.407 averages and should probably have been named as a co-all-star. Catching was well covered in the Sunset League in ’47, as can be seen by the two league choices. Still, having three catchers was not unheard of for an All Star team, and Las Vegas catcher Dominic Castro hit .354, slugged .577 and popped 28 homers while driving in ¡2¡ runs. Lloyd was obviously the best catcher, but I think Castro shaded Reagan for the second spot on the ticket. Two outfielders were chosen as utility men when the league had two proper utility players, both from Las Vegas. Paul Godfry’s brother Roy played second, third, and the outfield, hit .320, slugged .552, scored ¡¡¡ times while driving in ¡23 runs and hitting 32

TB 272 222 178 238 328 443 367 344 256 179 253 L 13 11 10 12

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 32 8 12 102 71 27 .328 .474 .407 30 2 5 96 56 16 .299 .384 .369 15 8 3 67 41 5 .319 .412 .385 25 5 14 92 79 18 .295 .436 .390 47 7 18 131 104 22 .401 .618 .500 35 8 52 182 76 19 .387 .726 .459 35 4 43 149 89 10 .386 .727 .480 44 1 35 157 77 3 .402 .709 .489 25 1 26 101 54 4 .331 .561 .408 11 2 20 72 35 0 .328 .565 .395 30 12 7 58 74 13 .325 .462 .407 % .629 .522 .655 .625

IP 264 200 254 241

H 314 214 287 267

ER 149 93 116 116

SO 175 162 181 154

BB 113 112 86 68

ERA 5.08 4.19 4.11 4.33

BR/9 14.9 14.7 13.5 12.8

homers. Olin Kelly had .335/.602/.44¡ averages, hit 33 homers and scored ¡53 runs while playing third, short, and the outfield. What it boils down to is this: the selected league infield hit .3¡0, slugged .427, and had an OB% of .39¡. The foursome scored 464 runs, drove in 357 runs, and popped 34 homers. An infield made up only of Las Vegas Wranglers hit .320, had a SA of .548, an OB% of .407 and scored 475 runs while driving in 443 and hitting ¡¡2 homers. The league chose four pitchers while not selecting the only qualifying hurler with a sub-4.00 ERA, Robert Masters of Riverside. He went ¡9–¡2 with 237 Ks in 238 IP, a ¡3.3 BR/9 ratio (second to Moreland) and a 3.55 ERA.

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name John Davenport John Bulkley Bill Cloude John Picchiotti Lloyd Lang Elmer “Butch” Nieman Mike Scire Mel Brookey Jay Sousley Danny Aeschilman

SP SP

Lee Dodson Ross Grimsley

Team Salina Topeka St. Joseph Hutchinson Salina Topeka Hutchinson Salina Joplin Hutchinson

Topeka Topeka

G 30 35

GS — —

G 60 135 111 130 138 136 137 133 127 139 CG 19 20

AB 229 511 431 493 527 470 545 524 459 570 SH 5 2

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 73 41 115 18 6 4 45 14 6 .319 .502 .373 151 84 190 26 5 1 82 69 6 .295 .372 .379 146 76 201 27 11 2 78 29 9 .339 .466 .386 135 87 160 18 2 1 56 68 14 .274 .325 .364 138 111 209 26 6 11 67 76 19 .262 .397 .358 146 135 273 28 6 29 114 144 17 .311 .581 .475 184 108 288 54 13 8 91 70 12 .338 .528 .414 144 58 197 30 7 3 89 27 4 .275 .376 .314 161 89 255 31 15 11 84 80 29 .351 .556 .450 176 96 249 38 10 5 98 33 21 .309 .437 .353 W 18 19

Jay Sousley, Joplin first baseman, had 83 walks, 84 runs driven in and 89 runs scored. Even doubling the totals put up by Davenport does not make him Sousley’s equal. And, when you factor in Sousley’s .35¡ BA, .556 SA and .450 OB%, it seems clear that he should have been the shining star in the Western Association firmament.

L 4 9

% .818 .679

IP 220 231

H 173 183

ER 58 81

SO 243 262

BB 136 137

ERA 2.37 3.16

BR/9 12.8 12.7

At short, Muskogee’s Robert Falk would seem to have earned a “co-” spot. He hit .270, slugged .367, and had an OB% of .333. He scored 68 runs to Picchiotti’s 87, but drove in 80 to Picchiotti’s 56. He also had 20 fewer errors. Sously was named as a utility player. He wasn’t. Outfielder Aeschilman was named as a utility player.

¡947 He wasn’t. Emory “Bubba” Church, who should have been named as both a pitcher and a utility player, was chosen as neither. He was a pitcher/outfielder who hit .280 and was 2¡–9, 2.93 as a pitcher, with 2¡9 Ks. The league probably should have had four pitchers on its All-Star team, Salina’s Chris Haughy being

221

number four. He had an excellent 22–5 record with a 2.53 ERA and a league best ¡0.2 BR/9 ratio. How good was the hitting in this league? Good enough to allow Reno pitcher Robert Connolly to go ¡4–¡3 despite giving up nine runs a game with an ERA of 7.36 and a BR/9 ratio of ¡8.3.

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name George Sturdivant Jackie Sullivan Robert “Buck” Fausett Bill Serena Art Bowland Leon Cato Bob Crues Don Moore Hayden Greer Alfred Duarte

SP SP SP

Paul Hinrichs Wm. “Lefty” Jones Wm. “Lefty” Lonergan

Team Lamesa Lubbock Albuquerque Lubbock Abilene Borger Amarillo Clovis/Albuq. Abilene Amarillo

Lubbock Lamesa Amarillo

G 28 35 29

G 131 125 136 137 90 131 139 141 112 134 GS — — —

AB 493 516 545 506 329 559 553 542 432 539 CG 20 22 21

H 199 183 223 189 134 229 210 187 149 189 SH 1 2 1

Wow! What a league, what a year…. As a league, the WTNM hit .304, slugged .476, and had a .433 OB%. The #¡0 batter in the league hit .355, and .326 would only have been good for thirtieth. ¡50 runs scored would have put you tenth in the league, as would 40 doubles. No less than ¡7 players with at least ¡00 runs scored more than one run a game, and nine players with at least ¡00 RBIs had more than one a game. The WTNM All-Stars hit .377, slugged .677, and had a .469 OB%, all good enough as individual marks to lead most leagues most years. Almost ¡6 runs were scored in every WTNM League game in ¡947. Lubbock scored 8.9 per game, Borger gave up 9.5 runs a game and Clovis gave up ¡0.2 (!). ¡200 home runs were hit during the season (2.2 every game), along with a phenomenal 2405 doubles (4.3 per game). Also please note that in the ’47 WTNM, a .498 OB% and a .700 SA would have gotten you no better than sixth in the league. Sturdivant, Sullivan, Fausett, Bowland, and Greer

R 150 140 134 183 94 164 160 139 110 160 W 18 24 17

TB 367 315 355 421 226 409 427 339 232 303

2B 54 36 30 43 35 48 45 35 27 47

L 5 4 9

% .783 .857 .654

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 0 38 175 91 12 .404 .744 .500 18 20 129 50 31 .355 .610 .421 21 20 142 62 12 .409 .651 .472 9 57 190 140 26 .374 .832 .514 3 17 97 83 8 .407 .687 .527 18 32 155 71 13 .410 .732 .478 8 52 178 75 9 .380 .772 .460 18 27 139 80 1 .345 .625 .434 4 16 89 65 25 .345 .537 .435 8 17 124 104 11 .351 .562 .457 IP 202 253 194

H 173 297 185

ER 75 110 86

SO 213 195 218

BB 75 86 60

ERA 3.34 3.91 3.99

BR/9 11.5 13.7 11.5

were playing managers. At first, Joe Bauman (Amarillo) should have shared the slot. How can you leave a .350/.727/.526 season o› of an all-star team? He also hit 38 home runs, scored ¡42 runs, drove in ¡27 and walked ¡6¡ times. In the outfield, Borger Gasser manager Gordon Nell hit .344 with a .7¡0 SA, hit 49 homers and drove in ¡73 runs. He should have been a fourth outfielder. Please take note of Serena’s season at short: ¡89 runs, ¡90 RBIs and an .832 (!) SA with a .5¡4 OB%. This was an uncommonly good season for utility players, which makes the selection of outfielder Duarte for a utility slot incomprehensible. Greer played second, third, and short. Rich Gentzkow (Albuquerque) played second and outfield and had .36¡/.607/.453 averages with ¡3¡ runs and ¡29 RBIs. Tony Fiarito (Lamesa) had .386/.593/.498 averages and played second and caught. Verdun Gilchrest (Borger) played second and short, scored ¡82 runs and walked ¡83 times en route to a .358/.454/.536

Alabama State League (D) The Greenville Lions, which won the pennant by ¡¡.5 games and then won the playo›s, placed no one on the All-Star team. Perry Roberts, Greenville first baseman, led the league in BA (.389), SA (.570), hits(228), RBIs (¡52) and doubles (49), but was not chosen for the All Star team.

Andrew Archipoli, Ozark second baseman, hit .346, slugged .570, had ¡20 RBIs, and led the league with 24 homers, but was not chosen for the All Star team. The league chose four outfielders. One, Gilbert, should have been chosen as a utility man, as he played second and caught as well as playing outfield.

222

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Bob Engle Ben Catchings Walter Quimby Bernard Donner Manuel Russo Robert Sprentall Emil Bozick James Gilbert Emory Lindsey Clyde McAllister Doyle Nunnally

SP SP SP SP

Joe Beaugez Henry Delay Marcus Davis Claude Medlin

Team Andalusia Enterprise Ozark/Dothan Andalusia Andalusia Troy Troy Troy Dothan Geneva Geneva

Brewton Brewton Dothan Geneva

G 51 35 40 24

G 129 136 123 130 131 138 115 124 138 112 121 GS — — — —

AB 474 509 515 505 469 550 481 515 551 450 462 CG 19 18 19 15

H 146 154 170 160 161 180 158 172 184 144 174

R 71 126 65 89 102 124 75 99 104 57 93

SH — — — —

W 21 15 19 13

How about McDonald Turner (Enterprise, .368/.5¡¡/ .42¡) who had ¡05 RBIs and scored ¡¡ runs to go with his 22 triples for the fourth outfielder? Or, how about Brewton manager Norm Veazey who hit .33¡ and drove ¡02 runs? Utility man Nunnally played second, outfield, and caught. Four pitchers were chosen. One of those, Henry Delay, appears to me to have a mis-entered stat in

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 207 24 8 7 95 77 12 .308 .437 .406 206 17 10 5 83 108 52 .303 .405 .426 223 36 4 3 52 24 3 .330 .433 .362 205 22 7 3 87 61 11 .317 .406 .394 254 32 2 19 103 87 17 .343 .542 .466 221 19 8 2 53 98 25 .327 .402 .433 211 23 6 6 83 30 11 .328 .439 .372 241 34 7 7 98 43 6 .334 .468 .386 266 37 3 13 126 73 10 .334 .483 .413 218 24 1 16 77 20 0 .320 .484 .352 223 26 7 3 39 55 14 .377 .483 .445 L 9 9 14 8

% .700 .625 .576 .619

IP 298 222 238 170

H 253 148 289 164

ER 99 71 100 68

SO 115 107 130 92

BB 110 86 103 69

ERA 2.99 2.88 3.78 3.60

BR/9 11.1 9.8 15.2 12.3

his o‡cial line. He was supposed to have given up only ¡48 hits (6 H/9) but I think he actually gave up 248, which would certainly be more in line with a 2.88 ERA. Davis and his ¡5.2 BR/9 is hardly all-star quality. Max Peterson of Greenville was 27–¡2 with league-leading 2.02 ERA and 9.2 BR/9 numbers. Billy Darden of Enterprise was second in both ERA and BR/9 with 2.¡7 and ¡0.4 figures. John Meyers (Greenville) was ¡8–9 with a 2.43 ERA.

Appalachian League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C C UT UT

Name Leo “Muscle” Shoals Augie “Mighty” Messuri Art Oliver Harry Musselman Ray Rudisill Homer Moore Ralph Davis Frank Baldwin Charlie Fox Rollie “On The” Leveille Lou “Buzz” Bekeza Joe Morgan

SP SP

William Arrildt “Neon” Deon Lampros

Team Kingsport Elizabethton Bristol Bristol Pulaski Bluefield New River Bluefield Bristol Pulaski Elizabethton Kingsport

Pulaski Bristol

G 33 23

G 109 86 123 117 118 103 124 111 118 110 114 119 GS — —

AB 393 359 414 458 433 378 506 416 418 416 438 478 CG 16 18

H 152 122 108 105 157 137 174 138 137 115 154 149

R 118 77 65 60 162 105 109 76 69 78 94 110

SH 1 3

W 19 11

Moore and Bekeza were playing managers. Ernest Lucas of Welch hit .27¡, had an OB% of .396 and scored ¡04 runs, and would have been my choice at shortstop over the very weak-hitting Harry “I’m No” Musselman. Bekeza played first and caught. Morgan played second, third and outfield. I believe that the o‡cial walk total for Arrildt was mis-entered and should have been 88, not ¡88. There

TB 281 148 150 153 235 258 294 192 174 193 234 212 L 6 10

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 25 4 32 124 90 5 .387 19 2 1 40 60 26 .340 9 9 5 75 94 3 .261 19 7 5 58 37 1 .229 31 13 7 101 130 8 .363 12 8 31 117 69 4 .362 35 17 17 139 55 9 .344 22 4 8 89 59 2 .332 25 6 0 81 80 4 .328 18 9 14 88 64 8 .276 31 5 13 94 58 11 .352 27 6 8 79 58 9 .312 % .760 .524

IP 205 171

H 201 146

ER 101 62

SO 178 181

BB 188 111

SL OB% .715 .511 .412 .437 .362 .401 .334 .293 .543 .515 .683 .463 .581 .415 .462 .423 .416 .438 .464 .379 .534 .435 .444 .388 ERA 4.43 3.26

BR/9 17.4 13.7

is just no possible way that ¡7.4 BR/9 equates to a 4.43 ERA. That aside, the two best pitchers in the league were Jim Mooney (Johnson City) and Jim “the Professor” Brosnan. Mooney was ¡3–7 with a 2.93 ERA and a ¡0.4 BR/9 ratio. Brosnan was ¡7–8, 3.04. Fladgit Zunk of Pulaski deserves to be mentioned because, well, he was … Fladgit Zunk.

¡947

223

Blue Ridge League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Edwin Morgan Wayne Stewart Eddie Cousins Ray Mize Hal Livingstone Nick Ciani Zaven Arakelian Bruce Ohlinger Noel Casbier

Team Galax Lenoir Mt. Airy Radford Radford Lenoir Galax Galax Lenoir

Eurice “Pete” Treece Sidney Weinbach

G 107 107 99 85 86 87 105 91 89

Mt. Airy Galax

AB 397 452 400 328 305 374 373 369 294

G 40 37

GS — —

H 149 139 131 103 101 121 120 130 98 CG 18 27

R 117 78 71 48 46 74 87 73 70 SH 3 3

This was an excellently selected team. Sam Moir, Mt. Airy outfielder (.339/.437/.394) scored 93 runs and drove in 74 which is much better than Ciani’s 74 and 38.

TB 236 171 171 145 150 157 192 176 161

2B 42 18 19 14 23 18 21 15 21

3B 6 4 3 8 10 6 9 5 3

W 19 20

L 8 12

% .704 .625

HR 11 2 5 4 2 2 11 7 12 IP 241 269

RBI 103 59 67 54 53 38 96 88 54

BB 100 28 40 42 17 31 68 42 33

SB 9 23 13 6 4 18 19 1 5

H 240 296

ER 80 117

SO 159 234

BA .375 .308 .328 .314 .331 .324 .322 .352 .333

SL .594 .378 .428 .442 .492 .420 .515 .477 .548

OB% .503 .352 .398 .398 .368 .377 .458 .430 .402

BB 64 94

ERA 2.99 3.91

BR/9 11.4 13.4

Casbier, in addition to being a manager, played outfield, third, second, and pitched.

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Soufas Steve Collins Stuart Martin Frank Tepedino Herbert May LeRoy Kennedy Bob Cohen Charles Settle Grover Fowler

SP SP

Sam McLawhorne Eddie Neville

Team New Bern Kinston Roanoke Rapids Kinston Rocky Mount Tarboro Kinston New Bern Rocky Mount

G 137 136 119 135 132 109 132 88 117

AB 517 527 456 547 556 420 550 288 463

G 48 43

GS — —

CG — —

Kinston Tarboro

H 177 186 139 170 190 160 187 71 135 SH — —

R 114 106 79 132 100 108 102 41 85 W 26 28

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 296 34 5 25 122 99 12 .342 .573 .451 261 41 8 6 91 66 4 .353 .495 .425 185 13 9 5 51 71 3 .305 .406 .400 264 30 14 12 66 60 30 .311 .483 .381 293 27 2 24 113 30 7 .342 .527 .379 240 27 16 7 79 73 65 .381 .571 .479 255 39 4 7 92 35 13 .340 .464 .383 121 21 1 9 38 35 8 .247 .420 .338 210 28 4 13 85 55 20 .292 .454 .369 L 21 9

% .553 .757

IP 326 304

H — —

ER 84 89

SO 238 172

BB 110 89

ERA 2.32 2.63

BR/9 — —

Hits not recorded for pitchers, so no BR/9 compilation possible.

Soufas, Collins, and Martin were playing managers. There were five outfielders who, although they brought di›erent strengths to the table, were basically equal. The two not selected were Greenville’s Willard Mauney and New Bern’s Salvatore “Zip” Zunno. Mauney hit .354, slugged .5¡8, and had a .400 OB percentages with ¡05 runs and 94 RBIs. Zunno hit .32¡, slugged .4¡9, and had a .446 OB% with leagueleading totals of ¡07 walks, 70 steals and ¡33 runs. I would’ve chosen Ted Pinner (New Bern/Wilson) as my catcher. He hit .330 with 77 RBIs.

“Utility” man Fowler was a third baseman. My utility choice would have been All Star pitcher Eddie Neville. He also played outfield and hit .24¡ with 46 runs and 38 RBIs in 88 games. Two other pitchers who deserve mention are Bill Herring, manager of the Goldsboro Goldbugs, and Wilson’s own Max Wilson. Herring was only ¡4–¡¡ but had an ERA of ¡.79, Wilson was ¡5–5 (.789) with a 2.20 ERA.

Eastern Shore League (D) Rambert, Nichols and Westfall were playing managers. Five outfielders would have been about right for the Eastern Shore League in ¡947: DeLuca, Thompson, Bill Ripkin and Bob Stramm of Cambridge, and

Donald Marshall of Dover. Ripkin (.346/.483/.453) scored ¡03 runs in 97 games. Stramm (.340/.440/ .468) scored ¡29 runs in ¡23 games. Marshall (.3¡9/ .5¡6/.422) hit 23 homers and drove in ¡¡8 runs. The other chosen outfielder, Robert “Ducky” Detweiler,

224 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Elmer “Pep” Rambert Fred Shipman Roy Nichols Bob Westfall Rbt. “Ducky” Detweiler Al Deluca Don Thompson Charlie Thompson No selection made

Team Federalsburg Seaford Cambridge Seaford Federalsburg Seaford Milford Cambridge

G 97 113 123 121 118 105 107 114

AB 367 447 448 449 423 373 415 464

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 138 72 227 28 1 19 100 64 18 .376 .619 .474 134 97 184 26 6 4 58 78 45 .300 .412 .407 159 97 215 35 6 3 130 101 10 .355 .480 .475 153 96 231 28 4 14 121 81 22 .341 .514 .443 149 110 269 21 6 29 133 106 37 .352 .636 .483 124 95 156 13 8 1 54 101 36 .332 .418 .477 136 98 199 23 11 6 70 59 33 .328 .480 .415 162 101 219 20 14 3 129 55 15 .349 .472 .420 .

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Harry “Duke” Makosky Seaford 37 — 24 3 19 9 .679 249 246 97 274 110 3.51 12.9 SP Chris Van Cuyk Cambridge 31 — 24 9 25 2 .926 238 161 50 279 85 1.89 9.4

should have been named to the team as a utility player (none was chosen). He played first, third, and the outfield. Carroll Berringer (Cambridge) was 20–6 with a

2.47 ERA and would have made a good third pitcher. It should be noted that Makosky averaged 9.9 K/9 and Van Cuyk ¡0.6 K/9.

Evangeline League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Paul Bruno Harry Strohm Allen Cross Jack Hodge Alvin Auchon Stanley Ray Robert Masser Walter Sierotko Sidney Gautreaux Jack Kelly Bob Gales

Team Hammond N. Iberia/Alex. Alexandria Baton Rouge Abbeville Thibodaux Baton Rouge Natchez Thibodaux Natchez Houma

SP SP SP

Joseph Bouchoux Warren Kanagy Fred Baczewski

Thibodaux Thibodaux Alexandria

G 32 30 32

G 110 103 129 121 124 126 133 108 124 114 138 GS — — —

AB 389 363 516 499 507 461 523 395 382 444 523 CG 22 19 22

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 129 86 219 30 3 18 91 70 10 .332 .563 .434 124 57 162 24 4 2 60 36 10 .342 .446 .401 145 102 225 36 7 10 104 68 29 .281 .436 .369 137 87 172 25 5 0 35 53 13 .275 .345 .347 178 104 249 32 6 9 96 47 18 .351 .491 .411 157 91 204 20 6 5 70 55 6 .341 .443 .418 147 88 238 24 11 15 99 58 6 .281 .455 .355 111 72 162 28 1 7 78 50 11 .281 .410 .379 106 72 160 22 4 7 73 119 2 .277 .419 .453 139 94 195 22 8 6 44 77 30 .313 .439 .417 154 138 224 26 7 10 65 111 18 .294 .428 .424 SH 5 2 7

Bruno, Strohm, and Gautreaux were playing managers. There were a lot of strange choices for this particular team. Paul Bruno was probably the league’s best at first base, but he was also (and should have been selected as) an All-Star pitcher and, ergo, an All-Star utility man. So, to fill what should have been an empty first base slot, I o›er Cecil Harper of Alexandria. He hit .3¡2 and scored ¡00 runs. Stan Sonnier of Abbeville would have been a good choice at second, for, just like Bruno, Strohm would have made a better utility choice (he played second and outfield). Sonnier scored ¡07 runs and walked ¡¡¡ times, hitting .29¡. At third, Frank Gibbs (Hammond, .32¡/.45¡/.395) scored ¡¡3 runs and fielded a not-so-good .929 to Cross’s even worse .897. Thibodaux shortstop Wilf Theard (.274/.336/.364) with 96 runs fielded an acceptable .953 to Gibbs’ atrocious .879. So basically, I’d have a completely di›erent infield.

W 20 21 16

L 9 3 10

% .690 .875 .615

IP 248 197 240

H 207 152 159

ER 86 47 56

SO 170 187 242

BB 110 111 139

ERA 3.12 2.15 2.10

BR/9 11.6 12.7 11.4

I’d’ve chosen Baton Rouge outfielder Glynn Murray over his teammate Masser. In exactly the same number of ABs, Murray scored 96 runs and drove in 92. He hit .3¡9, slugged .507, and had a .37¡ OB%, all superior to Masser. At utility, the league chose a second baseman (Jack Kelly, who did not go on to play Bart Maverick) and an actual utility man, Gales, who played first, second, and the outfield. As noted before, Bruno would have filled the utility spot to a tee. And, while on the subject of Bruno, he just happened to lead the league in wins (25), Ks (260), ERA (¡.96), and BR/9 ratio (9.3), excluding himself from consideration for post-season honors. Two Natchez pitchers deserve mention: Ray Mink and Bernard DeForge. For a team which finished ¡8 games under .500 and was last in hitting, they were ¡5–¡0, 2.9¡ and ¡2–4, 3.00 respectively, yeoman work and worthy of more than oblivion.

¡947

225

Florida State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Mario Perez Lyle Judy Jack Wilkes Wilbur “Bill” Good Jr. Myril Hoag Desmond Solter Douglass Johnson John Tonco› John Theobold

SP SP

George Fultz Tommy Hyde

Team DeLand St. Augustine St. Augustine Leesburg Gainesville Leesburg Leesburg Palatka Palatka/St. Aug.

G 138 120 124 97 102 134 56 98 92

AB 536 431 469 366 323 527 232 314 287

H 149 131 122 83 113 146 81 84 85

G 38 38

CG 29 26

SH 4 4

W 23 20

Gainesville Orlando

GS

Hoag was a playing manager. DeLand third baseman Chuck Aleno hit .32¡, slugged .474 and had a .444 OB%. In ¡57 fewer ABs he scored more runs and drove in more than did Wilkes. Aleno was number two in SA and led in OB%. At short, Good had a very weak year (note his .265 “SA”). Craig Lybrand (Orlando) had .262/.355/.373 averages, not great, but certainly better than Good. I’d’ve put Hoag at both a utility spot and pitcher. To fill his outfield slot, either George Boerner (Daytona Beach) or Ben Thorpe (Gainesville) could be chosen. Boerner (.298/.394/.404) scored 88 runs, Thorpe (.277/.4¡5/.325) drove in 96. Theobald played first, outfield, and pitched (¡0–¡4). Another utility possibility would have been

R 81 98 66 60 72 61 39 53 33 L 10 11

TB 206 163 140 97 153 193 111 134 109

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 28 13 1 92 50 20 .278 .384 .342 24 1 2 45 104 32 .304 .378 .440 16 1 0 55 57 22 .260 .299 .342 10 2 0 54 42 4 .227 .265 .315 18 5 4 75 46 21 .350 .474 .437 26 3 5 66 49 13 .277 .366 .344 13 7 1 42 29 5 .349 .478 .424 17 9 1 47 58 16 .268 .427 .385 16 1 2 37 13 4 .296 .380 .329

% .697 .645

IP 283 256

H 230 244

ER 70 85

SO 168 117

BB 139 121

ERA 2.23 2.99

BR/9 11.9 13.1

Stan Karpinski who played outfield and pitched for St. Augustine. He hit .264 with 69 RBIs and went 8–6 on the hill. But I reiterate, Hoag would have been the best choice as, in addition to his hitting, he went ¡7–3 with a ¡.82 ERA while also playing first and outfield. I know that I sound like a broken record (You all know what a record is, don’t you? Those big black CDs), but it must be stated once again that Hoag should have been an All-Star pitcher. In fact, the league should have had four moundsmen so honored. Jim Ketcher of St. Augustine should also have been chosen on the basis of his fine ¡9–8, 2.07 season. He also pitched ambidextrously on occasion during the season.

Georgia-Alabama League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Donald Stoyle Joe Chambers Harold Blackstock Charles Roberts Earl Edwards Ted Browning Ken Guettler Charles Danna Jim Hill Herbert Marshall Claude Shoemake

SP SP

William Webb Jess Danna

Team Newnan Valley Valley/Gri‡n Carrollton Valley Newnan Gri‡n Valley Carrolton Carrolton Newnan

Carrollton Valley

G 28 27

G 80 126 114 97 116 123 100 110 90 121 123

AB 316 480 443 351 476 521 404 412 308 518 498

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 113 42 150 16 6 3 61 30 12 .358 .475 .417 152 102 207 14 13 5 96 87 21 .317 .431 .426 140 80 189 34 6 1 51 37 18 .316 .427 .371 135 75 202 24 5 11 72 53 10 .385 .575 .468 145 101 190 19 10 2 48 50 35 .305 .399 .375 162 122 219 24 9 5 46 54 42 .311 .420 .380 135 80 240 18 6 25 103 49 12 .334 .594 .409 131 63 151 16 2 0 57 40 11 .318 .367 .380 91 41 119 20 4 0 47 8 0 .295 .386 .322 171 99 235 29 7 7 76 38 16 .330 .454 .377 170 81 249 34 6 11 101 36 7 .341 .500 .387

GS — —

CG 25 17

SH 4 4

Roberts was a playing manager. Simply put, Malvern Morgan, Valley third baseman, had it all over league choice Blackstock. Morgan hit .364, slugged .5¡3, and had a .433 OB%. His 90 RBIs are just plain superior. Outfielder Floyd Snider of Carrollton should have been named as a fourth outfielder on the squad. He

W 22 18

L 5 6

% .815 .750

IP 229 188

H 196 164

ER 61 45

SO 131 98

BB 38 31

ERA 2.40 2.15

BR/9 9.2 9.4

hit .307, slugged .529, and had a .42¡ OB%. He also scored 95 runs and drove in ¡02. Had the league opted for two catchers, the second would probably been Jim Hill (Carrollton) who hit .295. Utility man Marshall played second and short. “Utility” man Shoemake was an outfielder. Paul Brock of Newnan went 23–¡¡ with 28 CG’s

226

Minor League All-Star Teams It is of interest to note that Valley’s All-Star battery also happened to be brothers.

and a 2.33 ERA. Lonzo Ayers (Tallassee/Newnan) was the league’s #¡ reliever. He pitched ¡07 innings in 32 games and was 5–4, 3.20.

Georgia-Florida League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Ralph Weeks David Williams Elmer Schoendienst Emil Ray John Ewaniak Elmer Anjeski T. Crawford Howard Pat Tomkinson Billy Dwyer Bill LaFrance

SP SP

Bob Galey Jack Frisinger

Team Thomasville Waycross Albany Valdosta Albany Tallahassee Americus Valdosta Waycross Moultrie

Waycross Albany

G 31 33

G 138 132 133 112 140 141 139 78 119 138

GS — —

AB 530 464 497 396 519 558 558 278 480 503

CG 17 19

H 170 131 126 86 167 177 169 96 134 153 SH 4 3

R 88 147 76 68 95 116 102 37 104 83 W 18 20

TB 211 209 162 107 248 238 217 128 160 254 L 8 7

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 22 8 1 92 55 11 .321 .398 .385 34 10 8 75 136 28 .282 .450 .450 26 5 0 67 49 14 .254 .326 .325 10 4 1 34 73 3 .217 .270 .342 32 8 11 99 92 5 .322 .478 .430 16 12 7 83 83 25 .317 .427 .408 31 4 3 113 57 28 .303 .389 .374 13 8 1 39 16 5 .345 .460 .383 14 6 0 53 69 30 .279 .333 .372 33 7 18 111 101 10 .304 .505 .422

% .692 .741

IP 219 219

H 218 136

ER 100 53

SO 223 274

BB 117 137

ERA 4.11 2.18

BR/9 14.1 11.3

times, hit .275 and had a .4¡9 OB%. And, in case one would suppose that perhaps Ray was a better fielder, one should disabuse oneself of that idea. Laumann’s FA was a single point lower than Ray’s, but Laumann handled ¡80 more chances. Milt Wrenn of Moultrie (.290 with 56 RBIs) would make a good back-up catcher. Utility man Dwyer played first, second, short, and outfield. La France was an outfielder. Instead of Galey I would have chosen either or both Charles Yohn (Thomasville) or John Herbik (Moultrie). Yohn was ¡5–7, 2.44, Herbik ¡5–3, 3.58. It should be noted that Frisinger averaged ¡¡.3 K/9.

Weeks outhit Moultrie’s Ken Rhyne by ¡7 points, but that is the only advantage Weeks had. Rhyne led the league in HR’s (24), RBIs (¡4¡, more than one a game), and SA (.506). On top of all that, Weeks also committed 34 errors, an extremely high total for a first baseman. At third, Walter Bremer of Waycross dominated Schoendienst in all hitting aspects with .285/ .427/.383 averages along with ¡03 runs scored and ¡¡5 driven in. Militating against Bremer, however, is the fact that he fielded .889 to Schoendienst’s .94¡. Shortstop Ray had the second lowest BA and SA in the league. Shortstop Andrew Laumann of Moultrie, on the other hand, scored ¡28 runs, walked ¡27

Illinois State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Clarence Schambon Bob Cherek Billy Klaus William Queen Eldon “Rip” Repulski William Hornsby Omer Tolson James Cupp Socrates Anthony Chet McDowell James Osborne

SP SP

Robert Freels Don Liddle

Team Belleville Belleville Centralia Mt. Vernon West Frankfort Mattoon Belleville West Frankfort Belleville Marion Mattoon

Belleville Mt. Vernon

G 25 19

GS — —

G 107 111 112 82 111 91 64 102 97 102 94 CG 18 11

AB 408 434 431 311 435 321 243 323 340 390 351

H 117 126 147 79 122 103 70 89 93 116 98

SH 2 3

Cherek actually played more games at third than he did at second. Belleville shortstop Weldon Idol was a much better hitter than Queen (.3¡2/.404/ .373), scored 90 runs and drove in 8¡. Again, this

W 19 9

R 97 90 75 47 73 57 42 59 56 79 41

TB 167 163 196 89 177 129 109 131 113 149 129 L 2 7

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 18 10 4 45 67 18 .287 .409 .394 18 2 5 51 76 26 .290 .376 .401 19 12 2 84 86 16 .341 .455 .452 6 2 0 30 43 7 .254 .286 .348 9 8 10 74 46 45 .280 .407 .355 13 5 1 42 45 15 .321 .402 .425 14 5 5 48 25 16 .288 .449 .359 20 2 6 49 92 20 .276 .406 .442 16 2 0 50 35 10 .274 .332 .347 14 8 1 40 77 27 .297 .382 .419 16 3 3 52 25 8 .279 .368 .329

% .905 .563

IP 180 131

H 159 76

ER 43 28

SO 125 190

BB 36 57

ERA 2.15 1.92

BR/9 10.0 9.3

seemed as if it should have been a no-brainer, and perhaps that is just what it was. McDowell played second and short. Osborne was an outfielder.

¡947

227 A well selected team.

Ken Wild of West Frankfort was only ¡2–¡0, but he had a league-leading ¡.73 ERA. It should also be noted that Liddle averaged ¡3.¡ K/9 IP.

Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Walter Snider Ralph Rutherford Wm. Ken Aubrey Jim Baxes R.T. “Dixie” Upright Albert Solenberger Loren Packard Jim Hansen No selection made

SP SP

Carroll Dial Jim Post

Team Miami Carthage Iola Ponca City Bartlesville Bartlesville Miami Miami

Bartlesville Pittsburg

G 38 32

G 116 75 124 76 103 125 125 119

GS — —

AB 466 300 495 313 448 530 508 386

CG 15 9

H 138 99 149 109 163 170 185 96

SH 4 1

R 109 78 113 82 107 131 105 82

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 225 31 7 14 101 81 17 .296 .483 .406 163 18 11 8 55 39 24 .330 .543 .422 228 27 5 14 98 103 24 .301 .461 .422 199 22 4 20 94 44 9 .348 .636 .433 259 31 13 13 112 40 20 .364 .578 .420 212 27 6 1 70 101 66 .321 .400 .431 250 37 2 8 124 92 14 .364 .492 .465 149 14 6 9 100 127 9 .249 .386 .442

W 22 13

L 8 3

% .733 .813

IP 233 157

H 205 120

ER 86 65

SO 214 176

BB 84 116

ERA 3.32 3.73

BR/9 11.4 13.8

Pitcher Carl Wilson (Pittsburg) would have been an acceptable third pitcher. He was ¡6–¡¡ with 2¡5 Ks and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.3.

Yet another in a string of well-selected teams. There was no league utility selection, but Louis Bejma of Chanute would have been a good choice. He played second, short, and outfield while hitting .3¡¡ with 73 runs driven in and ¡06 runs scored.

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Lawson Williams Jerry Majercik Bob Prouix Frank Scalzi Joe Richardson Richard Szpond Seb. “Sonny” Grasso Jose Perez Kenneth Hahn Carroll Peterson

SP SP

William Bordt Joseph Dworak

Team Mayfield Union City Madisonville Hopkinsville Hopkinsville Madisonville Owensboro Owensboro Cairo Fulton

Mayfield Mayfield

G 36 26

G 111 111 124 117 121 125 120 99 116 111

GS — —

AB 408 457 448 429 478 489 470 366 458 441

CG 22 21

H 136 176 161 147 152 169 167 119 143 139 SH 3 0

R 92 100 126 91 119 110 96 96 86 79 W 21 11

TB 216 255 246 219 245 247 220 184 188 211 L 8 11

2B 21 19 36 34 33 34 25 20 22 20

% .724 .500

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 7 15 107 94 8 .333 .529 .458 21 6 90 51 26 .385 .558 .447 8 11 87 115 4 .359 .549 .490 7 8 87 67 21 .343 .510 .431 3 18 114 75 13 .318 .513 .410 7 10 128 57 10 .346 .505 .414 11 2 83 46 18 .355 .468 .413 15 5 89 55 6 .325 .503 .413 7 3 86 67 55 .312 .410 .400 8 12 97 43 3 .315 .478 .376 IP 263 188

H 265 144

ER 118 56

SO 146 202

BB 118 99

ERA 4.04 2.68

BR/9 13.3 12.1

HBP not kept for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Scalzi was a playing manager. At first, manager Earle Browne of Owensboro hit .424, slugged .6¡0, and had a really terrific OB% of .547. Yet, you will notice that he is nowhere to be found on this roster. Perhaps he was not selected because he also happened to lead the Oilers to first in the standings. Sure looks like All-Star material to me; I mean, how can you not select a .400 hitter who “struggled” to a .500+ OB%? In the outfield, another playing manager 42-yearold Johnny Gill (Fulton/Clarksville) had outstanding

.396/.66¡/.522 numbers but was also deemed All-Star unworthy. This is madness: not one but two .500+ OB% players not selected! Utility man Peterson played third and outfield. “Utility” man Hahn was an outfielder. Two pitchers who did not receive adequate mention are John Hobbs of Cairo and Bob Buhl of Madisonville. Hobbs was ¡3–¡4 for a team 20 games under .500 and racked up 236 strike-outs. Buhl was ¡9–¡0.

228

Minor League All-Star Teams

Longhorn League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Joe Dotlich Jake McClain Orlando Moreno Roy McMillan Bob Cowsar Harvel Jakes Pat Stasey Armando Traspuesto Rex Pierce Ronald Murphy

SP SP

Jose Cendan Ernie Nelson

Team Sweetwater Bal./Big Spring Big Spring Ballinger Sweetwater Odessa Big Spring Big Spring Odessa Sweetwater

G 103 123 129 107 122 130 123 113 123 113

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

32 40

— —

25 23

— —

24 23

5 6

.828 .793

253 249

265 286

130 107

231 192

69 45

4.62 3.87

12.3 12.0

Big Spring Midland

AB 428 510 582 459 511 543 502 435 546 412

H 170 182 201 126 209 164 209 156 180 139

Stasey was a playing manager. Jim Prince, Midland first baseman, reached all three “great” levels of hitting, racking up averages of .429, .778, and .504. He hit 34 homers and drove in ¡4¡ runs. Now, obviously, Dotlich had a very good year indeed, but Prince had one for the ages. At short, McMillan led the league in fielding with a lowly .9¡6 %. Gaspar Del Toro (Big Spring) fielded a foul .863 — but he hit .308, scored ¡32 runs and

R 134 155 186 90 147 128 145 98 138 123

TB 260 270 305 162 365 295 323 228 242 252

2B 41 41 33 23 37 39 45 24 29 32

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 8 11 90 65 12 .397 .607 .478 13 7 89 82 11 .357 .529 .450 10 17 99 74 28 .345 .524 .423 2 3 49 18 7 .275 .353 .318 4 37 176 61 20 .409 .714 .477 13 22 123 87 19 .302 .543 .411 6 19 153 81 22 .416 .643 .501 9 10 83 33 13 .359 .524 .405 12 3 70 61 50 .330 .443 .400 3 25 85 75 24 .337 .612 .448

drove in ¡¡0. It’s too bad the league couldn’t have named a fielding shortstop and a hitting one also. Ron Murphy, who was selected as a utility player, was an outfielder. Pierce played second and short. Gerald Fahr, pitcher for Vernon, was ¡6–¡8 for a team which finished 45 games under .500. He was sixth in the league with a 4.68 ERA. Claude Gray (Midland) was ¡8–9 and finished second in the league with a 3.98 ERA.

North Carolina State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Charles Knight Edgar Leip Hal Harrigan Bob Brown James Miller Norman Small James Thomas Richard Teed George Wright Fred Leonard

Team Hickory Salisbury Salisbury Hickory Landis Mooresville Hickory Thomasville Landis Thomasville

G 110 101 105 111 111 104 110 107 102 103

SP SP

Hoyt Wilhelm Ray Kalkowski

Mooresville Salisbury

G 31 24

AB 407 351 385 436 423 398 479 410 411 426 GS — —

H R 149 107 106 74 124 76 120 60 170 85 143 106 170 101 128 67 132 72 156 83 CG 25 14

SH 3 5

Small was a playing manager. John Harrington, Mooresville shortstop, hit .298 and slugged .444, scoring 82 runs and driving in 76. Lexington’s’ shortstop John Allen hit .268 with 78 runs and 76 RBIs and had a league-leading 89 RBIs. Allen would be my choice, based on the fact that He fielded .950 to Harrington’s .9¡0 and Brown’s .93¡, leading the league in put-outs, assists, and DPs. Miller had one of the most unproductive .400 seasons ever. I’d’ve gone with Ross Morrow of Mooresville. He hit .377, slugged .6¡9, and had an OB% of .442 with 98 runs and ¡¡9 RBIs. He also had

TB 2B 205 25 145 18 219 17 166 18 248 36 276 36 312 35 166 17 193 20 255 39 W 20 15

L 7 5

3B 14 9 3 5 12 2 7 6 13 6

% .741 .750

HR 1 1 24 6 6 31 31 3 5 16 IP 250 172

RBI 62 47 95 73 68 102 131 52 51 116 H 243 162

BB 88 86 55 47 51 70 29 36 47 28 ER 94 59

SB 2 38 12 7 16 3 3 23 15 4

BA .366 .302 .322 .275 .402 .359 .355 .312 .321 .366

SL .504 .413 .569 .381 .586 .693 .651 .405 .470 .599

OB% .487 .443 .413 .351 .472 .465 .393 .372 .393 .413

SO 198 125

BB 92 41

ERA 3.38 3.09

BR/9 12.3 10.8

a league-leading 43 doubles. But, since one can hardly leave a .400 hitter o› of an All-Star team, there should have been four spots selected. The “utility” players were mono-positional, Wright at short and Leonard in the outfield. The best actual utility man in the league was Henry Broome of Statesville, who played first, third and outfield and hit .258. Tom McCall (Mooresville) and Furman Taylor (Concord) deserve all-star consideration. McCall was ¡9–9 with a 2.75 ERA, Taylor ¡0–4 (he was only in ¡7 games) with a 2.43.

¡947

229

Ohio State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Johnny “Baseball” Batt Marty Sebastian Robert Verrier Maurice Mikesell William Scally Dwight Maxheimer Bob Bartholomew Nelson Burbrink No selection made

SP SP

Tony West Sanford Lambert

Team Newark Dayton Richmond Zanesville Springfield Marion Zanesville Marion

G 137 130 125 125 125 112 105 127

AB 502 488 484 448 515 445 430 436

H 164 143 173 105 161 118 126 165

R 103 89 127 118 91 90 79 114

TB 230 175 256 135 234 203 156 233

2B 26 18 38 18 29 26 20 25

G 35 38

GS — —

CG 20 20

SH 1 3

W 18 23

L 10 8

% .643 .742

Springfield Zanesville

3B HR RBI BB 11 6 83 100 3 12 95 82 15 5 87 72 3 2 56 132 7 10 119 50 10 13 84 75 5 0 63 48 11 7 114 114

IP 238 240

H 223 178

ER 97 67

SB 5 6 16 20 17 8 33 21

SO 221 232

BA .327 .293 .357 .234 .313 .265 .293 .378

SL OB% .458 .441 .359 .398 .529 .443 .301 .409 .454 .379 .456 .374 .363 .364 .534 .510

BB 141 153

ERA 3.67 2.51

BR/9 13.9 12.8

had .35¡/.505/.4¡¡ averages with ¡08 runs scored and ¡¡0 driven in. Ed Fowler (Richmond) had .336/.499/ .43¡ averages with 98 runs and ¡¡9 RBIs. Both would seem to have been superior selections to Maxheimer and Bartholomew. There was no utility man chosen, but Joe Belecastro of Zanesville played first, third, and the outfield while hitting .283 with an OB% of .445 and scoring ¡¡6 runs. Two Muncie pitchers (who happened to be brothers) had better years than did West, yet were overlooked: Ed and Wally Post (yes, the same Wally post who would hit over 200 homers in the majors). Wally was ¡7–7 with a 3.33 ERA, and Ed was ¡9–8 with league-leading figures of 2.02 (ERA) and ¡0.9 (BR/9).

Burbrink was a playing manager. There is not much to choose from between Sebastian and Ken Lien (Zanesville) at second. Lien (.289/ .390/.405 with ¡00 runs and 92 RBIs) could have been the selection without any noticeable di›erence afield or at bat. At short, a choice was made between hitting and fielding. Mikesell led the league in FA with .9¡9. Springfield’s Vince O’Grady fielded .874 with 7¡ errors, but he hit .324, had ¡24 walks and a .47¡ OB%. Tough choice. There was a truly strange choice in the outfield selections. Not only did Maxheimer hit only .265, he also struck out ¡2¡ times, second most in the league. The choice of Bartholomew is also odd given the players who didn’t get chosen. Jack Maisch (Lima)

PONY League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Andy “Doc” Alexson Hyman Prosk Orval Cott Fred Folkes Charley Maxwell Jim Pokel Ted Bartz Cecil Sche›el No selection made

Team Jamestown Olean Lockport Wellsville Wellsville Bradford Jamestown Lockport

G 123 118 112 122 93 122 109 91

AB 482 492 386 469 302 484 465 263

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 163 110 231 25 11 7 75 70 11 .338 .479 .422 153 86 224 43 8 4 66 39 9 .311 .455 .366 121 82 181 29 5 7 69 88 16 .313 .469 .446 132 109 155 16 2 1 28 112 9 .281 .330 .421 107 63 186 20 4 17 79 52 8 .354 .616 .455 159 101 277 20 7 28 125 57 11 .329 .572 .405 146 75 176 16 4 2 81 27 7 .314 .378 .352 72 43 106 14 4 4 60 61 6 .274 .403 .421

SP SP

Theodore Wyberanec Dick Littlefield

Jamestown Wellsville

G 25 21

GS 17 16

CG 16 13

Sche›el was a playing manager. At second, Jamestown’s Al Federo› hit .308 with a .408 OB% and scored ¡¡6 runs. He also had 25 errors to Prosk’s 50. Outfielder Ernest Woods (Hamilton/Bradford) had .309/.5¡6/.408 averages with ¡¡2 runs and 87 RBIs and would seem to be a better choice than Bartz. Joe DeMartino would have been the #2 catcher

SH 2 1

W 15 13

L 5 4

% .750 .765

IP 166 155

H 149 122

ER 48 34

SO 138 141

BB 74 53

ERA 2.60 1.97

BR/9 12.1 10.2

had the league had one such. The Lockport backstop hit .279 with 74 RBIs. No utility choice was made, but Jim Pokel, chosen as an outfielder, would have filled the bill as he actually played more games at first than he did in the OF. Pitcher Thaddeus Kapuscinski of Jamestown was ¡6–5 with a 2.50 ERA and a league-leading 9.7 BR/9 ratio.

230

Minor League All-Star Teams

Sooner State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Marvin Blaylock Morris Card A.B. Everett Jarrett “Jack” Baumer Russell Hawley Leo Pasciak Howard Weeks Hosea Pfei›er Ted Drakos Paul Richardville

SP SP

Forest Smith Elmer Jeter

Team Lawton Ardmore McAlester Seminole McAlester Lawton Lawton McAlester Lawton Ada

Ada Seminole

G 95 103 132 106 106 115 140 127 137 137

AB 377 391 529 401 411 442 480 407 526 530

H 93 139 188 140 157 135 146 105 145 161

R 82 103 107 90 68 87 126 79 120 103

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 137 9 13 3 59 61 17 .247 .363 .352 199 27 15 1 81 76 26 .355 .509 .465 258 20 10 7 110 43 86 .355 .488 .409 207 28 6 9 68 71 18 .349 .516 .451 220 34 7 5 73 26 36 .382 .535 .427 191 18 10 6 89 42 32 .305 .432 .375 227 30 9 11 103 142 14 .304 .473 .469 134 16 5 1 44 76 16 .258 .329 .382 175 13 7 1 54 96 61 .276 .333 .389 245 37 7 11 111 56 19 .304 .462 .389

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

39 41

— —

23 26

3 2

23 18

7 17

.767 .514

265 264

225 236

59 93

187 227

81 93

2.00 3.17

10.6 11.6

Russ Ritter, first baseman for Lawton and Seminole, hit .270 and slugged .39¡. Not very good for a first sacker, but the best the league had to o›er. Ada second baseman Howard “Bertie” Wooster did not have a good enough year to beat out Card, but his .3¡¡ BA, ¡¡6 runs, and 78 stolen bases does deserve mention. The league’s choice for shortstop should have been its choice for utility player (especially since the league’s “Utility” players were a third baseman (Drakos) and outfielder (Richardville). Had Baumer (who played second and outfield as well as short) been correctly positioned, the shortstop probably would have been weak-hitting (.235) Alan Green of Lawton. Green did score ¡¡9 runs, but it was afield

where he won his spurs. He was the only shortstop in the league who fielded over .900 (.9¡9 to be exact). Baumer fielded .846 (!) in his games at short. In the outfield, I’d’ve chosen the .305 hitting Robert Andrlik (Ardmore) over the .305 hitting Pasciak. Andrlik scored ¡58 runs in ¡36 games and drew ¡24 walks en route to a .447 OB%. It should be noted that Jeter’s Oilers finished 42 games under .500. Congratulations to the scribes for noticing his e›ort for a poor team. Joe Galioto (Lawton) was 20–5 with a 2.33 ERA and a ¡0.8 BR/9 ratio. There was no reliever, but had there been one, it may well have been Bill Hallon of McAllister who was 3–¡, 2.55 while pitching 74 innings in 22 games.

Tobacco State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Elmer Marx James Guinn Edmond Kukulka Pete Howard Carl McQuillen James A. Wilson Orville Nesselrode Bruce Hedrick Mickey Balla Andrew Scrobola

SP SP

Robert Spicer Lewis Cheshire

Team Lumberton Sanford S.-S./Clinton Smithfield-Selma Dunn-Erwin Sanford Sanford Sanford D.E./S.-S. Wilmington

Lumberton Wilmington

G 24 35

G 121 121 122 120 128 122 121 120 103 118 GS — —

AB 489 533 471 483 538 532 477 448 321 480 CG 20 24

H 154 178 163 147 178 205 168 138 80 142 SH 3 1

Balla was a playing manager. The utility players weren’t, Balla being a second baseman and Scrobola being an outfielder. DunnErwin’s Granville Denning would have made a good utility man, catching, playing outfield, and hitting .333/.44¡/.426 with ¡0¡ runs and 96 RBIs.

R 122 131 107 110 103 133 121 80 71 83 W 16 19

TB 249 225 250 196 293 273 302 210 103 198 L 7 8

2B 20 31 24 17 36 39 32 25 17 28

% .696 .704

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 9 19 100 79 3 .315 .509 .411 5 2 64 66 42 .334 .422 .408 18 9 90 81 7 .346 .531 .448 7 6 50 91 59 .304 .406 .419 11 19 121 48 21 .331 .545 .391 10 3 116 43 66 .385 .513 .433 3 32 166 76 22 .352 .633 .452 4 13 111 48 15 .308 .469 .391 3 0 29 95 7 .249 .321 .436 2 8 70 85 24 .296 .413 .409 IP 198 251

H 182 207

ER 70 79

SO 83 214

BB 55 109

ERA 3.18 2.83

BR/9 11.1 11.9

Two Sanford pitchers seemed as qualified as the league selections: John McFadden and William Stone. Stone was ¡8–7, 2.8¡ and McFadden was ¡5–5, 2.44 with a league-leading 9.2 BR/9 ratio.

¡947

231

Wisconsin State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP

Name Don Reidle John Imbra Stan Jok Fred Gutherz Peter Brozovich Joe Malsam Bob Sullivan Anthony Costa John Schimenz Andy Mazurek Tom Bartos Gene Daniel

William Eggert Ben Sadusky Pete Leonetti Bruce Johann

Team Appleton Janesville Oshkosh Wausau Oshkosh Fond du Lac Green Bay Wausau Appleton Green Bay Sheboygan Sheboygan

G 114 118 103 108 118 125 120 121 108 108 122 114

Sheboygan Janesville Fond du Lac Wisconsin Rapids

AB 470 450 385 394 466 420 448 486 384 337 421 443

H 147 147 129 105 140 140 157 161 112 88 117 144

R 75 73 89 79 109 84 110 110 78 66 125 114

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SL OB% 188 14 9 3 71 35 3 .313 .400 .362 201 30 6 4 79 23 27 .327 .447 .365 218 20 6 19 105 72 17 .335 .566 .449 156 24 6 5 76 69 8 .266 .396 .384 243 20 7 18 112 48 25 .300 .521 .379 190 27 4 5 79 109 17 .333 .452 .474 198 22 5 3 89 81 28 .350 .442 .459 210 29 7 2 64 50 9 .331 .432 .398 158 29 4 3 76 62 8 .292 .411 .398 115 10 4 3 65 86 15 .261 .341 .425 151 23 4 1 77 164 6 .278 .359 .481 203 29 6 6 105 85 9 .325 .458 .441

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 28 — 22 — 23 3 .885 214 191 67 162 75 2.82 11.3 23 — 17 — 15 7 .682 171 174 79 105 103 4.16 15.1 17 — 10 — 9 4 .692 104 81 48 145 75 4.15 13.8 21 — 18 — 12 8 .600 162 142 66 170 111 3.67 14.4

Two second baseman seemed more worthy of selection than did the actual league choice. James Adlam, Fon du Lac’s manager, hit .429, slugged .754 and had the year’s best OB%, an incredible .576. He played in only 90 games but scored 99 runs, drove in 9¡ and drew 88 walks. He also led the league with 20 homers. Man, what a year! Melvin Welch (Green Bay second baseman) hit .325 with ¡33 runs and ¡05 RBIs, and, had Adlam not had one of the great years, would’ve/should’ve been the choice. The league named four outfielders, and left o› Sheboygan’s James Williams. All Williams did was hit .388, slug .606, and ring up an OB% of .496 with ¡05 RBIs in only 88 games.

As usual, the utility men weren’t, Bartos playing second and Daniel outfield. A more sensible choice would have been Janesville manager Frankie Piet who played first, third and the outfield and hit for .343/.5¡6/.455 averages. As in the outfield, the league chose four players and overlooked the best ones. Charles Pipher (Oshkosh) went ¡2–5 with a 3.¡4 ERA and averaged ¡3.2 K/9. Sam Brewer (also of Oshkosh) was ¡4–¡¡, 3.92 and averaged ¡0.7 K/9. Wausau’s Oscar Wigman was ¡8–8, 2.97, better than either Sadusky, Johann or Leonetti (who, by the way, averaged ¡2.5 K/9).

! ¡948 ! In ¡948, there were fifty eight leagues in the National Association. Forty of them (69%) had All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) In the outfield, there were indeed two Brewer outfielders worthy of All-Star status. It’s just that I would have Froilan “Nanny” Fernandez instead of Gleeson as companion to Rickert. “Nanny” hit .3¡8 with a .5¡0 SA, hit 23 homers, scored 96 runs, and drove in ¡24 runs. At catcher, St. Paul’s Ferrell Anderson hit only .294, but his SA was .465 and he hit twelve homers, scored 72 runs, and drove in 63 runs. I would have ether named three catchers or gone the Anderson/ Turner route. Phillips played third and short. Tenth place among qualifiers for the ERA crown

was 4.¡7, so obviously pitching was at a premium in the A.A. in ’48. That being the case, I am not sure why ERA and BR/9 ratio leader Glenn Elliott was not one of the four selectees. He was ¡4–7 for Milwaukee with a 3.76 ERA (the highest ever of an American Association leader) and a ¡2.¡ BR/9 ratio. No reliever was selected, but it would have had to have been Columbus’s Ira Hutchinson. He went 9–3 in 65 games with a BR/9 allowance of ¡¡.3 and an ERA of 2.54. He was actually the league’s best pitcher regardless of job, whether starter, spot starter, long man or closer.

232 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Les Fleming Jack Cassini Al Rosen Pete Castiglione Eric Tipton Ted Beard Marv Rickert Jim Gleeson Ralph Houk Earl Turner Damon Phillips

Team Indianapolis Indianapolis Kansas City Indianapolis St. Paul Indianapolis Milwaukee Milwaukee Kansas City Indianapolis Milwaukee

G 151 131 127 148 148 142 128 135 103 85 145 G 32 31 29 32

Robert Malloy Indianapolis Jim Bagby Indianapolis Al Epperly Milwaukee Harvey Haddix Columbus

AB 527 518 462 578 540 511 510 408 364 307 560 GS — — — —

H 170 158 151 178 169 154 154 125 110 96 150 CG 18 16 14 11

R 112 101 102 87 111 131 99 78 54 48 87 SH 0 1 2 1

TB 288 197 271 258 308 240 283 202 147 135 226 W 21 16 14 11

2B 28 27 29 33 35 31 22 29 24 17 22 L 7 9 8 9

3B 6 6 9 16 10 17 13 6 5 8 3

% .750 .640 .636 .550

HR 26 0 25 5 28 7 27 12 1 2 16 IP 242 227 197 186

RBI 143 63 110 88 126 85 117 78 49 56 78

BB 103 54 73 41 115 128 50 106 31 26 42

H ER 270 112 272 117 223 95 199 99

SB 1 33 10 3 14 13 5 9 9 5 5 SO 105 54 67 144

BA .323 .305 .327 .308 .313 .301 .302 .306 .302 .313 .268

SLG OB% .546 .437 .380 .374 .587 .422 .446 .355 .570 .434 .470 .449 .555 .364 .495 .450 .404 .360 .440 .366 .404 .323

BB 99 80 60 67

ERA 4.17 4.64 4.34 4.79

BR/9 13.8 14.2 13.0 13.1

International League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Glen Nelson Jim Bloodworth Willie Jones Robert Morgan Johnny Groth Chet Laabs Clyde Vollmer Ken Silvestri No selection made

Jack Banta Frank Fanovich

Team Rochester Montreal Toronto Montreal Bu›alo Bu›alo Syracuse Newark

G 142 151 118 151 150 89 122 129

G 33 29

GS 28 25

Montreal Syracuse

AB 485 557 443 516 586 298 440 372

CG 20 13

H R TB 147 68 221 164 85 279 122 69 180 137 92 213 199 124 358 88 68 190 127 86 255 81 55 150

SH 1 2

“Rocky” Nelson was the greatest first baseman in International League history, but he was not the best one in ¡948. That honor should have gone to the Brooklyn-born boy Kevin “Chuck” Connors of Montreal. He hit .307, slugged .496, more than doubled Nelson’s home run output with ¡7, and had 88 RBIs, tied for ninth best in the league. In the great battle of the “Nicknames Which Begin With P,” Edward Willie “Puddin’ Head” Jones defeated Eddie “Palindrome” Kazak for the third base spot, according to the scribes. I am afraid that I must beg to di›er. Kazak out-hit Jones by 34 points (.309), had a better SA and OB% marks, and had 85 RBIs. Hmmm, let’s see, what’s wrong with this picture:

W 19 9

L 9 13

2B 29 31 22 28 37 13 24 12

3B 12 6 9 9 16 1 4 3

% .679 .409

HR RBI 7 63 24 99 6 58 10 75 30 97 29 81 32 104 17 44

IP 219 181

H 184 179

BB 70 46 45 89 54 52 62 85

ER 79 82

SB 11 3 5 5 7 1 1 5

BA .303 .294 .275 .266 .340 .295 .289 .218

SLG OB% .456 .393 .501 .349 .406 .344 .413 .380 .611 .396 .638 .402 .580 .378 .403 .369

SO 193 120

BB 109 110

ERA 3.25 4.08

BR/9 12.4 14.5

faced with choosing a catcher with some power who hit .2¡8 and another catcher with some power who hit .30¡, the venerable voters voluntarily vetoed the .30¡ man, Sal Yvars of Jersey City. Sal also slugged .479 with a .402 OB%, hit sixteen homers, and doubled Silvestri’s RBI total with 88. Bob Porterfield of Newark was ¡5–6 and led the league with a 2.¡7 ERA and a ¡0.0 BR/9 ratio. Don Newcombe of Montreal was ¡7–6 with a 3.¡4 ERA. Both were passed over, sacrifices on the alter of portsidedness. Well, you can have your lefty. Give me the better pitcher. The league’s best reliever was Frank Lamanna of Newark. He was 4–6 with a 2.84 ERA in 30 relief appearances.

Southern Association (AA) Nashville hit .307, slugged .485, and had a .392 OB% while scoring 6.9 runs a game. Other than first, the other infield spots were simply designated “Infield” on the o‡cial All-Star team program. I took the liberty of assigning the players to their actual respective positions. Memphis shortstop Fred Hancock hit only .263,

but his secondary averages were comparable to Quick’s (.36¡/.359). He did score ¡¡7 runs, but that is not why I preferred him over Quick. Hancock fielded .957 and had a decent 5.¡ TC/G ratio. On the other hand, Quick apparently wasn’t (quick, that is), having a low 4.6 TC/G ratio and fielding only .9¡6. A funny thing happened on the way to the voters

¡948 POS 1B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Name Walt Dropo Wm. Oliver Kelly Bob Mavis Mickey Rutner Hal Quick Charles Gilbert Thomas O’Brien Charles Workman Grover Bowers Joe Astroth Joe Erautt Sam Calderone Johnny Rizzo

Norman Brown Charles Eisenman Kenneth Olson Russ Oppliger Leo Twardy Ben Wade

Team Birmingham Memphis Little Rock Birmingham Nashville Nashville Birmingham Nashville Memphis Memphis Little Rock Mobile Chattanooga

Atlanta Memphis Mobile Mobile Nashville Nashville

G 41 34 40 40 30 30

G 118 140 147 140 141 146 148 143 145 116 105 113 128 GS — — — — — —

AB 454 534 544 581 513 530 574 553 503 349 384 396 398 CG 19 17 18 8 13 16

H 163 167 168 181 160 192 206 195 174 123 117 116 123

R 74 69 110 97 66 178 131 137 108 66 39 46 84

SH 2 2 1 0 1 1

TB 253 205 245 260 192 363 330 373 255 175 149 145 215

W 22 16 15 14 15 14

picking no less than three catchers for the Southern Association All-Star team. They left o› the.386-hitting, .654-slugging, .428-on base getting Forrest “Smokey” Burgess. “Smokey” also happened to hit more homers (22) than the three men picked over him combined. His ¡02 RBIs were just about the same as any two of his supposed “betters,” and he scored 93 runs. The selectors dissed the Smokester big time. Rizzo played third and outfield.

233

L 14 11 12 9 9 10

2B 34 29 24 46 30 31 51 20 33 22 20 19 27

3B 7 3 10 12 1 7 8 1 9 9 3 2 7

% .611 .593 .556 .609 .625 .583

HR 14 1 11 3 0 42 19 52 10 4 2 2 17

IP 252 225 234 162 202 194

RBI BB 102 47 77 26 77 97 94 67 70 50 110 155 137 74 182 89 70 82 55 51 58 20 46 25 100 86

H ER 278 111 185 86 258 109 205 90 245 90 238 106

SB 3 16 14 5 0 8 2 2 8 3 1 1 2 SO 89 152 68 57 66 108

BA .359 .313 .309 .312 .312 .362 .359 .353 .346 .352 .305 .293 .309 BB 102 125 93 63 63 75

SLG OB% .557 .421 .384 .348 .450 .414 .448 .387 .374 .375 .685 .509 .575 .436 .675 .444 .507 .439 .501 .436 .388 .342 .366 .331 .540 .440 ERA 3.96 3.44 4.19 5.00 4.01 4.92

BR/9 13.8 12.5 13.8 15.1 14.0 14.7

The voters picked six pitchers. They didn’t pick Richard “Mike” Palm of Birmingham, who led the league in ERA (2.20) and BR/9 ratio (¡¡.0) while going ¡4–8. They also ignored another ¡4–8 pitcher who just happened to finish second in both ERA (2.89) and BR/9 ratio (¡2.0), John Perkovich of Memphis Had a reliever been chosen, it may have been Dale Matthewson of Mobile who was 4–¡ in 4¡ appearances with a 3.56 ERA.

Texas League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP SP

Name Charles Kress Bill Sommers Billy Capps Ray Boone Russ Burns Irv Noren Pete Lewis Bobby Bragan Al Unser Fred Marsh Tommy Tatum

Team Tulsa San Antonio Tulsa Oklahoma City Tulsa Fort Worth Oklahoma City Fort Worth Tulsa Oklahoma City Tulsa

G 154 153 97 87 132 135 107 67 111 115 148

AB 590 577 346 318 494 498 414 223 347 430 532

H R TB 184 106 288 188 86 246 102 52 132 113 40 156 153 88 275 161 85 233 131 62 204 61 25 81 95 42 133 131 77 192 177 99 233

Harry Perkowski Bob Austin Mike Garcia Bud Lively Cloyd Boyer

Tulsa Fort Worth Oklahoma City Tulsa Houston

G 40 30 44 24 30

GS 34 28 33 22 28

CG 21 14 20 14 18

SH 3 5 4 3 1

Bragan managed part of the season. Second base was a hard one to sort out. John Lane of Tulsa hit .32¡ with a league-best .452 OB%. He also scored ¡¡5 runs. Solly Hemus hit only .288, but got on base ¡38 times without benefit of a hit, resulting in a .427 OB%. He also led in FA and TC/G (5.8). Three men at second sounds like a “Da›y Dodgers”

2B 41 32 24 16 34 34 28 9 21 20 35

3B 12 4 0 9 5 4 3 1 1 4 3

HR RBI 13 98 6 60 2 51 3 48 26 113 10 71 13 68 3 35 5 49 11 60 5 107

W L % IP H 22 10 .688 263 231 17 7 .708 206 176 19 16 .543 259 218 15 4 .789 181 151 16 10 .615 223 191

BB 85 68 28 36 59 66 35 21 42 51 88 ER 87 63 89 59 78

SB 27 18 5 9 9 3 6 2 1 7 37

BA .312 .326 .295 .355 .310 .323 .316 .274 .274 .305 .333

SO BB 163 105 121 72 163 127 136 68 188 126

SLG OB% .488 .399 .426 .400 .382 .351 .491 .426 .557 .386 .468 .409 .493 .370 .363 .339 .383 .352 .447 .378 .438 .429 ERA 2.98 2.75 3.09 2.93 3.15

BR/9 11.7 10.9 12.2 10.9 13.0

anecdote, but that may have been the best solution here. Tatum played outfield and third, Marsh second, third, and short. I would have added 43-year old Jonas “Jittery Joe” Berry as a reliever. He was 4–2 in 3¡ games with a 2.¡¡ ERA. All in all, quite a well-selected squad.

234

Minor League All-Star Teams

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Bill Glynn Fred Lanifero Bruce Blanchard Frank Staucet Richard Welker Don Manno Ken Humphrey Myron Ginsberg Frank Bocek

Lou Kretlow Dick Koecher

Team Utica Albany Williamsport Albany Utica Albany Williamsport Williamsport Binghamton

Williamsport Utica

G 40 29

G 140 142 135 141 129 138 140 107 113

AB 501 568 493 508 488 489 514 340 388

GS 33 23

H 131 169 161 126 154 127 146 111 111

CG 20 12

R 64 87 95 62 96 83 68 55 58

SH 5 0

TB 205 206 197 156 214 205 194 151 145 W 21 13

L 12 5

2B 19 19 18 19 19 22 25 21 18

3B 11 3 6 4 10 1 7 8 2

% .636 .722

HR RBI 11 80 4 75 2 45 1 49 7 44 18 91 3 68 1 58 4 41 IP 268 178

H 238 167

BB 64 53 86 71 83 86 30 55 64 ER 99 75

SB 1 15 7 8 18 6 10 8 2 SO 219 87

BA .261 .298 .327 .248 .316 .260 .284 .326 .286 BB 141 73

SLG OB% .409 .346 .363 .364 .400 .432 .307 .344 .439 .415 .419 .370 .377 .327 .444 .423 .374 .393 ERA 3.32 3.79

BR/9 12.8 12.1

hit .279, was third in RBIs with 90, and hit ten home runs. I can sort of understand putting Kretlow on the All-Star team because of his wins and strike-outs, but he was not nearly as good as non-selectees Max Peterson of Utica and Orie “Old Folks” Arntzen of Albany. Peterson was ¡8–9 and, you guessed it, led the league in ERA (2.03) and BR/9 ratio (9.7). Arntzen was ¡5–4 and was second in ERA at 2.¡3 and BR/9 allowed at 9.8. Koecher makes no sense as a selection (he was 25th in ERA, and only nine qualifiers had a higher one). Gordon Mueller of Scranton was the circuits best reliever. He was 6–8 in 35 games (¡0¡ IP) with a 2.56 ERA.

Staucet was a slightly better fielder than Alex Garbowski of Utica, but not so much better as to overcome his enormous edge in hitting. Grabowski outhit Staucet by 53 points (.30¡–.248), out-slugged him by ¡0¡ points (.408–.307), and had a 5¡ point advantage in OB% (.395–.34¡). He also led the league in scoring with ¡00 runs. Outfielder Ken Humphry was not in the top six at his position, let alone an All-Star. He was also one of the poorest fielding outfielders in the league. My choice was Jimmy Piersall. He hit .28¡ with twelve homers and led the league with 92 RBIs. Bocek played fourteen games at third and the rest in the outfield. My utility choice was Robert DiPietro of Scranton. He played second, third, and outfield,

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP

Name Ben Taylor Roy Marion Danny O’Connell Robert Wilkins Harold Summers Lloyd Merriman Richard Burgett Herb Crompton Gene Herbert Frank Dunlap

Don Osborn James Parton

Team Greenville Charleston Greenville Charleston Augusta Columbia Columbus Charleston Augusta Macon

G 154 151 146 144 138 152 134 103 138 139

G 33 41

GS — —

Macon Charleston

AB 600 628 579 576 508 560 501 298 490 479 CG 17 18

H R TB 173 90 276 197 92 233 169 91 251 163 107 193 168 95 294 167 120 269 152 77 221 75 29 88 148 79 207 148 74 202 SH 5 2

Compton and Osborn were playing managers. My third outfielder was Edgar Hartness instead of Burgett. Edgar hit .325, slugged .453, and had an OB% of .427, second best in the league and 47 points higher than Burgett’s. He also led the league with 4¡ doubles and scored 93 runs with 8¡ RBIs. Both fellows were poor fielders. Herbert played second and third, Dunlap outfield and catcher.

W 17 17

L 3 10

2B 37 27 34 23 36 39 26 7 26 23 % .850 .630

3B 12 3 9 2 3 18 8 3 3 11

HR RBI 14 104 1 59 10 62 1 57 28 115 9 75 9 101 0 46 9 78 3 95

IP 213 220

H 206 186

BB 55 52 47 86 96 91 54 57 64 67 ER 51 63

SB 14 9 10 26 4 44 9 3 3 3 SO 57 158

BA .288 .314 .292 .283 .331 .298 .303 .252 .302 .309 BB 37 104

SLG OB% .460 .351 .371 .367 .434 .351 .335 .379 .579 .438 .480 .405 .441 .380 .295 .377 .422 .389 .422 .400 ERA 2.15 2.58

BR/9 10.3 12.2

Crompton was named as the catcher because he was the playing manager of the first-place team, not because he was the best catcher, but that reason is not necessarily without merit, especially since no other catcher had a record which cried out to be chosen ahead of Compton. I had three starting pitcher selections, Osborn, Frank Smith of Columbia, and Bob Hooper of Jacksonville. Smith went 2¡–6 with a 2.39 ERA and a

¡948 BR/9 ratio of ¡0.7. Hooper was 20–9, 2.45, ¡¡.4. I also selected a reliever, Mearl Strachan of Greenville.

235

Mearl pitched 78 innings in 34 games, was 5–4, and had a 2.77 ERA.

Western League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP

Name Herbert Gorman Nelson Fox Ransom Jackson George Genovese Leon “Red” Treadway Bill Pavlick Larry Miggins Carl Sawatski Robert Wellman Ed Martin

Bobby Shantz Omar “Turk” Lown

Team Sioux City Lincoln Des Moines Denver Des Moines Sioux City Omaha Des Moines Lincoln Sioux City

Lincoln Pueblo

G 28 27

G 139 136 132 136 106 126 97 109 137 118

GS — —

AB 505 576 458 516 449 491 360 338 572 419

CG 19 17

H 172 179 156 161 158 155 109 94 173 130 SH 2 0

I could not choose between Harold “Tookie” Gilbert of Sioux City and Gorman at first. “Tookie” hit .299, well below Gorman’s mark, but his .554 SA and .438 OB% were almost the same. He hit 26 homers, scored ¡¡5 runs, had ¡¡4 RBIs, and walked ¡¡4 times.

R 113 97 100 119 99 114 72 67 91 85

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 291 45 7 20 103 96 12 .341 .576 .447 250 28 14 5 67 46 19 .311 .434 .372 223 31 9 6 76 80 7 .341 .487 .444 238 34 11 7 71 125 12 .312 .461 .450 196 20 9 0 56 48 23 .352 .437 .416 251 28 13 14 65 87 12 .316 .511 .422 209 18 2 26 82 46 4 .303 .581 .383 201 10 5 29 111 73 0 .278 .595 .415 235 36 4 6 102 41 5 .302 .411 .350 192 22 8 8 83 68 13 .310 .458 .413

W 18 17

L 7 6

% .720 .739

IP 214 192

H 179 191

ER 67 87

SO 212 161

BB 55 112

ERA 2.82 4.08

BR/9 10.0 14.6

I had three pitchers, the third being Tony Jacobs of Des Moines. Jacobs was only ¡¡–8, but he had a 2.72 ERA and allowed ¡¡.4 BR/9.

Colonial League (B) POS 1B 2B SS 3B OF OF OF C C UT

Name Leo Eastham John Miggins Gary Ruttkay Charles Quimby Joe Mellendick Joseph DeToia Aldo Casadei Max Goldsmith John Pluchino Edward Kobesky

Team Waterbury Port Chester Port Chester Poughk’psie Port Chester Poughk’psie Waterbury Brunswick/Kingston Port Chester Kingston

G SP Guy Coleman Port Chester 27 SP Paul Wargo Port Chester 21 SP Pete Kowalchyk Waterbury 22

G 121 106 131 133 63 130 125 129 85 117

GS 24 19 26

AB 386 351 462 439 214 465 466 427 235 369

CG 20 16 16

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 131 108 220 22 5 19 86 116 34 .339 .570 .492 94 56 131 11 1 8 50 52 6 .268 .373 .364 130 75 162 23 3 1 46 56 12 .281 .351 .363 140 94 209 29 8 8 90 104 9 .319 .476 .450 74 46 123 11 4 10 51 31 1 .346 .575 .435 157 116 222 29 6 8 96 86 15 .338 .477 .446 157 92 224 32 7 7 80 50 12 .337 .481 .401 124 83 165 18 1 7 74 95 6 .290 .386 .424 79 47 93 12 1 0 39 48 4 .336 .396 .453 144 83 235 24 2 21 89 84 8 .390 .637 .504 SH 2 1 3

Round Ed Kobesky was a playing manager. First baseman/manager Zeke Bonura of Stamford hit .384, had a whopping .698 SA, and added a terrific .526 OB%. In only 28¡ at-bats, he popped 23 homers. Kobesky played first, third, and outfield.

W 17 16 16

L % IP H 8 .680 177 140 3 .842 168 120 8 .667 176 178

ER 50 56 67

SO 123 158 74

BB 84 110 80

ERA 2.54 3.00 3.43

BR/9 11.4 12.3 13.2

Sidney Schacht was only 7–8, and was not All-Star material. But, he did lead the league in both ERA and BR/9 ratio with 2.09 and 9.9 figures.

Interstate League (B) I had future Whiz Kid Mike Goliat as my first baseman. He hit .3¡5, slugged .523, and was second in OB% at .438. He smacked ¡7 homers (to Plate’s two), had 86 RBIs, and led the league with ¡23 runs. My shortstop choice was Sunbury’s Frank Di Prima. His averages were pretty close to D’Addario’s (.3¡6, .485, and .443), but DiPrima had ¡¡9 runs. A

tie would have been acceptable to me, and still would be, if that is in accord with the reader’s opinion. Despite his puny .275 BA, I had “Mighty” Moe Cunningham of Trenton in my outfield. Moe slugged .522 on the strength of his league-topping 25 home runs. He had ¡¡¡ RBIs and walked ¡¡4 times. He took Sanders’ place in my line-up.

236 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams Name William Plate John Merson Stanley Jok George D’Addario Steve Filipowicz Harold Sanders Jesse Levan Lawrence Cia›one John Werner

Team York York Trenton Hagerstown Sunbury Harrisburg Wilmington Allentown Wilmington

SP Donald Robertson Trenton SP Leon Gri›eth Lancaster

G 122 141 135 140 140 136 113 121 119

G 28 28

AB 465 548 502 496 537 527 439 402 405

GS — —

H R TB 156 78 207 176 95 254 150 117 256 161 72 237 187 113 279 167 93 247 151 85 222 150 87 252 130 78 227

CG 15 16

SH 3 0

2B 21 34 28 38 46 26 34 40 28

3B 12 16 6 1 8 9 8 10 12

HR 2 4 22 12 10 12 7 14 15

RBI 61 108 108 81 134 102 106 92 71

W L % IP H 19 5 .792 190 194 9 13 .409 197 191

BB 54 52 73 92 71 43 37 31 63 ER 74 78

SB 42 16 7 11 3 8 12 6 2 SO 131 168

BA .335 .321 .299 .325 .348 .317 .344 .373 .321 BB 66 71

SLG OB% .445 .409 .464 .381 .510 .394 .478 .431 .520 .427 .469 .371 .506 .399 .627 .427 .560 .415 ERA 3.51 3.56

BR/9 12.6 12.2

and struck out ¡2¡ overmatched Interstate batters in 96 IP, a rate of ¡¡.3 every nine innings. I also had a reliever on my sta›, George Eyrich of the mighty Wilmington Blue Rocks. He pitched ¡66 innings in 49 games and was ¡3–9, 3.58.

I had a very short-service pitcher on my squad. How short? Well, how about eleven games (ten CGs) and 96 innings. Who was this wonder boy? Why, none other than future Hall Of Famer Robin Roberts. He was 9–¡ with a 2.06 ERA, allowed only 7.7 BR/9,

New England League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Dale Long Frank King Fred Hatfield Frank Verdi Theo Bartz James Pokel Ted Del Guerico James Argeros No selection made

Dan Bankhead Harry Scha›er

Team Lynn Providence Lynn Manchester Nashua Portland Lynn Lynn

G 125 116 108 128 125 121 107 75

G 31 29

GS — —

Nashua Manchester

AB 493 446 402 474 500 475 394 240

H R TB 149 97 231 138 81 209 114 104 188 131 94 190 167 115 265 139 87 270 117 80 203 72 40 91

CG 20 16

SH 3 1

W 20 12

A well-selected team in a rather nondescript league. Lynn shortstop Fred Folkes hit .289 with a leaguehigh .432 OB%, and scored ¡0¡ runs. He only got to 4.3 TC/G however, so Verdi (over a chance a game better at 5.4) seems to be the best choice.

L 6 9

2B 22 20 20 16 42 25 22 8

3B 3 6 6 9 4 8 5 1

% .769 .571

HR 18 13 14 8 16 30 18 3

IP 203 209

RBI 119 56 74 49 103 118 94 28

H 120 191

BB 56 84 71 91 37 56 59 35

ER 53 54

SB 1 15 10 66 11 2 4 6

SO 243 157

BA .302 .309 .284 .276 .334 .293 .297 .300

BB 128 66

SLG OB% .469 .373 .469 .426 .468 .413 .401 .395 .530 .383 .568 .368 .515 .398 .379 .394

ERA 2.35 2.33

BR/9 11.2 11.2

I also had a utility man, Wilbur Cearley of Providence. He played first, third, and the outfield, and hit .292 with 90 RBIs.

Piedmont League (B) POS 1B 2B SS 3B OF OF OF C UT

Name Reggie Otero Art Lilly Rocco Krsnich Warren Patterson Lewis Davis William Boyce Arthur “Dutch” Schult Harry Land No selection made

Team Portsmouth Richmond Norfolk Newport News Richmond Roanoke Norfolk Portsmouth

G SP William Eggert Newport News 30 SP Edwin Ford Norfolk 30

G 131 140 140 122 135 138 140 106

GS — —

AB 466 507 504 442 475 510 545 356

CG 14 16

H 152 120 137 123 148 151 159 98

R 63 88 71 63 81 79 64 63

SH 2 2

W 19 16

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 182 26 2 0 72 54 9 .326 .391 .398 174 23 5 7 37 98 6 .237 .343 .365 219 29 4 15 80 71 1 .272 .435 .363 157 16 9 0 54 22 8 .278 .355 .313 218 17 4 15 97 74 15 .312 .459 .408 220 16 13 9 99 74 18 .296 .431 .388 225 25 10 7 79 34 6 .292 .413 .333 138 16 3 6 41 42 5 .275 .388 .357

L % IP H 4 .826 203 174 8 .667 216 182

ER SO BB 56 102 116 62 171 113

ERA 2.48 2.58

BR/9 13.0 12.3

¡948

237

instead of Schulte. “Sunday” Charlie hit .294, was second in slugging at .474, and led in OB% with a .422 mark. Louis Ciola of Portsmouth led the Piedmont with a ¡.69 ERA and a 9.5 BR/9 figure, thereby cutting his chances of making a post-season honors team by more than half. He was ¡2–6. William Smith of Newport News was the best relief man in the loop. He pitched 79 innings in 29 games and was 2–4 with a 2.00 ERA.

My first baseman was bulky Steve Bilko of Lynchburg. Big Steve led the league in batting with a .333 mark, slugging at .562 (no one else was over .500), and was fourth in OB% at .407. He also led the league with 20 homers, was third with 92 RBIs, and second with 89 runs. Otero over Bilko makes no sense. Otero was a better fielder, but Bilko’s huge superiority in everything else should have pointed to a Bilko Blitz. I had Charlie “Paw Paw” Maxwell in my outfield

Southeastern League (B) POS 1B 1B 2B 3B SS OF

Name Walter Lance Deo Grose David Williams William Seal Willis “Jack” Maupin Ken Guettler

OF OF C UT UT

W. Banks McDowell Charles Woodall Walter Linden Marion Adair Robert Talbot

SP SP SP

Woodrow Rich Zennie Britt Fred Baczewski

Team Meridian Jackson Pensacola Vicksburg Meridian Montgomery/ Gadsden Jackson Pensacola Jackson Jackson Selma

Anniston Jackson Anniston

G 41 39 18

GS — — —

G 124 123 132 136 123

AB 468 510 535 519 509

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 151 75 191 37 0 1 88 124 8 .323 .408 .466 158 85 233 41 11 4 87 36 2 .310 .457 .356 165 119 251 30 10 12 62 67 35 .308 .469 .391 144 104 249 38 5 19 103 91 7 .277 .480 .389 136 89 194 17 4 11 75 45 7 .267 .381 .333

123 139 134 49 135 86

443 500 518 156 512 414

142 86 243 150 102 214 175 85 234 47 19 60 154 87 249 129 84 190

CG 21 28 5

SH 2 0 3

Maupin managed part of the season. The league chose two All-Star first basemen. This is unusual, but if there were two to be chosen, I would have gone with Anniston Rams manager Charles Baron(ovic) over Grose. He hit .3¡8, slugged .46¡, and scored ¡¡5 runs. At short, the question is: “Does Maupin’s fielding cancel out Spear’s runs and OB% advantage?” George Spears of Montgomery hit .295 with a .406 OB%, 73 points higher than Maupin, and he scored ¡¡5 runs. So, in answer to the question posited, well, perhaps— if Maupin had fielded .972 with 25 errors instead of .932 with 45 (Spears was a poor .9¡2 with 62 errors), but he didn’t. I think that Spears had enough of a hitting advantage to be “The Man.” Outfielder Thomas Davis of Jackson did not make the squad. What he did do is lead the league in batting (.34¡), slugging (.558), and RBIs (¡25). Throw in

W 17 21 11

L 10 14 2

19 31 32 7 42 22

5 12 6 0 7 6

24 3 5 2 13 9

% .630 .600 .846

IP 247 290 115

H 183 261 83

115 87 66 113 84 42 18 30 97 68 57 44 ER 68 99 45

SO 196 115 86

5 18 5 3 5 10

.321 .300 .338 .301 .301 .312

BB 101 127 72

.549 .428 .452 .385 .486 .459 ERA 2.48 3.07 3.52

.438 .433 .390 .414 .385 .378 BR/9 10.7 12.1 12.1

his second-place .438 OB%, and you have to wonder who he ticked o› in the league o‡ce. Catching choice Linden’s 46 games and ¡56 atbats are just not enough for me. The league needs at least a second catcher to be complete. Walter Sierotko of Anniston led the loop with ¡35 games caught and hit .269 with 75 RBIs. Neither of the utility selectees was, Adair being a second baseman and Thorpe an outfielder. Perhaps they meant to pick a utility infielder and a utility outfielder. The best utility player was Mack O. McWhorter of Montgomery. He played first, third, outfield, and catcher. He hit .257 and scored 83 runs. Maynard Thiel of Jackson went 20–¡2 and was second in the league in ERA at 2.99. Joe Demoran led the league in winning percentage with an .889 mark, going ¡6–2 for Montgomery. He was third in ERA at 3.07. They would have made my sta›.

I-I-I League (B) Adlam was a playing manager. I went for Quincy’s Keith “Kite” Thomas in the outfield over Tesauro. Thomas hit .3¡9 with a .499 SA, scored 87 runs, and he had 99 RBIs, most in the Three-Eye.

Van Hooreweghe was a first baseman, DeWitt an outfielder. The best utility player was Waterloo’s George “Nitro” Mitro. He played second, short, and outfield and hit .277 in his 82 games. Selva Lewis Burdette was ¡6–¡¡ for Quincy and

238 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Earl York James Adlam Don Lenhardt Gerald Snyder John Novosel Robert Marquis Joseph Tesauro Frank Baldwin Joe Van Hooreweghe Maynard DeWitt

SP Glenn Thompson SP Marvin Rotblatt

Team Decatur Quincy Springfield Quincy Springfield Quincy Terre Haute Evansville Danville Danville

Evansville Waterloo

G 29 10

G 64 99 107 126 109 126 121 96 112 107

AB 250 320 390 520 386 492 444 335 437 439

GS — —

CG 11 9

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 75 52 138 16 7 11 63 44 0 .300 .552 .405 94 72 149 23 3 10 60 77 9 .294 .466 .431 119 64 217 22 5 22 73 33 0 .305 .556 .361 157 86 225 31 8 7 80 30 18 .302 .433 .348 131 93 234 29 4 22 91 62 3 .339 .606 .433 164 108 266 21 18 15 64 68 19 .333 .541 .427 139 99 191 18 11 4 49 96 26 .313 .430 .437 91 41 118 7 4 4 42 30 1 .272 .352 .333 115 53 153 19 5 3 40 58 15 .263 .350 .352 116 79 149 11 8 2 37 51 39 .264 .339 .347 SH 3 2

W 15 8

L % IP H 4 .789 199 153 1 .889 83 53

ER 73 14

SO 220 89

BB 124 45

ERA 3.30 1.52

BR/9 13.2 10.8

have had a four man sta›, and added Ernie Nevel (another Quincyite) as my reliever. He was 8–3 with a 2.87 ERA in 30 games.

had a 2.02 ERA. He also led the league in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.3 figure. Art Bohman, another Quincy Gem, was ¡6–9, 2.89 with a ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio. I would

Tri-State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Ray Hickernell Forrest “Spook” Jacobs Floyd Fogg Russell Rose Robert Churchill Ralph Rowe Norm Konieczny Oscar Garmendia Leslie Peden No selection made

Joseph Landrum Lacy James

Team Asheville Asheville Fayetteville Asheville Knoxville Rock Hill Asheville Florence Fayetteville

G 24 38

Asheville Rock Hill

G 138 137 140 139 140 147 140 138 107

GS — —

AB 512 549 577 558 566 534 576 545 386

CG 20 23

H 170 180 177 153 230 192 193 178 131

R 122 111 108 131 101 108 145 95 72

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 292 34 11 22 139 95 20 .332 .570 .441 233 21 13 2 92 59 47 .328 .424 .395 286 37 3 22 144 50 11 .307 .496 .362 224 23 12 8 73 76 11 .274 .401 .366 337 33 28 6 102 25 7 .406 .595 .433 287 44 15 7 123 114 7 .360 .537 .472 259 23 17 3 72 69 39 .335 .450 .410 247 33 6 8 71 52 14 .327 .453 .390 233 26 2 24 98 39 3 .339 .604 .408

SH 3 4

W 17 16

L 4 13

% .810 .552

IP 192 272

H 186 232

ER 59 94

SO 110 213

BB 56 139

ERA 2.77 3.11

BR/9 11.5 12.3

files, may I present pitcher Sam Maddox of Anderson. Our Sam finished 33rd out of 35 qualifiers for the ERA crown, ending with a singularly unimpressive 5.72. He also finished seventh in the league in winning percentage, going ¡7–8 for a .680 mark.

Not a thing being discernibly out of place on this team, I would just add a pitcher, Arthur Dwyer of Rock Hill. He was 22–¡4 and second in ERA at 3.0¡. Garmendia had 34 outfield assists. And, for the “It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good”

Western International League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

Name Vic Buccola Edward Samco› Lauritz Jensen Leo Thomas Archie Wilson Richard Sinovic William Wilson Jack Warren No selection made

Lloyd Hittle Frank Nelson Joe Blankenship

Team Victoria Bremerton Victoria Spokane Victoria Salem Wenatchee Vancouver

Bremerton Spokane Victoria

G 39 41 47

G 135 156 156 162 159 146 153 111

GS — — —

AB 529 601 589 575 661 561 567 387

CG 18 30 16

H 164 180 192 186 244 197 177 133

R 95 107 117 129 137 117 114 61

SH 2 4 1

TB 249 272 288 249 408 315 318 204

W 17 24 25

L 8 10 10

2B 24 37 37 31 40 39 36 25

3B 17 14 10 7 26 17 3 5

HR 9 9 13 6 24 15 33 12

RBI 88 79 112 97 132 113 130 76

% IP H .680 236 195 .706 300 276 .714 251 251

BB 62 71 71 99 40 67 90 30

ER 60 97 89

SB 23 20 14 27 39 14 18 4

SO 201 191 137

BA .310 .300 .326 .323 .369 .351 .312 .344

BB 60 97 82

SLG OB% .471 .383 .453 .377 .489 .401 .433 .433 .617 .409 .561 .421 .561 .412 .527 .395

ERA 2.29 2.91 3.19

BR/9 9.9 11.6 12.1

¡948 Spokane second baseman George Valine hit .320 with a .4¡5 OB%, had 98 RBIs and scored ¡¡5 runs. He also had a TC/G ratio of 6.3, a very impressive figure. All else being equal, the fielding tips the scales to Valine by my reckoning. I had a fourth outfielder, Richard Greco of Tacoma. He hit .346, slugged .568, and had a .4¡2 OB%. He also hit 2¡ homers, scored ¡¡0 runs, and his ¡26 RBIs were third in the league. My catcher was Joe Rossi of Tacoma and Spokane. He had averages of .327, .478, and .4¡5 with ¡03 runs and 98 RBIs. Warren hit and slugged a little better

239

than Rossi, Rossi had a better OB%. Rossi, however, had so many more runs and RBIs that I felt it incumbent upon me to root for Rossi re All-Star-itude, Western Int. style. My sta› had four starters and a reliever. The starter was John Conant “The Barbarian” of the fightin’ Bremerton Bluejackets (so named because of the huge naval shipyard located there). He was 23–¡0 with a 2.96 ERA and an ¡¡.4 BR/9 ratio. My reliever was Eugene Babbitt of Spokane. He appeared in a league-leading 52 games and pitched ¡70 innings. He wound up ¡3–¡2 with a 3.92 ERA.

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Robert White Howard Phillips Eugene Valla Joseph DeMaestri Eldon “Rip” Repulski Stan Benjamin Vincent Di Maggio Joseph Borich Ernesto Sierra Richard Williams

Team Ventura Fresno Ventura San Jose Fresno Fresno Stockton Bakersfield San Jose Santa Barbara

G 87 136 128 131 125 125 127 106 139 97

G SP Walter Olsen Santa Barbara 29 SP William Boemler Ventura 29

GS — —

AB 352 542 528 535 510 433 420 378 524 385

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 121 70 209 22 6 18 90 30 8 .344 .594 .398 155 126 188 14 8 1 53 107 17 .286 .347 .406 179 92 207 18 5 0 71 36 31 .339 .392 .384 153 71 173 12 1 2 71 27 15 .286 .323 .323 164 113 288 33 11 23 125 43 15 .322 .565 .382 141 98 207 27 6 9 102 55 20 .326 .478 .404 119 108 235 24 1 30 100 98 15 .283 .560 .421 124 78 172 24 3 6 77 55 7 .328 .455 .417 134 99 164 16 7 0 36 101 15 .256 .313 .379 129 82 210 29 2 16 90 50 16 .335 .545 .414

CG 25 17

SH 4 1

Benjamin and DiMaggio were playing managers. The only selection with even a shadow of controversy is third, where Bakersfield’s Frank Tornay challenged Valla. Tornay hit .3¡2 with ¡09 runs and 94 RBIs, and had eight homers with a .406 SA.

W 17 17

L % IP H 9 .654 238 179 7 .708 203 182

ER SO BB 57 246 112 77 137 105

ERA 2.16 3.41

BR/9 11.2 13.1

Williams was solely an outfielder, Sierra played second, short, and outfield. I also had a .349-hitting reliever, Sammy Castro of San Jose. He worked ¡09 innings in 33 games and was 9–5, 2.56.

Canadian-American League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Eugene Hasson Robert Mays James Robinson Alfred Speranza Walter Kowalski William Booker Calvin Burlingame Stephan Salata Louis Palmisiano

Team Pittsfield Rome G’ville-Johnstown Schenectady Trois Rivieres Rome Oneonta Oneonta Pittsfield

G SP Robert Brake Oneonta 35 SP William Mosser Trois Rivieres 29

G 112 117 112 111 127 100 106 27 112

GS 29 23

AB 340 442 414 388 463 303 406 86 384 CG 25 19

H 125 144 140 101 163 108 137 26 111

R 69 91 73 75 94 40 67 11 70

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 224 18 0 27 106 97 2 .368 .659 .512 165 14 2 1 62 78 18 .326 .373 .431 181 19 11 0 64 76 29 .338 .437 .441 143 21 0 7 56 89 2 .260 .369 .405 243 26 12 10 87 76 7 .352 .525 .446 143 22 2 3 68 16 5 .356 .472 .389 193 15 16 3 62 33 12 .337 .475 .389 42 2 4 2 19 15 1 .302 .488 .406 150 19 4 4 47 67 22 .289 .391 .399

SH 3 1

W L % IP H 20 12 .625 259 239 13 9 .591 201 176

ER SO BB 81 176 102 69 113 106

ERA 2.81 3.09

BR/9 11.8 12.8

G’ville is Gloversville.

In a league where 44 batters had over 50 walks, the league named the regular with the fewest walks to the team. Hasson was a playing manager. Outfielders C. Edward Fowler of Gloversville-

Johnstown and Ernest Woods of Schenectady made my outfield in place of the better-hitting but less productive Booker and Burlingame. Fowler (.304/.54¡/ .390) had twenty homers and 94 RBIs and scored 82 runs. He tied for second in homers and was third in

240

Minor League All-Star Teams ing out league BR/9 ratio leader Ken Ole Olevsen’s 2.554). He was also a better hitter and fielder than the fellows chosen over him. I had another pitcher ahead of the selectees, Rome’s Julius “Didja Get” Homokay. He was ¡9–4 (.826) with a 2.66 ERA and was fourth with a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.7. If pressed, I would have also chosen Lynn Lovenguth (2¡–9 with 245 Ks for Rome) and “Duke” Markell (only ¡4–¡0, but with 280 Ks in 250 IP for Schenectady) over Mosser.

RBIs. Woods (.275/.426/.385) was sixth in both runs and RBIs with a pair of 92s. At catcher, I simply didn’t think that 27 games and 86 ABs constitute an All-Star season. My choice was Cli›ord Thrasher of Rome. The Colonel catcher hit .3¡9 and scored 4¡ runs. Michael Munsinger of Trois Rivieres was an impressive 20–3 (for a league-best .870 winning percentage) and had a 2.92 ERA. Oneonta’s Charles Le Brun was ¡9–¡¡ and led with a 2.547 ERA (just beat-

Carolina League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Edwin Morgan Law. “Crash” Davis George Wright Walter “Teapot” Frye Russell Sullivan Hubert “Buddy” Bates Emil Showfety Joseph Kratzer Claude Swiggert

Al Henencheck Lewis Hester

Team Martinsville Durham Martinsville Winston-Salem Danville Burlington Greensboro Martinsville Burlington

Raleigh Reidsville

G 34 44

GS — —

G 133 143 143 142 134 126 142 140 121

AB 466 540 596 534 508 488 567 532 448

CG 24 27

SH 4 0

H 174 171 183 137 170 162 191 170 121

Bates, Morgan, and Sullivan were playing managers. My shortstop choice was Jennings Edwards of Raleigh. He hit .304 with a .473 SA and a .375 OB%. He also scored 87 runs, drove in 88, and hit 42 doubles. That gives him a huge 252 point advantage over Frye in the averages. He was no fielder, however, winding up at .884 with 78 errors. The question is, was Edwards’ fielding so bad that Frye would have been better choice despite Edward’s domination of all hitting statistics?

R 134 106 145 77 108 132 95 114 78

W 22 25

TB 301 257 282 183 318 251 302 244 183

L 9 13

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 27 5 30 116 113 8 .373 .646 .496 50 3 10 80 75 4 .317 .476 .400 37 13 12 80 93 10 .307 .473 .401 23 4 5 57 33 14 .257 .343 .300 35 4 35 129 64 5 .335 .626 .409 36 10 11 78 73 17 .332 .514 .419 38 8 19 105 43 1 .337 .533 .384 41 6 7 123 77 3 .320 .459 .406 37 2 7 60 33 13 .270 .408 .320

% .710 .658

IP 249 301

H 202 298

ER 62 104

SO 152 185

BB 93 124

ERA 2.24 3.11

BR/9 10.7 12.6

Woody Fair of Danville (where he managed part of the season) hit .336 and slugged .640 with a .4¡¡ OB%. He was only in 96 games, but he finished third in homers with 29 and scored ¡04 runs while driving in ¡¡0. The chosen outfield hits .334, slugs .557, has an OB% of .406, scores 335 runs, drives in 3¡2, and hits 65 homers. The Fair/Sullivan/Bates version hits .334, slugs .590, and has an OB% of .4¡5 with 344 runs, 3¡7 RBIs, and 75 homers, despite having ¡88 fewer PAs.

Central Association (C) POS 1B 2B SS 3B OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP

Name Clarence W. Schambon Charles Wood William Klaus Weldon Idol David “Gus” Bell Dwight Maxheimer Fred Storck Wilmer Shantz George Gatto Mike Lutz

Ronald McLeland Calvin Howe

Team Hannibal Rockford Clinton Hannibal Keokuk Clinton Burlington Moline/Kewanee Clinton Burlington

Hannibal Clinton

G 24 26

GS — —

G 130 128 128 130 128 128 130 98 126 129

AB 492 434 528 513 502 465 527 341 533 471

CG 17 20

SH 5 5

Almost a right-on team, mistakes were made in the outfield and at catcher.

H 134 115 167 155 160 135 154 96 130 130 W 18 18

R 82 94 96 87 86 74 99 44 78 90

TB 192 176 223 202 245 227 212 124 165 231 L 5 4

2B 23 30 35 28 27 20 22 14 19 32

% .783 .818

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 4 9 56 64 14 .272 .390 .364 2 9 60 106 10 .265 .406 .418 6 3 52 69 13 .316 .422 .395 2 5 84 51 18 .302 .394 .367 20 6 98 54 12 .319 .488 .386 12 16 105 75 4 .290 .488 .389 18 10 73 35 21 .292 .402 .339 4 2 31 36 12 .282 .364 .357 5 2 46 52 7 .244 .310 .311 3 21 100 69 3 .276 .490 .373 IP 177 195

H 134 171

ER 47 52

SO 122 145

BB 67 83

ERA 2.39 2.40

BR/9 10.6 11.9

Elzer Marx of Clinton hit .299 and led the league in runs with ¡08 and OB% with a .426 figure. I

¡948 would have had him in my outfield instead of Storck. Keokuk catcher John Tanner led the league in homers (and how often does a catcher do that?) with 23 and was third in RBIs with 99. He hit .256 and

241

slugged .466, third in the league (no one reached .500). Shantz was just an average C league catcher. Lutz played all of his games in the outfield, Gatto all of his at second.

Florida International League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP SP

Name Bernardo Fernandez Francisco Gallardo Howard Ermisch Gilberto Torres Lou Vezelich Eddie Wayne Antonio Zardon Emilio Cabrera George Biershenk Perry Lamar Murphy

Conrado Marrero Octavius Rubert Antonio Lorenzo Harold Schacker Leo Goicoecha William Stanton Harold Graham

Team Miami-Tampa Havana Miami Havana Tampa Miami Beach Havana Tampa Lakeland Tampa

G 128 147 136 142 143 118 152 121 111 135

G 35 31 34 30 44 54 42

GS — — — — — — —

Havana Tampa Havana St. Petersburg St. Petersburg Miami Ft. Lauderdale

AB 465 545 587 573 511 447 630 398 355 488 CG 24 23 24 23 25 22 27

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 137 78 256 29 3 28 105 42 6 .295 .551 .353 151 96 232 27 12 10 81 42 8 .277 .426 .329 170 75 197 11 2 4 70 47 13 .290 .336 .342 180 77 239 44 6 1 69 33 16 .314 .417 .351 182 101 252 30 5 10 86 56 15 .356 .493 .420 158 85 243 29 13 10 76 49 9 .353 .544 .417 184 95 249 26 9 7 57 49 30 .292 .395 .343 111 43 132 19 1 0 52 51 14 .279 .332 .361 83 51 119 15 3 5 44 34 3 .234 .335 .301 155 105 212 23 5 8 76 89 5 .318 .434 .423 SH 6 7 8 3 4 4 4

Ermish managed part of the season. St. Pete outfielder Fred Bell hit .326 and led the league with ¡¡¡ RBIs. He also scored 94 runs. Murphy, listed as a utility player, was an outfielder. Both of these men were outfielders on my squad, along with Vezelich and Wayne. Zardon was not. There is both room and grounds for a tie at catcher. William Kushta of Lakeland caught every one of his teams ¡54 games, a rare feat indeed. He hit .262 with 53 RBIs and 64 runs. Biershenk played second, third, outfield, and also won 8 games as a pitcher (he lost ¡3). I am missing three wins, three defeats and 32 runs from the Havana pitching statistics, but what I do have is amazing — we’re talking Dead Ball stu› here, folks. The Cubanos threw ¡02 complete games, including 33 shut-outs, fully 2¡% of their games. Their ERA was 2.¡2, and they allowed only 2.6 runs per game. They only walked 2.7 batters and gave up just 7.4 hits every nine innings, for a team BR/9 ratio of ¡0.2, better than most individual leaders in most leagues. This is majorly impressive pitching.

W 20 22 23 20 21 20 17

L 11 7 8 7 16 12 18

% .645 .759 .742 .741 .568 .625 .486

IP 264 230 271 227 294 339 291

H ER 206 49 188 54 176 67 219 74 255 88 326 128 322 124

SO BB 168 24 179 49 275 125 59 63 259 178 158 117 65 98

ERA 1.67 2.11 2.23 2.93 2.69 3.40 3.84

BR/9 7.9 9.4 10.0 11.4 13.5 12.1 13.2

Yes, the league did choose seven pitchers for its All-Star sta›. One pitcher they left o› was Havana’s Luis Aloma. Luis was ¡9–6 with a ¡.77 ERA, and allowed a terrific 8.8 BR/9 Why Aloma was passed over for Stanton and Graham is a mystery, especially because they were not (the mandatory) left handed pitchers. As an aside, no fewer than nine pitchers in the Fla. Int. won at least 20 games. And please make special note of Marrero’s 7.9 BR/9 mark. In the “It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good” files, I’d like to add the tale of two West Palm Beach pitchers, Antonio Estrella and Bill Ayers. One went 8–¡6, one went ¡8–¡4. One had an ERA of 3.0¡, one had an ERA of 4.0¡ (which I know doesn’t seem high, but only two league qualifiers had a higher mark). One had an ¡¡.5 BR/9 ratio, one had a ¡5.¡ BR/9 ratio, the league’s highest. Estrella was the 3.0¡, ¡¡.5 pitcher, Ayers the 4.0¡, ¡5.¡ one. Estrella was also the 8–¡6 pitcher, Ayers the ¡8–¡4 one.

Lone Star League (C) Bartkowski and Stone each managed part of the season. Zane Skinner, Kilgore second baseman, hit.296, slugged .4¡7 (¡¡0 points higher than Parino) and had a .405 OB%. His 22 triples led the league, and he

scored ¡27 runs and drove in ¡00. Parino got to a full half chance a game more that Skinner, with just about the same level of e‡cacy. The fact that Parino scored more than a run a game (and had more runs than hits) is hard to beat though. I have it at about

242 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Stanley Goletz John Parino Albert Kubski Robert Cullins Oscar Engel John Stone Marshall Brown Joseph Kracher Ruether Jones Stan Bartkowski James McCarnes

Ralph Pate Jay Blomer

Team Bryan Longview Longview Gladewater Kilgore Henderson Kilgore Kilgore Tyler Lufkin Longview

Longview Henderson

G 32 33

G 140 123 129 105 122 134 125 113 121 139 132

AB 525 476 482 439 537 548 487 383 485 519 547

GS — —

CG 22 18

H 168 115 177 140 187 177 158 166 158 156 167

R 109 130 140 111 80 111 131 87 110 101 134

SH 1 1

52% Parino, 48% Skinner, close enough for me to call it a tie. At short, Tyler’s Roy McMillan led the league in FA (.922), POs, As (a huge 509), DPs, And TC/G (6.0). He also hit .307 and scored ¡27 runs. Even with all that, I think Cullins’s hitting edge is just too much to totally over come. Another tie? The biggest squawk is in the outfield, where Bryan manager hit Jesse Landrum hit .4¡¡, slugged .650, and had a big .480 OB%. He also had ¡¡¡ RBIs in ¡¡¡ games. How on earth did Brown beat him out for an All-Star spot? It’s crazy, I tells ya. At utility, I picked George Yanen of Lufkin. He played third, short, outfield, and won four games as a pitcher. The two league choices were outfielders

TB 266 146 283 234 225 298 213 244 244 228 249

W 23 17

2B 31 16 45 27 17 42 31 36 27 32 39

L 3 9

3B 11 6 2 2 6 5 3 3 7 2 5

% .885 .654

HR RBI BB 15 106 100 1 32 124 19 113 128 21 75 36 3 113 29 23 146 62 6 79 125 12 104 65 15 90 62 12 72 88 11 90 55

IP 250 223

H 225 224

ER 91 94

SB 15 13 29 19 5 23 11 10 10 13 4

SO 128 160

BA .320 .242 .367 .319 .348 .323 .324 .433 .326 .301 .305 BB 95 134

SLG OB% .507 .434 .307 .408 .587 .502 .533 .380 .419 .388 .544 .399 .437 .464 .637 .519 .503 .413 .439 .411 .455 .372 ERA 3.28 3.79

BR/9 12.1 14.7

(although Bartkowski did win two games in seven games as a pitcher). As is my wont, I gave the utility spot to a utility player. In one of the biggest blunders of the year, Tyler’s Otho Nitcholas was not named to the Legion of Lone Star Stars. He was by so far the league’s best pitcher that one thinks he must have been caught selling drugs to school kids (or voted Democratic) to avoid being picked. He was ¡8–7, and his ¡.97 ERA is the third best ever in the league. Although the stats are far from complete in this area, it is probably safe to assume that his 8.3 BR/9 ratio is Top Three, if not the best ever. He walked ¡.¡ batters every nine innings, also close to the best ever league performance.

Middle Atlantic League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

Name Robert Mitchell George Gadaska J. “Rocky” Tedesco Ziggy Janeski Arthur Seguso William Hudacsek William Henry Lamar Dorton Charles Hood Hugh Oser George Heller

Team Johnstown Vandergrift Vandergrift Erie Butler Uniontown Erie Uniontown Vandergrift

Erie Vandergrift

G 20 34

G 120 125 126 124 119 112 113 73 102

AB 478 496 500 494 442 408 432 252 378

GS — —

CG 16 18

H R TB 170 97 236 128 107 166 178 113 275 139 85 202 158 102 273 133 96 188 144 91 223 78 39 103 118 95 206 SH 0 5

Vandergraft first baseman Robert Hill hit .355, almost the same as Mitchell’s .356, but the similarity stops there. Hill slugged .576 and had a .462 OB%, both second in the league. Hill also scored ¡20 runs, drove in ¡03, and hit ¡7 homers. Johnstown shortstop Chris Kitsos was my choice despite his .253 BA. His .398 SA was only eleven points back of Ziggy, and his .399 OB% was 63 points to the good. He scored 96 runs and drove in 82. Even more impressive was his fielding advantage: he han-

W 14 20

L 4 4

2B 29 24 40 29 35 24 32 8 28 % .778 .833

3B 8 7 6 11 13 5 7 7 6 IP 145 203

HR 7 0 15 4 18 7 11 1 16

RBI BB 101 49 48 104 125 58 79 37 146 91 56 67 96 78 41 23 72 60

H 136 189

ER 46 62

SB 10 11 31 22 10 21 22 5 10

SO 79 161

BA .356 .258 .356 .281 .357 .326 .333 .310 .312 BB 45 90

SLG OB% .494 .416 .335 .391 .550 .428 .409 .336 .618 .470 .461 .421 .516 .439 .409 .367 .545 .408 ERA 2.86 2.75

BR/9 11.5 12.4

dled a big-league 6.3 TC/G to Janeski’s 5.3, and Kitsos had seven fewer errors. Another Vandergrifter, Herman Kiel, had a spot in my outfield. He only hit .309, but his .55¡ SA was second and his OB% of .4¡7 was not bad. His 2¡ homers were third, as were his ¡¡4 RBIs. Unable to cast any one out, I had all four on my squad. Oil City catcher George “Tomato” Shoup matched Dorton’s .3¡0 BA and slugged .44¡. He had 6¡ RBIs. On the hill, it’s the “Same Old Story.” You’ve

¡948

243

runs a game and gave up 4.8, 2.7 runs to the good. That explains why they finished first. On the other hand, Youngstown scored 5.2 runs a game and surrendered 8, a huge 3.8 to the bad. And that explains why they finished last, 49∂ games behind Vandergrift.)

heard (read) it so many times in’48: pitcher leads league in ERA and BR/9 ratio; same pitcher fails to make All-Star team. This time it’s Walter “Wally” Cox of Erie. He was ¡8–5 with a 2.7¡ ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9. (As an aside, Vandergrift hit .303, slugged .486, and had a terrific .402 team OB%. They scored 7.5

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Patanelli Wallace Reed Elmer Schoendienst Herman Rhodes Frank Marchio William Polubiatka Rance Pless Carl Howerton Ray Katt Herman Rhodes

Team Superior Grand Forks Duluth Superior Grand Forks Sioux Falls St. Cloud Aberdeen St. Cloud Superior

G SP Milton Goemer Grand Forks 34 SP Robert Vogeltanz Duluth 15 SP Jim Post Aberdeen 29

G 108 119 68 119 120 110 120 117 97 119 GS — — —

AB 415 485 272 453 477 422 491 485 335 453

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 110 74 152 16 4 6 65 78 1 .265 .366 .389 133 103 182 18 11 3 55 62 30 .274 .375 .360 89 57 121 20 3 2 43 38 28 .342 .477 .420 155 95 216 33 8 4 84 59 25 .342 .477 .427 154 85 217 22 13 5 100 55 16 .323 .455 .399 133 80 195 22 14 4 68 82 10 .315 .462 .430 151 86 219 17 18 5 86 57 11 .308 .446 .384 148 98 195 23 9 2 55 49 6 .305 .402 .370 107 52 160 23 6 6 57 62 3 .319 .478 .433 155 95 216 33 8 4 84 59 25 .342 .477 .427

CG 23 13 13

SH 4 1 2

Grand Forks third baseman William Schumm didn’t hit for Schoendienst’s average (only .28¡), but matched him in SA and OB% with .477 and .4¡8 numbers. He tied for the home runs lead with ¡6 and was third in RBIs with 97 (even if Schoendienst were to have doubled his RBI total, he would still come up short of Schumm). The scribes chose four outfielders, and I still had two who did not make their short list, Frank McArthur of St. Cloud and Omer Tolson of Aberdeen. Tolson hit .325 and slugged .484, second in the great Northern. He also led with ¡06 RBIs. McArthur had a “Triple Crown” season, leading the league in BA (.379), SA (.552), and OB% (.448), and

W L % IP H 25 4 .862 237 181 10 3 .769 117 96 8 15 .348 165 155

ER SO BB 45 148 60 33 102 60 82 131 113

ERA 1.71 2.54 4.47

BR/9 9.2 12.1 15.2

he scored 96 runs with 94 RBIs. Perhaps a six-man outfield is the answer to this logjam? You will notice that utility selection Rhodes was also selected as the league’s All-Star shortstop (he played ten games at third and seventeen in the outfield). I picked Harry Hanebrink of Eau Claire, shortstop/first baseman. He hit .290, tied for the home run lead with ¡6 (oddly, he had only nine doubles) and was third in runs scored with an even ¡00. St. Cloud pitcher Lee Wolters was ¡5–4 with a 2.95 ERA and an ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio. I wonder if Vogeltanz was descended from the Coburg-Saxe-Gothe tribe, as his name translates to “Bird Dance” in our tongue.

Pioneer League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

Name Edward Mickelson Gilbert McDougald Reno Cheso Leslie Barnes Albert Neil James Keating Earl Silverthorn Harold Danielson No selection made

William Franks Ken Lehman Dale Maycock

Team Idaho Falls Twin Falls Salt Lake City Billings Pocatello Great Falls Idaho Falls Twin Falls

Boise Idaho Falls Twin Falls

G 43 33 31

G 119 101 122 121 123 109 103 92

GS — — —

AB 516 415 486 476 518 416 431 291

CG 28 17 15

H 192 141 173 134 202 155 137 90

R 114 108 102 81 123 99 71 53

SH 3 3 3

W 23 17 17

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 284 23 12 12 143 54 3 .372 .550 .436 217 18 5 16 66 58 8 .340 .523 .423 244 22 5 13 133 80 7 .356 .502 .448 163 16 5 1 46 57 14 .282 .342 .361 346 43 13 25 151 75 7 .390 .668 .471 250 29 6 18 107 59 14 .373 .601 .452 193 18 13 4 57 39 21 .318 .448 .374 132 15 6 5 49 46 2 .309 .454 .405

L 15 7 4

% .605 .708 .810

IP 277 201 206

H 287 188 198

ER 107 88 89

SO 194 182 113

BB 86 119 124

ERA 3.48 3.94 3.89

BR/9 12.4 13.9 14.2

244

Minor League All-Star Teams .346, slugged .539, and had a .403 OB%, ¡20 cumulative points over the honoree, Danielson. But wait, there’s still more! Rockin’ Roland scored ¡0¡ runs and drove in ¡¡7 runs. Why Danielson? Why!? No utility choice was made, but Twin falls manager Charlie Metro filled that bill. He played second, third, and outfield, hit a whopping .35¡, had a whoppinger .558 SA, and garnered a not-quite-whoppingest .46¡ OB%. He hit 22 homers, drove in ¡¡6 runs, scored ¡02 runs, and beat LeBlanc’s team in the play-o›s to boot. No qualifying pitcher had an ERA under 3.00. In fact the leader, Melvin Waters (who also, by the way, led in BR/9 ratio with a mark of ¡¡.4 and was 2¡–7 for the Idaho Falls Russets ), came in at 3.¡5, not good enough for selection it seems. The Pioneers also had a qualified, bonified reliever in Vance Thurston, Great Falls Electrics stopper. He pitched ¡25 innings in 4¡ games and was 8–5 with a 3.3¡ ERA, second in the league.

Pocatello hit .305, scored 8.¡ runs a game, and had a team OB% of .4¡2. The league’s number ten batter hit .340. Twin Falls shortstop Joe Polich got to almost a half a chance more a game than did Barnes, and he fielded them more cleanly. He hit .270 with a .39¡ SA, scored 95 runs, and drove in 83. Outfielder Raymond Sowens of Pocatello was not selected for the team, despite his .323 BA, .592 SA, and league-high .489 OB% (he walked ¡40 times). He hit 22 homers, drove in 92 runs, and scored ¡54 runs in only ¡¡3 games. The chosen outfield was pretty good, hitting .362, slugging .578, and getting on base 43.6 percent of the time. The threesome scored 293 runs and had 3¡5 RBIs. If Sowens is substituted for Silverthorn, the numbers climb to .363, an impressive .624, and a huge .47¡, with 376 runs and 350 RBIs, a much more powerful group. A strange thing happened on the way to the catching choice — pennant -winning Pocatello manager Roland LeBlanc was left waiting at the altar. He hit

Sunset League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Martin Krug Henry Bartolomei Frank Stinson Manuel Serrano Donald Jameson Donald Barclay Leandro Garcia Richard Wilson Gerald Waitman

SP SP SP

Erwin Coutts Elmer Corwin Robert Schulte

Team Las Vegas Riverside El Centro Reno/Mexicali Riverside Reno Mexicali Mexicali Riverside-San Berdoo

Mexicali Reno Riverside

G 32 40 40

GS — — —

G 139 139 127 124 139 131 130 137 122

CG 20 26 19

AB 572 543 500 512 561 495 528 507 464

H 192 175 164 165 202 174 183 176 134

R 164 152 95 136 130 171 135 146 79

SH 1 1 2

W 20 26 19

L 6 9 13

TB 298 289 232 230 252 247 325 354 172 % .769 .743 .594

2B 24 43 23 28 15 22 34 28 24

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 23 12 157 106 36 .336 .521 .448 7 19 122 100 26 .322 .532 .431 9 9 111 69 7 .328 .464 .414 14 3 92 90 23 .322 .449 .429 13 3 120 78 67 .360 .449 .443 21 3 104 116 31 .352 .499 .487 18 24 140 90 10 .347 .616 .444 12 42 188 112 41 .347 .698 .470 4 2 87 65 10 .289 .371 .387

IP 220 280 251

H 226 260 230

ER 80 110 136

SO 173 251 276

BB 64 156 237

ERA 3.27 3.54 4.88

BR/9 12.1 13.6 17.3

San Berdoo is San Bernadino. Well, actually, it’s Anaheim-San Bernadino, as the franchise moved on 25 June.

Wilson was a playing manager. ¡5.2. That’s how many runs were scored on average in each Sunset League game in ¡948. ¡¡.4. That’s how many walks there were in an average Sunset league game in ¡948. Twenty four players scored at least ¡00 runs, and thirteen of those scored at least one run a game (¡30 runs would have gotten you a tie for tenth). Fourteen players had at least ¡00 RBIs, and ten walked at least ¡00 times. Twenty four players hit at least ten triples, and an average of ¡.4 were hit in each game. El Centro had a .397 team OB%, Mexicali’s was .4¡0, and Las Vegas’s was .4¡4— and they scored 8.8 runs a game. At third, Hugh Lapham, who played for Las Vegas and Mexicali, hit a lowly .288, but he did slug .508, and, thanks to ¡40 walks, compile a .458 OB%. He led

the league in games played at third with 89 and in fielding with a .9¡¡ FA (Stinson fielded .87¡). He scored ¡30 runs and drove in ¡36 in ¡30 games, and stole 20 bases. He is my man at third. In the outfield, batting champ Bobby Balcena of Mexicali was passed over, despite .369, .56¡, and .467 averages. Four outfielders may have been in order. Waitman played first, second, short, and caught. My utility choice was Mitchell Lobrovich of Reno, who played first, third, and outfield. He also hit .3¡6 with ¡¡6 runs and ¡00 RBIs in just ¡05 games. He had a .43¡ OB%. Only a single pitcher in the Sunset had an ERA under 3.00, Mexicali’s Manuel Echeverria. He was ¡4–2, his ERA was 2.83, and he was second in BR/9 ratio with a ¡2.2 mark. Note that Schulte’s ERA was

¡948

245

is 8.5 walks for each and every nine innings pitched. He also hit fifteen batters and threw twenty two wild pitches.)

over two runs higher, and that his BR/9 ratio was ¡7.3. Does that sound (look?) like an All-Star to you? (By the way, that 237 BB total is not a misprint. That

Western Association (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Johnny Sturm James Herbison Harold Olt William Cope Elmer Nieman Sidney Langston Charles Samson Del Crandall No selection made

Jackie Collum William Freese

Team Joplin St. Joseph St. Joseph Joplin Topeka St. Joseph Leavenworth Leavenworth

St. Joseph Joplin

G 32 30

G 132 140 139 134 137 119 130 123

GS — —

AB 453 554 499 466 470 482 483 425

CG 22 21

H 163 160 171 120 153 154 154 129

R 100 131 134 92 135 88 98 81

TB 236 198 270 160 302 239 236 209

2B 45 21 42 26 33 25 34 27

SH 5 6

W 24 20

L 2 7

% .923 .741

Sturm, Olt, and Nieman were playing managers, Nieman for part of the season. A well selected team, I would just change the catcher and add a reliever. Joseph DiMartino of St. Joseph hit .35¡, slugged .502, and had a .4¡0 OB%, all better (or much better) than Crandall’s. He also drove in ¡¡¡ runs. The future

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 2 8 96 109 9 .360 .521 .486 7 1 50 104 27 .289 .357 .404 15 0 110 108 18 .343 .541 .461 4 2 67 64 18 .258 .343 .356 7 34 146 143 18 .326 .643 .484 18 8 114 40 5 .320 .496 .373 0 16 87 62 14 .319 .489 .402 4 15 84 35 31 .304 .492 .359

IP 237 223

H 198 192

ER 65 71

SO 135 169

BB 104 66

ERA 2.47 2.87

BR/9 11.7 10.4

would be Crandall’s, but the ’48 W.A. season was DiMartino’s. (Note Del’s steals! In sixteen years in the majors, he stole 26 bases, with a high of five.) I found a reliever in the W.A. of ’48. Charles Nichols of Joplin was in 42 games, went 7–7 and had a 2.93 ERA.

Blue Ridge League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Name Frank Subb Henry Loman Doug Shores Joe Tagliarino Clifton Haywood Richard Stockton Ken Howard Mike Brelich H. Allen Yearick No selection made

Eurice Treece John Moore Lawrence Wilson Joseph Santomauro Samuel Gibson Amado Diaz

Team Wytheville North Wilkesboro North Wilkesboro North Wilkesboro Radford L-S-D-Ab/-Wytheville North Wilkesboro North Wilkesboro Mount Airy

Mount Airy Radford Radford Abingdon North Wilkesboro L-S-D-Ab/Wy

G 113 64 124 121 122 81 102 82 54

AB 437 224 478 479 524 325 405 277 168

H 138 55 160 129 175 108 110 83 44

R 74 25 99 83 109 70 81 66 22

TB 217 66 232 183 213 173 132 143 60

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 25 9 12 84 45 1 .316 .497 .385 7 2 0 28 14 2 .246 .295 .302 325 11 5 93 48 11 .335 .485 .398 28 10 2 65 64 25 .269 .382 .359 19 5 3 72 55 45 .334 .406 .404 20 6 9 57 28 13 .332 .532 .389 11 4 1 53 51 59 .272 .326 .356 16 8 9 56 79 10 .300 .516 .455 8 1 2 23 22 5 .262 .357 .351

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 30 — 16 4 16 10 .615 172 143 48 166 57 2.51 10.8 30 — 20 0 15 11 .577 218 208 77 193 89 3.18 12.6 28 — 13 0 9 10 .474 178 206 88 119 71 4.45 14.1 13 — 4 0 1 7 .125 76 93 55 33 40 6.51 16.3 35 — 18 2 19 9 .679 209 222 89 149 88 3.83 13.7 23 — 11 0 7 9 .438 143 160 59 86 48 3.71 13.3

L-S-D is the Leaksville-Spray-Draper franchise, which moved to Abingdon on 18 June.

Some of the Blue Ridge o‡cial dream team picks were little short of bizarre. Loman was a playing manager, and Subb managed for part of the year. There was no dominant second baseman (obviously), but the choice of Loman is mystifying. For one thing, he only played 33 games there. For another thing, take a peek at his SA — .295. And for a third thing, peruse his OB%, a cool (and I don’t

mean that in the “cool” way) .302. I opted for Frank Essic of Mount Airy. He was in only 77 games, but at least they were at second. He hit .3¡8, slugged .40¡, and had a .36¡ OB%, a cumulative 237 point advantage over Loman. The player who led the league in batting, slugging, and OB% is absent from the roster. Noel Casbier, Mount Airy shortstop (and manager) hit .378,

246

Minor League All-Star Teams

slugged .582, and had a .473 OB%. That is a humongous 423 combined points better than the selectee Tagliarino. In the outfield, two more Graniteers were overlooked, William Akins and Jasper Holt. Akins was second in batting (.352), second in slugging (.537), third in OB% (.422), first in homers (¡3), second in runs (¡06), and tied for eighth in RBIs (80). Holt hit .3¡8, was fifth in slugging at .50¡, third in homers with ¡¡, led in triples with ¡3, led in RBIs with ¡00, and was fourth in runs with 95. And yet, the powers that be selected Stockton and Howard, a duo which was outscored ¡5¡–20¡ and out RBIed ¡¡0–¡80 by the Mount Airy pair. There were two catchers selected, and the question is, why Yearick over James Claypool of Galax for one of those spots? Claypool hit .304 with 65 RBIs and he scored 67 runs. Yearick’s .262 with 23 runs and 22 RBIs rightly pales in comparison. Jack Biggersta› of Galax would have been a nice utility choice, had there been one. He played first, outfield, and catcher, hitting .262. Now we move on to the ¡948 Blue Ridge version

of a celestial pitching sta›. The voters picked no fewer than five hurlers, and yet missed four of the six best pitchers in the league! George Greene, who pitched for L-S-D-Ab, was ¡¡–¡ and led the league in ERA with a ¡.56 mark, in BR/9 ratio with a 9.6, and struck out 8.7 batters every nine innings: counted among the absent. George James, of Wytheville was ¡3–4 with a 2.83 ERA and was fourth in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.0: counted among the missing. Allan Pfei›er, Galax, was 20–¡0, fifth in ERA at 3.¡8, and third in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.0: counted among those unaccounted for. Cecil Warren, who also pitched for Galax, 2¡–8, league leader in victories, IP, and CG, 3.5¡ ERA: counted among those who were accounted as “No Count.” Those four, plus Eurice Treece (who somehow missed being missed) were 8¡–33 (.7¡¡) with an ERA of 2.9¡ and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.4. The five who were deemed by the scribes as worthiest of the worthy went 67–56 (.545) with a 3.76 ERA and allowed ¡3.2 BR/9. I mean, come on! ¡–7, 6.5¡, ¡6.3 an All-Star? Not in any reality of which I am aware.

Coastal Plain League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jack Hussey Steven Collins Emil Peters Ken Andrews Ray Komanecky Clyde Whitner John Hanley Grover Fowler Ralph Caldwell

Team Goldsboro Kinston Kinston Tarboro Tarboro Goldsboro Rocky Mount Rocky Mount Tarboro

G SP William See Tarboro 43 SP Harry Helmer Rocky Mount 46

G 125 139 140 136 138 119 129 131 138 GS — —

AB 463 550 575 495 535 552 500 489 558

H 170 171 187 150 196 196 152 162 165

CG 23 28

R 129 116 102 120 124 137 115 138 95 SH 1 4

Collins was a playing manager. There were no less than four first basemen in the ’48 C.P.L. who hit over .300 with over ¡00 RBIs and over 20 home runs. The first base cup ranneth over in North Carolina’s bottom lands in ¡948, as a veritable superfluity of first sackers ranged freely over the Class D ball fields of the state, but Hussey was the best of show. Shortstop selection Andrews played only 4¡ games at short (he played ¡8 at third and 83 at second). I had him as my utility man (or, rather, one of them), and had Wilson’s Alfred Rehm at short. Rehm hit .299 and scored ¡0¡ runs. The outfield choices were particularly hard to decide. There is nothing wrong with the o‡cial selections, but they leave two equally deserving players

TB 300 244 257 192 315 264 288 291 243

2B 33 32 35 26 34 26 23 32 29

3B 5 4 4 5 8 9 4 5 5

HR 29 11 9 2 23 8 35 29 13

RBI BB 135 98 90 77 89 42 80 159 137 98 79 78 116 98 114 86 105 43

W L % IP H ER 25 6 .806 254 254 89 26 10 .722 292 250 115

SB 6 11 8 12 16 45 8 5 7 SO 179 268

BA .367 .311 .325 .303 .366 .355 .304 .331 .296 BB 81 196

SLG OB% .648 .478 .444 .397 .447 .371 .388 .475 .589 .465 .478 .438 .576 .420 .595 .431 .435 .347 ERA 3.15 3.54

BR/9 12.0 14.1

in Baseballimbo, a land usually connected with border-line Hall-of-Fame candidates. Quentin Martin of Rocky Mount hit a robust .366, slugged .536, and had ¡33 RBIs. Fred “Pap” Williams hit .364 with a .583 SA, scored ¡22 runs and drove in ¡34. Now, Williams played a lot at first (in fact, more than half of his games), so we can move him to utility. But that still leaves Martin. The only recourse I could see open to me was to have four outfielders. You may see an alternate path. Tarboro’s Ralph Caldwell, who played first, second, and caught, was the league’s selection for utility man. He had a good year, hitting .296 with 95 runs and ¡05 RBIs (but his OB% was a low .347). Yet, I would go with the two I uncovered, Ken Andrews and “Pap” Williams. They cover every posi-

¡948

247

games. His ERA was 3.66, and he allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9. Herring was ¡9–7 with league-best 2.60 ERA and ¡0.5 BR/9 figures. Yet another pitching possibility was Tarboro’s Eddie Neville, who was ¡5–4 with a 3.22 ERA (and who hit .265 with 27 RBIs). Other league’s have had five man sta›s. The Coastal Plain would not have embarrassed itself by doing the same.

tion but catcher, and Andrews supplies OB% savvy to go with Williams’s power. I have no complaint with the selected pitchers, but would add two Goldsboro Goldbugs, Horace Benton and 41 year old manager Bill Herring. Benton was 28–¡0 and worked a Wilbur Woodish 339 innings with a Robin Robertsesque 32 complete

Eastern Shore League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Name Norm Zauchen Donald Davis Miguel Rivera Robert Koppenhaver Donald Maxa Crawford Davidson Ray Jablonski Stewart Ho›erth Rbt. “Ducky” Detweiler

Edward Black Paul Perry

Salisbury Milford

Team Milford Salisbury Salisbury Salisbury Easton Easton Milford Cambridge Federalsburg G 23 14

GS — —

G 120 94 111 119 91 93 123 62 110

AB 481 371 455 453 353 352 486 206 369

CG 18 12

SH 4 1

H 170 100 147 125 135 118 172 69 126

Detweiler and Ho›erth were playing managers, Ho›erth for part of the season. Salisbury played .736 ball (89–32) and scored 6.6 runs while giving up 3.9 a game, 2.7 runs to the good. Dover finished at 26–¡00, .206, 65∂ games back of Salisbury and 23∂ out of seventh. They scored 4 runs a game and surrendered 8, thereby managing to lose their games by an average of 4 runs each! Man, would I like to have access to the LT45IP numbers from this league! Missing from the published stats are nine Dover wins and 42 losses, as well as 475 runs. I had Walter Satler of Cambridge at second. Davis had more range (5.6 TC/G–5.¡), But Satler hit better (.285) and destroyed Davis on the OB% field, .429 to a lowly .3¡9 (put away your slide rules friends, that comes to a ¡¡0 point di›erence). He also scored 85 runs. At third, I had Frank Malzone of Milford. He hit .304, slugged .469, and had an OB% of .448, fifth in the league. He scored ¡07 runs, and got to 3.3 TC/G compared to Rivera’s 2.8. My shortstop was second in the league in OB% (unusual for a guy who played the six spot) and stole 82 bases. Don Nicholas of Cambridge was my man. He hit a lowly .264, but had a large .485 OB%, thanks to ¡30 walks. In 95 games, he scored ¡¡0 runs (on only 84 hits, one of the largest H-R di›erentials you’ll see [I mean of course where the runs outnumber the hits, and not vice versa (I believe Ichiro may hold that mark)]). Extrapolated out over ¡50 games, Nicholas’s numbers are: ¡30 steals, 205 walks, and ¡74 runs.

W 16 9

R 126 54 72 108 103 75 108 38 86 L 5 3

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 323 44 5 33 138 32 7 .353 .672 .404 143 27 5 2 67 24 16 .270 .385 .319 189 23 5 3 83 33 6 .323 .415 .378 159 17 7 1 54 109 25 .276 .351 .422 187 20 4 8 87 70 11 .382 .530 .487 217 30 3 21 111 74 0 .335 .616 .455 278 24 2 26 131 64 5 .354 .572 .432 95 19 2 1 47 27 0 .335 .461 .412 219 26 2 21 95 68 33 .341 .593 .446 % .762 .750

IP 194 110

H 126 71

ER 48 32

SO 63 149

BB 79 77

ERA 2.23 2.62

BR/9 9.6 12.4

There were too many good candidates for the outfield for me to select just three. (Luckily, since this book is being written in order that stars of a lower magnitude and in galaxies far removed from N.Y.C. and L.A. might be remembered, I can add the other two without fear of ridicule or of iconoclastic postmodern deconstructionalism. In fact, if I wanted to, I could even use the word oleaginous, thus becoming the second baseball book to have done so.) But enough of my muddied meandering maunderings, back to the Eastern Shore outfield. Robert Stramm of Cambridge hit only .304, but thanks to ¡28 walks, he was third in OB% at .470. He scored ¡0¡ runs and drove in 82. Salisbury’s Tom Westcott hit even lower, .274, but reached base ¡24 time without the benefit of a hit and had a .439 OB%, seventh in the circuit. He stole 38 bases and scored ¡2¡ runs in ¡20 games (and on only ¡¡5 hits). I actually had Detweiler at third (despite his playing at second and in the outfield also) and cleared a bit of the outfield pile up by having “Jabbo” as my utility man. Ray played short as well as roaming the gardens of the romantic Eastern Shore. I had a sta› of Black, future Met Herb Moford, and Carl Wolgast, all of Salisbury, along with Dick Hall (not the Dick Hall, but an earlier one, a precursor, if you will) of Milford. Moford went 20–4 (league-best .833) with a 2.29 ERA and allowed ¡0.5 BR/9, second best in the E.S.L.. Wolgast was second in ERA at 2.26 and third in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.¡. He was ¡7–6. Hall was a good ¡6–4, and his 2.93 ERA went

248

Minor League All-Star Teams missing nine wins, three losses and there are 76 unaccounted for runs). Pretty good stu›, but it is mostly the story of the four starters. They went 68–22 (.756) with a 2.50 ERA and allowed only ¡0.6 BR/9.

with an ¡¡.4 BR/9 mark. Perry, who was not sta›worthy in my opinion, did average ¡¡.9 K/9 IP. What I can glean about the Salisbury pitching sta› is pretty gleaming stu›. 80 wins, 29 losses, a 3.09 ERA with a ¡¡.9 BR/9 ratio … not bad at all (I am

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

Name Ramon Rosenkranz Charles Heinbaugh Robert Rucker John Sebastian John Garrison Vernon Pirtle Joe Zander William Hall John Tonco› Bernard Lake

Myril Hoag Elvin Stabelfield Don Coker Ralph Woolford

Team Sanford Orlando Daytona Beach St. Augustine Orlando Palatka-Gainesville Daytona Beach Leesburg Palatka-Dayt. Beach Sanford

Gainesville Daytona Beach Gainesville Leesburg

G 34 38 29 20

G 138 132 129 82 135 129 138 111 113 95

GS — — — —

AB 539 539 522 282 559 506 547 372 402 230

CG 22 30 16 8

H R TB 2B 168 108 260 22 182 129 231 29 154 95 226 23 70 48 92 8 172 88 244 33 159 75 237 37 154 93 196 20 105 44 140 27 107 49 136 12 57 40 81 9 SH 5 6 0 2

Hoag was a playing manager. No qualifier in this league slugged .500, only a handful reached the .400 OB%. I had a tie at second between Heinbaugh and Wylie Ivey of Daytona Beach. Ivey was second in batting at .335, and his .453 SA was third. He scored 98 runs and drove in 89, eighth and tied for third. Sebastian simply couldn’t hit. I chose Guillermo Vega of DeLand. He hit .28¡ with a .370 SA, but he also had the worst OB% (.302) in the league. He drove in 7¡ runs, however, and that made him my choice. By my reckoning, the three best outfielders in the league were Garrison, Pirtle, and Dennis Braziel of Orlando. Braziel hit .324 with 88 RBIs (tied for sixth) and ¡02 runs (also sixth).

W L % 24 4 .857 28 8 .778 13 11 .542 8 6 .571

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 11 16 100 91 10 .312 .482 .414 10 0 66 64 43 .338 .429 .412 11 9 76 28 24 .295 .433 .341 1 4 37 52 7 .248 .326 .373 6 9 133 47 6 .308 .436 .363 7 9 89 53 5 .314 .468 .379 8 2 54 74 18 .282 .358 .367 4 0 56 33 8 .282 .376 .342 1 5 57 60 1 .266 .338 .361 3 3 37 48 9 .248 .352 .389 IP H 239 154 296 227 195 188 105 71

ER 35 60 82 34

SO 149 217 131 106

BB 84 66 99 77

ERA 1.32 1.82 3.78 2.91

BR/9 9.0 8.9 13.2 12.7

Lake was an All-Star caliber pitcher and filled in the infield. However, I selected Orlando manager Lou Bevil(acqua) instead. He was ¡9–7 as a pitcher, played some outfield, and filled in elsewhere in LT¡0 categories. He had the highest BA (.365), SA (.542), and OB% (.435) in the league, although he fell far short of qualifying to o‡cially lead the league. Myril Hoag hit .326, and was 39 years old. I had utility choice Lake on my sta› instead of Coker. He was 20–6 with a 2.¡6 ERA and was third in BR/9 ratio at 9.0 (to Stablefield’s 8.9¡ and Hoag’s 8.96). He also threw the first perfect games in F.S.L. history. As an aside, a sta› of Hoag, Lake, and Stablefield would have had some pretty impressive numbers: 72–¡8 (.800), a ¡.78 ERA, and a low BR/9 ratio of 8.9.

Georgia-Florida League (D) The only unassailable infield spot was third. The others were like Deadwood in the ¡870’s—wide open. Moultrie first baseman Ken Rhyne was my man. He led the league with 27 homers, was fourth in RBIs with ¡¡5, scored ¡0¡ runs, and hit .29¡. He was also third in SA at .499. “Wild” Bill Palumbo of Valdosta hit .294 and, thanks to ¡47 walks, led the league in OB% with a mark of .455. He scored ¡22 runs, and was my choice at the keystone … or, was he? Julius Stasko of Tallahassee hit .296 and scored ¡20 runs, and most impressively, had one of the year’s top TC/G marks at second, a mighty 6.6. He was my choice for second base … or was he? I

mean, Henkle had a good year, right? Do you see my quandary here? The Zogboy exit poll of my own brain showed it was 33.92% for Stasko, 33.26% for Palumbo, and 32.82% for Henkel. I have a mandate! At short, the way is just as twisted. Valdosta manager Lou Rochelli hit .296 and had a .400 OB% with 89 runs and ¡05 RBIs. Tallahassee’s George Wopinek hit .3¡3 and had a .404 OB% with 83 RBIs and ¡¡8 runs scored. Which way to jump? Early returns have it 34.83% for Rochelli, 34.¡6 % for Wopinek, and league favorite Brewster trailing with 3¡.0¡% (all + 9%), but the upstate results are not yet in… In the outfield, frankly, I would have had Thomas

¡948 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

Name Robert Tripp Howard Henkel Santo Luberto Charles Brewster Joseph Kwiatkowski Rocco Ippolito Norris Strickland Frank Thomas Robert Attaway Don Gross

Donald Stephens Raymond Seidel Ernest Funk George Yebernetsky

Team Americus Thomasville Valdosta Waycross Valdosta Moultrie Cordele Tallahassee Albany Waycross

Albany Waycross Thomasville Tallahassee

G 101 138 124 92 118 124 133 138 133 107 G 39 45 39 33

AB 422 561 486 352 474 495 523 596 470 375 GS — — — —

H 126 189 152 104 176 183 185 176 135 96 CG 19 22 20 22

R 92 103 102 70 101 121 108 106 75 50 SH 3 1 1 2

249 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 181 26 13 1 53 80 7 .299 .429 .416 224 20 6 1 56 80 17 .337 .399 .427 199 24 10 1 88 94 11 .313 .409 .430 160 26 0 10 90 51 19 .295 .455 .389 234 30 11 2 90 53 19 .371 .494 .435 291 28 8 21 102 62 30 .370 .588 .443 264 41 13 4 88 74 17 .354 .505 .439 273 39 8 14 132 37 6 .295 .458 .340 174 28 4 1 84 99 9 .287 .370 .411 108 4 4 0 51 34 5 .256 .288 .321

W L % IP H ER SO BB 17 14 .548 254 197 64 221 110 23 7 .767 282 303 111 164 102 19 13 .594 230 223 62 160 81 16 13 .552 236 281 89 142 82

ERA 2.27 3.54 2.43 3.39

BR/9 11.0 13.1 12.2 14.0

Gross was a first baseman/outfielder/catcher.

Howard instead of Thomas, especially being as four players were chosen. He hit .3¡8 with a .408 OB%, ¡¡¡ RBIs, and ¡22 runs scored.

Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League (D) POS !B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP

Name Henry Wlodarczyk Jim Finigan Donn Leroy Haines Merle Stanley Hughes Charles Stumborg Albert Solenberger John “Skip” Baas Ray Haley Leon Irwin Nick Ananias William Fox

Joseph Tufteland Bill Pierro Nicholas Najjar William Buck

Team Carthage Independence Bartlesville Pittsburg Pittsburg Bartlesville Pittsburg Independence Ponca City Independence Chanute

Ponca City Bartlesville Bartlesville Carthage

G 27 31 19 30

G 118 109 115 88 107 109 117 92 112 118 85

GS — — — —

AB 441 411 427 346 372 448 433 328 390 393 300 CG 14 22 11 21

H 113 127 101 70 118 134 117 89 91 102 98

R 55 73 58 52 81 72 67 45 50 61 50

SH 2 6 2 4

W L 18 2 17 8 12 5 15 12

Ponca City hit .224 with a .295 SA. Miami hit .2¡4 with a .273 SA. Iola hit .202 (!) with a .26¡ SA. In fact, the league as a whole hit .226 and slugged .296. Only ¡5¡ home runs were hit all year. That’s about .¡5 a game. The number ten batter hit around .267 (depending on whether you figure by ABs or PAs). Four home runs? No problem, as that gets you a tie for eighth. A further eight players scored as many as 70 runs, and seven had 60 or more RBIs. Strangely (or strangely not) I have not got a single problem with the position players. (As an oddity, there were two catchers in the league who each had 328 at bats. One was All-Star Ray Haley. The other was Howie Walz, the Bill Bergen of the K-O-M. Howie hit .¡40 with a .¡59 SA. His OB% (.275) almost doubled his BA).

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 134 10 4 1 43 63 5 .256 .304 .349 160 16 5 2 59 54 19 .309 .389 .393 128 14 5 1 42 62 28 .237 .300 .335 84 6 4 0 30 60 10 .202 .243 .337 200 29 7 13 78 97 6 .317 .538 .463 173 17 11 0 40 49 38 .299 .386 .368 150 15 6 2 72 67 11 .270 .346 .379 120 19 3 2 41 28 7 .271 .366 .336 118 19 1 2 53 52 18 .233 .303 .330 170 25 11 7 65 67 18 .260 .433 .373 125 11 8 0 49 64 21 .327 .417 .448 % .900 .680 .706 .556

IP 185 236 130 221

H 140 114 131 190

ER SO 47 122 55 300 36 46 61 173

BB 74 145 24 74

ERA 2.29 2.10 2.49 2.48

BR/9 10.7 10.5 10.9 11.0

The league chose Ananias as a utility player despite the fact that he played all of his games at first. Fox played all of his in the outfield. The eight starters on this team hit .27¡, slugged .358, and had a .37¡ OB%. They scored 503 runs and drove in 405 with 2¡ homers. This was not — repeat, not — a hitters league. I did not have either Buck or Najjar (is this the only player in O.B. history to have a double J in his name?) on my sta›. Instead, I had two Independence pitchers, Harland Co›man and Lou Michels. Michels was ¡8–¡0 with a 2.¡0 ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9. Co›man was ¡8–5, led the league with a ¡.94 ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9. Pierro struck out ¡¡.4 batters per 9 IP and allowed an incredibly low 4.3 H/9 innings.

250

Minor League All-Star Teams

Longhorn League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT SP SP

Name Arden McCaskey Lupo Gonzalez Leon Brinkopf Clyde Perry Frank Stasey Roberto Fernandez George Caloia Morris Cowser Ken Peacock Stuart Williams Gerald Fahr Fransisco Perez

Team Vernon Vernon Odessa Midland Big Spring Big Spring Del Rio Vernon Sweetwater Ballinger

G 130 139 129 126 110 136 135 121 138 121

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

35 36

28 25

27 20

7 1

21 21

8 7

.724 .750

252 234

210 223

55 90

192 186

58 100

1.96 3.46

9.9 12.5

Vernon Big Spring

AB 510 500 497 450 404 586 538 463 551 465

H 181 126 168 113 157 203 192 154 176 172

R 89 68 122 84 100 112 98 77 116 100

Stasey was a playing manager. “Cotton” McCaskey outhit James Prince, Midland first baseman, by eight points (.355–.347), but the Midland mauler outslugged him by 80 points (.574–.494) and got on base more often (.466 OB%). He hit ¡8 homers, had ¡¡8 RBIs and scored ¡¡6 runs. At second, Jesse McClain (who played for Big Spring and San Angelo) hit .263, and slugged.390. He stole 37 bases, had 88 RBIs and scored ¡29 runs. He just brings more stu› to the table than does Gonzalez. Odessa outfielder Wilfred Rheingans lost out to Caloia because he hit .306 to Caloia’s .357. They were much closer in SA and OB% (.458 and .454 for Wilfred). However, Rheingans had 82 RBIs and scored

TB 252 162 266 144 232 285 249 224 324 230

2B 31 19 30 18 38 41 12 34 36 28

3B 8 7 10 5 5 10 18 12 5 9

HR 8 1 16 1 9 7 3 4 34 4

RBI 114 55 114 57 102 113 68 75 162 71

BB 54 67 88 80 56 28 62 43 80 40

SB 10 6 15 5 5 24 36 9 6 35

BA .355 .252 .338 .251 .389 .346 .357 .333 .319 .370

SLG OB% .494 .417 .324 .342 .535 .444 .320 .370 .574 .468 .486 .379 .463 .425 .484 .399 .588 .413 .495 .423

a league-best ¡34 runs. He should be among the spirits of the flyhawks patrolling the forgotten fields of west central Texas. Peacock played second, third, and short, Williams first and outfield. Now, that’s what utility men are for; to cover the field. Sweetwater’s William Gann was 20–7 for a team that finished twelve games under .500 and played .389 ball when he was not the pitcher of record. He also only walked ¡.¡ batters every nine innings, a Longhorn record, en route to a league-best 9.7 BR/9 ratio. I also had Ed Jacome on my sta›. The Vernon Duster was 22–¡0 with a 2.70 ERA and a good ¡0.3 BR/9 ratio.

Mountain States League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT SP SP SP SP SP SP

Name Jacob Stirn Alberto Costa Ned Cooper Clarence Peace Robert Grose George Si›t Sam Hancock William Halstead Ralph Painter James Grigg No selection made

Richard Clark Brenton Mays Porter Witt Frank Wilson Walter Wenclewicz Charles McGee

Team Morristown Morristown Pennington Gap Harlan Pennington Gap Newport Jenkins Pennington Gap Harlan Morristown

Newport Jenkins Morristown Harlan Harlan Pennington Gap

G 110 108 113 79 97 102 47 92 110 103 G 33 34 26 31 27 27

AB 432 393 444 301 383 357 174 344 430 377

GS — — — — — —

H 139 115 117 104 112 110 58 97 107 117

CG 24 14 23 18 20 11

Whaley and Grigg were playing managers. At third, the selectors just couldn’t decide between Peace and Cooper. I beg to di›er, because I thought that Bill Doyle of Hazard was the best the league had to o›er. Let’s start in the field: Doyle fielded .953,

R 85 96 83 59 77 86 33 68 62 69 SH 1 0 0 2 2 0

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 228 35 9 12 101 75 10 .322 .528 .425 143 13 6 1 44 128 21 .293 .364 .471 164 21 10 2 85 77 6 .264 .369 .381 122 11 2 1 27 49 16 .346 .405 .442 140 10 9 0 45 72 13 .292 .366 .407 203 20 20 11 68 93 11 .308 .569 .454 97 16 1 7 38 29 1 .333 .557 .429 158 15 8 10 78 66 7 .282 .459 .403 146 23 2 4 51 46 14 .249 .340 .323 146 19 2 2 60 51 24 .310 .387 .400 W L % IP 20 9 .690 247 14 7 .667 197 15 9 .625 216 15 12 .556 199 13 9 .591 216 10 12 .455 169

H 181 182 222 173 191 216

ER 75 89 81 67 80 88

SO BB 185 136 157 127 127 79 119 73 133 89 72 88

ERA 2.73 4.07 3.38 3.03 3.33 4.69

BR/9 11.6 14.1 12.5 11.1 11.7 16.2

Peace, .896, and Cooper, .88¡. That right there is just about enough, but I’ll go on. Doyle hit .3¡¡ with 86 runs and 83 RBIs. The two I’d’ve chosen would have been Doyle and Peace. There were four outfielders selected. Where is

¡948

251

age. Reeder was ¡7–5 (.773) with a 2.20 ERA and a 9.98 BR/9 ratio. Hmm, let’s see. The selectees had a choice between a ¡7–5/ 2.2/ ¡0.0 pitcher or a ¡0–¡2/ 4.69/ ¡6.2 one, and chose the latter. On the other hand, they did choose Brenton Mays of Jenkins, which played .3¡0 ball (and only .228 when Mays was not the pitcher of record). Mays was responsible for 40% of the Cavaliers victories. Good call, voters.

Cecil Whaley, the .382-hitting, 542-slugging Newport Canner, who also just happened to have a .480 OB%? Where is Eduardo DeHogues, who hit .325 with 9¡ RBIs and ¡09 runs for Morristown? Why, their places were taken by the 47-game-playing Hancock and the .249-hitting Painter, of course. Well, not on my watch. Six pitchers. Six, and no Dennis Reeder. He just had the best ERA and BR/9 ratio in league, and who also just happened to have the best wining percent-

North Carolina State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Art. George Edwards Charles Rhaese Edward Walczak John Brooks Harrington Otis Stephens Ross Morrow Cecil Lawing Thomas Hackett Wilmer “Red” Lane John Lybrand Owen Linn

SP SP SP SP

William Miller Frank Smith Charles Cudd James Hopper

Team G Statesville 66 Statesville 103 Mooresville 110 Mooresville 109 Hickory 111 Mooresville 96 Statesville 72 Hickory 111 Mooresville 97 H. Point-Thomasville 110 Hickory 112

Statesville Statesville Concord Mooresville

G 30 44 29 35

GS — — — —

CG 12 12 19 19

AB 246 369 426 463 405 382 272 420 335 454 436

SH 2 2 0 2

H 86 80 138 136 133 128 74 117 81 140 144

R 47 39 64 88 106 70 54 46 50 87 107

TB 111 103 220 182 259 206 121 172 111 196 250

W L % 13 5 .722 20 5 .800 12 10 .545 12 15 .444

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 15 2 2 34 46 4 .350 .451 .454 12 4 1 38 26 1 .217 .279 .272 23 1 19 78 41 2 .324 .516 .389 25 3 5 45 30 20 .294 .393 .339 22 4 32 105 79 2 .328 .640 .441 16 1 20 107 39 5 .335 .539 .398 13 11 4 51 40 27 .272 .445 .375 26 7 5 65 13 2 .279 .410 .305 13 1 5 32 40 1 .242 .331 .330 30 1 8 68 37 6 .308 .432 .366 31 9 19 80 63 17 .330 .573 .416 IP 181 220 191 225

H ER 135 58 210 87 236 88 257 113

SO 249 149 70 99

BB 139 70 52 88

ERA 2.88 3.56 4.15 4.52

BR/9 13.9 11.6 13.8 13.9

H. Point is High Point.

This was basically a league without a first baseman worthy of the name. I mean, even the guys that hit .360 were poor choices because they produced shortstop style Power & Production numbers. Mooresville’s Charles Knight was the guy who hit .360, but he only had 35 RBIs (!) and his SA was a surprisingly low .463 (how many .360 hitters come to mind with SAs that low since the end of the Dead Ball Era?). Actually, I’d go for Thomasville manager Jim Gruzdis despite his only playing 45 of his 92 games at first. Gruzdis hit .388 and had a manly .579 OB%, along with a terrific .500 OB%. He had 9¡ runs and 8¡ RBIs on the season. Raise a ruckus over Rhaese, folks. A .2¡7–.279– .272 All-Star? An OB% lower than his SA? That’s some weird and wacky stu› there. I went with Lexington’s Henry Hampton. He hit .374 and slugged .558 (but his OB% was only .40¡, and that just doesn’t match up with his BA). Hampton had 83 RBIs and scored ¡0¡ runs. Look, Hampton had an absurd 565 (!) point advantage over Rhaese in the three percentage tabulations. That is unheard of. It doesn’t get any better at third, where Hal Harrigan of Salisbury was shafted. Hal hit .344. slugged

.673 (second in league), and had an OB% of .426. He tied for the homer lead with 33, drove in ¡02 runs, and scored ¡06 runs, 42 more than Walczak. Climb on board the Iconoclast Express friends, for we are now o› to the land of shortstops, where the Mystery Train disembarks us once again in a land of both shadow and substance. We’ve just crossed over into… The North Carolina State League ¡948 All-Star team. Albemarle’s Robert Deese hit .327, slugged .470, had a .405 OB% and scored 92 runs. You can almost hearing the voters saying “Sorry Bob, that’s just not good enough. After all, Harrington could not crack the .300/ .400/.400 line, and we wouldn’t want him to feel unworthy now, would we?” Okay, let us wrap this folly up. The selected infield hit .293, slugged .4¡0, had a .357 OB%, smashed 27 homers, drove in a mighty ¡95 runs (almost 50 a man!) and scored 238 runs. My Gruzdis/Hampton/ Harrigan/Deese quartet hit .357, slugged .569, had a .429 OB%, popped 59 homers, drove in 325 runs and scored 390 (not bad totals for a ¡¡0 game season). If you want to try and explain this situation to yourself, go ahead, but I don’t see any explanation overcom-

252

Minor League All-Star Teams

ing the 295 point advantage my four guys have over the league’s four in the BA/SA/OB% figures. And you know what? It doesn’t get much better in the outfield. I had four gardeners picked. One, John Lisk of Salisbury (.339/.573/.4¡9 with 2¡ homers and ¡02 runs), we’ll leave out of this tale so as to concentrate on the immutable three. Might I begin by presenting Mooresville manager Norman Small. Norman hit .357, led the league with a .680 SA, and had a .435 OB%. He had 33 homers, was second with 32 doubles, scored ¡03 runs, and led the league with ¡30 RBIs. The outfield as selected: .3¡6, .553, and .409. The outfield with Small in place of Lawing: .34¡, .622, .426. ’Nu› said. Lybrand played third, catcher, and outfield, Linn only outfield.

The best pitcher in the league was the Hi-Toms Alf Jarlett. He was 27–4 with a 2.84 ERA and only allowed 9.5 BR/9. (He also hit a rousing .368 with a .509 SA). Plaskie McCree of Lexington actually led in ERA (2.82) and BR/9 ratio (9.4¡ to Jarlett’s 9.47), as well as having the best control (¡.9 BB/9 IP) and strike-out to walk ratio (a terrific 4 to ¡). He was only ¡0–6 though, and the figures were so close that I don’t feel that I wronged Plaskie by calling Jarlett the top pitcher in the N.C.S.L. The voters picked four pitchers. My four are Jarlett, McCree, Miller, and Smith. And as an aside, pitcher Dewey Hoyt of Mooresville was a mediocre 6–4, 4.50 on the mound, but he hit .537 and slugged .780 in his (limited total of ) 4¡ at-bats.

Ohio-Indiana League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP SP

Name John Pulcini Frank Major William Ford Joseph Eshoo George Staller Raymond Burns Carl Raucher Bob Nieman Rudy Antonetz Dan Mathews Robert Huddleston Carl Hosler

Ray Hathaway Lawrence Miller Nicholas Alivojvodic Ray Trava Joe Greco

Team Zanesville Portsmouth Muncie Newark Portsmouth Springfield Lima Muncie Zanesville Springfield Lima Springfield

G 138 140 138 95 140 139 129 138 96 123 132 140

Zanesville Muncie Marion Muncie Springfield

G 35 32 37 37 32

AB 502 538 536 332 489 514 463 507 378 418 520 517 GS — — — — —

H 154 136 168 95 163 170 141 186 122 118 159 150 CG 22 15 25 14 15

R 108 97 103 67 122 102 96 117 88 61 144 133

TB 200 187 228 144 250 259 192 318 174 160 214 228

SH 5 0 1 1 3

W L % IP 23 7 .767 246 16 7 .696 179 20 13 .606 257 15 9 .625 215 13 9 .591 205

This was the stolen base league of ¡948. ¡287 sacks were swiped, 2.3 a game. Fifty (!) players stole at least ten bases, and twenty four stole at least 20. You could have put together a starting eight that stole 276 bases, 35 a man. Staller and Hathaway were playing managers. You will notice that Pulcini stole a very unfirstbasemanlike 4¡ bases. Joseph Sutton, Muncie second baseman, out-hit Major .283–.253, out-slugged him .389–.348, and had a .385 OB% to Major’s .333. He scored ¡04 runs and stole 67 bases. The choice seems quite clear (from 56 years away). The league selection at third is even odder. Zanesville’s David Myers hit .320, slugged .499, had a .438 OB%, had 36 steals, drove in ¡¡3 runs and scored ¡33. He also fielded .95¡ to Ford’s .874. He out-hit, out-slugged, and out-fielded Ford, and all that he has to show for it is a paragraph in this book.

2B 20 33 28 19 38 45 25 45 16 17 32 32

3B 10 9 13 9 5 7 7 9 6 8 1 8

HR RBI BB 2 82 124 0 76 63 2 69 85 4 72 92 13 98 105 10 124 105 4 87 119 23 131 99 8 71 52 3 61 62 7 83 121 10 94 121

SB 41 26 12 9 33 10 10 23 20 8 23 27

BA .307 .253 .313 .286 .333 .331 .305 .367 .323 .282 .306 .290

H ER SO BB 237 77 188 45 158 63 135 65 231 108 255 150 210 89 207 112 181 98 193 156

SLG OB% .398 .447 .348 .333 .425 .410 .434 .442 .511 .452 .504 .447 .415 .448 .627 .471 .460 .409 .383 .379 .412 .439 .441 .427 ERA 2.82 3.17 3.78 3.73 4.30

BR/9 10.3 11.2 13.3 13.5 15.1

By the way, he and his brother Richard combined for 256 runs, 243 walks, 58 steals, and a .432 OB%. Sorry, I don’t know if they were twins. The beat goes on at short, where Lima’s John Frisina hit .332 and scored 86 runs. That is not the big deal though, as it was not hitting but fielding which decided this one. Eshoo (Gesundheit!) had a 4.6 TC/G ratio, not good for a number six. Frisina got to 5.5, almost a full chance better. Over an entire season, that is significant. (Well, at least it is so to me.) The utility players were only half so. Huddleston played second and outfield, but Hosler was a first baseman. I believe that I would have had Nieman as a utility man, as he split his season right down the middle, catcher-outfield. On the hill, I would have named John Davis of Portsmouth over Greco. Davis went ¡9–7 and al-

¡948 lowed ¡2.2 BR/9, almost three fewer than Greco. I also had a reliever, Richard McEvoy of Newark. He

253

worked ¡25 innings in 55 games and went 8–¡¡, 3.3¡.

Sooner State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Cromer Smotherman Albert Billingsley Thomas Marino Robert Hyatt Howard Martin Howard Weeks Jerrell Creekmore Vernard Hoscheit Charley Hopkins Frisco Roberts

Team McAlester McAlester Lawton Pauls Valley McAlester Lawton Seminole McAlester Ada Duncan

G 105 138 113 134 138 138 132 123 129 134

AB 377 577 393 515 517 429 507 355 506 511

H 131 190 115 155 156 128 153 119 136 142

R 85 113 78 122 116 120 120 96 81 96

G

GS

CG

SH

SP Victor Stryska Chickasha 59 SP Kenneth Skidmore Seminole 34

30 27

24 18

1 4

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 192 22 9 7 87 53 41 .347 .509 .437 224 18 8 0 59 60 31 .329 .388 .394 169 27 9 3 64 106 17 .293 .430 .456 261 28 12 18 100 66 17 .301 .507 .391 263 26 12 19 122 84 74 .302 .509 .403 191 25 4 10 113 171 10 .298 .445 .515 211 20 13 4 68 98 24 .302 .416 .415 191 27 9 9 64 71 30 .335 .538 .455 199 26 2 11 100 66 35 .269 .393 .363 206 34 6 6 100 81 4 .278 .403 .385

W

L

%

IP

H

24 14 .632 300 290 20 9 .690 220 205

ER

BB

ERA

BR/9

91 184 91 70 100 119

SO

2.73 2.86

11.8 13.8

Roberts played a little third, but he was primarily a shortstop. Fifteen pitchers hit at least ten batters, and twenty one walked at least a hundred, including eight who walked ¡50 or more. Charlie Yount of McAlester was ¡7–¡ (an incredible .944 winning percentage) and led the league with a 2.¡¡ ERA. He was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.4, so that probably explains why he wasn’t named to the squad. Harold Morris, also of McAlester, was an almost equally incredible ¡9–2 (.905), and led the league with an ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio. His ERA was 2.87, so that probably explains why he wasn’t named to the squad. The Rocket teammates went an amazing 36–3 (.923), the second best duo of which I am aware. The rest of the Rocket sta› went 55–44, .555.

Another stolen base league! Who’da thunk it? Just as in the Ohio-Indiana League, 2.3 bases were stolen each game, on average. 5¡ players stole at least ten, one more than in the I-O-L, and 23 stole at least 20, one fewer. On average, ¡2.4 runs were scored in each game, and ¡¡.7 walks were issued. Hoscheit was a playing manager. You will notice that Cromer Smotherman (a name that rolls o› the tongue like fine brandy) stole a very unfirstbasemanlike 4¡ bases (just as did Pulcini in the old Ohio-Indiana). It should be noted that third baseman Marino fielded only .863. I think the league should have gone whole hog and named three catchers, the third being Albert Blackaby of Chickasha. He hit .264, a skosh under Hopkins, but had a .4¡8 OB% (he walked ¡¡2 times, a heck of a lot for a catcher). He scored 76 runs and drove in 83.

Tobacco State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Mangini Edward Hardisky Curtis Lowry Robert Keane Orville Nesselrode William Benton Thomas Clayton Bruce Hedrick Virgil Payne

UT

Andrew Scrobola

Team Red Springs Wilmington Clinton Sanford Sanford Wilmington Red Springs Sanford SmithfieldSelma Warsaw

G 139 138 138 127 141 137 37 129

AB 583 544 522 495 549 555 118 454

H 176 146 141 150 199 195 29 131

R 127 131 93 98 119 120 21 61

131 505 152 123 463 142

G

GS

CG

SH

SP John Cheshire Wilmington 38 SP John McFadden Sanford 34

— —

24 22

3 5

TB 280 190 193 180 334 313 58 189

2B 38 24 28 19 46 37 7 19

3B 24 4 6 4 4 15 2 3

HR 6 4 4 1 27 17 6 11

75 196 84 195

21 29

10 6

1 4

W

L

%

IP

RBI BB 113 51 54 103 81 90 58 64 159 103 123 77 28 25 99 46 71 73

51 56

SB 44 29 12 13 17 19 1 1

BA .302 .268 .270 .303 .362 .351 .246 .289

10 .301 16 .307

SLG OB% .480 .359 .349 .392 .370 .380 .364 .385 .608 .464 .564 .433 .492 .390 .416 .357 .388 .421

.373 .391

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

19 11 .633 268 208 20 9 .690 241 221

70 81

258 187

150 61

2.35 3.02

12.5 10.6

254

Minor League All-Star Teams ing Clayton over Wilson is, I am not sure I even want to know. A very good pitcher was passed over, Aaron Osofsky of Smithfield-Selma. He went 24–5 (leaguebest .828 winning percentage) with 208 strike-outs, a 2.76 ERA, and an ¡¡.6 BR/9 ratio. He seems to me to have had a better season than McFadden. (Osofsky won 33% of his teams games, and the Leafs were a .450 team without him. McFadden won 25% of his teams games, and they played .56¡ without him.) One final Tobacco State note: Claude Weaver, another Leaf pitcher, was 6–0 in short service. He had a ¡.57 ERA and only gave up just four free passes, a sterling 0.8 per 9 IP. To carry a point made above a bit further, without the e›orts of Osofsky and Weaver, the Leafs were a lowly .4¡7 team.

Payne was a playing manager. Part-time manager and full-time first baseman Marvin Lorenz of Clinton hit .333 with a .393 OB%. He scored ¡27 runs and drove in ¡03. He also hit 42 doubles. Mangini had it over him in steals (yet another very unfirstbasemanlike 44), but in everything else they were so equal that I could not choose between them. I had to double and triple check to make sure that Clayton was indeed selected as an All-Star outfielder. The guy was only in 37 games. He only had ¡¡8 atbats. He only hit .246. Overlooked in the rush to name Clayton to the team was James Wilson of Sanford. He only hit .350 (and broke his own league record of 205 hits with a 2¡2 total) and led the league with ¡45 runs (the second-most in league history). He also stole 49 bases. What the story is behind select-

Virginia League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Vernon Shetler Paul Badgett Arthur Jacobs Paul Varner Morris “Smut” Aderholt John Zontini Joseph Pendleton William Horne Gordon Knisely No selection made

SP SP RP

Albert Te›t George Blair Cecil Hutson

Blackstone Petersburg Su›olk

Team Franklin Blackstone Franklin Petersburg Emporia Franklin Emporia Emporia Franklin

G 24 42 70

GS — — —

G 126 127 142 134 130 141 118 130 80

CG 18 28 8

AB 462 470 543 515 470 492 489 456 291

H 167 160 153 184 185 145 156 111 93

SH 6 4 1

Shetler, Varner, and Aderholt were playing managers. This is the only league of ¡948 where my choices and those of scribal attribution coincide exactly. Huzzah! It was not a bad team either—.323 BA, .5¡7

R 105 106 147 115 134 129 106 49 35

W 20 23 23

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 289 37 11 21 150 97 6 .361 .626 .475 269 28 6 23 119 82 3 .340 .572 .447 207 26 8 4 80 99 22 .282 .381 .403 271 46 7 9 106 79 26 .357 .526 .448 334 42 7 31 147 107 70 .394 .711 .507 267 27 7 27 102 127 40 .295 .543 .447 232 17 7 15 74 51 39 .319 .474 .390 166 18 8 7 74 53 10 .243 .364 .326 130 27 5 0 55 29 1 .320 .447 .393

L 1 12 8

% .952 .657 .742

IP 184 260 247

H 141 226 232

ER 32 86 78

SO 113 212 138

BB 63 100 80

ERA 1.57 2.98 2.84

BR/9 10.0 11.5 11.6

SA, .423 OB%, ¡37 homers, 270 steals, 926 runs, and 907 RBIs. Nope, not bad at all. Please note that the perspicacious selectors chose a reliever. Re that, 70 games was a huge total in the ¡940s.

Western Carolina League (D) There was some serious strokin’ being done out in the Western Carolina league in ’48. An average of ¡3.9 runs was scored in each game, with Lincolnton and Newton-Conover scoring 8.3 RPG each (Hendersonville gave up 8.¡). The tenth place batter hit .344, and thirty three qualifiers hit over .300. Newton-Conover slugged .520 as a team, and hit ¡93 home runs in their ¡¡0 game season (that’s a pace that would have resulted in 263 over a ¡50 games, by the way). Ferrell, Yount, and McGimsey were playing managers, McGimsey for part of the season. Given the hitting in this league, why they went for a .27¡ batter at first is a mystery, the first of many

in this wild and wacky league. Newton-Conover first baseman Don Sta›ord hit .388, slugged .624 (only good enough for sixth!), and had a .455 OB%. He hit 23 homers and, in ¡00 games, scored ¡¡5 runs and drove in ¡09. Au revoir, McKee. At second, my selection was Lincolnton’s Bill Hu›stetler. He hit .365, slugged .566, and got on base 42.¡ percent of the time. He scored 84 runs and drove in 89. Over at third, Robert Caldwell of Lincolnton has a case. He hit .3¡8, slugged .523, and had ¡36 RBIs and ¡¡4 runs in ¡¡0 games. Featherstone had more power, but he also fielded .876.

¡948 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP SP

Name Rogers Hornsby McKee Harold Holt Robert Featherstone Harry Hendershot Wesley Ferrell Leonard Morrison Carl Schardt Edwin Yount Fred Parnell Belus Smawley Forest Ray Yow

Ray Lindsay Boger McGimsey Myron Bourdette William Haynes Leland Jaynes

Team Shelby Marion Lenoir Henderson/N.-Con. Marion Shelby Lenoir Newton-Conover Morganton Forest City Marion

Newton-Conover Morganton Shelby Forest City Morganton

G 36 21 26 44 34

GS — — — — —

G 93 67 90 92 104 106 104 107 88 67 82

AB 343 273 329 328 381 380 430 402 343 257 313

CG 23 13 11 19 12

The shortstop situation is more of the same, but this one is a real “Tex” Avery jaw-dropper. Yet another Lincolntonian, this time Junior Dodgin, hit .367, slugged .633, and had a .462 OB%, a cumulative 338 (!) point advantage over Hendershot, the league choice. In ¡04 games, Dodgin scored ¡35 runs. He also had ¡8 triples, stole 39 bases, and drove in 92 runs. Let us take a moment to recap. McKee over Sta›ord? Hendershot over Dodgin? Schardt over Waldrop? Perhaps in the Rod Serling League, but not here. A case could be made for Holt over Hu›stetler, but it would be a losing one. Caldwell is a much closer choice over Featherstone, getting a narrow nod because of the latter’s .876 fielding. The infield, as scriven by the scribes, hit .292, slugged .507, and had an OB% of .396. The foursome scored 267 runs and drove in 259 (in the 342 games they played). A Sta›ord/Hu›stetler/Caldwell/Dodgin infield would have hit .364, slugged .585, and had an OB% of .424. In the 404 games in which they played, they scored 448 runs and drove in 426. And, as a third option, if you wish to keep Featherstone because of his power and despite his fielding, the resultant numbers are: .357 BA, a huge .6¡4 SA, and a good .437 OB%. In 384 games, this quartette scores 406 runs and has 37¡ RBIs. Decisions, decisions… In the outfield, I went with Ned Waldrop of Forest City over Schardt. The Owl flyhawk hit .343 with

H 93 100 97 82 162 120 149 169 118 87 94

SH 2 3 1 4 2

255 R 76 54 72 65 99 99 81 139 83 67 79

TB 152 140 209 145 292 211 194 342 216 124 160

2B 22 20 14 9 30 21 27 30 19 7 13

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 5 9 68 62 9 .271 .443 .387 7 2 44 17 1 .366 .513 .405 10 26 81 62 3 .295 .635 .413 6 14 66 66 10 .250 .442 .382 14 24 119 70 3 .425 .766 .517 14 14 99 105 8 .316 .555 .469 3 4 55 30 8 .347 .451 .392 7 42 140 90 26 .420 .851 .527 8 21 95 41 7 .344 .630 .417 6 6 47 31 39 .339 .482 .410 10 11 46 48 3 .300 .511 .410

W L % IP 21 9 .700 263 12 6 .667 153 11 10 .524 182 20 12 .625 230 14 10 .583 180

H ER SO 262 122 255 133 47 117 186 93 110 230 94 162 198 85 133

BB 69 57 94 99 57

ERA 4.17 2.76 4.60 3.68 4.25

BR/9 11.5 11.4 14.4 13.0 13.3

a .599 SA and drove in ¡07 runs in his 88 games. He also had ¡7 homers. Please note Ferrell’s .5¡7 OB%. Also take special notice of Yount’s magnificent season: .420, a staggering .85¡ SA, and a Ruthian .527 OB%. Note also that he was a 20–20 man, the only one in the league. His numbers, extrapolated out over ¡50 games/550 at-bats are ¡95 runs, ¡96 RBIs, 56 homers, and 23¡ hits with 468 total bases. Not bad for a home town lad (he was born and died in Newton). Yow played all of his games in the outfield, so I had All-Star pitching selection Boger McGimsey as my second utility man. Boger played first in addition to pitching, and hit .355 with a .557 SA and a .428 OB%. Smawley played first and outfield, and was a star in the (very) early NBA. On the hill, I went with Shelby’s Boyce Stone over Bourdette. Stone was ¡6–9 with a 3.¡9 ERA (second in the league, where 4.8¡ would have gotten you tenth) and allowed ¡¡.9 BR/9, the loops third best mark. In summation, the starting eight as selected hit .339, slug .588, have a .44¡ OB%, score 685 runs and drive in 672 in 763 games, and hit ¡35 homers. By some judicious tweaking it is possible to come up with an octet that hits .367, slugs .655, and has a .455 OB%. In this group’s 789 games, they scored 8¡2 runs and drove in 836 with ¡69 homers. That, I judge, is some powerful walloping.

Wisconsin State League (D) Collins was a playing manager. Wisconsin Rapids outfielder Eugene Thomas led the league with a .360 BA and a .696 SA. He had an OB% of .444, and scored 97 runs and drove in ¡03 in just 96 games. He was second with 27 home runs.

The selection of Huwer over Thomas for a spot on the Wisconsin State wonder squad is wondrous strange. Catching selection Fischer would have made a good utility man, had there been one, as he also played outfield.

256 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Frederick Collins Lou Heinberger Robert Kurtz Ralph Loschen Walter Moryn Charles Huwer Earl “Jug” Girard James Schymanski Arnold Fischer No selection made

Lowell Grosskopf William Fisher Edward Lubanski William Allen Dean Wall

Team Fond du Lac Oshkosh Wausau Sheboygan Sheboygan Green Bay Green Bay Wis. Rapids Green Bay

Sheboygan Wis. Rapids Wausau Sheboygan Janesville

G 33 19 40 30 21

G 119 120 126 106 124 123 63 108 91

AB 391 468 483 412 452 494 252 367 275

GS — — — — —

H 122 156 164 138 153 166 78 98 98

CG 16 16 18 14 6

R 103 102 115 88 138 110 62 63 77

SH 3 2 1 1 0

TB 245 213 253 176 234 267 111 120 155

W 23 14 23 18 5

2B 21 38 29 18 23 20 19 9 12

L 5 3 8 4 9

3B 3 5 15 7 11 15 4 5 6

% .821 .824 .742 .818 .357

HR 32 3 10 2 12 17 2 1 11

IP 210 147 218 174 113

RBI BB 115 123 101 61 132 76 99 45 123 117 121 72 42 47 60 43 70 75

SB 15 19 10 11 23 7 9 7 39

BA .312 .333 .340 .335 .338 .336 .310 .267 .356

H ER SO BB 134 79 236 177 131 43 118 47 242 105 122 144 151 82 161 122 97 41 110 83

SLG OB% .627 .482 .455 .415 .524 .433 .427 .407 .518 .480 .540 .426 .440 .420 .327 .353 .564 .501

ERA 3.39 2.63 4.33 4.24 3.27

BR/9 13.4 10.9 16.0 14.6 14.9

Robert “Crossroads” Johnson. He pitched ¡¡4 innings in 30 games and was 9–3 with an ERA of 3.79.

Ted Shandor was the loop’s ERA leader at 2.625 to Fisher’s 2.633. He went ¡3–4. I would have certainly chosen him over Wall. The league’s best reliever was

! ¡949 ! In ¡949, there were fifty nine leagues in the National Association. All of them selected All-Star Teams.

American Association (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Joe Collins Hank Schenz Froilan “Nanny” Fernandez Clarence “Buddy” Hicks Eric Tipton Bill Howerton Tom Wright Ferrell Anderson No selection made

SP SP

Mel Queen Harvey Haddix

TEAM Kansas City St. Paul S.P./Indianapolis St. Paul St. Paul Columbus Louisville St. Paul

Indianapolis Columbus

G 39 35

GS — —

CG 24 14

G 146 123 153 151 146 148 151 140

AB 530 516 599 530 516 547 549 478

SH 6 4

Although Minneapolis first baseman Jack Harshman was well down on the batting roles with his .270 BA, his OB% was in top-ten range at .4¡6, thanks to ¡22 walks (second highest total in the loop), and his .570 SA was second, as were his 40 home runs. He led the A.A. with ¡2¡ runs and his ¡¡¡ RBIs were tied for fourth. Collins had an okay year, but Jack’s was better. I had Roy Hartsfield of Milwaukee at second. His hitting (.3¡7 BA, .44¡ SA, .387 OB%), though good, was not up to Schenz’s. He had 86 RBIs and scored ¡20 runs, but it is not on the hitting fields where this battle was decided by my reckoning. Hartsfield had a phenomenal 6.8 TC/G ratio. He had 537 assists and

H 169 178 187 142 165 180 202 145

W 22 13

R 104 104 107 84 105 101 91 83

L 9 13

TB 290 271 297 179 263 294 283 220

% .710 .500

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 25 18 20 83 82 6 .319 .547 .410 26 8 17 77 39 30 .345 .525 .394 35 6 21 128 72 13 .312 .496 .387 23 1 4 62 112 5 .268 .338 .398 35 12 13 106 106 11 .320 .510 .438 43 4 21 111 91 3 .329 .537 .426 38 8 9 89 103 7 .368 .515 .473 21 3 16 9 52 1 .303 .460 .380 IP 266 219

H 221 206

ER 76 85

SO 178 177

BB 109 94

ERA 2.57 3.49

BR/9 11.2 12.5

¡045 total chances. This was terrific glove year, and I deemed it outstanding enough to overcome Schenz’s hitting advantage. I could not make a decision at short, and had two on my post-seasonal Roster of Heroes. Hicks was one, and the other was Johnny “Yatcha” Logan. Johnny had .286/.38¡/.379 averages, scored 84 runs and drove in 69. Both shortstops had a 5.4 TC/G ratio. To me, there was not a dime’s worth of di›erence between them. Chuck Workman (Minneapolis) was one of my outfielders. Like Harshman, he had a rather low BA, .29¡, but had a decent OB%, .420. It was in the power department where he proved his worth, however. His

¡949

257

to .503, your homers climb from ¡20 to ¡73, and your RBIs from 665 to 723. I would make the change. (As an aside, St. Paul turned 206 double plays, and the Millers popped 202 home runs.) I would have added Phil Haugstad to the sta›. He was 22–7 with a 2.85 ERA for St. Paul. He would have had a better season, but he walked ¡50 hitters which brought his BR/9 ratio up to ¡4.0. The league also o›ered several relief candidates, the most successful being Royce Lint of Indianapolis. In 48 games and ¡74 innings (he had five CGs), he was ¡4–3 (.824) with a 3.4¡ ERA.

4¡ dingers led the league, as did his .588 SA. His ¡22 RBIs were second and his ¡08 walks were fourth. Johnny Lucadello of Kansas City played second, third, and short, and if the league had chosen a utility player, it probably would have been he. He hit .286 and had a .387 OB%. Now, if you prefer power and production over average, I think that you would go for my changes, especially the manly duo of Harshman and Workman. If you switch them out for Collins and Wright (yes, despite his .368 average), your team BA drops from .32¡ to .305. Your slugging, however, rises from .492

International League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Steve Bilko Pete Pavlick Gene “Mousey” Markland Bobby Morgan Russ Derry Sam Jethroe Ken Wood John Bucha No selection made

Al Widmar Jocko Thompson

TEAM Rochester Jersey City Bu›alo Montreal Rochester Montreal Baltimore Rochester

Baltimore Toronto

G 42 32

GS 32 16

G 139 132 151 154 148 153 122 114

CG 26 7

AB 503 464 522 567 491 635 446 329

H 156 125 159 191 137 207 126 95

SH 3 3

I had Lamar “Rocky” Bridges at second. He hit .276, slugged .385, scored 77 runs and drove in 73. At third, I had another Royal, Kermit Wahl. He hit .286, slugged .448, and had an OB% of .383. (I must interject here that the reason I had Wahl instead of Markland, who had an excellent year, is because “Mousey” split his time almost evenly between third and second, and I selected him as a utility man.) As an aside, the selected infielders hit .307, slugged .50¡, and had an OB% of .427. They scored 42¡ runs and drove in 379. One could come reasonably close to those figures by just selecting the Montreal infield of Chuck Connors, Bridges, Wahl, and Morgan. They hit .306, slugged .466, had a .403 OB%, scored 356 runs and drove in 376. The totals are all, of course, skewed by Markland’s terrific numbers. I had two catchers, the other being short-timer

R 101 69 142 109 120 154 79 47

W 22 14

L 15 5

TB 300 164 278 288 290 330 247 144

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 32 5 34 125 84 1 .310 .596 .410 12 3 7 52 72 20 .269 .353 .368 36 4 25 90 155 12 .305 .533 .470 38 1 19 112 111 10 .337 .508 .446 19 4 42 122 134 6 .279 .591 .439 34 19 17 83 79 89 .326 .520 .403 21 2 32 98 44 0 .283 .554 .350 19 3 8 47 61 2 .289 .438 .402

% .595 .737

IP 294 145

H 245 111

ER 99 44

SO 173 121

BB 98 63

ERA 3.03 2.73

BR/9 10.6 11.0

Wes Westrum of Jersey City. He was in but 5¡ games with only ¡69 ABs, but had 59 RBIs, twelve more than Bucha did in twice the number of at-bats. Wes hit .308, had a .438 OB%, and, thanks to ¡5 homers, slugged a very good .657. Wes was on pace for at least 40 home runs, a terrific number for a catcher. Please take special note of Jethroe’s ¡54 runs (in ¡53 games) and 89 steals. He stole more than every other team did except Jersey City. Emory “Bubba” Church was ¡5–8 for Toronto. He led the league in ERA at 2.35, and allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9. Mention should also be made of Dan Bankhead of Montreal. His season was undermined by his wildness (he walked ¡70 batters, 6.¡ per 9 IP), yet he was 20–6 and led the league with ¡74 Ks. He allowed 6.9 H/9 IP, but his walks brought his total BR/9 ratio up to ¡3.2. He also hit .323 with 26 RBIs.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) An eerie foreshadowing of today’s game took place in the ’49 P.C.L., where, in ¡260 games, only 287 triples were hit, .4 a game. Only one player, Al White, reached double figures in three-baggers, and he barely made it with ¡0. Despite a ¡88 game season, only twelve players had as many as six triples. Luke Easter only played 80 games for San Diego

(74 of them at first), and only accrued 273 at-bats. Yet, he had more RBIs than Stevens (92), and hit more than twice as many homeruns, 25. Big Luke is my first baseman all the way. He hit .363, had a .460 OB%, and slugged a stratospheric .722. I had a tie for the catching spot, and Raimondi was not one of the two involved. D.C. Moore (Sacra-

258

Minor League All-Star Teams

POS 1B 2B 3B SS

NAME Chuck Stevens Gene Handley Jim Baxes Art Wilson

OF OF OF C

Clarence Maddern Irv Noren Max West Bill Raimondi

UT

No selection made

SP SP

Ken Holcombe Roy Helser

TEAM Hollywood Hollywood Hollywood San Diego/ Oakland Los Angeles Hollywood San Diego Oakland/ Sacramento

Sacramento Portland

G 36 35

G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI 183 679 202 121 283 41 4 10 82 181 520 153 84 188 22 5 1 45 184 641 184 102 297 33 4 24 123 165 129 180 189

611 495 678 619

207 129 248 19 152 69 225 25 224 134 363 40 180 166 369 41

133 429 114

GS — —

CG 19 19

SH 4 2

mento/San Diego) hit .3¡¡, slugged .462, had ¡¡ home runs and drove in 54 runs. Don Padgett (Oakland) hit .292, slugged .432, had ¡2 home runs, and drove in 79 runs. I do not understand the selection of the .30¡-slugging, 33-RBI having Raimondi. I had Sacramento’s Joe Marty in the outfield instead of Maddern. Marty hit .327 and slugged .505, had an OB% of .393, and drove in ¡¡2 runs. The outfield improves in every hitting aspect with the substitution of Marty for Maddern. No utility man was selected by the league, but I had one: Johnny Ostrowski of Los Angeles. He hit .3¡8, slugged .577, hit 32 homers, and had 90 RBIs

49 129 13

W 19 16

L 10 10

% .655 .615

9 3 6 2

BB 77 59 92

SB BA SA OB% 12 .297 .417 .374 13 .294 .362 .368 10 .287 .463 .379

0 37 62 47 .339 .406 14 83 41 1 .307 .455 29 130 71 10 .330 .535 48 109 201 4 .291 .596

1

0

IP 249 223

H 200 208

33

54

ER 79 73

4 .266 .301

SO 128 125

BB 108 77

ERA 2.86 2.95

.401 .362 .398 .466 .348

BR/9 11.2 11.7

while splitting time between the outfield and third base. Please take special note of West’s 20¡ walks. On the hill Willie “The Knuck” Ramsdell led the league in ERA (2.60) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.7), and we all know what that means. He went ¡8–¡2 for Hollywood. Jesse Flores of San Diego was 2¡–¡0, 3.03, the lowest ERA of the league’s five twenty game winners, and his ¡¡.5 BR/9 ratio was also the lowest. Dick Conger of Sacramento was the league’s #¡ reliever. He pitched 65 innings in 40 games, and was 5–3 with a 2.9¡ ERA.

Southern Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

NAME H. “Tookie” Gilbert Dave Williams Fred Hatfield Russ Rose Bob Borkowski Norman Koney George Shuba Carl Sawatski No selection made

Bill MacDonald Pete Mallory Jim Davis

TEAM Nashville Atlanta Birmingham Mobile Nashville Birmingham Mobile Nashville

G 154 138 154 153 140 141 113 128

G 31 32 27

GS — — —

New Orleans Nashville Birmingham

AB 589 513 597 567 471 581 369 431 CG 17 19 9

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 197 146 335 23 8 33 122 90 1 .334 .569 .424 149 92 190 21 7 2 62 78 27 .290 .370 .387 156 98 278 21 13 25 101 57 6 .261 .466 .327 136 98 181 26 2 5 40 71 12 .240 .319 .332 177 83 248 34 5 9 78 58 1 .376 .527 .444 194 111 245 24 9 3 62 50 22 .334 .422 .391 121 96 223 16 1 28 77 92 7 .328 .604 .480 155 86 325 33 1 45 153 85 3 .360 .754 .469 SH 3 2 3

Now, I’d be the first to admit that the veranda-sitting, julep-sipping scribes of the Association made a terrible hash of the outfield, and I defer to no man in declaring that I could have done a better job. The selected trio hits .346, slugs .504, has a .434 OB%, and scored 290 runs with 2¡7 RBIs while slapping 40 home runs. My outfield would replace Borkowski with Herbert “Babe” Barna and Koney with Halbert Simpson. Barna, who played for Nashville, hit .34¡, had a .475 OB%, and, thanks to 42 homers, slugged .659. He

W 16 20 11

L 9 4 7

% .640 .833 .611

IP 223 220 154

H 211 237 176

ER 78 95 69

SO 76 110 74

BB 98 66 58

ERA 3.15 3.89 4.03

BR/9 12.6 12.7 14.0

scored ¡32 runs and drove in ¡38. Little Rock’s Simpson hit .345, slugged .625, and had an OB% of .42¡. He popped 28 homers, scored ¡02 runs and drove in ¡06. My Shuba/Barna/Simpson trio hits .339 (a skosh lower), slugs an impressive .632 (a huge improvement) and has a .458 OB% (at least quite good, and maybe crossing the line to very good-dom). They scored 330 runs and drove in 32¡, way beyond the league-al numbers, and to top it o›, bopped 98 homers, 33 a man compared to the puny ¡3 of the o‡cial (regional pronunciation note: long “O,” slight

¡949

259

short, where he played 49 games, the total climbs to 223. That is one power-packed line-up.) Johnny Klippstein of Mobile was ¡5–8 with a 2.95 ERA. Unfortunately, his ¡2¡ walks elevated his BR/9 ratio to ¡3.7. Hugh Mulcahy of Memphis was ¡4–¡¡ with a 3.05 ERA, and had the league’s best BR/9 figure, ¡¡.9. Earl Caldwell, Birmingham’s’ 44 year old reliever, was a baron of the bullpen. He pitched 87 innings in 4¡ games and was 8–5 with a 2.59 ERA.

pause before the final “fishul”) threesome. (Did you know that o‡cial can also be spelled oughghitil?) No utility man was selected, but Rocco “Rocky” Krsnich of Memphis would have made a good one. He played all of the infield positions, hit .3¡8, slugged .527, hit 20 homers, scored 90 runs and drove in 9¡. (By the way, even with Williams’s two and Rose’s five homers, the starting eight (with my outfield changes) hits 208 home runs. If you stick Krsnich at

Texas League (AA) POS NAME

TEAM

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Oklahoma City Houston Dallas Fort Worth Oklahoma City Dallas Tulsa Oklahoma City

SP SP

Herb Conyers Solly Hemus Bill Serena A. “Chico” Carrasquel Milt Nielson Ben Guintini Russell Burns Ray Murray No selection made

Joe Landrum Albert Olsen

Fort Worth Oklahoma City

G AB

G 37 25

147 109 151 128 151 129 154 123

GS 31 20

603 384 491 445 587 490 580 430

CG 17 15

H 214 126 138 140 194 150 197 137

SH 3 0

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB 101 79 102 63 139 109 125 65

W 19 14

300 188 258 189 306 284 323 237

L 11 7

52 5 26 9 28 4 13 9 40 12 32 3 39 2 44 4

% .633 .667

IP 267 178

8 6 28 6 16 32 27 16

H 233 206

134 60 55 82 110 141 69 53 107 103 95 70 153 95 94 43

ER 75 72

SO 121 2

2 8 5 7 6 1 1 0

BA .355 .328 .281 .315 .330 .306 .340 .319

BB 75 63

SA OB% .498 .490 .525 .425 .521 .580 .557 .551

.413 .457 .448 .391 .435 .401 .443 .383

ERA 2.53 3.64

BR/9 10.4 13.8

while hitting 26 homers and driving in 78 runs. His BA was a low .258, but he slugged an even .500. Carl Erskine was ¡0–4 with four shut-outs in his ¡5 games and led the league with a 2.07 ERA. He allowed ¡¡.¡ BR/9 and struck out ¡¡3 men in ¡22 innings. Hank Wyse of Shreveport went ¡8–8, sported a 2.80 ERA, and was second in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.9 mark. Carmine Melignano of the 42 games under .500 Beaumont Exporters managed a ¡0–¡3 record with an ERA of 3.02. The league named no relief pitcher, but Carroll Beringer of Fort Worth was the main man. In 48 games (one start) and 94 innings, he was 6–4 with a 2.87 ERA.

It’s hard to argue against Conyers, but check out a guy who did not make the cut. Dallas Eagle Jerry Witte hit a mediocre .273, and his OB% was .380. But, and this is the important part, he led the league in slugging on the strength of his 50 — that’s right, fifty — home runs, and his ¡4¡ RBIs were second. He scored ¡09 runs, and I think he deserves to be at least a co-first baseman. John Lane of Tulsa deserves mention at second. He hit .303 with ¡34 runs, but Hemus cannot be ousted from the spot. No utility man was selected, but San Antonio’s Dick Lenhardt played first, third, and the outfield

Central League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Ev “Sheri› ” Robinson Bob Ankrum Oscar Khedarian Clem Koshorek Stuart Locklin Bill Higdon Conrad Juelke Donald Moore No selection made

Charles Sipple Joe Nuxhall

TEAM Grand Rapids Dayton Saginaw Flint Dayton Muskegon Muskegon Saginaw

G 127 132 133 139 138 122 130 119

G 31 28

CG 15 14

Dayton Charleston

GS — —

AB 525 475 518 567 544 469 490 423

H 154 124 148 155 169 155 153 125

SH 2 0

Never a strong hitter’s league, the ¡949 edition of the Central proved to be no exception. Only seven

W 19 8

R 91 71 90 84 88 82 90 53

L 8 10

TB 244 165 224 202 265 227 223 173

2B 29 20 22 20 39 21 27 31

% .704 .444

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 5 17 76 77 7 .293 .465 .385 6 1 59 70 2 .261 .347 .357 12 10 69 58 4 .286 .432 .361 9 3 48 55 39 .273 .356 .340 12 11 98 44 5 .311 .487 .365 12 9 63 53 6 .330 .484 .401 8 9 71 41 0 .312 .455 .374 4 3 54 50 1 .296 .409 .371

IP 229 186

H 216 148

ER 71 69

SO 173 139

BB 65 151

ERA 2.79 3.34

BR/9 11.2 14.7

qualifiers hit over .300, only twelve players scored as many as 80 runs, only eleven had as many as 70 RBIs,

260

Minor League All-Star Teams the season totals of three other teams as only ten players had as many as ten steals, no one else stole as many as ¡8, and only .8 steals a game were recorded in the league. Ernie Funk led the league with a 2.¡3 ERA and with a ¡0.35 BR/9 ratio (which just beat out another unchosen pitcher, Jose Santiago about whom more below). Perhaps his ¡2–¡0 recorded militated against him. Santiago of Dayton had a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.4¡, and was also second in ERA at 2.60. He also struck out 233 batters in 2¡¡ innings while compiling a ¡6–¡2 record. His fellow Dayton chucker, Leroy Wheat, was ¡7–9, 2.77 (fifth) and ¡¡.0 (third). These three unselected pitchers would have three of my four man sta›, the other, of course, being Sipple.

and only seven walked as many as 70 times. Eleven homers would have gotten you a tie for tenth, and only six batters hit as many as thirty doubles. Only two players reached .400 in OB%, and none reached .500 in slugging. Given this paucity of power, I disagree with the selection at first. Ron Bowen of Saginaw hit .292 and led the league with a .490 SA, 25 home runs, and ¡23 RBIs. Ed Krage, Grand Rapids outfielder, led the loop with a .4¡7 OB% and his .468 SA was fourth. He hit .305, scored 83 runs, his 92 RBIs were third, and his 89 walks topped the Central. I think that, given the state of hitting in the league, that these two players would have had an inordinate impact on the squad. By the way, Koshorek’s 39 steals were more than

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Henry Ertman Bill Reed Herschel Held Frank Staucet Ted DelGuerico Harry Simpson Gus Bell Frank Baldwin No selection made

TEAM Hartford Hartford Albany Albany Scranton Wilkes-Barre Albany Hartford

G 135 144 128 140 125 139 134 109

AB 496 461 398 540 496 522 535 372

H 160 156 123 134 157 159 174 102

R 84 79 107 110 104 125 100 45

TB 257 208 206 191 244 311 263 150

2B 21 35 28 28 33 27 27 22

3B HR RBI BB 5 22 106 61 4 3 54 57 5 15 82 151 7 5 54 111 13 8 79 55 16 31 120 77 13 12 85 56 4 6 61 43

SB 12 11 4 11 4 5 5 0

BA .323 .338 .309 .248 .317 .305 .325 .274

SA OB% .518 .398 .451 .413 .518 .503 .354 .378 .492 .387 .596 .401 .492 .392 .403 .351

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Orie Arntzen Albany 33 25 22 1 25 2 .926 216 208 67 98 41 2.79 10.5 SP Edward “Whitey” Ford Binghamton 26 29 14 2 16 5 .762 168 118 30 151 54 1.61 9.4

thanks to ¡20 walks. He scored 89 runs and drove in 96. I believe that I would have chosen him over DelGuerico. Please note Held’s .503 OB%.

Not much to say about this team, I would just have changed one outfield spot. Even the pitching selections were right on. Robert DiPietro of Scranton hit .30¡, slugged .455 and was second in OB% with a good.453 mark,

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Earl York Cal Ermer Fred Postolese Roy Peterson Lou Colombo Bill Benton Bill Lutes Ray Cash No selection made

Robert Spicer Ivan Johannes

TEAM Macon/Columbia Savannah Greenville Macon Columbus Savannah Jacksonville Macon

G 155 153 128 153 128 149 140 120

AB 585 612 491 539 450 526 527 403

H 155 141 149 146 127 137 165 122

G 33 25

CG 20 16

SH 5 3

W 20 11

Macon Columbia

GS — —

I was going to have Postolese as a utility man (he played second, third, and outfield), which would have made my third baseman George Wright of Savannah.

R 81 84 90 79 73 90 71 79

L 6 11

TB 233 208 210 235 184 232 229 205

2B 26 28 17 31 21 29 37 26

% .769 .500

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 8 12 90 65 6 .265 .398 .344 6 9 60 61 3 .230 .340 .303 16 4 60 52 10 .303 .428 .374 11 12 100 84 16 .271 .436 .371 3 10 83 79 0 .282 .409 .393 12 14 77 68 13 .260 .441 .349 3 7 88 67 7 .313 .435 .392 0 19 82 54 0 .303 .509 .392

IP 231 181

H 201 148

ER 70 53

SO 119 97

BB 77 84

ERA 2.73 2.64

BR/9 10.9 11.6

He hit .270 and scored 73 runs, but then I found another utility player and saw that the team was much stronger with Postolese instead of Wright at third.

¡949 My outfield was Lutes, Gene Faszholz of Columbus, and Maynard DeWitt of Greenville. Faszholz hit .300 and led the league with a .4¡4 OB% (the only league hitter over .400). He led in runs (¡09), hits (¡79) and walks (¡¡6). DeWitt hit .299 and was third in OB% at .392 (actually, .39¡79, two hundred thousandths better than Cash’s .39¡77). He scored 9¡ runs and his 48 steals were 27 more than the runner up. Now, nothing is going to make this a good hitting outfield (relative to an abstract “Good Hitting’, and not to the ’49 Sally). The selected outfield hits .285, slugs .429, and has a .377 OB%. It scores 234 runs and has 248 RBIs. A Lutes/Faszholz/DeWitt outfield improves to .304, falls to a .380 SA, and climbs to .400 in the OB% department. It scores more runs (269) and has more RBIs (255). Not surprisingly, I choose to stick with my guys. At the non-selected utility spot, in place of Postolese (who was needed elsewhere), I propose Augusta’s Glen Crawford. He played second, third, and outfield, hit .28¡, was sixth in OB% with a .39¡ mark, and scored 85 runs, good for seventh in the league.

261

The choice of Johannes was a surprisingly good one. It is very unusual for scribes to recognize a good performance on a poor team, and Columbia was just that, finishing last, 36 games out and 34 games under .500. My kudos to the voters. There was an abundance of good pitching in the SALLY this season. Savannah’s Sandy Silverstein was only ¡4–¡¡, but he obviously labored under some bad luck as he led the league with a 2.¡0 ERA and was second with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.2. His Indians teammate, Al Burch, was not as good but much more favored of the Baseball Gods, running up a 20–6 record with a (still good) 2.47 ERA and an ¡¡.0 BR/9 figure. Mike Clarke of Columbus was ¡8–8, 2.44 (second) and allowed ¡0.5 BR/9 (third). The best pitcher (in a league of many good pitchers, with fifteen qualifiers coming in under 3.00) of them all, however, was Macon’s Jim Atchley. He went 207 with a 2.32 ERA and allowed only 8.7 BR/9, one of the very few marks under 9 on the year.

Western League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Lou Limmer Joe Torpey Stan Jok Bob Stewart Rocco Ippolito Bob Jaderland Vic Marasco Walter Linden No selection made

Ernie Johnson Ken Lehman

TEAM Lincoln Pueblo Sioux City Lincoln Lincoln Denver Pueblo Denver

Denver Pueblo

G 20 39

G 135 115 127 137 137 132 129 121

GS — —

AB 483 480 423 585 503 533 512 452

CG 18 19

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 152 100 275 20 8 29 105 112 8 .315 .569 .448 141 92 265 19 1 1 48 72 11 .294 .552 .388 129 93 221 19 2 23 81 80 24 .305 .522 .426 138 108 212 30 4 12 69 73 20 .236 .362 .325 156 111 245 25 2 20 110 99 11 .310 .487 .425 151 93 212 25 18 0 49 81 21 .283 .398 .380 169 89 296 37 21 16 121 51 12 .330 .578 .397 147 81 227 25 11 1 95 55 2 .325 .502 .401

SH 4 2

W 15 16

Yet another well chosen team, I would only add two utility players and a couple of pitchers. Pueblo’s Jim Williams played third and the outfield, hitting .287 in the process. He had 8¡ RBIs and led the league in steals with 42 and runs with ¡26. Les Peden of Des Moines played outfield and caught, and he hit .3¡2. He slugged .527, fourth in

L 5 12

% .750 .571

IP 167 244

H 138 256

ER 44 121

SO 134 203

BB 51 150

ERA 2.37 4.46

BR/9 10.5 15.0

the league, and had a .399 OB%. He popped 22 homers and drove in ¡02 runs. George “Little Bull” Uhle led in ERA with a 2.25 mark and was ¡0–5 in his 22 games. Lou Ciola of Omaha was in 5¡ games and pitched ¡7¡ innings, compiling an ¡¡–¡0 record. His ERA was 2.79 and he allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9.

Big State League (B) Archie was a playing manager. Another first baseman/manager, Les Goldstein, had at least as good a year as Archie. He hit .350, slugged .5¡6, and had a good .458 OB%. He also had ¡30 RBIs, 55 more than Archie. That’s production, the Prime Directive of all first basemen. McNair had an outstanding 6.4 TC/G ratio.

Campbell’s was an equally outstanding 6.3, and he had 532 assists. Despite Campbell’s fielding, I think that another player deserves mention, Texarkana’s Robert Hyatt. He hit .305, slugged .484, and had an OB% of .386. He hit 20 homers, and both scored and drove in 98 runs. I had four outfielders on my squad, the fourth

262 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME George Archie Gerald McNair Cecil McClung Fred Campbell Frank Carswell Dean Sta›ord Emery Hresko Frank Saucier No selection made

TEAM Texarkana Wichita Falls Wichita Falls Austin Texarkana Sherman-Denison Austin Wichita Falls

G 121 99 148 146 146 148 138 96

AB 477 383 560 565 594 597 520 316

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 165 96 255 25 4 19 75 58 11 .346 .535 .420 106 55 150 16 2 8 54 38 2 .277 .392 .345 155 121 214 33 1 8 106 106 5 .277 .382 .398 166 73 202 23 5 3 84 34 22 .294 .358 .339 229 115 348 42 7 21 145 71 11 .386 .586 .458 209 98 320 30 9 21 135 45 2 .350 .536 .398 183 110 284 38 6 17 112 57 3 .352 .546 .427 141 75 206 33 4 8 74 35 12 .446 .652 .507

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Bill Pierro Waco 36 — 21 2 18 11 .621 255 199 84 275 126 2.96 12.0 SP Agapito Mayor Sherman-Denison 36 — 21 2 19 10 .655 248 242 83 128 69 3.01 11.3

of stealth mod, the LT¡0 category). Allen Lawrence (Austin) hit .353, scored 93 runs, and drove in ¡¡2. Please note Saucier’s .446 BA and .507 OB%. Sherman-Denison pitcher John Whitehead was ¡3–8 with a league-leading 2.73 ERA and also led in fewest BR/9 with a mark of ¡¡.298, just beating out Mayor’s ¡¡.323. He walked only ¡.4 batters every 9 IP. Elwood Moore of Austin was 20–¡¡ with a 3.¡0 ERA and a ¡2.4 BR/9 ratio. Jodie Phipps of Texarkana was ¡6–7, 3.¡0, and ¡2.¡.

being Albert McCarty of Wichita Falls. The Spudder flyhawk only hit .305, but he managed a .507 SA with an accompanying .429 OB%. He had a league-high 48 doubles, tied for ninth with ¡8 homers, led the Big State in runs with ¡32, and was fourth with ¡27 RBIs. There was no utility selection, but there was a utility man in the wings, waiting for the call which never came. He played first, third, and outfield (at least — he played elsewhere in the dreaded pre–¡960 version

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

NAME Leo “Muscle” Shoals Mike Hafenecker Don Siegert Walter “Teapot” Frye Carl Linhart Dick Sipek William Brown Q. P. “Hugh” Taylor No selection made

Pete Angell Mike Forline Adam Twarkins

TEAM Reidsville Burlington Raleigh Winston-Salem Durham Reidsville Danville Danville

Danville Reidsville Durham

G 37 40 35

GS — — —

G 144 114 144 141 142 143 136 130

CG 22 23 25

AB 501 444 497 537 508 567 552 432

H 180 136 145 142 158 182 199 135

SH 5 5 3

Fred Vaughn, who managed part of his season at Greensboro, was my shortstop choice. He hit .289, but rang up a good-for-a-middle-infielder .520 SA. He bopped 22 home runs, drove in 85 runs, and scored 96. I had Siegert, who played third and outfield as my utility man, and my third baseman was George Lebedz of Winston-Salem. He hit .272 with a .373 OB% and scored ¡02 runs. My outfield was Emil Showfety of Greensboro, pennant-winning manager Woody Fair of Danville, and Linhart. Showfety hit .347, slugged .600, had a .4¡0 OB%, and drove in ¡20 runs powered by 35 homers. Fair hit .325, slugged .620, had an OB% of .405, and drove in ¡¡7 runs thanks to his 38 homers.

R 131 65 106 105 108 100 126 67

W 20 19 22

L 9 9 9

TB 365 191 261 192 273 264 316 188

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 18 1 55 137 116 0 .359 .729 .485 21 3 6 82 44 3 .306 .430 .369 30 1 22 102 118 14 .292 .525 .429 32 6 2 57 77 7 .264 .358 .361 28 9 23 144 103 15 .311 .537 .437 34 3 14 71 62 10 .321 .466 .390 45 9 18 98 49 6 .361 .572 .417 32 0 7 72 83 4 .313 .435 .423

% .690 .679 .710

IP 244 270 252

H 225 243 209

ER 88 70 58

SO 131 198 240

BB 106 72 81

ERA 3.25 2.33 2.07

BR/9 12.6 10.5 10.5

The scribe-selected outfield hit .33¡, slugged .524, had a .409 OB%, scored 334 runs, drove in 3¡3, and swatted 55 homers. My version hit .328, slugged .586, had a .4¡4 OB%, scored 303 runs, drove in 38¡ runs and powered a much more mighty 96 homers. The line up as is hit ¡47 home runs. Put Vaughn in at second, substitute Showfety and Fair, and the total becomes a much more impressive 208. I would keep the three selected pitchers and add two more: Eddie Neville of Durham and Lee Peterson of Winston-Salem. Neville was 25–¡0 with a 2.59 ERA and a ¡0.6 BR/9 ratio. Peterson went ¡9–¡0 with a 2.22 ERA and allowed ¡0.6 BR/9. (The actual BR/9 totals are: Twarkins, ¡0.500; Forline, ¡0.533; Peterson, ¡0.574; and Neville ¡0.609.)

¡949

263

Colonial League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

NAME Leo Eastham George Handy Joseph O’Connell Carlos Santiago James Callahan Carlos Bernier Joe Koproski Don Perlmutter Roger LaFrance No selection made

TEAM Waterbury Bridgeport Bristol Stamford Stamford Bristol Stamford Kingston Bristol

G 104 126 122 111 125 120 116 103 115

AB 324 529 485 395 487 444 386 388 382

H 113 183 138 116 164 149 128 128 105

R 106 115 73 65 104 136 94 64 62

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 213 16 3 26 81 116 31 .349 .657 .522 283 22 6 22 104 53 25 .346 .535 .409 209 30 4 11 91 36 11 .285 .431 .337 149 13 4 4 50 44 7 .294 .377 .369 265 31 2 22 107 64 13 .337 .544 .417 229 25 5 15 56 107 89 .336 .516 .468 208 31 5 13 95 101 4 .332 .539 .471 160 12 7 2 34 56 26 .330 .412 .418 126 17 2 0 40 55 4 .275 .330 .368

G GS CG SH W SP Edward Hrabcsak Stamford 35 SP Hamilton Graham Bridgeport/K’gston 30 SP Joe Linsky Bridgeport 25

27 20 24

20 8 16

Eastham managed the Timers and O’Connell managed the Owls. No disputes whatever with the position players, but what the heck was in the voter’s tea when they picked the pitchers? Guatemalan Insanity Peppers? Banana Peels? Miniature Hawaiian Wood Rose Seeds? Luis Cabrara pitched in only ¡4 games for Bris-

L

%

IP

H ER

1 19 7 .731 226 188 0 9 11 .450 171 165 1 13 8 .619 176 175

SO

BB ERA BR/9

89 234 102 75 111 80 65 97 80

3.54 3.95 3.32

12.1 13.2 13.2

tol, but the dude went ¡¡–¡ with a ¡.4¡ ERA. Is that not better than a 9–¡¡, 3.95 season? Phil Frick of Bridgeport was ¡9–7, just like Hrabcsak, but with subtle di›erences, like, say, a 2.68 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.6. And what of Emil Moscowitz, victim of the BPC (Best Pitchers Curse)? All he did was go ¡9–5 and lead all qualifiers in ERA at 2.0¡ and in BR/9 allowed with a ¡0.8 figure.

Florida International League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

NAME Benny Fernandez August Rosa Gil Torres Manuel Hidalgo Bryan Howell Charles Rotzell Dick Haviland Michael Conroy Stan Andrews No selection made

TEAM Tampa Miami Havana Havana Lakeland Miami Beach Miami Miami Beach West Palm Beach

G 140 128 133 146 149 139 149 114 116

AB 538 488 496 568 582 512 573 448 379

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 146 57 200 34 4 4 77 55 2 .271 .372 .339 174 88 206 26 3 0 47 54 24 .357 .422 .423 146 65 192 22 6 4 82 51 20 .294 .387 .365 177 102 251 28 5 12 95 36 8 .312 .442 .356 188 80 258 33 8 7 90 46 3 .323 .443 .374 161 92 250 26 6 17 77 76 13 .314 .488 .403 165 71 211 23 7 3 93 42 28 .288 .368 .338 161 92 180 11 4 0 44 61 34 .359 .402 .442 114 30 138 24 0 0 55 25 0 .301 .364 .358

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Connie Marrero Havana 35 — 26 11 25 8 .758 258 175 44 91 58 1.53 8.2 SP Joe Murray West Palm Beach 37 — 23 0 15 14 .517 270 269 94 119 87 3.13 12.1

I had Edmund Lewinski of Miami Beach at first. He hit .29¡, 20 points up on Fernandez. He slugged .45¡, fourth in the league and 79 points up on Fernandez. His OB% was a nothing special .386, it was 26 points higher than Fernandez’s. His ¡6 homers were third (only eight batters reached double figures); his 90 RBIs were tied for fifth. As an old college professor of mine used to say, “Any discussion, comments, questions?” At second, I had Carlos DeSouza of Tampa, mostly because Rosa was a good utility choice, playing third and short as well as second. DeSouza hit .276, stole 55 bases, and led the league with ¡¡6 runs. He also handled ¡0¡2 chances, including 529 assists, a tremendous 6.6 TC/G. Torres at third was also a utility player, appear-

ing at first, second, short, and pitcher (he was 2–5) as well as at third. My third base choice was Fort Lauderdale’s manager Chuck Aleno. He hit .303, was fourth with a .4¡4 OB%, and led the league by a wide margin with a .529 SA (he was the only hitter over .500). He had 88 RBIs and 3¡ homers. I also had two di›erent outfielders, Art Rebel of Fort Lauderdale and Antonio Zardon of Havana. Rebel led the league with ¡¡5 RBIs and hit .288. Zardon hit only .276, but he scored ¡09 runs, stole 33 bases, and led all outfielders with 428 POs. At catcher, I chose St. Pete manager Henry Sullivan. He hit .298, and his .453 SA and .44¡ OB% were both top-ten marks. He scored 53 runs and matched Andrews’ 55 RBIs.

264

Minor League All-Star Teams of Tampa, who was a nondescript ¡¡–9 but posted a terrific ¡.46 ERA. They overlooked Havana’s Rogelio Martinez who was ¡9–9 with a ¡.86 ERA and who had a 9.5 BR/9 ratio, good enough to lead most leagues most years (but not to overcome Marrero’s fantastic 8.2 figure). About a half a dozen other pitchers also had years better Murray’s (who had 0% of the 94 shut-outs thrown in the Fla-Int in ’49). (By the way, Covington did make the Florida State League All-Star team, going ¡¡–2 with a ¡.7¡ ERA there. For the year, he was 22–¡¡ with a ¡.56 ERA, 26 CGs and ¡85 strike-outs. He also hit .299.)

This was a pitchers league. 94 shut-outs were thrown, ¡4 qualifying pitchers had ERAs under 3.00. The league “slugged” .332, and only 8.5 runs were scored per game. I was able to piece together most of Havana’s season (missing four wins and 20 runs surrendered), and what I came up with was a 2.69 ERA, 8.2 H/9 IP, 3 BB/9 IP, and ¡¡.¡ BR/9. That is some good pitching — and they did it on guile, not power (the number ten strike-out total for batters was only 47, and only six hurlers had ¡00 Ks). And yet the scribes chose to overlook, among others, Robert Swanson of Tampa. Bob was ¡8–¡0 with a 2.24 ERA. They overlooked Chet Covington, also

Interstate League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Harvey Zernia Doug Hansen Peyton “Ray” Rambin Harry Malmberg Jim Lemon Tom Wescott Bill Ripkin Larry Cia›one Ed Oswald No selection made

John Brittin Bob Hoch

TEAM Allentown Harrisburg Trenton Harrisburg Harrisburg Allentown Lancaster Allentown Wilmington

Wilmington Allentown

G 33 21

GS — —

G 129 137 138 140 138 140 119 117 131

AB 484 526 542 541 507 521 484 452 416

CG 24 11

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 158 95 210 26 8 4 95 71 1 .326 .434 .416 127 82 194 32 1 11 66 65 11 .241 .369 .329 157 100 272 24 17 19 97 48 2 .290 .502 .352 149 81 194 31 7 0 46 70 5 .275 .359 .368 144 93 261 24 6 27 101 76 5 .284 .515 .379 152 88 231 31 9 10 85 71 17 .292 .443 .377 151 89 212 30 5 7 54 47 20 .312 .438 .374 148 79 244 33 9 15 96 34 8 .327 .540 .381 106 56 150 17 6 5 53 53 1 .255 .361 .347

SH 2 2

W 21 11

Second baseman Hansen had a very good 6.4 TC/G ratio. I would insert Trenton’s Maurice Cunningham in the outfield in the place of Ripkin. Cunningham hit only .29¡, but his .5¡0 SA was third and his .430 OB% was second in the Inter-State. He scored 88 runs and drove in ¡0¡, tied for first with Lemon. I would likewise insert Wilmington’s Joe “Thesaurus” Tesauro in place of Wescott. Joe hit .3¡5, scored ¡03 runs, and led the loop with ¡¡9 walks and a .449 OB%. Gee, with a four-man outfield,

L 7 2

% .750 .846

IP 240 132

H 209 112

ER 78 29

SO 156 75

BB 98 32

ERA 2.93 1.98

BR/9 11.6 9.8

one would have thought that these two would be in the mix. I’d’ve added Nelson King to the sta›. Nellie was ¡6–¡5 for a sub-.500 team with a 2.25 ERA and a ¡¡.3 BR/9 figure. I also would have included Hagerstown Owls Ace Eugene Major, who had to get along with decidedly minor aid from his fielders (last) or his hitters (next to last in scoring). He was ¡2–¡6 for the 40-games-under-.500 Owls, and had a decent 2.7¡ ERA. Oh yes—when he was not the pitcher of record, the Owls hooted rather weakly, playing just .336 ball.

New England League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME George Crowe Joseph Mayer Walter Derucki Gordon “Billy” Hunter James “Dusty” Rhodes Norman Postolese Bob Montag Raymond Fletcher No selection made

William Jankowski Ralph Albers

TEAM Pawtucket Portland Portland Nashua Springfield Nashua Pawtucket Pawtucket

G 123 116 120 95 118 117 125 106

AB 466 462 440 362 451 446 454 408

G 20 33

GS — —

CG 14 13

Portland Pawtucket

H R TB 165 89 252 126 67 155 122 77 185 85 39 109 131 81 199 125 66 165 192 139 327 111 56 149 SH 1 3

W 13 14

L 4 6

2B 29 19 21 15 20 17 36 18 % .765 .700

3B HR RBI BB 11 12 106 75 2 2 46 66 9 8 79 71 3 1 44 15 9 10 82 65 10 1 61 43 18 21 91 116 4 4 61 22 IP 141 204

H 104 180

ER 62 63

SB 13 2 16 11 13 26 43 4 SO 84 129

BA .354 .273 .277 .235 .290 .280 .423 .272

SA OB% .541 .451 .335 .367 .420 .386 .301 .265 .441 .383 .370 .349 .720 .543 .365 .317

BB 87 98

ERA 3.96 2.78

BR/9 12.4 12.4

¡949 First, let me point out what a completely dominating season Montag had: .423, .720, .543. He led the league in doubles, triples, homers, hits, runs, total bases, walks, steals, and was third in RBIs. He set All-Time N.E.L. records in BA, SA, OB%, hits, runs, TBs, and walks. Truly, it was a year for the ages. At second, my pick was Bob Heavern of Pawtucket. The Slater keystoner hit .277, slugged .348, and had an OB% of .34¡. He scored 59 runs and had 50 RBIs in ¡¡5 fewer PAs than Mayer. In his defense, Mayer did have 6.0 TC/G to Heavern’s 5.6. Hunter was a poor hitter with limited range afield (3.5 TC/G). I went with Portland manager/shortstop Lamar “Skeeter” Newsome. His .284/.365/.380 averages were 228 points higher in total than were Hunter’s. His 37 year-old legs got to 4.¡ TC/G, over half a chance more a game than the 2¡ year-old Hunter. Outfielder Charles Hood of Portland hit .307,

265

slugged .496 (third in the league), and had a .386 OB%. His ¡4 homers were tied for second, his ¡03 RBIs were second, and his 90 runs were third. Postolese was the best fielding outfielder in the league, but Hood’s advantage at bat was just too large. Portland catcher Frank McConvery was at least deserving of a co-catcher spot. His .274/.342/.370 averages reveal a small slugging deficit but a large OB% advantage. He scored 66 runs and had 67 RBIs. My two pitchers were both short-timers, one pitching in ¡7 games and the other in ¡6. The first one, Marion Fricano (who was called up to the Class A Western League and went ¡0–2), was ¡¡–3 with a ¡.48 ERA and allowed ¡0.9 BR/9. The other, Don Liddle (who moved up to the Class AA Eastern League and went 8–5), was ¡¡–2 with a ¡.80 ERA and struck out ¡02 batters in ¡05 innings. Bill Norwood of Pawtucket was the league’s premier reliever. He appeared in 35 games, went 9–4, and had an ERA of 3.40.

Piedmont League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C OF UT

SP SP

NAME Reggie Otero Howard Phillips Russ Kerns Milt Bolling Ralph Davis Charlie Maxwell Art Metheny Pete Daley Charles Frey No selection made

Angello Nardella Ronnie Lee

TEAM Portsmouth Lynchburg Portsmouth Roanoke Richmond Roanoke Portsmouth Roanoke Lynchburg

Portsmouth Newport News

G 137 137 142 139 101 126 127 121

G 36 40

AB 515 478 523 521 386 475 447 437 463

GS — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 161 70 204 26 4 3 67 54 4 .313 .396 .382 137 76 172 23 6 0 61 106 13 .287 .360 .418 162 111 251 30 7 15 100 83 7 .310 .480 .409 120 70 188 28 2 12 67 70 6 .230 .361 .324 119 48 176 26 8 5 58 29 7 .308 .456 .358 164 104 297 26 10 29 112 78 7 .345 .625 .439 150 76 203 24 1 9 64 91 4 .336 .454 .451 129 76 216 26 5 17 86 52 1 .295 .494 .373 151 101 218 23 8 10 90 86 22 .326 .471 .432

CG 13 14

SH 1 1

Only ten batters reached double figures in home runs, and five of them were from Roanoke. A pretty good team from an undistinguished league, I only had a di›erent shortstop and added a pitcher. The shortstop was Dick Klaus of Richmond. He was a far better hitter than was Bolling, with av-

W 20 13

L 7 9

% .741 .591

IP 193 210

H 167 164

ER 70 56

SO 117 108

BB 79 102

ERA 3.26 2.40

BR/9 11.8 11.7

erages of .280, .378, and .4¡2. He scored 89 runs and fielded .960 to Bolling’s .932. Portsmouth starboardsider Joe Baker was ¡6–9 with a 3.20 ERA. Just as with the hitting, there were no mind-blowing performances in the ol’ Piedmont in ’49.

Southeastern League (B) Maupin was a playing manager. Tayoan only played 32 games at third (rather poorly, I might add, fielding .922), and, since he also played second and short, I had him as a utility player. Of course, the league did not select one such, so you may wish to leave him ensconced at third. In his place, I had David Dick of Jackson, a much poorer hitter, but a third baseman to the core. He hit .255 and had an OB% of .344. He scored 6¡ runs and drove in 68.

At short, I had Edward Zabek, also of Jackson. His numbers (.255, .333, and .332 with 5¡ RBIs and 89 runs) were not up Maupin’s, but Maupin fielded .9¡5 and go to a quotidian 4.7 TC/G. Zabek fielded .940 and reached 5 TC/G. In the outfield, I had Nesbit “Neb” Wilson of Pensacola instead of Kosan. Wilson hit .324 with a .499 SA and a .4¡5 OB%, second, fourth, and fifth in the league. He was second in home runs with ¡6, in runs with 93, and in RBIs with 95.

266 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Dallas Womack Jack Hollis John Tayoan Willis “Jack” Maupin John Liptak Ed Kosan Harold Summers Bill Lewis No selection made

Ambrose Palica

TEAM Jackson Pensacola Anniston Meridian Selma Selma Meridian Jackson

Meridian

G 43

G 111 129 115 131 138 134 110 109

GS —

AB 370 473 477 499 484 499 384 399

CG 30

H 117 149 155 137 155 153 132 122

R 62 93 78 95 87 67 77 58

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 194 24 7 13 82 82 3 .316 .524 .445 232 24 7 15 83 63 23 .315 .490 .402 214 36 4 5 48 30 9 .325 .449 .367 188 30 3 5 56 51 50 .275 .377 .350 246 29 13 12 79 85 14 .320 .508 .423 237 50 5 8 86 73 8 .307 .475 .395 210 19 1 19 98 75 4 .344 .547 .452 174 29 4 5 74 43 2 .306 .436 .382

SH 1

W 23

L 10

% .697

IP 285

H 290

ER 87

SO 140

BB 92

ERA 2.75

BR/9 12.1

I would have had a further three pitchers on the roster, two Pensacolites and a Montgomeranian. Joe Ed Kirkland led the league with a fine ¡.62 ERA and garnered a ¡3–3 record. Fellow Flier Ken Deal was 2¡–5 with a 3.54 ERA (a product of his lack of control, as he walked ¡¡8 batters). Joe Chuka was actually, despite Kirkland’s ERA title, the best chucker in the SEL. He was 20–6 (for a team which was eight games under .500 and which played .40¡ ball when the decision went to someone else). His ERA was 2.04, and his 9.6 BR/9 allowed was far better than anyone else was able to accomplish.

The Gadsden Chiefs were, to put it bluntly, horrid. They finished 56 games under .500 at 39–95, .29¡. They were also 56 games out of first and ¡9∂ out of seventh. They were last in hitting (their .235 BA was ¡4 points lower than the next weakest team), last in fielding, and they were out-scored by almost three runs a game over the course of the year, 4.2–7.0. I mention this because I think that, given the circumstances, a Gadsden pitcher deserves All-Star notice. Dale Matthewson was 9–¡2 (the Chiefs played .265 ball when he was not the pitcher of record), he surrendered ¡2.¡ BR/9 (actually, ¡2.¡47 which would have placed him third in that stat), and his 3.70 ERA was not bad, considering who he had hitting and fielding behind him.

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Al Grunwald Herman Rhodes Ford Jordan Harry Hanebrink John Novosel Jim Busby Ed McGhee Melvin Brookey No selection made

Bob Miller Jack Brunner

TEAM Davenport Waterloo Evansville Evansville Springfield Waterloo Waterloo Terre Haute

Terre Haute Waterloo

G 34 21

G 126 126 113 125 107 78 122 109

AB 478 481 453 474 377 333 428 402

H 136 123 134 130 111 106 127 106

R 75 86 76 67 75 62 71 36

GS — —

CG 25 15

SH 2 1

W 19 13

Not a poorly chosen team, I would just change catchers, add an outfielder and a pitcher. Walt “Moose” Moryn of Danville hit .307, slugged .535 (second in the Three-Eye), and had a .400 OB%, which I believe was third. He scored 74 runs and drove in 64 with ¡3 homers, which was tied for third. Emil Tellinger, Quincy catcher (actually, he caught in only 50 of his 99 games, but Brookey is so weak that I felt a change was in order) led the league

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 202 34 7 6 75 60 0 .285 .423 .375 162 19 4 4 59 64 46 .256 .337 .350 189 17 10 6 44 50 15 .296 .417 .368 186 21 7 7 63 45 8 .274 .392 .342 186 22 7 13 71 76 6 .294 .493 .414 143 15 5 4 29 27 23 .318 .429 .373 198 23 6 12 88 50 17 .297 .463 .376 131 16 3 1 51 24 1 .264 .326 .310

L 9 4

% .679 .765

IP 255 170

H 255 115

ER 77 46

SO 207 173

BB 59 99

ERA 2.72 2.44

BR/9 11.3 11.5

with a .322 BA, a .564 SA, and tied for the lead with ¡5 home runs. This was a rare case of a catcher (or, to be honest, a half-the-time catcher) leading a league in hitting. William Koszarek of Terre Haute was ¡4–2 and led the league in winning percentage (.875) and ERA (¡.97). He was the number two man in BR/9 allowed at ¡¡.¡.

¡949

267

Tri-State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME John Streza Sid Zomlefer Harold Harrigan Sigmund “Ziggy” Jasinski Alexander Driskill Robert Knight Jim Fridley Phil Tomkinson No selection made

Suvern Wright Al Aber

TEAM Florence Spartanburg Anderson Knoxville Asheville Knoxville Spartanburg Knoxville

Rock Hill Spartanburg

G 23 36

GS — —

G 134 120 145 145 144 130 135 79

AB 484 417 529 605 539 448 513 253

CG 21 20

H 153 122 153 173 172 161 154 92

SH 3 7

R 87 69 118 111 102 101 90 31

W 15 24

L 8 8

TB 216 191 311 224 238 228 254 135

2B 31 42 23 25 22 27 34 15

% .652 .750

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 4 8 80 32 11 .316 .446 .368 6 5 66 64 1 .293 .458 .388 3 43 121 85 24 .289 .588 .393 10 2 42 31 62 .286 .370 .323 7 10 97 68 21 .319 .442 .399 17 2 75 43 16 .359 .509 .423 12 14 75 33 4 .300 .495 .346 5 6 50 14 5 .364 .534 .404

IP 189 236

H 134 214

ER 39 71

SO 121 142

BB 77 89

ERA 1.86 2.71

BR/9 10.3 11.6

Mel Fisher, was an iron man for the Florence Steelers. He had 25 CGs, threw 35¡ (!) innings, had a 2.77 ERA and was a work-horse 27–¡2 on the year. Tom Kerr of Rock Hill was ¡5–¡0, 2.76 and beat out Suvern Wright for the BR/9 crown with a ¡0.302 ratio to Wright’s ¡0.333.

Bob Churchill, Rock Hill outfielder, hit .360 to lead the league. His .5¡9 SA was second, and his .400 OB% was third. He was only in 97 games, but did drive in 66 runs. The Rock Hill manager, Dick Bouknight, was a co-catcher on my squad. He hit .333 and had 45 RBIs.

Western International League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Larry Barton Gil McDougald Ted Jennings Richard Briskey James Warner Dick Sinovic Edo Vanni Jack Parks No selection made

John Marshall James Propst

TEAM Spokane Victoria Yakima Yakima Wenatchee Salem-Vancouver Yakima Spokane Wenatchee

Bremerton Victoria

G 47 25

GS — —

G 141 140 141 149 138 89 139 127

AB 502 547 539 524 542 351 581 460

H 165 188 167 177 167 129 207 150

R 134 128 108 101 152 78 133 93

CG 28 20

SH 3 4

W 22 17

L 14 6

We are back into the hitting league for a while. An average of ¡2.5 runs was scored in each Western International game in ¡949. Five teams scored at least six runs a game, with Wenatchee on top at 7.3. Six teams gave up at least six runs a game, with Salem at the bottom, allowing 7 RPG. 38 batters hit at least .300, 25 scored at least ¡00 runs, and ¡9 had at least ¡00 RBIs. 3.7 doubles were hit each game, with twenty batters getting at least 30. On the other hand, the tenth best ERA was 4.40, and no fewer than eighteen pitchers walked at least ¡00 men. Despite McDougald’s fine year, my second base choice was Leonard Tran of Vancouver. He hit .330, slugged .480, and had a .439 OB%, 99 RBIs and ¡39 runs. O›ensively, he was close to Gil, but a little behind. Afield, however, he got to 6.0 chances a game compared to McDougald’s 5.5 (with almost the exact

TB 272 285 252 268 344 210 258 279

2B 34 44 26 41 38 21 33 22

% .611 .739

3B HR RBI BB SB BA 5 21 132 122 3 .329 7 13 116 88 12 .344 16 9 114 71 5 .310 10 10 98 86 5 .338 5 43 123 132 36 .308 9 14 104 42 8 .368 9 0 79 79 34 .356 16 25 129 37 12 .326

IP 289 188

H 262 170

ER 105 70

SO 174 192

BB 166 126

SA OB% .542 .463 .521 .437 .468 .394 .511 .441 .635 .449 .598 .441 .444 .438 .607 .379

ERA 3.27 3.35

BR/9 13.7 14.3

same FA). I figured that a half chance more a game was worth eleven batting points, especially since Tran was no slouch at the plate by any measure. At short, Leonard’s brother William Ray Tran was also my choice. He hit .322 to Briskey’s .338 and had a .4¡4 OB%. He did have 74 RBIs and out-scored Briskey with ¡¡7 runs. The clincher, though, was fielding, just as with his brother. He had a TC/G ratio of 5.8 to Briskey’s 5.0, an even bigger advantage than his brother had over McDougald. Here again, the hitting is close enough so that the huge fielding advantage transforms Tran and transposes him over Briskey, at least in my book. (This has to be one of the all-time great years by a brother “DP Combo.” The Capilanos also led the league in DPs with ¡79, due in no small part to the brothers Tran.)

268

Minor League All-Star Teams There was no utility man selected by the scribes, but there was one selected by me, Clinton Cameron of Wenatchee. He hit a big .380, slugged a very good .608, and led the league with an outstanding .488 OB%. He hit 37 doubles and ¡9 homers, scored ¡04 runs and drove in ¡09, while splitting his time between first and the outfield. Overall, the team as selected (minus, of course, the pitchers) hit .334, slugged .536, had a .43¡ OB%, scored 927 runs and drove in 895. A pretty potent o›ense, if you ask me. You will never guess who was left o› of the pitching sta›. Why, it was only the pitcher with the best winning percentage (.875 on a ¡4–2 record), the best ERA (by almost a full run at 2.30) , and who had the only BR/9 ratio under ¡2.0 (a very good 9.6) in the entire league. Give a big howdy to Dewey Soriano of Yakima, the pride of Prince Rupert B.C.

I have always been a big Edo Vanni fan (no, seriously), but he was my fourth outfielder. Ahead of him was Tacoma’s Dick Greco. He hit .335, slugged .6¡6, and had a very good .457 OB%. He also scored ¡23 runs, drove in ¡¡8, and was second with 33 homers. (And by fourth outfielder, I meant that there were four on my All-Star squad, by the way.) The outfielders as selected hit a very good .356, slug a good .55¡, and have a very good .438 OB%. They average ¡2¡ runs, ¡02 RBIs, and ¡9 homers a man. By substituting Greco for Vanni, the numbers change to .333 (not as good, but still more than acceptable), an excellent .6¡9, and a superior .450. They average ¡¡8 runs, ¡¡5 RBIs, and 30 home runs a man, quite a good assemblage. I also had two catchers, the second being Hollis Sheely of Vancouver. He hit .348, slugged .55¡, and had an OB% of .425. He also hit 2¡ homers and had ¡¡7 RBIs, too good a year to be forgotten.

Arizona-Texas League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Nick Sunseri Vinicio Garcia Lou Tamone Mike Baxes Dick Steinhauer Gene Clough Jim Thomas Wilbur Lee Smith No selection made

Edward Graham Memo Luna

TEAM Tucson Juarez El Paso Phoenix Phoenix Bisbee-Douglas Globe-Miami Tucson

Phoenix Juarez

G 37 41

GS — —

G 143 148 149 146 144 148 150 130

AB 608 602 603 608 613 555 612 509

CG 26 11

H 207 227 189 196 212 188 169 152

SH 1 0

The A-Tex was another hitter’s league, only more so. An average of ¡4.¡ runs was scored in each game, 3.7 doubles were hit, and ¡.2 triples. 26 players scored ¡00 runs, ¡8 had ¡00 RBIs, 22 hit at least 30 doubles, 24 had at least ten triples, and twelve walked at least ¡00 times. Juarez and Tucson both had a .398 OB%, and the entire league came in at .380. Bisbee-Douglas was the lowest scoring team at 6.6 RPG, and they gave up 8.3. The Copper Kings also fielded .929 with 420 (!) errors, a cool 2.8 per game. Their third basemen committed 87 errors and fielded .84¡. Second was a hard position to pick, as there were three absolutely outstanding candidates. Garcia (who, by the way, would have over 3000 hits in the minors) you know about. Donald “Jeep” Trower, the Phoenix manager, hit a lowly .3¡7, but he walked ¡27 times and had a .448 OB%. He also scored ¡49 runs in his ¡46 games. Ramon Mendoza, who divided his season between Juarez and hit an equally low .3¡6. His OB% was .4¡4, but he scored ¡46 runs and stole

R 113 170 107 151 122 146 108 100

W 24 12

L 9 6

TB 291 321 254 281 327 365 278 233

2B 33 42 43 39 45 34 42 34

% .727 .667

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 12 9 111 63 5 .340 .479 .408 20 4 88 91 41 .377 .533 .460 8 2 128 70 28 .313 .421 .386 11 8 90 105 15 .322 .462 .424 8 18 151 46 8 .346 .533 .394 16 37 142 125 19 .339 .658 .464 11 15 125 54 4 .276 .454 .339 7 11 88 68 20 .299 .458 .383

IP 262 182

H 246 228

ER 110 98

SO 204 141

BB 173 89

ERA 3.78 4.85

BR/9 14.8 16.2

7¡ bases. Mendoza, however, was the poorest fielder of the three (.944, 4.8). Trower was the best (.967, 6.4), and Garcia was plumb in the middle (.954, 5.6). The correct choice was Garcia, but the other two needed mentioning. My third base pick was Victor Canales of Phoenix, who managed part of the season. He hit .335, slugged .4¡9, and had a .433 OB%. Don’t let that low SA fool you. He hit no home run (no, not one) yet drove in ¡¡2 runs. He also scored ¡27 times. Clough had 29 assists from the outfield. Thomas had 429 POs, but I would replace him anyway, as his hitting is just too low for this league (besides, Clough could play center). My man was Manuel Salvatierra of Juarez. He hit .3¡2, slugged .575, and had a .438 OB%. He also hit 27 homers, scored ¡32 runs, and drove in ¡29. The outfield as selected hit .320, slugged .545, and had a .400 OB% with 376 runs (¡25 a man) and 4¡8 RBIs (¡39 a man). The trio hit 70 home runs. By trad-

¡949

269

pitchers walked at least ¡00 batters, half of the qualifiers, a phenomenal rate. No fewer than seven pitchers walked ¡50 batters or more. The tenth-rated pitcher had an ERA of 4.64, and nine qualifiers were over 5.00. Graham had 24 RBIs, despite hitting only .2¡6. Jose Melendez of El Paso had the lowest ERA of any pitcher who threw at least ¡00 innings, 3.00. His ¡2.4 BR/9 ratio was the only one in the league under ¡3.0. He was ¡8–5. He hit .298 with ¡7 RBIs. He was not selected for the team. Tony Ponce, who hit .336, was 22–6 (league-best .786 winning percentage). His 4.48 ERA was eighth, and his ¡3.7 BR/9 ratio was third. Manuel Morales of Bisbee-Douglas was ¡6–6, fourth in BR/9 allowed at ¡4.2, and had the second lowest ERA of any league hurler with at least ¡00 IP, 3.59. Any of these three was as qualified (or more so) for the All-Star team as the two selectees. Finally, in the “It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good” file, Bob “Mike” Fink of 56–94, last place, 38∂ games behind, Globe-Miami, was ¡0–¡0. Quite an accomplishment, you say? Well, not really. It was more like a miracle. You see, he had an ERA of 6.2¡ (he allowed 9.5 (!) total runs every 9 IP), walked 7.8 batters every nine innings, and he allowed ¡9.4 BR/9.

ing Salvatierra for Thomas, the numbers become .333, .587, and .432, with 400 runs and 422 RBIs (¡33 and ¡4¡ per man), and the homers climb to 82. There were two catchers who hit .299, and they both should have made the squad. Harry Eastwood of Phoenix slugged .440, hit ¡2 homers, scored 96 runs, and had ¡00 RBIs. Seems a pretty even match to me. No utility man was named, and that was unfortunate, as Tucson manager Gene Lillard played third, outfield, catcher, and also pitched. Oh, he also happened to hit .342 with a league-best .662 SA and a wonderful (and also league-best) .5¡2 OB% (he walked ¡54 times). He also scored ¡46 runs (in ¡38 games), was second with 34 home runs, and had ¡26 RBIs. (In case you’re interested, the starting eight as selected hit .327, slugged .499, had a .405 OB%, scored ¡0¡7 runs and had 923 RBIs (¡27 runs and ¡¡5 RBIs per man). With Salvatierra instead of Thomas, the numbers become .332, .5¡3, and .4¡6 with ¡03¡ runs (¡29 per) and 927 RBIs (still ¡¡6). If you take Lillard (pretend that he’s a DH, if you like), the numbers go up again, this time to .333, .527, .428 and with an average of ¡3¡ runs and ¡¡7 RBIs a man.) 26 pitchers in this 6-team league pitched enough innings to qualify for the ERA crown. Thirteen

Border League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Frank Heller Bill Metzig Steve Nemeth Peter Karpuk William Scally Tony Romeo Doug Harvey Bill Kivett No selection made

Walter Balash Bob Gates

TEAM Watertown Ottawa Auburn Ottawa Ogdensburg Geneva Ottawa Ottawa

Ottawa Auburn

G 26 24

GS — —

G 126 129 98 123 127 126 109 94

AB 452 479 373 515 534 460 422 354

CG 21 11

H 156 162 105 171 177 144 148 98

SH 4 0

R 101 90 61 113 94 106 121 65

W 18 13

Heller and Metzig were playing managers. I had Ray Nadel of Watertown at second, because Metzig was my utility choice (he played 60 of his games at first). Nadel hit .276 and scored 92 runs. He also led in FA at .974. I also had league shortstop choice Karpuk as a utility man (he also played second and the outfield). I his place, I selected Nick Peregud of Geneva. Peregud hit .285 and scored 73 runs. I had four outfielders, the three chosen men and Pete Kousagan of Geneva. He played ¡00 games and had 93 RBIs, hitting an even .300. His .560 SA was

TB 232 234 127 240 255 205 237 147

L 8 7

2B 30 25 17 31 27 23 27 14

% .692 .650

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 5 12 101 113 5 .345 .513 .476 16 5 102 82 19 .338 .489 .446 1 1 35 55 3 .282 .340 .378 7 8 61 66 34 .332 .466 .412 12 9 101 55 4 .331 .478 .397 10 6 91 109 41 .313 .446 .448 10 14 109 68 30 .351 .562 .446 7 7 64 61 7 .277 .415 .385

IP 210 150

H 215 154

ER 63 80

SO 70 69

BB 54 113

ERA 2.70 4.80

BR/9 11.7 16.2

second to Harvey, and his 22 homers topped the league. My catcher was Auburn Cayuga Sam “The” Brusa. He hit .270 with a .403 OB% and had 65 RBIs. Gates was an “All-Star” because he was one of two lefties in the league to pitch at least 45 innings (the other portsider was 2–6). As I’ve stated elsewhere, there is no such position as “Left-Handed Pitcher.” Having a league’s fifteenth best pitcher an “All-Star” because of an accident of birth flies in the face of reason. Here are two far, far better pitchers who were ig-

270

Minor League All-Star Teams 4.3 fewer than Gates. Clytis (now, that is a cool name) was ¡3–6 and second with a 2.32 ERA. His BR/9 ratio of ¡0.9 was tops along the Border line, where the wind hits heavy.

nored because of this ancient custom of choosing pitchers by handedness instead of quality. Readers, I give you Bob Sundstrom and Clytis Theriault of the Geneva Robins. Sundstrom went ¡5–5 and led the loop with a 2.29 ERA. He allowed ¡¡.9 BR/9, a mere

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP SP

NAME Norm Zauchin Ed Barbarito Harry Clements Bob Thomson Bill Garbe Jess Pike Thomas Perez Dick Wilson No selection made Earl Escalante Fred Hahn Warren Sandel

TEAM San Jose Ventura Stockton Fresno Fresno Bakersfield Visalia Visalia

G 101 113 135 137 140 139 137 101

AB 377 469 541 514 498 440 511 340

G 42 33 27

GS — — —

CG 29 12 20

Bakersfield Fresno Stockton

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 125 80 215 18 3 22 87 73 9 .332 .570 .452 141 76 191 16 8 6 66 42 18 .301 .407 .358 177 92 235 21 11 5 90 52 1 .327 .434 .394 133 94 240 37 2 22 97 67 7 .259 .467 .344 168 111 276 36 9 18 119 140 45 .337 .554 .484 141 167 284 22 5 37 156 194 14 .320 .645 .537 159 102 256 21 2 24 97 86 8 .311 .501 .416 102 70 206 22 2 26 93 95 22 .300 .606 .455 SH 1 4 1

Bakersfield, which played .6¡2 ball, averaged 6.6 RPG had a .392 OB%. Visalia, which played .330 ball and finished 43∂ games behind Bakersfield, gave up at least 7 RPG. (I am missing three wins, eight losses and perhaps as many as 80 innings in the LT45 group for Bakersfield. The ¡047 innings for which I can account for have an ERA of 5.54, walk 6.3 batters every nine innings, and have a ¡6.7 BR/9 ratio.) My second baseman was James Herbison of Fresno. He hit .278 with an OB% of .394, walked ¡00 times and had 44 steals. The only other changes I would make would be to add a utility man and a pitcher. The former would be Modesto manager Max Macon. He played first, outfield, and pitched in eleven games. He also hit .383 with a .530 SA and a .434 OB%.

W 28 14 17

L 9 14 9

% .757 .500 .654

IP 300 224 216

H 295 213 233

ER 95 86 73

SO 187 178 93

BB 109 118 60

ERA 2.85 3.46 3.04

BR/9 12.3 13.5 12.3

The latter would be Drexel Waters of Santa Barbara. He was ¡7–5 (league-best .773) and led the circuit in ERA with a 2.54 mark. He also led the Cal League in fewest BR/9 allowed with a ¡2.3 (actually, ¡2.298 to Escalante’s ¡2.330 and Sandel’s ¡2.333). Please note Pike’s huge ¡94 walks and his very impressive .537 OB%. Please also note that he scored his ¡67 runs in only ¡39 games and that he had 26 more runs than he had hits. The outfield had .3¡¡/ .563/.48¡ averages, scored ¡27 runs a man, had ¡24 RBIs per, and walked an average of ¡40 times apiece. You may also be interested to know that Sandel hit .26¡ with ¡8 RBIs and, thanks to eight homers, slugged .532.

Canadian-American League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Keith Little Julio Ondani Frank Malzone George Clark Garland Lawing LeRoy Smith Charles Huwer Steve Salata No selection made

TEAM Rome Oneonta Oneonta Trois Rivieres Quebec Oneonta Pittsfield Oneonta

G 125 134 137 137 138 116 101 109

AB 479 517 541 565 459 472 413 335

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 162 73 266 31 8 19 110 30 1 .338 .555 .380 148 97 219 22 11 9 77 93 12 .286 .424 .400 178 107 271 26 26 5 92 76 11 .329 .501 .413 170 86 213 23 7 2 54 39 53 .301 .377 .348 157 129 251 38 4 16 125 141 1 .342 .547 .501 131 79 211 12 19 10 84 38 11 .278 .447 .334 124 82 208 31 10 11 58 46 8 .300 .504 .373 103 52 154 14 5 9 52 58 2 .307 .460 .413

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Hal Erickson Quebec 36 29 24 6 21 6 .778 252 207 64 206 61 2.29 9.9 SP John O’Donnell Gl’ville-Johnstown 39 22 17 0 14 12 .538 202 202 73 143 100 3.25 13.6

G’ville is Gloversville.

I had Little as the utility man instead of at first on my picked squad (he also spent time in the outfield).

Vernon “Moose” Shetler of Quebec hit .320 and led the league with ¡33 RBIs, but he was not my first base

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271

Oneonta, and Arnold Spence of Gloversville-Johnstown. Elko hit .348 with a .453 OB%, drove in 87 runs, and scored ¡02 times. Spence hit only .299, but his .520 SA was third in the league. He had a good .45¡ OB% and scored ¡27 runs. The selected trio of flyhawks hit .307, slugged .499, had a .409 OB% and averaged 97 runs and 89 RBIs a man. An outfield of Lawing, Elko, and Spence hits .329, slugs .520, has an excellent OB% of .46¡, and scores ¡¡9 runs apiece with 9¡ RBIs. Once again I ask: which threesome would you rather have? I also had another pitcher, one John Masuga of Pittsfield. He was 20–8, led the league with a 2.20 ERA, and was second in BR/9 allowed at ¡0.8. His 6.¡ H allowed per 9 IP was the league’s lowest mark, by the way.

choice. No, Pittsfield’s Eugene Hasson was the man for me. He was in only 86 games, but he finished second in homeruns with 22. The Indian’s manager scored 79 times and drove in 88 runs, but the best is yet to come. His OB% was a staggering .544, and that ties up the title for him. My third baseman was Gloversville-Johnstown manager James Cullinane. His averages were .322, .496, and .457 (thanks to ¡¡4 walks). He scored ¡¡4 runs and drove in 9¡. He also beat future Gold-Glove winner Malzone afield, with a .924 FA compared to .9¡4 for Malzone, with almost the same TC/G marks. At short, I had future Yankee utility infielder Joe DeMaestri instead of Clark. Joe hit .277 with a .399 OB%, scored 83 runs and drove in 74. He fielded .933 with a 6.0 TC/g mark to Clark’s .9¡0, 5.5. In the outfield, my trio was Lawing, Pete Elko of

Central Association (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Joe Macko George Sopko Faber “Duke” Bowman Eddie Wopinek Rudy Halabuk Lloyd Foster Jimmy King Harry Minor No selection made

Gene Bussman John Graney

Keokuk Clinton

TEAM Burlington Keokuk Burlington Keokuk Kewanee Rockford Keokuk Keokuk

G 26 30

GS — —

G 128 129 127 128 127 119 117 115

CG 17 20

AB 504 544 489 499 500 435 386 406

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 157 110 255 21 10 19 97 50 150 120 189 19 7 1 46 66 142 87 184 24 6 2 64 56 147 87 219 32 5 10 83 51 157 98 246 32 6 15 88 59 121 59 166 21 6 4 51 37 113 87 158 24 6 3 62 108 142 78 235 21 0 24 97 61

SH 3 3

I would replace Foster in the outfield with Louis Percy (Pierwsza) of the Cedar Rapids Rockets. Lou hit .303 and had an OB% of .4¡0, and he also scored ¡¡7 runs, only 58 more than Foster. He also led the league in put-outs. There was no utility man named, but there certainly should have been, and that one should have been Jack Tanner of Cedar Rapids. Only nine batters reached double figures in homers, and only Minor and Tanner hit more than twenty. Tanner hit 37, almost ¡2% of the league’s total. Only ten batters had as many as 70 RBIs, Tanner had ¡2¡, the only hitter to reach triple figures. He hit .303 and led in SA

W 15 15

L 8 8

% .652 .652

IP 185 221

H 147 189

ER 56 55

SB 10 11 15 10 10 11 13 1

SO 95 164

BA .312 .276 .290 .295 .314 .278 .293 .350

BB 51 96

SA OB% .506 .378 .347 .357 .376 .371 .439 .365 .492 .391 .382 .339 .409 .454 .579 .436

ERA 2.72 2.24

BR/9 9.9 11.9

with a .6¡7 mark. Tanner played outfield, first, and caught. Harry Pritts of Keokuk went ¡0–3 and had a fabulous ERA of ¡.32. He allowed only 5.6 H per 9 IP, and his BR/R ratio was one of the year’s lowest at 8.3. Pritts also struck out ¡26 batters in only ¡09 innings. With 3¡ walks, his 4.¡ strike-out to walk ratio was also among the year’s top marks. Herman Wollitz of Burlington was ¡0–2 with a ¡.9¡ ERA, and Gene Schroer of Cedar Rapids was ¡3–8 with a ¡.92 ERA. These five pitchers combined to win 68.5% of their games with a 2.¡¡ ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8.

Cotton States League (C) Joe Rullo was a playing manager. Dan Phalen, Hot Springs Bather first baseman, hit .3¡9, slugged .5¡7, and had an OB% of .4¡2, all substantially higher than the marks posted by Sudol. Phelan also hit 22 home runs, tops in the Cotton States, and added 95 RBIs. In my mind, it wasn’t even close.

In the outfield, Hal Seawright (Greenville) should have gotten the nod over the inexplicable Harvill Jakes. Seawright’s .325/.494/.383 averages were ¡36 points up on Jakes, and he led the league with ¡08 RBIs. No utility man was selected, but the league had two of All-Star caliber. Tom Palazzini, who played second and third for El Dorado and Helena, hit .296

272 POS 1B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Ed Sudol Dominick Chiola Joe Rullo Francis McCluskey Jim Morgan Richard Anderson Harvill Jakes Ben Cantrell Othur Pardue No selection made

Eddie Albrecht Fred Waters

TEAM El Dorado Helena/El Dorado Natchez Greenwood El Dorado Hot Springs El Dorado Pine Blu› El Dorado

Pine Blu› Greenwood

G 58 33

G 134 126 125 140 129 128 114 135 135

GS — —

AB 512 506 408 521 521 507 426 492 475 466

CG 30 18

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 154 106 225 30 7 9 79 64 5 .301 135 87 210 25 7 12 65 89 9 .267 117 68 170 25 5 6 74 71 14 .287 132 90 175 14 10 3 69 60 33 .253 165 87 238 38 4 9 65 36 4 .317 158 99 251 27 6 18 97 66 0 .312 110 89 179 14 11 11 80 87 5 .258 158 89 231 31 3 12 102 85 0 .321 134 70 182 27 3 5 73 59 0 .282 130 114 0.279

SH 2 6

W 29 18

L 12 6

% .707 .750

IP 332 236

H 260 176

ER 96 69

SO 389 218

BB 150 163

SA OB% .439 .386 .415 .379 .417 .400 .336 .345 .457 .364 .495 .398 .420 .388 .470 .422 .383 .366 0 .421 ERA 2.60 2.63

BR/9 11.2 13.3

Stanislaus Polonczyk led the league in ERA at ¡.82 and was ¡2–9 for Greenwood. Tom Graham of Pine Blu› was 20–¡0 with a 2.39 ERA. He struck out 2¡8 batters, third in the league. Graham and Albrecht combined for 49 wins, 68% of Pine Blu›’s total. They also struck out 607 batters in 577 innings.

and led the league with a .443 OB%. He scored 94 runs. The other handy man, Ray Mink, who played for Natchez, hit .284 with 54 RBIs in ¡¡¡ games in the outfield, at first, and on the mound. Mink was ¡9–8, second in the loop with a ¡.83 ERA, and tops in BR/9 ratio at ¡0.5. I would have had him on the team at both spots, pitcher and utility.

East Texas League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Merv Connors L. “Dutch” Meyer Al Kubski Clyde Perry James “Lew” Morton John Stone S. Vernon Washington Elvin Tappe No selection made

George Yanen James Upchurch

TEAM Kilgore Gladewater Longview Gladewater Longview Henderson Gladewater Henderson

Paris Marshall

G 38 29

G 140 137 134 108 122 138 135 137

GS — —

AB 481 508 500 446 470 537 512 488

CG 31 20

H 145 167 167 111 170 199 198 132

SH — —

A quite well-selected squad, I only disagree with the catching choice and would add a pitcher. Kilgore catcher/manager Joe Kracher somehow lost out to Mel Tappe’s twin brother and future Cub “rotating head coach” El Tappe, despite out-hitting the lad by 59 points (.329), outslugging him by ¡¡¡

R 109 125 132 83 109 102 102 54

W 22 15

TB 238 274 236 138 263 304 302 164

L 12 10

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 29 5 18 107 85 7 .301 .495 .411 34 5 21 131 93 7 .329 .539 .438 37 4 8 116 131 13 .334 .472 .475 21 3 0 32 65 28 .249 .309 .347 30 3 19 130 79 7 .362 .560 .461 34 4 21 115 54 44 .371 .566 .434 44 0 20 133 59 4 .387 .590 .454 20 3 2 58 45 7 .270 .336 .336

% .647 .600

IP 289 205

H 271 156

ER 71 50

SO 177 210

BB 106 81

ERA 2.21 2.20

BR/9 11.7 10.6

points (.447) and out-on basing him by 47 points (.425). “Jug” also had 80 RBIs and scored 77 runs, both well above El’s numbers. Ralph McCabe of Longview was ¡3–2 with a 2.20 ERA (third at 2.¡985 behind Upchurch’s 2.¡95¡), and allowed ¡0.9 BR/9.

Evangeline League (C) At first, a decision had to be made: P&P or OB%. The OB candidate was the league choice, Belford. The power and production candidate was Houma’s Mike Ryan. Ryan hit only .270, and his OB% was a woeful .3¡8, but he was top-ten in slugging at .483, second in homers with 23, eighth in runs with 98, and the Big Man in RBIs with ¡08. At short, my choice was Houma’s Andrew Laumann. He hit .262 with a .358 OB% and scored 87 runs with

63 RBIs. In the field, he and Adams had almost the same TC/G ratio (4.5–4.6), but managed to field 92.¡% of his chances cleanly to Adams’s 90.6%. All else being about equal, I went with the (slightly) better fielder. I had four outfielders, the chosen three and Gipson Gayle of New Iberia. Gipson Gayle hit .3¡¡, slugged .480, and had an OB% of .423. Gipson Gayle also was third with ¡9 homers and tied for the lead with ¡¡2 runs scored. Gipson Gayle.

¡949 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Robert Belford Fred Barocco Vince Liberto Charles Adams Robert Dunn Bobby Gales Chester Juckno Roy Smith No selection made

Tom Spears Eusebio Perez

TEAM Alexandria Hammond Abbeville Hammond Hammond Abbeville Alexandria Alexandria

Lafayette Abbeville

G 129 132 138 112 136 136 84 131

G 28 41

GS — —

AB 509 428 553 411 515 451 294 475

CG 19 17

273

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 160 110 206 24 5 4 61 73 17 .314 .405 .401 139 111 201 25 2 11 76 142 15 .325 .470 .494 155 75 236 35 5 12 98 37 6 .280 .427 .325 105 81 166 22 3 11 61 65 14 .255 .404 .360 165 107 291 30 3 30 96 79 9 .320 .565 .413 147 77 231 32 11 10 92 102 11 .326 .512 .451 98 67 153 20 1 11 62 71 2 .333 .520 .469 134 99 200 31 6 7 88 68 10 .282 .421 .372

SH 5 2

W 19 13

L 2 15

% .905 .464

IP 181 237

H 113 231

ER 21 96

SO 144 180

BB 47 104

ERA 1.04 3.65

BR/9 8.1 12.9

were fourth, and he scored 88 runs while driving in 83. He split his time between first and the outfield. Francis Hecker deserved to be selected on the basis of his throwing for the Baton Rouge Red Sticks, which finished last, 30 games out and 37 games under .500. Hecker was ¡¡–¡3 and third in ERA with a 2.44 mark. Also, please note Spears’ year: .905 winning percentage, ¡.04 ERA, the year’s lowest, and his 8.¡ BR/9 ratio.

My catching choice was New Iberia manager Sid Gautreaux. Sid hit .339 and led the league with a very good .490 OB%. In 88 fewer PAs, 37 year-old “Pudge” (he was 5'8" and at this stage of his career he weighed well over 200 pounds) had only eleven fewer RBIs. No utility man was selected, which meant that Bob “Oh My” Akenhead, who drew ¡58 walks in ¡27 games, was left of o› the team. He hit .27¡, slugged .470, and had an OB% of .484. His ¡7 home runs

Middle Atlantic League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Ed Kestler Bill Palumbo Bob Gardner Charles Wilhelm Chuck Harig John Moore Robert Betz Joe Lonnett No selection made

John Kucab Murray Richardson

TEAM Erie Johnstown Youngstown Youngstown Youngstown Oil City Youngstown Vandergrift

Youngstown Johnstown

G 138 126 136 137 137 135 133 104

G 33 24

AB 487 415 535 575 506 489 525 398

GS — —

H 163 132 144 181 168 162 181 122

CG 25 11

R 109 108 73 145 106 106 117 105

SH 5 0

Ed Kestler would have been my choice, if the question had been “Who is the third-best first baseman in the League”? Herman Kiel of New Castle hit 43% of the Nats’ home runs, coming in second in that category with 27. He had ¡05 RBIs and scored 76 runs in his 96 games. Kiel was second in batting at .344, first in slugging at .639, and fourth in OB% at .463. New Castle’s manager, Edwin Morgan, hit .339, slugged .50¡, and was second in OB% with a mark of .478. He scored ¡0¡ runs and drove in 88. I had these two fellows tied for the spot as MAL AllStars. Please note Palumbo’s .504 OB%. At third, I had Butler’s Charles Segale. He hit .306 (37 points higher than Gardner), slugged .437 (52 points higher), and had a .366 OB% (32 points

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 226 28 7 7 101 98 13 .335 .464 .448 189 25 7 6 63 152 5 .318 .455 .504 206 27 4 9 99 50 4 .269 .385 .334 280 35 2 20 106 75 8 .315 .487 .398 275 38 9 17 116 111 9 .332 .543 .457 247 30 5 15 104 109 21 .331 .505 .460 286 45 3 18 135 77 2 .345 .545 .439 231 33 8 20 93 75 13 .307 .580 .419

W 21 14

L 7 5

% .750 .737

IP 229 157

H 222 165

ER 96 84

SO 145 112

BB 64 104

ERA 3.77 4.82

BR/9 11.5 15.5

higher). He also outscored Gardner by 43 runs, coming in with ¡¡6. Despite his poor hitting (.253) and OB% (.342) and his atrocious strike-out total (¡53, an All-Time MAL record), I still had Johnstown’s Joe Beran as a fourth outfielder. Why, you ask? Well, you see, Joe led the league with 36 home runs (the second-highest total in MAL history) and was second in RBIs with ¡34, one behind the league leader Betz, who out-hit him by 92 points. The MAL scribes should have had co-catchers, in my opinion. Youngstown’s Lewis Richardson hit .285 and slugged .508. He also hit 23 home runs, third in the league, and batted in 92 runs. I also had two utility men to the scribes none. Oil City second baseman/outfielder Bob Huddleston was

274

Minor League All-Star Teams Frank Wagner of New Castle was ¡8–9 and led the circuit in ERA with a 3.20 (reminiscent of Early Wynn’s ¡959 A.L. best). He allowed ¡2.¡ BR/9, third in the league, and led with 206 strike-outs. Robert Spresser of Erie was a sparkling 20–6 and was third in ERA at 3.48. And, if a left hander was a “must,” then why not .3¡6-hitting Charles Taylor of Uniontown? He was ¡2–5 and second in ERA at 3.44, almost two runs a game better than Richardson, and his ¡4.¡ BR/9 ratio was almost a runner and a half per game less. (Spresser, by the way, accomplished a rare feat. He hit .¡56 in his 77 ABs, but, thanks to 24 walks, had a .356 OB%, more than double his BA)

third in hitting with a .340 average and second with a .477 OB%. He scored ¡¡5 runs and had ¡23 walks. His teammate and manager, Otto Denning, played first, outfield, and catcher (and may have had LT¡0’s elsewhere) and, in his limited service (Otto only inserted himself into the line up in 77 games), he crushed the ball, hitting at a .385 clip with a .649 SA and a .479 OB%. The MAL, despite its .276 BA, was a good run scoring league. In fact, ¡2.6 runs were scored per game. (As an aside, for those who may be interested in such matters, New Castle was last in batting at .262, but its hitters walked 92¡ times, 6.8 times a game.) There was no MAL pitcher who had a sub-3.00 ERA.

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Bill Staker Irvin Hall Robert Ries Fred McAllister Pete Brozovich John Kropf Ted Lotz Tommy Venn No selection made

Bob Turley Neil Lettau

TEAM Aberdeen Aberdeen Eau Claire Duluth St. Cloud St. Cloud Sioux Falls Fargo-Moorehead

Aberdeen Grand Forks

G 33 26

GS — —

G 74 125 124 124 95 76 101 126

AB 271 477 517 482 348 276 407 451

CG 24 19

SH 2 2

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 76 52 119 19 3 6 53 39 163 88 241 27 9 11 80 67 175 101 263 40 12 8 95 45 119 65 185 21 12 7 61 41 114 68 162 13 4 9 87 74 87 66 144 18 6 9 65 79 129 73 192 35 2 8 85 43 119 71 165 22 0 8 63 67

Hall was a playing manager. In a rather odd turn of events, Grand Forks, which finished last, was outscored by only five runs on the year. Superior, which finished fourth, was outscored by 47, and seventh place Fargo-Moorhead was outscored by ¡3¡. I guess that those numbers can lead to the assumption that for every game G.F. won ¡0–5, they lost two 2–3. Cromer Smotherman of Grand Forks was my first baseman — and not just because of the Marvel comics evil-because-he-was-misunderstood name. He hit .283 with a .392 OB% and had 80 RBIs. Aberdeen’s shortstop Perry Currin hit .272 and had an OB% of .377 (to McAlester’s .307), and he scored 82 runs. It would seem that Currin should have been the choice. However, when I went to the fielding stats, all became clear. Currin’s TC/G ratio

W 23 15

L 5 10

% .821 .600

IP 230 208

H 175 198

ER 59 76

SB 2 13 9 7 10 5 10 7

SO 205 112

BA .280 .342 .338 .247 .328 .315 .317 .264

BB 131 92

SA OB% .439 .379 .505 .431 .509 .398 .384 .307 .466 .458 .522 .471 .472 .382 .366 .364

ERA 2.31 3.29

BR/9 12.0 12.8

was a mediocre 4.7, McAllester’s was a good 5.8, a large enough di›erence for me to go with the man from Duluth. I had St. Cloud manager Charlie Fox as my catcher. He hit .284 and, thanks to 92 walks, was third in OB% at .442. He had 68 RBIs in 93 fewer plate appearances than Tommy Venn (whose name sounds to me like a drummer in a heavy metal band). Paul “Peiking” Menking was ¡9–¡2 for the sub.500 Canaries of Sioux Falls. His 2.60 ERA was third, and his ¡¡.5 BR/9 ratio was the second best in the league. Bill Best had the best winning percentage in the league, .882 on a ¡5–2 won-lost record. His ERA was 2.78. The Northern League leader in ERA and BR/9 ratio was George Yorke of Eau Claire, at 2.06 and ¡¡.¡. He was ¡¡–5 on the year.

Pioneer League (C) Yet another of those western hitter’s leagues, the Pioneer averaged ¡2.7 RPG. The tenth-place batter hit .336, nineteen players scored at least ¡00 runs, and twelve players walked at least ¡00 times. Twin

Falls scored 7.6 runs a game and had a .4¡2 team OB%. Pocatello scored 8 RPG and hit .307. For some unaccountable reason, the Pioneer League Electoral College over looked a .400-hitting

¡949 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Sven “Red” Jessen Dom Barczewski Billy Ford Ted Lewandowski Simon Koerner George Caloia Bill Renna Richard Morgan No selection made

Richard Larner Otto Schroeder

TEAM Twin Falls Pocatello Ogden Pocatello Great Falls Billings Twin Falls Pocatello

Salt Lake City Twin Falls

G 125 124 112 94 113 106 76 119

G 31 38

AB 468 481 445 382 452 387 330 436

GS — —

H 146 145 169 128 152 136 127 132

CG 21 16

R 117 135 90 80 103 122 99 86

SH 3 2

shortstop when they filled out their ballots for postseason honors. Johnny Temple (Ogden) hit .400 on the button, slugged .576 and had a .463 OB%, fifth best in the league. He had 200 hits, scored ¡¡2 runs, and stole 25 bases. The infield as selected hit .33¡, slugged .497, and had a .443 OB%. The foursome scored 422 runs and drove in 4¡4. If you use Temple in place of Lewandowski, you not only save money on uniform lettering, you also up the BA to .348, the SA goes down a wee smidge to .494, and the OB% raises to an excellent .454. This quadrumverate scored 454 runs and drove in 406. I must mention Gus Triandos and his stint for Twin Falls. The Greek backstop played in a mere 28 games before being called up to Norfolk. But, manoh-man, what a 28 games! He hit .435, slugged .859, and had a .540 OB%. He scored 30 runs and drove in 42, with ten home runs. I know, it is silly to extrapolate given such a small sample, but I did it anyway: over 550 at-bats and ¡50 games, Gus would have had 239 hits, 472 TBs, hit 60 home runs, scored ¡6¡ runs, and had 225 RBIs. There was no utility player chosen, but third baseman/shortstop Marcus Koenig of Boise filled the role in real life. He hit a puny .264, but, thanks to ¡54 walks, scored ¡¡4 runs in ¡¡4 games and was fourth in OB% with a very good .467 mark. He also led the league with 50 steals. Not one pitcher who chucked at least 45 innings

275 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 223 17 3 18 101 133 4 .312 .476 .470 245 35 4 19 112 88 16 .301 .509 .414 230 27 14 2 115 73 6 .380 .517 .468 185 18 6 9 86 43 1 .335 .484 .415 227 30 6 11 79 106 23 .336 .502 .466 168 14 9 0 55 106 30 .351 .434 .494 220 18 6 21 96 38 6 .385 .667 .457 201 24 6 11 79 85 4 .303 .461 .420

W 19 14

L 7 5

% .731 .737

IP 240 203

H 245 192

ER 80 76

SO 162 172

BB 82 127

ERA 3.00 3.37

BR/9 12.3 14.6

had an ERA under 3.00. The tenth man on the ERA totem pole came in at 4.22. Fifteen pitchers with at least ¡00 IP had ERAs over 5.00, and four were over 6.00. Ogden, which gave up 7.6 runs a game, had two pitchers who combined to throw ¡06 innings and who allowed ¡¡.2 runs a game (9.5¡ earned). The duo walked ¡6.¡ (!) batters every nine IP. No fewer than twenty pitchers walked at least ¡00 batters. Idaho Falls, which finished at 3¡–95 (.246) and 47∂ games out (and ¡7 games out of seventh), allowed an incredible 8.9 RPG. Now, I was only able to reconstruct (without having the LT45 stats) 872 innings for the Russets, so a lot is missing. But, what I have is a 28–73 (.277) record with a 6.32 ERA and 8.4 runs allowed per game. These pitchers allowed ¡7.8 BR/9 and struck out 4.6 hitters per 9 IP while walking 6.8. The number two and three starters for this spud-like sta› were 5–26 with a 7.78 ERA and allowed 20.7 BR/9. Their sixth most active pitcher was 0–6 with a ¡0.3¡ ERA, gave up ¡4.¡ runs per 9IP, and allowed 24.8 BR/9 (the number five pitcher allowed 20.2, not a good sign for your fifth starter). I am missing three wins and 22 losses (a cool .¡25), and the gob of LT45’s gave up 309 (!) runs, which, added to what I was able to deduce, must be right about ten per nine innings or more. I would, after all the above dust has settled, add a pitcher, Billings manager Larry Shepard. He was 2¡–6, fifth in ERA at 3.62, and second in BR/9 ratio at ¡2.6.

Sunset League (C) Western league, hitting league. An average of ¡3.3 runs was scored in each Sunset League game. The Las Vegas Wranglers scored 8.¡ runs a game and had a .4¡2 OB%. They also struck out 7.3 times a game while drawing 7.8 walks. Frank Stinson managed the Imperials part of the year. I would only add a utility man and drop one selected pitcher while adding two non-selectees.

Lilo Marcucci, Reno manager, played third, outfield, and caught. He hit .4¡3, slugged .625, and had a .487 OB% over 283 at-bats and 90 games. (As an aside, the selected outfield trio hit .377, slugged .6¡2, and had a .503 OB%, thanks to Hughes’s humonginoid .575. Please note that he scored his ¡56 runs in only ¡23 games and that he walked 2¡0 times). The Mexicali Aguilas’s sta› was in another league

276 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Frank Stinson Robert Gray Hank Bartelomi Hubert “Bud” Dawson Forrest “Frosty” Kennedy Bob Balcena Gabriel “Pete” Hughes John Albini No selection made

TEAM El Centro San Bernardino Las Vegas San Bernardino Riverside Mexicali Las Vegas Las Vegas

G 119 97 117 100 119 123 123 121

AB 420 384 482 385 472 490 408 447

H 157 126 152 115 194 180 143 128

R 81 77 130 107 123 115 156 92

TB 211 156 248 183 280 295 264 216

2B 23 24 24 31 19 33 31 27

3B HR RBI BB SB 8 5 83 81 7 3 0 92 53 8 9 18 129 83 20 5 9 66 95 8 17 11 123 62 19 17 16 132 50 32 9 24 126 210 4 17 9 97 89 39

BA .374 .328 .315 .299 .411 .367 .350 .286

SA OB% .502 .477 .406 .414 .515 .421 .475 .441 .593 .484 .602 .438 .647 .575 .483 .417

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Erwin Coutts Mexicali 22 — 20 5 15 6 .714 184 187 55 128 57 2.69 12.1 SP Warren Kanagy Riverside/S. Bern. 29 — 20 0 18 8 .692 209 220 122 210 195 5.25 18.3

compared to the rest of these dudes. They allowed 4.9 runs a game, and the next best sta› (Las Vegas) allowed 6.3. That is a huge di›erence. There were four league pitchers with ERAs under 3.00, and all four of them were Aguilas. Aurelio Espiricueta went ¡2–4 with a 2.77 ERA and allowed ¡¡.8 BR/9, the latter two figures both second in the league. Manuel Echevarria was ¡3–4 with a third-place 2.96 ERA. Somehow, in this league of heavy timber, he managed to post a BR/9 ratio of 9.9, a truly astounding e›ort. Their top three pitchers were 40–¡4, .740 with a 2.80 ERA and allowed ¡¡.4 BR/9. They only walked 2.5 men per 9 IP (Es-

piricueta walked 2.3/9 and Echevarria 2.4). Their top four went 55–24, .696, with an ERA of 3.43 (which would have been fifth rated mark in the league) and allowed ¡2.2 BR/9 (which, if posted by an individual, would have been fourth. Kanagy walked 8.4 men per 9 IP, not exactly AllStar material to me (Espiricueta, by the way, was a lefty, if you are hung up on stu› like that). He did, however, hit .447, slug .7¡2, and have an OB% of .500 over his 94 at-bats. He hit ¡3 doubles (that’s 76 extrapolated out over 550 ABs, by the way), four homers, and 24 RBIs. Not a bad year at bat for a wild lefthander.

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

NAME Jim Prince C. “Jackie” Sullivan Len Attyd H. “Stubby” Greer D.C. “Pud” Miller Herschel Martin Roberto Fernandez Lester Mulcahy No selection made

Frank Shone Don Ferrarese Roy Parker

TEAM Lubbock Lubbock Albuquerque Abilene Lamesa Albuquerque Abilene Albuquerque

Albuquerque Albuquerque Pampa

G 27 32 36

G 135 134 133 118 109 129 137 125

AB 532 476 534 475 389 428 591 450

H 196 145 167 155 157 161 241 134

R 115 95 125 122 103 118 118 92

TB 306 242 280 247 337 248 349 228

GS — — —

CG 20 16 25

SH 2 2 2

W 17 14 23

L 7 11 10

The hitting league. The ’49 WTNM hit .296, slugged .445, and had a .38¡ OB% (which would have placed the league 28th in the majors in 2004). Borger and Amarillo had identical .40¡ on base percentages, which, had they been individuals, would have tied them for eleventh in the Bigs. Lubbock slugged .47¡, Borger .480, and “I knew I shoulda taken that left toin at” Albuquerque .482. Twentyfive players scored at least ¡00 runs, twenty-nine hit at least 30 doubles (4.¡ were hit per game), with six over 40. ¡3.5 runs were scored, on average, in each game.

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 35 3 23 133 83 4 .368 29 7 19 91 60 14 .305 43 14 14 82 39 32 .313 29 3 19 106 52 28 .326 22 1 52 135 77 2 .404 39 6 12 108 111 7 .376 56 5 14 111 32 24 .408 22 3 22 108 75 3 .298

% .708 .560 .697

IP 200 188 263

H 163 143 269

ER 67 85 142

SO 189 216 235

BB 86 184 184

SA OB% .575 .456 .508 .389 .524 .365 .520 .397 .866 .502 .579 .505 .591 .440 .507 .406

ERA 3.02 4.07 4.86

BR/9 11.4 15.9 16.0

Sullivan, Greer, and Martin were playing managers. Please notice Miller’s outstanding stats: .404, an amazing, Ruthian .866 SA, and a terrific .502 OB%. And, also notice that that last mark did not lead the league, that honor going to Hersh Martin and his .505. I thought the scribe’s selection at second was rather odd. Odd, because Verdun Gilchrist of Borger hit .364 with a .5¡3 OB%. He hit 47 doubles and scored ¡28 runs. My catching choice was Ken Sears of Borger

¡949 (where he managed part of the season). He hit .359 with a huge .7¡9 SA and a very good .458 OB%. In ¡27 games, he hit 44 homers and drove in ¡43 runs. No league third baseman played in as many as ¡00 games (and the FA of all players in at least ten games at the hot corner was a dismal .883). Attyd just barely topped that at .893. I used Amarillo’s Paul Halter as my third baseman. Halter also played short and outfield, but his 64 games at third were the sixth most in the league. He hit .350, slugged .6¡6, and his OB% was a good .46¡. He popped 3¡ homers, scored ¡33 runs, and had ¡¡2 RBIs. Plus, he fielded .937. The reason I didn’t use Halter at utility was named Roy Parker. Parker, who made the squad as a pitcher (see below), hit .296 and slugged .582. He scored 96 runs and drove in 9¡, and his 24 homers were tenth best in the league. All right then, let’s do the math. Scribe-selected infield: .329/.533/.403 averages with 457 runs and 432 RBIs, ¡¡4 and ¡03 per man. Selko-selected infield: .353/.546/.460 averages with 498 runs and 4¡9 RBIs, ¡25 and ¡05 per man. Scribe-selected starting eight: .350 BA, .577 SA, and .432 OB% with 888 RBIs (¡¡¡

277

per man), 874 runs (¡09 per), and ¡75 homers (22 a man). Selko-selected (with Gilchrist, Halter, and Sears instead of Sullivan, Attyd, and Mulcahy): a robust .369 BA, a powerful .609 SA, and a guaranteedrun-producing .467 OB% with 943 RBIs (¡¡8 per man), 9¡6 runs (¡¡5 per) and ¡95 homers (24 a man). Either way, this is a powerful team (although this was not a bumper-year for homers in the old WTNM), but I think that the altered version is also an improved version. Joaquin Gutierrez of Lamesa was ¡8–4 (leaguebest .8¡8 winning percentage) with a 3.3¡ ERA (fourth). Rene Vega was the hard-luck kid of the year in the WTNM. He led the league in ERA (2.83, the only one under 3.00) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.9), but was only ¡¡–¡0. This year’s WTNM example of the “It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good” rule is Jack Venable of Borger. He had a 6.75 ERA and allowed ¡6.9 BR/9, yet had a better W–L record than “Mala Suerte” Vega at ¡¡–9. As an aside, the three pitchers who did make the team hit 26 homers and drove in ¡24 runs.

Western Association (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Harold Kollar Jim Finigan Olin Martin Ed Waytula James Neufeldt Elmer “Butch” Nieman Bob Masser Ken Morgan No selection made

Nick Huck Dennis Jent

St. Joseph Joplin

TEAM Fort Smith Joplin Joplin Salina St. Joseph Topeka Muskogee St. Joseph

G 37 37

GS — —

G 119 109 124 126 131 122 132 116

CG 19 13

AB 399 562 417 490 499 416 467 436

SH 7 3

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 129 96 208 23 4 16 107 88 11 .323 180 120 273 34 19 7 79 64 22 .320 148 89 199 30 6 3 64 80 28 .355 126 89 167 17 12 0 50 71 15 .257 170 111 259 28 11 13 89 66 35 .341 137 104 252 29 4 26 110 132 17 .329 144 98 229 30 8 13 76 94 20 .308 135 96 224 24 14 12 94 52 37 .310

W 18 15

Only two teams in this eight-team league finished under .500, but boy, were they ever under. Hutchinson was 4¡–93, 52 games under .500, 53 games out of first, and 26 games out of sixth. They were outscored by over two runs a game during the year, 4–6.¡. Leavenworth had one of the worst years ever, coming in at 25–¡¡2 (.¡82), 43∂ games out of sixth, ¡6∂ games out of seventh, and 70∂ games out of first. They scored an almost unbelievably low 3.¡ runs a game and gave up 7.3, meaning their average game was lost by 4.2 runs! On the other end of the spectrum, St. Jo, which wound up the season at 96–42, .696, only allowed 3.8 runs a game while scoring 6.3, an advantage of two and half runs a game. Kollar and Nieman were playing managers. Waytula and Robert Falk of Muskogee were in al-

L 7 7

% .720 .682

IP 220 205

H 161 181

ER 55 74

SO 155 214

BB 78 110

SA OB% .521 .449 .486 .393 .477 .475 .341 .355 .519 .425 .606 .491 .490 .429 .514 .389

ERA 2.25 3.25

BR/9 9.9 13.0

most a dead heat afield. At bat, the tale is a bit otherwise. Falk hit .293, 37 points higher than Waytula. He slugged .432, 9¡ points higher. The two players had virtually the same OB%, but Falk had 94 RBIs to Waytula’s 50. Ed did lead the league in one category — he struck out ¡¡2 times, exactly double Falk’s total. There were two candidates for the unselected utility spot: Cal Neeman of Joplin and Bill Go› of hapless Hutchinson. Neeman played first, outfield, and caught. He hit .293 with 73 RBIs. Go› played outfield and pitched (about which more below), and hit .260. Walt Smith and Bob Gregory combined with Huck to give St. Jo a dynamite top three starters. Smith was ¡6–4 with a 2.55 ERA and allowed ¡¡.7

278

Minor League All-Star Teams

BR/9. Gregory was ¡2–3, 2.84 and was second with a ¡¡.¡ BR/9 mark. The three of them were a combined 46–¡4, .767 with a 2.5¡ ERA and a BR/9 allowance of ¡0.8. Also deserving of notice was the abovementioned Bill Go›. He was an amazing ¡3–¡2 for Hutchinson,

accounting for 32% of their wins. He had a 3.34 ERA and a decent BR/9 ratio of ¡2.2. When he was not the pitcher of record, the Elks played .257 ball (which would still have been good enough to give then a five game edge over Leavenworth).

Alabama State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME John Beasley Roy LeFevre Dick Smith Bobby Clark D. “Beak” Kravitz George Hughes Eulice Hope Louis Jones No selection made Harry Weakley Spencer Davis

TEAM Enterprise Greenville Greenville Ozark Greenville Ozark And./Ozark/Brew. Ozark

Greenville Ozark

G 30 45

GS — —

G 120 123 71 119 122 118 105 67 CG 20 17

AB 494 471 257 505 462 464 368 271

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 138 65 166 9 8 1 81 36 151 99 194 19 6 4 69 74 81 70 129 25 7 3 46 59 142 97 165 16 2 1 54 66 129 75 188 18 10 7 72 55 143 114 186 17 7 4 67 104 117 63 177 22 10 6 75 44 65 45 98 19 1 4 49 31

SH — —

W 20 21

L 4 8

% .833 .724

IP 215 260

H 166 211

ER 59 59

SB 10 27 22 17 39 20 4 3

SO 140 220

BA .279 .321 .315 .281 .279 .308 .318 .240 BB 69 76

SA OB% .336 .330 .412 .414 .502 .447 .327 .364 .407 .371 .401 .448 .481 .412 .362 .325 ERA 2.47 2.04

BR/9 10.0 10.1

And. is Andalusia and Brew. is Brewton.

This, as you may be able to tell, was not a hitters league. The league as a whole slugged .324. On the other hand, twelve players stole more than 20 bases, twice as many as hit twenty doubles. Only one player reached double-figures in homers. In fact, there were only 228 home runs hit during the season, with only ten players hitting as many as five. There were 996 steals, or 4.4 steals per homer. Old John J. would have loved it. I had Neal Cobb of Geneva at first. He hit .298 with a .39¡ SA and a .435 OB%. I also had two third basemen, both of whom, oddly enough, played in 7¡ games. One was Smith, and the other was Charles Goodwin of Ozark. Goodwin hit .332, had an SA of .502 (actually, Smith’s was .50¡9 and Goodwin’s was .50¡6), and a .390 OB%. Goodwin scored 68 runs and drove in 70. (Interestingly, if you combine the two you have a nice season: 564 AB, ¡83 hits, ¡38 runs, 43 doubles, eleven home runs, ¡¡6 RBIs, 35 steals, a .324 BA, a .502 SA, and an OB% of .4¡7.) I had Tom McBride in the outfield instead of Kravitz. McBride hit .280 with a .466 SA (second among qualifiers, as was his .440 OB%). He had 79 RBIs, scored 8¡ runs, and almost lapped the field in home runs with ¡5. You could also add a half season player named Elwyn Rider (direct descendant of Elendil, son of Amandil, Lord of Andunie, first King of Gondor). He hit .357 and slugged .477 with a .439

OB%, and he stole 44 bases and scored 63 runs in his 69 games. (Just kidding about the Rohirrim stu›, by the way.) Louis Jones only played 26 of his games at catcher, and even then he was not a good choice. The catching ranks were thin, but my selection was ¡8 yearold John “Jack” McKeon, who just 54 short years later would lead a rag-tag group of cast-o›s and never-weres to the World Series title. But that was all in the future for this young .25¡-hitting young bulldog. He had 49 RBIs and scored 54 runs. There was no utility man selected, but a manager who was fired during the season was my guy at the spot. Joe Cavosie (Dothan) played first and second and hit .365, slugged .565 and accrued a very large .487 OB% before the ax fell. He had 59 runs and 47 RBIs in his 53 games, along with 28 steals. Carl Wolgast of Geneva was 22–7 for a sub-.500 team which played .354 when he was not the pitcher of record. He had a league best ERA of ¡.89, a league best BR/9 ratio of 9.7, his 22 wins were tops, and he was second in strike-outs with 200. I assume that that unfortunate second-place finish in the strikeout race is why he was left of o› the Alabama State Super Squad (as I like to refer to them as). I also assume that Spencer Davis had not yet moved to England and formed his band.

Appalachian League (D) The Bluefield Blue-Grays and the Pulaski Counts, which finished first and second, both hit over .300

and scored 7.7 and 8.3 runs a game, respectively. Welch, which finished sixth, 25 games under .500,

¡949 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Edwin “Uriah” Heap Dave Little Joe Roddin Bob Farrick John Karpinski Nick Romeo William Kerr Theo. “Cannie” Forsyth No selection made

Cli›ord Littledave James Pope

TEAM Bluefield Pulaski Bluefield Pulaski Bluefield Bristol Pulaski Bristol

Bristol Bluefield

G 23 12

G 122 97 121 109 122 117 113 100

AB 518 358 517 406 506 422 449 393

H 190 112 169 126 172 158 180 137

R 112 103 110 83 117 151 116 62

GS — —

CG 20 6

SH 4 0

W 18 9

gave up 7.6 RPG, as did the last place Kingsport Cherokees (who finished 49 games under .500 and 5¡∂ games out of first). I would have given the third base spot to Edwin Allegar of Bristol. He hit .338 with a .502 SA, and his OB% was.398. He only scored 92 runs, but he had ¡¡9 RBIs, third in the league. My catching choice was Pulaski manager George Pfister. Forsyth did indeed have a fine year, but Pfister’s was better in every regard. He hit .379, third in the league, slugged .506, and his .448 OB% was a top-ten performance. His 94 runs were tenth, and his 92 RBIs were seventh. Outfielder Ben Gregory of Bluefield deserves mention, despite his only appearing in 47 games. He hit .445 with a .723 SA and a .529 OB%, all terrific numbers. He scored 55 runs and drove in 48. What was most impressive about his season was his 24 doubles. Extrapolated out over 550 ABs, that works out to 76 two-baggers. No utility man was selected, but Welch’s John Manczak played first, third, short, and the outfield,

279 TB 279 154 216 177 281 257 291 191

L 4 2

2B 44 19 26 15 39 26 28 22

% .818 .818

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 9 9 123 39 31 .367 .539 .415 7 3 55 71 26 .313 .430 .429 9 1 69 53 8 .327 .418 .396 12 4 75 74 26 .310 .436 .418 5 20 137 52 7 .340 .555 .404 20 11 92 99 24 .374 .609 .497 22 13 111 57 15 .401 .648 .474 4 8 90 26 6 .349 .486 .390

IP 179 75

H 125 64

ER 53 13

SO 158 63

BB 94 36

ERA 2.66 1.56

BR/9 11.1 12.5

fulfilling, I do believe, the requirements to qualify as a utility man. He hit .288 with a .39¡ OB%, scored 76 runs, and drove in 7¡. Please note Heap’s un-first basemanlike 3¡ steals. Pope had a fine (partial) season, even if his ERA and BR/9 figures seem strangely at odds with each other. Bob Bowman of Bluefield only walked ¡.3 batters every nine innings, which explains his going ¡4–3 despite a 3.72 ERA. His ¡0.33 BR/9 ratio was second to another did-not-make-the-team hurler, Tony Cincotta of Pulaski. Cincotta went an impressive ¡4–¡ and had a 2.72 ERA, allowing ¡0.25 BR/9. Mention should also be made of Robert Hartig of the 36-games-under-.500 Elizabethton Betsy Locals (one of the All-Time team nicknames, I might add). He was ¡2–¡0, accounting for 30% of the Betsy Locals wins. He also led the loop in strike-outs with 200 (in ¡89 innings). One more bit of information which I found interesting: New River only had 48 double plays the entire year, and five of those involved an outfielder. We are not exactly talking Alley and Mazeroski here.

Blue Ridge League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Bob Latshaw Pasquale Pescitelli W. Doug Shores Joe Tagliarino Bob Winkelspecht Henry Brown William Atkins Jasper Holt Robert Thompson No selection made

Eurice “Pete” Treece Bob Masinick

TEAM Galax North Wilkesboro North Wilkesboro Galax North Wilkesboro Elkin Mt. Airy Mt. Airy Radford-Wytheville

Mt. Airy Galax

G 37 30

GS — —

G 73 118 117 116 87 120 87 112 107

CG 17 14

AB 236 436 438 435 341 426 328 433 378

SH 2 0

Latshaw and Thompson (for Radford) were playing managers. (This six team league went through fourteen managers during the course of the sea-

H 79 119 138 125 91 126 103 135 97

W 21 12

R 44 69 67 73 53 86 55 77 42

TB 121 143 218 168 123 191 139 216 124

L 8 10

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 19 1 7 48 60 3 .335 .513 .475 15 3 1 42 81 26 .273 .328 .389 25 11 11 68 55 7 .315 .498 .393 19 9 2 57 49 13 .287 .386 .365 20 6 0 45 34 20 .267 .361 .333 27 13 4 53 88 27 .296 .448 .416 22 1 4 53 37 12 .314 .424 .395 26 8 13 94 49 0 .312 .499 .388 16 4 1 54 39 6 .257 .328 .326

% .724 .545

IP 230 196

H 206 181

ER 77 58

SO 229 99

BB 71 88

ERA 3.01 2.66

BR/9 11.0 12.6

son). Treece managed Mount Airy part of the season. I had Galax manager Steve Sloboda as my second

280

Minor League All-Star Teams

baseman. His .292 BA and .374 SA were better than the Flasher’s Pescitelli, and he fielded .966 (with 5.7 TC/G) to Pasquale’s .945 (5.4). I had the poorer fielding Doug Lavigne in the mix at short. His .308, .473, .383 averages were so superior to Tagliarino’s (not to mention his 9¡ runs and league-high sixteen triples), that I was swayed in his favor. He fielded a bad .886 to Taggy’s not-so-hot-itself .92¡. If you think that his hitting does not compensate for his fielding, you would get no argument from me. Winkelspecht was the best fielder at short, with a good 5.8 TC/G ratio. I had an entirely di›erent outfield. Mike Brelich of Mount Airy and Wytheville hit .333 with a .533 SA, tops in the Blue Ridge. His .429 OB% was second. Robert Horan of Galax hit .29¡ with 70 RBIs and 92 runs, most in the league. Lloyd Wilcox of Radford hit .3¡8, slugged .5¡7 (second), and had a .382 OB% with a league-high ¡5 homers and 85 RBIs. The league set of gardeners had .307/.460/.40¡ averages with 2¡8 runs and 200 RBIs. My intrepid trio hit .3¡3, slugged .485, had a .397 OB%, scored 225 runs and drove in 2¡9. I guess the Blue Ridge had six flyhawks you could put in a hat, and whichever three you drew out would perform about the same.

Only sixteen players had as many as 60 RBIs and only fourteen scored as many as 70 runs. If you had hit seven home runs in the ’49 Blue Ridge, you were a top-ten slugger. Treece was a pretty good — no, make that very good — Class D pitcher, but he was a terrible hitter. In ¡949, he hit .083 with 55 strike-outs in 84 at bats, a 65% whi› mark. John Mostak, who pitched for Elkin and also managed part of the season, was a mediocre ¡2–¡0 but had a 2.¡7 ERA and allowed ¡0.5 BR/9, second and first in the league respectively. Radford’s John Moore was ¡2–9 with a 2.¡¡ ERA, best in the Blue Ridge, and a ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio. Okey Flowers (is that a neat name or what?), who was another part-season manager for Mount Airy wound up ¡2–6 with a 2.2¡ ERA and a ¡0.6 BR/¡0 ratio, the best the Blue Ridge had to o›er. The two selected pitchers had an ERA of 2.85 and allowed ¡¡.7 BR/9. They won 64.7 percent of their decisions. The three which I mentioned as being overlooked had an ERA of 2.¡6 and allowed ¡0.7 BR/9, but only won 59% of their decisions.

Coastal Plain League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Fred “Pap” Williams Irv Dickens Robert Johnson John Tepedino Al Rehm Willard Mauney Charles Sedor Clyde Whitener Quentin Martin No selection made

Claude Voiselle Vincent “Van” Gohl

TEAM Greenville Wilson Rocky Mount Greenville Wilson Greenville G’dsboro/R.Mount Goldsboro Rocky Mount

Kinston Tarboro

G 39 31

GS — —

G 136 118 138 138 139 135 135 138 133

CG 20 24

AB 490 483 534 529 552 535 516 547 529

SH 3 5

Williams and Martin were playing managers, Martin for only part of the season. This was a kind of anomalous league in the post–WWII era. Only one player reached double figures in triples, but fourteen had at least twenty steals, eleven had thirty or more, and six had over forty (James Bevill of New Bern had 92). An average of ¡.8 bases was stolen in each game, and two teams had over 200 steals. It would have been possible to select a very good All-Star team (with no dogs or injudicious position switches) that had 358 (!) stolen bases. The team as selected still had 2¡4 steals, almost thirty a man.

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 164 86 242 31 1 15 122 63 31 .335 .494 .412 152 83 183 27 2 0 44 86 10 .315 .379 .418 156 98 260 42 2 19 92 54 7 .292 .487 .367 169 132 241 24 12 8 86 102 47 .319 .456 .434 161 86 209 30 3 4 56 50 8 .292 .379 .353 160 92 210 30 1 6 101 49 49 .299 .393 .360 158 113 195 20 7 1 56 78 21 .306 .378 .401 194 127 263 42 6 5 64 75 47 .355 .481 .441 160 88 280 25 7 27 119 40 2 .302 .529 .354

W 20 21

L 10 4

% .667 .840

IP 233 226

H 186 164

ER 66 32

SO 221 181

BB 71 95

ERA 2.55 1.27

BR/9 10.2 10.5

Having made that point, I must say that this was a very well chosen team. My second baseman was Milt Bolick of Roanoke Rapids. He hit .308 and slugged .439 with 39 doubles, 88 runs, 90 RBIs, and 42 steals. Dickens did have an extraordinary 6.9 TC/G ratio, but Bolick had a still-very-good 6.3. The only change I would make is moving Martin to the (non-existent) utility spot, as he split his time almost evenly between catcher and outfield. My catcher would then become Harry Varney of Greenville. He hit .286 with a .444 SA, and had 53 runs and the same number of RBIs. I would also have added William Padgett of New

¡949

281

BR/9 ratio under ¡0, or perhaps even under 9? I know I would’ve, and I was surprised when my calculations resulted in that ¡0.5 figure.)

Bern to the sta›. He went 22–¡3 with a good ¡.97 ERA. His ¡0.5¡ BR/9 ratio was third, right behind Gohl’s ¡0.47. (By the way, wouldn’t you think that a pitcher with a fantastic ¡.27 ERA would have had a

Eastern Shore League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Gene Corbett Bob “Ducky” Detweiler Hank Parker Bob Westfall Ronnie Berger Dom Bertocci Gordon Bragg Andy Anderson No selection made

George McPhail Andy Schultz

TEAM Salisbury Federalsburg Cambridge Federalsburg Salisbury Cambridge Easton Easton

Seaford Salisbury

G 30 27

G 94 103 88 120 106 89 94 107

GS — —

AB 315 375 333 445 395 357 348 410

CG 20 17

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 102 53 153 20 2 9 68 72 7 .324 .486 .454 127 89 206 28 6 13 107 86 30 .339 .549 .464 95 49 137 18 0 8 62 44 7 .285 .411 .372 158 126 260 35 5 19 113 111 26 .355 .584 .485 112 67 178 11 11 11 76 51 33 .284 .451 .365 94 71 111 3 7 0 37 73 37 .263 .311 .390 126 70 167 17 9 2 42 49 36 .362 .480 .448 127 52 153 16 5 0 58 39 1 .310 .373 .375

SH 2 1

Corbett was a playing manager. The only place I di›er with the positional suggestions is in the outfield, where I had John Caputo of Federalsburg instead of Bertocci. Caputo hit .289 with a .388 SA and a .4¡4 OB%. He was second in the league with 98 runs. Plus, please notice Bertocci’s doubles: three, in 357 at-bats. Again we are in the Roy Thomas Zone here, people. I do not believe I have ever come across a player with over 400 plate appearances with fewer doubles.

W 17 13

L 10 10

% .630 .565

IP 225 191

H 202 145

ER 68 81

SO 220 207

BB 140 165

ERA 2.72 3.82

BR/9 14.1 15.0

I would have had two completely di›erent pitchers (actually, I would have had a sta› of three, McPhail being the third). Harry “Duke” Markell (born Harry Duquesne Makowski in Paris France) went ¡0–¡ with a 2.¡7 ERA and ¡¡8 Ks in ¡08 innings. “Long” John Andre (he was 6’4, big in the late ’40’s) was ¡7–¡¡ with a 2.75 ERA and 240 Ks in 249 innings, and his ¡¡.8 BR/9 ratio was tops on the eastern shores of the Delmarva Peninsula.

Far West League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

NAME Bill Ashley Don Davis Glen Gorbous Morrie Nordell Gene Mitzel Theodore Hesse Willie Enos Milt Martin No selection made

Blair Simpson James Howard Niles Jordan

TEAM Marysville Willows Medford Klamath Falls Willows Klamath Falls Pittsburg Pittsburg

G 122 113 119 122 121 124 126 79

AB 480 469 498 523 488 525 504 282

H 143 162 172 163 159 188 166 81

R 100 102 96 129 106 135 122 43

TB 208 240 218 236 256 275 296 114

G 21 34 31

GS — — —

CG 14 18 19

SH 2 0 0

W 15 16 19

L 2 12 7

Pittsburg Redding Klamath Falls

Another wild and wooly West Coast hitting circus, the “Far Worst League” as it was (and is) known to its fans and aficionados, averaged a whopping ¡3.9 runs each and every game. If you hit .338 and had enough at-bats to qualify for the hitting title, I’m sorry buddy, but you are not a top ten hitter. Fifteen

2B 22 34 19 34 20 34 28 15

% .882 .571 .731

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 14 5 78 84 22 .298 .433 .406 4 12 79 45 24 .345 .512 .407 12 1 77 49 19 .345 .438 .405 9 7 78 76 24 .312 .451 .410 4 23 130 53 20 .326 .525 .396 13 9 112 80 40 .358 .524 .447 6 30 147 75 7 .329 .587 .418 3 4 51 23 1 .287 .404 .343

IP 160 222 213

H 165 208 222

ER 74 129 103

SO 107 226 188

BB 96 174 96

ERA 4.16 5.23 4.35

BR/9 15.0 15.8 13.6

batters scored more than ¡00 runs, and as many stole at least twenty bases. Klamath Falls averaged 8.9 (!) runs a game. My first base choice was Lou Vezelich (aka “The Franchise Killer” or “The Kiss of Death,” because he managed two teams in the ’49 Far Worst, Vallejo and

282

Minor League All-Star Teams

Santa Rosa, and they both folded before the end of the season). Check out these averages: .406, .568, and a huge .528 OB%. He played in 89 games and had ¡00 RBIs. At third, I o›er this challenge: If there was a worse oversight than this in any league in any year (besides Tony Lazzeri in ¡925), I will send a copy of my next book to the discoverer absolutely free. Get ready for this: Ray “Moose” Perry, manager of Redding, hit .404. He slugged .846 (!). And, his OB% was an amazing, an extraordinary, a mind-boggling .600 (!!!). You read that correctly: .600. In ¡20 games, he scored ¡35 runs, drove in ¡55, and walked ¡69 times. He had 45 homers in only 364 ABs— and he even stole 20 bases. Extrapolated out over a ¡50G season, “Moose” would have hit 56 homers and had ¡94 RBIs, both totals kept down by the fact that he would have received 2¡¡ walks. This was just a monster season. The voters must have held an aught against playing managers, because they also left Pittsburgh’s manager/outfielder of o› the Far West Wonder Force. This manager’s name was Vincent P. DiMaggio (not to be confused with Vincent S. DiMaggio, pitcher for Vallejo). Vince Hit .367 with an outstanding .732 SA and a superior .490 OB% (do you have any idea how hard it is to ring up numbers like that and finish second and third in your league?). He scored ¡08 runs in his ¡0¡ games with ¡¡7 RBIs and 37 home runs. I had George Triandos (Gus’s brother) as my catcher. Greek George played for Vallejo, went to Santa Rosa when that team folded its tents, and finally wound up in Pittsburg when that team also bit the dust. He hit .278 with 84 RBIs. No utility man was selected, but Al Heist (who finally made the majors at age 32, eleven years later) was my choice. The Brooklyn native played third and the outfield hit .326 with a good .434 OB%, scored ¡¡7 runs and had 93 RBIs. Okay, lets’ “do us some cipherin’” as Jethroe Bodine used to say. The infield as chosen hits .325, slugs .458, and has an OB% of .407. It scores 427 runs and drives in 3¡2 with 25 homers, 245 walks, and 89 steals. If you replace Ashley and Gorbous with playing managers Vezelich and Perry, those numbers

climb to .360, .576, and a tremendous .483. This foursome scores 443 runs, drives in 4¡2 (25 more a man on average), whops 70 homers and still manages to steal 79 bases. What in the name of Homer Simpson were the selectors thinking? Did they decide that two of the picks had to come from the Bizzaro world? In the outfield, the addition of “Voltin’” Vince takes the BA from .338 to .350, the SA from .545 to .60¡, and the OB% from .4¡2 to .448. The runs and RBIs sat just about the same (because Vince was only in ¡0¡ games), but the homers climb from 62 to 76. Now, if you will bear with me just a little longer, if you have a team with replacements Vezelich at first, Perry at third, and DiMaggio in the outfield (and keeping, for simplicity’s sake, Martin at catcher), the results are as follows: BA, up from .327 to .350; SA, up from .489 to .572; OB%, up from .408 to .453; runs, up from 833 to 85¡ (despite the short seasons of Vezelich and DiMaggio); RBIs, up from 752 to 839 (ditto); and home runs, up from 9¡ to ¡50. Is this the poorest selected team of ¡949? A better question would be, “Is this one of the poorest jobs of selecting an All-Star team of all times?” As one would expect, in a league such as this, pitching was at a premium, and the premiums were void in Northern California and Southern Oregon (pronounced “Orygun,” by the way (for all you easterners out there)). No pitcher had an ERA under 3.28, and 4.42 was the tenth best mark in the league. The pitching was not so bad, though, that a 5.23/¡5.8 pitcher was an “All-Star.” So what if he was the best left-hander in the league? He was only the thirteenth best pitcher over all. William Carr of Pittsburg led the league with a 3.28 ERA, 2¡ wins (he was 2¡–8), and an ¡¡.6 BR/9 ratio. Mel Ristau of Santa Rosa was ¡¡–4 for a team that played .4¡6 ball when he was not the pitcher of record. He had a 3.63 ERA (fourth) and allowed ¡¡.7 BR/9 second. The sta› as selected had a 4.63 ERA and allowed ¡4.8 BR/9, going 50–2, .704. A sta› of Ristau, Carr, and Jordan goes 5¡–¡9 (.729), .375, ¡2.4. By the way, both Niles Jordan and (not selected) Bill Carr started and won double headers on the seasons final day, both throwing two complete games.

Florida State League (D) Gainesville scored 6 runs a game, and went 87–50. Orlando and Leesburg each scored 3.8 runs a game, and went 5¡–85 and 37–97 (Leesburg also gave up 6.4 RPG). Kerestes was such a weak hitter that it is hard not to want to replace him. Lyle Judy of St. Augustine

hit for .257, .3¡0, and .339 averages, not much better, but some better. The problem with him is that he had an average 5.¡ TC/G ratio, while Mel had a good 6.2. Judy scored eleven more runs for a stronger hitting team. I guess Kerestes’ 29 RBIs decides to for me: Judy.

¡949 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME LaVerne Mayer Mel Kerestes Jim Jones Gus Montelbano Herb McLeod Manuel Rivera Al Pirtle Ray Dunne No selection made

Stan Karpinski Chet Covington

TEAM Palatka Orlando Sanford Daytona Beach Palatka Gainesville Gainesville DeLand

G 131 136 137 135 130 137 132 134

AB 463 574 515 485 527 529 488 482

G 40 14

GS — —

CG 30 11

St. Augustine Palatka

283

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 134 85 187 40 5 1 73 102 8 .289 .404 .429 145 74 166 18 0 1 29 36 20 .253 .289 .306 159 95 214 42 5 1 78 73 14 .309 .416 .397 109 81 165 17 9 7 47 83 18 .225 .340 .338 184 94 248 43 6 3 72 46 13 .349 .471 .408 177 142 284 36 16 13 102 53 55 .335 .537 .405 187 103 265 46 3 9 110 78 3 .383 .543 .471 115 49 134 17 1 0 52 34 6 .239 .278 .294

SH 9 2

Montelbano was another poor hitter. In his place, how about placing Walt Singer of Palatka and Gainesville? Singer hit .266 and had a .360 OB%. Gus scored 85 runs though, and Walt only 65. This is another of those “six of one, a half dozen of the other” choices. The problem was, there just were no standout hitters in the FSL in the infield or at catcher. The selected All-Star DP combo hit .240 and slugged .303, the Judy/Singer one .26¡ and .324. Neither one is exactly Robinson/Reese. No utility man was selected, but All-Star pitcher Karpinski also played outfield and hit .296 with 40 RBIs. The pitching was strong in this league, with four qualifiers under 2.00 in ERA and six twenty game winners (all of whom actually won at least 23). I have no problem at all with either of the o‡cial choices, but would add two more pitchers. Walley

W 29 11

L 5 2

% .853 .846

IP 315 105

H 207 77

ER 55 20

SO 276 94

BB 102 27

ERA 1.57 1.71

BR/9 9.1 9.0

(and that is apparently the correct spelling) Gaddis of Daytona Beach was 25–8 with a ¡.93 ERA. He allowed ¡0.4 BR/9 and struck out 2¡4 batters. George Fultz of Gainesville was 25–¡2, 2.4¡ with a ¡0.9 BR/9 ratio. And while we are on the subject of Florida State pitchers, you may be interested to know that the “Big Three” of Gainesville (Fultz, Myril Hoag, and Rich McMillan) went 72–27 (.727) with 78 complete games and a 3.04 ERA, allowing ¡¡.3 BR/9. The threesome won 83% of the G-Men’s victories and was responsible for only 52% of their defeats. They also struck out 6¡4 batters (280 by Hoag) and hit .285 with 50 RBIs. The four pitchers I would have had on my roster went 90–27 (.769) with a ¡.94 ERA and allowed 9.9 BR/9.

Georgia-Alabama League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Alton McAfee John Heusman Carl Franson John Millard William Bert Hudson James Ball Joel Chapman Bob Rinker No selection made

Marvin Chappell Ralph Clements

TEAM Newnan Alexander City Newnan Newnan Opelika Opelika Valley Gri‡n

G 121 126 124 124 113 115 83 112

AB 434 430 498 462 411 419 316 411

G 51 28

GS — —

CG 20 17

Alexander City Tallassee

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 112 73 152 22 3 4 68 67 12 .258 .350 .359 114 108 133 9 5 0 72 128 80 .265 .309 .436 134 106 264 34 6 28 104 68 4 .269 .530 .368 135 80 186 20 8 5 81 70 9 .292 .403 .393 133 88 208 21 15 8 107 78 20 .324 .506 .437 143 82 175 12 4 4 67 68 14 .341 .418 .433 111 56 158 19 2 8 74 41 12 .351 .500 .429 117 68 177 23 4 8 80 44 16 .285 .431 .355

Ball was a playing manager. Although this was a pitcher’s league, a more productive first baseman needed finding. Malvern Morgan, who managed at Valley for part of the season, was that find. He was only in 77 games, but his 79 RBIs were more than McAfee had in ¡2¡ games. He hit .375, slugged .562, and had a .459 OB%. Second baseman/manager of the pennant-winning Newnan Brownies Robert Schmidt was my key-

SH — —

W 20 14

L 7 7

% .741 .667

IP 235 187

H 180 148

ER 61 46

SO 162 114

BB 129 76

ERA 2.34 2.21

BR/9 12.2 10.9

stone choice. He hit .308 with a .425 OB%, his ¡7 homers were tied for fourth, his ¡02 runs were third, and his ¡08 RBIs topped the league. Yet another playing manager was my shortstop choice, this time Bill Seal of Carrollton. He, like Morgan, only managed for about half a season, but his numbers were superior to the scribe’s choice in every way. He hit .34¡, slugged .666, and had a .478 OB%. Despite playing only 85 games, he was second

284

Minor League All-Star Teams At catcher, it was a close race from my perspective. I finally went with Robert “Steamboat” Fulton of Newnan over Rinker. “Steamboat” hit .282 (similar to Rinker), slugged .444 (also similar), but had a .426 OB%, 8¡ points higher than Rinker. Bobby Tiefenauer of Tallassee went ¡7–6 for a team which, apart from his e›orts, played sub-.500 ball. His ERA was 2.27 and he led the league with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.4. Newnan’s John McFadden was 2¡–9 with a 2.55 ERA, third in BR/9 ratio with an ¡¡.0 mark, and led all Ga-Fla chuckers with ¡80 strike-outs. The league even had a relief pitcher of All-Star status, another Newnanite known only as Elmer Wallace. He pitched ¡47 innings in 42 games and went 9–2 with a 2.02 ERA.

in the league with 23 homers and fourth with 97 RBIs. As o‡cially sanctioned, the infield hit .27¡, slugged .403, and had a .390 OB%. In 495 games, the foursome scored 367 runs (92 each) and drove in 325 (8¡ per man). The o›-the-books quartet of Morgan, Schmidt, Seal, and Franson hits .3¡4 (43 points better), slugs .548 (a huge ¡45 point di›erence), and has an OB% of .423 (33 points up). Despite playing in only 409 games, 86 fewer than the “control group,” this shadow infield is only outscored by 35 runs, scoring 83 a man, and drives in 63 more runs, 388 for a 97 per man average. One unselected outfielder deserves mention: Robert Adcock of the mighty Gri‡n Pimentos. In limited action (92 games), he hit .346 with a .549 SA. He scored 80 runs and led the league with a .488 OB%.

Georgia-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Neal Hertweck Edward Trojanowski Hal Grote Rb. “Whitey” Koppenhaver Eugene Dopperschmidt Dick Jones Russell Rac Vic Comolli No selection made

SP SP

Morris Frank Art Ceccarelli

Albany Valdosta

TEAM Albany Americus Valdosta Albany Valdosta Valdosta Albany Americus

G 38 34

GS — —

G 139 137 125 93 128 123 136 100

CG 20 15

AB 539 488 428 357 471 499 519 322

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 137 96 210 17 10 12 109 67 14 .254 .390 .345 129 141 181 18 11 4 46 150 69 .264 .371 .445 118 82 165 26 3 5 65 93 24 .276 .386 .413 104 94 115 7 2 0 56 105 7 .291 .322 .463 159 105 236 29 9 10 91 84 54 .338 .501 .442 163 93 215 33 2 5 52 36 37 .327 .431 .379 164 103 267 31 12 16 134 79 16 .316 .514 .421 99 49 135 17 2 5 54 49 17 .307 .419 .405

SH 5 1

W 22 17

The Ga-Fla was another of ’49’s stolen base leagues, with an average of 2.2 steals every game. Fifteen players stole at least twenty bases, and one could have had an All-Star team with 336 steals, a cool 42 a man. Hertwick , despite his RBI total was not my first baseman, as there was another player with almost as many runs and RBIs who had better averages. Harry Geis of Cordele hit .322, slugged .487, and had a .365 OB%. He had eighteen triples and scored 92 runs while driving in 95 in 2¡ fewer games than Hertwick. There was a logjamette at second. Stanley Brill of Moultrie had an exceptional fielding season, with 6.5 TC/G, but he only hit .262 with 9¡ runs. Bob Lyons of Waycross handled an average 5.5 TC/G, but he hit .289 with a .432 OB%, and he not only scored more than one a game, he also had more runs than hits (as did Trojanowski, you will notice) with ¡35 runs in ¡¡6 games on ¡3¡ hits. But in the end, I was one over by the mix of Trojanowski’s run-scoring ability and range (6.3 TC/G). Two Thomasville outfielders deserve mention:

L 9 8

% .710 .680

IP 236 210

H 170 152

ER 51 75

SO 254 294

BB 93 149

ERA 1.94 3.21

BR/9 10.4 13.2

Emil Restaino and John Phillips. Restaino was only in 80 games, but he both scored and drove in 72 runs. He hit a robust .388, slugged .593, and had a .465 OB%, all of which would have been league bests if he had had enough plate appearances to qualify (he fell about 40 appearances short). Phillips hit .329, third best, and his ¡¡4 runs were fourth. Also overlooked was Albany’s batting champ, Delton Childs. He hit .343 with a .449 OB% and scored ¡09 runs. Before getting into specific pitchers, a bit about the Albany Sta›: the top five Cardinal pitchers went 7¡–29 (.7¡0) with an ERA of 2.28, and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.¡. The top six were 86–34 (.7¡7), 2.5¡, and ¡¡.¡, and the top seven went 93–35 (.727) with a 2.75 ERA, allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9, and averaged 7.3 K/9 IP. LT45’s and one pitcher who was traded were left to divvy up three wins and seven losses. They are also responsible for 82 runs, which may or may not (depending on how many were earned) bring the team ERA up over 3.00. Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell went ¡2–3 for Albany with a ¡.98 ERA, and allowed only 9.6 BR/9.

¡949

285

ERA and 548 Ks in 446 innings, ¡¡.¡ per nine IP. The four mentioned pitchers went 72–26 (.735) with a 2.34 ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9 with 965 strike-outs in 8¡5 innings, ¡0.7 per 9 IP.

He and Frank combined to record with a ¡.96 ERA and 429 strike-outs in 377 innings. Ron Negray of Valdosta went 2¡–6 with a 2.¡7 ERA and he allowed ¡0.4 BR/9. He had 242 Ks in 228 IP. The two selectees were 39–¡7 (.696) with a 2.54

Georgia State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Edgar Hartness Orestes Pereda Jack Collins Emil Rey Russell “Red” Mincey Pete Gula Don Ricketson Fred Tschudin No selection made

SP SP

Jim Harden George Cook

TEAM Eastman Douglas Sparta Douglas Douglas Sparta Vidalia-Lyons Douglas

Eastman Sparta

G 28 36

GS — —

G 139 132 137 142 146 107 146 135

CG 24 24

SH 3 4

AB 486 553 627 503 564 467 549 520

H 177 165 173 119 165 163 156 182

W 20 21

Hartness was a playing manager. I saw no option other than to have co-first basemen, for how can anyone in good conscience leave a .400 hitter of o› an All-Star team? James Stoyle of Sparta was just such a one, with his .400 BA. He also had an excellent .667 SA, and a good .467 OB%, yet was left out in the cold, face pressed against the rain-streaked window, watching the feasting and carousing of the Chosen Men at their post-season banquet. I had league home run leader Ralph Burgamy at third, despite his poor 2.7 TC/G range and a poorer .885 FA (Collins was a bit better at 3.6 and .897). His averages were .3¡7, .577 (second best), and .4¡7, a total of 393 points higher than Collins’s numbers, and that to me, is worth a chance a game. Burgamy hit 28 homers, scored ¡02 times, and drove in ¡23 runs, only 77 more than Collins. At short, I had Parnell Ruark of Sparta (Saint’s manager J.B. Ruark’s brother?). He hit .339 with a .54¡ SA, scored ¡04 runs, hit 38 doubles, and ¡7 triples. Now, according to the o‡cial stats, he had ten RBIs and walked five times. Umm… I don’t think so. It is possible that the typesetter entered his stolen base total twice, causing his other stats to shift over one space. If that is the case, he had

R 119 95 104 88 113 101 96 86

L 5 12

TB 277 190 207 147 226 215 263 237

% .800 .636

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 41 12 13 136 104 27 .364 .570 .488 19 3 1 81 47 22 .298 .344 .358 20 4 2 46 27 16 .276 .330 .312 18 5 0 65 77 21 .237 .292 .338 34 2 8 98 88 30 .293 .401 .390 26 9 2 77 74 10 .349 .460 .441 23 4 26 133 79 13 .284 .479 .381 24 9 4 105 67 14 .350 .456 .427

IP 234 276

H 203 230

ER 68 94

SO 136 184

BB 32 109

ERA 2.62 3.07

BR/9 9.1 11.8

90 RBIs (and we know darn well he did not have ten!). I had five outfielders on my short list, the three selectees and Loren Chafin of Eastman and Bill Crago of Fitzgerald. Chafin hit .3¡2 with ¡28 runs, 97 RBIs, and 5¡ steals. Crago hit only .277, but he had a .435 OB% thanks to ¡4¡ walks. He also scored ¡25 runs. Despite his good numbers, Tschudin was no shooin at catcher. Chester “Chet” Kanavage of the BaxleyHazlehurst Red Socks hit .363, slugged .557, had a .4¡7 OB%, hit 43 doubles and ¡7 homers, and had ¡0¡ RBIs. Except for the SA, he is so close to Tschudin that you would need some sort of small space widening device to separate them. There were no fewer than six twenty game winners in the ’49 Ga. State. Mike Rossi of Vidalia-Lyons was 25–¡3 with a 2.80 ERA and an ¡¡.0 BR/9 ratio. He had 32 complete games and threw 325 innings. Richard Ryan of Baxley-Hazlehurst went 20–¡¡ for the 57–8¡ Red Socks. He was responsible for 35 % of their wins, and when he was not involved in the decision, B-H won only 35% of the time. Two other things need mentioning: Harden only walked ¡.2 men every nine innings, and Heartsell Zollieco›er.

Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League The KOM hit only .243 and slugged a puny .336. Pittsburg hit .2¡0, “slugged” .277, and had a .336 OB%. The Browns scored only 4.3 runs a game,

struck out 6.9 times a game ( a lot in ¡949), and hit only ¡4 home runs. I had Harry Bright of Miami at third. He fielded

286 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Bob Speake Gene Castiglione Lou Skizas Kent Pflasterer Harold Neighbors Dick Getter James Bello Louis Dean Manns No selection made

TEAM Carthage Ponca City Independence Chanute Bartlesville Iola Independence Carthage

G 93 116 102 124 93 111 124 111

AB 352 450 411 481 380 409 509 390

H 88 125 122 151 118 118 156 116

R 66 91 80 86 82 62 81 63

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 152 10 6 14 59 60 19 .250 .432 .364 179 26 5 6 69 73 31 .278 .398 .381 194 28 4 12 76 65 6 .297 .472 .395 208 30 9 3 85 45 28 .314 .432 .376 186 23 6 11 81 42 6 .311 .489 .391 171 30 1 7 76 59 6 .289 .418 .387 219 35 5 6 95 61 2 .306 .430 .382 158 24 3 4 62 41 3 .297 .405 .370

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Merle “Woody” Wuethrich Carthage 26 — 18 2 16 5 .762 175 144 42 127 69 2.16 11.1 SP Conrad Swensson Ponca City 21 — 14 3 12 3 .800 149 77 28 145 107 1.69 11.4

.887 to Skizas’ .872 and had an excellent 4.2 TC/G mark to 3.0 for the man known as the “Nervous Greek.” Bright hit .286 and drove in 96 runs, the most in the league. Bartlesville’s Richard Drury had a spot in my outfield in place of Getter. Drury hit .3¡7 with a .433 OB%, and scored 77 runs while driving in 79. There was no utility player selected o‡cially, but I had Independence’s Charles Weber at that spot. He played outfield and second, hit .286, and he led the league in runs with 98 and in OB%. Some very poor hitters had decent OB percentages in this league. James Carney (Ponca City) hit .2¡6 and had a .42¡ OB%. Bill Chambers of Independence hit .¡93 with a .365 OB%. Dick Fought hit .¡9¡ but fought his way to a .363 OB%. Harry Kelly of Pittsburg hit .¡60 and doubled that with his .36¡

OB%. Sal Nardello, also of Pittsburg, hit .¡5¡ but had a .3¡0 OB% John Waltman of hapless Pittsburg was ¡6–¡4 for a team which finished 46 games under .500. He won an amazing 4¡% of his team’s victories, and when he was not the pitcher of record, his team played .245 ball. The league also had a genuine reliever, Joe Crowder of Independence. He pitched ¡¡0 innings in 4¡ games and had a 2.2¡ ERA. Bob Weisler, another Independence pitcher did not have an All-Star caliber year, but should be mentioned nonetheless. He was only ¡¡–¡2 with a 4.38 ERA, but he had the year’s lowest H/9 ratio, a mere 4.9. He also had ¡¡.7 strike-outs per nine innings, but that was balanced by a ¡0.3 BB/9 ratio. Two other KOM players need mentioning: Lou Hulu and Ameal Nassif.

Kitty League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

NAME Don Hazleton Marion “Bill” Adair Raymond Cattaneo Buddy Afremow M. “Frenchy” Partain John Mueller Joe DeMasi Jack Litzenfelner No selection made

Harley Grossman Ray Crone Joseph Linn

TEAM Owensboro Owensboro Owensboro Hopkinsville Clarksville Hopkinsville Madisonville Cairo

Fulton Owensboro Union City

G 36 14 29

G 98 101 110 91 98 115 122 90

AB 387 360 415 333 371 400 436 290

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 132 116 175 26 1 5 63 91 84 .341 .452 .467 128 108 215 14 2 23 120 85 12 .356 .597 .479 128 96 213 24 8 15 102 114 14 .308 .513 .457 99 71 117 14 2 0 33 70 13 .297 .351 .419 114 68 150 13 4 5 48 50 50 .307 .404 .390 149 97 207 31 6 5 97 67 30 .373 .518 .463 163 99 258 35 9 14 133 78 12 .374 .592 .469 89 63 120 18 5 1 45 65 0 .307 .414 .434

GS — — —

CG 21 10 19

SH 1 1 1

W 19 9 17

L 10 3 9

% .655 .750 .654

IP 220 89 230

H 199 76 180

ER 85 29 65

SO 144 102 155

BB 63 48 184

ERA 3.48 2.93 2.54

BR/9 11.0 12.5 14.5

No HBP kept for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Adair, Mueller, and DeMasi were playing managers. I would have chosen Ned Waldrop of Fulton for my first baseman. Although he was in only 79 games, he had more RBIs (82) than Hazleton. He was also second in home runs with 22, hit .3¡5, and had a .585 SA.

The choice at third was almost (almost, mind you) as big a travesty as the Far West League’s nonselection of Ray Perry. Manager Bill Hart hit .404 (once again I ask the question “How can you leave a .400 hitter of o› any putative “All-Star” team”?), slugged .7¡6 (how can you leave a .700 slugger of o› any alleged “All-Star” team?), and had a positively

¡949

287

ever for a first baseman? And, any guesses on the derivation of “Afremow”? My guess is that his people were Bulgarian. Junior Bunch, yet another Owensboronian had the loops best winning percentage (.842 on a ¡6–3 record) and, by my reckoning, won the ERA title with a 2.39 mark. (In the stats, Linn is given a 2.28, but that is incorrect, unless both his IP and ER figures are wrong.)

enormous .576 OB% (I almost wax apoplectic over the sheer e›rontery of ignoring this prodigious stat) for Cairo. He scored ¡32 runs and drove in ¡05 in ¡¡0 games. Jim Keller got my nod over Partain for the third outfield spot. Keller hit .332 with a .532 SA and a .407 OB%. He was in 99 games and had ¡07 RBIs. He also hit ¡9 homers and scored 84 runs for Owensboro. Please note Hazleton’s 84 steals. Are they the most

Longhorn League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Wayne Batson Alex Monchak Carlos Pascual Ramiro Vasquez Harry Scherting Stuart Williams Pat Stasey Frank Mormino No selection made

Humberto Garcia Julio Ramos

TEAM Odessa Odessa Big Spring Big Spring Vernon Ballinger Big Spring Odessa

Big Spring Big Spring

G 127 137 136 131 128 121 125 129

G 25 32

AB 452 522 559 465 502 474 441 509

GS — —

H 187 175 188 151 188 178 160 171

CG 15 24

R 115 147 80 91 110 111 108 86

SH 0 6

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 250 40 7 3 98 47 2 .414 .553 .473 329 37 6 35 125 78 36 .335 .630 .427 301 30 4 25 125 30 7 .336 .538 .372 203 29 10 1 79 61 18 .325 .437 .415 282 35 10 13 96 57 13 .375 .562 .441 290 39 8 19 119 52 24 .376 .612 .458 236 30 4 11 109 71 4 .363 .535 .460 265 32 4 18 140 66 3 .336 .521 .413

W 14 22

L 3 4

% .824 .846

IP 147 216

H 96 168

ER 29 53

SO 132 262

BB 54 89

ERA 1.78 2.21

BR/9 9.2 11.3

one of them. Bob Crues, manager of the Roswell Rockets for a part of the season, hit .365 with a .6¡¡ SA and a good .468 OB%. He had 28 homers, scored ¡2¡ runs, and drove in ¡29. My other guy was Julian Pressley of Midland. His averages were .358, .574, and .4¡9, with 24 homers, ¡06 runs, and ¡33 RBIs. Another outfield prospect was the astonishingly appellated Carriel Nipp. He played for both Midland and Ballinger. I said prospect, because with his .297 BA, he was no All-Star (except in the cognomen competition). Garcia’s ERA and BR/9 ratio were both league records.

An average of 4.7 errors was made in each Longhorn game, and no team fielded even .950. The outfielder who led in FA had ten (!) errors, for gosh sakes. Only one shortstop with over 70 games fielded over .900. Monchak, Williams, and Stasey were playing managers, Williams for part of the season. Williams was actually a first baseman (he played ¡¡2 of his ¡26 games there), but what are you gonna do? As I’ve said before on these pages, you can’t have a .400 hitter not be included on an All-Star team. Please note that Monchak was a 30–30 man. I had a four man outfield, and Williams was not

Mississippi-Ohio Valley League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME George Murphy Roger Della Betta G. “Little Cat” Gatto Donald Breidenbach Donald Wagner Richard Martz Jesse Nelms Socrates Anthony No selection made

Joseph Prucha Joseph Mattis

TEAM Mattoon Centralia Centralia Mattoon Mount Vernon Paducah Mount Vernon Belleville

G 117 95 118 119 120 119 113 94

G 34 24

CG 20 14

Centralia Mattoon

GS — —

AB 452 358 476 439 468 453 441 295

SH 2 1

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 131 87 162 21 5 0 60 74 17 .290 .358 .398 102 82 144 19 10 1 56 43 21 .285 .402 .368 133 102 174 21 10 0 48 85 12 .279 .366 .396 134 63 166 18 7 0 59 54 27 .305 .378 .388 137 89 194 27 3 8 90 91 17 .293 .415 .412 126 76 183 22 10 5 100 58 6 .278 .404 .363 122 89 187 33 4 8 92 79 10 .277 .424 .395 84 60 106 16 3 0 42 70 16 .285 .359 .427

W 19 10

L 8 9

% .704 .526

IP 211 162

H 152 124

ER 63 55

SO 135 166

BB 91 113

ERA 2.69 3.06

BR/9 11.0 13.9

288

Minor League All-Star Teams more RBIs. Virtually any combination of the six would yield just about the same result. Whichever three you deem the worthiest would engender no argument from me.) No utility choice was sanctioned by the scribal entities of the league, but my own survey resulted in two fellows sharing the utility spotlight. Lew “Buzz” Bekeza, Centralia Cubs manager, played first, outfield, caught and pitched in sixteen games (but fewer than 45 innings). He hit .284, slugged .434, scored 73 runs, drove in 72, and stole 39 bases. (It must have been a comfort to the Cubs manager knowing that he had someone to plug in almost any gap afield, if necessary, and who also would not embarrass himself at bat). The second utilitator was one “Handy” Andy Smith of Mattoon. He played outfield and caught. He also hit .324, second in the league. He also had a second-place SA of .462, and was high on the OB% lists at .4¡¡. He scored 93 runs and drove in 78. Mattoon manager Chuck Hawley was his own best pitcher. He went ¡5–5 and was third in the loop with a 2.64 ERA. West Frankfort’s Richard “I’m A” Loeser was ¡2–2 with a MOV-topping 2.22 ERA. The sta› would be improved by adding one or both of these gents to its numbers. This was not a line-up to cause trembling in the hearts of pitcher. No, it was more a Pick-Pockets Row than a Murderer’s Row. The Elite Eight hit .287 and slugged .389, and bashed a decidedly non-mammoth (a minnuth, perhaps?) 22 home runs.

Teams in the MOV averaged .5 home runs a game, and 2.5 steals. Six home runs were su‡cient for tenth in the home run race. I totally disagree with the first base choice. Malcom Mick took over the reins of the Belleville Stags in midseason. He didn’t lead them on any great charge towards the first division, but he did lead them in hitting. In 77 games, he hit .354, scored 65 runs, and walked ¡04 times (203, if extrapolated out over a ¡50 game season), giving him a .557 OB%. At second, my choice was another walking man, Paul Monteil of Mount Vernon. He only hit .253, but he walked ¡46 times in ¡07 games (which extrapolates out to 205 over ¡50 games), giving him a .47¡ OB%, which in turn allowed him to score 99 runs (on only 96 hits) in ¡07 games. In the outfield, I had Ev Joyner of West Frankfort, Mount Vernonite John Mitchell (who did not go on to become Richard Nixon’s Attorney General) and Joe Kovalcik of Centralia. Mitchell’s numbers were .3¡5, .438, and .376, with 36 doubles, 84 runs, 85 RBIs, and 3¡ steals. Joyner hit .322 and slugged .464, the league’s top mark. Kovalcik scored and drove in 87 runs, stole 4¡ bases, hit .293, slugged .429 (fifth) and had a .436 OB%, third to Monteil and Mick. (Now, the trouble with poor hitting leagues is that there is almost always a superfluity of virtually evenly matched candidates for some positions, especially outfielders. The MOV had six of these candidates. Among them, they had six of the league’s nine over .400 sluggers and five of the six players with 85 or

Mountain States League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Kelly Lunn Alberto Costa Ed “Kissin’” Cousins Phil Lewandowski Lew Flick Andy Fronduto Cy Whaley Charles McCormick No selection made

Frank Wilson Porter Witt

TEAM Pennington Gap Morristown Harlan Hazard Pennington Gap Jenkins Newport Harlan

Harlan Morristown

G 46 29

GS — —

G 125 118 123 118 112 123 110 122

CG 28 25

AB 498 468 466 454 471 469 388 469

H 179 132 147 124 168 138 129 136

SH 2 1

Hazard was 35–89 (.282), due in large part, no doubt, to the fact that they scored 4.6 RPG and gave up 7.3 McCormick and Flick were playing managers, Flick for just part of the season. Ralph Painter, Harlan keystoner, hit .330 with a .460 SA and a .4¡0 OB%. He scored ¡¡4 runs and drove in 93. How any researcher is supposed to look

W 27 19

R 117 92 123 70 118 86 84 104

L 8 9

TB 268 162 203 152 233 198 210 163

% .771 .679

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 32 11 2 126 43 9 .359 .538 .413 18 4 2 48 78 13 .282 .346 .390 28 5 10 99 64 31 .315 .436 .402 17 3 2 75 45 4 .273 .335 .340 32 6 3 90 50 18 .357 .495 .422 35 2 7 94 57 25 .294 .422 .377 26 3 16 97 77 3 .332 .541 .449 18 5 2 70 56 52 .290 .348 .369

IP 270 246

H 235 245

ER 83 117

SO 176 137

BB 104 65

ERA 2.77 4.28

BR/9 11.4 11.7

back in time to determine why he was not selected and Costa (who was ¡88 points down in the three averages) is a task worthy of Peabody, Sherman, and the Way-Back Machine, because it is beyond me. Another Harlanonian, outfielder Bill Scopetone, also seems to have gotten the shaft. He led the league with 37 doubles, was third with ¡05 RBIs, scored 92 runs, stole 36 bases, and hit .3¡6. Is that not a better

¡949 year than Fronduto’s? And what about Del Markert, outfielder (and part-time manager) of Big Stone Gap (every time I read that, my mind puts a period behind each word). He smacked the ol’ pill to a .356 tune, was fourth with a .487 SA and second with a .434 OB%. He was also second with ¡06 RBIs. In fact, how about a four-man outfield, with poor Andy Fronduto the odd man out? Please note that catcher McCormick stole 52 bases. Is this the most ever for a catcher? Wilson won four games in two days during the season, and had five complete-game double headers. He was also the only pitcher to have an ERA under 3.00. Brent Mays, Jenkins Cavalier extraordinaire, not only won 2¡ games (against ¡0 losses), but was also the number three hitter for his team, coming in at .333. He appeared in 23 games when he was not

289

pitching, and slugged .430 with a .423 OB%. He would have been my utility choice. But back to pitching. Mays won 33% of his teams victories, and his team played .452 ball when he was not the pitcher of record. His 3.06 ERA was second. Bob McNeill of Big Stone Gap was ¡3–¡0 for a team which was fifteen games under .500, and which played .389 when he was not the deciding pitcher. His 3.44 was fifth, and his ¡¡.9 BR/9 ratio was second (¡¡.88 to Wolfenbarger’s ¡¡.89). Speaking of Wolfenbarger, christened Burgess, I must add him to the “It’s Better To Be Lucky Than Good” files. The (part time) manager of Pennington Gap, he wound up 8–¡0, despite finishing fifth in ERA and fourth in BR/9 ratio. Meanwhile, Harlan’s Virgil Ferrell was an outstanding 8–¡, despite a 5.32 ERA and allowing ¡7.3 BR/9.

North Atlantic League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Harry Warner Tom Ambrose Stan Pawloski Joe Penczak Dom DellaRocca James “Mickey” Finn J.C. Dunn Jack Rothenhausler Ellsworth Dean Marty Powers No selection made

Dale Melms Edward Varhely

TEAM Stroudsburg Mahanoy City Stroudsburg Peekskill Stroudsburg Stroudsburg Lebanon Stroudsburg Carbondale Peekskill

Stroudsburg Stroudsburg

G 24 29

G 127 135 87 128 136 127 135 137 130 116

GS — —

AB 495 535 307 447 474 497 563 515 493 414

CG 17 14

H 172 147 101 133 141 166 216 194 149 137

SH 7 4

It could be said, with little fear of contradiction, that the Stroudsburg Poconos bestrode the ¡949 N.A.L. like a Colossus. They won an amazing 73.7 percent of their games, ending the season at ¡0¡–37, a mere 20∂ games ahead of the second place Lebanon Chix (a twenty-first century spelling in a mid-twentieth century world). They scored 925 runs, (6.8) per game, and surrendered 488 (3.6) a game while batting .297 with a .380 OB%. The All-Star team as selected was a thing of beauty, with only an addition of a utility man needed to make it complete. That utility man was William Leary of Stroudsburg, who played second and third. He hit .303 and scored ¡08 runs. The Poconos’ pitching sta› was as dominant as

R 122 103 46 96 105 118 141 112 74 58

W 15 20

TB 277 191 144 211 213 285 334 296 207 205

L 5 2

2B 28 12 17 28 31 30 42 23 25 21

% .750 .909

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 13 17 125 73 2 .347 .560 .434 13 2 59 71 46 .275 .357 .361 7 4 64 30 10 .329 .469 .389 10 10 81 87 9 .298 .472 .415 4 11 94 99 3 .297 .449 .421 22 15 104 53 9 .334 .573 .404 14 16 137 32 35 .384 .593 .421 20 13 128 64 10 .377 .575 .448 12 3 84 39 16 .302 .420 .356 10 9 74 26 4 .331 .495 .375

IP 164 177

H 119 138

ER 33 44

SO 101 140

BB 36 61

ERA 1.81 2.24

BR/9 8.8 10.4

their record would suggest. Missing five wins, three losses and only 38 runs to LT45s and a pitcher who was traded during the season, the sta› had an ERA of 2.70, allowed only 8 hits and 2.8 walks per nine innings pitched for a very, very low ¡0.8 BR/9 ratio. Eighteen shut-outs were manufactured by the potent Pocono pitchers. I would have added Stroudsburg’s manager, Frank Radler, to the select sta›. He was ¡2–2 with a fine ¡.59 ERA and a low 9.3 BR/9 ratio. Had that been done, the three men would have combined for a 47–9 record (.839), a ¡.9¡ ERA, and a low 9.5 BR/9 ratio, helped along by the fact that the three pitchers only walked 2.2 batters every nine innings.

North Carolina State League (D) Chapman, Linn, and Bolton were playing managers, Linn for only the first part of the season.

High Point-Thomasville shortstop Clarence Williams (he also played second) hit .343, slugged

290

Minor League All-Star Teams

POS 1B 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Charley Knight Herman Niehaus R. Vann Harrington Fred Chapman Robert Deese Owen Linn Norman Small Jim Mills Cli› Bolton No selection made

SP SP

Harold Wood Frank Smith

TEAM Mooresville H. Point-Th’sville H. Point-Th’sville Landis Landis Hickory Mooresville Mooresville H. Point-Th’sville

Lexington Statesville

G 33 49

GS — —

G 142 122 113 122 118 121 124 112 106

CG 21 14

AB 479 457 460 462 427 461 456 430 316

H 155 122 169 169 138 148 157 166 126

R 123 99 127 91 77 92 115 108 83

TB 217 221 278 256 183 232 308 236 191

SH 5 2

W 18 16

L 12 16

% .600 .500

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 31 5 7 62 105 12 .324 .453 .445 27 3 22 121 71 8 .267 .484 .373 44 1 21 115 60 34 .367 .604 .444 49 4 10 122 47 15 .366 .554 .425 15 12 2 61 40 0 .323 .429 .381 27 3 17 110 47 16 .321 .503 .399 20 4 41 152 88 7 .344 .675 .451 36 8 6 79 42 13 .386 .549 .442 31 2 10 105 65 3 .399 .604 .505

IP 234 236

H 213 265

ER 69 124

SO 204 150

BB 84 83

ERA 2.65 4.73

BR/9 11.8 13.4

H. Point-Th’sville is High Point–Thomasville.

.504, and had a .434 OB%, fifth best in the N.C.S League. He had 9¡ RBIs and scored ¡33 runs in ¡23 games. And, as an added bonus, he had a good 6.3 TC/G mark compared to Deese’s pedestrian 5.0. The outraged public should have assailed the league o‡ces after the season with signs and banners, chanting “We want Williams!” Oh, I think he is probably not related to Clarence Williams III. Adding a fourth outfielder would not have brought shame upon the heads of the selectors or their progeny. John Paszek of Salisbury hit .297 with a .505 SA and a good .433 OB%. He rapped ¡9 homers, scored 94 runs, and drove in 85, leading the last-place Pirates in hitting, slugging, OB%, home runs, runs, and homers. There was no utility man chosen, but I put forth catcher/first baseman George Bradshaw of Statesville to fill that niche. He hit .342 with a .470 OB% and scored 83 runs while driving in 76. I am afraid that I must take strong issue with the choice of pitchers, even that of Harold Wood who had a good year for a sub-.500 team. The two se-

lectees were 34–28 (.548) with a 3.70 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.2. May I put forward Lynn Southworth of High Point-Thomasville, Lester “the Tingler” Bringle of Mooresville, and the immortal Plaskie McCree of Lexington in their place. Bringle was an impressive 2¡–4 with a (surprisingly high) 3.43 ERA, and he allowed ¡¡.8 BR/9. Plaskie McCree was a humble ¡3–6, but he had a 2.¡9 ERA and the league’s best BR/9 ratio, ¡0.9. The exclusion and resultant historical seclusion of Southworth is an outrage. Used mostly as a reliever (he pitched ¡52 innings in 40 games), he managed to rack up an incredible 2¡–¡ season. That’s a .955 winning percentage people, the equivalent to leaving a .400 hitter of o› one of these picked-for-posterity teams. The three candidates who I suggested allowed ¡¡.6 BR/9, had a 3.00 ERA, and went 55–¡¡, .833. Oh, and one more thing (which no one else besides me might deem noteworthy, but here it is just the same): the entire loop only registered 36 passed balls all season, 0.03 per game. The Hi-Tom catchers had one, Mooresville catchers none.

Ohio-Indiana League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

NAME Robert Diedrick Louis Ruehl Edward Ralston Milton Kress Forrest Rende Joseph Beleta Robert Brigham Ralph Lucas Ben Haddix No selection made

TEAM Lima Muncie Muncie Springfield Portsmouth Lima/Newark Marion Springfield Springfield

G 75 102 130 139 135 117 139 114 112

AB 271 400 482 535 476 499 541 447 433

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 92 61 149 18 6 9 62 45 5 .339 .550 .442 125 88 181 25 11 3 64 72 21 .313 .453 .417 134 91 197 26 8 7 91 76 23 .278 .409 .382 150 117 205 28 9 3 71 97 16 .280 .383 .395 130 79 240 21 7 25 79 62 20 .273 .504 .375 147 84 254 51 8 20 90 38 11 .295 .509 .351 159 84 199 22 6 2 79 43 8 .294 .368 .350 155 94 216 27 8 6 103 45 6 .347 .483 .418 148 72 205 37 7 3 66 26 4 .342 .473 .380

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Allen “Dutch” Romberger Portsmouth 34 — 20 — 19 6 .760 217 181 49 186 75 2.03 10.7 SP Neilan Smith Marion 28 — 18 — 15 5 .750 182 180 56 131 35 2.77 10.9

¡949

291

Scots?) of Portsmouth. His ¡6–8 record was good, but his league-leading ¡.82 ERA and ¡0.¡ BR/9 ratio were better, but also doomed him to obscurity. By the way, he was also a southpaw, so can anyone explain why Smith was chosen over him, even given the dark ages Lefty-Righty mindset of so many selectors (some of whom, no doubt, still believed the earth was flat and in the phlogiston theory of combustion).

One more of a growing list of well-selected teams, only at second would I have a di›erent man, Wayne Yoder of Springfield. He hit but .287, but, thanks to league-leading ¡42 walk and ¡7 HBP totals, he led the league with a .458 OB%. He scored ¡2¡ runs, yet another chart-topper. The curiously forenamed Neilan Smith only walked ¡.7 batters every nine innings, commendable control, especially for a lefty. I would add another pitcher, Ewen Bryden (could his people have been

PONY League (D) POS 1B 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Bill Spangler Frank Seastrand Bruno Casanova Orval Cott Dan Carnevale Carmen Links Al Gilbert George Schachle Harry Psutka No selection made

William Furlong John Gilbert

TEAM Bradford Wellsville Hamilton Lockport Bradford Batavia Jamestown Hamilton Jamestown

G 124 96 124 122 126 123 126 125 87

G 25 36

Jamestown Hornell

AB 511 369 447 453 515 497 507 475 313

GS 18 26

H 162 107 140 153 192 133 171 143 100

CG 17 22

R 125 63 104 102 121 102 107 79 47

SH 1 3

Carnevale was a playing manager. Emile Carlini of Bradford made my outfield in place of Schachle. Carlini hit .289 and had a .434 OB%. He stole 38 bases, walked ¡¡¡ times, and led the PONY with ¡27 runs. My catcher was Charles Saverine, also a Bradford Clipper. He hit .300 with a .485 SA and a .4¡5 OB%, scored 74 runs, and had 95 RBIs, seventh best in the league. No utility man was chosen, but manager Ed Kobesky of Batavia played third, outfield, and pitched in ¡6 games. In limited action (¡82 ABs), he

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 245 17 9 16 81 74 26 .317 .479 .406 179 13 1 19 70 47 2 .290 .485 .375 208 22 8 10 75 119 14 .313 .465 .460 242 33 9 13 98 90 9 .338 .534 .450 272 47 6 7 126 70 30 .373 .528 .452 231 18 4 24 93 56 22 .268 .465 .342 284 33 10 20 108 71 11 .337 .560 .420 205 25 8 7 89 53 25 .301 .432 .376 148 14 8 6 54 37 4 .319 .473 .395

W 16 19

L 5 12

% .762 .613

IP 186 244

H 130 215

ER 39 95

SO 173 191

BB 79 56

ERA 1.89 3.50

BR/9 10.3 10.0

bashed the ball for a .390 average, smashed the sphere to a .758 SA tune, and wangled his way on base 57.8 percent of the time. His ¡7 homers were tied for sixth and he had 75 RBIs (extrapolated over 550 at bats, he would have had 5¡ homers and 225 RBIs). Two young Hamilton hurlers deserve mention: Willard Schmidt and Daniel Lewandowski, a pair of 2¡ year-olds who would both reach the majors. Schmidt was 22–9 with a 2.9¡ ERA and a league-best 9.7 BR/9 ratio. Lewandowski was ¡8–6 with a 3.04 ERA and allowed ¡0.3 BR/9.

Rio Grande Valley League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Bernard Pardue Francis “Mike” Boettcher Frank McAlexander Elroy Barrera Wilbur “Bud” Cearley Lloyd Pearson Dave Fairman Jack Trench No selection made

Edward Arthur George Davis

TEAM Corpus Christi Brownsville Corpus Christi Laredo Laredo Corpus Christi Del Rio Corpus Christi

McAllen Corpus Christi

G 35 31

GS — —

G 142 142 128 93 124 137 105 138

CG 22 6

AB 617 502 479 379 514 519 398 488

SH — —

H 205 154 156 89 172 180 112 139

W 17 13

R 138 94 127 91 128 140 75 113

L 12 5

TB 254 221 220 113 288 312 164 210

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 27 11 0 94 74 21 .332 21 6 11 91 45 18 .307 29 4 9 90 86 14 .326 13 4 1 39 68 1 .235 28 5 26 121 53 3 .335 40 8 25 132 103 20 .347 15 8 7 84 62 10 .281 23 4 14 119 103 2 .285

% .586 .722

IP 240 148

H 237 187

ER 101 78

SO 178 122

BB 125 65

SA OB% .412 .407 .440 .372 .459 .436 .298 .356 .560 .402 .601 .469 .412 .384 .430 .415

ERA 3.79 4.74

BR/9 14.0 15.8

292

Minor League All-Star Teams

Cearley was a manager part of the season. My third baseman was an old favorite, Donald “Purina” Petschow of Brownsville. He only hit .282, and had an average .369 OB%. But, he slugged .503 (third among qualifiers), scored ¡25 runs, and led the loop with 28 homers and ¡46 RBIs. He was even a rare (for the time) 20–20 man with 29 steals. Cearley’s stats are all messed up. For one thing, he is listed as having 524 ABs and a .335 BA. Well, that is impossible. If he had ¡75 hits, he would have hit .334. If he had ¡76, he would have hit .336. (The o‡cial stats, by the way, credited him with ¡2 hits, which would have given him a .023 BA. I do not believe that his “o‡cial” hit total is correct.) On occasion, errors such as this can be rectified by refiguring the batter’s TBs. In this case, however, the TBs do not help, as he is listed with 202, and that cannot be possible with 59 EBHs, 26 of which are homers (unless he hit only 27 singles, but that way madness lies). So, this is what I came up with: 5¡4 ABs (the league mis-entered it as 524), ¡72 hits (the league left out the seven), which would indeed give him a .335 BA, and a new 288 TB total. I may be o›, but I challenge any one else (without micro-fiche of the ’49 RGVL box scores) to do better. But enough about W-i-i-i — l-lbur. I bid adieu to Fairman and introduce “Call Me” Ishmael Montalvo, who also managed for the Laredo Apaches. He hit .322 with 4¡ doubles, ¡00 runs, and ¡¡2 RBIs. He had a .428 OB%. I also would have added a fourth

outfielder, this one a “short-timer.” Joe Wisniewski was the high card for the Corpus Christi Aces while he was there. In 64 games, he hit .3¡6 with a .430 OB% and a good .648 SA. He popped 23 homers, scored 77 runs, and had 73 RBIs. I had another short-timer at catcher. Henry Robinson of Laredo was in 73 games and hit 25 homers, scored 54 runs, and drove in 78. He hit .3¡2 and slugged .63¡. I feel that he deserves at the least a co-catcher spot. Alfredo Jiminez of Del Rio was listed in the fielding stats as “utility” for his ¡0¡ games. He hit .328 and had an OB% of .430. I would have had the league’s two twenty game winners as my selected pitchers. Hal Jackson of McAllen went 20–7 with an ERA of 3.09 and a league-best BR/9 ratio of ¡0.9. Gil Garza of Laredo was 2¡–9 with a 3.76 ERA and allowed ¡¡.8 BR/9. Edwardo Beltron of Donna/Robstown (the franchise moved from Donna on 6 June) deserves mention. The Cards finished at 45–93, .326, 43 games out. The team allowed over seven runs a game with an ERA of over 5.50. Beltron went ¡5–¡7, responsible for 33% of the Card’s wins. His team played .283 ball when some one else was the pitcher of record. And finally, the league had an actual relief pitcher. John Paul Myers (Brownsville) pitched ¡05 innings in 27 games with no CGs. He was 7–¡ and had an ERA of 3.¡7.

Sooner State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Dick Vonder Haar Bob King Pete Runnels Daryl Spencer Jerrel Creekmore Joe Nodar Andy Teter Dick Bornholdt Vern Hoscheit No selection made

Jim Melton Joseph Micciche

TEAM Lawton Ada Chickasha Pauls Valley Seminole Ardmore Pauls Valley Lawton McAlester

Pauls Valley Lawton

G 35 38

G 136 79 130 140 98 131 96 135 127

GS — —

AB 516 314 505 528 365 468 388 472 387

CG 20 20

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 148 89 212 19 12 7 81 77 42 .287 .411 .392 85 65 111 12 4 2 43 49 5 .271 .354 .369 188 111 266 44 8 6 92 86 15 .372 .527 .466 151 113 257 29 4 23 112 88 20 .286 .487 .395 92 60 130 15 4 5 51 64 16 .252 .356 .370 132 121 168 23 5 1 50 123 20 .282 .359 .449 114 82 197 22 8 15 56 42 18 .294 .508 .367 143 98 230 25 7 16 92 89 27 .303 .487 .423 106 71 145 25 1 4 51 80 24 .274 .375 .402

SH 2 5

Hoscheit was a playing manager. Lawton stole 25¡ bases, ¡.8 per game. Ada batters struck out 987 times (6.9 times a game). Ardmore fielded .925 and made 409 errors, 3 per game. There was no slugger at first, so a choice must be made between a decent all-around hitter and a poorer one with a huge OB% advantage. Ada Hereford first sacker Earl Bossenberry hit but .274 and

W 23 20

L 8 6

% .742 .769

IP 259 254

H 225 162

ER 98 63

SO 158 297

BB 108 163

ERA 3.41 2.23

BR/9 11.8 11.9

slugged a low .372. However, he got on base ¡4¡ times without the benefit of a hit, which gave hit the league’s number two OB%, .460. He scored ¡02 runs in ¡¡6 games and stole 30 bases. Chickasha Chief second baseman Kelly Wingo had averages in the same neighborhood as those posted by King (.268, .34¡, and .335), but he had 29 steals and scored ¡23 runs, best in the Sooner State.

¡949

293

sta› with an exceptionally good 2.58 ERA. They allowed only ¡2.4 BR/9, and only 6.7 of those came in the form of hits. The sta› struck out (at least) ¡004 batters and averaged 7.4 Ks per 9 IP. Hitters batted a puny .¡99 against the mighty arms of Lawton. I would add two hurlers: Orville Mackintubee of Chickasha (I’d bet that he was Native American) and Jim Spencer of Lawton. Orville was ¡5–8 with a 2.49 ERA and allowed ¡2.¡ BR/9. Spencer was ¡2–8 and led in ERA (¡.96) and BR/9 (¡0.3), and now you know the rest of the story. Micciche, by the way allowed only 5.7 H/9 IP. Bob Harrison of Lawton allowed only 5.4, but his season was undermined by his walking ¡70 batters in only ¡78 innings, 8.6/9 IP.

I had big Bill Milligan in my outfield. Milligan, who played for Seminole and Ada, hit .295, slugged .520 (second best in the S.S.L.), and had an OB% of .404. He tied for the home run lead with 23, had 99 RBIs, and scored 94 runs. As an aside, Len Zeibig, Ada’s regular catcher (he caught in 92 of his ¡02 games) performed the rare feat (and doubly so for any one in at least ¡00 games) of having an OB% twice that of his BA. He hit .¡72, but thanks to 70 walks and ¡0 HBP, rang up a .348 OB%. More on this subject follows in the Tobacco State League comments. I was able to compile ¡226 innings and a record of 85–50 for Lawton (missing two wins, two losses, and certainly fewer than seventy innings), and had the

Tobacco State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C

NAME Marvin Lorenz James Guinn Henry Miller Thomas Campbell John Richards William Bohlender Hargrove Davis Steve Marko

SP SP

C. Condit G. McDonald

TEAM Clinton Lumberton Dunn-Erwin Red Springs Dunn-Erwin Lumberton Wilmington Dunn-Erwin

Dunn-Erwin Lumberton

G 130 132 135 74 127 134 107 129 G 33 28

AB 531 504 567 302 513 513 436 503 GS — —

H 152 145 177 75 180 157 178 164 CG 19 8

R 68 116 114 52 107 101 72 93 SH 3 1

Lorenz, Guinn, Miller, and Davis were playing managers, the last two for part of the season only. At first, I preferred Cecil “Turkey” Tyson of Lumberton. He was in 93 games and both scored and drove in 62 runs. He batted .3¡8, slugged .360 and had a good .478 OB%. Guinn had a 5.5 TC/G ratio. Nick “Gutta” Purchia of Clinton had an outstanding 6.3 figure. He hit .277, slugged .334, and had an OB% of .38¡, that last a 77 point advantage over Guinn. He also tied for the lead in runs with ¡¡8. At short my guy was Amerigo Mazzei of Clinton. He hit .245 with a .373 OB% and 75 runs, and fielded .92¡ to Campbell’s .893. The infield as chosen has averages of .288, .38¡, and .334. A Tyson/Purchia/Miller /Mazzei infield has .286, .368, .393 averages, with the big advantage being a 49 point jump in OB%. It was also a better fielding combo. (As an aside, I must mention Dunn-Erwin middle infielder Dean Prowell. He was in ¡0¡ games and accrued 409 at-bats. He hit an almost unbelievably low .¡42, and slugged an equally unbelievable .¡8¡. Thanks to 7¡ walks, he had an OB% of .278. With four more walks, he would have been one of the very

TB 183 171 256 115 258 217 257 219 W 20 15

L 9 6

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 19 3 2 89 36 5 .286 .345 .335 16 5 0 48 11 12 .288 .339 .304 33 11 8 107 41 42 .312 .451 .367 15 5 5 40 27 6 .248 .381 .320 30 6 12 105 67 13 .351 .503 .430 29 11 3 88 86 21 .306 .423 .409 42 5 9 106 40 6 .408 .589 .461 20 10 5 98 57 18 .326 .435 .395 % .690 .714

IP 225 180

H 198 169

ER 90 59

SO 264 66

BB 157 74

ERA 3.60 2.95

BR/9 14.5 12.3

few hitters with at least 400 ABs of which I am aware of who had an OB% double his BA.) The Tobacco State league scribes managed to leave not one, but two .400 hitters of the All-Star team! Outfielder Rich Woodard of Smithfield-Selma hit .400 with a .574 SA, second in the league, and an OB% of .504. He scored ¡06 runs and drove in ¡¡3 in ¡¡9 games. Joe Roseberry also played outfield, and he pitched in 25 games (7–7). He hit .409, slugged .555, third in the loop, and led with a terrific .5¡2 OB%. He scored 97 runs and drove in 78. So, the scribes selected an outfield that hit .35¡, slugged .50¡, had an OB% of .43¡, and drove in 299 runs while scoring 280 times. They could have selected one which hit .406, slugged .573, and had an impressive .492 OB%. Version Two had 297 RBIs and scored .275 runs. Actually, I had Davis (first and outfield) and Roseberry as utility men, and my chosen outfield was Richards, Woodard, and Granville Denning of Dunn-Erwin. Granville hit .354 and had a .454 OB%, and led the league in runs (tied with Purchia at ¡¡8) and RBIs (¡¡9). Two Sanford Spinners pitchers made my sta›:

294

Minor League All-Star Teams at ¡¡.4. Another candidate was Leslie Price of Clinton, which finished ¡8 games under .500. He was ¡2–5 with an ERA of 2.¡9.

Clayton Andrews and the inimitable Hoyt Clegg. Andrews led in BR/9 ratio at ¡0.6 and was fourth in ERA (2.57). He was, however, only ¡¡–8. Clegg was ¡9–9, third in ERA at 2.57, and second in BR/9 ratio

Virginia League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Sil DiMenna Walter Wholey Paul Varner Desmond Charouhas John Garrison John Zontini Morris “Smut” Aderholt Ted Jones No selection made

SP SP

Arnold Atkins Joe Hash

Franklin Su›olk

TEAM Petersburg Lawrenceville Petersburg Emporia Emporia Franklin Emporia Hopewell

G 34 28

GS — —

G 119 93 125 122 121 83 99 125

CG 23 18

AB 424 381 487 509 514 308 355 445

SH 0 3

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 131 79 224 36 0 19 94 86 1 .309 .528 .429 128 82 205 27 10 10 62 51 26 .336 .538 .421 173 106 235 42 4 4 100 77 18 .355 .483 .447 153 104 223 21 2 15 83 57 15 .301 .438 .371 175 93 273 21 1 25 109 37 7 .340 .531 .386 97 60 155 22 3 10 65 55 13 .315 .503 .423 119 78 188 17 2 16 73 52 37 .335 .530 .423 138 79 202 33 5 7 85 57 5 .310 .454 .396

W 21 13

Varne, Aderholt, and Wholey were playing managers (Wholey not for a whole season). A well selected team, I would just add a pitcher, Ralph Williams of Franklin. The Kildee flinger was ¡7–9. 3.56 and was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.4.

L 11 10

% .656 .565

IP 237 201

H 201 212

ER 71 87

SO 204 132

BB 77 52

ERA 2.70 3.90

BR/9 10.7 12.4

I am curious to know the derivation of the name “Charouhas,” as I cannot venture a guess. Is it one of the Celtic tongues? It sounds vaguely Breton.

Western Carolina League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF UT

NAME Carl Miller Wm. “Bus” Hufstetler Bobby Caldwell Noel Casbier Tom Cumby Elmer Roberts Ralph Dixon No selection made

TEAM Lincolnton Lincolnton Lincolnton Lenoir Marion Morganton Rutherford County

SP Ray Lindsey Newton-Conover SP Bill Haynes Rutherford County

G 102 109 107 101 95 107 107

AB 394 369 467 420 383 411 438

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 159 125 280 33 11 22 91 71 11 .404 .711 .496 156 95 237 34 4 13 104 39 0 .423 .642 .478 138 91 251 33 13 18 88 30 1 .296 .537 .338 141 104 262 40 9 21 109 50 11 .336 .624 .409 133 63 213 25 8 13 80 35 4 .347 .556 .410 131 97 207 39 5 9 80 67 12 .319 .504 .420 151 99 213 29 12 3 66 43 18 .345 .486 .411

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 35 — 19 0 17 11 .607 231 222 91 200 58 3.55 11.3 39 — 14 0 16 11 .593 212 238 125 168 94 5.31 14.3

Miller and Yount were playing managers. A well chosen squad, I would but mention a short-time outfielder and add two pitchers while dropping one. Please note Miller’s .404, .7¡¡, .496 season. Billy McKenney, who played for Lenoir and Rutherford County, played in 5¡ games. He hit .363, slugged .69¡, and had an OB% of .454. He blasted ¡7 homers, scored 74 runs (almost one and a half a game), and had 74 RBIs (a rate which would produce 2¡2 RBIs over a ¡50 game season). Haynes is the product of the frankly insane “You must name a left-hander to an All-Star team” cabal. 5.3¡? Spare me, please. Walter “Lantz” Lentz was ¡6–9 and led the league with a 3.03 ERA. He allowed ¡2.4 BR/9. Lelon Jaynes (a unique first name, at least for

me), who pitched for the Morganton Aggies, was ¡9–7, 3.05, ¡2.7. His ¡9 wins, .73¡ winning percentage, and 202 strike-outs all led the league. By the way, the odor you may be able to detect rising from the mouldering remains of the W.C.L. would be the remains of the Hendersonville squad. Instead of soaring like eagles, the hapless Skylarks soared like kiwis. They finished 29–78, .269, an almost out of sight (and I don’t mean the ’60’s version) 42∂ games out, and don’t forget this is over a season of only ¡¡0 games. (Over a ¡50 game season they would have been 60 games out.) Their pitching sta› allowed 8.¡ runs a game, and they fielded a ripping .923 (which included an outfielder who made 23 errors in 84 games).

¡950

295

Wisconsin State League (D POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Robert Myers Stan Gorecki Earl “Jug” Girard Edward Sterger Ted Steggeman Joe Biancalana Jack Ramm Harry Fredericks Ron Ne› No selection made

Rudy Yandoli Bill Allen

TEAM Oshkosh Green Bay Green Bay Sheboygan Fond du Lac Appleton Wausau Appleton Oshkosh

Oshkosh Sheboygan

G 123 113 89 124 123 125 120 126 108

AB 454 442 332 502 483 495 454 431 369

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 145 103 198 30 7 3 71 95 17 .319 .436 .440 121 92 173 17 1 11 59 56 18 .274 .391 .359 122 80 177 19 9 6 91 76 24 .367 .533 .485 132 97 175 21 5 4 55 70 14 .263 .349 .357 144 66 189 26 5 3 73 39 15 .298 .391 .357 136 95 233 22 15 15 75 68 10 .275 .471 .368 145 73 187 14 11 2 88 67 19 .319 .412 .411 146 70 214 38 3 8 78 80 14 .339 .497 .456 98 51 142 21 1 7 70 48 4 .266 .385 .352

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

27 32

— —

23 17

3 3

18 18

7 8

.720 .692

215 201

179 120

74 51

183 242

127 133

3.10 2.28

13.1 11.9

My first baseman was big (6'3", 2¡0 lbs, which was large in ’49) Ken Landenberger. He hit .295 and led the loop with ¡29 RBIs. His OB% was only .380 though, so if your preference is for Myers and his .440, I’ll not argue with you. At second, however, I am afraid that I must be adamant in my rejection of Gorecki in favor of Oshkosh manager Dave Garcia. Not only did the should-have-been-called B’gosh’s win the pennant, but dauntless Dave hit .327, slugged .50¡ and had a .426 OB%, along with 82 RBIs. Wisconsin Rapids’ Ed Morgan was considered for the shortstop spot on the strength of his .286 BA and his fourth place (by four one hundred thousandths of a point, .45607 to Fredericks’ .456¡¡) OB%. He scored ¡00 runs on only ¡04 hits and in only 99 games. He had a poor .896 FA however (not that Sterger’s .929 was stop-the-presses material). My outfield would have included seventeen yearold (he turned eighteen during the season) Rod Graber of Green Bay, one of the greenest Blue Jays. He hit .288, and showed a remarkable eye for someone so young, leading the league with ¡¡4 walks (which gave him a .460 OB%, the second best mark in the league). Among the year’s oddest choices were the catching selections. Did the league have two backstops who merited the most coveted of all Wisconsin State

League honors: All-Stardom and all the perqs and accoutrements thereunto appertaining? Ne› was a nugatory naming to the said and aforementioned Ehre Mannschaft, especially when the qualifications of Ed Fenelon, main man and big bopper of the Sheboygan entry. Ed had .32¡/.499/.44¡ averages (a collective 258 point advantage over Ne›). He led the league with ¡8 home runs and was third with 89 RBIs. He was even tied for third with 22 steals. Ne› said. Don Elston, pitching for last place and 25 games under .500 Janesville, was ¡6–¡¡, winning 32% of the Cubs games. When he was not involved in the decision, Janesville played .347 ball. He was third in BR/9 ratio with an ¡¡.89 figure, right behind Allen’s ¡¡.86. The leader in both ERA and BR/9 ratio was Jennins Norman, the only player with that forename that I have ever seen. He was ¡4–8, 2.04, and ¡0.9. Two players in the league allowed only 5.4 hits every nine innings. One was Allen, whose 6.5 BB/9 IP brought his BR/9 allowance up to ¡¡.9. The other was Ryne Duren of Wausau. Duren pitched 85 innings in 36 games and struck out ¡45 batters, a Dalkowski-like ¡5.6 every nine innings. He also walked ¡¡4 batters, a not-quite-Dalkowskian ¡2.¡ per 9 IP, which brought his BR/9 ratio up to a staggering ¡8.6 Despite that, he managed a respectable 3.8¡ ERA.

! ¡950 ! In ¡950, there were fifty eight leagues in the National Association. Forty three of them (74%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) At second, Jack Cassini (St. Paul) who scored ¡07 runs and led the league with 36 steals certainly de-

serves mention, if not a place on the team. Outfielder Eric Tipton (also of St. Paul) drove in 97 runs and

296

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Lou Limmer Solly Hemus Ray Dandridge Jim Pendleton Bob Addis Taft Wright Bert Haas Tom Sa›ell Eddie Fitzgerald Bill Sarni Mel Hoderlein

SP SP SP SP

Harvey Haddix M. “Dixie” Howell Phil Haugstead Bob Alexander

Team St. Paul Columbus Minneapolis St. Paul Milwaukee Louisville Minneapolis Indianapolis Indianapolis Columbus Louisville

G 144 84 150 145 136 134 141 85 103 132 107

Columbus Minneapolis St. Paul Louisville

G 30 24 36 30

AB 501 296 627 571 529 481 515 298 310 429 377 GS 27 23 22 26

H R TB 139 98 261 88 51 137 195 106 254 171 105 264 171 80 250 153 72 237 164 101 276 97 49 133 97 43 123 120 52 166 110 66 150 CG 17 10 12 13

SH 4 2 0 4

walked ¡08 times en route to a league-best .425 OB%. Yet another Saint, catcher Ferrell Anderson, had stats at least the equal of the league choices: .277, .430 and .364, along with 66 RBIs. Utility man Hoderlein played second and the outfield, but I would have selected first baseman/outfielder Hank Workman of Kansas City. He only hit .267 but slugged .456 on the strength of 23 homers. He also drove in 88 runs.

2B 23 23 24 25 32 31 36 15 14 21 21

3B 6 4 1 19 10 4 2 3 6 8 2

W L % 18 6 .750 14 2 .875 16 11 .593 12 10 .545

HR RBI 29 111 6 48 11 80 10 98 9 76 15 92 24 106 5 23 0 42 3 47 5 50

BB 96 49 41 43 54 67 80 37 34 42 41

BA .277 .297 .311 .299 .323 .318 .318 .326 .313 .280 .292

SLG .521 .463 .405 .462 .473 .493 .536 .446 .397 .387 .398

OB% .396 .409 .355 .355 .388 .404 .412 .404 .383 .347 .369

IP 217 145 229 186

ER SO BB 65 150 59 77 91 67 99 137 125 71 73 90

ERA 2.70 4.78 3.89 3.44

BR/9 10.5 14.4 13.9 12.4

H 192 162 216 167

SB 7 11 1 25 6 2 1 11 3 2 1

Kurt Krieger, the Austrian Hummingbird, was ¡7–5 with a 3.50 ERA, allowing ¡2.8 BR/9. Willard Nixon was only with Louisville for ¡3 games, but he completed ¡¡ and was ¡¡–2, 2.69. Indianapolis’ Forrest “Woody” Main was in 43 contests, all in relief, and had a ¡.90 ERA, allowing but 9.4 BR/9. (Howell, by the way, hit .308 with 5 homers and drove in 20 runs).

Southern Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UT

Name Nick Etten Ellis Clary Fred Hatfield Eddie Mathews Gene Verble Bill Wilson Pat Haggerty Bill Higdon Tom Neill Ebba St. Claire Carl Sawatski Andy Fleitas “Rocky” Krsnich

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Marvin Rotblatt Lee Goicoechea Dick Littlefield Dave “Boo” Ferriss Bob Schultz Art Fowler

Team Memphis Chatt./Atlanta Birmingham Atlanta Atlanta Memphis Little Rock Memphis Nashville Atlanta Nashville Chattanooga Memphis

Memphis Memphis Birmingham Birmingham Nashville Atlanta

G 126 132 141 146 154 153 142 145 135 145 80 125 138

AB 450 412 544 552 605 585 482 549 526 536 273 452 547

H 141 124 163 158 169 182 167 181 182 150 84 127 149

R 69 71 113 103 118 105 96 113 79 77 54 46 82

G 39 36 17 19 51 41

GS — — — — — —

CG 17 7 10 13 19 19

SH 1 1 4 1 5 3

At first, Birmingham’s Norm Zauchin (.287/.55¡/ .367) had 35 homers, scored ¡07 runs, and drove in ¡05, but had ¡¡8 more ABs than did Etten. Mobile second baseman “Spook” Jacobs (.304/.379/.396) scored ¡0¡ times and stole 22 bases, but, like Zauchin, had many more ABs (¡77 more in this case).

TB 219 163 284 296 230 334 222 262 260 252 170 168 223

2B 21 21 22 24 36 40 23 29 31 27 10 22 32

3B 3 6 9 9 2 2 4 11 4 9 2 5 3

HR 17 2 27 32 7 36 8 10 13 19 24 3 12

RBI BB 93 76 53 81 101 88 106 65 70 90 125 65 58 105 62 95 111 36 107 43 73 64 73 17 82 52

SB 1 4 3 4 11 7 18 7 1 5 2 4 1

BA .313 .301 .300 .286 .279 .311 .346 .330 .346 .280 .308 .281 .272

SLG .487 .396 .522 .536 .380 .571 .461 .477 .494 .470 .623 .372 .408

OB% .415 .427 .407 .362 .373 .385 .466 .431 .391 .340 .442 .313 .338

W L % IP H ER SO BB 22 9 .710 253 197 75 203 116 14 12 .538 204 193 100 131 157 10 3 .769 121 93 39 103 46 10 7 .588 140 139 57 39 52 25 6 .806 222 181 66 202 101 19 12 .613 241 242 92 129 101

ERA 2.67 4.41 2.90 3.66 2.68 3.44

BR/9 11.4 15.5 10.3 12.8 11.8 12.9

Birmingham Baron outfielder Karl Olson didn’t make a four-deep outfield roster. He should have. He had averages of .32¡, .565, and .382. He also hit 23 homers, drove in ¡00 runs and scored ¡0¡. In fact, maybe five outfielders would have been in order for the S.A. in ¡950.

¡950

297

No relief pitcher was chosen, but 45 year old Earl Caldwell relieved 34 times, was 6–6 and had a 2.88 ERA.

Krsnich was a third baseman. A correct utility choice would have been Joe Damato of Nashville. He played second, third, and short, and played them well. His hitting was adequate for a ’50’s middle infielder.

Central League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Keith Little Loren Babe Dave Jaska Clem Koshorek John Phillips Ed Krage Joe Rowell Robert O’Neal No selection made

SP SP SP

Ernie Funk Frank Logue William Houtz

Team Flint Muskegon Flint Flint Flint Muskegon Dayton Muskegon

Flint Muskegon Muskegon

G 116 117 132 123 130 125 138 133

G 29 34 21

AB 469 448 476 523 558 418 488 448

GS — — —

H R TB 144 79 242 150 75 215 154 56 198 145 106 181 162 95 232 137 105 227 168 100 272 135 89 232

CG 21 26 11

SH 4 5 3

Lou Urcho, third baseman for the Muskegon Clippers, had .306/.453/.435 averages, scored ¡¡2 runs and reached base without benefit of a hit ¡¡8 times. He also had 7¡ RBIs. I would replace Phillips in the outfield with Mike Lutz of Dayton. His averages were .323, .495, and .424. He scored 93 times and drove in 86 runs. There was no utility man selected, but two league players fit the bill. Jim Greengrass (Muskegon) played outfield and was 5–5 as a pitcher. He hit .336.

W 22 20 11

2B 41 27 21 22 22 25 31 35

L 6 12 3

3B 3 4 7 1 15 4 8 4

% .786 .625 .786

HR RBI BB 17 115 31 10 68 57 3 73 60 4 38 47 6 70 30 19 76 106 19 85 84 18 88 77 IP 220 256 123

H 206 270 124

ER 74 92 58

SB 5 7 24 47 22 2 2 1 SO 89 89 63

BA .307 .335 .324 .277 .290 .328 .344 .301

SLG .516 .480 .416 .346 .416 .543 .557 .518

OB% .351 .410 .400 .339 .332 .469 .443 .411

BB 68 70 84

ERA 3.03 3.23 4.24

BR/9 11.4 12.3 15.5

Joe Nuxhall (Charleston) was ¡0–9 on the hill and also played outfield. He drove in 29 runs and hit 6 homers in just ¡50 at bats. The league’s best ERA (2.05) and BR/9 man (9.8) was not chosen for the team. James Wallace of Saginaw, in addition to those league-leading stats, was ¡¡–4 for a last place team that was 25 games under .500. Ralph Poole of Charleston was called in out of the bullpen 45 times and was 7–5 with a 3.64 ERA.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name George Crowe Doug Hansen Walt Derucki Jim Brideweser Russ Sullivan Clark Henry Art Schulte Dick Kinaman No selection made

SP SP

Bob Chakales Pete Fox

Team Hartford Wilkes-Barre Utica Binghamton Williamsport Albany Binghamton Wilkes-Barre

G 139 138 131 134 132 138 137 98

G 33 30

GS — —

Wilkes-Barre Hartford

AB 524 502 489 461 464 533 535 260 CG 13 13

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 185 122 314 43 7 24 122 68 145 94 243 29 9 17 84 74 139 90 210 33 4 10 75 59 143 103 191 29 2 5 65 104 147 96 262 22 9 25 100 80 168 93 236 31 11 5 104 56 162 85 280 30 8 24 118 31 74 36 111 15 2 6 42 54 SH 4 2

The best player for the last-place Scranton Miners was second baseman Dale Lynch. He scored 84 runs while compiling averages of .328, .46¡, and .387. He would have been my keystone selection. Catcher Lou Berberet of Binghamton (.297/.474/ .407) was at least as good as selectee Kinaman. Berberet scored 52 runs and drove in 56. Although no utility man was chosen, the league’s best was Joe Smaza of Williamsport. He played first and the out-

W 16 14

L 5 9

% .762 .609

IP 168 169

H 133 176

ER 38 77

SB 10 4 9 13 4 3 6 2 SO 103 81

BA SLG OB% .353 .599 .429 .289 .484 .382 .284 .429 .367 .310 .414 .443 .317 .565 .422 .315 .443 .384 .303 .523 .344 .285 .427 .429 BB 69 77

ERA 2.04 4.10

BR/9 10.8 13.7

field, hit .326, had an OB% of .440 and scored 77 runs. A pair of Triplets—Binghamton Triplets, that is— had better years on the hill than did Fox. Tom “Plowboy” Morgan went ¡7–8 and allowed ¡0.7 BR/9– and he hit .354. Bill Freese went ¡9–6 and had a 3.06 ERA. If a reliever had been chosen, it would have been Hartford’s Phillips Paine. He was 8–3 in 30 games with a 3.¡2 ERA.

298

Minor League All-Star Teams

South Atlantic League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name James Dickey Glenn Crawford Edwin Allegar Johnny Temple Lewis Davis E. “Rip” Repulski Bob “Hurricane” Hazle Joe Stringfellow Gus Gregory John Fiscalini

SP SP

Stan Karpinski Moe Savransky

Team Columbus Augusta Jacksonville Columbia Macon Columbus Columbia Savannah Macon Jacksonville

Macon Columbia

G 109 143 148 130 139 105 153 141 153 57

AB 372 519 551 519 509 381 581 473 630 161

H R 101 88 154 94 162 63 167 75 155 92 123 76 182 72 148 79 186 116 48 16

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 185 10 7 20 62 78 192 23 6 1 53 95 223 29 10 4 85 50 203 17 8 1 66 65 239 22 10 14 119 88 194 12 4 17 95 52 238 33 7 3 70 57 221 30 2 13 103 69 244 31 3 7 76 76 62 9 1 1 19 12

SB 22 17 1 7 15 13 25 15 4 0

BA .272 .297 .294 .322 .305 .323 .313 .313 .295 .298

SLG OB% .497 .399 .370 .407 .405 .354 .391 .398 .470 .408 .509 .420 .410 .378 .467 .405 .387 .374 .385 .347

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

36 34

— —

20 18

2 5

20 15

12 7

.625 .682

250 216

220 167

90 54

137 157

122 94

3.24 2.25

12.5 10.9

short and caught, respectively. In addition to Crawford, “Hurricane” Hazle would also have been at home here. The outfield choice also played first and third. Pitchers Bill Seinsoth and Fred Woolpert (both of Macon) would have made a nice addition to the selectees. Seinsoth went ¡8–¡¡ with a 2.44 ERA, and Woolpert added a ¡9–8, 2.85 season. Again, no reliever was chosen, but, again, one was worthy. Ralkph Erwin of Columbia was in 47 games and went ¡7–9 with a 3.35 ERA.

League second base choice Crawford split his time between second and third and would have been a good selection for the utility spot (about which more in a bit). His spot could have been filled by Charles “Look Out” Balogh of Macon. The Peach keystoner hit .252 and scored 86 runs. At short, Temple was certainly a better hitter than was my choice, Angel Fleitas of Greenville. Angel hit but .264, but did have an OB% of .386 and scored 92 runs. He also fielded .95¡ to the .884 e›ort of Temple. “Utility” choices Gregory and Fiscalini played

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Harvey Zernia Eddie Samco› Pete Grammas Fred McAlister Bill Taylor Pete Whisenant Bobby Balcena Pat Seerey Nick Adzick H. Pierce McWhorter No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Robert Mahoney Octavio Rubert John O’Donnell Mason Bowes

Team Omaha Sioux City Colorado Springs Omaha Sioux City Denver Wichita Colorado Springs Omaha Denver

G 138 149 127 155 105 118 154 122 112 108

G 34 32 39 32

CG 17 16 15 19

Omaha Omaha Wichita Lincoln

GS — — — —

AB 532 553 501 621 376 481 586 373 382 376

H 169 170 156 156 130 150 170 112 102 101

SH 2 2 2 3

Denver Bear first baseman Dallas “Fort Worth” Womack had .3¡7, .492, .456 averages, walked ¡25 times, scored ¡¡5 runs and drove in ¡¡2. He would seem to add a bit more punch to the slot. At second, Billy Gardner of Sioux City also would have added a bit of pop. He hit .303, slugged .496, bopped 22 homers and drove in ¡¡8 runs. And, on the subject of “Pop,” what about Soos’ shortstop Daryl Spencer. He hit .28¡, slugged .474 and smacked 23 roundtrippers. He also scored ¡08 runs and drove in 99.

R 102 111 107 89 82 125 119 113 68 60

W 20 17 16 15

L 7 8 9 15

TB 234 255 228 245 260 276 259 258 156 154

2B 28 30 33 22 36 34 32 14 23 22

% .741 .680 .640 .500

3B HR RBI BB 8 7 75 73 8 13 84 114 6 9 74 79 11 15 106 33 2 30 109 64 10 24 119 52 12 11 82 119 0 44 117 135 5 7 73 35 2 9 66 63 IP 224 226 186 247

H 188 209 198 225

ER 90 77 84 91

SO 162 149 105 114

SB 5 7 6 13 2 14 19 2 10 2

BA .318 .307 .311 .251 .346 .312 .290 .300 .267 .269

BB 116 66 70 114

SLG OB% .440 .401 .461 .430 .455 .406 .395 .292 .691 .445 .574 .385 .442 .419 .692 .488 .408 .330 .410 .375 ERA 3.62 3.07 4.06 3.32

BR/9 12.3 11.0 13.0 12.5

Yet another Soo deserves mention: catcher Ray Katt. He scored 8¡ times, drove in 80 runs and hit .280. I fear that Luverne Fear of Des Moines was overlooked when choosing a pitching sta›. He went ¡5–5 with a 2.83 ERA for the Bruins (although why a Des Moines team would be called the Bruins escapes me — the last bear in Iowa was killed in ¡880). Virgil Jester (Denver) was in 59 games and went ¡0–8, 3.70 in what were almost all relief appearances.

¡950

299

Carolina League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Neil Hartwick Fred Vaughn Art “Bucky” Jacobs A. “Mike” Romello Russell Rac Bill Evans Jim “Buster’ Maynard Al Spaziano Claude Swiggert

Team Winston-Salem Greensboro Danville Danville Winston-Salem Burlington Burlington Burlington Greensboro

G SP “Woody” Rich Greensboro 34 SP Wlimer Mizell Winston-Salem 42

G 152 104 91 145 151 150 153 115 101

AB 553 363 319 564 547 612 562 364 367

GS — —

CG 24 11

H R TB 151 90 231 116 81 217 92 36 118 142 99 179 157 92 242 207 111 277 174 87 241 102 50 127 103 47 126 SH 6 2

W 16 17

2B 3B HR RBI BB 32 3 14 94 68 16 2 17 88 75 17 3 1 37 41 22 3 3 59 106 35 1 16 92 84 33 14 3 62 55 32 7 7 93 78 7 6 2 41 44 16 2 1 45 30

L % IP H 9 .640 209 182 7 .708 207 167

SB 5 2 6 7 7 18 21 12 9

ER SO 56 140 57 227

BA .273 .320 .288 .252 .287 .338 .310 .280 .281

SLG OB% .418 .358 .598 .440 .370 .381 .317 .370 .442 .386 .453 .393 .429 .395 .349 .361 .343 .337

BB 69 81

ERA 2.41 2.48

BR/9 11.1 10.9

slugged .476 and scored 92 runs. Swiggert played third and the outfield. Bill Harrington pitched for the Fayetteville Athletics. They finished 59 games under .500, but he managed a ¡0–¡0 record. He had a 2.73 ERA. (When he was not pitching, Fayetteville played .278 ball.) Bobby Tiefenauer was a star out of the bullpen. He pitched in 66 games and went ¡6–8 with a 2.5¡ ERA.

Reidsville third baseman George Souter hit ¡7 home runs and drove in 75 runs to go with averages of .29¡, .48¡, and .4¡2. He certainly seems to have performance superior to that of Jacobs. At short, John Huesman (Winston-Salem) had similar averages to Romello (.25¡/.322/.392) but scored ¡¡6 runs. Outfielder Woody Fair of Danville had a leagueleading ¡03 RBIs and hit 23 homers. He hit .300,

Florida International League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name William Ankoviak Carlos DeSouza Charles Aleno Geo. Jasper Spears Charles Rotzell Edward Wayne Mike Conroy Warren Patterson No selection made

SP SP SP SP SP

William Padgett Ernesto Morilla Labe Dean Chet Covington Joe Murray

Team Lakeland Tampa Ft. Lauderdale Tampa Miami Beach Tampa Miami Beach Miami

Tampa Miami Beach Miami Ft. Lauderdale West Palm Beach

G 149 140 107 139 146 133 103 118

AB 573 553 369 523 559 500 415 426

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 150 70 212 20 12 6 70 92 129 108 160 13 9 0 31 115 115 68 200 19 1 21 81 63 155 63 193 29 3 1 53 62 170 89 244 25 11 9 87 72 148 78 193 34 4 1 89 61 129 66 153 16 4 0 38 49 116 40 141 17 4 0 57 31

G 28 37 49 36 42

GS — — — — —

CG 22 19 21 23 26

Despite playing .673 ball (¡0¡–49), the Havana Cubanos had no one on the All Star team. Tampa Smoker first baseman Bernardo Frenandez hit .30¡ and had 73 RBIs in ¡¡5 fewer PAs than Ankoviak. Miami hot corner guardian James Ackeret only had averages of .250, .340, and .349. But he was a third baseman. Aleno, strictly speaking, was not, but he would have made an excellent utility choice, as he played first and outfield as well as third. Ackeret did score 80 runs and drive in 73. Havana shortstop Manuel Hidalgo hit .3¡2, drove in 78 runs and scored ¡06 runs Fort Lauderdale outfielder Tad Cieslak scored 99 runs and drove in 92. Havana’s Roberto Fernandez hit .299, scored 73 times and drove in 83 runs.

SH 4 6 8 2 3

W 20 18 24 18 20

L 6 11 11 11 14

% .769 .621 .686 .621 .588

IP 225 299 270 260 266

H 204 206 213 231 245

SB 2 50 3 5 3 3 20 3

BA .262 .233 .312 .296 .304 .296 .311 .272

ER SO BB 54 91 63 70 92 91 57 99 82 65 105 82 87 122 117

SLG OB% .370 .368 .289 .367 .542 .415 .369 .376 .436 .384 .386 .376 .369 .391 .331 .322 ERA 2.16 2.11 1.90 2.25 2.94

BR/9 10.7 8.9 10.0 11.0 12.6

In addition to Aleno, another unused possibility for a utility spot is Jack Tanner. He only hit .257, but led the league in homers with 27 and RBIs with ¡0¡. He caught and played outfield for Ft. Lauderdale and Lakeland. Yet another possibility for the handy-man slot was Havana third baseman/pitcher Gil Torres. He hit .27¡ with 78 RBIs and was 6–¡ in ¡2 mound appearances with a ¡.27 ERA. On the mound, Havana’s Julio Moreno went ¡6–4 with a terrific ¡.47 ERA. He only allowed 9.7 BR/9. Miami’s Vicente Lopez was 20–6, had a ¡.82 ERA and allowed 9.6 BR/9. (It is of interest to note that Havana had a team ERA of approximately 2.30 and the Cubano sta› hurled 28 shut-outs.)

300

Minor League All-Star Teams

Interstate League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Myers Lamar Newsome Dick Young Thomas Korczowski Clyde “Danny” Schell Jesse “Horse” Levan Willie Mays Lewis Hayman No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Leo Christante Al Bennett Joe Micciche William Stratton

Team Trenton Wilmington Wilmington Trenton Wilmington Hagerstown Trenton Wilmington

G 143 125 138 141 138 130 81 127

G 26 27 31 32

GS 22 27 21 25

Wilmington Hagerstown Trenton York

AB 544 401 544 536 534 512 306 429

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 158 96 222 25 12 5 58 105 113 49 147 25 0 3 50 57 156 101 206 14 15 2 57 73 163 98 247 45 12 5 74 79 171 98 275 30 7 20 104 58 171 92 260 34 8 13 102 61 108 50 156 20 8 4 55 42 113 80 211 21 7 21 101 89

CG 19 19 14 19

SH 3 2 3 6

Newsome was a playing manager. Fred Marolewski of Allentown could well have earned a first base berth along with Myers. He hit .27¡, slugged .483, drove in 94 runs and had a league high 24 home runs. Trenton third baseman Mike Columbo had better averages than did the league choice (.325/.448/ .40¡) and had 94 runs and 68 RBIs in 38 fewer PAs than Young. Heyman played first, outfield, and caught. He

W L % IP 18 5 .783 196 22 13 .629 227 14 7 .667 188 16 9 .640 214

H 163 218 133 183

ER 51 81 56 51

SB 13 2 6 5 5 10 7 0

BA .290 .282 .287 .304 .320 .334 .353 .263

SO BB 136 58 150 108 172 89 113 65

SLG OB% .408 .412 .367 .374 .379 .375 .461 .395 .515 .393 .508 .405 .510 .438 .492 .395

ERA 2.34 3.21 2.68 2.14

BR/9 10.3 13.0 10.8 10.5

would have been a perfect choice for the utility spot, had the league made such. The catching spot would then have been filled by Les Filkins of Salisbury, who led the league in games caught with ¡07. He hit but .239, but, on the strength of ¡9 home runs and 90 walks, had a .459 SA and a decent .396 OB%. The relief pitching choice, had there been one, would have been Trenton’s Harry Wilson. He started but one of his 44 games and went 6–5 with a 3.47 ERA.

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT UT

Name Reggie Otero William Palumbo Robert Kehoe Dan Lynch Leon Treadway Crawford Davidson Robert Broome George Menard John “Jack” Wilkinson Daniel Keith Alan Winters

SP SP SP SP

Al Cicotte Earl Mosser Ed Roebuck Donald Otten

Team Portsmouth Newport News Newport News Portsmouth Portsmouth Norfolk Portsmouth Norfolk Norfolk Newport News Newport News

Norfolk Portsmouth Newport News Newport News

G 29 40 23 37

G 125 119 79 135 136 127 127 108 129 108 53

GS — — — —

AB 450 377 294 488 546 495 440 325 451 392 164 CG 22 23 12 17

H 159 91 73 137 177 144 135 85 93 140 36

R 67 68 26 57 90 59 82 33 48 69 14

SH 1 5 0 2

W 15 20 9 11

Roanoke keystoner John Sehrt hit .282, but that was o›set by Palumbo’s ¡¡9 walks. The reason for considering Sehrt is found in the field, where he handled 5.7 chances a game to Palumbo’s 4.8. The choice of the weak hitting, no-get-on-base Kehoe at the hot corner is odd, to say the least. Richmond’s Roy Allen hit .294, slugged .448, had an OB% of .38¡, scored 75 runs and drove in 83. This really does look like another of those “no-brainers.” Two of the league utility choices were monoposi-

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 185 24 1 0 65 56 128 18 5 3 29 119 105 12 4 4 35 18 189 33 5 3 68 49 215 19 5 3 66 56 242 25 5 21 85 34 218 28 5 15 75 82 120 12 4 5 43 49 124 17 1 4 34 76 214 26 6 12 76 60 41 1 2 0 13 29 L 12 11 10 12

% .556 .645 .474 .478

IP 234 247 145 211

H 166 218 120 177

SB 1 8 4 7 8 3 2 1 9 11 4

BA .353 .241 .248 .281 .324 .291 .307 .262 .206 .357 .220

ER SO BB 67 210 137 85 185 94 52 92 93 74 83 100

SLG OB% .411 .426 .340 .426 .357 .294 .387 .348 .394 .387 .489 .340 .495 .418 .369 .362 .275 .326 .546 .442 .250 .347 ERA 2.58 3.10 3.23 3.16

BR/9 11.7 11.4 13.4 12.1

tional: Keith, an outfielder, and Winters, a catcher (and not even a good choice for back-up backstop, Lynchburg’s Ron Curnan deserving that spot). Wilkinson did play second and short. A better selection for a second utility spot would have been Ray Jablonski (Lynchburg). He played third and outfield and showed some power with ¡7 homers and 83 RBIs. He hit .289 and slugged .484. Two hurlers deserved to be chosen over Otten and Roebuck: Roanoke’s John Hartsell and Lynchburg’s

¡950 Fred Hahn. Hahn was ¡2–8 with a league-best ¡.65 ERA, Hartsell was 20–¡0, 2.86. Norfolk Tar Bill John

301

pitched 45 games in relief and, though but 2–6, had a very good 2.39 ERA.

Southeastern League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ed Mickelson Frank DiPrima Billy Seal Ralph Franck Nesbit Wilson Art Seguso Ray Poole Del Friar No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Andrew Elko Ambrose Palica George Yorke Hamilton Graham

Team Montgomery Montgomery Gadsden Montgomery Pensacola Meridian Vicksburg Selma

Pensacola Meridian Jackson Montgomery

G 82 123 99 124 134 130 127 115

G 40 34 27 25

AB 300 474 333 469 507 469 449 377

GS — — — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 125 76 221 33 0 21 102 65 154 139 220 40 4 6 62 96 118 79 184 31 4 9 78 90 141 84 161 16 2 0 60 47 180 121 324 37 1 35 163 101 143 92 259 19 2 31 144 89 154 90 202 39 3 1 97 111 110 56 130 16 2 0 45 41

CG 17 22 17 10

SH 1 0 3 4

W L % IP 22 9 .710 235 17 11 .607 243 16 5 .762 208 12 6 .667 153

H 235 276 197 136

SB 4 21 6 24 8 4 12 2

BA SLG OB% .417 .737 .522 .325 .464 .442 .354 .553 .493 .301 .343 .366 .355 .639 .472 .305 .552 .416 .343 .450 .479 .292 .345 .366

ER SO BB 94 100 121 96 97 74 62 72 85 63 72 65

ERA 3.60 3.56 2.68 3.71

BR/9 13.8 13.1 12.4 11.9

Fliers’ catcher Charles Ehlman had almost the exact same season Friar had (.290/.384/.382, 63 runs, 48 RBIs), so why not name two receivers? Montgomery manager Charlie Metro would have been a perfect fit for the non-chosen utility spot. He played first, second, third, short, and the outfield and was no slouch at the plate either. He had averages of .289, .486, and .4¡3, hit ¡8 homers, scored 83 times and drove in 84 runs. The hill sta› was not bad, but the addition of Meridian’s Bill Rogers would have strengthened it. Rogers went ¡6–6 with a 3.¡3 ERA and a league-best BR/9 ratio among qualifiers of ¡¡.8.

The selection of Seal at third is entirely justified, but mention should be made of Pensacola’s Ray Williams. He hit .345, drove in 90 runs and scored ¡36 times. At short, Meridian manager Willis “Jack” Maupin had .279, .459, .399 averages, hit ¡5 homers, scored 95 runs, and stole 45 bases. I would have gone with Maupin. The scribes also saw fit to overlook baseball’s version of the one-man-gang, Pensacola Flier outfielder “Jungle” Jim Rivera. He hit .338, slugged .552, scored ¡39 runs, drove in ¡35, and was the league’s only 20–20 man with 20 dingers and 23 steals.

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bill Boudreau Burt Stone Jerome Stoutland Bill Cope Frank Marchio Jim Watson Jim King Bob Wilson No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Bill Bagwell Ray Peters Jacob Schmitt Niles Jordan

Team Danville Evansville Quincy Quincy Quincy Terre Haute Cedar Rapids Waterloo

G 126 108 98 119 124 125 108 67

G 25 35 33 35

GS — — — —

Quincy Cedar Rapids Terre Haute Terre Haute

AB 419 362 336 423 524 445 386 235

CG 15 18 22 19

H 119 115 100 131 162 143 128 75

R 92 89 54 61 83 89 84 56

SH 1 3 4 5

Third base choice Stoutland wasn’t. A third baseman, that is. He was primarily a catcher and played fewer than ¡0 games at third. A more logical selection would have been Robert Prentice of Cedar Rapids. He hit .280, slugged .479, scored 88 runs, and drove in

TB 169 147 141 166 231 222 183 127

W 13 16 21 17

2B 15 21 23 17 15 26 37 15

3B 7 1 6 3 16 7 5 2

HR RBI BB 7 82 123 3 36 110 2 65 26 4 48 56 4 112 46 13 91 85 2 60 98 11 42 36

L % IP H 6 .684 182 165 7 .696 204 192 5 .808 223 177 6 .739 237 203

ER 77 71 68 62

SB 8 14 4 10 13 20 10 7

SO 81 120 202 206

BA .284 .318 .298 .310 .309 .321 .332 .319

SLG .403 .406 .420 .392 .441 .499 .474 .540

OB% .450 .481 .350 .394 .366 .436 .469 .414

BB 96 128 83 60

ERA 3.81 3.13 2.74 2.35

BR/9 13.5 14.3 10.7 10.0

¡00 aided by his 20 homers. Plainly put, he should have been on the squad. Terre Haute manager Dan Carnavale, who led his team to the pennant, should have made the squad at short. His numbers were similar to those of Cope

302

Minor League All-Star Teams Terre Haute Catcher Joe Lonnett could well have, and perhaps should have, been named co-catcher for the squad. He had averages of .297, .496, and .428 and drove in 62 runs. Verle Minnis played second, outfield, and caught. Seems like a utility man to me. Surprisingly, no worthy starting pitchers were overlooked by the III scribes in ¡950! Had a reliever been picked, it would have had to have been Quincy’s Dale Maycock (who was 2–49, .04¡ at the plate). He was called on 49 times and, although a sub-par 5–9, responded with a fine 3.¡8 ERA.

(.303/.393/.4¡5), but he was considerably more productive as attested to by his 82 runs and ¡03 RBIs. He also stole 28 bases. The league’s two foremost power hitters were likewise passed over by the selectees. Allen Eugene Thomas of Waterloo led the league with 25 homers and a .592 SA. In his ¡0¡ games, he drew 83 walks, scored 88 runs, and drove in 8¡. He also hit .308 and had a very good OB% of .457. Clarence “Darrow” Darrah of Quincy hit 24 homers and led the league in walks with ¡28, over one a game. He hit .286, slugged .529, and had an OB% of .452 in addition to scoring ¡06 runs.

Tri-State League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Donald Sta›ord James Martin Frank Colasinski Dominic Della Rocca Albert Neil Harvey Gentry Ralph Rowe Robert Churchill Frank Sacka Omer Ehlers William Kearns

SP SP SP SP

Hugh Oser John Carmichael William Samson William Mosser

Team Charlotte Florence Sumter Spartanburg Knoxville Knoxville Rock Hill Anderson Anderson Asheville Asheville

Knoxville Spartanburg Asheville Asheville

G 145 137 116 140 149 145 139 113 142 79 137

G 31 36 23 40

AB 543 556 481 519 522 540 491 463 534 229 468

GS — — — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 150 88 227 28 5 12 91 79 170 65 208 34 2 0 48 23 135 71 211 25 3 15 72 57 136 91 219 37 2 14 72 75 160 107 310 31 10 33 146 106 164 116 238 27 13 7 81 101 140 79 203 21 6 10 97 112 165 72 243 34 13 6 69 38 160 90 273 28 8 23 124 41 67 32 91 11 5 1 29 25 125 53 152 18 3 1 67 46

CG 16 23 18 12

SH 4 6 3 2

W L % IP 17 6 .739 205 19 11 .633 250 15 11 .577 177 15 12 .556 224

H 175 186 138 215

ER 63 72 38 85

SB 6 3 3 8 8 12 2 2 2 4 15 SO 119 168 130 117

BA .276 .306 .281 .262 .307 .304 .285 .356 .300 .293 .267

SLG OB% .418 .374 .374 .336 .439 .360 .422 .358 .594 .433 .441 .414 .413 .418 .525 .409 .511 .355 .397 .370 .325 .337

BB 78 98 80 66

ERA 2.77 2.59 1.93 3.42

BR/9 11.2 10.4 11.2 11.3

Tom Acker would have been the reliever on the Tri-State Dream team, had there been one. In 42 games, he was 6–3 and had an ERA of 3.07. All in all, a well chosen team.

Charlotte second baseman Ron Samford was just about the equal of selectee Martin. Although he hit lower (.273), his OB% (.337) was virtually the same due to his better eye (although it would have been hard to be worse than Martin’s 4% walk rate). Samford scored 87 runs. Kearns played first, second, third, and short.

Western International League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name W. “Wimpy” Quinn Ron Gi›ord Dan Fracchia Carl “Buddy” Peterson Richard Greco Gene Thompson James Warner Joe Rossi No selection made

SP SP

John Marshall Robert Kerrigan

Team Tacoma Tacoma Wenatchee Tri-City Tacoma Victoria Tri-City Spokane

Victoria Tacoma

G 37 47

G 145 146 139 111 148 146 145 141

GS — —

AB 581 516 542 411 564 551 548 507

CG 20 22

H 183 161 162 125 203 184 182 167

R 89 115 82 71 126 109 143 95

SH 3 4

W 15 26

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 255 37 4 9 112 51 206 20 11 1 69 129 230 32 9 6 98 51 178 24 7 5 76 72 363 30 11 36 154 98 312 38 9 24 106 81 285 33 5 20 131 123 269 32 8 18 109 61

L 13 7

% .536 .788

IP 242 267

H 236 289

ER 94 101

SB 10 9 10 7 14 17 32 25

SO 175 114

BA .315 .312 .299 .304 .360 .334 .332 .329

BB 156 65

SLG OB% .439 .375 .399 .451 .424 .366 .433 .413 .644 .459 .566 .422 .520 .457 .531 .410

ERA 3.50 3.40

BR/9 14.8 12.1

¡950 Peterson was a playing manager. Had two first baseman been named, Yakima’s Jim Westlake would have been the second. He scored 97 runs, drove in ¡22, walked ¡20 times and had .29¡/.398/.420 averages. Reno Cheso seems to have been overlooked at third. The Yakima Bear had averages of .3¡3, .438, and .433. He scored ¡09 times, drove in ¡07 runs, and whacked 4¡ doubles. Outfielder Glenn Stetter, who split his season between Tacoma and Spokane, also appears to have been denied his due. He led the league with a .369 BA and a .480 OB%, was second with a SA of .584, drove in ¡¡¡ runs and scored ¡09 times. He also had 40 doubles and walked ¡0¡ times. No utility choice was made, but Vancouver’s

303

Charles Mead was there waiting should the voters have decided to have such. He played first, third, and the outfield and was no automatic out at the plate either. He had averages of .28¡, 440, and .370, scored 84 runs, drove in ¡04 and smacked ¡8 homers. Two non-selected pitchers deserve mention: Lloyd Dickey of Yakima and John Conant of Spokane. Dickey was ¡8–¡0 with an ERA of 3.28 and a league-leading 224 strike-outs. He also walked ¡83 men, but amazingly finished third in that department as John Tierney walked ¡89 and Don Ferrarese managed to walk 209 (!) in only ¡85 innings. Conant, pitching for a team which finished 22 games under .500, was ¡7–¡7 with a 3.33 ERA. (By the way, no fewer than ¡5 pitchers walked at least ¡00 men in the Western International in ¡950.)

Border League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Frank Heller Bill Metzig Johnny Russian Joe Camacho Peter Kousagan J. Stuart Erickson Howie Weeks Dave Abramson John Sosh No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Harry Pilarski Norm Gosselin Joseph Greco Jerry Daly

Team Watertown Ottawa Ottawa Ogdensburg Geneva Auburn Ogdensburg Watertown Ogdensburg

Kingston Geneva Ogdensburg Watertown

G 28 33 33 35

G 123 114 124 117 127 127 117 122 112

GS — — — —

AB 408 396 482 485 475 497 369 467 445

H 120 126 162 151 145 155 114 142 155

CG 22 26 21 15

R 88 59 84 109 101 103 71 74 101

SH 1 2 2 1

Heller and Metzig were playing managers. Another well-selected team, the only disputable spots are one outfielder, one pitcher and the addition of a utility man. Ottawa flyhawk Peter Karpuk hit well (.33¡/.457/ .406) and led the league in both runs with ¡¡¡ and steals with 27. A four man outfield solves any over-

TB 194 178 223 209 277 276 180 183 274

2B 24 17 22 22 21 25 22 22 29

3B 1 7 9 3 4 6 4 2 6

HR 16 7 7 10 31 28 12 5 26

W L % IP 19 6 .760 208 19 12 .613 253 17 10 .630 218 14 10 .583 207

RBI BB 79 64 64 49 91 52 62 63 125 82 119 51 73 120 68 45 117 62

H 208 230 173 208

ER 65 89 72 82

SB 14 3 5 22 4 2 2 8 1

SO 110 171 204 92

BA .294 .318 .336 .311 .305 .312 .309 .304 .348

SLG .475 .449 .463 .431 .583 .555 .488 .392 .616

OB% .400 .396 .403 .395 .418 .376 .492 .366 .434

BB 95 119 142 103

ERA 2.81 3.17 2.97 3.57

BR/9 13.2 12.9 13.2 14.0

sight problems. Olav “Kalivalla” Kolleval played outfield and caught. In 86 games he scored 58 runs and drove in 70 to go with his .346/.588/.4¡9 averages. The league leader in ERA (¡.96) and BR/9 (¡0.6) did not meet the voter’s strict criteria for selection. The unworthy one was Ottawa’s Edward Flanigan who went ¡6–¡0.

California League (C) Lillard and LeBlanc were playing managers. Santa Barbara manager William “S” Hart should have been the shortstop for the Cal League team. He hit .309, slugged.572, and had an OB% of .474, all vastly superior to Stevens’ numbers. He also hit 24 homers, drove in 86 runs and scored 94. Modesto outfielder Jesse Pike only hit .25¡, but it was a very productive .25¡. He had ¡00 RBIs, scored ¡22 runs, hit 25 home runs and drew an incredible ¡74 walks. With his .470 OB%, I would take Pike over Faszholz ten times out of ten.

Nick “Very Good” Peregud of Visalia could have been the league’s utility man. He played second and third, scored 89 runs, drove in 63 and walked 99 times. His poor .239 BA was balanced by a .355 OB%. Vern Frantz had the misfortune to pitch for a team which finished 36 games under .500 but managed to go ¡4–9. He had an ERA of 3.¡6 (fourth in the league) and allowed ¡¡.0 BR/9.

304

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Dick Wilson Gene Lillard Michael Durock Robert Stevens Earl C. Smith Eugene Faszholz Delbert Lee Kast Roland LeBlanc No selection made

SP SP SP SP

John Walsh John Guldborg Tony Frietas Warren Sandel

Team Modesto Ventura San Jose Stockton Modesto Fresno Ventura Fresno

Ventura Stockton Modesto Fresno

G 31 38 33 27

G 140 110 139 137 139 76 128 129

AB 521 364 507 489 516 301 518 421

GS — — — —

H 166 119 147 134 167 95 160 136

CG 19 21 19 17

R 120 96 114 62 113 74 113 87

SH 1 5 1 3

TB 299 213 212 182 262 123 236 211

W 19 22 20 14

2B 31 15 26 14 30 16 34 22

L 5 5 6 8

3B 6 5 9 5 4 6 6 4

% .792 .815 .769 .636

HR RBI BB 30 154 106 23 104 104 7 74 103 8 73 61 19 100 101 0 36 66 10 72 79 15 105 63

IP 220 243 218 209

H 201 200 198 238

ER 91 83 62 88

SB 26 2 20 10 47 7 21 19

SO 196 135 134 93

BA .319 .327 .290 .274 .324 .316 .309 .323

SLG .574 .585 .418 .372 .508 .409 .456 .501

OB% .438 .478 .418 .363 .443 .439 .403 .417

BB 118 120 37 61

ERA 3.72 3.07 2.56 3.79

BR/9 13.2 12.0 9.7 13.0

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gerald Spencer Robbins Edward Barbarito William Sinram Michael Turturro Garland Lawing Royce Watson Joe DeToia Gus Triandos No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Fred Belinsky Harold Erickson John Nansteel Harry Wilson

Team Schenectady Amsterdam Quebec Glov./Johnstown Quebec Schenectady Oneonta Amsterdam

Quebec Quebec Quebec Glov./Johnstown

G 32 31 28 40

G 111 101 119 106 134 87 137 74

GS 28 27 25 24

AB 425 437 429 388 438 312 489 273

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 125 80 199 30 4 12 100 64 147 85 210 30 9 5 83 33 117 72 154 22 0 5 62 86 120 69 149 13 5 2 45 71 152 110 246 33 2 19 141 168 98 65 134 8 5 6 53 80 145 97 187 14 11 2 97 115 99 60 155 15 4 11 67 49

CG 20 23 14 11

SH 2 4 0 1

The Can-Am probably would have been better served by having five outfielders, as the mix of four behind Lawing are all just about even. The two odd men out are George Liddy (Amsterdam) and Louis Palmisiano (Quebec). Rugmaker flyhawk Liddy hit .3¡7, had an OB% of .48¡ (usually good enough to lead any league in most years, but a distant second to Lawing’s fantastic .53¡), ¡58 walks (ditto the previous parenthetical remark, substituting Lawing’s ¡68 walks), and scored ¡¡8 runs. Palmisiano drew ¡02 walks, hit .304 with a .4¡9 OB%, stole 36 bases, and scored a league best ¡30 runs.

W L 22 6 20 7 13 8 13 10

% .786 .741 .619 .565

IP 217 236 165 203

SB 5 7 0 17 13 10 8 0

BA .294 .336 .273 .309 .347 .314 .297 .363

H ER SO BB 150 72 203 169 207 63 205 68 153 59 87 74 200 101 115 129

SLG OB% .468 .388 .481 .384 .359 .400 .384 .421 .562 .531 .429 .455 .382 .439 .568 .465

ERA 2.99 2.40 3.22 4.48

BR/9 13.7 10.5 12.4 14.9

Oneonta’s Hal Buckwalter played first and third and was the best candidate for the non-selected utility spot. He hit .327, scored 95 runs and drove in 77. The league scribes selected four pitchers, among them a fellow with a 4.48 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡4.9. It makes you want to go back in time and say “C’mon guys, take your job seriously.” Not selected were Schenectady’s Dave “King” Cyrus who was 20–9 with a 2.93 ERA and who led the league with 6 shutouts, and Oneonta’s John Gilbert, ¡7–6 with a 2.8¡ ERA and BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.9.

Cotton States League (C) Ah, sweet mystery … Natchez manager/shortstop Richard Adkins had averages of .327, .6¡0 (the league’s best), and .467 (second to another nonselectee), led the league with 25 homers, scored ¡08 runs, and drove in ¡¡0. That sounds pretty good to me, but what do I know? The other non-selectee, mentioned above, was Monroe outfielder Len Morrison. He was tied for second in batting (.348), second in slugging (.590),

first in OB% (with a terrific .500), and second in homers (23). What more could he have done? A second catcher on the roster also seems to be in order. Greenville backstop Allen Nordgren caught ¡26 games (no one else caught even ¡00). He hit a respectable .282 and had a good .407 OB%, aided by ¡¡2 walks. He also scored 83 runs and even stole 20 bases. In the absence of any o‡cial utility man, I will

¡950 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Dan Phalen H. Schwegman George Ruzina Alex Cosmidis Ben Cantrell Jim Gilbert Jack Ramm Lou Landini No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Cli› Coggin Adam Stempkowski Dan Caccavo John Miskulin

Team Pine Blu› Pine Blu› Natchez Hot Springs Pine Blu› Natchez Pine Blu› Greenwood

Monroe Pine Blu› Hot Springs Natchez

G 110 138 135 129 132 126 132 81

G 31 38 31 28

AB 432 540 563 495 521 504 517 281

GS — — — —

H 135 162 177 149 189 174 180 86

CG 21 21 14 22

305

R 69 150 121 104 112 98 128 38

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 227 27 4 19 101 53 225 25 4 10 67 119 252 40 7 7 80 48 196 21 10 2 76 78 280 35 4 16 144 81 286 33 11 19 112 57 226 20 7 4 65 81 114 13 3 3 51 39

SH 3 3 3 2

W L % IP 21 5 .808 226 19 13 .594 237 16 8 .667 192 17 10 .630 225

H 192 211 164 180

ER 86 91 80 67

SB 2 16 17 11 4 5 49 2

SO 215 172 156 113

BA .313 .300 .314 .301 .363 .345 .348 .306

SLG OB% .525 .388 .417 .426 .448 .368 .396 .396 .537 .449 .567 .412 .437 .436 .406 .391

BB 150 125 131 102

ERA 3.42 3.46 3.75 2.68

BR/9 13.7 13.2 14.0 11.4

HBP not recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

put forth Pine Blu›’s Frank “Scarface” Carpace. He played first and the outfield for the Judges, had .330/.536/.428 averages, scored ¡¡8 runs, and drove in ¡2¡. Simply put, a place should have been made for him. Passed over on the mound were Ron Lurk of Monroe, Ryne Duren of Pine Blu› and reliever Ray

Baker of Hot Springs. Lurk was only ¡0–9, but had league-leading figures of ¡.55 (ERA) and ¡¡.0 (BR/9). Duren went ¡5–7 with an ERA of 3.¡7 and led the league with 233 Ks, an ¡¡/9 ratio. Bather bullpen ace Baker was in 45 games and went 8–7 with a 2.79 ERA.

Gulf Coast League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Charles Baron(ovic) Ray Smerek Alois Turk Emilio Mozo Art Edinger Jim Sinovich Al Kaiser Floyd Economides No selection made

SP SP SP SP

G.T. Waters Bob Upton Jim Hogan Charles Davis

Team Jacksonville Crowley Crowley Jacksonville Jacksonville Jacksonville Lufkin/Leesville Jacksonville

Crowley Jacksonville Jacksonville Lufkin/Leesville

G 45 44 35 21

G 132 142 144 147 141 128 54 147

AB 489 520 574 531 561 514 206 586

GS — — — —

CG 28 30 25 10

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 165 81 243 37 7 9 104 58 172 97 258 42 1 14 90 73 195 126 288 41 8 12 73 85 135 82 204 16 7 13 82 67 212 114 311 44 11 11 95 46 144 106 183 21 9 0 53 68 81 48 131 17 2 10 43 25 167 97 237 32 7 8 110 52

SH 5 3 6 2

Baron(ovic) was a playing manager. Charles Harper, Port Arthur Seahawks manager/ first baseman, hit .322 and slugged .540 to give fellow skipper Baron a run for the first base slot. Harper hit 24 homers, scored ¡00 runs, and drove in a league-best ¡26 runs. Another candidate for the first base spot was Conklyn Meriwether of Lake Charles. He was only in 62 games, yet tied Harper for the home run lead at 24. He hit .35¡ and slugged a monster .739 while driving in 69 runs in his 62 games.

W L % IP 30 7 .811 283 25 16 .610 326 21 7 .750 236 10 6 .625 131

H 225 258 233 143

SB 3 24 21 9 7 6 5 8

BA .337 .331 .340 .254 .378 .280 .393 .285

ER SO BB 99 245 183 97 346 173 72 124 66 53 49 39

SLG OB% .497 .421 .496 .423 .502 .429 .384 .344 .554 .429 .356 .369 .636 .468 .404 .348

ERA 3.15 2.68 2.75 3.64

BR/9 13.5 12.2 11.7 12.6

Galveston White Cap outfielder Isidoro Carballeira (.329/.483/.434, ¡0¡ runs) was in the running for a spot in the outfield. Jim Bello (Lufkin/ Leesville) played first and the outfield, hit .299 and drove in 95 runs, and was the best utility player. Ramon Roger of Galveston was 2¡–¡¡, leading the league in ERA at 2.5¡ and BR/9 ratio with 9.7, by far the best. And, if you have been paying attention to the selection process of these teams, you know he was left of o› the Dream Team.

Middle Atlantic League (C) Youngstown manager/first baseman Clarence “Buck” Etchison was jobbed. His BA/SA (.3¡8/.473)

numbers may have only been slightly better than Kestler’s, but he had a terrific .475 OB%, drawing

306

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Edward Kestler William Paolisso Henry DiJohnson George Eikenberg John Golich Robert Huddleston Robert Adcock Larry Rush William Horne Roy Nichols

SP SP

Paul Foytack Don Olexio

Team Erie Youngstown Niagra Falls New Castle Erie Oil City Butler Oil City New Castle Johnstown

Butler Butler

G 27 22

GS — —

G 101 108 87 113 107 92 108 99 100 103 CG 19 5

AB 389 438 363 393 369 338 418 351 314 388

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 131 76 169 29 3 1 76 62 137 99 172 21 7 0 55 81 109 73 167 17 7 9 69 38 100 64 118 12 3 0 57 81 134 106 238 22 11 20 106 86 123 87 190 29 1 12 83 90 130 86 181 20 11 3 82 71 100 94 155 17 4 10 70 107 97 46 110 9 2 0 47 86 127 74 175 16 4 8 70 58

SH 2 0

W 18 9

¡¡5 walks. Etchison also led the league in RBIs with ¡¡5. At third, Milan Kemp (Butler) was virtually even with league selectee DiJohnson with .298/.470 averages, but his OB% was 56 points higher (.423). Vandergrift’s manager/shortstop Don Hasenmayer, despite playing in only 72 games, had a career year. His averages were .370/.640/.457, he hit ¡8 homers, and, in those 72 games, drove in 80 runs and scored 89 times. I would have chosen Milton Kress and Eugene Bilo for the outfield over either Adcock or Rush. Kress, an Erie Sailor, had .337/.524/.472 averages and scored ¡¡6 runs in ¡09 games. New Castle’s Bilo hit only .28¡, but scored ¡¡3 runs aided by a league-best ¡32 walks. He also stole 72 bases, 43 more than the runner-up.

L 6 4

% .750 .692

IP 217 113

H 171 118

ER 67 71

SB 15 6 8 4 20 7 17 11 2 3

SO 219 65

BA SLG OB% .337 .434 .429 .313 .393 .422 .300 .460 .367 .254 .300 .386 .363 .645 .491 .364 .562 .499 .311 .433 .415 .285 .442 .460 .309 .350 .460 .327 .451 .415 BB 168 93

ERA 2.78 5.65

BR/9 14.1 16.9

Nichols played second, third, and short. The M.A.L. had no outstanding pitchers in ’50. Foytack, with his ¡4.¡ BR/9 ratio, was the league’s third best. Having made that point, the selection of Olexio is still rather odd, to say the least. Sure, he was 9–4, but a 5.65/¡6.9 All Star? Not in my book (and, once again, this is my book). Frank Wagner of New Castle was a pedestrian ¡¡–7, 3.86, but he led the league with a ¡2.3 BR/9 ratio. His teammate George “Re” Becka was a slightly better ¡4–8 and a slightly worse 3.98. Carlson Maloney (Erie) was second in the league with ¡5 wins, but had a 4.22 ERA and allowed ¡3.9 BR/9. As you can see, there were no Greg Maddux’s in the league this year.

Northern League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Ken Landenberger Wally Reed Charles Weymann Ted Sterger Bill Bruton Dick Bornholt Clair Bailey Richard Anderson Percy “Tex” Hough No selection made

Team Superior Grand Forks St. Cloud Sioux Falls Eau Claire St. Cloud Aberdeen Superior Eau Claire

SP Raymond Kircho› St. Cloud SP Ronald Ploetz Superior

G 30 22

G 124 121 124 112 128 124 117 90 62

GS — —

AB 466 470 469 422 545 450 463 330 199

H R TB 143 75 201 138 92 190 124 86 160 126 83 180 157 126 223 127 82 201 151 85 203 114 63 157 60 43 114

CG 19 8

SH 4 1

St. Cloud Rox (boy, does that sound like a modern marketing name or what?) shortstop Don Wetzel only hit .274 but had an OB% of .442 due to his ¡34 walks. He scored 98 runs and stole 30 bases. Four outfielders were not enough for the Northern League in ’50. Howard Boles (Sioux Falls) led the league with 22 dingers and a SA of .548. He hit .3¡3, scored 97 runs and drove in 96. John Karpin-

W 19 10

2B 28 27 15 24 25 25 23 20 15

3B 6 5 6 12 13 8 7 7 3

HR RBI 6 104 5 54 3 75 2 61 5 58 11 100 5 57 3 50 11 56

L % IP H 6 .760 200 184 5 .667 134 121

BB 66 55 91 55 65 95 54 55 48

ER 55 67

SB 7 14 16 23 66 14 31 7 0

SO 105 133

BA .307 .294 .264 .299 .288 .282 .326 .345 .302

SLG .431 .404 .341 .427 .409 .447 .438 .476 .573

OB% .396 .371 .385 .379 .375 .413 .400 .442 .446

BB 63 121

ERA 2.48 4.50

BR/9 11.2 16.8

ski (Eau Claire) hit only .279, but had 98 RBIs and scored ¡08 runs. If you think that the league needs another catcher due to the fact that Hough only caught 57 games, your man is Russell Rolandson of Duluth. He caught in 96 games, hit a decent .275 and had 59 RBIs. Had there been a utility choice, it would have been Kenneth Galbraith Aber (perhaps the only pro baseball

¡950

307

bests in ERA (2.44) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.5). Superior pitcher John Virksits was certainly better than Ploetz. He, like Hartig, went ¡8–9. He also had 235 Ks in 2¡9 innings and an ERA of 3.04.

player named for an economist). He played second, short, and the outfield and hit .30¡ with 72 RBIs. You may not believe this, but the league’s best pitcher was left of o› the All Star team! Sioux Falls Canary ace Robert Hartig went ¡8–9 with league

Pioneer League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Sven “Red” Jessen Billy Rice Ray Poispanka John Angelone Dick Cordell Eddie Moore Bob Van Eman Lilio Marcucci No selection made

Team Twin Falls Pocatello Twin Falls Great falls Pocatello Billings Salt Lake City Idaho Falls

G 117 127 124 112 124 126 86 109

G 33 26

GS — —

SP Ivan Abromowitz Twin Falls SP Cli› Ross Ogden

AB 452 454 479 455 504 486 307 392

H 150 103 125 142 155 166 113 144

CG 23 8

R 98 90 111 104 105 131 61 77

SH 0 2

Lilio Marcucci was a playing manger for the Idaho Falls Russets. Pocatello shortstop Ernest Schuerman may have only batted .244, but he scored ¡34 runs in ¡24 games (on only ¡¡¡ hits). He hit 20 homers and walked an incredible ¡65 times, giving him a .449 OB%. I would have added Billings outfielder Bill Pinckard to the roster. He had good .3¡2/.59¡ averages, hit 30 home runs, stole 25 bases, and had ¡35 RBIs. The league failed to choose a utility player, but Wally Yonamine of SLC played outfield and first and

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 252 19 4 25 108 90 185 21 2 19 78 98 242 19 1 32 94 95 225 26 10 12 90 92 293 35 8 29 135 71 285 28 8 25 133 109 174 14 7 11 86 54 245 33 13 14 124 49

W 22 10

L % IP H 6 .786 244 213 8 .556 143 82

ER 85 75

SB 1 1 1 13 3 28 2 6

SO 198 198

BA .332 .227 .261 .312 .308 .342 .368 .367

SLG OB% .558 .452 .407 .368 .505 .385 .495 .430 .581 .397 .586 .469 .567 .468 .625 .444

BB 153 204

ERA 3.14 4.72

BR/9 13.7 18.1

scored ¡¡9 runs. He hit .335 and had a .446 OB% on the back of 94 walks. Ross and his ¡8.¡ BR/9 ratio should in no way have been considered for All-Star status (he struck out ¡2.8 batters every 9 innings— and walked ¡2.5). In a shocking development, the league’s best pitcher, Billings’ manager Larry Shepard, was not selected. He went 22–6, 2.54, 9.6, all league-best marks. Bill Franks, who pitched for Boise, a team which finished 24 games under .500, was ¡2–8 with a 3.39 ERA and allowed ¡2.5 BR/9.

Rio Grande Valley League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Hal Jackson John “Red” Davis Eddie Rzendzian D. Juan Perez Manuel Salvatierra Lloyd Pearson Jesse McClain Frank Mormino No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Bob Covington William Guthrie Richard Midki› Julio Moreno

Team Harlingen-Del Rio Corpus Christi Brownsville Brownsville Laredo Corpus Christi Harlingen Del Rio

Corpus Christi Harlingen Del Rio Del Rio

G 35 47 34 32

G 138 124 127 146 102 136 147 139

AB 575 451 492 595 387 541 582 558

GS — — — —

CG 18 9 25 26

H 195 163 155 172 138 207 207 187

SH 0 2 3 2

Davis and Salvatierra were playing managers. Please take note of Salvatierra’s monster SA and terrific OB%. Laredo Apache first baseman Walt Graham may have been worthy of a joint first base spot. He hit .305 with ¡9 homers, but he also drew ¡6¡ walks,

R 146 130 120 125 126 152 168 123

TB 302 235 252 278 312 353 410 326

2B 3B HR RBI BB 42 7 17 118 66 29 8 9 113 111 31 9 18 93 100 14 4 28 98 98 32 2 49 138 112 44 9 28 154 91 34 5 53 173 102 33 2 34 136 64

W L % IP 18 9 .667 253 15 11 .577 192 22 8 .733 260 20 10 .667 261

SB 4 20 19 10 33 18 31 3

BA .339 .361 .315 .289 .357 .383 .356 .335

H ER SO BB 260 110 126 86 137 91 195 163 270 109 189 85 275 138 166 100

SLG OB% .525 .409 .521 .491 .512 .433 .467 .392 .806 .507 .652 .489 .704 .455 .584 .404

ERA 3.91 4.27 3.77 4.76

BR/9 12.6 14.4 12.4 13.0

which gave him a .47¡ OB% and scored ¡44 runs in ¡42 games. At short, Corpus Christi’s Joe Koppe had .3¡7, .506, .435 averages, drove in ¡¡3 runs, stole 34 bases and scored an incredible ¡8¡ runs in ¡39 games. The problem was, he fielded but .89¡ with an (again) in-

308

Minor League All-Star Teams

credible 85 errors. However, Perez was not that much better. Plus, Perez only got to a mediocre 4.4 chances a game and Koppe got to a very good 5.7. On the whole, I’d go with Koppe despite the errors. Manage/catcher Sam Harshaney had .345/.52¡/ .469 averages and was worthy of a mention, if not a spot, at catcher. No utility player was chosen, but there were two possible candidates: Ken Peacock of Corpus Christi and Miguel “Pilo” Gaspar of Laredo. Peacock played third and outfield, hit .3¡¡ and slugged .524. He hit 30 homers and, in ¡40 games, had ¡53 RBIs and scored ¡50 runs. Gaspar played

outfield and caught. He hit .335 and slugged .560, and in ¡¡6 games, scored ¡2¡ runs and drove in ¡¡4. He also hit 29 home runs. (Interesting story about those homers. Gaspar played 26 seasons in the minors, ¡950 being his first year. He hit ¡5 home runs in ¡95¡, including four in one game. Over the next 24 years, he hit only 29 more homers, the exact number he had his rookie year). As an aside: The All Star team hit .340, slugged .590, had an OB% of .445, hit 238 home runs and averaged ¡36 runs and ¡29 RBIs per man.

Sunset League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Vergilio Arteaga Tony Villa Blas Guzman Robert Strader Manuel Serrano Pete Hughes Felipe Montemayor Guido Faloppino Ron “Rube” Johnson No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Manuel Echeverria Bob Shore George Pain Charles Gowett

Team Mexicali Riverside Mexicali El Centro Mexicali El Centro Mexicali Tijuana Las Vegas

Mexicali Las Vegas Riverside El Centro

G 134 137 139 134 142 107 122 105 144

G 49 37 42 38

AB 557 548 597 513 579 369 505 403 518

GS — — — —

H 181 160 216 140 175 145 161 144 151

CG 28 23 20 21

R 132 98 125 101 153 104 125 71 140

SH 5 3 2 1

In a hitters league, it is odd that the first baseman has zero homers and only 65 RBIs. William Cleveland of San Bernardino hit .299, but slugged .47¡, hit ¡6 homers with ¡¡¡ RBIs. A combination of Arteaga’s and Cleveland’s strengths would have made a very good hitter. Outfielder Earl Hochstatter of Porterville had .337/.527/.437 averages with ¡¡4 RBIs and ¡04 runs and was probably worthy of a fourth OF spot. (Note again Hughes’ OB%, a gargantuan .557). No utility man was chosen, but two men merited

TB 229 215 303 203 260 235 277 204 277

2B 34 29 24 28 38 25 30 24 26

3B 7 7 9 7 10 4 13 9 11

HR 0 4 15 7 9 19 20 6 26

RBI BB 65 87 86 66 138 51 68 88 62 123 108 131 119 73 80 47 131 83

SB 1 6 9 4 13 0 9 6 2

BA .325 .292 .362 .273 .302 .393 .319 .357 .292

SLG .411 .392 .508 .396 .449 .637 .549 .506 .535

OB% .417 .370 .416 .380 .425 .557 .409 .427 .393

W L % IP H ER SO BB 28 12 .700 328 288 100 333 73 16 12 .571 247 231 102 217 115 18 13 .581 250 224 95 245 145 19 7 .731 227 250 104 123 77

ERA 2.74 3.72 3.42 4.12

BR/9 9.9 12.8 13.4 13.0

the addition of a spot. Ed Wheeler of Las Vegas had .325/.599/.430 averages and played first, second, and short for the Wranglers as well as managing them. Yuma’s Don Wagner played first, second, third, and outfield. He only hit .283 but it was a timely .283 as he drove in ¡¡5 runs. The ace of the Mexicali Eagles, Amador Guzman, went a fine 25–7. His 3.95 ERA was eighth in the league. Conspicuous by his absence is he, as Yoda would put it.

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) Sullivan, Beeler, and Howard were playing managers. Pampa first baseman Virgil Richardson outdid Lewis in every aspect of hitting except BA, as shown by the following numbers: .605 SA, .45¡ OB%, 33 homers, ¡¡5 walks, ¡5¡ RBIs, and ¡37 runs. At second, another Pampa Oiler, Roy Woldt, had the same advantages over Sullivan: .50¡ SA, .448 OB%, ¡5 homers, ¡¡2 walks, ¡¡¡ RBIs, and ¡36 runs. Both were worthy of being selected. Jodie Beeler only played 47 of his games at short.

The slot should have gone to another Pampa-ite, Jean (John) Jeandron, .3¡¡/.482/.405 with ¡22 runs and ¡08 RBIs. Beeler would have been excellent as a utility selection (about which more later). Two flyhawks passed over for the WTNM Dream Team are Harry Bright (Clovis) and Art Ciutti (Albuquerque). Bright, in 95 games, scored ¡04 runs and drove in ¡09 while batting .4¡3, slugging .704 and having a .476 OB%. Ciutti did not have quite the averages the others had (.334/.574/.39¡), but, in ¡46 games, scored ¡59 runs and drove in ¡6¡.

¡950 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Doug Lewis Carl Jackie Sullivan Billy Capps Jodie Beeler T. Crawford Howard Hershel Martin Joe Fortin Cli›ord Mike Dooley No selection made

SP SP

Don Cantrell Roy Parker

Team Amarillo Lubbock Lamesa Lamesa Amarillo Albuquerque Pampa Lubbock

Albuquerque Pampa

G 39 49

G 141 131 92 128 141 140 145 143

GS 28 34

AB 574 474 382 475 577 488 588 544

H 207 155 127 188 207 190 236 171

R 132 103 83 128 148 123 151 149

CG 19 30

SH 1 1

W 20 27

Catcher Ted Clawitter, who split his season between Amarillo and Borger, had .3¡5/.478/.436 averages along with 85 RBIs and ¡09 runs scored. As good as Dooley? No, in no way — but Dooley, like Beeler, should have been a utility choice as he played third and the outfield in addition to catching. If ever a league needed a utility spot on its All Star team, this ¡950 WTNM league is it. In addition to the aforementioned Beeler and Dooley, Borger’s Ed Carnett (.36¡/.604/.445) scored ¡26 runs and drove in ¡35 while playing first and the outfield, and he also went ¡3–6 on the mound with a league-leading 3.¡5 ERA. But wait! there’s still more! Pampa’s Roy Parker, named as a pitcher, also played outfield and rang up .346/.703/.444 averages while scoring 80 runs, driving in 83, and socking 24 homers.

309 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 308 35 6 18 129 71 233 40 4 10 76 60 191 25 6 9 93 37 327 53 1 28 158 79 361 39 2 37 165 95 301 46 10 15 125 100 376 50 3 28 171 72 316 27 5 36 124 83

L 6 12

% .769 .692

IP 238 297

H 311 307

ER 152 150

SB 4 8 1 11 9 1 7 30

SO 172 256

BA .361 .327 .332 .396 .359 .389 .401 .314

BB 109 188

SLG OB% .537 .435 .492 .405 .500 .396 .688 .487 .626 .453 .617 .495 .639 .468 .581 .407

ERA 5.75 4.55

BR/9 16.0 15.2

(An aside about the ’50 WTNM team: As a group [minus the pitchers] they hit .36¡, slugged .588 and had a .445 OB%.) What is remarkable about the ¡950 WTNM League sta› is that Cantrell, even with his 5.75/¡6.0 was actually almost worthy of selection. In fact, if I were to select four starters, he’d be one of them. George Payte (Pampa) went 22–¡0 with 4.30, ¡4.9 numbers. Ed Carnett was, as mentioned above, ¡3–6 with a league-best 3.¡5 ERA, allowing ¡2.4 BR/9. And, there was even a worthy relief choice: Royce Mills of the Lubbock Hubbers. He appeared in 48 games (one start), went ¡0–3, and had a league-best (by far) BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8.

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Harold Kollar Frank Santora Harold Olt Mickey Mantle Pete Maropis Elmer “Butch” Nieman Erwin “Ace” Adamewicz Harry Chiti No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Max DeCamp Paul Pawli Frank Simanovsky Bob Wiesler

Team Enid Muskogee St. Joseph Joplin Hutchinson Topeka St. Joseph Springfield

Hutchinson Salina Joplin Joplin

G 26 33 31 20

G 134 120 132 137 137 139 134 50

AB 444 442 495 519 537 481 510 161

GS — — — —

CG 16 15 16 20

H 137 122 151 199 179 151 166 51

SH 3 2 3 5

Kollar, Olt, and Nieman were playing managers. Santora only played 62 of his ¡20 games at second, so I would be inclined to place Richard Campbell of Salina in that spot. He had averages of .287/.42¡/.36¡ and scored 80 runs. Topeka Owl outfielder Robert E. Lee hit .30¡ and scored ¡23 runs. I would have had added him as a fourth flyhawk.

R 111 62 111 141 92 128 97 23

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 256 30 4 27 106 116 159 20 4 3 50 79 216 34 8 5 82 100 331 30 12 26 136 94 245 32 8 6 108 79 278 25 9 28 149 149 259 34 10 13 129 63 76 5 4 4 37 9

W L % IP H 15 10 .600 175 184 14 8 .636 213 221 21 3 .875 210 215 15 7 .682 188 117

SB 9 3 11 22 9 18 5 1

BA .309 .276 .305 .383 .333 .314 .325 .317

ER SO BB 70 99 80 68 142 55 73 126 79 49 277 168

SLG OB% .577 .458 .360 .392 .436 .422 .638 .480 .456 .424 .578 .477 .508 .402 .472 .353

ERA 3.60 2.87 3.13 2.35

BR/9 13.8 11.8 12.8 13.8

Chiti was good, but I think a second catching choice is in order given the fact that he only caught 42 games. My choice would be Bill Hall of Hutchinson. Hall had .307/.425/.383 averages and drove in 68 runs. Once again, no utility player was selected even though one a fine example was present in the league. Jack McQuillen (Muskogee) played first and the outfield and hit .295, scoring 92

310

Minor League All-Star Teams

runs. McQuillen’s ¡06 walks helped him to a .430 OB%.

It should be noted that Bob Weisler averaged ¡3.3 Ks per 9 IP.

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Harry Soufas Wm. Irvin Dickens Leo Katkaveck Ken Aspromonte Walt McJunkin Paul Strausser Billy Johnson Ed Christo› Enid Drake Quentin Martin

SP SP SP SP

Alton Brown Fred Pittman Leo Groeschen Bobby Slaybaugh

Team New Bern Wilson Roanoke Rapids Kinston Roanoke Rapids Greenville Goldsboro New Bern Tarboro Rocky Mount

Roanoke Rapids Wilson Kinston Goldsboro

G 137 116 137 110 134 130 131 126 132 130 G 45 26 33 34

AB 448 442 539 403 482 492 493 476 471 487

GS — — — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 167 95 249 32 1 16 117 113 127 86 148 14 2 1 35 91 168 99 238 18 2 16 105 46 119 80 161 16 4 6 41 83 145 109 195 19 5 7 70 106 134 103 193 18 10 7 29 105 148 67 242 30 5 18 86 65 151 77 231 22 11 12 88 59 138 66 203 21 7 10 84 85 171 85 254 35 3 14 94 51 CG 29 14 19 10

SH 4 4 6 1

McJunkin was a playing manager. Second base selection Dickens played 56 games there and 6¡ at short. There were two options the league could have chosen from to have a real second baseman at the slot. One, John Cornwell of New Bern, hit .302, had an OB% of .4¡0, and scored ¡05 runs. He handled 5.2 chances per game with a .94¡ FA. The other, James Herbison of Goldsboro, hit but .243 but still scored 97 runs. He fielded .957 and handled 6.¡ chances a game. I guess your pick would depend upon whether or not you decided to go for o›ense or defense. The interestingly named Warriner Bass somehow managed to be passed over by the scribes despite amassing ¡48 RBIs, 3¡ more than the runner-up in

W L % IP H ER 28 11 .718 317 269 84 16 6 .727 189 160 53 18 7 .720 212 153 41 6 17 .261 195 168 105

SB 12 15 12 8 19 49 20 8 3 2

BA .373 .287 .312 .295 .301 .272 .300 .317 .293 .351

SO BB 204 133 107 85 197 80 176 135

SLG OB% .556 .502 .335 .409 .442 .367 .400 .417 .405 .429 .392 .405 .491 .385 .485 .399 .431 .405 .522 .415 ERA 2.38 2.52 1.74 4.85

BR/9 11.8 11.9 10.1 14.3

that department. The Roanoke Rapids outfielder hit .302 and had a .405 OB%. It seems that he would have been a better selection than Johnson or Strausser (check out his RBI total). In a year where four outfield spots were filled, leaving Warriner Bass out seems odd. Utility man Martin played outfield, first, and caught. I a strange twist of fate, a pitcher who was 6–¡7 (Slaybaugh) was anointed an All-Star, and a pitcher who was ¡7–6 (James Thorne of Roanoke Rapids) was consigned to the nether regions. Thorne had a 2.92 ERA (almost two full runs better than Slaybaugh) and allowed ¡¡.2 BR/9 (three fewer than youknow-who). Ah the vagaries of the voters…

Far West League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jack Cooney Wayne Peterson Ray Perry Al Sahlberg Russ Rosburg Chet Ashman Vince DiMaggio George Triandos No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Clyde DeWitt Charles Closs Andrew Sierra Pat Monahan

Team Medford Klamath Falls Redding Klamath Falls Redding Klamath Falls Pittsburg Klamath Falls

G Klamath Falls 36 Reno 16 Klamath Falls 34 Reno 27

G 123 57 138 138 103 102 125 134

GS — — — —

AB 466 233 462 528 402 447 434 527

H 148 86 169 172 143 163 153 183

CG 16 8 21 14

R 89 53 162 152 98 97 105 108

SH 2 0 2 2

Perry and DiMaggio were playing managers. At first, Cooney and Redding’s George Thompson had almost exactly the same number of plate ap-

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 211 31 10 4 78 81 110 11 5 1 40 20 339 30 4 44 170 179 228 27 7 5 82 162 252 22 3 27 142 62 270 31 8 20 142 37 271 28 6 26 129 79 259 32 10 8 112 70

W 17 9 22 15

L 7 4 9 8

% .708 .692 .710 .652

IP H 225 222 112 98 239 239 187 174

ER 95 69 92 96

SB 17 6 23 25 7 5 15 2

SO 168 123 258 156

BA SLG OB% .318 .453 .420 .369 .472 .421 .366 .734 .547 .326 .432 .486 .356 .627 .444 .365 .604 .413 .353 .624 .452 .347 .491 .429

BB 105 137 105 149

ERA 3.80 5.54 3.46 4.62

BR/9 13.4 19.9 13.2 15.

pearances (548–544) and almost the same BA (.3¡8– .3¡7), yet non-selectee Thompson scored ¡¡2 runs and drove in ¡00. Why Cooney? We must suppose

¡950 that the answer to that question is lost to the fog of the long-ago and far-away. If you think 52 games is not enough to base an All-star Selection on, then Redding’s Ken McGee is the second baseman for you. His averages were not great (.25¡/.386/.382), but he scored ¡2¡ times, walked ¡05 times, and stole 36 bases. I believe that four outfielders should have been chosen for the team, as four flyhawks had virtually identical seasons. The odd man out was “Wild” Bill Enos, Pittsburg Diamond gardener. He hit .355, slugged .645 and had an OB% of .4¡8. He hit 34 homers, scored ¡08 runs and drove in ¡34 in ¡25 games. No utility man was selected, but Reno manager Joe Borich had .387/.547/.478 averages with ¡24 runs and ¡0¡ RBIs while playing third and catching. (Please take note of Ray “Moose” Perry’s season. .734 is a terrific SA, and a .547 OB% is almost the stu› of legend.)

311

If you are going to pick a ¡5–8 pitcher (Monahan) for the team, Why not choose Jack Lloyd (Medford), who was slightly more e›ective (4.48/¡4.5). In fact, if you are going to choose a ¡5 game winner, why not Redding’s Gilbert Donald Hatridge, ¡5–4 with a 4.45 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡3.6, better than either Monahan or Lloyd. Closs reminds me of that old Sesame Street(r) game, “One of these things is not like the others.” In place of Closs, I’d try the stylish o›erings of Eugene “Be My” Valentine. The Pittsburg chucker went ¡2–¡ with league-leading figures of ¡.82 and ¡0.4. Had a reliever been chosen, it would have had to have been Klamath Falls skipper “Hub” Kittle. He called himself in from the bullpen 24 times and wound up ¡0–0. His ERA was 3.93, his BR/9 ratio ¡2.3, quite good for the league.

Florida State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ed Levy Mel Kerestes Cal Ermer Charles Brewster Herbert McLeod Bruce Barmes Richard Stellern Ray Dunne No selection made

SP SP SP SP

George Erath Henry Bruder Ed Brooklyn Peter Nicolis

Team Sanford Orlando Orlando Gainesville DeLand Orlando Daytona Beach DeLand

St. Augustine Orlando Orlando DeLand

G 24 35 32 13

G 128 126 140 125 133 140 138 131

AB 406 481 474 472 520 583 596 472

GS — — — —

CG 19 14 14 5

H 136 122 115 152 184 217 210 134

SH 3 4 1 0

Levy, Ermer, and Brewster were playing managers. Saint Augustine manager /second baseman Lyle “Punch” Judy hit .266 and slugged (if you can call it that) a lowly .300. So, why even consider him in place of Kerestes? Well, he also drew a staggering ¡53 walks which boosted his OB% up to an excellent .458, ¡¡8 points higher than the Greek keystoner. Judy managed to score 97 runs for his Saints. Daytona Beach third baseman Paul Travis had .274/.422/.4¡8 averages, all markedly superior to selectee Ermer. He also scored ¡26 runs and drove in ¡04. In the field, they were about equal, so why Ermer? Saint Augustine outfielder Loren Chafin missed out on a team spot despite .360/.505/.423 averages. He had 75 RBIs, scored ¡27 runs and blasted 24

R 87 81 84 145 122 122 146 68

W 17 17 15 4

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 270 33 1 33 105 106 147 15 5 0 59 62 179 30 5 8 86 80 206 30 1 10 102 55 255 33 13 4 106 84 283 31 13 3 90 60 280 36 14 2 60 75 164 24 0 2 71 61

L % IP H 8 .680 195 182 8 .680 200 182 8 .652 159 172 3 .571 79 43

ER 63 64 102 31

SB 15 19 3 26 24 23 38 7

SO 133 80 119 132

BA .335 .254 .243 .322 .354 .372 .352 .284

SLG OB% .665 .476 .306 .340 .378 .369 .436 .398 .490 .447 .485 .433 .470 .430 .347 .371

BB 76 94 143 97

ERA 2.91 2.88 5.77 3.53

BR/9 12.3 12.6 17.9 16.1

triples. He was also credited with the fantastic total of 5¡ assists. (That is such a phenomenal total that one must suspect a misprint.) DeLand outfielder Vernon “Turtle” Pirtle was no slouch at bat either, as his .34¡/.525/.428 averages attest. His 4¡ doubles helped him to ¡24 RBIs, a league-best mark. He also scored ¡05 runs. It seems that perhaps a fiveoutfielder roster would not have been out of place in the FSL of ¡950. Daytona Beach Islander catcher LaVerne Watercutter (what a great name) hit .276, scored 85 runs, and drove in 89. He was probably worthy of a cocatcher spot on the team. At utility, where no selection was named, the best player I could find to fill the bill was Charles Rodriguez who split time between the DeLand Red Hats and the Palatka Azaleas. He was only in 58 games but did manage to score 43

312

Minor League All-Star Teams As the (un-selected) relief man, I would suggest Bill Glessner. He is erroneously credited with ¡90 IP in the stats, but I believe he actually pitched ¡09. (At ¡90 IP, you see, he only faced 2.2 batters an inning. That seems to me to be a rather di‡cult feat, even for a Sandy Koufax-type pitcher. He also had no complete games, yet, if he indeed pitched ¡90 innings, he averaged almost six innings a game, which would mean he was usually brought in the second or third inning and then proceeded to finish just about all of his games. Sorry, can’t buy it.) He went ¡0–3 with a 2.8¡ ERA. (Please note that, according to the stats, Nicolis averaged an incredible ¡5 strike-outs per 9 IP.)

runs. He played second, third, and short. Not a great choice by any means, but the best available. Four pitchers selected … one with a 5.77 ERA, one with a ¡6.¡ BR/9 ratio. It seems that better choices could have been made. So, I shall make them now. Charles Tedesco of Sanford went ¡9–8 with an ERA of 3.39, allowing ¡2.4 BR/9. George Fultz (Gainesville-DeLand) was a hard-luck ¡8–¡9 but led the league with 3¡8 IP and 26 CG. He was fourth in ERA (2.77) and allowed ¡¡.9 BR/9. Bernie Lake of Sanford was ¡3–7 with a 2.69 ERA, and allowed a league-best ¡0.3 BR/9. (He could also have been the utility man, as he played third and the outfield, hit .273 and had 25 RBIs).

Georgia-Alabama League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP

Name James Stoyle Joe Schmidt Leon Carter George Noga John “Jack” Bearden George Hughes Earl Cooper Eugene Solt James Durkin Billy Rigdon David Krings

Don Bessent Lee Lindsley Bill “Hustle” Bustle Edward Bobowski

Team Gri‡n Newnan LaGrange Gri‡n Gri‡n Valley LaGrange Carrollton LaGrange Opelika LaGrange

G 117 113 122 120 121 100 108 119 53 59 116

LaGrange Alexander City Newnan Carrollton

G 29 35 32 27

AB 439 409 497 481 435 379 373 460 181 213 476 GS — — — —

H 159 130 162 144 154 126 124 168 47 72 152

R 104 100 113 106 108 75 77 106 31 38 108

CG 27 20 25 18

Bearden, and Cooper were playing managers. Carrollton Hornet third sacker Fred DeSouza had averages of .354, .577, and .539. He had 24 homers, 92 RBIs and ¡26 runs (in ¡22 games), and drew a phenomenal ¡65 walks. Carter had a fine year, but I think I would have gone with DeSouza. The two chosen utility men weren’t, Rigdon being a shortstop and Krings an outfielder. However,

TB 227 206 252 213 254 168 207 311 65 106 202

SH 5 3 4 0

2B 22 31 28 17 31 28 17 27 7 13 23

3B 5 3 7 8 6 5 0 1 1 3 9

W L % 22 7 .759 18 8 .692 21 10 .677 17 7 .708

HR 12 13 16 12 19 3 22 38 3 5 3 IP 242 241 237 176

RBI 121 100 105 80 98 72 99 151 23 53 38 H 190 223 228 182

BB 65 71 52 63 87 56 71 65 20 28 60 ER 60 65 92 97

SB 0 20 15 21 12 23 7 6 1 6 30

BA .362 .318 .326 .299 .354 .332 .332 .365 .260 .338 .319

SLG .517 .504 .507 .443 .584 .443 .555 .676 .359 .498 .424

OB% .447 .425 .399 .386 .465 .420 .456 .444 .337 .415 .400

SO BB 229 92 168 59 228 113 114 118

ERA 2.23 2.43 3.49 4.96

BR/9 10.7 10.8 13.3 15.4

Rome’s Tony Roig was selection-worthy. He played second, third, short, and outfield, hit .327, slugged .507, scored 85 runs, and drove in ¡04. Myril Hoag, who during the season managed at Valley (representing Lannett) and Rome, both sub.500 teams, went ¡5–¡¡ with a 2.60 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.0. Given the teams he pitched for, perhaps a spot should be made for him.

Georgia-Florida League (D) Moultrie second baseman Hubert Rose, simply put, should have been on the team. Sure, Kell had good averages, but Rose walked ¡40 times and scored ¡45 times in only ¡24 games, leading the league in both runs and OB%, where he had a very good .493. And, it’s not as if he had to be ashamed of his .339 BA. Two more Moultrie players were overlooked at season’s end, outfielders Harold “Poison” Ivy and Charlie Perchak. Ivy had .3¡8/.479/.464 averages, walked ¡¡0 times, and led the league with ¡3¡ RBIs.

Perchak walked ¡42 times while scoring ¡30 runs and driving in ¡¡6. His hit .289 and had a .448 OB%. Catcher Lindermuth also played some first and outfield and could have been a utility man. If he had been so designated, the GFL Dream team catcher would have been Joe “Piggy” Pignatano. Joe hit .285, slugged .434 and had a very good .457 OB%. He drove in 77 runs and scored ¡02 times, walked ¡27 times and even hit ¡7 triples. Sheldon Bender, who managed Albany to first

¡950 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT

Name J.W. Spruill Everett Kell Richard Smith Mike Korcheck Fred Ryan C. “Chuck” Coles Paul Smith Ralph Lageman Glenn R. Lindermuth No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Eftimio Talas Julian Joyner Leroy Pounds Wes Breschini

Team Cordele Cordele Tallahassee Valdosta Albany Valdosta Tallahassee Albany Tallahassee

Tallahassee Albany Albany Thomasville

G 23 39 40 30

G 121 122 100 88 138 111 139 142 135

AB 460 451 389 335 498 454 615 513 480

GS — — — —

CG 23 13 12 13

H 163 159 132 87 125 161 196 160 135

R 92 88 85 51 92 116 127 116 119

SH 4 1 1 0

place during the season, was ¡2–5 with a 2.78 ERA. He led the league in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.¡ mark.

313

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 212 33 5 2 88 73 205 30 4 2 67 78 188 19 11 5 82 72 126 10 13 1 54 44 194 29 8 8 90 84 250 19 14 14 75 63 257 24 8 7 76 56 222 29 9 5 79 132 200 17 12 8 97 120

W 20 16 15 14

L 5 6 5 14

% .800 .727 .750 .500

IP 247 213 199 205

H 192 216 166 152

ER 75 76 57 83

SB 10 17 22 8 12 32 43 46 15

SO 222 134 132 209

BA .354 .353 .339 .260 .251 .355 .319 .312 .281

SLG OB% .461 .445 .455 .452 .483 .446 .376 .347 .390 .367 .551 .437 .418 .381 .433 .456 .417 .433

BB 148 70 121 166

ERA 2.73 3.21 2.58 3.64

BR/9 12.6 12.4 13.4 14.0

He also led in control, walking only 2 batters per 9 IP.

Georgia State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Edgar Hartness Charles Ridgeway James Smith Lewis Hallford Parnell Ruark Bill Crago John Tidwell Fred Tschudin Wilbur Caldwell Don Lewis

Team Eastman Fitzgerald Vidalia-Lyons Jesup Dublin Fitzgerald Dublin Douglas Eastman Baxley-Hazlehurst

G SP Clarence Richardson Eastman 22 SP Charles Smalley Dublin 38

G 142 140 128 133 113 140 136 137 138 127

AB 503 569 494 514 446 510 579 516 554 540

GS — —

CG 17 20

H 201 183 156 163 146 165 178 147 154 174 SH 2 2

Hartness, Smith, Ruark, and Tschudin were playing managers. James Warren, who patrolled the outfield for both Dublin and Jesup, played in 98 games and drove in 97 runs. He hit .333 and slugged .587, as well as finishing third in homers with 2¡. Utility man Caldwell played third and short. “Utility” man Lewis was an outfielder.

R 137 129 81 106 100 112 122 62 101 113 W 13 23

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 331 48 11 20 134 121 246 37 7 5 81 104 156 14 7 1 67 82 236 35 10 6 91 73 292 27 1 39 127 61 246 41 5 10 93 136 292 39 6 21 114 45 189 24 6 2 95 64 240 34 8 12 120 51 263 32 12 11 90 50 L % IP H 6 .684 178 161 7 .767 256 189

SB 25 63 18 20 8 24 13 14 23 23

BA .400 .322 .316 .317 .327 .324 .307 .285 .278 .322

ER SO BB 62 130 65 70 237 124

SLG OB% .658 .519 .432 .427 .316 .418 .459 .405 .655 .422 .482 .466 .504 .361 .366 .365 .433 .343 .487 .386 ERA 3.13 2.46

BR/9 11.7 11.4

The sta› would not have been weakened by adding two more pitchers, both Douglas Trojans: Dario Jiminez and Higgins “Scotty” Duncan. Duncan was ¡9–¡2 with a 3.¡3 ERA and a league-best ¡¡.0 BR/9 ratio. Jiminez was 2¡–8 with a 2.93 ERA, allowing ¡¡.5 BR/9.

Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League (D) I would make only single emendation to the lineup. Miami catcher Robert Paulasky had .308/.462/ .397 averages and drove in 8¡ runs, making him seem a better choice for the backstop slot than Manns.

Likewise, on the hill sta› I would add but a single hurler. That would be Bartlesville’s Dave Elliott, who went a not-so-hot 9–6 but had a 2.04 ERA, best in the league, and a ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio, second in the league.

Kitty League (D) Kuestler and Stewart were playing managers. I would make two outfield changes/additions, Danny Kravitz and Maurice “Frenchy” Partain. Kravitz, who would reach the majors as a catcher

and play for the ¡960 Pirates, had .306/.5¡8/.433 averages, hit ¡7 homers, scored 89 runs and drove in ¡02. Partain hit .29¡, scored ¡¡3 runs and stole a terrific 83 bases. Kravitz played for the Mayfield

314

Minor League All-Star Teams

Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League (D) Pos 1B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Loren Doll Don Hunter Jim McHugh John LaPorta Ray Khoury Stan Gwinn Jim Pisoni Leo Kedzierski Louis Dean Manns No selection made

Team Ponca City Ponca City Miami Carthage Iola Ponca City Pittsburg Iola Carthage

G 122 123 111 114 101 115 122 101 85

G SP Tom Vines Carthage 31 SP Donald McKeon Miami 36 SP Conrad Swensson Ponca City 24

AB 496 479 398 444 360 422 441 310 299 GS — — —

H 152 152 110 115 97 135 132 97 86 CG 24 24 16

R 72 114 101 93 65 104 115 50 49

TB 185 226 133 144 137 196 251 124 136

2B 13 31 11 14 14 19 30 24 30

3B 4 14 6 6 4 3 16 2 1

HR RBI BB 4 90 61 5 78 104 0 32 109 1 34 86 6 56 57 12 84 115 19 103 95 3 47 61 6 60 25

SH 5 3 4

W L % IP H 17 9 .654 220 176 17 11 .607 237 190 16 3 .842 181 137

SB 5 15 26 12 5 53 27 2 1

BA .306 .317 .276 .259 .269 .320 .299 .313 .288

SLG .373 .472 .334 .324 .381 .464 .569 .400 .455

OB% .386 .442 .438 .380 .372 .470 .429 .434 .349

ER SO BB 51 234 80 59 190 63 72 155 129

ERA 2.09 2.24 3.58

BR/9 10.6 9.8 13.3

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ned Waldrop Joe Urso Al Ware (Warzycki) Ed Milecevich Joe Andrews John Mueller Ivan Kuestler Glenn Stewart No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Ed Wilson Don McMahon Dick McIntyre Everett McCray

Team Fulton Union City Madisonville Owensboro Owensboro Union City Union City Jackson

G 118 111 54 72 100 99 112 96

G Madisonville 30 Owensboro 41 Mayfield 26 Owensboro 23

AB 458 419 191 266 370 335 384 364

GS — — — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 150 104 282 32 8 28 130 134 66 169 21 4 2 56 51 56 45 94 11 3 7 44 37 85 51 133 20 2 8 55 41 138 80 225 27 2 18 82 47 115 65 159 24 4 4 60 43 107 73 151 18 4 6 65 66 126 63 174 38 3 2 82 63

CG 19 22 13 6

SH 3 1 0 1

W 19 20 14 8

L 4 9 7 5

% .826 .690 .667 .615

IP 196 218 159 119

H 187 211 163 111

ER 66 66 63 43

SB 18 3 6 1 7 4 11 SO 88 143 127 82

BA .328 .320 .293 .320 .373 .343 .279 .346

SLG OB% .616 .328 .403 .394 .492 .408 .500 .410 .608 .444 .475 .418 .393 .384 .478 .443

BB 59 119 86 61

ERA 3.03 2.72 3.57 3.25

BR/9 11.4 14.1 14.2 13.1

No HB for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Clothiers, Partain for the Jackson Generals. William Close Madis was perfect for the non-chosen utility spot. He played first, second, third, and short and hit a very good .368 and slugged a fine .557. He hit 20 triples and scored 76 runs.

Hopkinsville Hopper hurler Ray Sefcik was ¡5–7, 3.08 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.3 and led the league with 45 appearances.

Longhorn League (D) Pos 1B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jim Prince Alex Monchak Dominic Chiola Carlos Pascual Stanley Hughes Frank “Pat” Stasey Stu Williams Wilber “Bill” Cearley Tom Jordan No selection made

Team Midland Odessa Sweetwater Big Spring Midland Big Spring Ballinger Odessa Roswell

G 140 134 106 121 146 130 105 126 149

G SP Billy Russell Vernon 41 SP Ernie Nelson Midland/Vernon 39

AB 491 448 367 458 620 434 362 564 553

GS — —

H 189 147 120 158 174 159 132 169 216

CG 27 19

R 126 126 65 89 117 85 69 101 147 SH 7 2

Monchak, Chiola, Stasey, and Jordan were playing managers.

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 303 54 3 18 131 126 251 37 5 19 108 105 184 21 5 11 60 81 245 33 3 16 100 44 244 31 12 5 68 57 214 36 2 8 101 92 215 24 7 15 76 51 260 34 3 17 137 77 402 48 3 44 180 96

SB 8 48 9 15 43 2 10 5 5

BA SLG OB% .385 .617 .511 .328 .560 .461 .327 .501 .457 .345 .535 .408 .281 .394 .345 .366 .493 .481 .365 .594 .456 .300 .461 .388 .391 .727 .484

W L % IP H ER SO BB 25 10 .714 262 220 84 175 155 21 9 .700 266 321 123 104 64

ERA 2.89 4.16

BR/9 13.3 13.0

Third base selectee Carlos “Little Potato” Pascual should have been a utility choice. He played short

¡950

315

Two pitchers could have been added to the sta› without any diminution of its e›ectiveness: James McClure of San Angelo and Ray Knoblauch of Odessa. McClure went ¡8–9 and led the league with 2.55 and ¡0.4 numbers. Knoblauch (which, by the way, means ‘garlic’ in German) went 20–7 with a 3.07 ERA.

as well as third and went 7–2, 2.75 as a pitcher. (Incidentally, Carlos was Camilo Pascual’s older brother, and, amazingly, ended the season as a pitcher for the Washington Senators.) In his place at third, I nominate Russell Mays of the Roswell Rockets. Russ hit only .309 but scored ¡36 runs. Another utility man not selected was Leslie Palmer of Odessa. Les played outfield, third, and short, had .292/.496/ .407 averages, hit 20 homers, drove in ¡00 runs, and scored ¡37 times.

Mississippi-Ohio Valley League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name George Murphy Roger DallaBetta Mike Krsnich Harold Loughary James Belz Bob Brummer Jim Frey Steve Karas No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Bob Randant Barry Dosser Gene Pisarski William Eckland

Team Mattoon Centralia Paris Paducah West Frankfort Mattoon Paducah Paducah

Centralia Paducah Centralia Centralia

G 26 33 36 36

G 119 119 70 96 120 113 106 93

GS — — — —

AB 513 507 271 368 442 442 412 336

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 154 94 202 23 5 5 99 24 152 116 220 22 11 8 68 67 71 48 107 10 4 6 48 56 99 78 144 15 12 2 62 39 154 133 216 28 14 2 63 97 144 59 192 23 11 1 62 32 134 73 180 21 11 1 58 83 91 55 127 9 6 5 59 46

CG 13 22 20 16

SH 0 2 4 0

W 10 20 22 16

L 8 7 3 7

% .556 .741 .880 .696

IP 162 218 236 221

H 123 210 204 178

ER 49 65 51 85

SB 15 33 7 18 42 16 24 4

SO 136 116 127 174

BA .300 .300 .262 .269 .348 .326 .325 .271

BB 115 68 76 129

SLG OB% .394 .331 .434 .382 .395 .388 .391 .339 .489 .466 .434 .371 .437 .438 .378 .359

ERA 2.72 2.68 1.94 3.46

BR/9 13.7 11.6 10.8 13.1

No HBP recorded for batters, so OB% is approximate.

I would have chosen Lou Kovalcik of Centralia and Walter Dunkovich of Mattoon to be outfielders on the team. Kovalcik hit for .3¡4/.5¡7/.456 averages for the Sterlings, and added ¡0¡ runs and 73 RBIs. Dunkovich hit but .277, but he scored ¡¡2 runs, drove in ¡0¡ and stole 24 bases. He led the league in putouts and was second in OF assists. Ken Dickens of the Vincennes Citizens should at least have been co-catcher. He hit .262 and had an OB% of .358, but he also led the league in homers

(2¡) and was second in slugging (.499). He drove in 97 runs, sixth in the league. No utility choice was made, so manager Lewis “Buzz” Bekeza of Centralia missed out in being named to the team as he split his time just about evenly between catcher and first. He hit .332 (second in the league), slugged .547 (league-best), scored ¡¡0 runs and drove in ¡20 (another league-best). He also had a decent .447 OB%.

North Carolina State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ken Rhyne Fred Daniels John Lybrand John Richardson D.C. “Pud” Miller Norman Small Owen Linn Clifton Bolton No selection made

Team Statesville Statesville H.P.-Thomasville Salisbury Hickory Mooresville Landis H.P.-Thomasville

G 113 106 110 111 106 98 112 80

G SP Alfed Jarlett H.P.-Thomasville 36 SP Ernie Johnson Statesville 31

GS — —

H.P. is High Point.

AB 424 398 452 419 366 350 437 262

CG 23 22

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 151 92 275 24 2 32 119 60 138 93 185 30 4 3 63 48 151 83 212 30 5 7 101 37 117 81 171 18 9 6 64 68 135 82 252 26 2 29 92 54 103 73 222 23 0 32 104 48 146 104 247 28 5 21 110 53 91 46 134 20 1 7 49 43

SH — —

SB 4 8 10 13 3 4 11 0

W L % IP H ER SO 18 10 .643 236 207 69 182 20 8 .714 239 267 103 196

BA .356 .347 .334 .279 .369 .294 .334 .347

SLG OB% .649 .439 .465 .432 .469 .393 .408 .382 .689 .450 .634 .384 .565 .414 .511 .439

BB 48 84

ERA 2.63 3.88

BR/9 9.9 13.3

316

Minor League All-Star Teams

Miller was a playing manager. Catcher Cli› Bolton did indeed have a fine year. However, if you wanted a team with a second backstop, Statesville manager George Bradshaw would have been your man. He caught in ¡¡0 of his teams ¡¡3 games, hit .32¡, slugged .489, and drove in 85 runs. Two players would have been in the running had a utility player been selected: Robert Deese of Landis and Elmer Westfall of Mooresville. Westfall played third and outfield, hit .3¡0, slugged .5¡6, scored 78 runs, drove in 72 and stole 23 bases. Deese was more versatile, playing first, outfield, and short. He hit .308, scored 72 runs, and drove in 78. And, to seal the deal in his favor, he also pitched (his stats

will appear below, as he was also the league’s best reliever). A pair of peachy pitchers were purloined of their position on the team: Charles Moore of Landis and John Shofner of Hickory. Moore went 20–9 with a 2.638 ERA (he lost the title to Jarlett’s 2.63¡). Shofer pitched for a Hickory team which finished 35 games under .500 and which played .244 ball when he was not the pitcher of record. He led the league in CGs with 27, IP with 284, and Ks with 276. His won-loss record was ¡9–¡3. As mentioned above, Deese was the best reliever in the NCSL. He appeared in 2¡ games and pitched 84 innings. His ERA was a microscopic ¡.07, and his BR/9 ratio was 9.5.

PONY League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Andy “Doc” Alexson Chuck Harmon Len Schulte Don Zimmer Oscar Sierra Robert Aiello Barney Lutz James Tuitte Joseph Ossola No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Ralph Butler Thomas Keating ElRoy Face Edwin Williams

Team Hornell Olean Olean Hornell Hornell Batavia Bradford Hornell Hamilton

Hornell Hamilton Bradford Olean

G 34 21 31 30

G 117 125 117 123 93 125 125 61 61

GS 29 17 25 15

AB 427 551 421 518 358 416 460 175 210

H 159 206 145 163 151 127 179 57 59

CG 27 12 16 7

R 97 125 82 146 99 122 113 30 28

SH 4 2 3 1

Alexson, Schulte, and Lutz were playing managers The only problem with having Harmon as the second baseman on the All Star team is the fact that he did not play second. Caspar Iasillio of Hornell did. He hit .277 with 76 runs and 94 RBIs and was the best actual keystoner in the league. Space on the team should have been made for two .283-hitting outfielders, William Dowling and Dom Bertocci. Bertocci of Hornell scored ¡¡9 runs in ¡2¡ games by virtue of his drawing ¡56 walks. His OB% was a very good .479. Dowling had 99 hits but scored ¡05 runs. He walked ¡67 times in his ¡08 games and had a sterling OB% of .5¡8. (It is of interest to note that the PONY League could have had an outfield

TB 213 339 207 276 246 221 260 70 80

W 23 13 18 12

2B 21 47 30 34 28 18 31 8 10

L 7 1 5 3

3B 6 10 7 5 2 5 10 1 4

% .767 .929 .783 .800

HR 8 22 6 23 21 22 10 1 1

IP 261 145 209 153

RBI BB 101 84 139 39 94 62 122 51 114 70 85 131 131 106 34 39 37 22

H 232 125 193 143

ER 88 42 60 58

SB 27 17 2 63 12 40 16 10 2

SO 175 141 150 87

BA .372 .374 .344 .315 .422 .305 .389 .326 .281

SLG .499 .615 .492 .533 .687 .531 .565 .400 .381

OB% .485 .416 .431 .383 .520 .478 .505 .454 .357

BB 93 80 68 92

ERA 3.03 2.61 2.58 3.41

BR/9 11.2 12.8 11.4 14.0

trio in which all three players had OB%s of over .500. In fact, a Sierra-Lutz-Dowling outfield would have gotten on base .5¡4% of the time. That, my friends, is pretty darned impressive.) The league chose to go with two catchers but overlooked Batavia’s Aram Sarkassian. He had .302/.398/.388 averages, all better than Ossola’s. No utility choice was made, but Chuck Harmon (he of the non-second base-playing second base All-Star spot mentioned above) Played first, short, and the outfield. As his stats above show, he had a fine year. The league’s best reliever was Art Edmunds of Jamestown. He pitched 97 innings in 27 games and was 8–2 with an ERA 2.93.

Sooner State League (D) Krueger and Hoscheit were playing managers. Ron Jackson, second baseman for the Ada Herefords, certainly has cause to wonder “What the heck does a guy gotta do to make an All-Star team around here”? His .327/.479/.444 numbers were not that

much di›erent than Leppert’s, but he hit 48 doubles and scored ¡54 runs in his ¡38 games. Two selectees would not here have been amiss. Krueger actually played more at short, and would have made a better utility choice than Milligan, who

¡950 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Donald Davenport Don Leppert Bill Krueger Andrew Durika Clinton Weaver “Whitey” Herzog Stephen Molinari Vern Hoscheit William Milligan

Team Ada McAlester Ada Pauls Valley McAlester McAlester Ada McAlester Ada

SP Jack Urban McAlester SP William Donaghy Ada

G 121 140 114 124 101 132 138 109 137

G 37 45

AB 441 530 413 468 416 467 483 302 500

GS 27 30

H 125 175 144 127 157 161 174 86 166 CG 24 22

R 109 105 124 90 104 107 131 61 151 SH 2 —

317

TB 249 240 243 202 310 232 330 144 313 W 23 26

2B 22 31 32 21 25 36 33 21 24

3B 3 11 2 6 10 10 3 5 6

HR 32 4 21 14 36 4 39 9 37

RBI BB 104 80 82 73 98 76 85 76 127 41 85 101 162 103 60 62 159 139

L % IP H ER 5 .821 247 160 59 5 .839 265 262 125

SB 8 22 13 10 13 26 8 12 11 SO 279 199

BA .283 .330 .349 .271 .377 .345 .360 .285 .332

SLG .565 .453 .588 .432 .745 .497 .683 .477 .626

OB% .403 .418 .455 .382 .438 .469 .476 .416 .483

BB 158 41

ERA 2.15 4.25

BR/9 12.0 10.7

Some good pitchers were passed over for team spots. Armin Somonte (Ardmore) went ¡6–¡¡ with a 3.25 ERA, fourth among qualifiers. He also had 228 strike-outs in 2¡3 innings. Mel Wright (McAlester) went ¡5–7 with a 3.0¡ ER and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.¡. Most worthy of a spot is Leonard Fassler who went 8–5 for the hapless Lawton Giants. They finished a miserable 64 games under .500 (!), and played .232 ball without him. Fassler fashioned a fine ¡.46 ERA and, in 99 innings, and struck out ¡52 batters, ¡3.8 per 9 IP.

should himself have been in Herzog’s outfield slot. The best third baseman available was Truman Gray of Shawnee. He hit .269, drove in 76 runs and scored 95 times. Ardmore’s manager Benny Warren should, on the bare face of the stats, been the All-Star catcher. He hit .303 and had a very good .575 SA. He drove in 88 runs in his 89 games and hit 2¡ homers. Another option for the utility spot would have been Jack Ray of Chickasha who played third, short, and outfield. He only hit .250, but had a .395 OB%. He scored ¡33 runs in his ¡3¡ games (on only ¡29 hits, as he wrangled ¡¡2 walks) and led the league with 64 steals.

Tobacco State League (D) Pos Name 1B Marvin Lorenz 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Team Smith.-Selma/ Clint. Nicholas Purchia Clinton John Edens Wilmington Mike Milosevich Lumberton James Francoline Lumberton Granville Denning Whiteville Herb May Sanford James Petit Sanford B. “Ducky” Detweiler Red Springs Bill Kay Clinton

SP SP SP SP

Hoyt Clegg Bill Bernier John Lagan George Vereault

Sanford Lumberton Lumberton S.S.-Red Springs

G 29 34 33 29

G AB 126 124 120 128 106 125 117 123 110 123

501 452 451 497 392 470 423 409 398 411

GS — — — —

H

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB

151 77 194 127 91 159 155 89 204 156 100 238 129 71 220 176 87 233 144 86 207 124 64 159 136 92 228 113 131 146

CG 24 12 20 15

SH 3 0 0 0

W 24 18 21 13

29 21 27 36 35 35 29 23 21 17 L 5 5 3 8

4 4 5 2 10 8 2 3 19 8

% .828 .783 .875 .619

2 0 4 14 12 2 10 2 11 1 IP 235 170 229 196

91 57 39 39 65 69 121 81 98 78 95 98 93 101 75 85 95 90 43 180 H 237 129 205 160

SB 6 3 24 5 7 7 11 2 30 57

BA SLG OB% .301 .281 .344 .314 .329 .374 .340 .303 .342 .275

ER SO BB 84 147 92 58 97 138 79 140 113 58 102 140

.387 .352 .452 .479 .561 .496 .489 .389 .573 .355

.376 .342 .432 .412 .446 .485 .470 .427 .464 .497

ERA 3.22 3.07 3.10 2.66

BR/9 12.9 14.4 12.8 13.9

S.S. is Smithfield-Selma.

Lorenz and Detweiler were playing managers. Lumberton Auctioneer manager/first baseman John Streza had a much better year than did Lorenz. He hit .320, slugged .480, and had a .457 OB%. In addition, he had a league-high 43 doubles, scored ¡¡3 runs, and drove in ¡¡¡. Second baseman Pierre “Frenchy” Ethier of Clinton likewise dominated the stats over Purchia. His

averages were .300/.484/.449, and, in ¡28 games, he walked ¡36 times and scored ¡46 runs. Ethier also stole 43 bases. Utility man/manager Detweiler played first and caught. “Utility” man Kay played outfield, and should have made the team at that position. Notice that he scored more runs than he had hits, and also take special notice of his ¡80 walks.

318

Minor League All-Star Teams

The mound sta› would not su›er by adding another arm, that of Clayton Andrews of Sanford. He

led the league in ERA with a 2.63 figure and in BR/9 ratio with a mark of ¡0.4.

Virginia League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gordon Giebel Walter Wholey Raymond Urban Clyde Reinert Bob Harkins Kenneth Hatcher Tom Higgins Paul Crawford Paul Badgett

Team Su›olk Petersburg Hopewell Su›olk Franklin Petersburg Eliz.City-Franklin Elizabeth City Franklin

G SP Raymond Zbiciak Su›olk 38 SP Edmond McCloskey Petersburg 26 SP Bob Gibbons Hopewell 38

G 129 112 128 125 120 127 97 129 98 GS — — —

AB 493 417 445 450 422 429 373 439 341

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 160 103 285 27 4 30 106 50 125 97 198 29 4 12 58 71 121 71 150 24 1 1 60 84 95 60 114 13 3 0 37 56 126 83 177 18 12 3 66 86 138 93 264 24 3 32 120 107 119 50 163 20 3 6 51 33 137 97 249 32 1 26 110 101 97 63 161 21 2 13 79 45

CG 22 14 14

SH 2 4 3

Crawford and Badgett were playing managers. Petersburg manager/third baseman Paul Varner led the league with a .335 BA and a .469 OB%, slugged .520, scored ¡¡3 runs, and drove in 90. He should have been on the team. At short, Emporia’s Peter “Eenie Meanie” Meachini outhit selectee Reineret by 98 points (.309–.2¡¡), outslugged him by ¡08 points (.36¡— .253), out OB%-ed him by ¡20 points (.43¡–.3¡¡) and scored 53 more runs (¡¡3–60). O.K., I thought, Reinert must have an absolutely huge advantage in fielding. Uhh … nope. He did lead the league in errors with 56 (23 more that Meachini), but that hardly seems a good reason to name him to the team over Meachini. I’m stumped. Did Reinert marry the league president’s daughter? Did he contribute to the Benevolent and Protective Fund of Virginia League Scribes? Or perhaps it was a plot against Emporia players in general. They finished first and won the playo›s, yet placed not a single player on the All-Star team.

W L % IP H 17 14 .548 239 223 13 4 .765 163 147 17 7 .708 207 157

SB 15 24 8 8 9 4 9 2 1

BA .325 .300 .272 .211 .299 .322 .319 .312 .284

ER SO BB 96 122 116 48 110 31 69 167 153

SLG OB% .578 .392 .475 .407 .337 .389 .253 .311 .419 .418 .615 .460 .437 .379 .567 .445 .472 .370 ERA 3.62 2.65 3.00

BR/9 12.8 9.9 13.5

For example, two deserving Emporia outfielders were outcasts from the Dream Team as well: John Garrison and Morris “Smut” Aderholt. Garrison was third in RBIs with ¡¡4, third in homers with 28, third in batting with .333, third in slugging with .57¡, all better than Harkins and Higgins. Aderholt was second in hitting with a.333 average, slugged .5¡8, scored 84 runs and drove in 86 in ¡03 games. He too was better than the “H-boys.” Badgett played first and third. Zbiciak won his ¡7 games for the hapless 29 games under .500 Goobers. Congratulations to the selectors this time in recognizing a good e›ort by a pitcher on a below-average team. Still, some pitchers were overlooked. Vernon Holland, who split his season between Elizabeth City and Franklin, went 20–¡¡ and had a 2.76 ERA. Eugene Hoberg of Franklin was a nothing-special ¡3–¡¡, but led the league in ERA with a 2.50 mark. And finally, Emporia’s Melvin “The Intoxicator” Doxtator was 20–¡2 with a 3.29 ERA.

Western Carolina League (D) Mincy was a playing manager. Morganton first baseman J. Louis Foust outeverythinged Butler. He compiled averages of .363/.6¡7/.472, hit 25 home runs, and drove in ¡¡8 runs. An odd vote by those entrusted with the power of selection, it appears to me. The outfield choices are all solid, yet a very deserving player is left o›. This is yet another league where having four outfielders would not have raised any great public outcry. The missing fellow is Lenoir’s Bobby Brown. He had .330/.549/.429 averages were a bit behind those of his rivals, but he scored a league-topping ¡35 runs (in only ¡07 games)

and I think that qualifies him for addition to the squad. Morganton manager Floyd Edwin Yount earned the catcher spot. He hit .347, slugged .63¡, and had an OB% of .475, all clearly superior to Narron. He also scored 86 runs, drove in ¡¡6 and hit 26 homers, almost doubling Narron in these stats. Mincy certainly deserved a spot on the squad, but not as a utility man, as he was an outfielder. The best actual utility man in the league was Roger “Boger” McGimsey who split his season between Lincolnton and Morganton. He played first and the outfield and hit .273.

¡950 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Carl Butler Bob Beal Tom Marino J. Nathaniel Dodgen R. Featherstone James Wood George Rose Milton Narron Russell “Red” Mincy

Team Rutherford County Marion Lenoir Lincolnton Lenoir Morganton Lincolnton Lenoir Marion

G SP Rudy Yandoli Lenoir 21 SP John White Newton-Conover 32 SP Bill Haynes Marion 29

G 93 100 107 111 86 109 96 90 110

GS — — —

AB 356 413 375 424 345 457 389 313 382 CG 13 21 13

H 114 145 135 152 118 158 132 95 161

R 77 79 124 117 112 107 78 59 98

SH 1 1 0

W 15 21 14

Although I don’t believe him worthy of a spot on the team, Shelby pitcher Carl Brown deserves mention. He was ¡4–¡3 for a team that finished 24 games

319 TB 186 195 230 275 239 270 236 152 221

2B 20 38 32 23 34 42 30 13 32

3B HR RBI BB 11 10 72 58 6 0 96 44 6 17 116 122 20 20 94 89 3 27 108 74 2 22 92 49 10 18 120 50 4 12 67 53 8 4 104 98

L % IP H 4 .789 143 154 7 .750 242 238 6 .700 175 201

SB 5 15 24 35 5 2 5 3 14

ER SO 80 105 82 111 90 116

BA .320 .351 .360 .358 .342 .346 .339 .304 .421

SLG OB% .522 .418 .472 .417 .613 .524 .649 .471 .693 .465 .591 .409 .607 .417 .486 .412 .579 .545

BB 87 46 88

ERA 5.03 3.05 4.63

BR/9 15.8 10.6 15.0

under .500 and struck out a league-best 236 in 228 innings.

Wisconsin State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jack Hasten Walter Gilbo Sam David Delmar Russell Sam Palamara Raymond Shearer Robert Pascal Wilburn Jenkins No selection made

Team Janesville Wausau Appleton Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids Sheboygan Oshkosh Oshkosh

SP Harold Hurn Appleton SP Merlin Nehring Fond du Lac SP Joe Margoneri Oshkosh

G 30 31 30

G 81 111 122 80 111 123 124 121

GS — — —

AB 314 399 458 304 435 504 461 441

CG 11 12 24

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 91 54 128 19 0 6 54 30 139 74 180 21 4 4 62 74 147 98 231 23 11 13 98 66 83 57 127 21 7 3 47 49 135 100 174 23 2 4 74 48 160 113 300 28 11 30 137 55 154 116 248 40 3 16 114 90 156 90 231 35 8 8 104 56

SH 2 0 3

Edward Fenelon, Sheboygan first baseman, had virtually the same season as did Hasten, .296/.426/ .392 with 56 runs and 53 RBIs. About the only real di›erence was Fenelon’s 22 steals. In an either/or situation, I guess there are no real victors here. On the other hand, at second, Oshkosh manager Dave Garcia seems to be clearly superior, despite a lower BA. He hit .330 and slugged .558, scored 89 runs, drove in ¡30 and hit 22 homers. This, unlike first, was not an either/or case. Dick Gray, Sheboygan third baseman, had a .3¡0/.478/.430 season, scored ¡¡5 runs and drove in 97. Either/or? At shortstop, Green Bay’s Richard Fought would seem to have not a prayer of even being considered, based on his .222 BA and his .324 SA. However, a closer look reveals that this proposition is not so far-fetched. Fought his way to a .403 OB% due to his receiving ¡¡7 walks, and he drove in 6¡ runs. He also fielded .920 to Russell’s .895.

W 15 13 23

L % IP H 4 .789 168 162 6 .684 173 129 4 .852 227 156

ER 50 67 68

SB 2 4 18 13 18 11 7 7

SO 168 152 288

BA .290 .348 .321 .273 .310 .317 .334 .354

BB 83 98 138

SLG OB% .408 .354 .451 .454 .504 .413 .418 .377 .400 .383 .595 .389 .538 .447 .524 .429

ERA 2.68 3.49 2.70

BR/9 13.4 12.4 12.1

Green Bay outfielder Rodney Graber is another who, at first glance, was not worthy of a second glance. He hit .302 and slugged .393. But, he also scored ¡24 runs in ¡24 games and walked ¡52 times, giving him a league best .489 OB%. No utility man was selected, but Janesville’s Milt Bohannion played first, short, third, and caught in his ¡03 games. The league-leader in ERA and BR/9 ratio, Adolph “The Baltic Blazer” Matulis, was a non-selectee. The Janesville hurler was ¡2–5, had a ¡.84 ERA and allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9. Sheboygan’s Lowell “Bighead” Grosskopf was also considered non-sta› worthy. He went ¡6–8, 2.84. He struck out 228 batters in 209 innings. Note that Margoneri averaged ¡¡.4 Ks per 9 IP. With 608 Ks in 568 innings, the ’50 Wisconsin State sta› was one of the first with more strike-outs than innings.

320

Minor League All-Star Teams

! ¡95¡ ! In ¡95¡, there were fifty leagues in the National Association. Forty one of them (82%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name George Crowe William Reed Billy Klaus Alan Richter Bob Cerv Harry Walker Taft Wright James Basso Al Unser Ray Katt Mel Hoderlein

SP SP SP SP

Ernie Johnson Murray Wall John Rutherford James Atkins

Team Milwaukee Milwaukee Milwaukee Louisville Kansas City Columbus Louisville Milwaukee Milwaukee Minneapolis Louisville

Milwaukee Milwaukee St. Paul Louisville

G 150 129 151 129 109 110 129 151 123 117 111

AB 557 469 621 511 425 298 439 605 393 354 407

H R TB 189 105 316 146 60 187 177 105 245 164 107 200 146 85 294 117 63 161 147 74 234 160 80 279 115 57 182 109 56 169 127 59 127

2B 41 30 31 28 22 24 34 28 14 27 15

RBI 119 55 55 57 108 39 115 114 62 57 40

BB 85 52 64 81 40 55 64 37 44 43 50

SB 2 4 3 2 4 10 1 2 1 0 8

BA .339 .311 .285 .321 .344 .393 .335 .264 .293 .308 .312

SLG .567 .399 .395 .391 .692 .540 .533 .461 .463 .477 .312

OB% .429 .385 .355 .422 .403 .490 .430 .312 .375 .388 .390

G 32 32 26 31

GS 23 30 24 29

CG 14 13 14 17

L % IP H 4 .789 196 168 5 .750 203 207 8 .652 190 194 9 .667 210 231

ER 57 97 62 99

SO 133 107 72 90

BB 63 104 53 94

ERA 2.62 4.30 2.94 4.24

BR/9 10.8 13.8 12.0 14.0

SH 3 3 0 1

W 15 15 15 18

3B 7 4 14 4 21 1 4 8 1 0 2

HR 24 1 3 0 28 6 15 25 17 11 5

OB% are too low for you or if Walker is too unproductive) are Ben Thorpe of Milwaukee and Russ Sullivan of Toledo. Thorpe hit .299 and scored ¡08 runs. Sullivan had averages of .34¡, .520, and .437. Utility man Hoderlein played second, third, and short. No reliever was selected, but Bob Muncrief of Kansas City was in 4¡ games (he started one) with a 3.07 ERA.

Walker was a playing manager. Jack Cassini, second baseman for St. Paul had similar stats to Reed (.305/.4¡9/.395) but he scored 92 runs and led the league with 34 steals. At third, Klaus had a huge fielding advantage over his closest challenger, Vern Benson of Columbus. Benson, however, hit .308, slugged .503 and had a .444 OB%. He also hit ¡8 homers and had 89 RBIs. If o›ense is paramount to you, Benson might be your man. Two potential outfielders (if Basso’s average and

International League (AAA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ed Shokes Junior Gilliam Hector Rodriguez Bobby Morgan Archie Wilson Marv Rickert Wally Post John Bucha No selection made

SP SP

Rudy Minarcin Chris Van Cuyk

Team Syracuse Montreal Montreal Montreal Bu›alo Baltimore Bu›alo Rochester

Bu›alo Montreal

G 33 24

G 121 152 153 155 151 154 111 110

GS 31 20

AB 376 565 609 575 605 546 422 349

H R TB 89 37 124 162 117 223 184 105 256 156 84 222 191 96 328 175 106 315 129 78 219 91 36 125

CG 17 11

SH 4 2

I know that Shokes was a very good fielder, but a .237 hitting first baseman with no power is too much to countenance. Toronto’s Les Fleming was the best the league had to o›er. His averages were .267/.458/ .384, not that good, but no one else was better. He hit ¡7 homers and drove in 79 runs.

W 16 11

2B 17 22 28 33 39 29 17 17

L 12 4

3B 0 9 10 3 7 3 5 4

% .571 .733

HR 6 7 8 9 28 35 21 3

IP 242 146

RBI BB 45 64 73 117 95 56 75 74 112 32 104 92 65 40 45 40

H 198 127

ER 86 46

SB 1 15 26 6 7 4 11 1

SO 111 106

BA .237 .287 .302 .271 .316 .321 .306 .261

SLG .330 .395 .420 .386 .542 .577 .519 .358

OB% .351 .413 .369 .356 .351 .421 .371 .340

BB 106 48

ERA 3.20 2.84

BR/9 11.5 11.2

George “Shotgun” Shuba should have had an outfield spot, I believe. He was in only 92 games, but he hit 20 home runs and drove in 83 runs to accompany a .3¡0 BA, a .626 SA, and an OB% of .457. Ferrell Anderson (Baltimore/Toronto) could easily have shared the catcher spot with Bucha. He hit

¡95¡

321

Two pitchers appear to be locked in a struggle of Godzilla vs. Rodan proportions to be the non-selected relief pitcher. Appearances can be deceiving, however. Toronto’s Ray Shore was in 55 games (no starts) and was ¡0–8 with a 2.94 ERA and allowed a not-terrific ¡¡.4 BR/9. Tony Jacobs of Springfield was in 50 games (two starts) and went 8–9, 3.¡2. However, no Dennis Eckersley he. Jacobs allowed ¡3.6 BR/9, hardly the number you’re looking for in a closer.

.302 and had a SA of .420 with 50 RBIs. No utility man was chosen, but Vic Power of Syracuse split his time between the outfield and first and hit .294. This was not a banner year for pitchers in the I.L., and there were three other pitchers were as good or better than the two selectees. Mal “The Hammer” Mallette of Montreal was ¡0–2 in ¡4¡ innings with a 2.30 ERA, Rochester’s Jackie Collum was ¡5–8, 2.80, and Johnny Hetki of Toronto was ¡9–¡0, 2.85

Southern Association (AA) Pos Name

Team

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT UT

Larry Di Pippo Dale Lynch Bob Ludwig Clem Koshorek Hal Simpson George Wilson Jim Piersall Frank Thomas Willie Mathis Lawrence Ciesielski Jack Dittmer James Cronin

Birmingham Birmingham Nashville Little Rock Little Rock Birmingham Birmingham New Orleans Birmingham Little Rock Atlanta Little Rock

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Milo Johnson Howard Anderson Ralph Brickner James Atchley Bob Cruze Robert McCall

Little Rock Atlanta Birmingham Nashville Little Rock Little Rock

G AB 155 124 155 153 155 148 121 125 141 113 153 123 G 32 41 32 41 31 37

568 483 664 612 563 489 437 471 479 310 581 365 GS 25 29 28 21 20 23

H 165 153 213 160 175 159 151 136 140 84 194 100 CG 12 9 14 11 9 10

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 5 4 6 7 8 8 12 6 8 0 11 6

6 3 3 3 23 29 15 23 7 2 9 19

91 55 73 40 67 61 61 69 128 83 112 100 83 58 85 32 69 40 53 58 105 48 66 55

BA SLG OB%

220 188 271 209 296 291 250 242 203 111 245 183

2 1 2 20 3 2 12 3 3 4 6 4

.290 .317 .321 .261 .311 .325 .346 .289 .292 .271 .334 .274

.387 .389 .408 .342 .526 .595 .572 .514 .424 .358 .422 .501

.359 .373 .380 .339 .411 .443 .428 .342 .349 .388 .392 .374

SH 1 1 4 2 2 1

W L % IP H ER SO 13 10 .565 202 192 93 141 12 12 .500 213 246 103 79 15 9 .625 212 232 92 69 12 6 .667 180 206 84 57 12 6 .667 153 154 68 82 16 10 .615 203 203 71 126

BB 57 83 42 37 87 98

ERA 4.14 4.35 3.91 4.20 4.00 3.15

BR/9 11.5 14.1 11.8 12.4 14.6 13.4

This was one of ¡95¡’s oddest selected teams. Memphis first baseman R.T. “Dixie” Upright had averages of .303, .5¡2, and .357, and, more importantly, had 20 home runs, scored ¡07 times and drove in ¡¡3 runs. Remember, first is, first and foremost, a power position. Upright had it, DiPippo didn’t. At second, Forrest “Spook” Jacobs of Mobile, despite hitting ¡9 points less than did Lynch, would have been my choice. “Spook” stole 24 bases, had a .394 OB%, scored ¡08 runs and, as a clincher, handled 5.5 chances per game to Lynch’s fire hydrantlike 4.¡. Four outfielders were chosen, five should have been — and, frankly, Frank Thomas should not have been one of them. Mobile’s Walt “Moose” Moryn had .299/.499/.392 averages and hit 24 homers, scored ¡00 runs, and led the league with an impres-

27 18 38 26 36 29 30 25 26 21 42 14

SB

84 70 112 99 121 100 100 64 71 37 91 67

sive ¡48 RBIs. Herbert “Babe” Barna of Nashville led the league with a .358 BA and a .477 OB%. His .578 SA was second, and he hit ¡9 homers with 94 RBIs. Dittmer played second and third, Cronin played first and the outfield. There were no outstanding pitchers in the S.A. in ’5¡, yet, despite choosing no less than six moundsmen, three other, more deserving, hurlers were shunned. Frank Biscan of Memphis went ¡6–9 and led the league with a 2.55 ERA. 44 year old “Bobo” Newsom went ¡6–¡¡ for Birmingham with a 3.04 ERA. Dick Littlefield was but ¡3–¡¡ with a 3.72 ERA (still better than five of the six selectees), but had an impressive ¡95 strike-outs in ¡96 innings. The reliever, had one been selected, would have been Floyd Speer. He pitched in 37 games (one start) and was 5–3 with a 3.42 ERA.

Central League (A) Once again, the question of whether first base is supposed to be a power spot in a line-up or not arises. Pfeifer out-hit Ron Bowen of Muskegon .320–.30¡, and had a better OB% (.4¡2–.379), but in every other category, Bowen ruled. He had 43 dou-

bles and 25 home runs en route to a .522 SA, he scored ¡05 runs, and most telling, drove in ¡¡4. The second base spot could have better been filled by the league’s utility choice, who played all of his games at that position. This would open up the util-

322

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Cyril Pfeifer Ed Bachmann Oscar Khederian John “Bud” Thomas Frank Scarpace Ettore “Yogi” Giammarco Saturnino Escalera Ed Krage Alfred James Robertson Charles Ted Bell

SP SP SP SP

Frank Barnes James Freels Max Sumwalt George Piktuzis

Team Charleston Saginaw Saginaw Muskegon Dayton Saginaw Muskegon Muskegon Muskegon Muskegon

Muskegon Dayton Charleston Grand Rapids

G 28 30 29 25

G 136 138 138 127 130 138 110 136 104 137

AB 507 515 568 524 458 497 447 484 379 561

GS — — — —

CG 15 16 8 9

H 162 163 185 151 130 155 167 156 109 168 SH 2 3 4 1

ity spot for Jim Greengrass, first baseman/outfielder for Muskegon. Greengrass hit a resounding .379, had a league-best SA of .629 and tied for the best OB% with a .460 mark. He had ¡8 homers and drove in 90 runs in 99 games. And a question: Is Oscar Khederian the best Armenian third baseman of all time? Ryne Duren would have made my team. The

R 69 67 127 88 96 100 110 128 62 122

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 199 31 3 0 60 80 221 23 10 5 77 59 275 42 6 12 77 69 220 41 8 4 75 40 200 25 12 7 75 102 267 33 8 21 113 113 242 25 1 16 69 69 281 22 5 31 114 117 178 22 7 11 76 61 262 31 0 21 88 92

W L 15 6 17 5 10 5 7 14

% .714 .773 .667 .333

IP 176 189 133 157

H 141 210 128 171

SB 2 7 9 10 28 13 28 8 5 9

BA .320 .317 .326 .288 .284 .312 .374 .322 .288 .299

ER SO BB 63 152 111 62 87 32 51 94 64 98 115 106

SLG OB% .393 .412 .429 .387 .484 .399 .420 .341 .437 .420 .537 .443 .541 .464 .581 .460 .470 .389 .467 .402 ERA 3.22 2.95 3.45 5.62

BR/9 13.3 11.6 13.3 16.2

flame-throwing hurler was ¡7–8 with a 2.73 ERA. He got himself into a bunch-o-trouble by walking ¡94 batters in his ¡98 innings, but got out of most of it by virtue of his 238 Ks, ¡0.8/9 IP. The best reliever was Roger Wright of Charleston. He was in 28 games and had a very good 2.08 ERA.

Eastern League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Dick Gernert Dick Young Bob Wilson Don Zimmer Bob DiPietro Dave Pope Eulas Hutson Sam White No selection made

SP SP

Gene Conley Bill George

Team Scranton Schenectady Elmira Elmira Scranton Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre Scranton

Hartford Schenectady

G 30 34

G 124 140 131 137 132 138 136 120

AB 431 551 492 546 468 512 496 434

GS 30 30

CG 24 18

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 132 72 193 28 3 9 78 77 166 94 219 21 10 4 56 58 154 87 208 26 2 8 60 34 149 94 208 28 2 9 70 24 143 92 211 26 6 10 77 93 158 113 256 27 13 15 95 96 147 90 256 27 5 24 117 91 116 57 176 12 6 12 63 38

SH 9 5

It is more who was left out of the E.L. All-Star Team than who was included. Danny Schell could have been added as a fourth outfielder, and Harry Hanebrink would have made a fine utility choice. Schell of Schenectady had .307/.473/.385 averages, scored 95 runs and drove in 85, and added ¡6 home runs. Hartford’s Hanebrink hit .309 and played second, short, and the outfield.

W 20 13

L 9 12

% .690 .520

IP 263 239

H 207 198

ER 63 71

SB 4 14 14 25 6 8 2 2

SO 173 141

BA .306 .301 .313 .273 .306 .309 .296 .267

SLG OB% .448 .413 .397 .375 .423 .367 .381 .304 .451 .425 .500 .423 .516 .407 .406 .326

BB 53 90

ERA 2.16 2.67

BR/9 9.1 10.9

Two very good pitchers were left of o› the squad: Jose Santiago of Wilkes-Barre and Ivan “Ike” DeLock of Scranton. The Ikester was a memorable 20–4, had an excellent ¡.92 ERA, and allowed ¡0.5 BR/9. Santiago was even better. He was 2¡–5 with a superb ¡.59 ERA and allowed ¡0.4 BR/9.

South Atlantic League (A) Montgomery’s second baseman Bill Johnson hit .274 and scored 87 runs, nothing special, nothing to make one think he should have beaten out Kell for the Sally Dream team. But note this; he also drove in ¡07 runs, and that type of productivity by a middle infielder should be rewarded.

“Utility” man Smith played all of his games at third, so, no utility man he. Macon Peach Charles “Look Out” Balogh played both middle infield spots and hit .288 while scoring 75 times. He was the leagu’s best multi-position player. There is nothing wrong with the league mound

¡95¡ Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name James Dickey Everett Kell Rance Pless Donald Boring Richard Greco Wm. Banks McDowell Len Morrison Robert Betz Lou Kahn Richard Smith

Team Columbus Savannah Jacksonville Jacksonville Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Savannah Columbus Charleston

G 138 122 137 116 110 138 122 124 104 139

AB 467 488 577 459 377 491 435 484 339 528

GS 31 31

CG 22 20

G SP James Bryant Columbus 35 SP Vince DiLorenzo Jacksonville 35

H 132 146 185 139 117 147 135 154 119 174

R 110 85 88 90 94 121 104 66 53 110

SH 6 1

choices; there are just not enough of them. Art Fowler, DiLorenzo’s Tar teammate, was ¡7–9 with a 3.30 ERA and finished second with ¡65 Ks. Macon’s Sam West led the league with an ERA of 2.3¡ and a

323 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 237 19 13 20 83 114 177 28 0 2 44 55 251 37 4 7 85 36 208 23 2 14 77 33 241 19 3 33 103 94 181 23 4 1 40 148 212 23 3 16 88 93 202 23 2 7 75 40 161 34 1 2 63 51 225 30 9 1 47 91

W L % IP H 17 13 .567 254 212 22 8 .733 244 220

SB 23 21 2 5 8 16 6 3 3 28

BA .283 .299 .321 .303 .310 .299 .310 .318 .351 .330

ER SO BB 84 171 117 85 139 135

SLG OB% .507 .423 .363 .372 .435 .363 .453 .359 .639 .457 .369 .472 .487 .435 .417 .375 .475 .436 .426 .431 ERA 2.98 3.14

BR/9 11.8 13.5

BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8. He was ¡6–¡4. Joe Piercey, also of Macon, relieved 30 times in his 42 games and went a very good ¡5–7. His ERA was 2.93.

Western League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Macko Ron Sanford George Freese Gus Gregory Russell Rac Bob Anderlik Bill Bruton Harry Chiti No selection made

Team Wichita Sioux City Pueblo Denver Omaha Des Moines Denver Des Moines

SP SP SP SP

El Roy Face Jack Shirley Mason “Major” Bowes Rafael Rivas

Pueblo Omaha Lincoln Denver

G 127 141 135 130 141 137 133 99

G 35 16 33 30

AB 489 575 541 503 489 530 518 352

GS — — — —

H R TB 140 77 218 170 108 251 183 104 286 150 72 193 147 94 228 168 64 210 157 104 235 106 42 135

CG 25 7 19 10

SH 3 2 2 1

A very representative team, the only changes I would make would be to replace one outfielder, add a utility man, one starter and a reliever. The outfielder is Howard Boles, who split his season between Des Moines and Denver. He only hit .259, but it was a very productive .259. He slugged .49¡, led the league with 32 homers, was tied for second with ¡02 RBIs, and scored 96 runs. I think he adds more to the team than Anderlik. The utility man would be Robert Reid of Sioux City. He played first and third, and, though he hit

2B 26 22 37 27 22 25 18 15

3B 5 7 15 2 4 4 27 1

W L % 23 9 .719 9 2 .818 12 16 .429 11 4 .733

HR 14 15 12 4 17 3 2 4

RBI 96 68 106 81 102 54 38 61

BB 32 39 48 57 94 38 68 15

SB 19 29 12 5 8 7 19 3

BA .286 .296 .338 .298 .301 .317 .303 .301

SLG .446 .437 .529 .384 .466 .396 .454 .384

OB% .342 .347 .393 .371 .418 .366 .388 .339

IP H ER SO BB 265 224 82 171 91 103 72 21 43 42 208 246 110 107 106 165 164 52 84 49

ERA 2.78 1.83 4.76 2.84

BR/9 11.0 10.7 15.4 11.9

but .242, he tied for fifth in home runs with ¡6, led in walks (with ¡¡4) and OB% at .436 (and when was the last time you heard of a .242 hitter leading in OB%?). The starter would be Willard Schmidt of Omaha. He went ¡9–¡4 and led the league in strike-outs (202), ERA (2.¡¡) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.¡). He is certainly at least as deserving as Bowes. The reliever is another Omaha twirler, Lou Ciola. He was in ¡¡5 innings over 46 games and went ¡¡— with an ERA of 2.58.

Big State League (B) Capps and Jordan were playing managers. The select eight had a .348 batting average. I would not be averse to having Wichita Falls manager (for part of the season) Cecil McClung installed at third. He had averages of .280, .434, and .395, scored ¡00 runs and drove in ¡07. But, I would likewise not

be averse to staying with Capps. I guess you could say I am ambivalent about this particular selection. Harding Peterson of Waco needs mention at catcher. He hit but .30¡, but he caught all of Waco’s ¡48 games. He also scored 95 runs and drove in ¡22. That last number seals the deal for me.

324

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Les Goldstein Ross Passineau Billy Capps Al Joe Hunt Dean Sta›ord Joe Szekely Frederick Bell Tom Jordan No selection made

SP SP SP SP

George O’Donnell Bud Lively Lee Roy Jones Junior Bunch

Team Temple Waco Sherman-Denison Gainesville Sherman-Denison Texarkana Temple Austin

Waco Sherman-Denison Austin Temple

G 104 140 143 147 142 143 118 96

G 34 18 35 35

AB 412 508 549 569 467 566 604 356

GS — — — —

H 155 164 167 174 196 205 216 126

R 68 106 98 106 124 109 118 46

CG 18 13 27 13

SH W L % IP H 1 22 10 .688 243 261 1 12 3 .800 136 121 2 22 10 .688 275 276 3 14 8 .636 163 163

No utility player was selected, but there sure was one who played in the Big State in ’5¡. Roy Parker hit .345, slugged .580, had ¡5 triples, ¡8 homers, scored ¡00 runs, drove in 92 — and was ¡¡–¡0 as a pitcher when he wasn’t patrolling the Twin outfield.

TB 219 238 238 236 331 308 352 174

2B 3B HR RBI BB 33 5 7 90 43 30 10 8 93 87 37 2 10 90 65 32 9 4 71 84 34 3 32 151 57 39 2 20 121 71 38 6 28 129 62 27 3 5 68 13

SB 6 25 5 9 5 19 5 0

BA .376 .323 .304 .306 .420 .362 .358 .354

ER SO BB 99 97 85 46 84 52 86 188 102 74 54 43

SLG OB% .532 .438 .469 .423 .434 .383 .415 .402 .709 .486 .544 .438 .583 .418 .489 .378

ERA 3.67 3.04 2.81 4.09

BR/9 12.9 11.8 12.5 11.5

Robert Upton of the Gainesville Owls was only ¡5–¡¡, but he led in strike-outs with 209 and ERA with a 2.55 figure. Jodie Phipps, Texarkana manager, was 20–¡¡ with a 3.¡0 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.8.

Carolina League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Cunningham Bill Romano Ray Jablonski Henry Navarro Carl Miller Dick Sipek Jack Baumgartner Dick Rand No selection made

Team Winston-Salem Greensboro Winston-Salem Durham Reidsville Reidsville Durham Winston-Salem

G 122 140 139 140 139 137 87 103

AB 402 608 551 546 512 518 344 357

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 125 87 203 23 11 11 72 119 163 89 218 28 6 5 60 37 200 100 335 45 3 28 127 59 167 116 229 28 8 6 61 97 159 85 277 26 4 28 114 86 167 90 237 29 4 11 67 55 98 38 154 21 7 7 64 11 100 59 155 24 4 8 53 60

SP SP SP SP

Mike Forline James Lewey Bill “Hustle” Bustle Dennis Reeder

Reidsville Winston-Salem Danville Winston-Salem

G 43 32 33 33

GS — — — —

CG 21 14 20 16

A pretty well-selected team, only a spot in the outfield and the addition of a few pitchers could improve it. But first, let me say that, in my opinion, there should have been co-second baseman. Howard Henkel of Durham also hit .268, had a slightly lower SA and a slightly higher OB%. The only di›erence, and it too was slight, was afield where Henkel handled 6.2 chances a game and fielded .969 and Romano handled 5.9 and fielded .963. This one is too close for me to call. In the outfield, Baumgartner is not a good choice. 38 runs is not good, even for 87 games, and his .309 OB% is poor at best. I would replace him with Joey Scoey of Danville. He had 332.57¡/.42¡ averages and

SH

W L % 21 8 .724 19 7 .731 17 11 .607 14 9 .609

IP 264 221 239 200

H 242 176 243 174

ER 83 65 94 65

SB 3 0 4 8 2 3 1 2

BA .311 .268 .363 .306 .311 .322 .285 .280

SO BB 132 96 138 92 112 97 155 106

SLG OB% .505 .476 .359 .314 .608 .428 .419 .413 .541 .412 .458 .395 .448 .309 .434 .385

ERA 2.83 2.65 3.54 2.93

BR/9 11.6 11.2 13.1 12.7

hit 20 homers. I would also have added a fourth outfielder, Hector Lara of Fayetteville. Lara had .293/.529/.39¡ averages, hit 26 homers, and drove in 93 runs. No utility man was chosen, but Joe “Rocky” Tedesco of Raleigh filled the bill. He played third and short, hit .299 with a .454 SA, scored 97 runs (third in the league) and drove in ¡¡5 (also third). His bat would have been most welcome. Non-selectee George Condrick of Winston-Salem was a better pitcher than either of his two chosen teammates. He went ¡8–9 with a 2.65 ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9, the league’s best. Robert Peterson, Greensboro manager, pitched 60 innings in 27 games and had a 2.55 ERA. He was the league’s best reliever.

¡95¡

325

Gulf Coast League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bob Moyer Jorge Lopez Bob Hedington Joe Koppe Fred Schroeder Gene Depperschmidt Manuel Salvatierra Jack Trench No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Bud Chipman Jesus Valenzuela Bill Creech Danny Parra

Team Corpus Christi Laredo Brownsville Corpus Christi Texas City Port Arthur Corpus Christi Corpus Christi

G 153 134 143 129 115 74 136 142

G 46 31 20 29

GS — — — —

Port Arthur Corpus Christi Port Arthur Laredo

AB 580 520 535 513 427 273 514 520

H 186 160 192 156 158 101 140 156

CG 24 14 12 16

R 136 93 112 131 93 64 103 84

SH 0 2 1 1

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 341 27 8 37 164 113 261 26 0 25 89 41 314 32 2 29 121 89 255 34 11 14 69 105 258 34 13 14 101 78 172 9 16 10 58 48 268 33 7 27 125 71 207 23 5 5 81 56

SB 7 6 3 13 5 14 11 4

W L % IP H ER SO 22 15 .595 278 344 133 92 20 4 .833 194 172 69 157 9 7 .563 126 120 60 87 11 11 .500 165 142 64 111

BA .321 .308 .359 .304 .370 .370 .272 .300

SLG OB% .588 .436 .502 .363 .587 .454 .497 .426 .604 .468 .630 .466 .521 .364 .398 .373

BB 89 54 93 87

ERA 4.31 3.20 4.29 3.49

BR/9 14.2 10.8 15.3 12.9

the ¡950 section, he would hit but 29 in the remaining 24 years of his career), scored 98 times and had 94 RBIs. In the outfield, I would add Al Kaiser of Port Arthur. He had .3¡¡/.508/.404 averages, scored 92 runs and drove in 86 in ¡¡9 games. The league’s best pitcher was 46 year old Harlingen manager Earl Caldwell. He was ¡9–6 and led the league in ERA (2.22) and BR/9 (¡0.0). Ramon Salgado of Texas City was another mound worthy. He was 2¡–¡4 with a league best 270 strike-outs and had a 3.59 ERA. Finally, we have John “Red” Mur› (who would later go on to fame as the scout who signed Nolan Ryan). “Red” was ¡9–¡4 with a 3.0¡ ERA, third in the league.

Stan Goletz of the Brownsville Charros definitely deserves to be, at least, a co-first baseman. He led the league in all three hitting categories with a .378 BA, an impressive .65¡ SA, and a terrific .50¡ OB%. He led in runs with ¡37 and hits with 207, tied with Moyer for the home run lead, had the most walks (¡26) and drove in ¡37 runs. Lopez should have been the league’s (un-selected) utility man, as he played second, third, and short. Charles Weber of Brownsville would then move into the vacated second base spot. Weber batted but .259, but he scored 89 runs and drove in ¡03. Miguel “Pilo” Gaspar, Laredo catcher, should have been named to the squad, even if not in place of Trench. He hit .3¡8 and slugged .473. He also hit ¡5 home runs, including four in one game (as noted in

Interstate League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Billy F. Smith Charley Neal Robert Louis Thomas Lind Charles Hood Harold Cox William Killinger James Solt No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Anderson Bush Daniel Lewandowski Niles Jordan Joe Margoneri

Team Hagerstown Lancaster Lancaster Hagerstown Wilmington Harrisburg Allentown Hagerstown

Hagerstown Allentown Wilmington Sunbury

G 126 136 135 138 131 112 121 101

AB 429 502 483 541 494 419 446 380

G 27 34 28 30

GS 26 28 24 28

H R TB 160 92 227 162 114 264 140 62 187 167 103 218 141 77 221 118 59 203 129 89 216 126 57 190 CG 24 24 20 17

Cox was a playing manager. Aside from a couple of outfielders, a utility player, and some pitchers who could have been added, this was a well picked squad. A whole batch of outfielders were just about equal. Two who were not selected but who had vir-

SH 6 4 6 6

W 22 24 21 18

2B 36 18 22 23 28 21 27 28

3B 5 24 11 11 8 2 9 6

L 3 6 3 8

% .880 .800 .875 .692

HR RBI BB 7 88 103 12 86 86 1 73 61 2 59 70 12 74 58 20 90 42 14 85 80 8 82 26

SB 4 22 11 6 9 2 7 0

BA .373 .323 .290 .309 .285 .282 .289 .332

SLG .529 .526 .387 .403 .447 .484 .484 .500

OB% .502 .430 .375 .389 .365 .353 .400 .376

IP 223 249 206 207

SO BB 118 39 136 62 161 56 212 122

ERA 1.70 2.35 2.18 2.39

BR/9 9.4 10.6 9.7 12.3

H 195 225 164 153

ER 42 65 50 55

tually identical years to the selectees were Joe Tesauro of Wilmington and Pete Perini of Hagerstown. Tesauro went for .289/.408/.432 averages, scored 87 runs and walked ¡¡6 times. Perini was .288/.467/.397 and led the league with 9¡ RBIs. Tom Casagrande was the league’s best utility man.

326

Minor League All-Star Teams

He played first, outfield, and pitched. He hit only .238 and had 45 RBIs, but went ¡4–7, 2.49 on the mound. It should be noted that Hood had a terrific 37 assists from his outfield spot. Also take note of Smith’s .502 OB%, made even more impressive by the fact that this was not a hitters league. Two Allentown hurlers had good enough seasons as to merit being added to the team without displac-

ing one of the selectees. Ralph Beard was ¡3–4 with league bests of ¡.69 and 9.2. (He may be the same Ralph Beard who was an All-American basketball player for Kentucky and was banned for life From the NBA for point-shaving while in college. Or, he may not be. I have been unable to discover definitively.) Hamilton Graham was ¡6–8 with a fine 2.40 ERA.

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Reggie Otero Francisco Gallardo Leon Carter Wm. Jasper Spears Ken Guettler Odbert Hamric Chuck Coles Ronald Curnan No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Albert Bennett Jim Barnhardt Wade Browning Dewey Wilkins

Team Portsmouth Portsmouth Norfolk Norfolk Portsmouth Newport News Newport News Lynchburg

Newport News Portsmouth Richmond Richmond

G 36 38 35 33

G 133 141 141 135 142 134 142 113

AB 474 566 540 530 503 481 552 402

GS 29 27 29 27

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 146 61 174 18 5 0 60 52 148 93 207 28 11 3 52 61 144 77 175 15 3 2 72 61 146 76 173 19 4 0 50 58 140 114 250 11 1 30 116 122 146 79 214 16 14 8 78 66 165 89 217 30 8 2 70 60 104 37 141 15 2 6 54 29

CG 21 21 24 18

SH 2 3 3 4

Otero was a playing manager. Nick Purchia, Richmond second baseman, hit a lowly .239 and had a measly .304 SA, yet I believe I would choose him over Gallardo. You see, he also walked a fabulous ¡63 times and had an OB% of .432, 93 points higher than Gallardo’s, which led to his scoring ¡07 runs. He also handled a very good 6.6 chances per game afield. At third, I would go with Lynchburg’s Don Spencer (.26¡/.440/.358). He hit a league-best 4¡ doubles and his 96 RBIs were the third most. I would add Bill “Moose” Skowron to the outfield roster. Despite playing only 95 games, he finished second with ¡8 homers (and, amazingly, he also finished third with 26 steals, ten more than he would steal in fourteen years in the majors). He hit .334,

W L % IP H 19 12 .613 263 206 19 8 .704 242 191 16 12 .571 226 185 16 9 .640 220 207

ER 75 68 80 85

SB 7 6 15 1 1 32 23 1

BA .308 .261 .267 .275 .278 .304 .299 .259

SO BB 130 153 125 128 131 139 157 93

SLG OB% .367 .378 .366 .339 .324 .342 .326 .348 .497 .419 .445 .388 .393 .372 .351 .312 ERA 2.57 2.53 3.19 3.48

BR/9 12.3 11.9 12.9 12.3

and his .588 SA was the only one in the league over .500. His .447 SA was second in the league to another non-selectee, Charles Frey of Lynchburg. Frey hit .328, had an OB% of .450, scored ¡03 times and led the league with 36 steals. Bill Palumbo (Newport News) played second and third and would have been the most logical choice for utility man, had one been chosen. He hit .276 and had a .437 OB5, due in no small part to his ¡37 walks. He scored 82 times. Don Bessent threw six shut-outs in his ¡7 games and was ¡¡–2. He had an ERA of 2.04 and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9. The league’s foremost reliever was George Barker of Newport News. He was called in relief 42 times and went 7–4, 3.35.

Three-I League (B) Even though two shortstops were selected, it was the wrong two. George Noga of Quincy hit .278, hit ¡6 homers and scored 76 runs, almost as many as the two selectees combined. Alex Cosmodis of Waterloo also scored 76 runs on his .265 BA and his .367 OB% was the best of any league shortstop. Despite his .267 BA, I think that Elder Haapala is

more deserving of an outfield spot than Baud. He had a .373 OB% and scored twenty more runs than did Baud. Utility man Erps played first, third, and the outfield. The league’s best reliever was Joe Crowder. He was in 34 games and went 8–3 with a 2.67 ERA.

Tri-State League (B) Bouknight was a playing manager. I would have gone with Norm larker of Asheville

at first. His numbers (297/.498/.379) were about he same as Padgett’s (as was his 94 RBIs), but he scored

¡95¡

327

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 2B 3B 3B SS SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Team John Thomas Kelly Quincy Stan Pawloski Cedar Rapids James Deery Terre Haute Ed Barbarito Quincy James Command Terre Haute Nelvin Cooper Evansville Gail Larson Davenport Jim Frey Evansville Bill Renna Quincy Andrew Baud Waterloo James Watson Terre Haute Louis Heyman Terre Haute J.W. Porter Waterloo Robert Erps Davenport

SP SP SP SP

Bob Coleman Daniel Ramer Jack Urban Richard Hoeksama

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Dean Padgett Robert “Al” Denson Claude Siple Chris Kitsos Albert Neal Francisco Campos James “Dusty” Rhodes Bill Kerr Dick Bouknight Hank Nasternak

SP SP

Dave Hillman Jim Cater

G AB 90 315 118 427 130 477 110 421 130 506 95 321 116 398 119 447 117 412 124 472 106 388 117 424 124 409 130 487

Cedar Rapids Terre Haute Quincy Davenport

G 36 28 29 25

GS — — — —

H R 91 60 119 66 106 103 128 91 166 86 86 31 88 51 145 69 122 90 132 69 110 66 128 74 109 74 126 68 CG 19 15 14 16

SH 2 1 1 3

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 148 19 4 10 59 70 5 .289 178 24 4 9 51 39 23 .279 139 16 4 3 38 126 23 .222 201 18 5 15 69 61 11 .304 230 26 1 12 94 80 4 .328 124 15 4 5 51 31 2 .268 120 19 5 1 42 71 6 .221 190 24 9 1 58 66 2 .324 232 22 5 26 93 79 13 .296 173 23 3 4 51 39 23 .280 158 12 6 8 69 58 5 .284 206 19 7 15 95 47 7 .302 200 20 7 19 93 104 1 .267 223 16 6 23 97 53 6 .259 W L 17 8 15 5 17 8 11 10

% .680 .750 .680 .524

IP 240 176 184 197

H 237 196 199 169

ER SO BB 74 108 85 61 73 46 76 59 106 55 141 103

SLG OB% .470 .421 .417 .342 .291 .387 .477 .397 .455 .423 .386 .342 .302 .339 .425 .412 .563 .416 .367 .337 .407 .386 .486 .376 .489 .417 .458 .333 ERA 2.78 3.12 3.72 2.51

BR/9 12.2 12.5 15.1 12.6

Tri-State League (B) Team Rock Hill Anderson Asheville Asheville Spartanburg Charlotte Rock Hill Asheville Rock Hill Rock Hill

Rock Hill Asheville

G 36 39

GS — —

G 120 139 99 134 140 123 135 135 93 125

AB 474 532 383 494 509 481 529 510 316 476

CG 22 16

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 144 77 205 14 4 13 90 41 154 80 211 24 3 9 97 62 113 56 154 16 8 3 63 25 165 134 247 43 9 7 68 137 165 114 345 36 6 44 154 113 177 99 254 39 10 6 103 79 182 115 333 38 10 31 140 75 173 89 274 36 10 15 118 71 114 46 143 26 0 1 55 40 161 96 207 17 4 7 64 82 SH 1 3

¡¡8 runs, 4¡ more than Padgett. Likewise at second, Larker’s Tourist teammate, Bob Crain had similar numbers (.286/.40¡/.357, 87 RBIs) to the selectee, but scored 28 more runs. He also had 504 assists. Charlotte’s Thomas Marino would’ve been my third baseman. He scored ¡04 runs, drove in 93, and his .405 OB% makes his .292 BA more e›ective. Nasternak played all of his games at short. The league had no true utility man.

W 20 16

L 10 7

% .667 .696

IP 233 211

H 202 168

ER 81 81

SB 3 10 15 30 5 4 7 4 2 14

SO 203 178

BA .304 .289 .295 .334 .324 .368 .344 .339 .361 .338 BB 97 182

SLG OB% .432 .371 .397 .366 .402 .340 .500 .484 .678 .451 .528 .460 .629 .435 .537 .425 .453 .434 .435 .440 ERA 3.13 3.45

BR/9 11.7 15.5

Cater’s ¡5.5 BR/9 ratio should have eliminated him from consideration, despite his ¡6–7 record (this is not the WTNML, after all). In his place, I nominate Ralph Butler of Asheville. He went 2¡–¡3 with a 2.68 ERA and a much better ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio. Ray LaCarter, who was ¡0–¡4, 3.53 for a team (Greenville) which finished 60 games under .500, is also deserving of mention.

Western International League (B) Peterson was a playing manager. A well selected team, I would only add two outfielders, a utility man, and a pitcher or two. Edo Vanni of Spokane hit .332, scored ¡23 runs and stole 30 bases. His teammate Mel Wasley hit .290, had an OB% of .424 (he walked ¡20 times), drove in 90 runs and scored ¡¡5. An all-Spokane outfield (Murphy, Vanni, and Wasley) would not have been out of the question. Reno Cheso (Vancouver) played second, third,

and short. He hit .26¡ with 72 runs and 87 RBIs. I believe that Ritchey was the league’s first AfricanAmerican. I think Bill Bevens (yes, that Bill Bevens) had a better year than did Breisinger. The Salem ace went 20–¡2 with a 3.08 ERA and allowed ¡2.0 BR/9. His Senator teammate, Sol DeGeorge, was ¡6–¡0 with a league best 2.57 ERA. Pete Hernandez of Vancouver had a league best .8¡0 winning percentage on a ¡7–4 record with a 2.80 ERA.

328

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name L. James Wert James Brown Ken Richardson Carl “Buddy” Peterson Dick Sinovic Edward Murphy Wilbert Hafey John Ritchey No selection made

SP SP

Robert Snyder Tom Breisinger

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Dick Wilson Bobby Dallas Lee Walls Wally Lammers Ed Sobczak James Warner Jim King Joe Borich No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Tony Freitas Frank White Stan McWilliams Harry Wilson

Team Spokane Spokane Spokane Tri-City Vancouver Spokane Wenatchee Vancouver

Vancouver Wenatchee

G 37 36

G 142 142 126 127 144 142 118 137

AB 544 524 435 483 564 579 444 451

GS — —

CG 31 22

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 177 81 215 21 7 1 122 66 152 75 200 19 13 1 80 76 140 108 222 30 8 12 108 124 160 98 252 35 9 13 95 69 193 119 288 38 18 7 115 82 172 124 210 25 2 3 51 105 125 85 235 26 6 24 102 56 156 91 213 26 5 7 86 126

SH 4 0

W 27 17

L 7 11

% .794 .607

IP 303 263

H 270 247

ER 100 107

SB 17 8 21 11 22 90 3 20

SO 116 210

BA .325 .290 .322 .331 .342 .297 .282 .346

SLG OB% .395 .404 .382 .384 .510 .474 .522 .419 .511 .427 .363 .414 .529 .366 .472 .492

BB 90 154

ERA 2.97 3.66

BA .371 .285 .342 .329 .330 .319 .333 .320

SLG OB% .696 .481 .367 .435 .521 .402 .462 .430 .524 .404 .581 .427 .489 .396 .453 .410

BR/9 10.7 13.8

California League (C) Team Modesto Santa Barbara Modesto Fresno San Jose Modesto Fresno Bakersfield

Modesto Santa Barbara San Jose Stockton

G 146 145 135 136 147 147 116 143

G 41 36 39 35

AB 552 551 541 483 578 571 454 512

GS 33 29 30 24

H 205 157 185 159 191 182 151 164

CG 28 21 22 17

R 144 135 100 68 105 145 78 87

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 384 55 2 40 151 112 202 32 2 3 64 140 282 23 16 14 109 51 223 27 5 9 84 65 303 29 9 25 119 67 332 41 2 35 137 103 222 26 9 9 83 48 232 22 2 14 97 74

SH 2 1 4 2

W L % 25 9 .735 20 7 .741 23 10 .697 18 7 .720

IP 283 243 258 212

SB 16 8 28 18 17 28 2 4

H ER SO BB 277 94 153 48 223 101 185 160 220 73 160 107 170 61 145 84

ERA 2.99 3.74 2.55 2.59

BR/9 10.4 14.3 11.7 10.8

stead of Jim King. The Santa Barbara flyhawk may have only hit .300, but had a .43¡ OB% (thanks to ¡23 walks), scored ¡26 runs, and drove in 90. I would also add a utility spot for Bakersfield’s Sal Taormina. He played outfield and third, had .3¡6/.506/.467 averages, walked ¡39 times, hit 25 homers, scored 98 runs and drove in ¡00.

Frietas was a playing manager. Although he in no way beats out Wilson for the first base spot, Santa Barbara’s Bill Gabler had a year worthy of mention. He hit but .305 and slugged .530, he also had 48 doubles and 23 home runs and had a league-best ¡53 RBIs. I would have had Albert Baro in the outfield in-

Canadian-American League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name John Jones Robert Guttilla Arthur Getgen Charles Ruddock John Minarcin William McMillan William Casanova Arnold Spence Bernard Vogt Dick Karl

Team Amsterdam Oneonta Oneonta Pittsfield Oneonta Glovers.-Johns. Amsterdam Oneonta Glovers.-Johns. Oneonta

SP SP SP SP

George McPhail George Uhaze Paul Wargo Allen “Archie” Leech

G 120 112 117 114 111 96 115 105 100 116

Pittsfield Oneonta Glovers.-Johns. Pittsfield

Glovers.-Johns. is Gloversville-Johnstown.

G 38 19 10 28

AB 476 405 422 463 412 337 438 335 315 452 GS 29 19 7 16

H 146 117 103 135 117 127 155 101 70 136 CG 22 17 4 3

R 93 105 83 105 64 67 121 98 57 118

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 231 23 4 18 127 80 136 17 1 0 44 107 154 15 12 4 68 85 193 17 1 13 79 67 162 13 7 6 111 73 189 23 9 7 69 73 220 32 9 5 87 103 178 16 11 13 75 98 103 13 1 6 38 60 167 18 5 1 40 94

SH 5 6 0 1

W 24 16 4 9

L 8 3 2 5

% IP H .750 238 172 .842 165 141 .667 50 49 .643 129 122

SB 14 28 19 31 8 42 14 19 3 23

BA .307 .289 .244 .292 .284 .377 .354 .301 .222 .301

ER SO BB 86 189 97 30 88 57 20 37 39 66 119 127

SLG OB% .485 .410 .336 .440 .365 .378 .417 .387 .393 .393 .561 .488 .502 .482 .531 .475 .327 .354 .369 .425 ERA 3.25 1.64 3.60 4.60

BR/9 10.6 11.0 16.2 17.7

¡95¡

329

If you can explain to me why either Leech or Wargo was chosen over Oneonta’s Paul Aylward, then we would both know. He was a terrific 20–4 and his 2.45 ERA was second in the league (Leech was ¡9th).

A case could be made for Pittsfield third sacker Richard Zack. His averages, while nothing special, were all better than Getgen’s (.26¡/.444/.420). At catcher, I would have chosen Amsterdam’s John Miastkowski. The rugged Rugmaker backstop hit .289, slugged .379 and had 82 RBIs. Karl played first, second, and short.

Cotton States League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name William C. “Bill” Jones Melvin Nunes Peter Konyar Carl Tumlinson Frank Boiko James Gilbert Bob Greene Dick Anderson No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Billy Mu›ett Vachel Perkins Robert Wiltse Fred Waters

Team Natchez El Dorado Pine Blu› Greenwood Pine Blu› Natchez Monroe Monroe

Monroe Pine Blu› Greenville Greenwood

G 35 43 39 14

G 137 137 141 117 141 135 121 100 GS 28 29 30 13

AB 469 519 514 464 528 489 418 326 CG 22 22 13 12

H 158 147 148 148 182 172 138 86

R 87 79 111 101 125 103 80 38

SH 6 5 2 2

W 22 22 15 11

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 254 36 3 18 96 113 220 34 6 9 97 62 261 26 3 27 103 80 251 30 8 19 90 49 253 25 14 6 81 104 279 40 8 17 104 84 183 24 9 1 70 116 125 18 3 5 56 48 L 9 9 16 1

% .710 .710 .484 .917

IP 244 254 268 110

H 173 216 229 72

ER 61 80 86 24

SB 11 10 20 29 44 12 8 0

SO 159 137 131 84

BA .337 .283 .288 .319 .345 .352 .330 .264 BB 129 82 112 77

SLG OB% .542 .466 .424 .360 .508 .384 .541 .384 .479 .453 .571 .447 .438 .476 .383 .358 ERA 2.25 2.83 2.89 1.96

BR/9 11.3 10.7 11.5 12.2

No HBP entered for batters, so OB% is approximate.

who split his season between Clarksdale and El Dorado, had .273/.409/.4¡8 averages, scored 79 runs and drove in 84. Hot Springs Bathers manager Cecil Rex Carr (.302/.409/.394) drove in 89 runs. Carr caught and played first, Christy played first and played in the outfield. Wiltse’s Greenville Bucks finished 54 games under .500 and played .257 ball when he was not the deciding pitcher.

Greenwood keystoner Bob Bonebrake (.29¡/.423/ .387) would have been my selection. He dove in 87 runs, scored ¡¡5 times, and stole a tremendous 78 bases. Outfielder Steve Molinari of the Pine Blu› Judges deserves no worse than a fourth roster spot. He hit only .278, but he had a decent .45¡ OB% and slugged .523. He was second in the league with 24 homers, scored 98 times and drove in ¡06 runs. There was no utility choice, but there were two fellows who could have filled the spot. Pete Christy,

Longhorn League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Wayne Wallace Alex Monchak John Tayoan S. “Scooter” Hughes Bob West Wilbur Cearley Pat Stasey Kenneth Jones No selection made

SP SP

Dean Franks Marshall Epperson

Team San Angelo Roswell San Angelo Midland Roswell Roswell Big Spring Midland

G 138 140 138 119 122 125 128 129

G 44 28

GS — —

Roswell Vernon

AB 485 565 554 507 471 505 487 499 CG 30 17

H 159 176 209 156 169 180 187 160

R 106 113 118 116 109 121 107 99

SH 2 0

Stasey and Monchak were playing managers. Manager/third baseman Robert Martin of Odessa deserves no less than a second slot on the Longhorn Dream team. He had .346/.60¡/.444 averages, hit 26 homers, scored ¡22 runs, and, most importantly, drove in ¡36.

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 298 25 3 36 122 61 293 41 5 22 123 60 299 39 9 11 89 56 235 30 5 13 79 61 206 24 5 1 57 105 294 32 5 24 141 66 287 48 5 14 118 96 208 29 5 3 77 55

W 30 16

L 9 15

% .769 .516

IP 311 231

H 326 182

ER 119 94

SB 8 6 3 38 22 1 2 17 SO 162 167

BA SLG OB% .328 .614 .409 .312 .519 .389 .377 .540 .436 .308 .464 .384 .359 .437 .477 .356 .582 .434 .384 .589 .488 .321 .417 .389 BB 119 151

ERA 3.44 3.66

BR/9 13.1 13.2

Leo Eastham of Odessa probably should have West’s outfield spot. Leo hit .374, slugged .597, and, thanks to ¡48 walks (in ¡37 games), had a terrific OB% of .522. He also scored ¡80 runs in those ¡37 games, ¡.3 a game. I would have had two catchers, the second being

330

Minor League All-Star Teams

Felix Castro (also of Odessa). He had averages of .329, .494, and .378 and he scored ¡07 runs. No utility man was selected, but I propose Julio de la Torre to fill the slot. He played for Artesia and Midland, hit .340, scored 87 runs and drove in an even ¡00. He played second, third, and short. Only one pitcher in the league had an ERA under 3.00, Mike Fornieles of Big Spring, who came in at 2.86– but was not deemed good enough for the Longhorn Legion. He went ¡7–6. Midland’s Ed Jacome

pitched in 57 games and was 28–¡3. He had an ERA of 3.73 and a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.6. Eduardo Beltran (San Angelo) was ¡8–7 with a 3.0¡ ERA and a league best ¡2.4 BR/9 ratio. Finally, Al Richardson of Vernon went ¡9–9, 3.86 with a ¡2.6 BR/9 ratio, and also hit .34¡ with 27 RBIs. Basically, four of these six pitchers were just about the same pitcher, if you catch my drift. Franks and Jacome, because of their huge win totals and for no other reason, are separated form the other four.

Middle Atlantic League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Stan Machinsky William Paolisso Eli Russo Lou Ciccone Walter Kowalski Jack Byers Henry DiJohnson Walter Chipple Orlando Echevarria Charles Harig

SP SP

Kenneth Yount Dean Stone

Team Butler Lockport/Oil City Erie Niagra Falls New Castle Erie Niagra Falls Lockport Erie New Castle/O.C.

Niagra Falls Erie

G 26 28

G 119 127 124 119 112 126 116 124 91 117

GS — —

AB 489 539 475 506 451 421 468 458 340 388

CG 24 5

H 155 160 150 151 169 156 161 157 96 119 SH 4 0

“The Machine” had a very good year at first, but former Tiger slugger Rudy York had a better one. He played for New Castle and Oil City (and managed at the latter). He hit only .29¡ but slugged a mighty .643 to go with a .448 OB%. He led the league with 34 homers and drove in ¡07 runs. At second, William Green of New Castle appears to have it all over Paolisso. His averages were .3¡7,

R 94 108 97 116 134 134 98 89 40 70

TB 261 215 248 200 285 259 249 215 139 189

2B 43 31 38 25 24 30 30 33 16 24

W 20 8

L 6 3

% .769 .727

3B HR RBI BB 15 11 116 38 9 2 66 62 12 12 117 50 12 0 63 69 10 24 134 83 17 13 95 115 5 16 114 41 8 3 105 66 6 5 54 16 2 14 66 91 IP 212 145

H 192 117

ER 67 66

SB 2 11 23 15 8 25 14 4 12 4

SO 117 152

BA .317 .297 .316 .298 .375 .371 .344 .343 .282 .307 BB 77 158

SLG OB% .534 .372 .399 .374 .522 .387 .395 .386 .632 .481 .615 .506 .532 .404 .469 .429 .409 .317 .487 .445 ERA 2.84 4.10

BR/9 11.7 17.8

.485, and .407. He drove in 80 runs and scored ¡¡8 times in ¡¡¡ games. Harig played only in the outfield. This was not a vintage year for pitchers in the MAL, but even so, Stone was not the second best pitcher available. That honor goes to Lockport manager Glen Gardner. He went ¡4–9 with a 3.¡5 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.7, a full six base runners per nine innings better than Stone.

Northern League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Dan Phalen Francis King David Rush Robert Harmon Horace Garner Robert Pascal Terry Thomas Cannie T. Forsyth No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Arthur Webb John Bandreth Carlton Post Robert Simpson

Team Superior Grand Forks Aberdeen Fargo-Moorhead Eau Claire St. Cloud Superior St. Cloud

St. Cloud Eau Claire Aberdeen Superior

G 26 33 27 12

G 118 112 121 125 117 115 106 95

GS — — — —

AB 460 348 422 500 409 433 423 337

CG 15 13 23 4

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 154 92 237 26 6 15 109 65 100 83 161 22 3 11 65 125 117 75 196 18 2 19 82 92 146 82 223 27 7 12 106 34 147 109 234 30 6 15 90 92 141 88 204 35 2 8 86 84 124 71 174 24 10 2 53 60 88 32 119 14 1 5 47 39

SH 3 1 1 0

Aberdeen outfielder Rufe Crawford led the league in homers with 23 and RBIs with ¡¡¡ and was second in SA with .546 . That seems good enough

W 12 15 17 4

L 9 6 7 4

% .571 .714 .708 .500

IP 175 213 213 70

H 153 166 166 66

ER 70 68 68 28

SB 4 13 2 14 44 6 8 2

SO 125 112 210 40

BA .335 .287 .277 .292 .359 .326 .293 .261

BB 129 119 132 40

SLG OB% .515 .425 .463 .482 .464 .408 .446 .343 .572 .494 .471 .442 .411 .390 .353 .343

ERA 3.60 2.87 2.87 3.60

BR/9 14.9 12.5 13.5 13.9

for inclusion to me. With no standout catcher in the league, perhaps having two on the squad would have been in order. In that case, #2 is Duane Sorber

¡95¡ of Duluth. Duluth hit .277 with 4¡ runs and 36 RBIs. Grand Forks pitcher James Brown, the hardest working man in the Northern League, went ¡7–8

331

and led the league in ERA with a mark of 2.54. Arthur “Vital Signs” Vicital of Fargo-Moorhead led the league with 20 wins (against 8 losses) and had an ERA of 3.¡0.

Pioneer League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Sven “Red” Jessen Gordon Hernandez Nick Ananias Hum. “Chico” Fernandez Ron Harrison Bill Van Heuit Vern Campbell George Triandos No selection made

Team Idaho Falls Salt Lake City Pocatello Billings Ogden Pocatello Twin Falls Salt Lake City

SP Lawrence Manier Great Falls SP James Russell Twin Falls

G 33 37

GS — —

G 132 136 136 132 139 136 124 115

AB 481 510 519 496 545 521 439 400

CG 30 20

H 144 148 165 141 159 165 147 108

SH 4 4

Jessen was a playing manager. Twin Falls Manager/second baseman Don “Jeep” Trower should, at the very least, been a co-selectee. He hit .278, but he walked ¡30 times which enabled him to score ¡¡2 runs and compile a .432 OB%. “Jeep” also handled almost a chance a game more than did Hernandez (5.5–4.7). Ananias should really have been selected as a utility player, as he played fewer than half of his games at the hot corner (6¡/¡36), playing in the outfield the rest of the time. Richard Barone was the best fulltime third baseman in the league. His averages were pedestrian at best (.255/.354/.346), but he did score 87 times and drive in 72 runs. Great Falls Electrics shortstop John Angelone had a better season than Fernandez, hitting .295, slugging .400, and having an OB% of .4¡¡. He scored 95 times, as did Chico, but drove in 84 runs, 22 more than Fernandez. The selection of Campbell to the squad seems like

R 116 91 108 95 122 112 76 66

TB 223 221 282 192 273 283 186 143

2B 3B HR RBI BB 27 5 14 106 135 21 14 8 107 69 37 13 18 112 100 23 8 4 62 72 24 9 24 134 90 40 6 22 93 97 27 3 2 53 62 24 1 3 75 70

W 26 22

L % IP H 7 .788 262 241 9 .710 260 193

ER 78 87

SB 7 55 25 34 7 23 17 5

SO 109 296

BA .299 .290 .318 .284 .292 .317 .335 .270

BB 102 159

SLG OB% .464 .458 .433 .378 .543 .435 .387 .375 .501 .395 .543 .429 .424 .424 .358 .380

ERA 2.68 3.01

BR/9 11.9 12.4

another choice from the Bizzaro world. Not because he had a bad season but because of the season nonselectee Olney Patterson (Idaho Falls) had. Olney only hit .299, but he slugged .5¡4, stole 38 bases and drew an amazing ¡94 walks (that works out to 2¡3 over a ¡54 game season). He also had 4¡6 POs. In addition to Ananias, the league had another utility man to fill a slot, had there been one. Ernest Schuerman of Pocatello played short and the outfield. He had a .49¡ OB%, thanks to ¡60 walks, and scored 98 runs. Burton Barkelew (SLC) led the league with an ERA of 2.¡3 and allowed ¡¡.2 BR/9, tops among qualifiers. He was ¡8–8. Billings manager Larry Shepard was 24–¡¡ with a 2.99 ERA. Don Gross of Ogden only pitched in ¡5 games, but went ¡0–4 with an incredible ¡.¡¡ ERA. No reliever was named, but SLC manager “Hub” Kittle called himself in from the pen 22 times, went 4–2 with a ¡.80 ERA and allowed 9.8 BR/9.

Southwest International League (C) Lilly and Canales were playing managers. Juarez Indios’ first baseman Roberto Canales had slightly inferior averages than did Noren (.343/.448/ .386), but he was much more productive. He scored ¡05 runs (how Noren managed to score only 44 runs for a team which hit .290 is a mystery of Indiana Jones size proportions) and drove in ¡08 (how Noren managed to drive in only 62 runs … well, you get the idea). Gabriel “Pete” Hughes, who split his season between the El Centro Imperials (not to be confused with Little Anthony and the Imperials) and the Ti-

juana Potros would have, at least, been a fourth outfielder on my squad. I think that there probably was a mistake in the entry of the stats in the case of Hughes’s runs. He is credited with only 64 scores for a team which averaged five runs a game. Now, those who are unfamiliar with Pete’s career might think “So what?,” but here is a guy who scored ¡339 runs in ¡333 games and who got on base 262 times in ¡95¡. Over his career, he scored 4¡% of the time he got on base, yet in ’5¡ he scored only 24% of the time. And, to top it o›, only about 77% of Tijuana’s runs can be posi-

332 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Len Noren Art Lilly V. “Pingua” Canales Hector Mayer Ramon Vargas

OF Johnnie Moore OF Herman Lewis C Tom Lloyd UT No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Bill Stites Tony Ponce Manuel Morales Wenceslao Gonzalez

Team Phoenix El Paso Juarez El Paso Juarez/ El Paso El Centro Phoenix Las Vegas

G 91 129 143 139

AB 382 451 570 570

H R TB 137 44 195 163 130 266 188 111 252 158 124 212

2B 30 45 30 24

3B 2 11 14 12

HR 8 12 2 2

144 138 144 92

607 229 108 320 513 160 103 267 578 178 126 307 330 95 51 147

46 34 28 18

15 11 16 5

5 17 23 8

El Paso Phoenix Bisbee-Douglas Juarez

G 61 49 45 55

GS 37 38 38 35

CG 27 38 29 30

SH 1 6 3 2

W L % IP 29 9 .763 337 25 16 .610 352 24 12 .667 322 32 11 .744 319

RBI BB 62 16 103 102 85 81 63 83

SB 11 15 16 11

BA .359 .361 .330 .277

SLG .510 .590 .442 .372

OB% .386 .494 .415 .375

149 105 124 57

22 33 22 4

.377 .312 .308 .288

.527 .520 .531 .445

.418 .424 .371 .391

H ER SO BB 352 155 196 152 369 135 185 75 326 118 165 127 301 98 294 153

ERA 4.14 3.45 3.30 2.76

BR/9 13.7 11.4 12.9 13.1

38 94 58 56

pitchers were named to the squad. The two who weren’t are Memo Luna and Gustavo Bello. Luna of Tijuana should definitely been one of the four selectees, perhaps in place of Morales. He was 26–¡3 with a league-best 2.52 ERA, and he allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9. He worked 3¡4 innings and had 27 complete games. Bello was 25–¡3 with 24 CGs and 3¡4 IP. His ERA was the highest of the six, 4.67, but when you are playing for a team that averages 6.8 runs a game, life is good. It should be noticed that Ponce completed all 38 of his starts (he finished the other ¡¡ games he was in). The minor league record for consecutive CGs was set way back in ¡906 by Glenn Liebhardt with 40 (the post–¡900 major league record is 37, set by Red Sox mainstay Bill Dineen in ¡904). Ponce was, for this season, truly a man from the past.

tively traced in the stats (there being no breakdown by team for those traded during the season). There are about ¡50 runs unaccounted for. To me, all the evidence, both historical and circumstantial, adds up to a mistake in the entering of Hughes’s run into the o‡cial stats. Jose Sosa, Juarez catcher, was more productive than Lloyd. His averages were .304, .436, and .422. He scored 88 runs and drove in 80. No utility man was selected, but Yuma’s Edwin Roberts played third, short, and the outfield and compiled good .330/.532/ .400 averages. He had 46 doubles, ¡9 homers, drove in ¡¡5 runs and scored ¡08 times. The S.W. Int. was a league of workhorses on the mound. No fewer than six pitchers worked at least 300 innings and eleven pitchers had at least 20 complete games. There were eight 20 game winners, five of whom won at least 25. Four of the 300-inning

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name John Cooney Mike Morongiello Harry Bright Wally Habel Dick Tettelbach Solly Drake Bill Beery Joe Breidt No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Merlin Nehring John “Jack” Dean Gene Snyder Fred Sherkel

Team Muskogee Joplin Topeka Salina Joplin Topeka Topeka Salina

Joplin Topeka Salina Joplin

G 26 31 40 27

G 124 106 109 121 125 85 118 117

GS — — — —

AB 509 358 443 457 488 339 504 364

H R TB 175 101 241 106 83 184 146 82 225 121 78 147 155 128 217 110 78 160 148 117 198 92 88 124

CG 18 22 14 17

SH 1 1 3 3

Another of ¡95¡’s well-chosen teams, the only changes/additions I would make are an outfielder, adding a utility man and a reliever, and two pitching changes.

W 20 19 17 17

L 4 8 10 5

2B 32 18 24 13 31 14 12 21

3B 8 9 5 2 5 9 7 1

% .833 .704 .630 .773

HR 6 14 15 3 7 6 8 3

IP 196 236 216 191

RBI BB 64 72 91 101 93 37 45 63 79 88 50 65 58 58 69 135

H 178 237 150 158

ER 71 96 94 95

SB 8 8 9 8 72 28 89 6

SO 161 141 229 111

BA .344 .296 .330 .265 .318 .324 .294 .253

SLG .473 .514 .508 .322 .445 .472 .393 .341

OB% .425 .451 .381 .354 .422 .433 .367 .455

BB 116 76 225 104

ERA 3.26 3.66 3.92 4.48

BR/9 14.0 12.1 15.8 12.6

Roy Johnson, Muskogee outfielder, was second in the league in SA (.5¡5) and homers (20) and third in runs (¡09). It seems that he would have been a good choice for a fourth outfielder.

¡95¡ No utility choice was made, but two first basemen/outfielders are eminently qualified. Dorrel Herzog, better known as “Whitey,” of Joplin had .285/ .407/.433 averages and scored 99 runs. Topeka Owls pennant-winning manager (the playo›s were canceled due to flooding) Elmer “Butch” Nieman hit only .268 but led in SA with a .5¡8 figure and home runs with 28. He had 94 RBIs and scored ¡06 runs (on only ¡02 hits). Harry Wise (Owl ace) was ¡9–5 with league bests of 2.6¡ and ¡¡.8. Snyder was impressive in both his

333

strike-out totals (more than one per inning) and his wildness (likewise), but his ¡5.8 BR/9 ration should give one pause. Mel Wright of Salina was ¡5–9, had an average 3.67 ERA, but hurled seven shut-outs and his BR/9 ratio (¡2.2) was third in the league (and 3.6 fewer than Snyder). St. Joe’s Vernon Cray pitched 79 innings in 43 games, went 9–4 and had a ¡2.9 BR/9 ratio. He was the W.A.’s top fireman. Please note that this is the only All-Star team with two players with over 70 steals.

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Earl Hochstatter Frank Murray Al Kubski Charles Schmidt Glen Burns Tho. C. Howard Don Stokes Arthur Bowland No selection made

Team Lubbock Amarillo Lubbock Abilene Lamesa Amarillo Lamesa Abilene

G 141 136 124 136 141 142 141 136

AB 506 556 420 528 587 569 557 491

H 180 187 136 169 230 219 214 166

R 124 139 115 136 125 151 116 115

G SP Edward Arthur Lamesa 48 SP John “Monk” Webb Amarillo 23

GS 34 21

CG 25 15

SH 4 1

Kubski was a playing manager. The WTNM elect batted .356, slugged .565, averaged ¡3¡ RBIs a man and had an OB% of .454. Merv Connors, Amarillo first baseman, compiled .338/.6¡0/.438 averages, and, in ¡05 games, hit 22 homers and drove in ¡04 runs. Hochstatter, who split his time between first and the outfield, should have been the league’s (non-selected) utility man. Two outfielders deserve mention: James Phillips of Pampa and Pedro Santiago of Lamesa. Phillips was only in ¡00 games, but hit 25 homers, scored 89 times, drove in ¡02 (more than one a game) and compiled .35¡/.6¡7/.436 average. Santiago was not the run-producing machine the other four outfielders were, but he was the best flyhawk and scored ¡63 runs in his ¡36 games. His OB% was .456. A superfluity of candidates meant that some should be shunted to the dusty back roads of history. Recalling Phillips and Santiago is my homage to Clio, Muse of History.

TB 290 287 240 259 380 368 309 244

2B 36 39 21 35 55 39 59 37

3B 4 17 1 5 7 7 6 4

HR 22 9 27 15 27 32 18 11

RBI BB 128 106 76 86 97 110 116 87 197 63 156 83 155 93 120 99

SB 4 14 7 12 6 8 16 12

BA .356 .336 .324 .320 .392 .385 .384 .338

SLG .573 .516 .571 .491 .647 .647 .555 .497

OB% .470 .430 .468 .418 .456 .466 .473 .452

W L % IP H ER SO BB 27 11 .711 272 307 137 161 134 13 7 .650 147 202 88 64 29

ERA 4.53 5.39

BR/9 15.0 14.4

Lester Mulcahy, Amarillo manager, should have been a co-catcher (Bowland’s year being too good to be shunted aside). Les’s averages were .333, .582 and .4¡8, he blasted 35 home runs and drove home ¡2¡. Three pitchers were better than the two choices (although Arthur’s 27 wins probably merit him a spot on any sta›). Albuquerque’s Jesse Priest led the league in winning percentage (.826 on a ¡9–4 record), ERA (3.¡5), and BR/9 ratio (¡2.0). Abilene’s Fred Schmidt went 22–5 and was second in winning percentage (.8¡5), ERA (3.¡7) and BR/9 (¡2.9). Finally, there is Schmidt’s Blue Sox teammate, Jim Melton. He went 22–¡3, 3.44, ¡3.0 and, in a veritable miracle in the hard-hitting WTNM, hurled a doubleheader shut-out on July 6th vs. Clovis, a team that averaged 5.8 runs a game in ’5¡. Finally, in the spirit of Fladget Zunk, I o›er pi tcher Heartsell Zollieco›er (of the Texas Zollieco›ers, no doubt).

Alabama-Florida League (D) Quimby was a playing manager. James Guinn of Enterprise, who managed the team for six days, played third and hit .353 (74 points higher than league selectee Colley) and slugged .444 (85 points higher than Colley). Headland outfielder James “Bubba” Ball hit .283 with 83 runs and 7¡ RBIs.

Two catchers were selected, and neither one was Joe Boehmer of Ozark. He hit .306 and drove in 70 runs. He seems to have been a more logical choice for the second catcher than Noto. No utility player was named, and, without individual fielding stats, it would seem hard to come up

334

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Charles Quimby Herbert Marshall Jim Colley George Wehmeyer John McPherson Wilmer Lee Chappell Morris Johnson Thomas Venn Phillip “Mr. Moto” Noto No selection made

Team G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB Tallahassee 97 324 131 108 204 21 5 13 97 — Headland 105 433 138 71 204 25 7 9 93 — Dothan 93 359 100 72 129 24 1 1 44 — Tallahassee 95 436 146 107 179 14 5 3 50 — Headland 104 422 151 85 208 36 3 5 130 — Tallahassee 88 352 108 61 154 15 11 3 71 — Dothan 106 456 129 80 171 25 4 3 64 — Tallahassee 82 317 100 58 148 18 3 8 66 — Panama City 69 255 62 29 78 12 2 0 34 —

SP SP SP SP SP

Tommy Stone Dario Jiminez William “Will” Williams Lorenzo Joe Hinchman Richard York

Headland Tallahassee Headland Enterprise Dothan

G 33 24 32 30 27

GS — — — — —

CG — — — — —

SH — — — — —

W L % 22 9 .710 12 5 .706 19 6 .760 11 11 .500 11 12 .478

IP 247 165 232 183 189

H 205 161 185 162 166

ER — — — — —

SB 10 12 7 41 7 3 29 2 0

BA .404 .319 .279 .335 .358 .307 .283 .315 .243

SO BB 231 151 55 40 187 123 146 90 121 83

SLG OB% .630 — .471 — .359 — .411 — .493 — .438 — .375 — .467 — .306 —

ERA — — — — —

BR/9 13.0 11.0 12.1 12.5 12.0

HBP and BB not recorded for batters, so no OB% reckoning possible. No ER kept for pitchers, so no ERA figures possible. No fielding stats published.

He was listed as a pitcher/outfielder, and hit .304 with 48 RBIs. On the hill he was 22–6 with 245 strike-outs in 236 innings. He gave up only ¡37 hits in 236 innings, a measly 5.2/9. It has to be noted that he also walked ¡94 batters, which gave him a BR/9 ratio of ¡3.¡. Anyways, in addition to adding Clifton to the hill sta›, I also put forward Don “Zsa-Zsa” Gabor of Tallahassee. He was ¡¡–4 and allowed ¡2.6 BR/9.

with any worthy candidates. There were, however, three such. Ozark manager Charles “Chase” Riddle’s position was listed beside his name as “utility” (not a bad clue, ey?). He hit .375 and slugged .544 with 78 runs and drove in 8¡. He was also 5–¡ on the mound. Dario Jiminez of Tallahassee was listed as a catcher/ pitcher. He hit .3¡5 and was ¡2–5 as a pitcher. Lastly, we have the best pitcher in the league (even though not selected for the five man sta›), Harry Clifton.

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Gene Stewart John Russo Frank Tepedino Mel Kerestes Jim McComas John Garrison G. “Shamrock” Denning Dave Fowler no selection made

Team New Bern New Bern New Bern Roanoke Rapids Wilson Roanoke Rapids Goldsboro Rocky Mount

SP SP SP SP

Alexander Zych Fred Pittman Veston “Bucky” Stewart Robert Slaybaugh

Kinston Wilson New Bern Goldsboro

G 31 24 24 28

G 98 120 116 121 113 118 122 119`

AB 348 496 420 452 437 467 463 435

GS — — — —

CG 25 13 17 21

I could almost be persuaded to have Gerald Thomas, Goldsboro third baseman (.343/.488/.396), replace Tepidino, except for the fact that I know that Thomas “fielded” .865. “Shamrock” Denning’s given name was Granville. Kinston outfielder Robert Horan scored ¡09 runs and

H 110 149 131 132 124 151 158 130

R 50 105 100 83 79 80 82 89

SH 2 4 4 7

TB 175 176 184 171 221 231 215 193

W L 22 9 15 7 15 2 17 10

2B 3B HR RBI BB 21 4 12 87 66 17 2 2 41 75 23 9 4 70 90 18 6 3 49 78 35 1 20 95 37 21 7 15 94 41 28 4 7 88 72 16 4 13 83 75 % .710 .682 .882 .630

IP H 231 212 169 130 171 95 220 160

ER 68 48 22 57

SB 6 15 17 31 5 6 2 10

BA .316 .300 .312 .292 .284 .323 .341 .299

SO BB 132 114 124 61 142 77 223 108

SLG OB% .503 .433 .355 .395 .438 .434 .378 .397 .506 .348 .495 .383 .464 .435 .444 .402 ERA 2.65 2.56 1.16 2.33

BR/9 12.9 10.3 9.5 11.1

drove in 93 to merit some positional consideration. No utility man was chosen, but “Smut” Aderholt of Roanoke Rapids played first and outfield and hit .3¡5, and had a .439 OB%. Please take special note of Stewart’s ¡.¡6 ERA.

Far West League (D) Lucchesi was a playing manager. I know Roseboro had a terrific year, but I just can’t

see overlooking Ray “Moose” Perry, Redding’s manager. Sure, he only hit .349, but he led the league with

¡95¡ Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ellis Daugherty Henry “Jack” Moreno Stan Roseboro Dick Zaccarelli Frank Lucchesi Claude Buckley Ernie Anderson Bill DeCarlo No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Gordon Tench Jim Foster Ray O’Connor Lavere Herrmann

Team Reno Redding Klamath Falls Reno Medford Eugene Redding Klamath Falls

Redding Klamath Falls Eugene Medford

G 117 139 92 86 113 111 124 109

G 32 24 14 33

AB 408 537 379 330 440 460 490 468

GS 24 20 11 25

H 150 169 155 103 122 157 144 157

CG 14 14 11 22

R 108 115 122 75 93 93 135 86

SH 0 0 2 0

¡8 homers and ¡23 RBIs, a fabulous ¡80 walks and a tremendous .554 OB% (he led the league in each category all four years the “Far Worst” league existed). At short, I’m stumped as to why William Stumpus was passed over by the scribes at selection time. He hit .333, slugged .434, and had an OB% of .448. He also scored ¡26 runs. Charles Kingman, K-Falls outfielder, would have won out for a spot over Lucchesi by my reckoning. He had averages of .293, .425, and .372, drove in 98 runs

335 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 248 30 16 12 119 119 219 31 8 1 96 69 221 18 24 2 57 59 146 18 11 1 80 54 162 24 5 2 68 59 226 28 7 9 104 59 191 13 11 4 64 94 235 31 4 13 121 37

W L 16 9 15 6 11 2 13 13

% .640 .714 .846 .500

IP H 183 193 173 188 108 97 221 237

SB 13 22 36 28 29 10 24 3

BA .368 .315 .409 .312 .277 .341 .294 .335

ER SO BB 99 164 163 87 128 111 45 87 74 99 129 120

SLG OB% .608 .518 .408 .397 .583 .490 .442 .412 .368 .372 .491 .417 .390 .411 .502 .389

ERA 4.87 4.53 3.75 4.03

BR/9 18.0 15.8 14.6 14.8

and scored ¡02 times. No utility man was selected, but Eugene Larks stalwart Wiley Joe Cannon played both middle-infield spots, hit .28¡, drew ¡¡9 walks (which gave him a .437 OB%) and scored 95 runs. This was a very poor year for Far West pitching, as you can see by the ERA and BR/9 stats. Herrmann’s Medford Rogues were twenty games under .500 and played .386 when he was not involved in the decision.

Florida State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Altobelli Lyle Judy George Barrow Lyle Luttrell Mike Kassabian Gene Oravetz “Rocky” Colavito Ray Dunne Ora Burnett

Team Daytona Beach Palatka DeLand Orlando Palatka Orlando Daytona Beach DeLand Leesburg

SP John Jansce DeLand SP Mike Dzingelowski Orlando

G 140 131 90 140 138 135 140 135 117

AB 598 503 345 562 496 516 506 486 421

H R TB 2B 204 118 306 40 139 100 172 23 114 51 142 15 150 93 188 19 174 98 231 34 188 122 228 19 139 98 252 35 156 81 194 24 119 68 161 21

G GS CG SH 44 — 24 5 31 — 13 3

Burnett was a playing manager. Orlando manager/first baseman Ed Levy had almost ¡00 fewer plate appearances than did Altobelli yet drove in only ¡5 fewer runs. He hit ¡7 homers and walked ¡¡9 times, giving him an OB% of .455. I think the league would have been well served by naming two first baseman. The case was not so close at shortstop. Sanford’s Richard Klaus had a better BA (.292) a better SA (.4¡3), a better OB% (.349) and scored 98 runs. He also fielded .939 to Luttrell’s .907 (with 7¡ errors), but Luttrell handled 5.5 chances a game to Klaus’s 5.¡. In fact, on the basis of fielding prowess, one might even be inclined to take a look at Bill Mostran-

W 26 15

3B HR RBI BB 19 8 104 47 2 2 46 97 2 3 40 33 8 1 79 48 4 5 110 105 9 1 48 121 3 23 111 109 2 3 84 80 3 6 58 33

L % IP 8 .765 281 8 .652 196

SB 16 23 18 40 14 36 5 4 10

BA SLG OB% .341 .512 .393 .276 .342 .394 .330 .412 .395 .267 .335 .331 .351 .466 .470 .364 .442 .489 .275 .498 .408 .321 .399 .421 .283 .382 .341

H ER SO BB ERA 241 69 159 98 2.21 187 75 57 103 3.44

BR/9 11.2 13.6

sky of DeLand. Mostransky was no hitter (.2¡2/.236), but he had an eye which allowed him to draw ¡¡8 walks and to have, even at .2¡2, a better OB% than Luttrell (.342) and to outscore him with 97 runs. But the real deal is Mostransky’s fielding. He handled 6.2 chances a game and was one of the very few shortstops to have over 500 (he had 547) assists in ’5¡. Two outfielders are worthy of notice: Vernon Pirtle, who played for DeLand and Gainsville, and Robert Truss, Daytona Beach. Pirtle hit .333, had an OB% of .42, and led the league in slugging with .526 and in RBIs with ¡¡6. Truss hit .343, scored ¡¡6 runs and hit 2¡ triples. Utility man/manager Burnett played first, second, and third.

336

Minor League All-Star Teams

The best hill duo in the FSL in ¡95¡ was the DeLand Red Hats sterling pair of Jansce and Jasinski. Jansce made the Dream Team, Walt Jasinski did not. Jasinski was ¡6–4 for a league high .800 winning percentage, led in ERA with a fine ¡.70 mark, and also in BR/9 ratio with the league’s only sub-ten mark, 9.8. DeLand’s number three pitcher was also no slouch. Manager Frank Radler was ¡2–5, ¡.94, and ¡0.¡. The Red Hat big three had a ¡.99 ERA and a boasted a winning percentage of .76¡.

There was, of course, no reliever selected, but Palatka Azalea moundsman Cecil “Hut-Hut” Hutson appeared in a phenomenal (for the time) 67 games. He had 8 complete games and pitched 250 innings, not numbers you would normally associate with a reliever, but he averaged less than four innings per appearance. He was ¡7–¡2 with a 2.58 ERA.

Georgia-Alabama League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Johnny Stowe Joe Campbell Bill Goodwin Fred Campbell Claude Shoemake George Hughes Jack Bearden Roy Drews No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Charles Harrison Marvin Chappell Joe McManus Richard Lazicky

Team Rome Gri‡n Opelika Gri‡n Rome Valley Gri‡n Gri‡n

La Grange La Grange Rome Valley

G 104 77 66 102 110 115 115 107

G 28 45 31 24

GS 22 20 21 16

AB 450 317 271 405 458 468 435 416

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 166 101 231 39 4 6 27 31 120 69 192 21 6 13 94 47 82 36 127 19 4 6 57 26 132 111 187 26 10 3 75 77 171 93 290 37 2 26 135 38 168 110 223 27 14 0 62 60 139 96 233 27 5 19 127 106 132 82 198 20 5 12 99 56

CG 15 20 12 9

SH 1 2 2 2

W 19 21 16 10

L 3 8 5 5

% .864 .724 .762 .667

IP 186 251 184 125

H 185 225 215 109

ER 77 71 101 48

SB 3 4 4 28 7 12 3 12

SO 114 120 75 87

BA SLG OB% .369 .513 .412 .379 .606 .459 .303 .469 .366 .326 .462 .439 .373 .633 .424 .359 .476 .437 .320 .536 .454 .317 .476 .400

BB 101 128 78 80

ERA 3.73 2.55 4.94 3.46

BR/9 14.2 12.9 14.7 13.9

Opelika only played 67 games before withdrawing from the league.

Fred Campbell was an interim manager for Gri‡n and was followed at the helm by Bearden. I have to wonder if the RBI total given Rome first baseman Stowe was transposed in printing. 27 runs driven in seems impossibly low for a .369 hitting first baseman. 72 seems much more likely. Second baseman Campbell was on pace to drive in ¡83 runs. No utility player was selected, but the league had two quality candidates, had a spot been available. Robert Rucker of the Rome Red Sox roamed the outfield and ranged at third base. He hit .33¡, slugged .486, had a .392 OB%, scored ¡02 runs and drove in

an even ¡00. Robert Adams loomed large in the La Grange Trouper infield, playing second, third, and short. He had .333/.459/.387 averages, scored ¡0¡ times, drove in ¡06 runs, and even stole 25 bases. And, stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The league-leader in ERA and BR/9 ratio was not selected for the All-Star team. In this case, it is Joe Pennington of Valley, who was ¡3–9 with a 2.45 ERA and allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9. Now, sure, he was lacked the marquee value of Valley teammate Lazicky or the flair of a McManus, but still…

Georgia-Florida League (D) Albany first baseman William Murphy was the only player in the league to attain the century mark in RBIs. He had .30¡/.44¡/.404 averages with 95 runs. The RBIs make all the di›erence. Valdosta manager/second baseman Stan Wasiak, minor league managing legend (37 years, 2530 wins) is worthy of a look. His averages of .320/.385/.4¡3 and run production (83 scored, 82 driven in) were not that di›erent form Webb’s, but when the managerial duties are factored in, Wasiak is the man for me.

Eury presents a problem in the outfield. Yes, he had power, as attested to by his league-best 29 homers, but the To-Bak flyhawk brought little else to the table. He was a poor hitter, and that was not balanced by a facility for getting on base, as his terrible .308 OB% shows. His teammate Wendell Davis batted .343 (a league best), slugged .575 (also a league-leading figure) and had an OB% of .4¡7. His 22 homers were second, he scored 88 runs and drove in 96. However, I would have used Davis to fill the utility spot, as he played 57 games at first.

¡95¡ Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name George Kendall Charles Webb Richard Gray Jack Caro John Tidwell Gilbert James Daley Denver Rikard Glen Eury Charles Bledsoe Alphonse Giordano No selection made

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Robert Betancourt Harry Raulerson Philip Clark Ottis Jacobs William Harris Robert Ho›man

Team Valdosta Waycross Valdosta Waycross Tifton Albany Albany Moultrie Waycross Valdosta

Tifton Waycross Albany Tifton Valdosta Valdosta

G 120 123 110 115 98 110 125 111 125 50 G 41 35 34 33 32 25

AB 461 424 463 426 393 437 459 462 448 159 GS — — — — — —

H R TB 150 91 218 120 85 164 140 118 206 127 56 156 126 56 186 141 100 216 150 98 238 119 65 225 117 61 145 39 25 59 CG 31 31 24 27 22 21

SH 2 4 4 3 5 5

That still leaves an unresolved situation in the outfield. I think I would go with Valdosta’s Henry Geary. He didn’t hit much better than Eury, but he did walk ¡¡0 times which gave him a .4¡5 OB% and which allowed him to score ¡03 runs, second best in the ’5¡ Ga-Fla. Two catchers were chosen by the scribes, yet they still managed to overlook the best the league had to o›er, Tifton playing manager Fred Tschudin. “Fast” Freddie hit .300, had a .379 OB%, scored 68 times and drove in 66 runs. (He also moved from behind

337 2B 25 24 21 23 34 24 20 20 14 6

3B 14 7 12 3 4 9 10 0 4 4

HR 5 2 6 0 6 11 13 29 2 2

RBI BB 79 59 78 110 71 49 52 52 92 39 71 37 96 92 86 32 53 52 26 23

W L % IP H 18 14 .563 279 200 22 10 .688 290 243 18 7 .720 219 164 20 12 .625 251 217 18 9 .667 201 126 17 4 .810 189 136

ER 89 64 72 87 49 50

SB 11 17 31 9 6 32 9 2 9 2

BA .325 .283 .302 .298 .321 .323 .327 .258 .261 .245

SLG .473 .387 .445 .366 .473 .494 .519 .487 .324 .371

OB% .408 .431 .372 .377 .382 .381 .441 .308 .338 .341

SO 201 165 135 190 189 111

BB 162 89 103 128 66 97

ERA 2.87 1.99 2.96 3.12 2.19 2.38

BR/9 12.2 10.6 11.0 12.4 8.8 11.7

the plate to the mound ¡9 times and compiled a 4–¡ record with a fine 2.63 ERA.) On the hill, I would add one more pitcher, Moultrie’s Marvin Hatcher. Marv went ¡4–9 for a team which finished 22 games under .500 and he had a fine 2.7¡ ERA. Please notice Harris’s excellent OB/9 ratio. By the way, in addition to Fred Tschuden, the league also had a player named Ron Tschannen. I wonder if any other league ever had two players whose last names began with Tsch?

Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Stan Santo Ernest C. Leslie Morris Mack Robert “Jack” Dolan Malcom Len Bourdet Brandy Davis Jack Denison Robert Ottesen Delbert Gay No selection made

Team Ponca City Bartlesville Ponca City Ponca City Carthage Bartlesville Ponca City Pittsburg Miami

SP Ron Kline Bartlesville SP Joe Stanka Ponca City SP George Garrison Miami

G 28 33 27

G 124 115 119 68 56 87 115 122 109 GS — — —

AB 452 424 470 255 187 333 458 437 344

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 107 73 144 22 6 1 87 101 115 90 134 15 2 0 54 71 146 109 208 34 5 6 84 67 68 58 103 10 5 5 36 57 45 26 59 12 1 0 26 38 114 101 183 20 5 13 60 52 167 133 219 23 13 1 58 90 126 78 210 28 13 10 89 94 88 56 138 14 3 10 51 93

CG 21 17 19

SH 4 3 1

Ponca City manager/second baseman George Scherger, who led his team to a fantastic winning percentage of .686 during the season, played no small part in that success. His averages (.270/.396/.4¡0) are better than Leslie’s, but they don’t tell the whole story. Scherger, in addition to his managerial duties, drove in 74 runs and scored ¡03. Albert Solenberger (Bartlesville) seems deserving of no worse than a fourth outfield spot. He hit .344 and had a league best .475 OB%, and scored ¡¡3 runs.

W 18 16 14

L % IP H 4 .818 209 140 5 .762 196 164 8 .636 186 191

ER 54 55 77

SB 14 30 71 23 4 68 45 11 17 SO 208 132 121

BA .237 .271 .311 .267 .241 .342 .365 .288 .256

SLG OB% .319 .382 .316 .383 .443 .400 .404 .410 .316 .369 .550 .441 .478 .471 .481 .423 .401 .418

BB 145 88 80

ERA 2.33 2.53 3.73

BR/9 13.0 11.8 13.5

There are two good candidates for the (non-selected) utility spot. Gaspar “Ferdinand” DelToro played third, short, and the outfield. He hit .292, scored 73 runs, and drove in 83. The other is Miami manager/outfielder/pitcher Tom Warren. He had .320/.480/.429 averages and went ¡4–¡3 with a 2.66 ERA and a league-topping BR/9 ratio of ¡0.6 In addition to adding Warren to the mound sta›, I believe that I would also add a (non-selected) ¡4–8

338

Minor League All-Star Teams

pitcher in place of a (selected) ¡4–8 pitcher. John Mudd of Carthage is my man. He had a league-top-

ping 2.¡2 ERA and was second with a ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio.

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ned Waldrop Milt McEneny Curtis Englebright Billy Joe Forrest Harold Seawright Joe Duhem Howard Weeks James Ray “Jack” Hall No selection made

SP SP SP SP

William Howard Walter Bryja Scott Keeney Carl Bowen

Team Fulton Fulton Union City Fulton Jackson Mayfield Fulton Owensboro

Paducah Fulton Mayfield Owensboro

G 30 37 33 23

G 116 120 110 120 118 117 38 69

GS 23 29 19 10

AB 442 469 429 487 478 474 128 284

CG 19 23 10 4

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 144 95 213 27 3 12 97 81 133 93 187 26 5 6 65 73 121 64 158 16 9 1 36 55 124 76 188 28 3 10 79 40 161 90 248 31 4 16 122 51 145 101 232 25 4 18 100 70 46 32 71 9 2 4 29 46 100 49 141 15 4 6 58 23

SH 3 2 3 0

SB 21 11 10 12 9 53 3 12

BA .326 .284 .282 .255 .337 .306 .359 .352

W L % IP H ER SO BB 17 7 .708 224 174 32 153 92 24 10 .706 256 254 102 150 108 13 3 .813 183 130 51 212 126 7 3 .700 106 96 53 103 84

SLG OB% .482 .430 .399 .380 .368 .364 .386 .311 .519 .401 .489 .395 .555 .529 .496 .401

ERA 1.29 3.59 2.51 4.50

BR/9 10.8 12.9 12.7 15.7

No HBP for batters, so OB% is approximate.

Englebright was a playing manager. There were two other strong candidates for the third base spot. Kenneth “Doctor” Suess had .3¡3/ .492/.397 averages and hit ¡5 homers while driving in 73 runs. Russ Davis of Paducah hit .298 but had a most excellent .463 OB% due to ¡3¡ walks, which led in turn to his scoring ¡04 runs. I actually think that Englebright is only the third best of these three. Owensboro shortstop Alan Green hit .282 and had a .437 OB%. He scored 9¡ runs in 53 fewer plate appearances than Billy Joe had. If you are going to name an outfielder to your AllStar team who only played in 38 games, why not just take the next step and also have a 29-game player. In this case, it would be Bob Skinner. In his 29 games, he drove in 29 runs and scored 40 times (extrapolated over a ¡50 game season, that works out to 207 runs). He hit .472. His OB% was .576. And, as an exclamation point to his 29 game symphony, he slugged .802.

Jackson manager Glenn “Gabby” Stewart was the General’s catcher in ¡¡7 of the teams ¡20 games. He hit .329, had an OB% of .454, and drove in 96 runs. That seems to warrant a co-catcher spot to me. Another playing manager absolutely should have made the team somewhere, or at least a utility spot should have been opened for him. Owensboro’s Wayne T. Blackburn played second, third, and the outfield. He scored ¡¡6 runs in the ¡¡0 games he played, led the league with a .364 BA, and, thanks to an amazing ¡54 walks (which works out to 2¡0 over a ¡50 game season), compiled a humonginoid .553 OB%. Missing from the mound sta› (due, no doubt, to Bowen’s career year) is Owensboro’s Robert Fiocchi. He was 22–8 with a 3.27 ERA and a third best ¡2.0 BR/9 ratio. Madisonville finished 27 games under .500, yet Maynard Norris was able to carve a ¡4–6 record. He had a 2.86 ERA and a second-in-theleague BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.4.

Mississippi-Ohio Valley League (D) Hall was a playing manager. It would be easy to give McCord a bye at first, and I do think he deserves the spot. Nonetheless, Mt. Vernon’s Jim “That’s A” Given had a season worthy of note. He had .329/.502/.423 averages and drove in a league-leading ¡¡9 runs. At second, James Granneman (Centralia/Paris) had .3¡6/.394/.455 averages, drove in 20 more runs than did Hancks, and scored ¡20 times. Granneman

was also a better fielder (.97¡–.926 in FA), as he handled a full half-chance a game more than did Hancks. No utility choice was made, but Mt. Vernon manager Charles Popovich split his time between second and third and hit .3¡¡ with a .439 OB%. He also scored ¡08 runs. Fred Williams of Paris was ¡5–4 with a 3.46 ERA, and that seems to me to be better than at least two, if not three, of the selectees.

¡95¡ Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Clint McCord Warren “Sonny” Hancks Mike Krsnich Oscar Solorzano Everett Hall Walter Dunkovich Quincy Smith Lowell Black No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Lee Tunnison Ken Grubb Richard Collins Orville Mehringer

Team Paris Mattoon Paris Mt. Vernon Danville Mattoon Paris Paris

Centralia Paris Danville Vincennes

G 33 28 20 25

G 121 98 100 117 116 113 120 93

GS — — — —

AB 476 362 369 397 452 371 506 344

339

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 173 132 283 38 12 16 118 102 110 82 127 8 3 1 32 63 103 83 182 26 4 15 101 88 137 118 159 10 6 1 62 117 163 83 230 28 3 11 81 56 120 83 173 23 9 4 68 95 155 126 242 35 14 8 105 54 127 87 181 20 11 5 68 70

CG 17 10 10 14

SH 2 2 1 4

W L 20 8 15 5 10 6 8 11

% .714 .750 .625 .421

IP 205 181 133 160

H 163 197 109 176

SB 22 26 11 29 46 17 36 14

BA .363 .304 .279 .345 .361 .323 .306 .369

ER SO BB 71 170 121 86 122 93 59 99 93 72 99 88

SLG OB% .595 .481 .351 .414 .493 .427 .401 .500 .509 .433 .466 .469 .478 .387 .526 .482

ERA 3.12 4.28 3.99 4.05

BR/9 13.0 14.4 14.0 15.1

Mountain States League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Orville Kitts Mark Muslin George Ken “Six” Pack Bill Geier Lew Flick Barry Cox Len Feriancek Earl Motsinger No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Carl Legursky Rafael Codinachs Bob Hathaway Frank Wilson

Team Morristown Harlan Morristown Harlan Big Stone Gap Harlan Pennington Gap Big Stone Gap

Harlan Middlesboro Big Stone Gap Harlan

G 22 27 35 37

G 83 118 108 123 121 125 125 115

GS 21 26 19 23

AB 323 484 380 467 526 472 513 437

H 137 135 118 144 186 146 216 166

CG 13 24 12 20

SH 2 2 0 0

Flick was a playing manager. The first base story is tangled one indeed in this Mountain States League of ¡95¡. Can you leave Orville Kitts o›? No, of course not — he hit .424, for Pete Palmer’s sake! But, are we then to completely overlook the year that Battle “Bones” Sanders had? No, I say, never! His averages were .360/.6¡0/.537, hardly Mendoza-Line statistics. He scored ¡45 runs in his ¡24 games, hit 25 homers, drove in ¡32 runs and walked a fantastic ¡5¡ times. The ghosts of the MSL cry out that we not roll the “Bones.” But wait, there’s still more! Hazard manager Max Macon, who led his team to a .738 season and then swept both rounds of playo›s, also hit .409 himself ! He slugged .657 and had a lowly (by comparison) .493 OB%. In ¡¡7 games he drove in ¡48 runs and also scored ¡39. He even managed to slip in 54 doubles. It does not take a Solomonic scholar to figure this one out: let our banner read: “Three First Basemen for the Mountain States League All Star Team or Bust!” Power to the MSL three! Hazard second baseman Raphael Torres hit for averages of .287/.42¡/.406, scored ¡32 runs, drove in

R 94 130 89 100 118 123 107 93

TB 233 196 158 207 245 276 333 257

2B 3B HR RBI BB 21 4 19 107 48 19 6 10 62 89 13 9 3 84 44 35 5 6 85 96 22 2 25 132 151 34 1 31 121 107 40 1 25 136 52 36 5 15 101 60

W L % IP 13 6 .684 153 12 14 .462 224 11 11 .500 191 19 8 .704 217

SB 11 35 19 22 5 29 9 4

BA .424 .279 .311 .308 .354 .309 .421 .380

H ER SO BB 154 76 102 86 231 74 93 56 195 115 150 127 223 94 98 83

SLG OB% .721 .501 .405 .397 .416 .389 .443 .428 .466 .500 .585 .440 .649 .476 .588 .455

ERA 4.47 2.97 5.42 3.90

BR/9 14.5 11.7 15.5 13.6

85, and stole 33 bases. All-in-all, almost a carbon copy of Muslin’s year. Why settle for a single second sacker when we have already decided that three are qualified for MSL immortality at first? At third, all of the die-hard Middleboro partisans are crying “All we are saying … is give Peace a chance!” Clarence Peace, that is. You see, “Six” only played 54 of his games at third, and should actually have been a utility choice (he also played second and outfield). Clarence was the only hot corner guardian in the league to play in at least ¡00 games (in fact, the only one over 90), and had a pretty good season: .307 BA, .388 OB%, 92 runs. Having already added four players to the ’5¡ MSL Dream Team, why stop now? Pennington Gap Miner outfielder William Halstead had terrific .38¡/.676/ .440 averages and led the league with 34 home runs. He also drove home ¡42. Should he replace one of the worthies who is on the team? No. Should he be forgotten? No. So, now let the spirits of four forgotten flyhawks soar over the dim and faraway fields of the Appalachians of yesteryear. But there are even more surprises in the MSL, and

340

Minor League All-Star Teams

we’re talking about Through the Looking Glass class ones here. This pitcher led the league in ERA (by over a run) with a mark of ¡.67. He led in strike-outs with 228, over one an inning. He was second in BR/9 ratio with ¡0.2. By going a remarkable 2¡–3, he led the league in winning percentage with an .875 mark. His name? Johnny Podres. Also conspicuous by his absence is Podres’ Hazard teammate, Danny Hayling.

He was a dominating 24–4 (.857) and had 2¡6 Ks. A wild streak (¡76 walks) kept him from joining Podres elite status in ERA and BR/9, but he made up for that by batting .362 and driving in 24 runs. And finally, Morristown’s Porter Witt, who was also shunned, went 2¡–5 (.808), was second in ERA (2.84) and led in BR/9 with a 9.8 mark.

North Carolina State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

Name John “Jack” Gibson Gray Hampton Bill Cayavec Hilliard Nance Gene Corso Gene Stephens Tom Umphlett Owen “Poke” Linn Bill Poole Cli› Bolton No selection made

Team Lexington Lexington Salisbury H.P.-Thomasville Salisbury H.P.-Thomasville H.P.-Thomasville Landis/Elkin Lexington H.P.-Thomasville

Pete Morant Plaskie McCree Ron Necciai Arvid “Red” Hamilton

G 126 94 125 124 47 122 112 124 120 85

Landis/Elkin Lexington Salisbury H.P.-Thomasville

AB 494 346 477 567 185 472 435 517 439 229

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 131 92 226 17 9 20 93 51 111 51 165 24 0 10 60 45 144 98 236 23 3 21 69 77 173 128 248 27 6 12 68 35 47 34 101 5 2 15 40 25 159 118 277 32 10 22 112 87 135 82 211 24 5 14 79 31 164 95 253 29 6 16 96 64 123 60 166 25 3 4 61 43 74 44 112 9 1 9 53 64

SB 12 1 12 57 2 31 20 7 3 1

BA .265 .321 .302 .305 .254 .337 .310 .317 .280 .323

SLG OB% .457 .340 .477 .402 .495 .407 .437 .349 .546 .349 .587 .441 .485 .356 .489 .398 .378 .352 .489 .478

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 35 — 15 5 15 7 .682 210 211 73 119 68 3.13 12.2 40 — 22 4 20 10 .667 280 298 84 165 62 2.70 11.6 20 — 5 0 4 9 .308 106 91 57 111 87 4.84 15.4 32 — 15 0 18 4 .818 195 154 62 196 79 2.86 11.1

H.P. is High Point.

Hampton and Lynn were playing managers. Just as the MSL was loaded at first, so is the NCSL at third. Len Cross, Statesville manager, had good .325/.598/.430 averages, drove in ¡03 runs, and blasted 33 homers. John Lybrand of the High PointThomasville Hi-Toms hit .380, had a .56¡ SA and a fine .445 OB%. He batted across ¡¡4 runs. I say that a three-way third base tie has a certain poetic resonance. The outfield picks were made in Cloud-Cuckoo Land. Overlooked were Hickory teammates D.C. “Pud” Miller and Norman Small. Small had a .340 BA, a very good .666 SA, blasted 37 dingers and drove home ¡27 runs. Miller, who also managed the Rebels, was even better. He hit a Hornsby-like .425, slugged a Ruthian .786, wrangled a Williamsian .505 OB%, belted 40 long taters and drove in ¡36 runs. That, my friends, is a season. Yet, both Hickory sticks were passed over for Umphlett’s .3¡0/.485/.356,

Linn’s .3¡7/.489/.398, and most puzzlingly, Corso’s 47 game .254/.546/.349. Fred Chapman, Landis Spinner/Elkin Blanketeer second/third baseman was the league’s best utility player. He hit .323, had a fine .425 OB% and scored 98 runs. (The Landis franchise moved to Elkin on July ¡8th). Plaskie McCree. It has a John Ford ring to it. Two pitchers were in the running for the non-existent relief spot. The Hi-Toms’ Charles Gri‡th pitched ¡48 innings over 49 games, was an e›ective ¡3–6, struck out ¡64 batters in those ¡49 innings, and had a 3.49 ERA (6th in the league). Hickory’s (get ready for this) Efird Gwaltney pitched ¡¡5 innings over 42 games, was ¡2–5 and had a 2.43 ERA. (If Plaskie McCree is Fordian, then Efird Gwaltney is straight from the Grapes of Wrath. These monikers are just too cool not to share.)

Ohio-Indiana League (D) Gilbert was a playing manager. A perfectly selected team. If a utility player was added, it would be Brodowski, who also played third.

He had .averages of .276/.449/.385, scored 44 runs and drove in 33. Marion’s John Wall was 9–¡ with a 2.45 ERA, if you want to add another pitcher.

¡95¡ Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ed Sadowski James Evanik Charles Lavene Joe “Peppy” LaMonica Marv Stendel Andy Gilbert Emil Carlini Maxlee Ross No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Richard Brodowski Richard Tarys Burton Ostby Danny Banaszak

Team Marion Marion Marion Marion Marion Springfield Lima Marion

G Marion Marion Richmond Springfield

G 125 105 84 95 130 99 99 94

AB 506 423 310 390 520 323 344 334

341

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 156 92 247 33 2 18 117 63 117 109 154 15 5 4 83 86 88 58 117 14 3 3 50 37 127 91 182 27 8 4 66 61 185 158 298 38 9 19 125 99 123 97 203 24 4 16 89 90 114 76 184 20 4 14 75 84 125 86 222 23 7 20 105 76

GS CG SH 28 — 19 36 — 15 25 — 12 32 — 15

4 0 1 0

W L % IP H ER 21 5 .808 204 183 59 22 4 .846 196 185 76 15 6 .714 191 176 77 17 8 .680 194 197 73

SB 12 23 4 25 29 14 19 2

BA .308 .277 .284 .326 .356 .381 .331 .374

SLG OB% .488 .389 .364 .405 .377 .366 .467 .422 .573 .468 .628 .519 .535 .471 .665 .494

SO 212 135 164 92

BB 72 89 99 62

ERA 2.60 3.49 3.63 3.39

BR/9 11.5 12.8 13.1 12.6

SB 17 23 7 6 19 16 35 8 7

BA .407 .336 .303 .303 .355 .348 .320 .266 .278

SLG .627 .446 .432 .558 .485 .566 .503 .324 .385

OB% .482 .407 .392 .400 .481 .434 .456 .355 .379

PONY League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

Name Paul Owens Frank Bolling Paul Farrell Raymond Reed Stan Anderson William Hudacsek Emil Karlik Gilbert Shirk Carroll Anstaett No selection made

Team Olean Jamestown Bradford Wellsville Olean Olean Jamestown Hornell Olean

Jim Stump Douglas Gostlin Milton Bayne Robert “Open And” Shutt

G 111 97 102 103 125 122 127 111 113

Jamestown Hornell Hamilton Bradford

AB 459 381 396 396 468 489 475 364 410

H 187 128 120 120 166 170 152 97 114

R 129 66 84 94 134 133 119 45 52

TB 288 170 171 221 227 277 239 118 158

2B 32 24 20 16 27 28 31 18 24

3B 9 6 2 2 8 4 16 0 8

HR 17 2 9 27 6 25 8 1 1

G GS CG SH W L % 26 17 15 4 14 3 .824 33 26 16 3 17 9 .654 33 28 17 0 16 10 .615 24 14 7 0 9 0 1.000

Bolling had a fine season, but Olean Oiler keystoner Chuck Harmon had a much better one. He was fifth in homers with ¡5, first in doubles with 37, second in batting and slugging with .375 and .593 marks, and first in RBIs with a whopping ¡43 (in just ¡¡3 games). He is definitely the man. In the outfield, the marvelously named Angel Scull of Wellsville, while not having a season which would insist that he replace one of the selectees, did have a season which should have made the selectors field a four-man outfield squad. Angel hit .329, scored ¡¡7 runs, and led the league with 60 steals. The Rocket gardener also led in outfield POs. The PONY league scribes selected two catchers, both of whom had fine seasons. Who they failed to select was the league’s best catcher, Marvin Jones of Olean. He had averages of .307/.482/.394, hit ¡2 homers, and drove in 84 runs. No utility player was selected, but Morris (sic) Wills of Jamestown would have been the choice, had a choice been made. He played second, third, and short and hit .280 with 94 runs. Oh yes, he also stole 54 bases. (I would like to make note here of a very unusual

RBI BB 101 65 77 38 78 56 93 61 124 107 113 72 90 114 71 45 53 60

IP 163 203 210 108

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 128 35 160 50 1.93 9.8 186 67 130 101 2.97 12.9 207 98 131 122 4.20 14.5 119 53 53 54 4.42 14.8

season, though not an All-Star season by any means, but a marvel none the-less. A certain William Dowling of Olean got into 5¡ games and hit a pedestrian .259. In those 5¡ games, he garnered 35 hits. He also, in those 5¡ games, scored 66 runs. Let me repeat that; 5¡ games, 35 hits, 66 runs. Dowling managed to draw 74 walks, which gave him an OB% of .528! I know of no other season where a player with over 200 PAs had such a low BA yet still managed an OB% over .500. Extrapolated over a ¡50 game season, Dowling would have accrued only ¡03 hits, yet scored ¡94 runs and drawn 2¡8 walks.) Shutt’s season was living proof that it truly is better to be lucky than good. 9–0 with a 4.42 ERA and allowing almost ¡5 base runners every nine innings is counterintuitive at the very least. Admitting that it is hard to leave a ¡.000 pitcher of o› the team, let us see who we could have added to the squad to make it just the best darned sta› the PONY league had to o›er. Ed Williams was the ace of the Olean mound corps. He went ¡7–8 with a 3.67 ERA. Ronald Rozman of Jamestown was ¡0–5 and had a sparkling ¡.95 ERA with a league-best BR/9 ratio of 9.¡.

342

Minor League All-Star Teams

Sooner State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ed Graham Dickson Manuel Temes Lou Fitzgerald Doyle Chadwick Claudio Barcelo Dan Toma Joe Nodar J.J. Burris Bennie Warren James Dionisotis

SP SP SP SP

Dee Sanders Kenisaw Hemphill Armin Somonte Andrew Pane

Team McAlester Ardmore Shawnee McAlester Shawnee Pauls Valley Ardmore McAlester Ardmore Pauls Valley

McAlester Pauls Valley Ardmore Pauls Valley

G 139 139 138 107 158 141 137 108 106 140

AB 563 573 496 390 492 574 552 405 316 549

H 191 195 188 119 149 195 181 137 112 173

R 131 141 122 80 87 117 179 70 111 86

G

GS

CG

SH

33 47 41 39

29 30 29 35

29 23 26 31

5 2 5 4

I love this league! It is always fun to do, and interesting also. Four teams finished at .640 or above, four at under .390. The bottom four batted from .252 down to .240, the top four from .278 up to .300. The top four fielded from .946 up to .952, the bottom four from .939 down to an execrable .9¡6 (two teams had over 400 errors, an average of over three a game). The ERAs of the top four ranged from 3.76 up to 4.24. The range of the bottom four was from 4.94 up to 6.33. BAs versus the top four went from .233 to .250, against the bottom four from .259 to .290. Ardmore had a .435 OB%, Seminole .329. Ada opponents had an OB% of .405. Ardmore won its games by an average of 3.9 runs, Seminole lost its by 3.0. Ardmore hitters walked 7.9 times a game, Ada hitters struck out 7.9 times a game. Fitzgerald and Warren were playing managers. At first, two players had superior years to that put together by Dickson. Pauls Valley Raider Don Williamson compiled averages of .337/.582/.436, tied for the lead in homers with 30, and drove in ¡29 runs. Glen Snyder of Ardmore was even better at .349/.552 /.466. He hit 58 doubles and, in his ¡3¡ games, scored ¡4¡ times and drove in ¡55 runs. Either or both should have had the spot over Dickson. Two shortstops were chosen and poor Osmaro Blanco was passed over. True, he did not hit for the average of the others (.273) and his SA was lower (.353), but he still managed to out-RBI them with 97. And, more importantly, in his ¡38 games he scored ¡78 (!) runs (more than both selectees combined) and drew ¡64 walks (also more than both selectees combined). His walks led to an OB% of .448. In the outfield, I would have selected the charmingly appelated Gahlen Dinkle of Shawnee over Burris. Dinkle hit but .27¡, but had an OB% of .445. He

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 261 43 14 3 114 86 308 27 10 22 155 95 239 21 12 2 105 146 208 18 10 17 86 63 207 30 8 4 92 80 309 35 14 17 121 44 226 33 6 0 88 137 169 23 3 1 47 42 212 28 3 22 100 105 284 48 6 17 87 31 W

L

%

IP

27 4 .871 281 27 10 .730 297 24 11 .686 289 26 9 .743 302

H

ER

226 52 268 96 242 94 225 106

SB 23 18 6 29 3 35 44 4 3 23

BA .339 .340 .379 .305 .303 .340 .328 .338 .354 .315

SLG OB% .464 .430 .538 .443 .482 .522 .533 .407 .421 .402 .538 .387 .409 .471 .417 .412 .671 .519 .517 .357

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

199 24 265 109 341 130 305 201

1.67 2.91 2.93 3.16

8.1 11.5 11.9 13.0

drew ¡36 walks and scored ¡25 runs in the ¡¡8 games in which he appeared Warren was indeed a worthy choice at catcher (how can you overlook a .354 BA, a .67¡ SA and a humongous .5¡9 OB%?). Still, Pauls Valley receiver Daniel Demby’s season draws attention. Despite playing in only 92 games and having only 326 Abs, he tied for the home run lead with 30 and slugged a powerful .64¡ to punch up his .294 batting average. He also drove in 85 runs in those 92 games. I am not sure which positions Dionisotis played. He caught in 39 games and played third in 48, but his other 63 games do not show up in the fielding statistics. He probably played a few at short, but I am reasonably certain that the rest were in the outfield. Another utility candidate was Ernesto Klein of Ardmore. He played third and the outfield and, despite a .30¡ BA, scored ¡4¡ runs in ¡36 games. He hit no home runs (zero/zip/zilch) yet drove in ¡¡4 runs, thus becoming one of the very few who have reached the century mark in RBIs without a single dinger. (A note here as an add-on to the Dowling story out of the PONY League. James Duncan, Lawton first baseman, was in 26 games. He went 7–80, hitting an absolutely miserable .088, which is bad even for a pitcher. His SA was also .088, as he had not a single extra base hit. Yet, Duncan managed to score 2¡ runs and had a very respectable .397 OB%, an incredible 4∂ times his BA! Just as Dowling has the record (as far as I have discovered thus far) for BA-OB% discrepancy for players with over 200 plate appearances, so too does Duncan for players with over ¡00.) Now, on to the Sooner State pitchers, whom I assure you are every bit as entertaining as the hitters were. The SSL had no fewer than nine (!) 20-game winners, including four from Shawnee alone (none of whom were All-Star selectees). The four Shawnee

¡95¡ aces were Lowell Rhodes, 20–8, Melvin Burgess, 20–¡¡, William Lenihan, 2¡–¡0, and the delightfully named Lindberg Chappoten, 20–6. Harold Warren of Ardmore (who may be related to manager Warren) went 22–5. There were three non-20 game winners who may actually been deserving of a spot on the sta›, certainly above the five 20 victory men left o› of the squad. Dean Higgins (Pauls Valley) was ¡8–9 with a 3.¡0 ERA and allowed ¡2.6 BR/9. Roger Hanners of McAlester was ¡9–6, 3.23, ¡2.3. And the most intriguing of all, the Seminole Ironmen’s ironman, Len Gilmore. Seminole finished 66 games under .500 (37–¡03, .264), yet Gilmore, in one of the most in-

343

credible pitching performances ever, managed to go ¡5–¡4. He won 4¡% of his team’s games, and when he was not the pitcher of record, Seminole only played a staggeringly horrid .¡98 ball. Please note that, in this wild league, Sanders only allowed 8.¡ BR/9, which I believe to be the ¡95¡’s top mark. Please note also that Somonte averaged ¡0.6 K/9. And one final note: Those nine 20 game winners batted a collective .277 with 64 doubles, nine triples, and ¡9 homers. They drove in 224 runs and scored 3¡5 times. The four who made the SSL Dream Team hit .306. (¡92–628) with 38 doubles, 8 triples, and ¡¡ homers. They scored ¡¡5 runs and drove in ¡32.

Virginia League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name William Parker U. Frank Sangalli Horace Inge Howard St. Pierre Kenneth Hatcher Donald Warfield G. “Buster” Kinnard Paul Crawford No selection made

Team Edenton C.H.-Petersburg C.H.-Petersburg Elizabeth City C.H.-Petersburg Elizabeth City Su›olk Elizabeth City

G 96 113 115 113 115 113 109 109

AB 353 437 467 461 400 395 413 376

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 107 73 182 16 1 19 73 60 123 94 170 24 4 5 48 87 139 88 237 31 5 19 73 60 126 92 172 20 1 8 45 65 128 109 258 20 4 34 121 115 115 94 211 12 6 26 84 102 156 70 228 26 5 12 93 43 124 69 197 30 2 13 95 88

SP SP SP SP

John Brockwell John Raines William Garthwaite Charles Hagy

C.H.-Petersburg Edenton C.H.-Petersburg Elizabeth City

G 35 34 23 13

GS 31 21 20 10

CG 29 17 15 4

SH 5 4 4 0

W L % IP H 25 7 .781 268 212 16 13 .552 202 206 16 5 .762 167 144 5 4 .556 57 52

SB 1 8 1 24 0 20 9 0

BA .303 .281 .298 .273 .320 .291 .378 .330

SLG OB% .516 .414 .389 .401 .507 .386 .373 .366 .645 .474 .534 .439 .552 .443 .524 .458

ER SO 61 164 81 134 58 85 32 51

BB 90 92 92 53

ERA 2.05 3.61 3.13 5.05

BR/9 10.2 13.5 12.9 17.1

C.H. is Colonial Heights.

Parker and Crawford were playing managers. The only change to the line-up I would make is to insert Harold Martin, who played for Colonial Heights-Petersburg and Emporia (he managed the latter) into a outfield spot over either Warfield or Kinard. Martin was second with 3¡ homers, second with ¡2¡ RBIs, second in batting with .345, and first in slugging with a fine .680 mark.

In place of Hagy on the sta›, I would place Herman “Apple Pan” Dowdy of the Elizabeth City Albemarles. He went ¡2–6 and was second in both ERA (at 3.0, over two runs a game less than Hagy) and BR/9 ratio (at ¡2.0, over 5 a game fewer than Hagy).

Western Carolina League (D) Beal and Bowles were playing managers. Charlie Ballard, first baseman for Shelby, would have had the right to feel mi›ed over his not being chosen for the W.C.L. All-Star team. True, Sta›ord out-hit him .372–.365 and the RBIs were about even (90–94), but Ballard scored 55 more runs (¡37–82), out slugged him .598–.576 and, most importantly, had a terrific .503 OB%. Simply put, Ballard was robbed. The league’s scribes selected a man who played all of his games at short to be the All-Star second base-

man. The actual premier second baseman in the W.C.L. was William Hu›stetler of Lincolnton. He hit .309 and had ¡¡4 RBIs. At third, league pundits had a choice between two .336 hitters. The one they didn’t select was Harold Harris of Morganton. He scored ¡02 runs and stole 32 bases. I would propose a duumvirate here. The real head-scratcher in the ’5¡ W.C.L. is played out in the outfield. Overlooked: Edward Bass of Shelby and Bordie Waddle of Morganton. Bass hit .387, had a .43¡ OB% and a SA of .628. He also just

344 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Donald Sta›ord Daniel Reynolds Bob Beal Robert Peters Jack Triplett Robert Featherstone Henry Miller Bill Bowles No selection made

Team Newton-Conover Shelby Lincolnton Lincolnton Marion Lenoire Shelby Shelby

G 106 106 86 113 109 85 112 111

AB 401 434 295 480 445 330 462 435

H R TB 149 82 231 138 103 199 99 61 130 179 105 225 155 103 223 115 94 198 179 96 269 125 73 196

2B 32 31 24 27 45 28 25 34

3B HR RBI BB 13 8 90 63 6 6 55 54 2 1 53 53 8 1 65 58 10 1 60 81 2 17 63 52 10 15 106 31 2 11 68 50

SB 7 10 5 41 27 2 15 19

BA .372 .318 .336 .373 .348 .348 .387 .287

SLG OB% .576 .466 .459 .396 .441 .438 .469 .442 .501 .450 .600 .440 .582 .435 .451 .362

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP George Long Rutherford County 24 14 14 13 2 .867 140 106 33 97 62 2.12 11.1 SP William Roland Lincolnton 32 24 17 20 7 .741 219 231 90 206 74 3.70 12.8 SP Norman Reinhardt Newton-Conover 32 26 15 17 10 .630 219 192 97 153 105 3.99 12.3

Treece went 25–¡0 and led the league with 264 strikeouts. He had an ERA of 3.30 and allowed ¡2.4 BR/9. Rogelio Perez was second in ERA with a 2.92 mark, struck out 247 opponents, went 20–8 and was second in BR/9 ratio with an ¡¡.8 mark. Finally we have Shelby’s Jose Nakamura. He went ¡7–6 with a 3.28 ERA and allowed ¡2.2 BR/9. A five man sta› (minus Reinhardt) would have been just dandy. And, it would not serve to leave the ¡95¡ W.C.L. without mentioning the Granite Falls Graniteers. After charging out to a ¡3–37, .260 start, they lost 59 of their last 60 games (.0¡7) to finish at ¡4–96, .¡27. The hardy Graniteers scored a cool 4 runs a game, only ¡.6 behind the next-lowest scoring team, but the miners, farmers, and mechanics they used as pitchers gave up 9.8 runs a game. By my reckoning, that means they were out-scored by just about six runs a game. I guess they were lucky to win those ¡4 games.

happened to lead the league with ¡57 runs batted in, a mere 50 more than the runner-up. The delightfully named Bordie Waddle hit .369, scored ¡08 runs, and led the league in homers with 24 and slugging average with a fine .676 mark. And yet, despite their Herculean achievements, the names of these halcyon warriors appear nowhere on the roles of W.C.L. AllStar immortality. No one was chosen to carry the utility gonfalon into the future. George Bradshaw was both willing (probably) and able to do just that. The Morganton skipper played first, outfield and caught while compiling averages of .350, .577, and .402. He whacked 20 round-trippers, scored 9¡ times and drove in 90 runs. There is no doubt that Long belonged. The other two pitchers selected were not bad, but there are two who were better and one just as good who were not chosen for the honor of All-Star-dom. Eurice “Pete”

Wisconsin State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bob Johnson Emil Piscopo Tom Murphy Earl Willis John Gierek Laverne Grace Charles “Ducky” Oertel Stan Grossman No selection made

SP SP SP SP

John Wilson Bill Eckland Tony DeVelis Ed Poquette

Team Fond du Lac Wisconsin Rapids Sheboygan Oshkosh Fond du lac Green Bay Appleton Oshkosh

Wausau Appleton Sheboygan Green Bay

G 35 26 30 37

GS — — — —

G 115 118 116 118 106 113 122 113

CG 22 18 11 17

AB 405 426 434 434 403 433 450 412 SH 1 3 1 3

The selection of Gierek over Sheboygan’s John Rucker is odd. Rucker outhit him by 57 points (.327–.270, had a fifty point slugging advantage (.449–.390) and got on base a whopping ¡40 percentage points more frequently (a league-best .48¡ to a

H 125 122 137 140 109 147 146 111

R 102 74 110 121 62 103 95 61

W 17 11 14 17

L 12 11 5 9

TB 182 183 185 180 157 252 229 133 % .586 .500 .737 .654

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 21 12 4 65 110 32 .309 .449 .457 33 5 6 76 89 15 .286 .430 .418 27 6 3 82 87 44 .316 .426 .431 25 6 1 72 104 2 .323 .415 .457 24 0 8 62 42 12 .270 .390 .341 32 8 19 121 65 8 .339 .582 .427 27 13 10 65 59 19 .324 .509 .419 18 2 0 68 50 2 .269 .323 .353 IP 225 182 168 180

H 217 131 135 160

ER 66 49 79 67

SO 216 195 205 192

BB 96 130 139 113

ERA 2.64 2.42 4.23 3.35

BR/9 12.7 13.2 15.4 14.3

somewhat less than pedestrian .34¡). Rucker scored ¡20 runs (almost doubling Gierek’s total of 62), drove in 85, and walked ¡¡6 times, 77 more times than Gierek managed. Was it anything more than just a bad, bad oversight?

¡952 No utility man was selected, but Oshkosh manager Dave Garcia split his time between second and third and had league-leading figures in batting, .369, and slugging, .608. He was second to Rucker with a .46¡ OB%. He also led the league with 23 homers and ¡27 RBIs. Obviously, a spot should have been made for him on the squad. I would replace two of the pitching selectees with two other pitchers who had much better years. Earl McClellan of Sheboygan had a league best winning percentage of .800 on a ¡6–4 record. He had an ERA of 2.8¡ and allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9, better than any of the

345

chosen sta›. And, of course, the league’s best pitcher is nowhere to be seen among the hallowed select. Wisconsin Rapids’ Walter Yowell was ¡8–7. He had a league-leading ERA of ¡.90 and by far the best BR/9 ratio in the Wisc-State with a 9.9 ratio. By the way, congratulations to the league scribes for naming the ¡¡–¡¡ Eckland to the team. His Appleton Papermakers finished 37 games under .500, 35 games out of first. Performances like this are usually ignored. Now, if we can just figure out why Yowell was relegated to the scrap heap of history.

! ¡952 ! In ¡952, there were 43 leagues in the National Association. 34 of them (79%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Don Bollweg Jack Cassini Robert Wilson Daryl Spencer Bill “Moose” Skowron Bill Renna Clint “Floppy” Hartung Dave Pope Ray Katt Roy Partee Vic Power

SP SP SP SP

Eddie Erautt Eddie Cereghino Stu Miller Don Liddle

Team Kansas City St. Paul St. Paul Minneapolis Kansas City Kansas City Minneapolis Indianapolis Minneapolis Kansas City Kansas City

Kansas City Kansas City Columbus Milwaukee

G 30 28 28 34

G 126 133 154 142 140 110 105 126 123 87 140 GS 28 27 13 24

AB 464 504 626 523 560 414 368 475 448 242 550 CG 20 11 5 12

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 151 108 275 27 4 23 81 96 155 108 195 23 4 3 53 59 209 90 297 31 9 13 117 25 154 85 274 35 2 27 80 57 191 113 344 38 11 31 134 49 122 67 242 20 8 28 90 37 123 64 234 20 5 27 93 27 167 77 249 29 7 13 79 45 136 57 207 24 1 15 68 32 61 26 85 12 0 4 28 52 182 95 304 40 17 16 109 33 SH 2 2 4 5

Bill Bruton (Milwaukee) was overlooked in the outfield. He led all flyhawks in FA, assists, and DPs. He hit a fine .325, led in hits with 2¡¡ and runs with ¡30, and swiped 30 sacks. Power, possibly the finest fielding first baseman of all time, played only ¡6

W 21 10 11 17

L 5 8 5 4

% .808 .556 .688 .810

IP 210 184 119 197

H 189 165 113 179

SB 10 33 7 5 4 5 1 4 0 0 16

ER SO 70 104 85 85 31 82 59 159

BA .325 .308 .334 .294 .341 .295 .334 .352 .304 .252 .331

SLG OB% .593 .448 .387 .390 .474 .361 .524 .366 .614 .411 .585 .362 .636 .384 .524 .408 .462 .353 .351 .384 .553 .484

BB 57 80 38 68

ERA 3.00 4.16 2.34 2.70

BR/9 10.8 12.0 11.7 11.3

games there in ’52. He was in 65 at third and 55 in the outfield. The finest pure reliever in the AA was Adrian Zabala of Minneapolis. He was in 69 games (with one start), pitched ¡39 innings, had a 2.98 ERA, and went ¡4–9.

International League (AAA) Walker was a playing manager. Walker (you may remember him from the line above), although he hit .365, was probably the #4 outfielder in the I.L. in ’52. Frank “Wheels” Carswell hit .344 and led the league with a SA of .587 and 30 homers. He had ¡0¡ RBIs. Ray Jablonski of Rochester was the best utility man in the league, playing every infield position, hitting .299 with ¡8 homers and ¡03 RBIs.

Two pitchers were sta› spot-worthy: Marion Fricano of Ottawa and Ed Roebuck of Montreal. Fricano went ¡7–8 with a fine 2.26 ERA and a league best ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio. Roebuck was ¡2–8 with an ERA of 2.29 and a ¡¡.0 BR/9 mark. He also hit .348 with ¡7 RBIs. The league’s best fireman was John Crimian of Rochester. He was called in from the pen 59 times and went 8–3 with a good 2.¡0 ERA.

346 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams Name Ed Stevens Junior Gilliam Don Richmond Jim Pendleton Carmen Mauro Harry Walker Roy “Stormy” Weatherly Charles “Tim” Thompson No selection made

Team Toronto Montreal Rochester Montreal Montreal Rochester Baltimore Montreal

G 155 151 145 151 140 115 143 115

AB 554 561 578 595 529 367 547 416

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 154 87 277 31 7 26 113 75 169 111 253 30 9 9 112 100 190 91 264 40 8 6 62 62 173 87 258 24 14 11 92 31 173 107 252 24 11 11 61 62 134 80 182 22 7 4 36 72 155 84 267 22 6 26 73 42 126 62 181 28 6 5 69 34

SB 4 18 3 14 12 3 2 7

BA .278 .301 .329 .291 .327 .365 .283 .303

SLG OB% .500 .365 .451 .411 .457 .396 .434 .326 .476 .403 .496 .470 .488 .337 .435 .361

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Bob Keegan Syracuse 35 35 27 7 20 11 .645 273 245 80 111 85 2.64 11.1 SP Mal “The Hammer” Mallette Montreal 26 22 9 0 13 2 .867 145 156 58 63 54 3.60 13.1

Southern Association (AA) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UT

Name Norm Larker Forrest “Spook” Jacobs Rance Pless Don Zimmer Frank Thomas James “Dusty” Rhodes Bill Antonello Paul Smith Chuck Coles Jack Paepke Ralph Novotney Dick Teed Ellis Clary

SP SP SP SP SP RP

Norman Morton Woody Rich John Dixon Robert Ludwick Al Sima Peter Modica

Team Mobile Mobile Nashville Mobile New Orleans Nashville Mobile New Orleans Mobile New Orleans Nashville Mobile Chattanooga

New Orleans Memphis Chattanooga Mobile Chattanooga Nashville

G 35 31 47 35 40 66

G 153 120 135 153 154 90 153 153 153 112 104 99 141

AB 564 478 538 613 597 349 593 604 624 328 318 278 530

GS 26 28 31 26 34 1

CG 10 12 19 11 22 0

H 157 151 196 190 181 121 172 195 195 84 90 76 165 SH 2 0 5 0 2 0

Jim “Rufe” Marshall, Nashville first baseman outeverythinged Larker. He had averages of .296/.503/ .385, hit 24 homers, had 98 RBIs and scored ¡04 runs. Five outfielders were picked. Now, which you replace with add Dick Sinovic (Chattanooga-Atlanta), I don’t know, but I know Sinovic must be added. He hit .3¡2, slugged .535, had 24 homers, scored ¡05 runs, and drove in ¡2¡. I suppose that the one I would replace would come from either Coles or Smith. Three catchers were picked, and the best the league had to o›er was not among them. I am talking about

R 80 95 110 107 112 71 102 95 95 32 43 34 99

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 229 27 6 11 91 75 182 22 3 1 32 54 276 39 4 11 98 38 287 32 4 17 91 25 338 40 6 35 131 59 212 29 4 18 69 35 302 22 12 28 130 61 251 27 7 5 55 76 275 34 10 13 77 42 116 16 2 4 41 63 129 20 2 5 38 55 110 13 0 7 32 40 203 26 6 0 48 85

W L % IP H 14 10 .583 192 178 13 10 .565 204 194 19 14 .576 271 260 14 7 .667 171 170 24 9 .727 279 310 13 9 .591 164 150

ER 77 78 96 73 95 70

SB 4 18 1 14 1 0 5 23 5 4 0 0 3

BA .278 .316 .364 .310 .303 .347 .290 .323 .313 .256 .283 .273 .311

SO BB 60 95 104 83 136 71 72 86 123 73 111 121

SLG OB% .406 .365 .381 .393 .513 .408 .468 .339 .566 .372 .607 .412 .509 .358 .416 .402 .441 .360 .354 .385 .406 .392 .396 .369 .383 .416 ERA 3.61 3.44 3.19 3.84 3.06 3.84

BR/9 12.8 12.8 11.1 13.6 12.4 15.6

(well, actually, writing about) Jack “Mungo” Parks. He hit .27¡, had a SA of .467, hit ¡4 homers (just two fewer than the three selectees), and drove in 58 runs. Clary was exclusively a second baseman. There was no real utility man in the S.A. in ¡952. The league actually selected a reliever. Unfortunately, they selected the wrong one. Millard Fillmore “Dixie” Howell was by far the best bullpenner the S.A. had to o›er. The Memphis Vol fireman was in 40 games, went 6–5, and had an ERA of 2.69. His BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.5 was over four fewer than Modica’s.

Eastern League (A) Campbell was a playing manager. Since the league decided on two third basemen, it seems that it would have been proper to have two shortstops also. Albany’s Frank Staucet hit only .243 (not that Kazanski’s .253 was exactly world-beating) and slugged a decidedly meek .322. However, he had

a .369 OB%, scored 86 runs, and handled half a chance more a game afield than did Kazanski. In the outfield, I would switch a .288 hitter for a .3¡2 one. Galeard Wade (Elmira) had a .477 SA and, in ¡34 fewer plate appearances than Smith, scored but four fewer runs and drove in four more. He also

¡952 Pos 1B 2B 3B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Paul “Soup” Campbell Stanley Pawloski Frank Verdi Herbert Rossman Ted Kazanski Mike Lutz Bill Smith Rufe “Jake” Crawford Jim Robertson No selection made

SP SP

Charles Haag Roberto Vargas

Team Williamsport Reading Binghamton Albany Schenectady Reading Hartford Scranton Binghamton

Albany Reading

G 37 36

GS 28 21

G 113 134 103 99 125 116 138 135 117

AB 403 465 371 354 449 390 490 465 399

CG 20 12

H 128 126 116 105 114 125 153 134 121

SH 3 2

stole 55 bases, and no else in the league had even 20. He stole more than four entire teams. No utility man was named, but one played in the league. Ted Sepkowski of Hartford played first, second, third, and the outfield, hit .287, slugged .472, hit ¡6 homers and drove in 67 runs.

R 61 70 58 54 52 71 79 83 78

W 18 13

347 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 163 20 0 5 51 54 184 25 6 7 63 51 145 17 3 2 67 59 131 14 3 2 47 43 160 14 1 10 50 43 228 26 4 23 93 68 214 29 4 8 53 80 252 27 5 27 93 59 165 21 4 5 56 74

L 10 10

% .643 .565

IP 228 180

H 194 135

ER 59 55

SB 5 4 9 5 8 4 7 3 8

SO 108 99

BA .318 .271 .313 .297 .254 .321 .312 .288 .303

BB 106 79

SLG OB% .404 .400 .396 .346 .391 .410 .370 .382 .356 .325 .585 .423 .437 .415 .542 .379 .414 .417

ERA 2.33 2.75

BR/9 12.2 11.1

Albany’s George Uhaze went ¡8–¡0, as did his teammate Haag. Uhaze, however, had a 2.¡3 ERA and a 9.8 BR/9 ratio, both league bests, which would explain why he was not selected. Mel Wright pitched ¡2¡ innings in 57 games, was 7–8 and had a good ¡.93 ERA and was by far the league’s best reliever.

South Atlantic League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Tom Hamilton Frank DiPrima Robert Hyatt John Berdella Dick Greco Leonard Morrison Gilbert Daley Tom Burgess Ronald “Mike” Curnan Bobby Ross Howard

SP SP

Barney Martin Dennis Reeder

Team Savannah Macon Charleston Columbia Montgomery Montgomery Columbus Columbus Columbus Macon

Columbia Columbus

G 33 36

GS 31 24

G 151 140 137 156 151 155 100 149

AB 572 494 499 552 551 559 375 525 429 137 498 CG 25 14

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 196 91 257 24 5 9 81 61 164 90 253 33 4 16 70 86 151 81 223 30 6 10 78 49 147 65 175 16 6 0 56 69 164 90 275 31 4 24 135 90 172 103 279 25 5 23 116 117 137 78 191 18 12 4 38 28 172 98 282 40 8 18 89 97 123 54 191 27 4 11 68 32 138 65 195 22 5 8 59 35 SH 6 3

The scribes had a choice between two .266 hitting shortstops. The one they chose handled 5.0 chances a game. The one they didn’t, 5.9. Macon’s Charles “Look Out” Balogh also had 539 assists, one of the years top totals. He scored 8¡ runs to Berdella’s 65. It seems as if the wrong .266er was immortalized. Bobby Ross Howard played short, third and the outfield. Hamilton, by the way, had a 28 game hitting streak.

W 23 20

L 7 6

% .767 .769

IP 258 203

H 208 168

ER 61 63

SB 3 7 4 4 1 3 4 16 2 5

SO 174 157

BA .343 .332 .303 .266 .298 .308 .365 .328 .287 .277 BB 70 102

SLG OB% .449 .409 .512 .437 .447 .371 .317 .350 .499 .401 .499 .431 .509 .415 .537 .436 .445 .338 .392 .333 ERA 2.13 2.79

BR/9 9.8 12.1

Charleston’s George Drees was only ¡2–6, but he led in ERA (an excellent ¡.94) and was second in BR/9 (¡0.0). Roger Wright (Columbia) pitched 7¡ innings in 40 games, went 7–6 and had an ERA of 2.03, the league’s best relief e›ort. All in all, not a poorly selected team at all.

Western League (A) I could be persuaded to have a pair of second basemen on the squad. Denver’s Curt Roberts had just about the same year Weaver did. Roberts, who had 90 runs, scored 33% of the time he got on base, so did Weaver. Roberts handled 5.8 chances a game, Weaver 5.5. At third, Jerry Crosby is my man. Besides fielding .945 to Ibanez’s .9¡6, Crosby had 26 homers and

drove in ¡07 runs. Both candidates scored 89 runs. Crosby’s shortcoming is his .260 BA, but his OB% was .374. Had a utility man been selected, James Cleverly of Wichita would have been my man. He hit .288, had a .432 OB% (he tied for the league lead in walks with ¡¡2) and scored ¡¡0 times. He played second and third.

348

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Ken Landenberger Earl Weaver Amado Ibanez Sherwin Dixon Bill Pinckard Norman Postolese Raymond Berns Sam Hairston No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Connie Johnson Alberto Osorio Edward Hrabcsak Marvin Williams

Team Colorado Springs Omaha Sioux City Omaha Denver Pueblo Sioux City Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs Denver Lincoln Pueblo

G 149 97 143 150 103 143 118 134

G 30 40 27 37

AB 581 353 576 590 404 578 430 503

GS — — — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 183 112 314 39 7 26 133 79 98 63 113 15 0 0 34 69 178 89 256 21 9 13 87 51 147 97 193 16 6 6 49 58 124 80 215 14 4 35 108 50 175 91 263 38 16 6 93 47 121 70 203 28 3 16 100 48 159 89 230 29 3 12 98 61

CG 24 18 14 15

Sioux City’s Mario Picone was ¡5–7 with a 2.80 ERA and allowed ¡¡.0 BR/9. Lou Ciola, the league’s best fireman was an Elroy Face-like ¡5–¡(.938). He

SH 2 6 3 1

W L 18 9 20 6 13 8 15 12

% .667 .769 .619 .556

IP 248 227 173 217

H 215 210 173 178

SB 5 1 11 34 7 4 9 1

BA .315 .278 .309 .249 .307 .303 .281 .316

ER SO BB 93 233 103 82 95 64 72 140 69 89 149 172

SLG OB% .540 .400 .320 .403 .444 .367 .327 .318 .532 .383 .455 .358 .472 .354 .457 .398

ERA 3.38 3.25 3.75 3.69

BR/9 11.6 10.9 12.7 14.9

pitched in 65 games and had an ERA of 3.45, allowing ¡2.0 BR/9.

Western international League (A) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Richard Adams Hugh Luby Dario Lodigiani Jim Clark (Petrosky) Cecil Garriott Edward Murphy Melvin Wasley John Ritchey No selection made

Team Wenatchee Salem Yakima Victoria Victoria Spokane Spokane Vancouver

SP Robert Greenwood Tri-City SP Ben Lorino Victoria

G 30 42

G 135 137 123 130 146 153 154 137

GS — —

AB 491 502 396 483 490 590 561 443

H R TB 139 63 177 159 78 208 126 54 152 134 63 161 141 111 226 165 108 209 187 108 234 152 96 198

CG 23 24

SH 3 6

Adams, Luby, Lodigiani, and Garriott were playing managers. This was not a vintage year for W-Int first basemen. Still, I would have gone with Victor “Riccola” Buccola of Tri-City. He only hit .274, but his ¡¡4 walks gave him an OB% of .4¡¡. He scored 9¡ runs and stole an un-first baseman like 29 bases. At third, Lodigiani was out-played by Conrado Perez, who split his season between Lewiston and Salem. Perez hit .302 and slugged .447, scoring ¡05 runs and stealing 22 bases. Milt Smith, Lewiston shortstop completely dominated the batting stats in comparison with Clark. Milt had averages of .3¡8/ .49¡/.448, scored a league-topping ¡26 runs, and stole 42 bases to boot. In the field, however, Smith does not fare quite so well. He did have 5.¡ chances a game to Clark’s 4.5, but he fielded a very poor .906 to Clark’s .95¡. I guess your decision as to which one you think is more deserving of an All Star spot rests upon whether you value Smith’s o›ense over Clarke’s defense.

2B 25 27 19 18 34 21 28 24

3B 2 5 5 3 0 4 5 8

HR RBI BB 3 60 65 4 54 75 7 66 70 1 50 62 17 112 160 5 63 93 3 106 89 2 76 144

W L % IP H ER 16 10 .615 220 148 60 24 7 .774 280 280 105

SB 6 12 6 3 23 46 16 27

SO 164 168

BA .283 .317 .318 .277 .288 .280 .333 .343

SLG .360 .414 .384 .333 .461 .354 .417 .447

OB% .367 .412 .428 .362 .466 .382 .429 .504

BB 153 125

ERA 2.45 3.38

BR/9 12.4 13.2

The W-Int in ’52 definitely needs two catching slots. There is no way you can leave Ritchey o› of the team (how often do you get a .343 hitting catcher, especially one with an impressive .504 OB%?). However, the Western International batting title was won by a catcher who hit .352, the bespectacled Walt Pocekay of Wenatchee. No, his .408 OB% did not come close to matching Ritchey’s, but he did manage to out-slug him with a .488 mark. He hit 45 doubles and had 80 RBIs. A backstop tandem would be eminently equitable here. The non-chosen utility man is Donald Pries of the Victoria Tyees. He played first, second, and third and hit .307. He also added 8¡ walks, 84 runs, and 78 RBIs. An incredible 2¡ pitchers walked over ¡00 men in the league in ’52. Five walked at least ¡50. So, one would be safe in assuming that there will be no eyepopping BR/9 numbers here. Still, Jehosie Heard managed a not-to-bad ¡¡.6 BR/9 ratio while winning 20 games (he lost ¡2). The Victoria stalwart was

¡952

349

The League’s best reliever was Robert “Robby” Roberts of Spokane. He was in 50 games (one start) and was ¡¡–6 with a 3.03 ERA.

fourth in ERA with a 2.94 mark and topped the league with 2¡6 strike-outs. Another 20 game winning pitcher with an ¡¡.6 BR/9 figure was Lewiston Bronc manager (and former catcher) Bill Brenner. He was 2¡–¡¡ with a 2.98 ERA.

Big State League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Leslie Goldstein Frank Murray James Kirby Bob Mainzer “Buck” Frierson Dean Sta›ord Roy “Tex” Sanner Tom Jordan No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Billy Joe Waters Gale Pringle Dale Myrland Leon Taylor

Team Temple Wichita Falls Paris Wichita Falls Paris Paris/Tyler Texarkana Austin

Paris Tyler Temple Waco

G 41 42 45 40

G 124 147 99 142 147 147 141 145

GS — — — —

AB 496 647 440 564 561 567 573 584

CG 24 22 5 14

H 163 205 139 184 222 194 211 202

R 78 122 86 87 115 120 128 105

SH — — — —

W 24 20 16 10

Jordan was a playing manager. Wichita Falls Spudder first baseman Hal Pfei›er only hit .279, but his SA and OB% (.486/.390) were almost exactly the same as Goldstein’s. The di›erence between the two is the fact that Pfei›er hit 23 homers, drove in ¡¡8 runs and scored ¡07 times. His productivity makes him my choice. At second, Hal Haddican (Texarkana) had almost the same averages as the selectee. The di›erence is that, while Haddican only drove in 53 runs, he scored ¡52 runs in his ¡45 games. This one seems a wash to me. The third base situation seems to be a bit clearer. Alois “The Mad” Turk of Temple had averages of .3¡0, .442 (about ¡0% lower than Kirby), and .426 (about 20% higher). Turk scored more runs (¡06) but drove in fewer (70). Thus far, it seems as if the two are at the “six of one, half-dozen of another” stage of comparison. However, when fielding is taken into account, “The Mad” Turk emerges as the clear victor. He handled an excellent 4.3 chances per game and fielded .964% of them cleanly. Kirby “handled” a pillar-like 2.7 chances/game and fielded only .904% of that scanty few without mishap. Game-set-match, Turk. At short, I was wondering why Everett Hall of Temple was overlooked. He was a superior hitter and had significantly more power (.356 BA/.52¡ SA) than did Mainzer. He scored ¡23 runs in virtually the same number of ABs, yet was deemed of not su‡cient quality to represent the Big State League for posterity. Being a both a true fan and a practicing amateur

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 239 38 1 12 97 58 283 48 9 4 100 70 214 24 9 11 80 25 257 34 6 9 105 62 350 52 2 24 140 63 363 20 4 47 141 94 388 42 0 45 165 75 318 36 4 24 135 30

L 8 10 9 18

% .750 .667 .640 .357

IP 279 273 188 221

H 285 251 242 289

ER 128 89 133 137

SB 9 23 17 5 4 8 0 4

SO 129 164 117 154

BA SLG .329 .482 .317 .437 .316 .486 .326 .456 .396 .624 .342 .640 .368 .677 .346 .545

BB 104 81 116 117

ERA 4.13 2.93 6.37 5.58

OB% .400 .388 .354 .398 .458 .437 .447 .380

BR/9 12.6 11.0 17.3 17.0

historian, I had no choice but to investigate further. The search revealed Hall to be as poor at fielding as he was good at hitting. His FA was a bad .9¡2, and he had by far the worst range of any shortstop in the league — indeed, almost of any in pro-ball. Advantage, Mainzer. No selection was made for the utility position(s). Nonetheless, three Big Staters would have qualified to fill the spot, had it needed said filling. Billy Queen of Wichita Falls had fine .332/.589/.422 averages while playing third and the outfield for the Spudders. He hit 36 home runs, and, in his ¡46 games, batted in ¡45 runs and scored ¡57 times. Maurice Santomauro of Texarkana was also a third baseman/ outfielder. He hit .305 and slugged .5¡¡ and hit 27 homers while driving in ¡43 runs. Finally, Bob Moyer of Temple hit .32¡ and slugged .6¡2 while scoring ¡29 runs and driving in ¡46 in his ¡32 games. He also slammed 39 homers. He played first and the outfield. I applaud the choice of Taylor for the sta›, despite his 5.58 ERA and allowing ¡7.0 BR/9. He won 34% of Waco’s games (Waco was 29–¡¡8, .¡97 on the year, finishing 56 games out of first and 42 out of seventh). How bad was Waco? Well, the rest of the league hit .288, Waco hit .255. Waco fielders made 354 errors. Waco hitters walked 3.6 times a game and struck out 6.3 times a game. In short, Waco stunk. So, I say, let Taylor have his moment in the sun. No such mitigating arguments can be presented for Myrland. Su‡ce it to say that, had he not been pitching for a team which hit .305 and scored 6.9 runs a game, he would not have been ¡6–9. At least

350

Minor League All-Star Teams

a dozen other pitchers had better seasons. The top four of those are John “Red” Mur› (Tyler), “Long” John Andre (Austin), Alfred LaMacchia (Wichita Falls and Austin), and Jodie Phipps (Texarkana). Mur› went 23–¡3 with a 3.06 ERA and allowed ¡¡.7 BR/9. Andre hurled 29 complete games and finished at 25–¡4, 3.66. LaMacchia went 2¡–¡0 with a 3.66

ERA and an ¡¡/¡ BR/9 ratio, second best in the league. Phipps was ¡8–9, 3.45 with a ¡¡.3 BR/9 figure, third best. The league even had a worthy relief pitcher, Jack Bumgarner of Texarkana. He pitched ¡48 innings in his 48 games, went ¡¡–4, and had a fine 3.00 ERA (second in the league).

Carolina League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

Name Paul Owens Lawrence “Crash” Davis Arthur “Bucky” Jacobs Jimmy Edwards Charles King Emil Karlik Joseph Pancoe Ralph Caldwell Walter “Teapot” Frye Bob Riga

SP SP SP SP SP SP

Len Matarazzo Lee Peterson Michael Forline Al Cleary Eddie Neville Luke Dawson

Team Winston-Salem Raleigh Raleigh Fayetteville Durham Durham Reidsville Durham Reidsville Greensboro

Fayetteville Winston-Salem Reidsville Raleigh Durham Durham

G 39 30 37 23 30 30

G 136 116 136 132 135 128 136 130 127 85

GS — — — — — —

AB 535 416 528 534 590 464 510 477 487 311 CG 22 19 21 6 17 11

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 181 98 262 34 7 11 105 65 96 55 122 15 4 1 41 47 143 71 178 32 0 1 57 70 157 77 202 20 2 7 53 57 186 103 249 24 9 7 58 45 161 106 255 35 4 17 93 97 155 99 262 44 3 19 85 78 121 57 156 30 1 1 59 41 118 63 135 15 1 0 55 54 100 62 144 18 1 8 56 61 SH 9 2 5 2 4 1

Of the two utility men selected, one was and one wasn’t. “Teapot” Frye was a stone shortstop, period. Riga played second, third, and outfield. For the second utility man, Danville’s Luis Morales was the premier candidate. He played short, second and outfield and hit .287, as well as having one of the league’s better OB%-ages at .39¡. He led the league in runs with ¡¡0 and steals with 40. All of the selected pitchers had fine years, and some had outstanding years. However, I think that the league’s best chucker was a young man with a losing record for a last-place team which finished 37 games under .500. The pitcher in question is Ron Necciai, who got into ¡8 games and went 7–9. He allowed but 73 hits in his ¡26 innings of work (5.2/9) and had a ¡.57 ERA. He struck out ¡72 in those ¡26 innings, ¡2.3/9 IP. “Rocket Ron” started the ’52 campaign with Bristol of the Appalachian League, where he pitched 43 innings in six games. In his first 3¡ innings, he struck out 77 hitters. That is a phenomenal 22.4 every nine innings. He allowed 2 infield hits (0.6

W L % IP H 22 8 .733 252 200 19 6 .760 213 163 18 11 .621 246 235 10 5 .667 132 111 17 9 .654 215 186 13 4 .765 168 157

SB 15 1 7 22 33 31 19 5 1 12

BA .338 .231 .271 .294 .315 .347 .304 .254 .242 .322

ER SO BB 62 119 67 46 111 51 79 130 90 37 82 86 41 95 61 79 91 122

SLG OB% .490 .411 .293 .312 .337 .358 .378 .363 .422 .367 .550 .464 .514 .398 .327 .317 .277 .319 .463 .433 ERA 2.21 1.94 2.89 2.52 1.72 4.23

BR/9 9.8 9.0 12.0 13.5 10.5 15.5

H/9) and walked ¡2 for a BR/9 ratio of 4.¡ (!). In his second game, he struck out ¡9 batters. In his next game, he was called in relief in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and struck out eleven batters in a row, a feat he later duplicated, thus twice breaking the minor league record of ten consecutive strikeouts. On May ¡3th, he struck out 27 hitters in a nine inning no-hitter. By the time he was called up to Burlington, he had struck out ¡09 batters in 43 innings, an amazing 22.8 for every nine innings. He allowed ¡0 hits, 2.¡/9 IP, and only 3.6 BR/9! On the year, between Bristol and Burlington, he had 28¡ strike-outs in ¡69 innings, ¡5 every 9 IP. He allowed 83 hits, 4.4 every nine innings. His BR/9 ratio was an incredible 5.¡. All in all, a most amazing year. Another overlooked pitcher (although it would be very easy to be overlooked in the penumbra that was “Rocket Ron”) was Bernie Rossman of Raleigh. Although this seems anti-climatic, he was ¡8–¡0 with a 2.36 ERA and allowed ¡0.4 BR/9.

Gulf Coast League (B) Second would have been a duo-star position for me. Ron Gi›ord of Corpus Christi (.304/.439/.4¡2) had fewer RBIs but a lot more walks and 35 more runs. He also handled a very good 6.¡ chances a game

to Baron’s not-so-bad 5.6. I would give the shortstop spot to Galveston White Cap Charles Schmidt. He had .333/.5¡9/.452 averages, hit ¡9 home runs, and scored ¡¡4 runs.

¡952 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Bill Radulovich Septine “Bayou” Baron Jorge Lopez William McCloskey Walt Sessi Hardie Nettles Warren Schroeder William Bareford No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Earl Caldwell Ray Contreras Albert Point Danny Parra

G 145 121 147 139 153 153 150 149

Port Arthur Port Arthur Laredo Laredo Brownsville Lake Charles Texas City Port Arthur

Harlingen Galveston Corpus Christi Laredo-C. Christi

G 50 40 27 27

AB 545 450 567 530 552 597 579 486

GS — — — —

H 212 131 182 180 207 192 195 147

CG 14 20 9 12

R 98 84 110 87 148 137 104 74

SH 3 1 3 0

Lake Charles catcher/manager Joe Kracher hit .350, slugged .546, and had an OB% of .442, all quite superior to Bareford. In ¡46 fewer plate appearances, “Jug” had only six fewer RBIs and scored only nine fewer runs. Bareford was without doubt the Gulf Coast’s second best catcher. Once again, no utility choice was made, and once again, a player arose to claim the non-existent spot. In this case, it was Kane “Mule” Skinner, who played for Texas City and Galveston (and also managed at

351 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 334 54 1 22 131 80 212 25 4 16 94 41 330 41 4 33 118 73 260 27 7 13 94 54 380 34 2 45 179 128 361 42 11 35 113 46 307 47 13 13 99 66 230 31 11 10 66 84

SB 0 12 5 3 2 4 3 9

W L % IP H ER SO 20 11 .645 204 185 62 118 22 10 .688 263 258 103 140 11 6 .647 143 135 57 93 14 5 .737 169 217 88 49

BA .389 .291 .321 .340 .375 .322 .337 .302

SLG OB% .613 .473 .471 .354 .582 .399 .491 .404 .688 .500 .605 .373 .530 .407 .473 .407

BB 75 89 57 49

ERA 2.74 3.52 3.59 4.69

BR/9 11.7 12.1 12.1 14.4

the latter). He played first, third, and second, hit .299, scored 94 runs and drove in 85. Earl Caldwell was 47 years old. Another over-40 hurler, Vallie Eaves (4¡) of Port Arthur, had a better year than, at least, Parra, going ¡3–6 with a 3.52 ERA and allowing ¡3.4 BR/9. His Seahawk mound-mate, Bartolo DiMaggio, was ¡7–7, 3.63, and allowed ¡2.5 BR/9. The league had a legitimate reliever in Les Kash, also of Port Arthur. He was in 52 games and pitched ¡34 innings. He went ¡3–6 with a very fine 2.08 ERA.

Interstate League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Clarence Riddle Elbert Israel Joe Tedesco Clarence Moore Joe Christian Elmer Westfall Juan Senties Jack Tanner No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Robert Giggie Eugene Swinger Robert Hoch Harry Wilson

Hagerstown Harrisburg Lancaster Lancaster Hagerstown Salisbury York Salisbury

Hagerstown Allentown Allentown York

G 26 36 22 32

G 108 135 127 140 130 87 128 121

GS 24 20 20 28

AB 433 512 460 576 496 290 512 391

H 124 163 136 166 150 90 150 114

CG 19 11 17 21

R 82 88 79 95 85 56 89 59

SH 4 1 6 5

Louis “Hey Man” Heyman of Wilmington would have been my choice at first. He hit .275 and had an OB% of .382, neither very special, but he slugged .58¡ on the strength of a league-best 30 homers. He scored 83 runs and had 85 RBIs. Israel was a shortstop/second baseman, the league’s best multi-position player. The best true second baseman was Kent Pflasterer of the Rd Roses of Lancaster. He hit .293 with 60 runs and 70 RBIs. I believe that I would have chosen Robert Jaderlund over Senties for an outfield spot. Jaderlund hit

TB 196 216 207 193 214 151 203 222

W 18 15 15 18

2B 26 22 20 15 27 18 25 21

L 7 7 3 8

3B 2 5 12 6 14 12 14 0

% .720 .682 .833 .692

HR RBI 14 93 7 52 9 63 0 45 3 84 13 61 0 47 29 89

IP 214 196 162 220

H 171 162 144 176

BB 55 48 46 53 82 61 50 50

SB 1 27 22 50 14 11 8 1

BA .286 .318 .296 .288 .302 .310 .293 .292

SLG .453 .422 .450 .335 .431 .521 .396 .568

OB% .371 .383 .367 .353 .404 .435 .357 .376

ER 67 60 32 50

SO 77 161 108 156

BB 79 80 40 42

ERA 2.82 2.76 1.78 2.05

BR/9 10.7 11.3 10.3 9.0

but .266, but his SA was equal to Senties’s at .392. However, it is in the OB% that Jaderlund shines. Thanks to a league-best ¡4¡ walks, he had a .430 OB%, best among qualifiers, and scored ¡¡3 runs, tops in the league by ¡8. He also led in put-outs with 358. The pitching choices were excellent. I would, however, have added Maynard Snyder of Harrisburg, who was ¡¡–¡¡ for a team which finished 48 games under .500. His ERA was 2.79 and his BR/9 ratio was ¡0.7.

352

Minor League All-Star Teams

Piedmont League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name William Gabler Garvin Hamner Leon Carter John Hunton Dick Tettelbach Crawford Davidson Ken Guettler Isaac Seaone No selection made

SP SP SP

Charles LeBrun John Kucks Dewey Wilkins

G 112 117 133 127 133 119 124 135

Newport News Richmond Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Lynchburg Portsmouth Portsmouth

Norfolk Norfolk Richmond

G 36 29 31

GS 25 25 30

AB 425 424 524 501 499 411 428 478

H 126 92 168 141 158 109 143 135

R 70 48 102 104 105 77 100 64

CG 21 16 25

SH 3 4 6

W 23 19 18

Despite a .398 SA, I would still have gone for Norfolk Tar first baseman Walter “Don’t Call Me Lantz” Lance. He hit .28¡, but thanks to ¡06 walks, had an OB% of .409. He also scored 9¡ runs and was second in RBIs with ¡0¡. No matter how good a fielder he was, Granny’s older brother was, to me, just too weak a hitter to make an All-Star team. .2¡7/.264 is Mendoza territory, and, as his slightly-slightly-better-than-a-Metslead-o›-hitter .32¡ OB% shows, he did not compen-

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 201 24 6 13 72 50 112 8 3 2 32 64 235 34 6 7 87 65 168 17 5 0 41 92 217 25 8 6 85 110 190 23 2 18 81 94 251 14 5 28 104 112 180 19 7 4 81 66

L 4 6 10

% .852 .760 .643

IP 236 215 252

H 181 175 229

ER 49 61 71

SB 5 8 7 23 30 2 3 1

SO 112 118 169

BA .296 .217 .321 .281 .317 .265 .334 .282

BB 111 82 75

SLG OB% .473 .372 .264 .321 .448 .404 .335 .397 .435 .440 .462 .407 .586 .472 .377 .376

ERA 1.87 2.55 2.54

BR/9 11.2 10.9 11.1

sate with a good batting eye. I’d go with Portsmouth’s Robert Lyons. He had .307/.404/.422 averages and scored 83 runs. I also would have had a four-man outfield, adding Norfolk’s William Casanova. He had .294/.399/.4¡5 averages and scored ¡08 runs. James Barnhardt (Portsmouth) would also have been a fourth selection, this time at pitcher. He went ¡5–8 with an ERA of 2.¡9, and allowed ¡¡.¡ BR/9.

Three-I League (B) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Marv Throneberry Gerald Claycomb Chuck Harmon Felix Mantilla Art “Superman” Pennington Robert Erps Horace Garner “Dutch” Dotterer No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Dan Ramer George Yorke Herbert Agase Leo “Bud” Daley

Team Quincy Terre Haute Burlington Evansville Keokuk Waterloo Evansville Burlington

Terre Haute Evansville Terre Haute Cedar Rapids

G 23 29 28 40

G 84 123 127 119 116 104 112 110

GS

AB 315 474 479 464 427 379 381 391

CG 13 17 17 10

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 87 58 152 15 1 16 69 58 131 91 186 16 9 7 51 49 153 97 214 34 6 5 71 66 150 99 218 23 6 11 57 82 149 126 246 17 10 20 89 100 110 79 206 13 1 27 90 74 121 89 219 9 10 23 107 111 85 39 119 16 3 4 54 47

SH 0 3 2 2

Just about the best possible III team. I would just add a catcher to the line-up, Thomas Willis of Evansville. He was almost the same hitter Dotterer was, except that his average was a bit higher (.256/.308/ .30¡). He scored 4¡ times and drove in 55 runs. Not a vintage year for Three-I backstops, Dotterer was the only one of the 25 catchers in the league who caught at least ten games to make the majors.

W 13 17 16 14

L 4 7 7 9

% .765 .708 .696 .609

IP 155 215 198 227

H 131 216 162 198

SB 6 20 43 28 24 1 12 2

BA .276 .276 .319 .323 .349 .290 .318 .217

ER SO BB 49 59 63 71 85 73 75 146 104 78 198 125

SLG OB% .483 .394 .392 .345 .447 .404 .470 .438 .576 .477 .544 .411 .575 .478 .304 .305

ERA 2.85 2.97 3.41 3.09

BR/9 11.3 12.3 12.5 13.1

The sta› was alright also, but so many league pitchers had just about the same year that I would add two. Gerald Speck of the Waterloo White Hawks was ¡6–9, 2.44, ¡¡.6, and Ed James of the Burlington Flints was ¡4–¡0, 2.60, ¡0.3.

California League (C) Clements and Le Blanc were playing managers. Peeples and Gulley had fine years, so dropping

them doesn’t seem as if it would be the most equitable solution presented by the presence of two other wor-

¡952 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jose Perez Carl “Buddy” Jones Harry Clements Alan Grandcolas Ben Downs Nate Peeples Napoleon Gulley Roland Le Blanc No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Larry Jackson Robert Crane Jake Abbott Tony Stathos

Team Ventura Visalia Stockton Fresno Fresno Santa Barbara Visalia Fresno

G 97 138 128 140 140 108 103 124

G 43 38 39 45

GS 36 29 33 26

Fresno Visalia Santa Barbara Fresno

AB 376 572 484 550 540 373 393 443

353

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 125 72 152 20 2 1 51 50 176 115 197 13 4 0 62 93 145 60 171 15 4 1 62 46 191 105 278 29 5 16 106 84 182 121 328 32 6 34 154 105 122 82 187 15 4 14 72 92 131 74 210 43 6 8 82 48 133 87 213 28 5 14 99 51

CG 24 20 25 20

SH 3 4 4 2

thy outfielders. So, I will lay out their seasons and the reader can decide whether to add them and/or drop anyone. Jim McDaniel, who was featured on the ¡959 Topps “Future Stars” subset of that year’s cards but who never played a game in the majors, hit .293 for Visalia with a .5¡9 SA, 23 homers and ¡34 RBIs. Harry Warner, who split his season between Modesto and Visalia, hit .302, slugged .529, had a .437 OB% (he walked ¡¡3 times) and had 26 homers, scored ¡09 runs and drove in ¡¡8. Like I said, it’s your call.

W L % IP 28 4 .875 300 19 15 .559 259 23 9 .719 275 25 7 .781 269

H 250 248 200 230

ER 95 98 67 96

SB 9 14 1 8 7 53 7 21

SO 351 162 233 224

BA .332 .308 .300 .347 .337 .327 .333 .300

SLG OB% .404 .414 .344 .412 .353 .365 .505 .436 .607 .453 .501 .466 .534 .406 .481 .376

BB 144 109 169 171

ERA 2.85 3.41 2.19 3.21

BR/9 12.1 12.6 12.1 13.

No utility man selected? No problem, here’s Bakersfield manager Gene Lillard. He played second, third, outfield and even pitched in ¡3 games. He hit .292 with ¡4 homers, 67 runs, and 69 RBIs. He also walked 93 times, resulting in a .439 OB%. 44 year-old Tony Frietas, Stockton manager (he took over for Clements June ninth) was ¡8–¡3 for the 22-games-under-.500 Ports. He had a 2.92 ERA and a league-best ¡0.3 BR/9 ratio.

Evangeline League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

Name Conklyn Meriwether Fred Barocco Fred DeSousa John Millard Art Edinger Robert Troyer James Moore Robert Thompson George John Alvin Lichtenstein Anthony Helbig

SP SP SP SP SP

Marvin Holleman William Sterling Hugh Blanton John Richard Leverette Spencer

Team Crowley Lafayette Lafayette New Iberia Crowley New Iberia Crowley New Iberia Lafayette Lafayette Abbeville

Abbeville Crowley Crowley Lafayette New Iberia

G 118 111 140 140 140 126 125 131 126 95 136

G 28 38 42 31 37

AB 412 396 537 558 572 522 514 497 459 372 556

GS — — — — —

H 138 130 154 172 188 153 163 132 126 88 143

CG 20 24 16 15 22

R 97 103 122 109 141 110 113 57 52 59 105 SH 5 0 2 0 3

John was a playing manager. Alexandria Aces outfielder Bill Lynn led the league with a.385 mark and slugged .556. He had 52 doubles, scored ¡05 runs and drove in ¡02. I would feel comfortable taking him over Troyer. The league selected two catchers and left o› one who hit ¡6 homers and drove in ¡04 runs. I am talking, of course, of John Escarra of Lafayette. He hit .3¡2 and slugged .466, both far superior to the select duo, and scored 78 times.

TB 262 190 268 276 307 230 260 163 167 104 203 W 16 19 15 14 17

2B 25 30 25 39 37 35 30 19 23 13 25 L 6 12 18 10 12

3B 0 6 10 6 5 6 5 0 3 0 10

% .727 .613 .455 .583 .586

HR 33 6 23 17 24 10 19 4 3 1 5 IP 205 258 236 194 272

RBI BB 123 85 78 130 130 113 125 88 105 83 76 67 128 47 65 65 75 48 44 65 51 89

SB 3 9 14 23 26 10 17 1 1 1 13

BA .335 .328 .287 .308 .329 .293 .317 .266 .275 .237 .257

SLG .636 .480 .499 .495 .537 .441 .506 .328 .364 .280 .365

OB% .452 .495 .413 .403 .423 .385 .379 .352 .355 .356 .363

H ER SO BB 138 56 157 65 268 89 164 103 221 103 147 144 197 76 95 66 217 101 248 107

ERA 2.46 3.10 3.93 3.53 3.34

BR/9 9.0 13.2 14.3 12.3 10.9

Alvin “The Grand Duchy Of ” Lichtenstein played short and outfield, Helbig, second and outfield. The real utility star of the Evangeline in ’52 was John Karpinski of Houma. He hit .297 with a .503 SA, powered 25 homers, scored 96 runs and had ¡¡¡ RBIs. He played first and the outfield. And, oh yes, he also pitched and went ¡5–9. Jack Cardey of New Iberia was three innings short of qualifying for the league lead in ERA with a 2.23 mark. (To lose the title, he would have had to give up

354

Minor League All-Star Teams

at least four runs over those three innings.) He went ¡3–3 and allowed ¡0.2 BR/9. He also hit .333, had a slugging average of .527, and drove in 22 runs.

(Fladgit Zunk, I’d like you to meet my Evangeline friends: Denford Creel, Wadere Shabid, Edsell Privette, Haig Lavery, Milan Brdar, and Guss Hrncir.)

Longhorn League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Joe Bauman John Tayoan P. Witremundo Quintana Hayden “Stubby” Greer Roman Loyko Leo Eastham Charles “Chuck” Buck Rudy Briner No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Keith Nicolls Gilberto Guerra Evelio Ortega Lloyd Wallis

Team Artesia San Angelo Big Spring Roswell Odessa Odessa Sweetwater Artesia

Midland Big Spring Odessa Vernon

G 38 42 39 38

G 139 133 134 130 135 138 136 138

GS — — — —

AB 469 554 552 534 534 487 550 544

CG 26 28 25 10

H 176 202 178 192 184 165 210 197

SH

Bauman: .740 SA, .53¡ OB%. Brobdingnagian. The squad (minus pitchers) had .356/.578/.445 averages. Tayoan split his games between second and third and could have served as the Longhorns’ handyman. In his stead at second, I’d have Charles Weber of Odessa. He hit a meek (for the league) .30¡, but he did score 88 runs and drive in ¡¡6, not bad for a second baseman. As much as I enjoyed compiling the career stats of Patricio Witremundo Quintana (who went to spring training one year for the Browns and was a late cut), I’m afraid that I would replace him with Robert Martin of Odessa. Martin had averages of .320/.504/.439, scored ¡¡4 runs and drove in ¡¡0, but it was fielding which decided this contest in Martin’s favor. You see, Patricio Witremundo fielded .889 and only got to 3.0 chances a game. Martin’s .9¡9 was not much better, but his 4.0 chances/game was huge. Note that Charles “Five Point” Buck did not lead the league in three-baggers despite thumping twenty thrilling triples. This was one of the rare times this has happened since World War II. Still, Charles “Pass The” Buck’s progeny should be proud that their dad/ grandpa/great grandpa reached the mythic “TwoOh.” Not many players did. As with many of the Class B and below leagues of the Southwest, pitching was not a Longhorn strong-

R 144 95 125 89 143 157 119 111

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 347 21 0 50 157 148 267 35 3 8 81 31 294 32 6 24 112 51 347 44 8 15 117 45 313 39 24 14 114 101 272 35 6 20 122 137 295 30 20 5 87 72 307 57 1 17 82 44

W 24 26 23 4

L 8 11 10 22

% .750 .703 .697 .154

IP 276 292 271 189

H 268 274 264 191

ER 91 109 115 98

SB 2 3 32 2 8 39 19 4

SO 220 225 144 159

BA .375 .365 .322 .360 .345 .339 .382 .362

BB 79 107 102 149

SLG OB% .740 .531 .482 .401 .533 .388 .650 .412 .586 .454 .559 .486 .536 .459 .564 .419

ERA 2.97 3.36 3.82 4.67

BR/9 11.5 11.9 12.5 16.4

point. Thus, it is, as ever, a mystery as to why the best chucker in the whole danged league was relegated to oblivion when it came time to pass out the end-of-season laurel leaves. The cool-beans named Israel Ten of Midland was 2¡–9, tied for the BR/9 lead with an ¡¡.5 figure, and walked away with the ERA crown with a 2.5¡ mark. You may be wondering how a 4–22, 4.67, ¡6.4 pitcher merited All-Star status. Well, join the club. Sure, the Dusters were a bad team (50 games under .500 qualifies as bad to me), but if you were heckbent on honoring a Vernon Pitcher who labored under conditions obviously unconducive to winning, I would have picked Jesus Sosa. He was a vastly better ¡2–¡6, had a 4.28 ERA, and allowed almost three runners fewer (¡3.8) every nine innings. As an aside, it may of interest for you to learn that Roswell Rockets pitcher Audie Malone pitched ambidextrously in a league game against Artesia, specifically against big Joe Bauman. He struck him out in the first, but gave up a single to him later before being knocked out of the box in the fourth. And a coincidence of incalculable magnitude: if you own a ¡953 Guide, check out page 33¡ carefully. If you are at all like me, what you find will (figuratively) knock your socks o›. If you haven’t got said guide or cannot gain access to one, drop me a line and I will fill you in.

Northern League (C) The Canaries’ Lloyd just didn’t have enough bat to beat Duluth’s Richard Newberry in my mind. Newberry hit .307, slugged .424, and had an OB% of .4¡0. Nothing very exciting, but all much better than

Lloyd. Oh, and Newberry stole 36 bases and scored ¡0¡ runs. At the hot corner, Bustamentes “fielded” a Butch Hobson-like .889, so I was forced to consider other

¡952 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Dan Phalen Dick “W” Lloyd Jose Bustamentes Henry “Hank” Aaron Joe Ca‡e Frank Gravino Wes Covington Don Biebel No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Don Elston Alfredo Ibanez Rueben Stohs William Conroy

Team Superior Sioux Falls Superior Eau Claire Duluth Fargo-Moorhead Eau Claire Sioux Falls

G 123 96 121 87 120 94 108 93

G 27 26 26 33

GS — — — —

Sioux Falls Superior Fargo-Moorhead Eau Claire

AB 464 379 441 345 500 370 400 312

355

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 144 88 243 35 2 20 92 60 97 73 132 16 5 3 53 53 138 94 199 25 2 7 47 87 116 79 170 19 4 9 61 33 171 105 271 34 18 10 98 42 115 72 238 17 5 32 108 43 132 86 240 18 9 24 99 58 80 51 111 9 5 4 36 52

CG 21 20 17 18

SH 3 0 4 1

W 18 18 12 16

L 6 4 9 9

% .750 .818 .571 .640

IP 199 199 182 208

H 129 170 157 182

ER 41 50 65 75

SB 9 11 32 25 25 5 16 9

BA .310 .256 .313 .336 .342 .311 .330 .256

SO BB 177 63 141 84 120 70 130 111

SLG OB% .524 .402 .348 .352 .451 .430 .493 .401 .542 .397 .643 .388 .600 .426 .356 .364

ERA 1.85 2.26 3.21 3.25

BR/9 9.0 11.6 11.4 13.4

There were two good candidates for the non-selected utility man. Eau Claire’s William Bowers hit .3¡2 and led the league by a wide margin with his .487 OB% (he tied for the lead in walks with ¡05 despite playing in only ¡05 games) and scored 82 runs. He played outfield and caught. The candidate I favor is Fargo-Moorhead manager Daniel “Ducky” Litwhiler, who played third and the outfield. He hit .3¡2, had a fine .452 OB%, and slugged a very good .608, hitting ¡9 homers in his 78 games. He scored 63 times and drove in 62 runs. There was a fairly good reliever in the league in ’52, Ray Baer of Superior. He pitched 90 innings in 30 games and was 6–6 with a 2.60 ERA.

players, despite Jose’s hitting. Earl Birnel of Sioux Falls seemed the most likely candidate. He hit .308 and had a .426 OB%, scoring 82 runs. But if you want Bustamentes’ bat, I would not argue with you, as Birnel fielded a poor .9¡9 himself. Luis Garcia, Aberdeen, led in FA, put-outs and assists. He hit .288 and knocked ¡5 homers, drove in 97 runs, and scored ¡0¡ times. Either one of the three you choose is alright with me. I just wanted to let you know what was out there. Alberto Mieres, Aberdeen Pheasant backstop, seems a better choice than Biebel to me, his .3¡6/ .439/.4¡5 all being much better than those posted by the honoree. Mieres also drove home 65 runs.

Pioneer League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Svend “Red” Jessen Gordon Hernandez Steve Mesner Ernesto Sierra Dick Stuart Willie Tasby Dick Smith Cli› Dapper No selection made

SP SP

Ken Kimball Nicolas Genesta

Team Idaho Falls Salt Lake City Ogden Pocatello Billings Pocatello Great Falls Billings

Idaho Falls Billings

G 34 46

G 131 127 132 126 129 131 125 130

AB 506 491 469 469 515 509 459 440

GS 33 5

CG 31 3

H 151 155 161 122 161 144 142 153

SH 0 0

Jessen and Dapper were playing managers. There was no power-hitting first baseman in the Pioneer League this year, so the spot went to Jessen by default, de fault being that he managed the team which won the championship playo›s. Nevertheless, for completeness’s sake Maurice Peatros of Magic Valley must be mentioned. He hit .288, scored 86 runs and drove in 75. His ¡30 walks led to a .445 OB%. An aside about Mesner’s season: I wonder if any

R 95 85 100 94 115 101 87 102

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 222 29 3 12 71 99 209 32 8 2 73 73 187 26 0 0 81 138 149 15 6 0 54 106 292 30 4 31 121 72 258 30 9 22 115 101 232 25 19 9 79 85 255 35 1 19 92 107

W 26 14

L 8 3

% .765 .824

IP 291 137

H 242 103

ER 87 24

SB 8 26 3 10 4 23 27 8

SO 203 115

BA .298 .316 .343 .260 .313 .283 .309 .348

SLG OB% .439 .420 .426 .408 .399 .494 .318 .400 .567 .401 .507 .402 .505 .419 .580 .487

BB 149 91

ERA 2.69 1.58

BR/9 12.4 12.9

other .340-hitter ever had a slugging percentage under .400? (Well, I looked it up: John McGraw had .342/.396 numbers in ¡898.) If the league had wanted two starting pitchers, the All-Star choice would have been William Russell Butler, ace of the Pocatello Bannocks. Butler went 2¡–6 with an ERA of 2.4¡ and a league-best ¡0.8 BR/9 ratio. And, unusual for a league in this era, there was a second pitcher who qualified for a reliever slot:

356

Minor League All-Star Teams (Another Pioneer League aside: 22 pitchers walked more than ¡00 batters, and a further 9 had at least 90.)

Hub Kittle, Salt Lake City manager. Kittle summoned himself in from the bullpen 36 times, was 6–6 and had an ERA of ¡.94.

Southwest International League (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Tom Alston Terrence Carroll John Malgarini Romualdo Urias Gabriel “Pete” Hughes Lester Witherspoon Segundo Crespo William DeCarlo No selection made

SP SP SP

Silverio Rodriguez Jose Rayle Forrest Orrell

Team Porterville Yuma El Centro/Port’v’le Tijuana Tijuana Porterville Tijuana Las Vegas

G 54 132 91 127 123 93 129 115

G 40 38 25

CG 15 17 21

Mexicali Tijuana Tijuana

GS 28 27 24

AB 224 556 367 577 377 369 573 476 SH 2 1 2

De Carlo was a playing manager. The Porterville team, which began the season as Riverside-Ensenada, dropped out of the league August ¡. By the way, the Riverside-Ensenada-Porterville franchise featured an all African American lineup. Due to the short time Alston spent in the league, I feel it incumbent upon myself to mention two other players who were in the SWINT for the entire season, Lou “Buzz” Bekeza, sparkplug skipper of the fightin’ Yuma Panthers, and Walter Clardy of Las Vegas. Bekeza had fine .33¡/.570/.440 averages, popped 24 homers, scored ¡2¡ runs and drove in ¡¡7. Clardy had essentially the same averages (.346/.550/.435), drove in ¡03 runs and scored ¡42 runs in his ¡4¡ games. Rodolfo Bernal of Las Vegas out-batted Urias in every category (.287/.347/.366), but, at .905, Urias was the only league shortstop to field over .900. Gale Taylor, Las Vegas outfielder, appears to have had a better season than did Crespo, even though Taylor’s averages are similar (.3¡¡/.454/.389). Tay-

H 79 174 122 149 138 134 182 156

R 54 121 82 113 123 105 115 68

TB 143 243 149 183 256 237 240 225

2B 18 34 14 21 22 27 23 22

3B HR RBI BB 5 12 69 30 7 7 95 64 2 3 49 78 2 3 60 35 6 28 131 180 14 16 95 60 13 3 63 55 10 9 113 37

W L % IP H ER 18 9 .667 228 223 113 15 15 .500 227 231 110 21 3 .875 206 183 46

SB 15 41 38 9 5 17 34 6

SO 209 185 160

BA .353 .313 .332 .258 .366 .363 .318 .328

BB 130 117 62

SLG OB% .638 .434 .437 .386 .406 .452 .317 .310 .679 .577 .642 .459 .419 .380 .473 .379 ERA 4.46 4.36 2.01

BR/9 14.2 14.1 10.9

lor, however, scored ¡36 runs and drove in ¡¡3, and also led the league with 388 POs. The utility player would have been Jose Herrera of Tijuana, who played first, second, third, and the outfield. Once again, please take special note of Pete Hughes’s season: Triple Crown, tops in SA and with a stratospheric .577 OB%. He scored a run a game, drove in more than a run a game, and walked about ¡∂ times a game. Surprise! The league’s best pitcher (by far) made the All-Star team! Let the trumpets sound, let the peasants dance, and let the sound of Blue Cheer’s version of Eddie Cochran’s Summertime Blues be heard throughout the land. As if to try and expiate that tiny miracle, the selectors left o› the league’s #2 pitcher, Cecilio Santana of Tijuana. Cecilio was ¡7–¡¡, but was third in both ERA (3.22) and BR/9 (¡¡.8). Amador Guzman let himself fly like an eagle for the Mexicali Eagles, going 22–¡2, 3.90, ¡3.6.

Western Association (C) Gilbert was a playing manager. If one really wanted Green on the squad, then he should have been the league’s utility man, as he played third and short. The best third baseman in the league was Pete Vitale of Joplin. He hit .29¡, slugged .428 and had a .365 OB%, and also scored 98 runs and led the league’s third basemen in FA. At short, Jerry Lumpe’s the man. Another Joplin lad, he

hit .293 and had an OB5 of .397. He also outscored Blanco with 90 runs and drove in more with 7¡. Yankee farmhand Willard “Not Whitey” Ford had league-best marks of 2.¡3 (ERA) and ¡0.5 (BR/9) for Joplin. He won ¡4 and lost 7. The league’s premier reliever was Steve “Da Butcher” Butchko of Hutchinson. He appeared in 37 games and went 6–5 with a 3.¡3 ERA.

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) There were beaucoup of outfielders that were overlooked for Eldridge who packed a lot more wal-

lop. Take Pat Lorenzo for example: Pat partook in but 85 games, but had 92 RBIs on the strength of a

¡952

357

Western Association (C) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Andy Gilbert Jack Varnado Arnold Green Ernesto Blanco Jack Lewis Norm Siebern George “Bobby” Prescott Johnny Blanchard No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Frank Lucas John Brown Edward Smrekar Gerald Schultz

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Mervin Connors Cli›ord Pemberton John Bruzga Clyde Perry James “Eldritch” Eldridge Francis Rice Don Stokes Lester Mulcahy No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Carroll “Red” Dial Jesse Priest Ed Flanigan Joe Hinchman

Team Muskogee Muskogee Topeka Fort Smith Muskogee Joplin Hutchinson Joplin

Joplin Hutchinson Salina Muskogee

G 31 29 38 33

G 102 133 122 126 139 137 109 123 GS — — — —

AB 378 504 506 513 558 463 383 439 CG 21 14 20 14

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 135 84 220 13 3 22 82 63 131 73 168 14 4 5 57 57 155 86 197 8 11 4 41 38 145 69 165 13 2 1 46 45 156 107 241 20 7 17 94 67 150 115 234 33 6 13 95 139 134 80 215 25 10 12 92 81 132 109 257 31 2 30 113 79 SH — — — —

W L % 24 3 .889 14 9 .609 17 11 .607 13 10 .565

IP 238 184 240 193

H 207 123 196 179

ER 72 64 66 88

SB 22 3 23 4 7 12 13 6

BA .357 .260 .306 .283 .280 .324 .350 .301

SO BB 181 97 209 142 151 156 163 151

SLG OB% .582 .448 .333 .331 .389 .352 .322 .339 .432 .356 .505 .477 .561 .452 .585 .405 ERA 2.72 3.13 2.48 4.10

BR/9 11.6 13.1 13.7 15.6

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) Team Amarillo Clovis Amarillo Amarillo Borger Clovis Lamesa Amarillo

Clovis Albuquerque Borger/Albuq. Albuquerque

G 140 139 77 102 136 141 142 135 G 38 34 35 32

AB 526 564 307 447 520 615 581 494 GS 33 29 28 29

H 147 201 100 145 189 203 211 175 CG 25 23 19 16

.4¡5 BA, an ominous .666 SA and a very good .463 OB%. Pat patrolled for Lamesa and Borger. “Old Joe” Fortin (Lamesa) had a .349 BA and slugged .6¡7, smashed 32 big flys, and drove in ¡42 runs. Stanley “The Machine” Machinsky (Abilene-Amarillo) had 337/.6¡0 marks and crushed 34 long ‘taters to go with his ¡40 RBIs. Three outfield spots were just not su‡cient for the WTNML in ’52. Now, at catcher, there was no displacing Mulcahy. But another catcher, I.B. “Ike” Palmer, had a terrific year. He hit .35¡ and garnered 200 hits (very unusual for a catcher). He also hit a tremendous 62 doubles, a record for catchers, no doubt. (Now, I know some will say that he only played ¡¡3 of his ¡4¡ games squatting, so he is not deserving of accolades which should only accrue to a “full-time” catcher. To them, I say “Pfui”! and “Check him out over the next few years.”)

R 120 139 68 99 137 151 128 114

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 304 21 0 47 126 112 272 40 8 5 111 76 172 17 2 17 66 49 195 25 5 5 48 39 269 51 7 5 67 100 365 41 10 34 116 67 319 50 2 15 100 54 332 21 1 45 141 86

SB 8 4 0 24 14 18 10 2

BA .279 .356 .326 .324 .363 .330 .363 .354

SH 1 5 0 3

W L % IP H ER SO BB 27 10 .730 269 322 152 170 111 19 9 .679 247 224 84 173 69 15 11 .577 226 230 101 182 92 16 12 .571 222 244 121 146 87

SLG OB% .578 .406 .482 .441 .560 .423 .436 .382 .517 .466 .593 .399 .549 .420 .672 .453 ERA 5.09 3.06 4.02 4.91

BR/9 14.6 10.8 12.9 13.5

“No utility man selected” does not mean no utility man deserving. Abelardo Flietas played first, third, and short for the Borger Gassers, hitting .325 and driving in ¡04 runs. Clovis outfielder/catcher Jim Matthews was even better. He hit a “lowly” .320, slugged a good .586, and led the league with an excellent .497 OB%. He scored ¡23 runs, drove in ¡36 (aided by 39 homers), and walked ¡50 times. In a league that hit .300 and where ¡2.4 runs were scored in every game on average, Priest’s season is at least equal to a sub-2.00 ERA elsewhere. Otho Nitcholas (every single time I look at his name, I see “Otto Nitcholas”), who managed Abilene the last part of the season, was an outstanding ¡4–5 for a lastplace team, had a 3.76 ERA and, because he walked only 24 men all year, was second in BR/9 ratio with an ¡¡.4 mark.

Alabama-Florida League (D) Riddle was a playing manager. Julius McDougald, Ozark shortstop, couldn’t help but have a better year at bat than did Prince; .278 is not a slugging average, it’s the value of a French Franc

(sorry, “Freedom” Franc) to a dollar of real money. McDougald hit .288, slugged an acceptable-for-a-middleinfielder .437, and had a good .449 OB%. He drove in 76 runs and scored 84. But (there’s always a “But”), he

358

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Lewis Letlow Robert Phillips William Buchanan Ralph Prince J.G. “Jake” Moore Roberto Gonzalez Joe Clark Chase Riddle No selection made

Team Eufaula Panama City Eufaula Eufaula Dothan Panama City Ozark Ozark

SP SP SP SP

Russell Harris Gene Summerlin Walter Collins J.G. “Jake” Moore

Ozark Panama City Dothan Dothan

G 114 114 101 86 93 112 112 112

AB 428 446 373 367 335 473 403 411

H R TB 2B 152 114 227 27 144 110 159 11 124 91 236 22 91 73 102 7 120 61 187 31 160 81 239 42 115 92 176 21 136 100 206 21

3B HR RBI BB 12 8 79 85 2 0 36 87 0 24 102 87 2 0 40 38 9 6 69 56 8 7 115 39 8 8 71 101 8 11 95 76

SB 29 22 6 12 9 19 25 39

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO 33 27 25 1 27 3 .900 248 205 78 243 31 22 12 0 13 12 .520 174 145 78 167 Pitched in 33 games, left out of pitching stats Pitched in 10 games, left out of pitching stats

had a very poor range, as attested to by his 4.8 chances a game. Prince handled 5.6 and had ¡9 fewer errors. Once again, the eternal choice: O›ense or Defense? Two manager/outfielders could well have garnered Ala-Fla Dream team spots. Herbert Connell of Eufala hit .3¡9 and slugged .487, scoring 8¡ runs and driving in 86. Walter Dixon, head of the Headland Dixie Runners, hit .348 and slugged .6¡0, both second in the league, as were his 2¡ homers. His .468 OB% was the league’s best mark, and he even stole 26 bases (fourth in the league). He scored 94 runs in his 98 games. The league’s best utility man played outfield and caught, and, although he was only in 72 games, he finished third in the league with ¡2 homers. He scored 5¡ runs and drove in 58, hit .262 and slugged .496. Meet Eufaula’s Bill Screws. Interestingly, neither Collins nor Moore show up

BA SLG OB% .355 .530 .463 .323 .357 .434 .332 .633 .461 .248 .278 .322 .358 .558 .458 .338 .505 .396 .285 .437 .430 .331 .501 .439 BB ERA 120 2.83 143 4.03

BR/9 12.2 15.1

in the o‡cial pitching statistics. I know the number of games in which they pitched because they are included in the fielding stats. I know that Collins hit .243 with ¡2 RBIs, because he is listed in the batting stats (Moore is not). But as to their All-Star qualifications, mystery enshrouds them. Ozark pitcher Hillery Stanton was either 23–5 for a .82¡ winning percentage or 23–6 for a .793 winning percentage. He is listed in the stats as being 23–5, .793, which, according to the mathematics I learned in school, is impossible. Either way, he earned a place on the squad. He was fourth in ERA (3.62) and first in OB/9 ratio (¡¡.5). Also team-worthy is the ace of the Graceville Boll Weevil sta›, Nicolas Berbesia. He went ¡3–¡3 for a team which finished 47 games under .500 and which played .230 ball without him. He won 39% of his teams games.

Coastal Plain League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Robert Hepler Oscar Barham Gene Hassell Joseph Gauci Sam Stell Tom Leonard Hilliary “Moe” Evans Woodrow Wrenn No selection made

SP SP SP SP

John Raines Richard McCleney Gene Host John Kovalchik

Team Kin.-N.Bern-Wil. Rocky Mount Wilson Kinston Tarboro Goldsboro Edenton Wilson

Edenton Wilson Kinston Rocky Mount

G 38 42 41 31

G 102 108 122 119 106 86 112 119

GS — — — —

AB 381 422 404 471 425 323 435 414

CG 29 18 25 1

H 104 112 121 120 131 121 123 100

SH 5 8 3 0

R 56 67 98 68 39 51 58 36

TB 140 136 149 155 183 151 146 122

2B 3B HR RBI BB 13 1 7 51 60 9 6 1 33 60 14 7 0 22 142 15 10 0 74 33 13 9 7 77 30 17 5 1 41 47 12 4 1 36 52 18 2 0 45 41

W L % IP H 26 5 .839 268 158 18 10 .643 258 186 26 7 .788 264 168 6 5 .545 93 92

SB 7 18 40 13 2 15 10 7

BA .273 .265 .300 .255 .308 .375 .283 .242

ER SO BB 44 244 96 53 134 103 53 284 152 27 38 29

SLG OB% .367 .373 .322 .358 .369 .485 .329 .308 .431 .357 .467 .457 .336 .367 .295 .311

ERA 1.48 1.85 1.81 2.61

BR/9 8.8 10.5 11.2 12.1

N. Bern is New Bern.

As you probably noticed, this is not a hitter’s league. Only a single player had a SA of over .450, and less than ten were over .400. Stell’s 77 RBIs were the tops for the league, and only three players reached double figures in home runs. Likewise, there were only three 70 RBI men (however, two hitters

entered the Enzo Hernandez Zone by driving in 22 and 2¡ runs with over 400 at bats). Scoring 68 runs would have put you in a tie for ¡0th in the final league tabulations. With the All-Star Eight hitting .285 and “slugging” .36¡, this is kinda like the Bizzaro-WTNM league.

¡952

359

the scribes’ darlings 27. I would place mine against theirs anytime The same lack of hitting pervades the catching arena. Note the chosen backstops secondary averages of .295/.3¡¡. The word that comes to mind is “horrid.” I would go for Kinston’s Fred Stevenson and his .290/.346/.394 marks. Hey, this team can use all the hitting it can get. Two players were ready to jump into the utility breech, were there one in which to leap, both of them New Bern Bears. Outfielder/shortstop Jim Bevill hit .273, scored 73 runs and stole 69 bases. First baseman/outfielder “Long” Levi Stilley hit a miserable .2¡3, but was second in RBIs with 76, fifth in SA with a mark of .366, tied for eighth in runs with 68, and led the league with ¡7 homers (I believe that this is the lowest BA of any home run leader in minor league history, Dave Kingman having led the N.L. with 37 while “hitting” .204 in ¡982). As was to be expected, the pitching in the C.P.L. was fabulous. Ten pitchers had ERAs under 2.00, so some fine years were doomed to be unrecognized. Rodney Heath (Rocky Mount) was ¡2–2 and led the league with a Death Valley-like ¡.27. Ted “Angleworm” Abernathy had six shut-outs, was 20–¡3, led the league with 293 strike-outs and fashioned a ¡.69 ERA. John Perry (Goldsboro) was ¡6–7, with ten of his victories coming via the shut-out route. His ERA was ¡.90, and his BR/9 ratio was ¡0.¡. Please take note of Raines’s BR/9 Ratio of 8.8, as it was one of the year’s best.

At short, Wade Martin of Rocky Mount was a wee bit better at bat than Gauci, compiling .263/.387/.329 averages. He hit ¡¡ homers, but was out-RBI-ed by Gauci, 74–5¡ (in fact, Gauci’s 74 were third in the league). However, Martin got to a half a chance more per game than Gauci (5.4–4.8), and the hitting of both is so weak that fielding decides this one for me. In many ways, a league with such poor hitting is as hard to handicap as a league which averaged .300. For instance, in the outfield, do you go with the league’s RBI champ (with a lowly 77) despite the fact that he scored a miserable 39 runs, or the lone ¡00 runs scorer despite the fact that he had but 32 RBIs? How can you have a .375 hitter who also has a .457 OB% yet only scores 5¡ runs and only drives in 4¡? Well, anyway, to cut this rapidly-becomingHomeric story short, I decided to go with the run scorers. Thus, my C.P.L. outfield would have been Wayne Blackburn, Cecil Fogleman, and Will Wollet. Wollet of Roanoke Rapids hit .3¡¡, scored 85 runs and stole 78 bases. Fogleman of Tarboro only hit .279, but had a .430 OB%, stole 53 bases, and was the league’s sole century run scorer, coming in with ¡0¡. Finally, Kinston manager/outfielder Blackburn was second with a .350 average, scored 9¡ runs, stole 33 bases and had a stratospheric .535 OB% thanks to ¡30 walks. The selected outfield hit .3¡7 and had an OB% of .389, scoring ¡48 runs and driving in ¡54. Mine had a .3¡¡ BA, a .450 OB%, scored 277 runs and drove in ¡¡6. Plus, my choices stole ¡64 bases to

Florida State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name L. Perry Roberts Charles Brewster Jesse H. “Jack” Cade, Jr. William Mostransky Kenneth Braeseke Howard Tesnow Leon “Red” Treadway Raymond Dunne Robert Rucker

Team DeLand DeLand DeLand DeLand DeLand Daytona Beach Jacksonville Bea. DeLand St. Aug.-D. Beach

G 132 134 133 134 116 112 132 134 131

AB 548 506 529 503 486 436 507 511 493

H 195 158 202 136 161 142 181 152 148

R 112 96 159 135 118 84 132 67 94

TB 275 258 283 172 201 175 224 187 226

2B 33 33 23 19 22 19 29 27 31

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 16 5 129 39 8 .356 .502 .403 11 5 104 78 25 .312 .510 .407 23 4 106 84 10 .382 .535 .474 7 1 40 136 19 .270 .342 .428 9 0 50 45 14 .331 .414 .397 4 2 63 50 58 .326 .401 .405 4 2 65 97 21 .357 .442 .462 4 0 93 66 4 .297 .366 .385 7 11 92 38 12 .300 .458 .355

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Tom Mills Jacksonville Bea. 40 34 28 2 27 7 .794 308 287 87 134 79 2.54 10.8 SP Joe Frank Pennington Palatka 36 23 16 5 18 10 .643 241 214 73 168 81 2.73 11.4

Jacksonville Bea. is Jacksonville Beach.

Brewster and Treadway were playing managers. Note that this squad hit the grand total of 30 home runs. Roberts actually should have been a utility pick, as he went ¡5–2 as a pitcher (more on that below). That would also open a first base spot for Orlando’s manager, Ed Levy. Levy had .329/.556/.476 averages, the

latter two being league bests. He hit ¡9 homers and drove in 84 runs. There was a log jam at third. Cade, who had a 28–game hitting streak during the season, certainly belongs on the team. But what of Palatka’s Merrill Smith and his .34¡, 44 steal, ¡¡3 run, ¡¡3 RBI season? And what of Chuck Aleno’s .308/.520, 25 home run,

360

Minor League All-Star Teams pitching: ¡5–2 for a league-leading .882 winning percentage, a league leading ¡.94 ERA, and a league-best ¡0.7 BR/9 ratio. Obviously Roberts should have also been named as a pitcher, but two other hurlers posted better seasons than did Joe Frank. Stan Miller of DeLand was a fine ¡5–4 and had a good 2.29 ERA. Cecil Hutson toiled in the huge total of 67 games for Palatka, winding up 2¡–¡0 with a 2.37 ERA and a ¡¡.0 BR/9 ratio, third in the league.

¡3¡ RBI season for Sanford? Are they to be cast aside like so much cha›? Not on my watch. They may not displace Cade, but they shall be remembered. This I vow, on a stack of Baseball Guides. Rucker played second, third, and outfield. Cli› Floyd, who played for Palatka, Gainesville, and Jacksonville Beach, was a first baseman/outfielder. He hit .333, had a .4¡8 OB% and drove in ¡¡4 runs. But, as alluded to above, the real utility cat was L. Perry Roberts. His hitting is noted above, now check out his

Georgia State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Jim Beavers Charles Ridgeway Charles Quimby Frank Tepedino Bill McGhee Jim Burns Raymond Nichting Arnold Riesgo No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Noel Oquendo Phil Gilbert Walter Bauman Jerry Jones

Team Hazlehurst-Baxley Fitzgerald Statesboro Vidalia Hazlehurst-Baxley Vidalia Fitzgerald Hazlehurst-Baxley

Dublin Eastman Hazlehurst-Baxley Douglas

G 33 27 30 28

G 122 120 122 116 115 125 126 86

GS 29 24 26 20

AB 526 479 436 432 463 485 466 248

H 191 173 145 131 156 162 144 74

CG 27 15 19 11

Ridgeway, Quimby, and Riesgo were playing managers. Jim Beavers had a 29 game hitting streak during the season. I am in favor of adding Douglas’ playing manager Van Davis to the roster as a back-up first baseman. Davis played in ¡00 games, scored 80 times, drove in 87 runs and complied averages of .326/.582/ .489, that last a league best. Charles Quimby should have been named to the team as a utility man. He played first, second, third, and outfield. That would open up a spot for Eastman third baseman Wilbur Caldwell. He hit .300, slugged .466, and had an OB% of .424. He also scored ¡¡8 runs and stole 58 bases. James Warren, Jessup outfielder, hit .3¡4, slugged .5¡0, hit 23 homers, scored ¡04 runs and drove in ¡¡7. I would have chosen him over Nichting. I also would

R 119 108 116 97 112 92 84 39

SH 2 4 3 1

TB 310 209 265 168 278 284 203 115

2B 3B HR RBI BB 46 5 21 108 41 23 5 1 74 110 25 1 31 126 115 21 5 2 67 109 37 5 25 118 63 47 0 25 155 81 15 10 8 80 109 18 4 5 49 68

SB 27 52 5 13 27 10 15

BA .363 .361 .333 .303 .337 .334 .309 .298

W L % IP H ER SO BB 20 10 .667 269 223 110 245 147 17 6 .739 182 142 60 150 94 20 5 .800 213 184 65 108 96 12 2 .857 163 154 66 109 90

SLG OB% .589 .411 .436 .481 .608 .474 .389 .449 .600 .420 .586 .436 .436 .444 .464 .449

ERA 3.68 2.97 2.75 3.64

BR/9 12.7 11.9 12.0 13.8

add a fourth outfielder, Hector Faberlle of Douglas. He was only in 55 games, but he walked 64 times and scored 63 runs. And, most impressively, he stole 49 bases in those 55 games. Had he played a whole ¡25 game Ga. State season, his numbers extrapolate out to ¡45 runs, ¡46 walks, and an impressive ¡¡5 steals. Despite his being ¡2–2, I do not think I would have had Jones on my squad, adding instead Curtis White (Statesboro) who was ¡6–¡¡ with a 2.63 ERA. I would also add (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) the league’s best pitcher, James Harp of Eastman. Although but ¡5–¡¡, he led the league with an ERA of 2.40 and had by far the best BR/9 ratio, a sterling 9.¡. I guess his lack of wins militated against him … but not for me. The best pitcher belongs on the team, period.

Georgia-Florida League (D) This seems to be a particularly oddly selected league. At first, Kenneth Robinett’s year for Thomasville was overlooked. He led the league with a .358 BA and a .485 OB%, he was second in runs with 94 and his SA bettered that of Shannon by 38 points. At second, it should be noted that DeMont handled a very good 6.2 chances per game average, tying him with Albany’s Sam Goody who hit .280 and

scored 95 runs. At short, Valdosta’s pennant-winning manager John Angelone deserves mention, if only because he led his team from such a crucial position and also walked ¡¡¡ times and had a .405 OB%. As you can tell by looking at the batting statistics of the Ga-Fla All Stars, this was not a heavy-hitting league (Ralph “You” Betcher led Cordele with one home run [not a misprint]). Why leave two of

¡952 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Name Walter Shannon Paul DeMont Walter Bremer Gerald Schypinski Denver Rikard Jack Denison Donovan Day Robert Murphy Paul Eames Clair Troxell No selection made

Team Albany Cordele Waycross Cordele Albany Valdosta Cordele Albany Thomasville Albany

SP SP SP SP SP

Fred Allen Green Taylor Phillips Donald Sha›er Julian Joyner Antonio Sarmiento

Brunswick Waycross Valdosta Albany Tifton

G 124 128 137 125 138 75 133 95 133 105

G 34 46 38 38 28

AB 497 519 486 485 527 280 506 365 467 338

GS — — — — —

H 154 156 150 144 160 89 152 100 148 71

CG 25 24 25 16 16

R 66 82 84 69 87 51 75 44 76 52

SH 3 2 3 6 8

the three double-digit home run hitters of o› the team? Parnell Ruark, Tifton outfielder/manager, led the league with ¡9 homers and was the only player above .500 in slugging (in fact, his .5¡5 was the only one over catcher Eames’s .47¡). He hit .287 and his 66 RBIs were sixth in the league. Big Joe Carolan (if memory serves, he was about 6'5", 230, even larger in the early ’50’s than he would b today) had a whi› problem (he lead the league with ¡30), but he was second in homers with ¡5 and third in RBIs with 93, despite his .248 BA. Finally, Thomasville manager Frank Lucchesi hit .307, had an OB% of .400, and scored 87 runs, tied for second. Because the league selected two catchers, a can of worms is opened there also. There is absolutely no doubt that Eames was “King of the Ga-Fla catchers.”

361

TB 191 192 198 167 231 113 182 134 220 101

2B 26 16 26 13 30 16 10 16 22 17

3B 4 10 5 5 10 4 10 0 7 5

HR RBI BB 1 49 48 0 48 65 4 95 107 0 56 51 7 111 78 0 40 55 0 54 92 6 44 26 12 83 88 1 41 66

W L % IP H 20 12 .625 269 187 21 10 .677 297 202 25 7 .781 259 242 19 9 .679 222 174 16 3 .842 185 132

ER 76 46 70 53 26

SB 17 20 6 10 4 23 9 6 6 5

BA .310 .301 .309 .297 .304 .318 .300 .274 .317 .210

SLG .384 .370 .407 .344 .438 .404 .360 .367 .471 .299

OB% .374 .378 .436 .366 .396 .430 .417 .326 .429 .344

SO BB 265 190 265 182 121 101 137 75 89 42

ERA 2.54 1.39 2.43 2.15 1.26

BR/9 12.9 11.8 12.2 10.4 8.6

Number two choice Troxell was, giving him every benefit of the doubt, no better than the fourth best catcher in an eight team league. Norm Wilson, Cordele manager (who tied for the team home run lead with zero) only hit .23¡ (which is still better than .2¡0), but, since he also drew 86 walks, had a decent .380 OB%. Charles Bledsoe of Waycross hit .239 and scored 70 runs. The #2 receiver should have been one of those mentioned above. The only change I would make to the pitching sta› would be to add Fred Volk of 52 games-under-.500 Moultrie. He was able to go ¡0–9 for them (they played .28¡ when he was not involved in the decision) because he only allowed ¡¡.6 BR/9 and had a 2.28 ERA. Please note Sarmiento’s excellent 8.6 BR/9 figure.

K-O-M League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Elbert Jarvis James McHugh Woody Fair Paul Weeks John Vossen Don Stewart Donald “Heresy” Geresy Edward “Sad” Sack No selection made

SP SP SP SP SP

Jim Owens Joe Vilk William “Worm” Wigle Sylvester Zacher Andy Varga

Team Ponca City Miami Iola Iola Miami Ponca City Blackwell Miami

Miami Iola Iola Ponca City Blackwell

G 124 85 68 127 96 114 93 103

G 35 48 27 23 13

AB 487 317 256 496 388 449 368 351

GS — — — — —

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SLG OB% 136 99 215 19 6 16 92 70 26 .279 .441 .371 89 80 99 8 1 0 22 80 19 .281 .312 .429 79 67 124 12 3 9 57 46 22 .309 .484 .418 141 128 186 16 10 3 41 80 102 .284 .375 .386 130 76 174 14 1 12 75 30 6 .335 .448 .397 143 94 181 18 6 2 51 65 30 .318 .403 .408 110 80 153 15 5 6 49 71 13 .299 .416 .418 105 69 172 16 0 17 87 78 6 .299 .490 .431

CG 23 23 19 2 9

Fair was a playing manager. The line-up had 226 steals.

SH 5 0 3 0 1

W 22 26 20 6 5

L 7 6 5 2 6

% IP H .759 245 137 .813 287 251 .800 233 199 .750 93 85 .455 87 64

ER SO BB 48 300 170 97 198 93 76 175 113 31 76 47 56 87 104

ERA 1.76 3.04 2.94 3.00 5.79

BR/9 11.5 11.1 12.3 13.1 18.8

Miami manager/first baseman John Davenport not only led his team to a league championship in

362

Minor League All-Star Teams

the playo›s, he also hit .333, slugged .560 (tops in the league) and had an OB% of .453 (also tops). He led the league with 37 doubles, his ¡8 homers were second, his 96 runs fifth, and his ¡¡6 RBIs was the most anyone garnered in the league. He is the answer to the oft-asked question, “Who was the best first baseman in the K-O-M League in ¡952?” Don Ervin, Miami outfielder, first in home runs with 24, second in RBIs with 96, second in slugging with a .475 mark, also scored 90 runs, but had an absolutely wretched .302 OB%. You make the call. Please take note of Weeks’ incredible ¡02 steals, remembering that this is the lumbering ’50’s.

Also, an aside: Bert Convey, the model for the beloved Sesame Street character Guy Smiley (“America’s Favorite Game Show Host”) and six-time guest star on (shift voice to Barry White mode) “The L-oo-o-ve Boat” cavorted in the outfield for the Miami Eagles, a Phillies farm team. The only catcher in the league who caught in at least ¡00 games (Wayne Baker) “hit” .¡5¡, “slugged” .239, and managed to reach base 27% of the time. And, for those keeping score at home, I give you … Nansen Vold.

Kitty League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP

Name Team William Forbes Hopkinsville Julius Stasko Union City Howard Harkins Owensboro\ Kenneth Meyer Mayfield John Rothenhausler Union City Joseph Segrest Paducah Arthur Sabulsky Hopkinsville Robert “Ayn” Rand Paducah Jack Hall Owensboro No selection made

G 111 114 120 98 111 90 119 115 120

G Howard McGahey Madisonville19 Donnie Ford Paducah 20 Melvin Rainey Madisonville29 Tillman Mitchell Conovan Jackson 47

AB 389 417 397 376 436 355 449 389 495

GS 15 16 24 30

H 104 112 97 117 138 113 115 109 159

CG 8 12 15 24

R 66 77 77 75 97 59 71 85 98 SH 1 4 0 2

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 156 26 4 6 76 89 137 9 8 0 64 100 140 20 7 3 38 114 150 14 5 3 47 58 252 17 20 19 138 87 140 16 4 1 53 31 144 13 5 2 55 52 178 27 7 11 83 71 269 31 8 21 136 47 W L % 8 5 .615 12 3 .800 12 10 .545 20 12 .625

IP 116 133 202 281

SB 4 16 16 15 20 21 14 37 7

BA .267 .269 .244 .311 .317 .318 .256 .280 .321

H ER SO BB 106 39 76 58 106 33 82 77 188 77 137 110 212 108 345 224

SLG OB% .401 .404 .329 .410 .353 .413 .399 .403 .578 .430 .394 .373 .321 .333 .458 .391 .543 .380 ERA 3.03 2.23 3.43 3.46

BR/9 12.7 12.6 13.5 14.1

No HBP in batting stats, so OB% is approximate.

O.K., just so’s I got this straight: The league has a first baseman who hit .355, slugged .5¡0, had a .436 OB%, scored ¡08 runs, drove in ¡03 and, to top it o›, even stole 36 bases. So, they chose the .267 hittin’, no run producin’ William Forbes. Me? I believe that I will go with the Ned Waldrop model, vintage Fulton, ’52. O.K., just so’s I got this straight: The league has a third baseman that hit .353, slugged .495, had a .487 OB%, scored ¡05 runs and drove in 70. Is it just me, or does it seem like deja vous all over again? The societal outcast is Russell Davis of Paducah. O.K., just so’s I got this straight: The league had an outfielder who hit .370, slugged .543 and had a .525 OB%, scored 89 runs and drove in 98 and yet decided to go with Sabulsky? That musta really messed with Fulton’s Howard Weeks’s mind. I suppose that it is possible that the league chose a group of non-Fulton players to play an “All-Star”

game against the Lookouts, who were running away with the race, eventually winding up playing .689 ball, ¡5∂ games ahead of Paducah. That, however, does not explain leaving Union City Grayhound flyhawk John Bohna of o› the squad. He was only in 89 games and collected 99 hits, but he still managed to score ¡00 runs. I believe that I would take his .288/.453/.4¡2 over the marks put up by Segrest. Please notice catcher Rand’s 37 steals. Alvin Brown (of Fulton, where else?) was 25–9 with a 2.72 ERA, and I believe his mediocre ¡2.5 BR/9 ratio was good enough to lead all qualifiers. Mayfield manager Francis “Red” Barrett was the Kitty’s answer to Hoyt Wilhelm, appearing in 39 games, going 3–2, and turning in a 2.85 ERA. By the way, that 224 walks for Conovan was no misprint. He averaged ¡¡.¡ Ks per 9 IP — and 7.2 walks.

Mississippi-Ohio Valley League (D) Minnis was a playing manager. A very well-selected team, I would but add a util-

ity man in the form of Jack W. McQuillen of Hannibal. He played first, second, short, and the outfield,

¡952 Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Clint McCord Virl Minnis Doyle Chadwick Gonzalo Chenard Quncy Smith Carlos Paula Jim Zapp Aureliano “Arley” Patino No selection made

SP SP SP SP

Ken Gohn Amacio Ferro Armando Diaz James Paolo

Team Paris Danville Paris Decatur Paris Decatur Paris Mt. Vernon

Danville Hannibal Hannibal Paris

G 33 30 28 26

GS — — — —

G 119 127 96 120 117 119 122 114

AB 482 494 342 464 483 455 467 442

CG 14 19 21 13

H 189 165 92 119 153 152 154 150

SH 3 3 3 0

hit an adequate .285, scored 99 runs, had a .4¡4 OB% and stole 53 bases. Also, please take special note of Patino’s 53 steals. Sure, he only played 82 of his games behind the plate, but still, he was primarily a catcher. The league scribes did not do quite so well on the pitching sta› (although they surprisingly did select the M-O-V’s best pitcher in the form of Gohn). Left

R 123 109 63 69 124 111 84 77

W 22 14 19 15

363 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 304 40 15 15 109 67 198 29 2 0 75 60 159 19 6 12 74 61 142 14 5 0 55 48 237 31 10 11 65 38 225 23 16 6 91 60 263 31 9 20 136 45 188 20 6 2 81 41

L 5 9 5 5

% .815 .609 .792 .750

IP 190 207 207 185

H 161 204 200 175

ER 35 90 70 73

SB 20 32 7 10 30 18 7 53

SO 105 183 147 132

BA .392 .334 .269 .256 .317 .334 .330 .339

BB 37 115 56 109

SLG OB% .631 .471 .401 .411 .465 .384 .306 .330 .491 .377 .495 .413 .563 .403 .425 .404

ERA 1.66 3.91 3.04 3.55

BR/9 9.7 14.0 11.3 14.4

o› was sub-.500 Mt. Vernon ace Allen Evans. He was ¡9–¡3 with an excellent 2.04 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8, both third in the league. Also skipped over was the league’s #2 pitcher, Danville’s James Agnew. He was ¡6–2 (a league-best .889 winning percentage) and second in both ERA an BR/9 ratio with marks of 2.0¡ and ¡0.7.

PONY League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Tony Lupien Maury Wills Alton Miller Richard Lisiecki Mike Trapani Tom McDonald Maurice Galand Charlie Lau No selection made

Team Jamestown Hornell Hamilton Jamestown Hamilton Olean Hormel Jamestown Chattanooga

G 122 125 126 86 107 124 121 92

AB 409 533 473 354 415 445 483 295

H R TB 144 81 190 160 108 214 142 84 204 100 57 135 133 80 173 130 94 226 154 92 222 98 53 156

2B 30 34 33 10 25 22 22 27

3B 5 4 7 8 3 7 5 5

HR RBI BB 2 67 135 4 58 64 5 98 90 3 28 46 3 54 60 20 111 81 12 97 37 7 58 49

SB 19 54 10 25 20 25 22 5

BA .352 .300 .300 .282 .320 .292 .319 .332

SLG .465 .402 .431 .381 .417 .508 .460 .529

OB% .516 .375 .417 .365 .408 .403 .372 .431

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Bob Umfleet Hamilton 31 22 20 7 23 4 .852 208 167 37 148 54 1.60 9.6 SP Jerald Davie Jamestown 41 15 10 4 16 8 .667 211 201 65 154 102 2.77 13.2 SP Geo. William Glendenning Bradford 40 20 16 4 14 12 .538 178 129 40 183 63 2.02 9.8

Lupien was a playing manager. Andy “Doc” Alexson, Hornell first baseman/manager had .348/.530/.458 averages. He hit ¡6 homers, scored 90 runs, and drove in ¡07. In my mind, the first base spot is a tie between these two grizzled veterans. At short, Hamilton manager Hal “In” Contini led his team to first. He hit .276 and scored ¡07 runs. The battle for the position is close enough that his managership should have swung the slot to him. By the way, Wills was caught stealing six times. That is a 90% success rate.

There are two outfielders I would like to mention. One, Ken Hunt, was only in the league for 30 games before being summoned to a higher league. In those games he hit .500, slugged .894, and had an OB% of .597. That, my friends, is some 30 games. The other one needing mention is, and I’m sorry that I don’t know his middle name, the .304 hitting George Ruth. John Williams of Hornell seems to have earned a spot on the mound sta›. He was ¡3–9 with a 2.¡4 ERA.

Sooner State League (D) Warren was a playing manager. The nine nonpitchers stole 234 bases.

Chickasha Chief manager/second baseman Ray Taylor was unjustly denied a spot on the team for

364

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Name Don Williamson Blas Fernandez Hector Bonet Dale Harbaugh Bob Hertel Vincent Downs Richard Sobeck Bennie Warren Harold Long Jr. Raymond Maurer

Team Pauls Valley Sherman Sherman McAlester McAlester Lawton Ada Sherman Shawnee Pauls Valley

SP SP

Charles Seymour Charlie Rabe

McAlester Lawton

G 139 140 137 140 83 130 138 115 98 132 G 35 28

AB 561 588 546 586 328 473 518 325 361 518

GS 33 17

H 189 183 150 164 129 125 180 98 103 149 CG 30 14

R 127 119 112 81 63 142 116 74 63 100 SH 6 4

reasons unknown. He hit a league-topping .365, was second with a .484 OB% and slugged .473, all superior to Fernandez. He also scored ¡25 runs and drove 99 across the plate. A similar situation prevails at short, where the Ada Hereford’s Robert Baron had averages of .3¡5, .489, and .4¡2, all well above Harbaugh’s. Baron bammed ¡7 homers, drove in ¡06 runs, and scored ¡26. He also handled a half chance a game more afield than did Harbaugh. Burk Probitsky of Pauls Valley hit .327, stole 58 bases, drew ¡44 walks, scored ¡26 runs and led the

TB 306 253 191 231 211 184 299 163 153 234 W 25 13

2B 41 28 11 24 14 19 26 22 17 41 L 6 7

3B 5 18 12 8 1 5 18 5 0 4

% .806 .650

HR 22 2 2 9 22 10 19 11 11 12 IP 287 181

RBI BB 148 93 86 60 70 79 101 46 86 29 64 111 127 125 70 108 79 64 108 62 H 206 106

ER 61 45

SB 10 26 30 28 9 69 24 11 6 21

BA .337 .311 .275 .280 .393 .264 .347 .302 .285 .288

SLG .545 .430 .350 .394 .643 .389 .577 .502 .424 .452

OB% .433 .380 .370 .332 .446 .423 .478 .477 .399 .367

SO 292 255

BB 143 127

ERA 1.91 2.24

BR/9 11.1 12.0

S.S.L. with a .486 OB%. Bob Skinner of Sherman Hit .3¡5, slugged .5¡5, smashed 23 triples, and drove in ¡39 runs. The outfield should have had five spots instead of three. Utility man Maurer played third, outfield, and caught. Pauls Valley, by the way, had four players with more than 50 steals: Probitsky, 58; Gene Valloni, 57; Clell Calloway, 58; Robert Reitz, 75. The Raiders stole 3¡0 bases on the year. Twenty three Sooner State pitchers walked at least ¡00 batters.

Western Carolina League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Name Billy Reid Smith Bobby Davis Carroll Wright John McAnulty William McKenney Jack Triplett George Rose No selection made. No selection made.

Team Marion Marion Lincolnton Morganton Morg.-Ruth. C’ty Marion-Ruth. C’ty Lincolnton

SP SP SP SP SP

Harold Griggs William Barkley Eurice “Pete” Treece August Bergemann Norman Reinhardt

Hickory Lincolnton Morganton Marion Rutherford County

G 107 107 112 85 88 83 102

AB 392 422 457 345 314 323 387

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 120 60 187 20 4 13 80 48 117 65 168 24 9 3 48 45 155 100 204 23 7 4 85 51 107 74 155 27 0 7 55 47 84 72 165 15 9 9 53 26 98 47 130 22 2 2 38 38 123 88 214 17 13 16 107 63

G GS CG SH W L % IP 31 28 21 3 14 13 .519 222 26 24 20 4 20 4 .833 211 38 23 20 3 14 12 .538 233 29 23 13 2 12 10 .545 189 37 27 17 2 16 10 .615 240

Smith and Treece were playing managers. Charles Ballard, first baseman for Shelby, had stats far superior to Smith’s. He led the league in hitting with a .352 mark, led in OB% with his .457, his SA of .546 was third, his ¡02 RBIs were second, and he was sixth in runs with 85. It doesn’t seem as if there was a heck of a lot more he could have done. At short, Lincolnton’s Junior Dodgin (would his son be named Junior Dodgin Junior?) hit a bit lower than did McAnulty, but he had a slugging percent of .500 and an OB% of .425. He out-scored and outRBIed McAnulty, but I discount that because he had

SB 10 13 20 24 8 5 5

BA .306 .277 .339 .310 .268 .303 .318

SLG OB% .477 .385 .398 .358 .446 .407 .449 .393 .525 .327 .402 .378 .553 .419

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 206 103 195 156 4.18 15.2 184 66 115 71 2.82 11.2 206 68 169 62 2.63 10.4 164 69 129 78 3.29 11.9 213 89 159 89 3.34 11.6

many more plate-appearances. He had slightly better range, McAnulty had slightly better hands. It is close, but I’d go with Dodgin because of his SA and OB%. Russ Mincey of Shelby (I keep wanting to type “Shelbyville”; it must be a subliminal message from the Simpsons) had the second best year with the bat of all of the league’s outfielders. His .336 was third in the league, his .524 was fifth, his .440 OB% was second, his ¡07 runs were second, and his 85 RBIs tied for fifth. Another outfielder, Tomas Centeno of Lincolnton only hit .243, but had an OB% of .423 and

¡952 led the league in runs with ¡¡7 and walks with ¡¡3. My outfield would have been Rose-Mincy-Centeno. There is no All-Star catcher listed in The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Now, I do not know if that is because there was none selected by the league or, highly unlikely, of an inadvertent omission in the book. Either way, the choice is clear: Fred Parnell (Hickory and Morganton) was the man. He had .306/.455/.392 averages and drove in 53 runs. (Although, to be fair, some might opt for Ken Paschal of Rutherford County. He hit .304, led with ¡9 homers and a .57¡ SA, but I was put o› by his total of ¡9 walks). No utility man was selected either, so I propose Roger Boger McGimsey, first baseman/pitcher for Hickory. He hit .299, was fifth in SA with a .5¡6 mark, third with ¡00 RBIs, and second with ¡7 homers. He also went ¡2–6 on the mound. Shelby’s Joe Sheppard led the league in wins (24), winning percentage (.857), ERA (2.3¡) and was second in BR/9 ratio (9.9). No wonder he wasn’t se-

365

lected for the All-Star team! Joining him in Nowheresville were his mound mates Ramon Monzant and Jose Nakamura. Monzant was ¡6–7, second in ERA (2.43) and third in BR/9 ratio (¡0.2). Nakamura was ¡3–5 with a 2.46 ERA (third) and allowed 9.3 BR/9, the best in the league. Also overlooked was Alberto Alvarez of Lincolnton. He was ¡9–8 and had a 2.73 ERA. He and the three Shelbyites lost out to a 4.¡8/¡5.2 pitcher. Griggs was ¡7th out of 22 qualifiers in ERA and 20th out of 22 in BR/9 ratio. Nope, sorry, can’t accept that. The league chose five pitchers; I’ll go them one better and choose six, but don’t expect a lot of overlap. My six: Sheppard, Monzant, Nakamura, Alvarez, Treece, and Barkley. By the way, the hurler who finished 22nd out of 22 in both ERA (with a 6.89 mark) and BR/9 (¡6.3) does make the comicanominclaturist All Star team: Efird Gwaltney. That sounds Welsh to me, and, if so, would probably go unnoticed on the streets of Cardi›. I, however, am writing this in Eugene, the heart of Oregon’s Emerald Valley.

Wisconsin State League (D) Pos 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

Name Dick Patton Melvin Lightner Jim Landis Ralph Manfredi Jesse Bucy Gordon Windhorn Pedro Almenares Gerald Sheehan John Sass No selection made.

Team Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids Sheboygan Wausau Oshkosh Sheboygan Janesville Wausau

SP SP SP SP

Dick Grabowski Conrad “Connie” Grob Walter Seward John Gebhard

G Appleton 33 Sheboygan 36 Green Bay 28 Fond du Lac 32

G 119 119 92 123 120 102 75 113 97

GS — — — —

AB 459 419 318 422 455 384 298 431 331

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 155 79 186 27 2 0 86 59 123 125 170 25 5 4 57 116 87 52 116 9 4 4 54 48 110 103 162 26 10 2 64 88 139 88 194 20 7 7 84 68 112 66 156 22 5 4 43 46 80 52 125 16 7 5 66 20 126 55 202 30 8 10 83 47 93 70 133 18 5 4 62 64

CG 20 25 19 11

Landis, who would become a Gold Glove outfielder, was no third baseman. He “fielded” .864. The league leader in games at third only played 84 games there, so the search went farther afield than most. I finally settled on Dave Garcia, Oshkosh manager. He played third 59 times and second 6¡ (sometimes at both spots in the same game), fifth highest total in the league. He was third in batting (.327), second in slugging (.522), tied for second in homers (¡5), fifth in RBIs (82), tied for second in doubles (30), and eighth in runs with 82. He also fielded 73 points higher than Landis. Sheboygan outfielder Oscar Cardenas should be mentioned. He was only in the league for 65 games (hitting .328), but scored 60 runs on the strength of

SH 5 3 4 0

W L % IP H 21 10 .677 222 153 24 5 .828 251 234 15 10 .600 202 166 10 14 .417 166 138

ER 57 74 71 68

SB 4 13 21 9 11 20 31 4 6

BA .338 .294 .274 .261 .305 .292 .268 .292 .281

SO BB 292 90 197 71 205 135 141 137

SLG OB% .405 .417 .406 .454 .365 .381 .384 .388 .426 .402 .406 .369 .419 .331 .469 .365 .402 .402

ERA 2.31 2.65 3.16 3.69

BR/9 9.9 11.1 13.8 15.1

an incredible .544 OB%, drawing 88 walks (203-walk pace over a ¡50 game season). Green Bay catcher Frank Biskup had almost the identical season Sass did (.292/.399/.39¡), so choosing either over the other shortchanges the one left in limbo. At utility, the league certainly had players waiting for the clarion call of All-Star immortality, a call which never came. The very best of the utility-ites was Janesville manager Harry Bright. He played third, short, outfield, and catcher. He also hit .325 and led the league with ¡0¡ RBIs, 3¡ doubles, and a .523 SA. His 95 runs were fourth. Another candidate, in case the league had wanted two handymen instead of none, was Oshkosh’s Paul Bentley. The

366

Minor League All-Star Teams

third baseman/outfielder struck out a league high ¡36 times, but he also led in homers with 2¡ and was sixth with 75 RBIs. Connie Grob won ¡7 consecutive games during the season. Grabowski averaged ¡¡.8 strike-outs every nine innings. Two unselected pitchers had seasons which

should have deselected two of the selectees. Lawrence Donovan went ¡6–8 for Wausau with a league-topping 2.¡7 ERA. Jake Striker of Green Bay was ¡4–¡0, 2.75, allowed ¡0.8 BR/9, and had 243 strike-outs, ¡¡.5 every nine innings. My four man rotation: Grob, Grabowski, Donovan, and Striker.

! ¡953 ! In ¡953, there were 38 leagues in the National Association. 3¡ of them (83%) named All-Star teams.

Pacific Coast League (Open) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

NAME Fred Richards Artie Wilson Leo Thomas Gene Baker Bobby Usher Dale Long Jack Tobin Raymond Orteig Jack Phillips

Allen Gettell George O’Donnell Royce Lint

TEAM Los Angeles Seattle Seattle Los Angeles Los Angeles Hollywood Seattle Seattle Hollywood

G 180 177 175 162 169 172 178 158 147

Oakland Hollywood Portland

G 42 45 46

AB 740 638 666 595 672 599 709 489 515 GS 38 36 27

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 219 94 335 33 2 26 92 53 4 .296 .453 .345 212 80 269 23 14 2 76 47 9 .332 .422 .380 198 94 270 23 5 13 100 79 4 .297 .405 .375 169 89 265 26 5 20 99 78 20 .284 .445 .367 204 104 310 51 5 15 90 50 7 .304 .461 .357 163 106 316 34 7 35 116 71 5 .272 .528 .350 210 116 248 17 6 3 58 83 10 .296 .350 .374 135 76 236 15 1 28 99 83 2 .276 .483 .383 139 71 221 22 6 16 77 45 0 .270 .429 .329 CG 30 19 15

SH 5 4 1

The selection of Richards over Hollywood Stars star Dale Long for the first base spot seems somewhat odd, both because Long did play 7¡% of his games there (as opposed to 35% of his games in the outfield, where he was selected to the team) and because that would have freed up an outfield spot for one of the three other players who seem to have had better seasons than the selectees. In fact, I do believe that I would have had three entirely di›erent flyhawks on the PCL All-Star team, had the choice been mine. Long, as mentioned above, would either be at first or have been named to a utility spot. In his stead, I would put Oakland’s Bill Howerton. He only hit .256, but he slugged .490 (third in the league), hit 32 homers (second), and drove in ¡06 runs, third in the league. In place of Usher, Bob Dillinger of Sacramento who hit a league-topping .366, had 236 hits and scored ¡04 runs. And, replacing Tobin, Earl

W 24 20 22

L 14 12 10

% .632 .625 .688

IP 309 281 249

H 293 276 242

ER 110 113 86

SO 141 67 100

BB 75 86 67

ERA 3.20 3.62 3.11

BR/9 10.9 11.8 11.4

Rapp of San Diego. He came in at .3¡¡ and slugged .498, second to Long. He hit 24 homers, tied for fifth, scored ¡04 runs, and drove in ¡03, fourth in the PCL. (For comparison’s sake, my trio out hits the o‡cial threesome .3¡5–.29¡. out slugs them .475–.44¡, and out-on bases them .389–.36¡. My guys hit 56 homers to their guys’ 54 (even though Dillinger had the same number of home runs in ’53 that Bill Holbert had in his entire major league career), and out-RBI’d ’em 265–264. Close, but I still go with my guys.) Jack Phillips played third and short. Memo Luna had a good year for a sixth place, sub .500 team. He was ¡7–¡2, 2.67 for San Diego. Two players had very good years out of the pen: Bob Muncrief of San Francisco and Alton Benton of San Diego. Muncrief was in 6¡ games (54 in relief ) and went ¡0–¡2 with an ERA of 2.66. He allowed ¡0.5 BR/9. Benton came out of the pen for all 50 of his games, and wound up 6–6 with a 2.85 ERA.

American Association (AAA) “Mo” Mozzali may have had an okay season, But Harry “The Golden Greek” Agganis had a mo’ better one. Harry tied for seventh in homeruns and was

second in RBIs with ¡08, doing the two things (Power & Production) a first baseman is supposed to do for his Louisville team.

¡953 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Maurice “Mo” Mozzali Jack Cassini Rance Pless Alex Grammas Sam Jethroe Vic Power Wally Post Charley Maxwell Ray Katt Bill Sarni No selection made

Gene Conley Edward Blake Frank Baumann Dick Tomanek

TEAM Columbus St. Paul Minneapolis Kansas City Toledo Kansas City Indianapolis Louisville Minneapolis Columbus

Toledo Indianapolis Louisville Indianapolis

G 36 29 13 28

G 154 155 152 140 145 149 133 145 114 130

GS 32 29 13 23

AB 534 602 596 584 543 622 509 538 448 404

CG 24 14 9 10

367

H 157 195 192 179 168 217 147 164 146 112

R 91 109 87 93 137 115 99 106 76 41

TB 223 275 301 220 304 324 292 265 267 165

SH 4 2 0 3

W 23 14 10 13

L 9 7 1 8

2B 27 32 26 29 32 39 21 20 31 25

% .719 .667 .909 .619

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 12 5 72 100 1 .294 .418 .406 6 12 51 77 27 .324 .457 .408 4 25 88 38 0 .322 .505 .367 3 2 62 41 5 .307 .377 .358 10 28 74 109 27 .309 .560 .434 10 16 93 30 8 .349 .521 .380 11 33 120 48 5 .289 .574 .354 6 23 107 90 1 .305 .493 .405 3 28 98 37 0 .326 .596 .379 2 8 60 33 4 .277 .408 .332

IP 261 208 106 167

H 198 242 79 127

ER 84 87 30 57

SO 211 66 95 158

BB 57 37 41 98

ERA 2.90 3.76 2.55 3.07

BR/9 8.9 12.2 10.2 12.6

Billy Queen of the Toledo Mud Hens played third and the outfield, and could have ably filled any utility spot, had there been one to fill. He hit .28¡ with ¡8 homers and 77 RBIs. The pitching selections were fine, more emblematic of a poor season of mound work than of ace pitching. No reliever was chosen, but Mel Wright came in from the pen in 43 of his 47 games, and rung up an impressive ¡3–2 season and had a 3.24 ERA.

At third, Al “Fuzzy” Smith was on his way to a stellar season before he was called up by the Indians after 86 games for Indianapolis. He was hitting .332 with a SA of .6¡3 when his ascension took place, and had already collected 72 runs, 75 RBIs and ¡8 homers. Katt also played for Bu›alo of the International League where he hit two homers and had three RBIs, so he reached the magic 30–¡00 plateaus, the mark of an outstanding B.B. (before Balco) power season.

International League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Glenn “Rocky” Nelson Louis Ortiz Hector Rodriguez Clarence “Buddy” Hicks Sandy Amaros Tom Burgess Frank Carswell Charles Thompson No selection made

Bob Trice Tom La Sorda

Ottawa Montreal

TEAM Montreal Rochester Syracuse Bu›alo Montreal Rochester Bu›alo Montreal

G 38 39

GS 30 29

G 154 149 148 148 150 122 105 109

CG 20 12

AB 542 520 527 562 539 407 362 372

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 167 117 320 33 9 34 136 106 2 .308 .590 .431 155 67 222 28 3 11 81 65 6 .298 .427 .376 159 90 206 21 7 4 62 96 12 .302 .391 .417 166 92 230 39 5 5 56 69 6 .295 .409 .372 190 128 321 40 11 23 100 96 11 .353 .596 .457 141 85 237 18 6 22 93 64 3 .346 .582 .439 117 60 216 28 1 23 75 36 3 .323 .597 .388 109 59 162 13 5 10 59 39 1 .293 .435 .360

SH 4 3

I believe that I shall go with Don Richmond at third, not from any personal animosity against Mr. Rodriguez and fully admitting that he was a better fielder. The Rochester star, however, added ¡5 home runs, 89 RBIs, and ¡0¡ runs to his .3¡2 BA, .482 SA season, enough to make him a small favorite in my eyes. In the outfield, one hesitates to replace a .323 hitter with one who hit .265, so I won’t. I will, however add Jack Wallaesa, who toiled in the pastures of both Springfield and Bu›alo, as a fourth hand. Despite his lack of altitudinal prowess in the hitting ranks, he maintained a fine .5¡5 SA, mostly due to the fact that he led the league with a manly 36 homers. He scored

W 21 17

L 10 8

% .677 .680

IP 229 208

H 207 171

ER 79 65

SO 57 122

BB 84 94

ERA 3.10 2.81

BR/9 11.5 11.6

9¡ runs and drove home ¡¡¡, third highest total in the league. No utility man was named, but two third basemen/ outfielders would have vied for the spot. Ex-Whiz Kid Mike Goliat of Toronto had ¡9 homers and 92 RBIs to go with his .280/.5¡3/.378 averages. Stan Jok of Baltimore had 20 homers and 9¡ RBIs and averages of .279, .5¡3, and .382. A pretty even match, I’d say. Pitching choice Trice hit .255 with four homers and sixteen RBIs. I think Toronto’s Don Johnson was worth a long, hard, look for a spot. He was ¡5–¡2, but received the Kiss of Death as far as selection was concerned by leading the league in both ERA (2.83) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.7).

368

Minor League All-Star Teams

Three relievers would have been in the hunt for a spot had one been o›ered. Bobby Tiefenauer (Rochester) pitched ¡05 innings in 38 games, was 9–3, had a good 2.3¡ ERA and allowed ¡¡.¡ BR/9. Ray Shore set an I.L. mark by appearing in 70 games in which he went 5–3. Like Tiefenauer, he pitched ¡05 innings. His

ERA was 2.83, his BR/9 ratio ¡2.6. Finally, we have Tony Jacobs, who split his year between Rochester and Springfield. In his 50 games, he rang up a good ¡2–3 mark, allowed ¡2.2 BR/9, and had an ERA of 2.63. I’d be tempted to go with Tiefenauer because his control was a touch better than that of the other two.

Southern Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Gus Triandos Harry Bright Bob Boring Dick Smith Ray Shearer Norm Siebern Bill Wilson Dick Sinovic William Kerr Hal Smith Ralph Novotney David Jaska

Dick Strahs Tom Fine John Kucab Jack Harshman Len Yochim

TEAM Birmingham Memphis Nashville New Orleans Mobile Birmingham Memphis Atlanta Mobile Birmingham Nashville Atlanta

Memphis Memphis Birmingham Nashville New Orleans

G 97 140 154 147 150 150 112 156 138 127 125 149 G 34 37 25 40 37

AB 367 482 612 587 542 537 402 587 482 434 371 556

GS 30 23 23 34 29

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 135 70 224 26 3 19 75 43 4 .368 .610 .441 142 62 215 21 5 14 77 40 7 .295 .446 .351 193 108 308 42 5 21 111 37 2 .315 .503 .365 165 104 221 33 7 3 45 85 24 .281 .376 .374 166 84 253 31 10 12 84 77 3 .306 .467 .393 151 94 249 25 5 21 97 91 10 .281 .464 .387 125 85 250 19 2 34 101 67 3 .311 .622 .418 201 106 319 35 7 23 126 56 7 .342 .543 .402 154 72 199 23 8 2 63 74 13 .320 .413 .411 135 49 172 24 2 3 61 34 2 .311 .396 .364 100 40 126 14 0 4 61 71 0 .270 .340 .388 183 84 219 25 4 1 51 73 7 .329 .394 .407

CG 18 10 8 17 17

SH 3 0 3 2 2

I find the fact that Bill “Moose” Taylor of Nashville did not make the top five list of S.A. outfielders puzzling. He led the league with a .350 average, and his .574 SA was third. He hit 22 homers and drove in 93 runs despite playing in only ¡07 games. His .4¡6 OB% was also better than four of the five men picked ahead of him. Now, perhaps the league scribes decided that they had enough ponderous sluggers in the outfield, and so figured Taylor to be superfluous. Well, all right, but then why not have Harvey “Landed” Gentry as one of the elite five? The Nashville teammate of Taylor led all flyhawks in put-outs with 4¡0 and was not lacking in hitting skills, hitting .294 with ¡5 homers, drawing ¡06 walks and scoring ¡09 runs.

W 16 12 10 23 14

L 8 11 8 7 14

% .667 .522 .556 .767 .500

IP 243 175 156 250 233

H 253 205 184 262 242

ER 85 68 79 94 93

SO 153 51 59 139 117

BB 91 69 38 90 116

ERA 3.15 3.50 4.56 3.38 3.59

BR/9 12.8 14.1 13.0 12.7 14.0

Utility man Jaska played third and short. The hill sta› would have been better served with the addition of Art Fowler and the subtraction of Johnny Kucab. The Atlanta Cracker’s Fowler was ¡8–¡0 with a 3.30 ERA, substantially better than Kucab’s numbers. If a reliever had been selected, the best choice would have been Birmingham’s Joe Crowder. He pitched ¡27 innings in 38 games and went ¡0–4 with a 3.26 ERA. Harshman, it should be noted, hit .3¡5, slugged .63¡, and had an OB% of .440. he also smashed ¡2 homers and had 40 RBIs, appearing in 46 games besides the ones in which he pitched.

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP

NAME Joe Altobelli James Cleverly Jim Finigan Tom Korczowski Danny Schell Rocky Colavito James Engleman Kenneth Worley Charles Saverine No selection made Wally Burnette Steve Kraly

TEAM Reading Reading Binghamton Wilkes-Barre Schenectady Reading Binghamton Elmira Schenectady

G 148 133 141 133 149 146 148 115 146

AB 528 450 512 485 556 528 517 338 464

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 155 76 213 28 9 4 65 73 15 .294 .403 .383 140 112 175 15 10 0 43 81 39 .311 .389 .419 155 76 248 38 8 13 80 58 3 .303 .484 .377 138 48 197 17 3 12 55 45 12 .285 .406 .347 185 90 285 36 5 18 112 74 6 .333 .513 .418 143 89 260 21 6 28 121 64 1 .271 .492 .352 154 88 250 30 3 20 101 83 1 .298 .484 .401 86 29 104 16 1 0 30 28 6 .254 .308 .311 118 67 187 23 2 14 64 88 3 .254 .403 .379

G 31 23

GS 29 22

CG 23 19

SH 5 7

Binghamton Binghamton

W 21 19

L 10 2

% .677 .905

IP 249 190

H 192 138

ER 58 44

SO 107 139

BB 79 85

ERA 2.10 2.08

BR/9 9.9 10.8

¡953 A well-chosen team lacking only a utility man, of which the league had a pair of quality qualifiers. First, may I present Wilkes-Barre manager Danny Litwhiler. He played third and outfield and hit .270. He had power, however, as his 26 home runs were second in the league and aided him in garnering a .505 SA, second in the league. The other handyman was Billy Harrell of Reading. He played third, short, and the outfield and finished second in the league with a .330 BA. He also was second with 33 steals, was tied for fourth in runs with 89, and tied for fifth in RBIs with 84.

369

The pitchers too were well-chosen, but I feel that two more should be noted: Tom Casagrande of Schenectady and Ed Cereghino of Binghamton. The former went ¡6–7 with an ERA of 2.62 and allowed ¡¡.¡ BR/9, and the latter went ¡¡–3 with a 2.59 ERA and allowed ¡0.5 BR/9. The league also had an all-star worthy reliever in Ed Zinker of Schenectady. He relieved in 35 of his 43 appearances and led the eastern league in ERA with 2.07. He was also second in BR/9 allowed with ¡0.0 figure.

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT SP SP

NAME Joe Andrews Hank Aaron Robert Hyatt Felix Mantilla Everett Joyner Ted Delguerico Omer Tolson Harry Minor Tom Giordano Lewis Davis Clarence Zeiser Larry Lassale

TEAM Jacksonville Jacksonville Columbus Jacksonville Columbus Charleston Augusta Savannah Savannah Columbia Columbia Jacksonville

G 129 137 89 129 114 118 109 89 141 131 G 32 29

AB 479 574 322 490 471 436 411 302 552 502 GS 31 24

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 149 82 201 28 0 8 84 58 6 .311 .420 .388 208 115 338 36 14 22 125 35 13 .362 .589 .399 104 53 184 22 8 14 60 26 11 .323 .571 .382 136 110 188 22 6 6 48 94 13 .278 .384 .405 161 77 236 25 10 10 62 17 19 .342 .501 .365 145 93 226 28 7 13 84 61 5 .333 .518 .419 124 47 165 19 5 4 60 48 1 .302 .401 .377 78 42 132 15 0 13 51 65 0 .258 .437 .390 155 111 263 26 5 24 91 89 6 .281 .476 .385 153 83 210 31 5 6 69 74 2 .305 .418 .396 CG 15 19

SH 3 3

Five outfielders were competing for three spots. Old standby Horace Garner tied for sixth in homers with ¡5, hit .305 and was fifth in slugging with .493 for Jacksonville. He was also one of only a handful of league batters to surpass the .400 mark in OB%. Jim Bolger of Columbia hit .30¡, slugged .466 scored 88 runs (fifth) and drove in 82 (tied for eighth). Giordano played second and short. Davis was strictly an outfielder, and the league may have been better served by selecting Savannah’s Wiley Williams. Wiley played third and the outfield, hit .279 and was

W 18 19

L 9 5

% .667 .792

IP 243 204

H 198 152

ER 70 53

SO 89 185

BB 94 105

ERA 2.59 2.34

BR/9 11.1 11.4

third in the league with 20 home runs. He also contributed 80 RBIs. Jacksonville’s Ed “Old” Crone won ¡9 games (he lost ¡¡) and had a 2.38 ERA. His ¡0.9 BR/9 ratio was the league’s second best. Larry Shepard, who took over the reins at Charleston on June 20th, was ¡0–8 for a team which was 29 games under .500, and led in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.8 mark. Danny Napoles (Savannah) relieved in 43 of his 45 games and wound up ¡0–8 with a sterling ¡.99 ERA.

Western League (A) Jerry Crosby, third baseman for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (add another “X” to the Sox and, voila, there you have it: a team name for the twenty first century) was robbed. His BA was lower at .302, .but his SA and OB% were quite a bit better at .5¡3 and .427. He walked ¡06 times, scored ¡00 runs, drove in ¡¡5 and hit 25 homers (in a game on April 20th he hit homeruns in four consecutive innings). I think that, in the outfield, at least one more spot

should have been opened. Frank Rice, an excellent fielder, smacked 25 homers and drove in ¡04 runs. He hit only .287 however. Len Johnston of Colorado Springs hit .3¡8, had a .404 OB%, and led the league with ¡33 runs and an impressive-for-the-era 60 steals. Ley played second, third, short, and outfield. It should be noted that Spooner allowed only 5.7 hits per nine innings and struck out ¡¡.6 per nine. That is a darned good 2–¡ strike-out to hit allowed ratio.

Western International League (A) Storey was a playing manager. First base co-choice Weaver played 39 games in the outfield, and would have made an excellent utility se-

lection. In the event that scenario had occurred, my second first baseman would have been the fancyfielding Vic Buccola. He was not without skill at the

370

Minor League All-Star Teams

Western League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Jim Gentile Curt Roberts Bob Ries Clyde Perry Glen Gorbous Jim Landis Russell Rac Orinthal Anderson Sam Hairston Jack Shepard William Ley Norman Brown Nelson King Jake Thies Robert Zick Joe Stupak Karl Spooner

TEAM Pueblo Denver Denver Colorado Springs Pueblo Colorado Springs Omaha Denver Colorado Springs Denver Colorado Springs

Lincoln Denver Denver Des Moines Sioux City Pueblo

G 38 50 31 35 37 21

GS 34 2 26 29 29 20

G 156 151 153 148 156 128 126 138 143 84 129

AB 537 587 580 561 607 473 444 508 535 306 459

CG 28 2 9 19 23 12

H 145 171 191 139 204 148 134 155 166 99 140

SH 5 0 1 2 2 4

R 115 126 102 79 94 87 83 105 84 48 74

W 21 15 16 14 19 11

L 11 3 9 12 13 6

TB 280 243 271 175 286 221 243 235 244 149 181

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 25 4 34 102 97 1 .270 .521 .388 32 2 12 70 94 17 .291 .414 .393 40 5 10 89 56 0 .329 .467 .397 24 3 2 79 51 3 .248 .312 .312 29 10 11 103 60 10 .336 .471 .398 23 4 14 68 51 10 .313 .467 .391 24 8 23 90 76 3 .302 .547 .416 22 2 18 102 97 6 .305 .463 .426 42 6 8 102 48 3 .310 .456 .370 21 1 9 63 46 0 .324 .487 .414 22 8 1 56 60 21 .305 .394 .390

% .656 .833 .640 .538 .594 .647

IP 284 99 196 240 242 153

H 251 87 181 195 249 97

ER 98 22 53 79 101 43

SO 107 87 102 138 121 198

BB 105 22 81 108 88 115

ERA 3.11 2.00 2.43 2.96 3.76 2.53

BR/9 11.6 10.5 12.2 11.6 12.8 12.8

Western International League (A) POS 1B 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME Clinton Weaver Leonard Noren Leonard Tran Harvey Storey Gene Tanselli Bob Wellman Stan Palys Granville Gladstone James Deyo Jack Warren No selection made John Conant Gene Roenspie Jack Spring Arthur Worth

TEAM Edmonton Yakima Tri-City Vancouver Salem Yakima Spokane Victoria Salem Tri-City

G 122 141 133 140 137 112 128 85 124 120

AB 444 571 481 501 562 432 487 310 575 443

G 42 31 27 29

GS 32 20 26 17

CG 27 16 12 10

Edmonton Salem Spokane Spokane

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 157 83 254 31 6 18 101 77 7 .354 .572 .449 187 89 235 29 5 3 75 23 13 .327 .412 .362 141 114 196 23 4 8 86 137 7 .293 .407 .452 172 58 254 38 7 10 85 49 4 .343 .507 .403 166 115 243 30 7 11 72 53 16 .295 .432 .360 151 88 272 39 2 26 112 59 2 .350 .630 .430 161 111 272 35 5 22 95 80 4 .331 .559 .429 108 72 192 23 2 19 93 56 5 .348 .619 .456 158 75 254 38 7 10 85 49 4 .275 .442 .333 157 75 210 29 0 8 98 74 4 .354 .474 .454 SH 2 0 2 2

plate, he merely lacked “first base power.” He hit .308, walked ¡23 times for a .442 OB%, and scored ¡¡2 runs. The selectee at second might easily been mistaken for one of the millions of tree stumps that adorn the huge clear cuts of the Northwest. The cat-unlike Tran “got to” 2.5 chances a game, a ridiculously low figure, even if the entire Tri-City sta› were fly-ball pitchers and strike-out artists. Don Hunter (Calgary) scored ¡¡0 runs, drove in 90, and hit 26 homers, tied for second in the league. He hit .292 and slugged .522, and, more importantly, got to 5.5 balls a game, a more than imposing three a game more than Tran. James Brown of Spokane would have been the fielding maven’s keystone selection. The .28¡ hitting, 84 run scoring whiz got to a very good 6.¡ chances a game. What a choice: Tran, the no-field on-base-getter, Hunter, the powerhouse, Brown, the Gold Glove. Hunter for me; adequate afield and at the plate, and with power. I would take another Calgary Stampeder in the outfield, over Deyo. Charles Mead led the league in

W 24 19 14 11

L 13 5 8 6

% .649 .792 .636 .647

IP 275 198 188 153

H 264 188 173 149

ER 97 73 84 65

SO 130 89 157 97

BB 72 77 94 77

ERA 3.17 3.32 4.02 3.82

BR/9 11.2 12.2 13.0 13.5

runs (¡24), RBIs (¡¡6), home runs (3¡) and also had fine .328/.575/.444 averages. Adieu, Deyo. Jack Warren, Chosen Catcher, would have, like Weaver, made a fine utility man, only better. Warren played half of his games at catcher, dividing the rest between third and the outfield. With Warren occupied elsewhere, the catcher becomes Victoria’s Milt Martin. The Miltster hit .307 and drove in a workman-like 75 runs. With two would-be utility men already in the fold, adding another candidate might seem like overkill. Nonetheless, Warren Tran, Leonard Tran’s brother as well as Tri-City teammate, filled in spots not covered by the other two utility possibilities. W. Tran played second, third, and short and hit .302 with an OB% of .394. Two pitchers need to be mentioned for the reader to make an informed choice as to whether the chosen sta› was the correct sta›. Pete Hernandez of Vancouver was ¡8–¡0 and led the league in ERA with a 3.06

¡953 mark. His BR/9 ratio was ¡2.4, good for the league and the year. Joe Nicholas started his season at Lewiston,

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but went to Salem after two games. He compiled a 23–7 record and was sixth in ERA with a 3.2¡ figure.

Big State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME William Ankoviak John Lucadello Oran Davis Everett Hall Albert Neil James Kirby Jacques Monette Humbert Marti No selection made

TEAM Texarkana Wichita Falls Texarkana Wichita Falls Wichita Falls Tyler Waco/Longview Wichita Falls

G 145 131 137 120 137 141 133 119

AB 514 429 530 499 519 540 510 377

H 158 129 177 169 185 172 160 103

Noel Oquendo Gale Pringle Fred Allen Green Patricio Scantlebury

Wichita Falls Tyler Waco/Longview Texarkana

G GS CG SH W L 40 28 13 1 16 10 34 24 19 1 17 9 28 25 18 2 13 8 39 33 28 5 24 11

Perry Roberts, Wichita Falls first baseman, hit .347 and slugged .5¡7. His OB% was weaker than Ankoviak’s at .38¡, and the two were, for all intents and purposes, equals in runs and RBIs. So, I figure, why not go with the one who played for the pennant winning (and play-o› winning) team, in this case, Roberts of the Spudders. But this choice is in no way immutable. In the outfield, I can come up with three nonselectees who hit .329, slug .572, and have an OB% of .403 (compared to the selectee’s .330, .547, and .396). My three guys hit 8¡ homers and had 330 RBIs, the chosen trio had 67 and 300. So, am I saying that the wrong three were selected? No, not at all. What I am trying to express is the di‡culty that existed in some of these leagues and/or at some positions. What’s the solution? Well, since these All Star teams were not chosen for posterity and no one knew way back when that Baseball would become a serious scholarly subject, it is up to us who love baseball to preserve all these little pieces of the past which would otherwise be lost forever. Roy Sanner, Texarkana outfielder, hit .3¡3 and slugged .52¡. He drove in ¡¡8 runs and hit 20 homers. Howard Boles of Wichita Falls hit .333 and had an excellent .682 SA. He blasted 36 homers and drove in ¡¡8 runs. Tyler’s Dean Sta›ord hit .34¡, slugged .534, hit 25 homers and had ¡06 RBIs. Now, which of the selectee’s should not have been such so that one or more of these fellows should gain entry through the Portals of the Immortals? Well, Neil is just the best the Big State had to o›er, so he stays. Kirby, in comparison to the unwanted three is weak, so strike him

R 75 104 114 90 126 69 108 48

TB 220 191 261 233 353 232 273 144

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 29 3 9 82 98 13 .307 .428 .424 28 2 10 93 122 3 .301 .445 .456 45 6 9 75 81 6 .334 .492 .428 27 5 9 60 23 16 .339 .467 .370 43 4 39 137 76 1 .356 .680 .443 30 3 8 68 35 20 .319 .430 .363 25 14 20 95 61 13 .314 .535 .388 20 3 5 43 51 1 .273 .382 .363

% .615 .654 .619 .686

IP 232 238 203 286

H ER 203 95 189 60 182 73 314 107

SO BB ERA BR/9 161 107 3.69 12.3 166 53 2.27 9.2 169 107 3.24 13.0 177 69 3.37 12.1

and input Boles. That leaves three virtually identical players: Monette, Sanner, and Sta›ord. Sta›ord is the best fielder of those who remain, so put him in the line-up. So, now we have Neil, Boles, and Sta›ord. Sanner and Monette can be either spare outfielders or forgotten. My choice would have been to have five flyhawks. There was no utility man selected. William “Whitey” Wietelman, Wichita Falls playing manager is the answer to what was an unasked question. He played first, second, short, and was 8–3 as a pitcher. The Spudders also won both the season crown and the play-o›s. “Whitey” hit .279 and scored 60 runs while performing this mélange of di›erent jobs. Dean Franks was ¡7–¡8 for the .473 playing Austin Pioneers. He had a 2.72 ERA (third in the league) in his league-topping 3¡0 innings, and was third with a ¡0.6 BR/9 ratio. Jodie Phipps of Greenville/Bryan was ¡6–8 and topped all qualifiers with an excellent 2.¡9 ERA, and his superior 9.4 BR/9 mark was topped only by Pringle’s superior (to coin a phrase) 9.2. George Walker of Tyler relieved in 38 of his 4¡ games and went 5–¡ with a fine 2.57 ERA. Finally, one short-service pitcher needs to be recognized. Ramon Salgado of Longview was in ¡6 games, thirteen of which he started and eleven of which he completed. He was ¡0–4, allowing only 6 hits every nine innings. His ERA was a tremendous ¡.7¡, and he had a total BR/9 ratio of 9.5. Oh, and one more thing: Patricio Scantlebury, the second Panamanian pitcher to reach the big leagues (and the first from the U.S. administered Canal Zone) hit five home runs and drove in 24 runs.

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Minor League All-Star Teams

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

NAME Bill Radulovich Joe Rovner Bobby Caldwell Don Buddin Jack “Brazen” Hussey John Mitchell Bob “On My” Honor Ed Sadowski Jennings Edwards Rudy Tanner

SP SP

Eddie Neville Ramon Monzant

TEAM Durham Danville Danville Greensboro Raleigh Reidsville Burling.-Graham Greensboro Raleigh Raleigh

G 101 137 137 140 141 138 140 96 140 136

AB 395 471 568 543 476 582 558 341 547 579

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

41 37

27 31

23 22

4 3

21 23

8 6

.724 .793

264 254

243 193

67 77

138 232

74 107

2.28 2.73

10.9 10.8

Durham Danville

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 138 62 231 28 4 19 90 54 0 .349 .585 .429 116 74 178 25 5 9 57 83 5 .246 .378 .360 160 82 253 43 1 16 104 29 5 .282 .445 .319 163 98 289 37 7 25 123 73 6 .300 .532 .388 139 103 262 32 2 29 112 137 1 .292 .550 .453 184 98 242 27 8 5 63 40 52 .316 .416 .362 183 89 273 35 5 15 96 52 16 .328 .489 .386 93 56 163 19 0 17 57 31 9 .273 .478 .339 146 82 222 23 13 9 77 65 7 .267 .406 .347 164 80 252 42 8 10 79 51 5 .283 .435 .349

Burling. is Burlington.

A well-selected team. Although he was a shortstop, the choice of Jennings at the utility infield position was as good as any, since no player fulfilled a legitimate handyman role there. The pitching choices were also fine. However, I would add two starters and a reliever. Bill “Ninety

Six” Voiselle was ¡3–3 with a 2.5¡ ERA and the top BR/9 mark of 9.5. Bernie Rossman, Voiselle’s Raleigh teammate, was 20–5 with a 2.45 ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9. Ted Beck (Winston-Salem) was called in from the bullpen on 37 occasions and wound up with a 4–4 record, a 3.00 ERA, and allowed ¡0.6 BR/9.

Gulf Coast League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Stan Goletz Manuel Perez Jorge Lopez Charles Schmidt Juan Senties Delton Childs Warren Schroeder Henry Robinson No selection made

TEAM Galveston Texas City Laredo-Harlingen Galveston Laredo Texas City Port Arthur Galveston

Bill Bagwell Vallie Eaves Tillman Mike Conovan James Price

Texas City Brownsville Galveston Harlingen

G 132 134 55 141 132 139 144 141

AB 469 493 204 495 557 538 554 553

H 145 159 49 148 211 188 209 193

R 119 114 29 101 120 96 109 109

TB 265 190 75 245 302 246 314 318

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 33 9 23 100 113 6 .309 .565 .447 19 6 0 51 71 31 .323 .385 .413 12 1 4 37 32 1 .240 .368 .346 27 2 22 99 84 3 .299 .495 .403 34 6 15 72 59 18 .379 .542 .438 34 12 0 88 84 42 .349 .457 .439 43 19 8 99 75 10 .377 .567 .453 39 1 29 130 53 1 .349 .575 .416

G GS CG SH W L % IP 41 — 25 4 26 7 .788 283 32 — 29 3 19 11 .633 272 47 — 13 2 21 8 .724 271 33 — 25 6 24 4 .857 229

Ron Gi›ord of Texas City handled almost a full chance a game more at second than did Perez (6.3– 5.5). Given the closeness in their hitting (Gi›ord’s averages were .306/.437/.4¡7), I think the advantage swings to Gi›ord based on his greater mobility. Unlike the situation at second, where the decision could have gone either way, the third base choice is just plain goofy. To begin with, Lopez only played eleven games at third. That, plus the fact that he was no hitter, leaves the position open in the cold light of reasoned analysis, tempered through the all-seeing spectacles of hindsight. By far the best fielder in the league was Robert Heddington of Port Arthur, who had a FA of .94¡ and a BA of .293. He drove in 78 runs and had a .385 OB%. On the other hand, by far

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 258 96 179 113 3.05 12.0 247 79 115 68 2.61 10.5 176 86 212 164 2.86 11.4 175 49 192 84 1.93 10.4

the best hitter of the third basemen was Vince Liberto of Corpus Christi. His averages were a robust .3¡0/.472/.4¡7, he hit ¡7 homers, scored 92 runs, and drove in ¡¡¡. The problem was that he fielded and atrocious .877. Interestingly, he handled almost exactly the same number of chances a game that Heddington did, which leads me to believe that he had a Steve Garvey-like scattergun arm. So, which is it to be, defensive ability or the ability to bop the ball? I’m afraid that, for me, that .877 is just too much to overcome. The reader may disagree, and I can certainly see the merits of having a bigger bat in the (any) lineup. But, man, as I said, that .877 is just too large a rock in my boot for me to keep walkin’ with.

¡953 In the outfield, Robert Pugatch of Galveston hit .332 and slugged .546, hit 27 homers, and had ¡¡8 RBIs. If I were to select him, it would be in place of Delton Childs. Now, Childs was strongest where Pugatch was weakest, having a .439 OB% to Pugatch’s .392, and the reverse situation occurred in the slugging/power departments. I would sacrifice some of Childs’s OB ability for Pugatch’s power if it was un-

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avoidable, but I would rather have a four-man outfield roster. I would also make an addition to the pitching sta›, adding Miguel Lopez of Lake Charles. He was ¡5–¡0 for a team which finished 35 games under .500 and played .33¡ ball when he was not involved in the decision. His ERA was 3.06. Vallie Eaves, by the way, had a fine season for a 42 year old.

Piedmont League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UTINF UTOF

NAME Wayne Wallace Charlie Neal Joe Blake Bob Lillis Jerry Lynch Joe Vann Durham Ken Guettler Ted Laguna Raymond Lindquist Joseph Monteiro

TEAM Lynchburg Newport News Hagerstown Newport News Norfolk York Portsmouth Hagerstown York Richmond

G 134 124 114 129 132 129 131 90 92 131

AB 500 444 394 553 541 487 448 332 350 517

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 139 83 203 28 3 10 66 69 135 83 198 24 12 5 74 63 117 71 172 26 7 5 64 66 152 102 198 25 6 3 60 65 180 97 320 33 22 21 133 54 150 96 227 19 8 14 69 87 119 92 239 20 5 30 113 116 96 57 149 24 1 9 64 55 100 48 137 15 8 2 45 45 161 83 255 22 6 20 104 52

SB 4 24 2 20 7 28 1 5 7 9

BA .278 .304 .297 .275 .333 .308 .266 .289 .286 .311

SA OB% .406 .369 .446 .400 .437 .402 .358 .358 .591 .394 .466 .417 .533 .420 .449 .392 .391 .369 .493 .377

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Lloyd Merritt Norfolk 29 27 19 2 20 5 .800 225 189 61 120 74 2.44 10.8 SP Tom Horton Hagerstown 21 18 11 3 12 4 .750 141 105 33 71 84 2.11 12.3 SP Emerson Unzicker Newport News 36 21 11 3 14 6 .700 154 109 50 78 101 2.92 12.8

The old “do you go for good defense or with the more powerful o›ense” story was played out on the bloody grounds (speaking figuratively, of course) of the Piedmont’s hot corners. League choice Blake was by far the best hitter of the three candidates, but he fielded .898. Pedro Arroyo of York had a .938 BA and a .267 BA. He scored 76 runs, but only drove in 33. Joe Wheeler of Portsmouth was even weaker at Bat (.238 BA), but even better afield (.943 FA). His OB%

was helped by ¡00 walks, and he scored 78 runs. It is my irrevocable decision that, in this case, I will split the di›erence and have two shortstops: Blake and Wheeler. Please note that Jerry Lynch had an exceptionally rare 20–20–20 season. I am unsure that Unzicker deserves a spot on the sta› over Wilson Parsons of Norfolk. Parson was ¡5–7 with a league leading 2.04 ERA and was second in BR/9 ratio with an ¡¡.2 mark.

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Dan Phalen Ben Tomkins Ed Barbarito Woody Held John Herman Frank Tanana Joseph “Holy” Podoly Louis Heyman No selection made

Jim Owens John Anderson Seth Morehead Walter Seward

TEAM Waterloo Terre Haute Quincy Quincy Peoria Peoria Terre Haute Terre Haute

Terre Haute Terre Haute Terre Haute Peoria

G 42 34 39 33

G 129 128 128 102 128 125 129 93

GS 29 28 26 24

AB 479 506 505 376 491 471 497 307

CG 21 17 9 15

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 141 92 249 14 5 28 108 73 4 .294 .520 .398 160 102 238 25 4 15 70 85 11 .316 .470 .417 162 101 296 33 7 29 127 74 10 .321 .586 .415 119 93 204 20 4 19 65 89 6 .316 .543 .453 150 106 255 30 3 23 108 66 3 .305 .519 .393 146 92 226 18 4 18 87 89 10 .310 .480 .427 158 94 255 35 13 12 95 54 14 .318 .513 .388 85 69 149 13 1 16 86 80 0 .277 .485 .432

SH 4 1 2 2

Len Williams of Evansville batted .306 and had a .400 OB%, neither far of o› the marks posted by Tomkins, but his SA was .438 and he had 24 homers and drove in 95 runs. As their fielding was just about

W 22 18 11 11

L 8 11 10 10

% .733 .621 .524 .524

IP 244 231 187 199

H 167 225 158 167

ER 68 85 85 83

SO 197 139 206 181

BB 139 73 167 120

ERA 2.51 3.31 4.09 3.75

BR/9 11.4 11.8 15.7 13.1

equal, going with Williams seems the only rational choice. In the outfield, Neb Wilson of Keokuk, who was in only 60 games, hit .333 and slugged .633. In those

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Minor League All-Star Teams had a .286 BA and a .54¡ SA, and led the league with 30 dingers. Two players tied for the league’s best BR/9 ratio and failed to make the Three I Elite. Joe Stanka, who would become the second American to pitch in Japan, was ¡2–8 with a league-best 2.35 ERA. Humberto Robinson, who would go on to become the first Panamanian to reach the majors, was ¡7–8 with a 2.68 ERA. I would have chosen either or both over Morehead and Seward.

60 games, he scored 53 times, hit ¡7 homers, and had 70 RBIs. He would have made a fine spare outfielder. Another part-timer, Nate Peeples of Keokuk and Evansville, stole a league-topping 36 bases and scored ¡02 runs in his 90 games. He hit .33¡, slugged .539, and had another league-best in his .468 OB%. Herman hit in 27 straight games during the season. No utility man was chosen. However, Marv Throneberry of Quincy should have been. He played first and the outfield, scored 94 runs, drove in 85,

Tri-State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Philip Qualben Lamar Bowden Jack Falls William Kallas Joe Fuller James Finn Karol Kwak Joe Pignatano Pompeyo Davilillo

Eugene Law Fred Kipp

TEAM Spartanburg Spartanburg Gastonia Rock Hill Spartanburg Spartanburg Anderson Asheville Charlotte

Spartanburg Asheville

G 43 22

G 101 149 146 133 150 150 147 121 105

AB 395 502 536 489 666 598 565 433 455

H 141 147 175 147 228 186 203 137 139

R 96 101 94 86 134 117 112 92 78

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 206 25 5 10 77 68 17 .357 .522 .455 253 22 3 26 73 127 14 .293 .504 .439 272 29 4 20 93 75 2 .326 .507 .413 205 28 9 4 62 74 20 .301 .419 .399 315 32 8 13 73 39 30 .342 .473 .384 303 44 8 19 140 67 7 .311 .507 .389 295 40 5 14 117 95 3 .359 .522 .452 205 24 13 6 82 67 22 .316 .473 .415 180 25 5 2 46 37 24 .305 .396 .360

GS 32 20

CG 27 16

SH 8 3

W 24 15

L 6 5

Kallas played only half of his games at short. Anderson’s Patricio Witremundo Quintana batted .298, slugged .468 and had an OB% of .399. He had ¡5 homers, drove in 75 runs, scored ¡02 times and stole 30 bases to tie for the best total in the league. At short, make mine P.W.Q.

% .800 .750

IP 286 165

H 286 122

ER 81 41

SO 120 144

BB 69 55

ERA 2.55 2.24

BR/9 11.3 10.0

Davalillo played short. A better utility man would have been shortstop choice Kallas, who also played second and third. Obviously, this was one of the year’s best-selected All Star teams.

Arizona-Texas League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Manuel Magallon Moises Camacho Victor Canales Joe Joshua Lloyd Jenney Gordon Windhorn Eduardo Cruz Ernest Choukalos No selection made

TEAM Bisbee-Douglas Mexicali Juarez Tucson Tucson Phoenix Juarez Tucson

Wenceslao Gonzalez Marcelino Solis LeRoy “Corky” Reddell Don Cantrell

Juarez El Paso Tucson Phoenix

G 132 139 132 135 139 121 139 106

AB 544 589 562 540 539 528 565 403

H 200 201 186 194 198 168 185 138

R 120 120 79 164 140 116 143 74

TB 308 293 222 331 343 239 305 227

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 40 4 20 116 59 3 .368 .566 .430 35 9 13 105 57 10 .341 .497 .403 21 6 1 104 24 7 .331 .395 .365 32 9 29 128 87 39 .359 .613 .459 47 13 24 152 115 12 .367 .636 .482 18 4 14 66 45 31 .318 .453 .376 24 24 16 88 79 17 .327 .540 .411 23 6 18 87 30 4 .342 .563 .398

G GS CG SH W L % IP 44 32 25 1 22 12 .647 275 39 24 10 0 13 13 .500 209 38 32 31 2 29 5 .853 289 34 30 22 0 20 9 .690 252

Canales was a playing manager. Charles Lundgren, Tucson second baseman, led the league with 34 home runs, an unusual feat for a keystoner. He was also first with a .484 OB% and ¡33 walks. He finished second with a SA of .68¡ and his ¡48 runs were also second. By the way, he not only

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 279 128 276 138 4.19 13.9 259 122 123 121 5.25 16.8 278 85 209 118 2.65 12.5 268 119 159 122 4.25 14.1

scored those runs in only ¡¡6 games, he also had fewer hits (¡37) than runs, a very uncommon achievement indeed. He should have been named to the spot, end of story. I’m afraid that future Yankee and Dodger Gordie Windhorn would be left o› of a team over which I

¡953 had selectorial powers. I would have gone with four men on the squad, Jenney, Cruz, Mexicali manager Art Lilly, and Bob Brown of Phoenix. Lilly had .340/.597/.47¡ marks, hit 22 homers, drove in ¡07 runs, and scored ¡22 times. Brown averages were .335, .560, and .43¡. He hit 29 homers, scored ¡26 and drove in ¡29 runs. Ed Roberts of Tucson played first and outfield and led the league with a .392 average. He slugged .586 and got on base .467 percent of the time. He scored 95 runs in his 93 games, and should have been chosen as a utility man. I mean, how can you overlook a .392 hitter? The Arizona-Texas League had seven 20 game winners (and a ¡9 game winner), all of whom were passed over for the ¡3–¡3, 5.25 stylings of Marcelino Solis. The ¡9 game winner was Rene Gutierrez who pitched for Mexicali. He struck out 235 opponents and finished with the second best marks in ERA (3.24) and BR/9 (¡2.6). Ron V. Smith was 23–22 for the 59–80 Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings. He struck

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out 2¡2 hitters in his work-horse 330 innings and had a 4.36 ERA. Rex Cecil split his year between Mexicali and El Paso and went 2¡–¡2, 4.27 with a ¡3.2 BR/9 ratio (fourth in the league). Cal Humphreys won 20 for Tucson and had a 3.80 ERA. Finally, ATex/A-Mex legend Nate Moreland was 20–¡3 for Mexicali and was second in the league with a ¡2.7 BR/9 ratio. By the way, the seven 20 game winners hit a collective .244 with 25 doubles, 94 RBIs and ¡¡¡ runs. The league hit .290. Tucson hit .3¡8, slugged .497, had a .408 OB%, and scored 8.¡ runs a game. There were an average of ¡3.2 runs scored in each Az.-Tex. game. Perhaps the oddest happenstance was the batting of catcher Robert “Conan” Howard of Phoenix. He was personally responsible for lowering the entire league batting average by a point and a half. In a league that batted .29¡ without him, Howard, who played in ¡26 games, hit .¡75, slugged .30¡, and had an OB% of .276. He musta been some catcher.

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UTINF UTOF

SP SP SP SP

NAME John O’Keefe Leo Alarid Ray Perry Geo. “Sparky” Anderson Edward Sobczak Marty Keough Jose Perez Roland LeBlanc Albert Karan Albie Pearson

Truman “Tex” Clevenger Clair “No” Parkin Tony Freitas Edwin Mayer

TEAM Visalia San Jose Bakersfield Santa Barbara San Jose San Jose Ventura Fresno Santa Barbara San Jose

San Jose San Jose Stockton San Jose

G 138 74 141 141 137 124 116 113 119 125

AB 534 279 501 598 519 491 440 379 433 461

H 175 92 169 157 175 162 164 120 119 154

R 107 46 120 98 105 92 55 68 68 106

TB 319 119 320 201 288 217 212 188 182 205

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 37 4 33 137 77 6 .328 .597 .414 15 3 2 50 26 0 .330 .427 .389 41 1 36 119 142 16 .337 .639 .487 21 4 5 55 57 13 .263 .336 .331 35 9 20 142 76 17 .337 .555 .425 21 11 4 72 47 28 .330 .442 .391 26 8 2 80 46 8 .373 .482 .434 26 3 12 65 45 13 .317 .496 .392 22 1 13 79 85 2 .275 .420 .397 23 11 2 43 108 14 .334 .445 .463

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 19 18 15 2 16 2 .889 155 96 26 157 49 1.51 8.5 31 27 21 3 18 9 .667 226 172 57 192 94 2.27 10.8 34 32 28 3 22 9 .710 279 261 74 174 45 2.39 9.9 29 29 16 2 17 8 .680 208 187 73 172 106 3.16 13.0

Perry, LeBlanc and Ventura were playing managers. I think I would have gone with two first basemen. Dick Wilson of Modesto was close enough in batting (.3¡8) and slugging (.543) that his big OB% lead (.453 ) makes up for those deficits. He scored ¡08 runs and drove in ¡25. At second, Don Lopes would have been my choice despite averages of .233, .38¡, and .383. Lopes scored ¡¡3 times, had 83 RBIs and stole 28 bases. The reason for my preferring Lopes lies in the field, however. Alarid got to a rather poor 4 chances a game, Lopes to a rather good 5.5, and that’s good enough for me. At third, note “Moose” Perry’s o›-year: .337 BA, a low .639 SA, and a puny .487 OB%. Short is another toss-up position. Modesto’s

William Figueroa (he of the rare “all-the-vowels-in one name” club) was a weak hitter (.246/.307), but Sparky was no A-Rod himself. Figueroa was one of the (also) rare 500 assist men, and his 5.9 TC/G was almost a full chance a game better than Anderson’s 5.0, and that’s a lot at any level. Perez’s .373 season is as weak a .373 as you are likely to see (especially that .482 SA and those, frankly, pathetic 55 runs). I would opt instead for Bakersfield’s Bill Garbe. Garbe hit .3¡8, but despite the 55 point di›erence in BA, his SA and OB% were almost the same as Perez’s (.483 and .438). His 4¡ doubles tied with Perry for the league lead, and he scored ¡¡7 runs, 62 more than Perez. League infield “utility” choice Karan played only at third. A better choice, both from a handyman and

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Minor League All-Star Teams team over his mound mate Mayer. Palica went ¡5–5, had a 2.6¡ ERA, and allowed ¡¡.4 BR/9. Please take note of Clevenger’s super 8.5 BR/9 ratio. And, for those of you who are keeping track of the Hall of Fame for Nifty Names, here’s two more entrants: Loyal Bloxam and Billy Jack Cornsilk.

a hitting standpoint would have been Nick Ananias who played second, third, and short for Fresno and Visalia. He hit .279, slugged .470 and walloped 22 homers. He also had 92 RBIs and scored ¡¡¡ runs, all better than Karan. Frietas, who led in IP and wins, was 45 years old. Ambrose Palica of San Jose should have made the

Cotton States League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Patrick O’Keefe Hugh “Honey” Glaze Ray Posipanka Adolph “ Rudy” Regelsky Louis Schaufele Harold Martin Eugene Pompilia William Lewis No selection made

Bob Harrison Tom Pollet Robert Brown Charles Lindquist

TEAM El Dorado Meridian Greenville Meridian Jackson Hot Springs Meridian Meridian

Meridian Greenville El Dorado Greenville

G 33 37 29 37

G 105 111 125 110 121 121 118 113

GS 29 27 20 26

AB 377 428 458 401 428 491 461 416

CG 26 17 14 14

H 128 152 153 116 135 169 148 123

SH 6 1 5 2

Lindquist was a playing manager. El Dorado manager/second baseman Marion Adair may have only hit .295 to Glaze’s .355, but in 57 fewer plate appearances, Adair scored only five fewer runs and drove in ¡9 more. He was second in the league with 29 homers and his .588 SA was third. And, speaking of third, Hot Springs’ hot corner guardian Clarence Tuckey should have been the selectee. Not because he had a better season than Posipanka, but because Posipanka should have been selected as a utility man (he played first and second in addition to third). Tuckey hit .273 and was the league’s best afield.

R 75 89 103 65 101 127 103 72

W 19 16 15 14

TB 183 187 228 199 262 350 206 190

L 8 11 10 10

2B 3B HR RBI BB 29 4 6 75 79 19 5 2 68 57 31 7 10 84 98 18 4 19 92 56 38 4 27 110 91 32 13 41 111 64 29 4 7 63 93 26 1 13 105 51

% .704 .593 .600 .583

IP 247 218 187 210

H 218 206 181 215

ER 59 91 66 77

SB 4 19 12 11 6 23 24 6

SO 172 112 134 134

BA .340 .355 .334 .289 .315 .344 .321 .296

BB 46 134 76 124

SA OB% .485 .456 .437 .431 .498 .453 .496 .379 .612 .444 .713 .422 .447 .438 .457 .382

ERA 2.15 3.76 3.18 3.30

BR/9 9.7 14.2 12.5 14.7

Shortstop Regelsky hit five homers in a row over two games. Marv Hatcher had the misfortune to pitch for the 26-games-under-.500 Monroe Sports. Nevertheless, he went a very respectable ¡3–¡6, .448 for the .397 playing (.38¡ without him) Monrovians. His 2.86 ERA was second in the league as was his ¡2.2 BR/9 ratio. Pine Blu›’s John Chapel was the best fireman in the league, coming into 32 games from the pen. He was 8–5, 3.¡2 on the year.

Longhorn League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Joe Bauman Ossie Alvarez Julio de la Torre Stan “Scooter” Hughes Glen Burns Charles “Buddy” Grimes Elias Osorio Les Mulcahy No selection made

Leonard Ruyle Gilberto Guerra Marshall Epperson Robert Gregg

TEAM Artesia Roswell Midland Midland San Angelo Roswell Carlsbad Artesia

Artesia San Angelo Carlsbad San Angelo

G 45 37 40 32

G 132 131 118 128 127 119 123 131

GS 32 28 29 29

AB 463 538 470 528 495 471 481 514

CG 22 21 22 17

H 172 156 155 147 171 162 179 176

R 135 114 99 117 113 86 103 106

SH ? 2 ? 3

W 20 18 15 18

TB 376 201 254 233 331 223 291 330

L 10 12 10 10

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 43 1 53 141 130 4 .371 .812 .515 19 4 6 70 48 16 .290 .374 .350 35 5 18 96 33 5 .330 .540 .384 38 4 16 71 49 32 .278 .441 .353 36 5 38 121 65 3 .345 .669 .425 31 6 6 84 49 8 .344 .473 .410 26 19 16 104 48 8 .372 .605 .432 52 0 34 143 81 3 .342 .642 .434

% .667 .600 .600 .643

IP 273 240 248 200

H 292 228 217 181

ER 114 97 106 81

SO 165 89 214 172

BB 105 63 115 124

ERA 3.76 3.64 3.85 3.65

BR/9 13.2 11.2 12.3 14.1

¡953

377

league had to o›er. He played first, second, third, and short for Roswell, Carlsbad, and Big Spring, hitting .30¡ and scoring ¡03 runs. As an aside: The Longhorn All Star team hit .332, slugged .565, and had ¡87 homers (not including pitchers). Ruyle is listed as having ¡4 shut-outs, Eppereson as having ¡6. I, err ah, don’t believe that those totals accurately reflect history. Left of o› the squad were Mario Saladna who was only ¡3–¡0 but who led the league in ERA (3.47) and BR/9 ratio (¡¡.2), and Audie Malone who led the league with 25 victories and an .806 winning percentage (he lost 6). He was also sixth in ERA with a 3.84 mark. Not quite qualifying as an All-Star on the field, yet making the Name Hall of Fame was Odessa pitcher Orlando Zgraggen.

Bauman was a playing manger (and what a playing manager! .5¡5 OB% and a gargantuan .8¡2 SA). An excellently selected team, I would replace Grimes with Roman Lyko of Odessa in the outfield. Lyko only hit .3¡5, but his secondary averages were .528 and .4¡7, he scored ¡25 runs in ¡23 games and led the league in put-outs. Lester Mulcahy played every one of his games at catcher and, as you probably already noticed, hit 52 doubles. Isaiah Jackson (Carlsbad) hit a monster (for a catcher) .388, slugged .604 and had a .448 OB%. In just about any other year in just about any other league, he is an All Star. (And poor Midland catcher Art Bowland. He hits .345, drives in 8¡ runs and scores 9¡, and is a very distant third-best at his position.) Armando Gallart was the best utility man the

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME John “Tito” Francona Santo Luberto John Morse Blas Fernandez Frank Gravino Jerald MacKay Horace Greenwood Bernard Gerl No selection made

Raymond Seif Raymond Coombs Burton Ostby John Fitzgerald

TEAM Aberdeen Fargo-Moorhead Fargo-Moorhead Sioux Falls Fargo-Moorhead Sioux City Duluth Duluth

Fargo-Moorhead Sioux Falls Grand Forks St. Cloud

G 123 126 103 117 125 124 121 121

AB 474 457 369 459 471 462 502 395

H 154 165 118 142 166 155 176 111

R 92 120 112 98 136 115 120 94

TB 227 219 159 189 369 234 225 163

2B 35 29 12 16 23 21 25 22

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 10 6 79 65 9 .325 .479 .413 5 5 105 92 24 .361 .479 .474 10 2 44 84 41 .320 .431 .452 14 1 51 69 16 .309 .412 .402 12 52 174 90 11 .352 .783 .464 14 10 80 87 21 .335 .506 .445 12 0 49 91 33 .351 .448 .452 3 8 84 90 6 .281 .413 .426

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 32 28 23 4 20 5 .800 257 222 72 163 96 2.52 11.3 31 22 14 0 18 6 .750 201 186 64 107 84 2.87 12.2 24 19 15 4 13 6 .684 164 151 56 145 65 3.07 12.3 20 20 10 1 8 8 .500 136 94 55 161 93 3.64 12.8

Luberto managed the Twins for two weeks while regular manager Zeke Bonura was absent. Joe Camacho did not have quite the range Fernandez did (5.2–5.7 TC/G), but he was a much e›ective hitter. He hit .296, slugged .450, stole 37 bases, had 90 RBIs and led the league by scoring ¡39 runs in ¡26 games. He’s the man for me. In the outfield, Pete Kousagan of Duluth finished second in the league with a .525 SA, ¡8 homers and ¡¡8 RBIs. He hit .325 and had a decent .426 OB%. I would not replace any of the selected Northern League outfielders, but I would most certainly add Kousagan to the roster of those immortalized in baseball’s Valhalla. Once again, there was no utility selection, even though throngs of Volstags and Fafnirs demanded that it be so. Well, maybe not throngs, but perhaps Mrs. Maupin did, for it was Willis Maupin who toiled to earn what was, in the end, an honor unearnable: Best Utility Player in the Northern League. Maupin

caught, played outfield and first, and even pitched. The lad hit .283, scored 54 runs and hit ten home runs. Please check out Gravino’s season. It is no flight of hyperbole to proclaim it as “Truly Ruthian.” His 52 homers were almost three times the number attained by the runner up, and were more than four other entire teams hit. He had 54 more RBIs than the number two man. He had ¡29 more total bases than did the runner-up. His slugging average, a mighty .783, exceeded the next best by a phenomenal 250 points. What a year! James Mazzola of St. Cloud was ¡8–6, had the number two ERA in the league (2.54) and the best BR/9 ratio of any hurler who pitched enough innings to qualify for the title, ¡¡.2. Unfortunately, like so many other pitchers in the lower minors who had career years, he is conspicuous by his absence from any post-season roster, roll, or rota. My nomination for the coolest cognomen in the Northern League? Billy Zeke Strange.

378

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pioneer League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME John Moskus Stanley Miller John Hack Lazaro Terry Oscar Sardinas Pedro Almenares Frank Robinson Ellsworth Dean No selection made

TEAM Salt Lake City Billings Idaho Falls Ogden Great Falls Great Falls Ogden Salt Lake City

Reno Barbisan Clyde DeWitt Carl Wells Allen “Collie” Flaugher

G 131 113 129 127 126 112 72 121

AB 504 383 507 513 466 458 270 444

H 160 125 156 168 194 157 94 120

R 101 76 107 100 105 66 70 51

TB 285 196 200 210 287 243 177 150

2B 23 28 23 25 43 28 20 17

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 9 28 6 76 1 .317 .565 .414 11 7 96 100 8 .326 .512 .470 0 7 82 97 7 .308 .394 .420 7 1 52 55 3 .327 .409 .402 16 6 104 116 7 .416 .616 .537 11 12 114 20 10 .343 .531 .373 6 17 83 53 3 .348 .656 .471 5 1 65 49 4 .270 .338 .345

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 40 29 20 1 17 12 .586 238 271 102 142 74 3.86 13.1 33 26 16 3 19 8 .704 219 180 79 162 130 3.25 12.9 26 26 18 4 19 6 .760 218 179 89 170 190 3.67 15.7 32 18 17 3 14 6 .700 180 183 47 111 55 2.35 11.9

Idaho Falls Salt Lake City Ogden Ogden

A pretty well selected squad. I would add a fourth outfielder, Olney Patterson of Ogden. He hit .298, but his ¡38 walks (and ¡¡ HBPs) gave him a good .476 OB%, and allowed him to score ¡¡3 runs. He also led all outfielders in POs. Joe Potts, Great Falls catcher, had .306/.4¡¡/.4¡9 averages, the latter two being especially important since Dean’s were so very low. Potts scored 65 runs.

There was no utility selection, but Potts’s Electrics teammate Johnny Roseboro was Potts’s back-up and played outfield. He hit for .3¡0/.475/.434 averages, stole 24 bases, and had 78 runs. I would add one pitcher to the sta›, the Salt Lake City Bees Burton B. Barkelew. The B-man went ¡2–3, 2.58 and fell nine innings short of qualifying to lead the league in BR/9 ratio with his ¡0.3 figure.

Western Association (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME Ellis Daugherty Sam Goody Harold Olt Gordon Figard Joseph Beran Glenn Zimmerman Daniel Toma Jay Drake No selection made Rogers Fister John Dean Roger Sawyer Edward Donnelly

TEAM Topeka St. Joseph St. Joseph Hutchinson Hutchinson St. Joseph Muskogee St. Joseph

St. Joseph Topeka Hutchinson St. Joseph

G 32 36 32 29

G 136 100 105 141 141 126 115 109 GS 30 24 32 19

AB 480 389 315 516 503 497 486 406 CG 21 20 24 5

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 139 86 219 23 6 15 91 106 5 .290 .456 .423 93 59 118 15 5 0 35 46 6 .239 .303 .320 84 61 119 16 8 1 48 86 11 .267 .378 .425 130 104 209 17 7 16 94 90 14 .252 .405 .370 129 113 270 22 4 37 118 128 7 .256 .537 .407 144 72 181 27 5 0 65 50 6 .290 .364 .358 152 76 217 20 12 7 56 24 7 .313 .447 .346 107 55 155 19 2 8 66 40 11 .264 .382 .333 SH 4 0 9 1

Olt was a playing manager. Second base selectee Goody’s real name was Goodsoozian. And speaking of second base, Goodsoozian was no better than the third best of that species in the old W.A. Rex Babcock of Hutchinson had .279/.424/.383 averages, scored 89 runs and drove in 82. I, however, would lay the mantle of All-Starhood on Mel Lightner of Topeka. He hit better than Goodsoozian, but not as well as Babcock (registering .25¡/.370/.356 numbers). But his fielding, ahh, his fielding…. He handled an amazing 7.5 chances a game, including 542 assists. That kind of leather makes up for a lot of lumber in my book.

W 17 19 22 9

L 11 7 5 7

% .607 .731 .815 .563

IP 243 228 258 160

H 143 210 204 155

ER 63 71 57 73

SO 239 193 200 102

BB 151 85 76 92

ERA 2.33 2.80 1.99 4.11

BR/9 11.0 11.9 9.9 14.2

At third, short-timer James Charles of Ft. Smith played in 79 games but had 7¡ RBIs, scored 54 runs and had ¡6 homers, tied for third in the league. He hit .32¡, which would have led the league if he had had enough at bats, slugged .563 which is a ditto, and add a third ditto for his .428 OB%. In the outfield, Daniel Chepkauskas (definitely a Balt, my guess is Latvian) of Muskogee who hit .280, had a .4¡9 OB%, drove in 78 runs (eighth most), and scored 90 runs (tenth best). Lamar Moore (Hutchinson) hit .266, but scored ¡¡5 runs (first in the league) and drove in 82 (tied for fourth). Either or both would replace either Zimmerman or Toma (or both) in my outfield.

¡953 Edward Opich (as he appears four times in the fielding stats) or Opik (as he is listed in the hitting stats) was the league’s best utility man, although a weak hitter. He played first, second, third, short, and outfield (he may also have caught, but in fewer than ten games). He hit only .229, but did score 5¡ runs. I would add three pitchers to the hill sta› (two starters and a reliever) and drop Donnelly. The ad-

379

ditions are Ray Baer of Topeka, Delmar Edwards of Ft. Smith, and Robert Anderton of Hutchinson. Anderton was ¡6–6 with a 2.62 ERA and was second in the BR/9 standings with a mark of ¡¡.0. Edwards was 20–¡3 with a 2.56 ERA, and allowed only 7.2 hits per nine innings. Unfortunately, he walked ¡7¡ batters, which brought his BR/9 number up to ¡2.9. Bær relieved 32 times and went ¡¡–5 with a 2.62 ERA.

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP SP

NAME G. Douglas Lewis Forr. “Frosty” Kennedy John Bruzga Robert Brown Roberto Fernandez Roy Woldt Don Stokes Frank Benites Isaac “Ike” Palmer Jose Valdavielso J. Winfield Eldridge

Carroll “Red” Dial Charles Garmon Joe Hinchman Eddie Locke Sam Williams

TEAM Pampa Plainview Amarillo Plainview Lubbock Pampa Plainview Clovis Abilene Lubbock Borger

Clovis Lubbock Albuquerque Amarillo Pampa

G 141 142 142 85 142 133 141 129 138 119 138

AB 571 549 574 374 589 507 568 472 547 494 508

H 221 225 199 105 233 168 242 155 201 143 207

R 142 156 132 85 146 134 165 124 114 89 139

TB 350 390 321 172 403 235 399 276 340 199 338

2B 66 43 42 18 53 34 64 38 56 21 48

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 6 17 130 73 7 .387 .613 .458 4 38 169 98 28 .410 .710 .507 1 26 128 78 5 .347 .559 .427 11 9 52 42 20 .281 .460 .361 15 29 134 51 45 .396 .684 .445 9 5 58 115 15 .331 .464 .458 6 27 174 92 4 .426 .702 .506 4 25 136 73 5 .328 .585 .422 7 23 110 57 18 .367 .622 .429 13 3 57 40 21 .289 .403 .348 13 19 105 113 9 .407 .665 .517

G GS CG SH W L % IP 48 34 29 0 28 11 .718 308 35 32 24 4 21 9 .700 235 38 32 23 2 24 10 .706 268 37 26 24 5 21 7 .750 226 52 32 25 1 25 12 .676 281

Palmer was a playing manager. The All-Stars (minus the pitchers) hit .365 (.37¡ without the anomalous Brown), slugged .595, and had a .448 OB%. Frosty Kennedy had a season for the ages. Unfortunately for the WTNM All-Star team, it was not as a second baseman, as he only played 37 games there. The best actual keystoner in the league was Frank Kempa of Borger. In the field, he led the league in FA, assists, put-outs, DPs, and TC/G, all by a wide margin. And, while he was no Frosty at the bat (and few second basemen at any level were), he was not bad, compiling .332/.497/.440 averages, driving in 96 runs, and scoring ¡25 times in ¡29 games. (By the way, Kennedy also set a WTNM league record by hitting in 40 consecutive games. He broke the record set earlier in the year by Ray Newsome of Lubbock. Frosty also had a 27 game streak later in the season.) At short, Amarillo’s Bill Wilhite appears to have been, if not a better choice, at least as good a one as Brown. He hit .303 and scored ¡03 runs. I think, however, that when one takes fielding into account, the best shortstop in the league was utility choice Jose Valdivielso (he played 86% of his games at short). It is in the outfield where things really get hairy.

H 320 228 271 236 338

ER 146 104 112 106 160

SO BB ERA BR/9 243 135 4.27 13.5 244 83 3.98 12.1 233 95 3.76 12.4 114 51 4.22 11.5 142 124 5.12 15.1

Fernandez? Oh yeah, you gotta go with him. Stokes? Indubitably. But Woldt? In this league? In this year? No whey, as Miss Mu‡tt said to the spider. Let’s see some of the fly chaser’s who were passed over for Woldt’s five homers and 58 RBIs (although in fairness, it must be said that Woldt was probably the best fielding gardener in the league). Exhibit A: Robert Featherstone, Lubbock. Although he hit a pathetic .305, he did score ¡34 runs and drive in ¡47 while finishing second in the league with 48 home runs. He also slugged a fine .658 and had a .436 OB%. Exhibit B: Pat Lorenzo, Borger. He out hit Featherstone by 7¡ points, compiling a .376 BA. His SA was a bit better (.672) despite hitting a paltry 36 home runs, as was his OB% (.450). In ¡42 games, he scored ¡45 runs and drove in ¡63. He was also a 30–30 man (a rare thing indeed in the ’50’s), as he stole 30 bases. Exhibit C: Jim Matthews, manager of Amarillo. He led the league in homers with 50. In his ¡39 games, he scored ¡62 runs and drove in ¡52. And, thanks to ¡33 walks, he also led the league with a gargantuan .533 OB%. My outfield would have been Fernandez, Stokes, and Matthews, with Lorenzo as a fourth, although it must in fairness be noted that Lorenzo had an un-

380

Minor League All-Star Teams

believable 42 errors in the outfield. (As an aside, the three who were selected had averages of .386/.6¡¡/ .472, hit 6¡ homers, scored 445 runs, and drove in 366. My three alternates had.339/.705/.47¡ averages, hit ¡34 homers, drove in 462 runs and scored 44¡ times. The three who would have been my outfield hit .405 (shades of the ¡894 Phillies outfield of Thompson, Hamilton, Delahanty and Turner spring to mind), slugged .722 and had an OB% of .495. They hit ¡06 homers, drove in 460 runs, and scored 473 runs. Thomas Je›erson Jordan, manager/catcher for Albuquerque, should have been part of a Caesar/Pompey/Crassius-like triumvirate of WTNM catchers. His .332/.574/.404 averages were decidedly uncatcherlike, and his 22 homers and ¡24 RBIs were much more akin to Yogi than to Choo-Choo. It is in the utility spots where the league comes up the shortest, however. The aforementioned Kennedy, he of the Monster Season and a second base selectee, played 49 games at first and 64 at third. Certainly that both qualifies him as a utility player and makes league infield utility choice Valdivielso’s season look like Dick Tracewski’s. And, though Eldridge had a huge season, a better utility choice would have been Roy Parker. He hit .353, slugged .690, blasted 4¡ home runs, drove in ¡60 runs and scored a prodigious ¡77 runs. He also happened to go ¡2–¡¡, finishing eleventh with a 4.95 ERA. Actually, the league probably should have had at least four spots for utility men. The abovementioned Jim Matthews, for example, also played first and caught. Ike Palmer could have been inserted in a utility slot (creating an opening for Jordan at catcher), as he also played first, second, outfield, and even pitched in ¡¡ games. Bill Guice of Albuquerque played first and the outfield (and also appeared on the mound). He hit .350 and slugged .602, had 23 homers, ¡20 runs, and ¡45 RBIs. Pitching choice Eddie Locke also played in the outfield, hit .368 and

slugged .632 with ¡7 homers and 74 RBIs in only 82 games. Carroll Dial not only won 28 games, he also had 5¡ RBIs and hit ¡8 doubles. On the hill, a twenty game winner was a nonselectee, even though his year was better than Williams’s. Ed Arthur was 22–¡3 for the Plainview Ponies, tenth in the league with a 4.57 ERA, and allowed ¡4.2 BR/9, not exactly Florida International League material but top ten in the WTNM. An Amarillo Gold Soxer yclept “Black” Jack Venable was only ¡6–¡8, but had 295 strike-outs in 287 IP. Albuquerque twirler Grover Blacksher was only in 22 games (he went ¡0–6), but in this league of batting Briareus’s, he had an ERA of 2.84, 93 points better than the # two man. To show just how hard up for hurlers the WTNM League was, check out these stats for Bob “Pat” Garrett who started ¡6 games for Clovis and Borger and who was used in ¡¡6 innings: 5–7 (respectable, if not outstanding), 9.70 ERA and an incredible 22.9 BR/9 ratio! Some more data on the WTNM, for readers who have an interest in such matters: The league as a whole hit .296 (.304 if you deduct last place Abilene’s .267). A .366 BA would have gotten you tenth in the league. 3¡ players scored at least ¡00 runs, 22 had at least ¡00 RBIs. Sixteen players hit at least 20 home runs and nine had 40 or more doubles (28 had at least 30). Seven batters had 200 hits or more, twelve slugged .600 or above, and no fewer than four achieved the (truly) rare and magical .500 mark in OB%. Amarillo, which batted .308, scored 8.¡ runs a game, had a .5¡7 team slugging average and a .400 OB%. An average of ¡2.5 runs were scored in every WTNM game, and seven of the eight teams averaged at least 7.5 runs a game. The six twenty game winners hit .292 and slugged .435 with 27 homers and ¡95 RBIs. This, my friends, was the Land of the Big Stick.

Alabama-Florida League (D) Quimby (for Fort Walton Beach), Wilson, and Riddle were playing managers. At second, I guess the fact that Wilson led his team to the playo› championship should be enough. After all, he did have a fine year at bat. Still, Robert Phillips of Panama City did hit .353, did score ¡0¡ runs, and did have a good OB% of .459. But, I suppose Wilson’s the one. I don’t share that feeling of resignation re the league’s choice at short. Andalusia Arrows manager Julius McDougald just simply had a better year in everything but BA (he hit .299). He walked ¡05

times, which enabled him to have a .463 OB%, third best in the league. He also scored 93 runs. Outfielder William Farrar (Panama City) hit .3¡9 and scored ¡¡¡ runs, and Dothan’s James Cantrell hit .297 with 90 runs and ¡06 RBIs, the years fourth best total in the ALA-FLA league. Whether they are worthy of supplanting any of the three league selectee’s, well, I am ambivalent about that. None of the three had extraordinary years, but then neither did my two maybes. One thing I know for sure though is that one of them should replace Sinquefield who should have been the league’s didn’t-make-one utility

¡953 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Charles Quimby Homer Ray Wilson Edward Richardson David Garcia Julius Sheridan Roy Sinquefield Charles Wayland Goza Chase Riddle No selection made

SP SP

Nick Berbesia Spencer Davis

TEAM F.W.B./Graceville Dothan Panama City Dothan Andalusia Andalusia Panama City Panama City

Graceville Dothan

G 36 32

GS 17 22

G 109 115 100 69 113 93 114 117

CG 14 20

AB 368 421 376 299 455 338 450 439

SH 0 4

381

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 132 104 253 26 7 27 111 133 9 .359 .688 .532 136 84 181 20 5 5 69 66 13 .323 .430 .417 116 72 162 17 10 3 81 75 15 .309 .431 .424 92 61 109 12 1 1 33 40 11 .308 .365 .393 147 69 216 33 9 6 96 40 10 .323 .475 .384 117 68 173 13 5 11 74 45 5 .346 .512 .426 124 77 203 35 4 12 115 57 12 .276 .451 .365 179 131 301 29 9 25 125 80 44 .408 .686 .504

W 15 22

L 6 4

% .714 .846

IP 213 231

H 254 151

ER 106 31

SO 140 196

BB 55 94

ERA 4.48 1.21

BR/9 13.2 9.8

F.W.B. is Fort Walton Beach.

choice, as he went ¡4–4 on the mound, was second in ERA with an excellent ¡.89 mark and led in BR/9 ratio with another excellent mark of 9.¡. Obviously, he was also deserving of a spot on the All-Star hill sta›.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I have the honor of presenting to you ... Durwood Judah.

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Ed Levy Carvel “Bama” Rowell Jesse “Jack” Cade John Skorupski Thomas “Jack” Leonard Leon “Red” Treadway Richard “Base” Baller Othur Pardue J.C. Dunn

Joe Angel Howard Wise

TEAM Daytona Beach Cocoa DeLand Daytona Beach Sanford Jacksonville B. Daytona Beach Daytona Beach Sanford

Jacksonville B. Orlando

G 46 25

GS 28 23

G 116 126 131 135 127 123 129 131 128 CG 26 21

AB 440 498 501 497 502 472 555 495 516 SH 3 1

H 133 172 176 140 191 172 183 169 179 W 28 18

R 95 104 118 88 104 93 139 91 127 L 10 7

TB 212 244 242 203 232 225 241 237 284

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 33 2 14 99 75 8 .302 .482 .408 26 5 12 127 63 42 .345 .490 .426 26 14 4 82 88 34 .351 .483 .454 18 9 9 80 57 13 .282 .408 .369 27 4 2 112 80 32 .380 .462 .469 36 7 1 82 59 24 .364 .477 .436 20 10 6 78 48 60 .330 .434 .386 38 3 8 119 65 9 .341 .479 .423 29 8 20 122 48 32 .347 .550 .413

% .737 .720

IP 314 202

H 297 157

ER 92 58

SO 129 179

BB 63 116

ERA 2.64 2.58

BR/9 10.5 12.2

Jacksonville B. is Jacksonville Beach.

Levy, Rowell, Treadway, and Dunn were all playing managers. Leesburg shortstop Raoul V. Fundora had .3¡3/ .4¡5/.400 averages, moderately better than Skorupski. He fielded .938 to Skorupski’s .889 and had better range though, so I would lean toward Fundora. And, speaking of Fundora, his surname also reminds me of a girl I knew in the sixties named Dora, and we called her … well, you get the drift. In the outfield, I would add Cocoa’s George Hughes to the squad. He hit .329 and had one of the league’s best OB%s at .454. He also led league outfielders in POs with 347 and had 23 assists. Dunn played first, second, and the outfield. And, while we are on the topic of multi-positions, check out these mound marks for some of the positional All-Stars: Levy was 4–0 as a pitcher, Rowell was ¡¡–8

with a 2.95 ERA, and Cade was ¡0–3 with an ERA of 2.68, sixth best in the league. Daytona Beach hit .297 and scored 6.8 runs a game, which allowed Ernest Craumer to go ¡5–4, despite 4.37 and ¡6.9 BR/9 numbers. He did strike out 20¡ batters in his ¡79 innings, but he also walked an amazing 205. James Vickery, ace of the DeLand Red Hats, went 22–9 with a league best 2.23 ERA and certainly earned a spot on the league’s Dream Team. He whi›ed 243 opponent batters. A few asides: The league batted .294 against the Palatka Pilots/Lakeland Azaleas. Daytona Beach hurlers struck out 6.7 batters every 9 innings— and walked 6.3. The league’s coolest cognomens? I go for All-Star selectee Othur Pardue and the exquisite Wastine Yaomans, one of the all-time greats.

382

Minor League All-Star Teams

Georgia-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Franklin Van Burkleo Ken Hilyer Tom Burcham, Jr. Gene Freese Ultus Alvarez Haeford McKinney Larry “New” Hampshire Lamar Burford Edgar Sinquefield Robert Rand William Dixon No selection made

James Cater James Nisewonger Robert Koczwara Donald Kildoo George Wasconis

TEAM Brunswick Albany Valdosta Brunswick Thomasville Albany Thomasville Valdosta Brunswick Albany Thomasville

Tifton Brunswick Thomasville Brunswick Thomasville

G 35 31 41 16 22

G 132 136 93 117 139 137 139 122 128 122 136

GS 32 26 4 14 16

AB 443 512 336 460 547 480 482 450 439 438 450

CG 22 19 2 10 6

H 119 171 107 142 164 152 139 136 116 117 104

R 106 118 53 94 113 98 112 81 56 83 70

SH 4 3 0 2 1

W 24 18 15 9 14

James Stephenson, Thomasville first baseman, was just plain dissed by the powers that be. The lad hit .333, second by a point. He was sixth in runs with ¡09 and in RBIs with 96. Most importantly, however, he walked ¡40 times and led the league with a very good .485 OB%. At third, Burcham had the range of, how shall I put this, a plinth. He had less than an assist a game, a di‡cult task for a third baseman, and was involved in only 2.2 plays a game. To top it o›, he only handled 86% of those without a miscue. Put another way, he had ¡.6 chances a game fielded cleanly. I’m sorry, there is a line which even the most hardy exponent of the hitting game should not cross in feeding his jones. Burcham is beyond the pale. In his stead, I o›er Eugene Davis of Fitzgerald. He not only led the league in FA with a .927 mark, he handled 4.4 chances a game-double that of Burcham. Davis hit .278, drove in 89 runs and scored 90 times. Freese, the shortstop pick, played less than half his games there. He was the logical choice for utility, had the logical choice of choosing a utility player been made. Besides, he only fielded .9¡9. Now, John Angelone, there was a shortstop the GA-FLA could be proud of. Leader in PO, A, DP, TC, and FA, he

TB 188 256 148 211 268 216 184 181 63 177 143

L 10 6 2 5 2

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 13 4 16 109 130 6 .269 .424 .436 30 5 15 116 97 24 .334 .500 .443 14 9 3 48 52 0 .318 .440 .414 28 7 9 89 47 18 .309 .459 .374 26 21 12 123 60 12 .300 .490 .378 28 12 4 95 138 13 .317 .450 .472 20 9 3 50 97 16 .288 .382 .421 19 7 4 74 77 4 .302 .402 .409 20 3 7 81 82 21 .264 .144 .382 20 8 8 90 60 14 .267 .404 .361 13 4 6 74 104 3 .231 .318 .378

% .706 .750 .882 .643 .875

IP 254 213 142 112 125

H 195 189 104 87 118

ER 73 47 36 28 48

SO 251 115 58 113 63

BB 155 106 85 61 54

ERA 2.59 1.99 2.28 2.25 3.46

BR/9 12.8 12.5 12.2 12.3 12.7

also batted .305 and was sixth in OB% with a .440 mark. He drove home 79 runs and scored ¡0¡ himself. Two catchers chosen while the best was left to fade from memory in the forgotten fields of yestermore. The unhonored best was Brunswick manager Jack Paepke. He was sixth in batting (.3¡8), fifth in OB% (.442) and first in slugging (.578). He led the league in homers with 2¡ and was tied for third in RBIs with ¡09. He also led his team to victory in the post-season. And all for naught, all for naught. He simply did not receive his due from the Blind Watchers whose job it was to honestly and equitably pick one from the ranks and raise him, as though he were caught in an Ethereal Zephyr, to the fair, clear, dizzying heights of All-Stardom. There are no serious bones to pick with the choice of hill hounds. I would, however, either add a sixth or, if forced to choose, drop Wasconis, despite his gaudy ¡4–2 mark. In his place, I would insert Duell Foster of Waycross. He may have been but ¡3–¡2, but he was ¡3–¡2 for a team which finished ¡9 games under .500. He had a fine 2.79 ERA and the league’s best BR/9 ratio, ¡¡.0

Georgia State League (D) Van “The Babe Ruth of the Georgia State League” Davis hit .340, hit 44 homers in 44¡ ABs, scored ¡30 runs drove in ¡59 runs and walked ¡45 times in ¡26 games. He slugged .698 and had a fantastic .509 OB%. And yet, Van was vanquished in his quest for an All-Star spot at first base by Dyer of Statesboro. Let’s review: Davis scored 55 more runs, drove in 8¡ more runs, slugged 224 points higher and had eleven

times (!) as many homers, yet Van vanished from the ballots of the scribes. One must once again wonder if perhaps Dyer had some dirt on high mucketymucks in the league o‡ce. Now, I don’t know who (if anyone) I would drop from the outfield roster, but I do know who I would add. Vidalia’s Jim Burns had .347/.560/.467 averages, 99 RBIs and ¡05 runs. Jessup’s Carl Medley only hit

¡953 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME Vaughn Dyer Samuel Hernandez Ray Herrera Eli Maricich James Sosebee Bob Zuccarini James “Pete” Caudle Raymond Warzyniak No selection made Fred Huthmaker James Harp Milan Cop Don Quinn

383

TEAM Statesboro Hazle.-Baxley Hazle.-Baxley Eastman Jessup Hazle.-Baxley Eastman Eastman

G 100 125 122 124 123 119 125 120

AB 384 506 467 505 504 411 505 499

H 136 150 123 163 186 144 167 183

R 75 108 96 139 118 131 92 99

TB 182 205 184 289 282 235 290 291

2B 3B HR RBI BB 22 6 4 78 47 29 7 4 56 45 24 8 7 108 81 27 6 29 117 74 42 9 12 118 57 24 5 19 112 130 26 8 27 134 48 41 11 15 140 56

G 41 35 36 27

GS 25 25 22 12

CG 14 20 8 3

SH 2 2 0 0

W 19 19 16 11

L 9 11 4 1

% .679 .633 .800 .917

Hazle.-Baxley Eastman Hazle.-Baxley Douglas

IP 217 227 179 129

H 216 228 167 148

ER 97 84 91 69

SB 14 36 20 47 6 22 6 9

SO 110 102 130 42

BA .354 .296 .263 .323 .369 .350 .331 .367

SA OB% .474 .426 .405 .363 .394 .373 .572 .412 .560 .438 .572 .514 .574 .392 .583 .432

BB 99 42 129 77

ERA 4.02 3.33 4.58 4.81

BR/9 13.3 10.8 15.1 15.8

Hazle.-Baxley is Hazlehurst-Baxley.

.30¡, but he whapped 23 homers and drove home ¡29 runs No utility players were selected, but two should have been. Parnell Ruark, who played for Sanford and Dublin (and managed the former) caught and played outfield and led the league with a .372 BA. He was second with a .588 SA, and third with a .475 OB%. He drove in 84 runs in the 95 games in which he played. The other “shoulda been” is Richard Kostner, a shortstop who hit .296 and had a nice .432 OB%, as well as being a ¡6–6, 3.07 pitcher for Douglas. And on the subject of pitchers, it is hard to quarrel with an ¡¡–¡ record, but here is yet another of the many examples of the “It’s Better to be Lucky than Good” rule. Quinn was ¡¡–¡ with a 4.8¡ ERA and allowing ¡5.8 BR/9. Cop was not much better with his mismatched ¡6–4, 4.58, ¡5.¡ figures. Now, the Geor-

gia State was not a pitcher’s paradise, but still…. The aforementioned Kostner was second in the league with his 3.07 ERA and third with a ¡2.¡ BR/9 ratio and deserved a spot on the sta› as well as a handyman. Cecil “Rubber Arm” Hutson of Jessup led the league by a wide margin with his 265 IP and appeared in 60% of his teams games, pitching in an amazing (for the era) 75 contests. He was ¡7–¡2, sixth in ERA with a 3.46 mark and tied with Kostner for third with a BR/9 figure of ¡2.¡. The Georgia State League of ’52 was like the United States of today — a sharp divide existed between the haves (four teams played .600 ball or better) and the have-nots (four were under .400). I am glad to report that the league had two bodaciously named players: Anibal Guri and Seaborn Hay. There was also a certain Max “Useless” Uzelatz. He batted .000 in two games for Dublin.

Kitty League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME Ned Waldrup Peter Aviotti Howard Warrell Glenn Young Hal Crotts William Sells Howard Weeks Bill Wilhelm No selection made Ronald Foster Rodriguez Arias

TEAM Fulton Paducah Hopkinsville Paducah Hopkinsville Mayfield Fulton Paducah

Fulton Madisonville

G 45 37

G 105 103 109 117 111 118 98 96 GS 28 27

AB 431 408 440 443 461 467 346 358 CG 18 20

H 149 131 147 141 155 157 129 104 SH 0 3

Glen Young should have been selected as a utility player (he played second, third, and short), had there been one such. Had that occurred, the shortstop probably would have been Edwin Ericksen of Fulton. He did score ¡¡0 runs despite a .275 BA, thanks to a compensating .409 OB%.

R 93 85 113 102 101 86 100 54

TB 232 192 267 239 249 248 215 169

W 21 16

L 13 10

2B 3B HR 27 7 14 27 5 8 28 7 26 22 8 20 27 5 19 33 11 12 21 4 19 21 1 14 % .618 .615

IP 246 220

RBI BB 108 45 53 57 129 54 97 71 116 46 94 57 105 104 76 54 H 270 183

ER 125 89

SB 8 23 15 62 6 7 4 5

BA .346 .321 .334 .318 .336 .336 .373 .291

SA OB% .538 .415 .471 .404 .607 .409 .540 .421 .540 .401 .531 .412 .621 .524 .472 .386

SO 138 247

BB 98 76

ERA 4.57 3.64

BR/9 13.8 10.8

In the outfield, a slot should surely have been opened for young Joe Hicks of Madisonville. In his 67 games, he scored 65 runs and drove in 63, and had ¡3 triples and ¡6 homers. He hit .389 and slugged a mighty .704. Another candidate (remember Young above) for

384

Minor League All-Star Teams

the non-existent utility spot was Owensboro manager Marvin “Judge” Crater. He caught and played outfield and batted a robust .357. On the hill, two Paducah Chiefs, Marty Kutyna and Lee Peterson, merit consideration in consideration of Foster’s 4.57 ERA (and notice that he pulled

o› the rare feat of winning 20 games without pitching a shut-out). Kutyna went ¡7–7 with a 2.89 ERA and 202 strike-outs. Peterson was ¡5–7, 2.73 and struck out ¡70 opponents in ¡87 innings. And, may I introduce a third Paducah chucker, the honorable Kreisler Speas.

PONY League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Ken Walters Robert Taylor Pablo Rivera Frank McElroy John Maggio Robert Kosis George Alusik John Turk No selection made

Vince Trakan George Player Richard McClenney Robert Rauber

TEAM Jamestown Jamestown Olean Jamestown Bradford Hamilton Jamestown Bradford

G 122 126 123 124 120 119 89 87

AB 503 466 449 507 516 489 347 294

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 161 91 243 31 6 13 128 47 14 .320 .483 .383 134 97 186 14 10 6 77 85 7 .288 .399 .401 152 118 223 36 7 7 104 123 13 .339 .497 .483 158 118 211 24 13 1 88 92 22 .312 .416 .419 184 104 263 36 8 9 90 32 14 .357 .510 .395 144 99 236 32 3 18 105 61 4 .294 .483 .376 129 90 191 27 1 11 68 57 6 .372 .550 .471 105 82 165 28 7 6 81 83 3 .357 .561 .514

Jamestown Wellsville Bradford Hamilton

G GS CG SH W L % IP H 37 29 22 4 19 10 .655 233 205 37 31 17 0 14 14 .500 242 273 31 20 16 0 15 7 .682 169 154 34 25 16 3 15 11 .577 202 178

Wellsville manager/third baseman Ted Sepkowski would have had reason for being upset when the results of the scribes voting for the PONY Dream Team were made public. All Ted did was lead the league in homers with 37 (no one else had even 20), RBIs with ¡45 , and slugging with a very fine .658 mark. He also hit .339 and was the league’s best fielder at his position. In point of fact, both his home run and RBI totals were all-time PONY league records, which makes his not being selected even more puzzling. At short, Bradford’s Bernard Wenitski was McElroy’s superior at bat (compiling .3¡6/.45¡/.436 averages), and, in 5¡ fewer plate appearances, scored only thirteen fewer runs and had but eight fewer RBIs. They were also about equal in the field (.94¡, 4.9 TC/G for McElroy, .936, 4.7 for Wenitski). If push came to shove, I would have gone with Bernard. Hornell outfielder Ken Cox and Batavia outfielder Roman Mejias were as worthy of selection as Kosis. Cox hit .324, had a .536 SA, and wangled a .446 OB%. His ¡8 homers tied him for second behind (way behind) Ted Sepkwowski, and he scored 98 runs and drove in 86. Mejias hit .322 and had 97 RBIs and ran away with the league steals crown with 42.

ER SO BB ERA BR/9 65 144 64 2.51 10.7 123 179 126 4.57 15.0 72 112 101 3.83 14.3 84 142 119 3.74 13.5

And that doesn’t even address the Emil Panko situation. Only two players in the league both scored and drove in at least ¡00 runs: Pablo Rivera and our man Emil, who had a pair of ¡02’s. He also batted a not too shabby .322. The non-selected utility position could have ably been filled by the very poor third base choice of Rivera, who also played second and short. Thusly, Sepkowski gets his due and Rivera is still numbered among the elect. Four ’53 PONY pitchers had ERAs under 3.00. One (Trakan) made the All Star squad, three did not. Edward Andrews of Olean went ¡¡–2, had a 2.98 ERA (4th) and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.2 (2nd). His Olean teammate James Reynolds was ¡6–6 and was third in both ERA (2.92) and BR/9 (¡2.0). Thomas Lawson of Bradford was ¡¡–6 and second with a 2.84 ERA. It must be said, however, that Lawson was one lucky chucker, as he allowed a horrid ¡5.6 BR/9. Finally, a wager: Batavia had a weak-hitting infielder (he hit .¡75) named Melvin Mrdjenovich. The wager? I’ll bet that he is the only pro ballplayer whose name started with those four consonants.

Sooner State League (D) Two first basemen had almost identical seasons, close enough to alike so that naming two squadristas would not have been out of order. Albert McCarty of Sherman-Denison, the non-selectee, compiled 322/.48¡/.447 averages and drove in ¡¡0 runs.

At second, McAllister’s James “The Closet” Schrank hit only .250, but his secondary averages (.408/.387) were as good or better than Robinson’s. Schrank also scored ¡¡2 times. However, a third second baseman must be added to the mix: Leon Akers

¡953 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Don Williamson Floyd Robinson Ronald Slawski Donald McGregor Russ Snyder Jackie Brandt Al Viotta Harrell Albert Stieglitz John Gannon George “Crash” Blash

SP SP

Donald Hu›man J.L. Rhodes

TEAM Pauls Valley Sherm.-Dennison Ada Ada McAllister Ardmore Ardmore Pauls Valley Lawton Ada

Shawnee Ada

G 36 33

GS 28 25

G 129 135 136 137 138 120 137 105 72 126

CG 22 22

385

AB 505 554 551 529 556 451 508 364 251 452

H 156 157 156 135 240 161 195 116 70 150

R 90 94 127 137 137 112 159 58 60 92

TB 215 231 274 200 310 284 356 169 102 247

SH 4 3

W 20 21

L 8 6

% .714 .778

of Shawnee. A weak .220 hitter with no power, he managed to score ¡06 runs because he drew the incredible (especially for a .220 hitter) total of ¡74 walks. His .436 OB% was far better than Robinson’s or Schrank’s, and getting on base is the heart’s core of scoring runs. I’m afraid that Robinson would have been no better than my third choice. On the face of it, Shawnee third baseman Charles Sleeper (.269/.473/.422, ¡¡6 runs) would not appear to merit serious consideration. However, Slawski fielded but .857, so an alternative choice needs examining. There is more to the Sooner State than meets the eye, however, as Sleeper fielded a better but still poor .899. Andrew Durika (Pauls Valley) had a FA of .933 and scored 95 runs, but hit only .232. The best fielder among the hot corner men, ShermanDenison’s Carroll Hostetter, who, although he scored 93 runs, hit just .¡97 (he was one of two SSL players who had sub-.200 averages yet drew over ¡00 walks, the other being the .¡88-hitting Lawton first baseman, Doug Davidson). Which brings us to the shortstop stop on our great Sooner State Infield Tour of ¡952. McGregor fielded .893 but had the best range in the league (4.4 C/G). The leader in FA at .933, Rich Klaus of Pauls Valley handled so few chances (a petrified log-like ¡.8) an that I could almost believe that error was made in entering his assist total. Klaus’s averages (.276/.445/.436) were all superior to McGregor’s. Klaus also, in ¡37 fewer plate appearances, had ¡6 more RBIs and scored at the same rate as did McGregor. The selection, when weighed from all angles, was indeed a di‡cult one. I give a slight edge to the league choice, based mostly on the fact that Klaus played shortstump instead of shortstop. An aside: Don’t look for any future Ozzie Smith’s at short in the ’53 SSL. Based only on players who appeared in at least ten games (and figuring that the LT¡0’s were even worse or they would have played more), the league shortstops fielded a collective .887

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 30 1 9 122 90 6 .309 .426 .418 20 6 14 87 45 26 .283 .417 .346 19 3 31 109 92 9 .283 .497 .389 21 7 10 60 132 33 .255 .378 .416 32 16 2 84 88 74 .432 .558 .510 28 7 27 131 78 14 .357 .630 .457 43 14 30 161 123 20 .384 .701 .511 39 3 6 77 30 1 .319 .464 .380 10 2 7 41 70 3 .279 .406 .440 41 4 16 93 88 7 .332 .546 .442 IP 224 228

H 169 218

ER 68 81

SO 250 192

BB 122 57

ERA 2.73 3.20

BR/9 12.0 11.0

and made 577 errors. In descending order, Pauls Valley shortstops had 40 errors and fielded .930, McAlester had 56/.922 numbers, Gainesville’s were 68/ .896, Ada’s 60/.893, Sherman-Denison’s 82/.890, Shawnee’s 69/.889, Ardmore had 87 errors and fielded .863, and Lawton’s shortstops committed ¡¡5 errors and “fielded” .809. Is it just me, or does it seem that Snyder had a rather (oxymoron alert) unproductive .432 season. Now, before any hackles are raised, yes, I do realize that .432 is .432, and that his low 84 RBI total could well be a function of his spot in the batting order. Nonetheless, his SA was only ¡26 points above his BA, and that does seem low for an over-.400 season. Utility man Blash played outfield and caught. Luis Muñoz of Gainesville deserves mention when it comes to ’53 SSL pitchers. He was ¡0–¡5, 3.79 for a 36–¡02, .26¡ team. Not only did the Owls finish 68 games under .500, they had an ERA of 6.48 (7.04 without Muñoz) and gave up 7.5 runs a game while scoring only 4.¡ (I wonder if the Owls played better at night.) James Peterson (Shawnee) also deserves mention. He had a league-best .792 winning percentage (he was ¡9–5) and led the league with an excellent ¡.94 ERA. Sixteen league pitchers had over ¡00 walks, and six of those had over ¡50. Three sta›s averaged 8 or more strike-outs a game, and Lawton pitchers walked 8.4 batters a game. How hard up was Lawton for pitchers? They gave J. Eugene “Ack-Ack” Fedak ¡5 starts and pitched him in 26 games for total ¡03 innings. He struck out a commendable ¡¡3 batters, but gave up ¡73 walks (¡5.¡/9IP) and allowed 23.4 BR/9. On the flip side of that (actually in the “It’s Better to be Lucky than Good” file), James Farmer of Ardmore had a season a lot like Fedak’s. Like Fedak, he struck out over a batter an inning (¡42 Ks in ¡35 IP), and, again like Fedak, he had serious control issues (¡89 walks in those same ¡35 innings, ¡2.6/9) which led to a humongous BR/9 ratio of 2¡.3. However, he

386

Minor League All-Star Teams

pitched for a team that scored 7.3 runs a game, and wound up a quite good ¡0–4. Two final I believe that catcher Steiglitz is the same Steiglitz who, although he appeared on the ¡960

Topps “Rookie Stars” subset, never made it to the majors. And, my favorite ’53 Sooner State cognomen: Laramie Boyd. Eeee-haw!!

Tar Heel League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Don Sta›ord Howard Henkle John Harrington Robert Cross Norman Small Russell “Red” Mincy George Rose Allen Baker George “Quaker” Oates John Gay Giles Setzer Bill Hare

Butler Jones Eli Grba Efird Gwaltney Fred Hengeveld Jose Nakamura William Forgay

TEAM H.P-Thom./Lex. Linc.-Statesville Ruth. County Ruth. County Mooresville Shelby Ruth. County Salisbury Ruth. County Shelby Hickory Ruth. County

Salisbury Salisbury Linc.-S’ville/Shel. Mooresville Shelby Lexington

G 113 94 81 109 95 110 106 40 101 99 95 113

AB 433 400 308 453 385 395 417 101 346 373 374 372

H 162 126 103 131 131 138 146 22 89 112 134 108

R 94 86 70 76 75 87 88 10 57 91 92 84

TB 274 163 134 193 206 219 224 39 130 180 209 150

2B 49 18 9 27 31 32 29 9 14 19 24 15

G GS CG SH W L % 20 9 5 1 7 4 .636 30 24 11 3 7 11 .389 27 20 12 4 9 8 .529 29 26 16 0 12 13 .480 39 29 24 3 19 11 .633 22 18 12 0 10 7 .588

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 3 19 124 76 3 .374 .633 .474 8 1 39 55 9 .315 .408 .400 5 4 35 33 9 .334 .435 .411 10 5 78 50 24 .289 .426 .364 1 14 87 34 6 .340 .535 .394 11 9 101 90 6 .349 .554 .474 11 9 110 60 7 .350 .537 .433 1 2 10 12 0 .218 .386 .301 6 5 60 59 2 .257 .376 .367 8 11 65 52 8 .300 .483 .392 6 13 72 50 6 .358 .559 .441 3 7 61 92 26 .290 .403 .436 IP 87 162 134 204 248 140

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 69 39 92 52 4.03 13.2 145 84 145 116 4.67 14.8 107 77 145 136 5.17 16.9 216 108 168 108 4.76 14.5 220 66 238 55 2.40 10.1 140 43 98 53 2.76 12.7

H.P.-Thom. is High Point Thomasville, Linc.-Statesville is Lincolnton-Statesville. Ruth. County is Rutherford County and represented Forest City.

Why was Robert “Bob” Barker, Marion shortstop, was spurned by the scribes of the Tar Heel circuit? Was it because of a hygiene problem? Was it his political a‡liation? Whatever it was, it sure wasn’t his performance. He outhit selectee Cross by 75 points (.364–.289), out slugged him by ¡33 points (.559– .435) and had a 99 point advantage in OB% (.463– .364). He also outscored him by 42 runs, ¡¡8–76. Were I a Conspiracy Theorist, I would suspect that perhaps some insidious malfeasance on the part of the selectors was afoot. The outfield was strong, but a pair of Miller’s were as strong as the designated garden sta›. D.C. “Pud” Miller, who split his campaign between Hickory and Shelby, rang up .349/.546/.433 numbers, was second with 20 dingers, and drove in 99 runs. Carl Miller of Marion had an even better set of averages (.333/ .6¡3/.470), finishing second in both SA and OB%. He also led the league with 2¡ home runs and ¡29 runs in his ¡09 games and chipped in ¡03 RBIs. I have absolutely no quarrel with a league which wants to select two catchers. In fact, I believe that that should have been done more frequently than it was. However, I do take a purist’s objection when one of those two catchers plays in but 40 games, hits a weak .2¡8, and accompanies that with a hardly

overwhelming .30¡ OB%. And I object even more when another catcher, one who hit .33¡ and had a .4¡5 OB%, is left out in the proverbial cold. The other catcher in this instance is Burl Storie, who played for Lincolnton and Mooresville, managing at the former. Storie also chipped in 65 RBIs. Gay was a utility man, playing outfield, short, and third. Setzer (who played first) and Hare (secondbase) were not. Get ready for this one, gentle readers: Kelly Jack Swift of Marion, conspicuous by his absence from a six-deep sta›, was second in ERA (2.54) and BR/9 ratio (¡¡.2), led the league in shut-outs (5), complete games (tied with Nakamura at 24), games pitched (52), innings (287), and strike-outs (a terrific 32¡, ¡0.9/9 IP). But I still haven’t pulled the rabbit out of my hat: Kelly Jack Swift won 30 games (and lost only 7 for a .8¡¡ winning percentage). How on earth could he not be chosen? Two other pitchers appear more deserving than Jones, Grba, or (Name Hall of Famer) Efird Gwaltney: Ralph Poole of Lexington and Woody Rich of Rutherford County. Poole was ¡5–9 with a 3.¡0 ERA and allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9, Rich was ¡¡–2 with a 2.65 ERA and allowed ¡¡.4 BR/9.

¡953

387

Wisconsin State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME William Adelhelm Roger Vander Wyst Joseph Tuminelli Pedro Ballester John Olczak Allan Shinn Bernie Mateosky Leonard Jackson No selection made

Edward Knapp James Spear Chester Vincent Robert Laskowski

TEAM Sheboygan Appleton Fond du Lac Fond du lac Janesville Sheboygan Wausau Janesville

Sheboygan Janesville Oshkosh Fond du Lac

G 28 27 31 31

G 123 113 118 119 122 74 119 102

GS 21 22 26 21

AB 481 432 436 435 433 289 438 361

CG 14 12 18 10

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 165 97 248 39 1 14 118 61 17 .343 .516 .426 122 78 159 20 7 1 31 63 11 .282 .368 .376 170 123 291 31 3 28 148 87 30 .390 .667 .504 137 82 218 19 4 18 91 74 21 .315 .501 .419 125 92 223 32 9 5 77 85 30 .289 .515 .408 92 73 139 17 3 8 54 46 8 .318 .481 .419 140 90 238 18 1 26 108 44 11 .320 .543 .382 101 57 151 20 3 8 63 39 11 .280 .418 .353

SH 3 0 2 1

Vander Wyst and Sheboygan’s Robert Parker had virtually identical averages (.285/.39¡/.375 for Parker) and both scored about the same number of runs (8¡ for Parker). Parker had better range (5.6 TC/G to Vander Wyst’s 5.0), and, given the overall similarity between the keystone duo, that alone might have swung the balance to Parker. The real reason I’m a Parker partisan, however, is the fact that Parker had 76 more RBIs than the Dutchman, finishing fourth with ¡07. I would also have selected Art Lettieri (of Oshkosh, b’gosh) over Shinn for an outfield spot. In addition to having 25 assists from right field, Lettieri also had averages of .303, .570 (2nd in the league), and .437 (third), whacked 23 homers, scored 87 runs and drove in an even ¡00. The ’53 Wisc. St. League was one of those which should have made room for two or even three catching spots. Calvin Biron (Fond du Lac) had .283/.387/ .394 averages and drove in 8¡ runs. Charles Scha›ernoth (Wisconsin Rapids) had .266/.379/.366 averages and 7¡ RBIs. You could put a blanket over them, blindfold yourself, pick one at random, and the end result would be just about the same. Pick either one, any two, or all three, and the team would be neither weakened nor strengthened. No utility man was selected, but those into whose hands the fate of the anxiously awaiting players was delivered were not lacking a man of protean qualities upon whom to bestow the never-fading laurels of fame which can only come from being chosen as an “All-Star” in a class D league of the early ¡950’s. You are wondering, no doubt, who this colossus of multipositionality, this Anteus of ambifunctionality, this man born of humble origins who rose, on his own merits and with ceaseless toil, to the position of being the perfect choice for a non-chosen position in a league which existed long ago and far, far away. Well,

W 15 10 14 11

L 8 12 9 11

% .652 .455 .609 .500

IP 177 181 181 182

H 177 190 127 220

ER 69 87 53 123

SO 144 159 203 118

BB 74 96 139 132

ERA 3.51 4.33 2.64 6.08

BR/9 12.8 14.4 13.6 17.7

wait no more. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you none other than the playing manager of the Wausau Lumberjacks, Wayne Blackburn! But seriously, Blackburn, who played outfield, second, and third, hit only .308 but had a dynamite OB% of .53¡. The 36 year old skipper stole 24 bases and drew ¡59 walks in his ¡¡4 games, ¡.4 a game. (He played 827 games at AAA level during his career, hitting .304, yet never got so much as a teaspoon full of co›ee in the bigs, let alone an entire cup.) Alrighty then, let us move along to the ’53 Wisconsin State pitching selections. Yes, I would definitely want to build a sta› around the stylings of the 6.08 ERA sporting, ¡7.7 BR/9 giving up Laskowski. And, if it is a left-hander you are looking for rather than the best pitcher available (as was almost always the case), well then, why look any farther than the league’s top winner and ERA leader, Mel Heim? Green Bay Bluejay Heim was ¡9–8 and sported a fine 2.¡4 ERA. He also had no errors in his 49 chances afield, hit a pair of home runs and drove in ¡4 runs. I can certainly see, given all the pertinent facts, why he would lose out to lanky “Lefty” Laskowski in the hearts and minds of the league scribes upon whom the awesome responsibility of selection fell. Of course, I am being a touch sarcastic, but reason seems so often to have fled in these choices that, like the Hands of Orlac, the spirit of Bob Davids (founder and patron saint of SABR) has taken possession of my two typing fingers. Spear compiled his record for a Janesville team which finished 37 games under .500. Normally, I have absolutely no problem with picking a pitcher with a losing record form an abysmal team. In this case, however, I am afraid that the incorrect such pitcher was selected. Spear’s teammate, Emil Stoyakovich, had a poorer W–L record (¡0–¡5) but was a better pitcher (3.74 ERA, ¡3.4 BR/9 ratio).

388

Minor League All-Star Teams 2.69) was also overlooked when the time came for honors to be doled out.

And finally lest I forget in all the hubbub over which sub-.500 pitcher and which southpaw belong on the team, Luis Perez of Wisconsin Rapids (¡3–8,

! ¡954 ! In ¡954, there were 36 leagues in the National Association. 28 of them (78%) named All-Star teams.

Pacific Coast League (Open) POS NAME

TEAM

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Oakland San Diego Hollywood Hollywood San Diego Hollywood San Diego Oakland Seattle

SP SP SP

Jim “Rufe” Marshall Al Federo› Jack Phillips Dick Smith Harry Elliott Tom Sa›ell Earl Rapp Leonard Neal Raymond Orteig No selection made

Tommy Byrne Bill Wight Lino Donoso

Seattle San Diego Hollywood

G 36 28 46

G

AB

166 168 160 136 168 166 162 107 119

603 630 577 517 640 567 566 344 354

172 90 284 175 110 196 173 70 271 152 87 192 224 93 319 158 89 220 191 102 314 93 30 136 90 35 154

H

GS 30 24 21

CG 24 18 8

SH 1 4 4

The PCL was far removed from its Jolly-ArlettBoone-Eckhardt-Ellison-Eldrid years. Not a one of these guys would have gotten a second look in the twenties or thirties. But enough editorializing and wistful thinking, on with the dissection. Phillips played third, short, and first, and the league would have been better served by naming him as a utility player. Had that logical step been taken, the third base spot would have become the domain of one John “Spider” Jorgensen. He hit .283 and scored ¡03 runs. (By the way, Artie Wilson of Seattle should have shared the non-existent utility spot. He played first, second, and short and hit .336 with 90 runs.) I would have added Cramer “Ted” Beard to the outfield roster. He hit .300 with a .407 OB%, scored

R

W 20 17 19

TB 2B 3B HR RBI

L 10 5 8

19 19 35 32 42 18 37 28 18

% .667 .773 .704

5 1 6 4 4 10 7 0 2

31 0 17 0 15 8 24 5 14

IP 260 210 205

BB SB

123 85 29 108 88 41 51 74 110 60 58 72 111 101 44 24 65 36

H 218 175 175

ER 91 45 54

15 15 3 23 8 48 2 2 0

SO 199 87 141

BA

SA OB%

.285 .278 .300 .294 .350 .279 .337 .270 .254

.471 .311 .470 .371 .498 .388 .555 .395 .435

.379 .393 .352 .388 .410 .366 .440 .322 .325

BB 118 72 51

ERA 3.15 1.93 2.37

BR/9 11.8 10.8 9.9

¡04 runs and stole 30 bases. He also had 447 Pos and ¡9 assists, and was the only PCL outfielder to reach the 3-chance-a-game plateau. Two Hollywood hurlers, Roger Bowman and George Munger, had seasons good enough to merit consideration for a spot on the All Star sta›. Bowman went 22–¡3 with a 2.5¡ ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.¡. Munger’s numbers were ¡7–8, 2.3¡, and ¡0.2, the latter two marks being second in the league. No relief pitcher was selected, but Milo Candini came out of the pen 44 times and was a fine ¡¡–4 with a 2.25 ERA. Byrne, who also played first and the outfield, hit .295, slugged .494, hit seven home runs and had 39 RBIs.

American Association (AAA) Gee, I hate to sound overly critical, but, what the heck is goin’ on here? The league’s Knights of the Keyboard bestowed their o‡cial “Seal of Eternal Approval and Glory” on a .289 hitting, .4¡3 slugging first baseman with eleven homers and 79 RBIs, while turning their collective backs on poor, unappreciated Gail Harris of Minneapolis. Gail was second with 34 homers, fourth with ¡¡3 RBIs, fifth with a .553 SA, and hit .309. Where the wisdom in that selection?

At second, it was St. Paul’s Charlie Neal who was given short shrift by the scriveners. Sure, he hit ¡4 points lower than did Mamlberg, but he out-slugged him by ¡¡3 points, doubled his RBI total, almost doubled his run total, hit ¡8 homers, and even finished second with 20 steals. If that is not enough, Charlie also led in PO, A, and DPs in the field. I voice a hearty “No” to Malmberg. In the outfield, Minneapolis’s George Washington Wilson finished sixth in RBIs (92), fourth in

¡954 POS 1B 1B 2B 3B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP RP

NAME Maurice “Mo’ Mozzali George Crowe Harry Malmberg Kel Segrist Rance Pless Billy Klaus Marty Keough Bert Hamric Rocky Colavito Eulas Hutson Hank Foiles Hal Smith Pete Daley Owen Friend

Ivan “Ike” DeLock Bob Darnell Wade Browning Herb Score Sam Jones Charles Gorin John Kucab

TEAM Columbus Toledo Indianapolis Kansas City Minneapolis Minneapolis Louisville St. Paul Indianapolis St. Paul Indianapolis Columbus Louisville Indianapolis

G 152 154 122 154 138 150 147 88 149 142 103 110 115 137

AB 543 589 399 530 518 614 603 309 528 493 337 386 378 455

G 31 28 31 33 35 11 61

GS 31 24 25 32 31 9 1

CG 18 14 8 21 12 3 0

Louisville St. Paul St. Paul Indianapolis Indianapolis Toledo Kansas City

389

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 157 88 224 29 4 11 79 77 1 .289 .413 .378 197 100 343 38 3 34 128 62 7 .334 .582 .400 114 55 135 12 3 1 33 32 5 .286 .338 .342 154 90 259 38 11 15 90 99 1 .291 .489 .408 150 74 253 33 8 18 109 35 1 .290 .488 .337 172 110 282 33 7 21 66 53 7 .280 .459 .337 176 102 264 23 17 11 57 47 15 .292 .438 .350 108 60 172 14 7 12 45 29 18 .350 .557 .409 143 94 293 30 3 38 116 75 2 .271 .555 .370 148 85 236 17 4 21 81 61 9 .300 .479 .379 112 57 182 13 3 17 59 23 8 .332 .540 .378 135 51 191 29 3 7 50 17 3 .350 .495 .379 104 37 167 17 8 9 62 25 2 .275 .442 .320 114 55 187 26 7 11 55 33 1 .251 .411 .303 SH 6 2 0 5 4 1 0

W 17 12 10 22 15 4 10

L 10 9 8 5 8 4 4

% .630 .571 .556 .815 .652 .500 .714

IP 219 180 196 251 199 72 109

H 217 174 177 140 155 65 125

ER SO 80 108 77 131 80 121 73 330 83 178 27 62 43 53

BB 47 86 74 140 129 26 30

ERA BR/9 3.29 10.9 3.85 13.2 3.67 11.7 2.62 10.1 3.75 13.1 3.38 11.4 3.55 12.9

field, short, and third. In other words, he actually was a utility man. When a league picks six starting pitchers for an All-Star team, you should reasonably expect that all quality starters are on the roster. Well, Gorin’s season was hardly one for the ages. How about George Susce (Louisville) who was ¡4–6 with an ERA of 3.¡0 and who was third in BR/9 ratio with a mark of ¡0.6. Score, by the way, allowed just 5 hits per 9 IP and struck out ¡¡.8 per nine IP, over double his hit ratio. The A.A. did select a reliever (in Kucab), but not the best one. George Spencer of Minneapolis appeared in 68 games and had a 3.¡5 ERA, allowing ¡¡.8 BR/9.

homers (27), tied for first in runs (¡¡0), first in OB% (.4¡5), and, apparently, out of the running in the minds of the voters, who didn’t rank him among the top four A.A. flyhawks. The selectors decided that the All Star squad needed three catchers. Fine, but where then is Gus Triandos? The Kansas City slugger hit ¡8 homers, batted .296, slugged .478, scored 68 runs and drove in 65. Was his season not better than Daley’s? I can answer that in one word: Of course it was. “Utility” man Friend must have had friends at the polling places, as he played all of his games at short. His overlooked teammate Billy Harrell, who hit .307, slugged .4¡3 and had an OB% of .375, played out-

International League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Glenn “Rocky” Nelson Louis Ortiz Loren Babe Humberto Fernandez Bill Virdon Joe Taylor Sam Jethroe Elston Howard No selection made

John Faszholz Ken Lehman

TEAM Montreal Rochester Toronto Montreal Rochester Ottawa Toronto Toronto

Rochester Montreal

G 31 34

G 141 135 151 155 139 131 154 138

GS 31 29

AB 469 426 582 596 505 462 593 497

CG 14 15

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 146 107 275 26 5 31 94 105 5 .311 .586 .440 96 30 135 23 2 4 49 69 2 .225 .317 .335 168 99 260 27 4 19 73 78 5 .289 .447 .373 168 75 233 44 3 5 52 35 11 .282 .391 .324 168 85 284 28 11 22 98 44 12 .333 .562 .389 149 71 250 24 4 23 79 58 4 .323 .541 .402 181 113 296 36 8 21 84 70 23 .305 .499 .385 164 78 283 21 16 22 109 36 2 .330 .569 .386

SH 4 3

Not a Red-Letter year in the old I.L., the hitting was every bit as poor as this squad would make it appear. The only second baseman besides the very weak-

W 18 18

L 9 10

% .667 .643

IP 225 215

H 235 217

ER 80 80

SO 62 105

BB 50 81

ERA 3.20 3.35

BR/9 11.5 12.6

hitting Ortiz to play in even ¡00 games was Bob Ca›ery of Richmond. Even though Ortiz was a better fielder, I would have to go with Ca›ery, who hit .26¡ and had a decent .385 OB%. Thirty runs and a

390

Minor League All-Star Teams

.225 average do not an all-star make. Ca›ery scored 75 runs, by the way. Shortstop Fernandez handled 5.6 chances a game, and racked up over 500 assists. Hal Bevan was the best utility man in the league, even though it was a non-selected position in this year. He played first, second, and third, and hit an even .300 in ¡32 games. I believe that the two best pitchers in the league were a pair of Syracuse Chiefs, Jim Owens and Jack Meyer. Meyer was ¡5–¡¡ with a 3.00 ERA, allowing ¡¡.8 BR/9 and leading the league with ¡73 strike-outs.

Owens was ¡7–9 and led in ERA with a 2.87 mark, and was tied for second with ¡50 Ks. Even though the league chose not to honor any relievers, there were three who had fine seasons: Toronto Maple Leaf duo John Crimian and Ray Shore, and Rochester’s Tony Jacobs. Crimian, in 56 games, was 9–8 with a fine 2.34 ERA and allowed ¡0.9 BR/9. Shore worked in 45 games and was 8–2, 2.59. Jacobs, who relieved 6¡ times, had a 2.9¡ ERA and a terrific ¡3–¡ record.

Southern Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Frank Torre Gene Freese Herb Plews John Kline Eric Rodin Bob Lennon Richard Tettlebach Bob Montag Pete Whisenant James Solt Lou Berberet Frank Sacka Don Leppert

Leo Cristante James Pearce Billy Currie Bill Harris Bob Schultz David Benedict

TEAM Atlanta New Orleans Birmingham Birmingham Nashville Nashville Birmingham Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Birmingham Chattanooga Birmingham

G 141 145 129 153 128 153 147 144 121 98 136 125 141

AB 497 548 525 546 473 609 567 452 470 280 498 394 544

G 38 32 34 34 41 38

GS 32 31 28 28 33 16

CG 20 19 12 10 17 12

Atlanta Chattanooga Chattanooga Mobile New Orleans Birmingham

H 146 182 157 174 159 210 195 138 134 90 158 105 170 SH 4 1 3 4 2 0

Two first basemen hit .294. One slugged .4¡6, the other .5¡9. One hit nine homers, the other hit 25. One scored 70 runs, the other, 99. One had 74 RBIs, the other, ¡02. Which one would You select for Your All Star team? Well, if you were a Southern Association voter, you would have opted for the one which was far behind in every category but BA, outdistanced and outperformed by the player you relegated to Nowheresville, Ken Landenberger of Memphis. You have two third basemen. One had .299/.459/ .375 averages, the other, .324/.523/.408. One hit nine homers, and the other hit 23. One had 58 RBIs, the other had ¡04. Which one would you select for Your All Star team? Well, if you were a Southern Association voter, you leap for the chance to honor the lesser of the two, leaving George Freese, Gene’s brother and New Orleans teammate, out in the drear and cold of a Big Easy autumn morning. You are a Southern Association All-Star voter, and you choose to choose five outfielders, including a .285/.483/.35¡ hitting one who scored 67 runs. One

R 70 98 115 61 92 139 129 114 67 34 93 37 90

TB 207 272 241 218 256 447 277 293 227 135 257 147 239

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 30 2 9 74 53 4 .294 .416 .364 30 6 16 98 41 6 .332 .496 .382 25 16 9 58 61 17 .299 .459 .375 23 6 3 84 57 1 .319 .399 .388 33 5 18 83 48 2 .336 .541 .409 33 6 64 161 65 3 .345 .734 .411 38 9 12 85 51 19 .344 .489 .400 24 7 39 105 122 13 .305 .648 .456 27 3 20 94 45 10 .285 .483 .351 16 1 9 50 28 2 .321 .482 .383 35 5 18 118 61 4 .317 .516 .396 22 4 4 56 36 2 .266 .373 .334 27 6 10 78 56 4 .313 .439 .384

W 24 17 16 12 18 14

L 7 7 10 16 11 9

% .774 .708 .615 .429 .621 .609

IP 258 231 191 201 261 160

H 279 206 184 224 250 137

ER 103 78 81 91 102 66

SO 101 113 103 110 174 86

BB 59 77 70 96 103 105

ERA 3.59 3.04 3.82 4.07 3.52 3.71

BR/9 12.0 11.1 12.0 14.4 12.3 13.9

who you disdain to include in your mystic pentagrammatic outfield compiled .323/.524/.4¡2 averages and scored ¡09 runs. “Pfaugh” you say, “a pox on your .323 and your ¡09 runs, Chuck Tanner! Get thee to a baseballery. We consign you to the nether realms of abandonment in Abaddon, for we are the Omnipotent Brotherhood of Southern Association Baseball writers!” You are a Southern Association All-Star voter, and you choose to choose three catchers, among them a .266/.373/.334 hitting one who hit four homers and drove in 56 runs, while one you deemed worth no more than a casual glance had .3¡2/.536/.4¡4 averages with ¡5 homers and 70 RBIs. “Pfaugh,” you again say, “a pox on your .32¡ and ¡5 homers, Hal Keller! Get thee back to the Gehenna of Memphis, where once you played baseball under the searing and sultry Mississippi sun, and fade, fade from the minds of men.” Okay, so maybe I’m waxing a wee bit melodramatic in my dazed and confused reaction to those

¡954

391

Millard Fillmore “Dixie” Howell of Memphis had the best year in relief, a 9–6 record and a 3.2¡ ERA in 49 games. And by the way, “utility” man Leppert wasn’t (he was a shortstop), while .300-hitting Chattanooga utility man Don Grate (who played second, shortstop, and the outfield) was slighted. And finally, let me dismount my Steed of high Dudgeon to remind you to take special care to examine the year that Bob Lennon had for the Lookouts. Triple Crown, leader in hits and runs and slugging— he even led outfielders in put-outs and assists. Downright Herculean.

the Southern Association selectors chose to climb the stairway to heaven, the undying realms of All Star immortality. But, you can wax my back and call me Buckwheat if they make any sense to me. Even with six spots open on the sta› of the S.A. Superior Squad, the two best pitchers in the whole league were ignobly ignored, rendered invisible to posterity, as it were. Top dog Nelson King, N’awlins Pelican chucker, was ¡6–5 with league-leading figures in ERA (2.25) and BR/9 (9.9). The toughest Cracker on the Atlanta sta›, Dick Donovan, was ¡8–6 and second to King in ERA and BR/9 ratio with 2.69 and ¡0.0 marks respectively.

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Fred Koenig Bobby Richardson Clyde Parris Sherwin Dixon Fred Fleming Joe Belcastro Stan Palys Joe Pignatano No selection made

Al Schroll James Stump Cli›ord Ross Hank Aguirre

TEAM Allentown Binghamton Elmira Allentown Wilkes-Barre Albany Schenectady Elmira

Albany Wilkes-Barre Schenectady Reading

G 37 36 34 29

G 136 141 133 129 123 121 93 118

AB 484 552 504 489 434 384 323 335

H 139 171 158 125 134 111 102 83

R 68 81 65 79 57 69 62 47

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 208 28 4 11 83 54 4 .287 .430 .375 227 29 9 3 55 60 12 .310 .411 .378 253 40 11 11 90 55 2 .313 .502 .385 171 22 6 4 27 70 31 .256 .350 .352 194 22 13 4 69 40 7 .309 .447 .367 161 21 1 9 68 94 3 .289 .419 .435 174 20 5 14 56 33 2 .316 .539 .386 117 10 9 2 51 61 6 .248 .349 .365

GS 24 26 21 24

CG 14 15 12 12

SH 4 1 2 4

W 16 16 13 14

L 11 10 10 8

% .593 .615 .565 .636

IP 196 211 195 181

H 131 162 152 138

ER 45 63 63 54

SO 153 176 155 145

BB 89 99 102 106

ERA 2.07 2.69 2.91 2.69

BR/9 10.3 11.3 12.2 12.5

outfield and hit .295. Pearson played for Albany and Averill for Reading. On the sta›, I would enlist Duane “Duke” Maas of Wilkes-Barr. In a limited season (¡7 games), he was ¡¡–3 with an almost unbelievably low ¡.¡0 ERA. The best reliever was Gene Slack of Albany: 44 games, ¡30 IP, 2.22 ERA.

In comparison with the league immediately preceding, a most excellently reasoned and perspicaciously selected squad. I would add Albie Pearson to the outfield crew. He hit only .269, but he was second in both runs (9¡) and OB% (.4¡4). I would also add Earl Averill at the non-existent utility spot. He caught and played

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT SP SP

NAME Clarence Riddle Everett Kell Elbert Israel Ted Lewandowski Frank Robinson Jim Frey Al Pinkston Mike Roarke Lyle Luttrell Joseph Fuller Humberto Robinson Calvin Howe

TEAM Jacksonville Savannah Savannah Macon Columbia Jacksonville Savannah Jacksonville Charlotte Montgomery Jacksonville Macon

G 137 97 140 140 132 139 135 85 104 109

AB 519 386 550 542 491 529 500 288 386 403

G 36 58

GS 33 2

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 165 85 283 22 6 28 112 61 0 .318 .545 .390 108 72 163 18 8 7 42 36 9 .280 .422 .347 168 83 242 24 10 10 70 39 10 .305 .440 .354 145 54 170 14 4 1 83 49 2 .268 .314 .335 165 112 290 32 9 25 110 88 6 .336 .591 .442 167 89 248 40 4 11 65 91 5 .316 .469 .416 180 100 302 33 4 27 102 53 9 .360 .604 .433 85 42 114 12 1 5 28 31 3 .295 .396 .368 98 53 134 13 4 5 55 37 6 .254 .347 .321 139 55 171 22 2 2 45 42 3 .345 .424 .411 CG 23 2

James Dickey, Macon, had .284/.539/.4¡4 averages, matched Riddle with 28 homers, scored 90 runs

SH 4 0

W 23 15

L 8 7

% .742 .682

IP 276 154

H 201 128

ER 74 54

SO 243 128

BB 97 71

ERA 2.41 3.16

BR/9 10.0 11.9

and had ¡04 RBIs. The two had seasons which were so close that I feel compelled to opt for co-first base-

392

Minor League All-Star Teams

men. Oh, and mention should be made of short-time league player Jesse Levan. He was in only in 29 games after being called up from the Florida State League (which he led with a .348 BA and where he had 23 homers and 89 RBIs in ¡0¡ games) In his 29 game stay in the Sally League before being brought up to the Washington Senators, he drove in 4¡ runs, hit .4¡2 and had a huge .746 SA. Another Sally short-timer needs mentioning. Neb Wilson, who spent most of the year in the Florida International League (which he led in runs and RBIs) played 35 games for Montgomery, where he hit .378 and slugged .664. William Robertson, catcher for Savannah, hit .298, scored 59 runs and drove in 44. As is the case with Dickey, I think a shared spot is in order at catcher. Luttrell was a shortstop, Fuller an outfielder. The league should have identified them as being “Utility Infielder” and “Utility Outfielder,” as some other leagues did (the positions, not the specific players, that is).

The league chose a reliever to be on their All-Star team. I assume, since only two pitchers were selected, that Howe was supposed to be the “Left Handed Pitcher” selection. Well, I hate to be a party pooper, but, despite his undoubtedly gaudy ¡5–7 mark, he was not the league’s best reliever — or even the league’s best lefty reliever — in my opinion. I think that Columbia’s Louie Flaughter was more e›ective in his (admittedly far fewer) 37 relief appearances. He was 5–¡ with an ERA of 2.60 and only walked 2¡ men. You make the call. The second best starter in the league was Robinson’s Jacksonville teammate, Bob Trowbridge. He was ¡8–8 with a 2.84 ERA, and was also second to Robinson in OB/9 ratio with an ¡¡.0 mark. Larry Hoover of Columbia fell ¡3 innings short of qualifying for the league ERA crown, going ¡0–4 and ¡.9¡. Short-timer Joe Kunci (Macon) was 7–0 in eight games.

Western League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Bill White Earl Weaver Joe Kirrene Edward Winceniak Jim King Ted Del Guerico Bobby Prescott Les Peden No selection made

Bob Garber Hyman Cohen Mel Heim John O’Donnell

TEAM Sioux City Denver Colorado Springs Des Moines Omaha Wichita Denver Des Moines

Denver Des Moines Omaha Wichita

G 29 27 36 35

GS 27 23 29 30

G 154 143 130 142 148 137 146 131

AB 573 541 467 532 528 517 495 445

CG 19 17 12 22

H 183 153 160 149 166 166 154 138

SH 4 6 5 2

Peden was a playing manager. Reno DeBenedetti, Denver third baseman, hit .329, had a .433 OB%, and scored ¡25 runs. Other than the OB%, all things are about equal between him and Kirrene. But for me, in a close contest, the OB% is the deciding factor, since that is what the individual does on his own, unlike scoring or driving in runs, both of which depend so much on who is hitting in front of you and who follows you in the lineup. So, Reno Ho! I would have had Del Guerico as my fourth outfielder, and Denver Bear Rocco Ippolito as my third. His average was but .289, but he had some power as his 20 homers and league-best ¡3¡ RBIs attest.

R 120 124 91 83 100 78 137 86

W 19 16 13 14

TB 321 205 234 231 284 220 263 248

L 8 6 8 16

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 30 9 30 92 85 40 .319 .560 .409 30 2 6 59 102 5 .283 .379 .409 32 6 10 79 37 11 .343 .501 .393 31 12 9 55 51 7 .280 .434 .353 31 3 25 127 79 3 .314 .538 .407 25 7 5 88 70 8 .321 .426 .406 24 8 23 121 132 5 .311 .531 .466 30 1 26 91 57 0 .310 .557 .397

% .704 .727 .619 .467

IP 221 196 226 249

H 182 153 222 250

ER 78 41 81 83

SO 173 100 145 108

BB 79 53 86 73

ERA 3.18 1.88 3.23 3.00

BR/9 10.7 9.6 12.3 11.9

Another Bear, Prentice “Pidge” Browne should have been selected as a utility man for the squad. He played first and the outfield, had good .333/.545/.4¡9 averages, and drove home ¡09 runs. Please note that future N.L. All Star Bill White was a 30–30 man. Anderson Bush, pitching for the 26 games below .500, last in the league in batting and scoring Lincoln Chiefs, went a remarkable ¡9–¡0. On a better team, he is easily a 22–25 game winner. He had an ERA of 3.24 and allowed ¡¡.2 BR/9. Omaha’s Lou Ciola was the best fireman in the league, relieving in 47 of his 49 games. He was 7–5 with a 3.06 ERA.

¡954

393

Western International League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP

NAME Harry Warner Marvin Williams Harvey Storey James Clark Al Heist K. Byron Charlton Edward Murphy Lonnie Summers No selection made

Bill Brenner Al Yaylian Jonathan Briggs

TEAM Salem Vancouver Salem/Lewis. Vancouver Lewiston Vancouver Spokane/Vanc. Yakima

Vancouver Lewiston Salem

G 36 26 36

G 126 119 80 112 138 123 113 119

GS 29 24 30

AB 432 456 301 440 518 525 429 414

CG 26 20 20

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 136 88 231 32 6 17 87 66 7 .315 .535 .408 164 114 274 32 9 20 90 61 15 .360 .601 .438 106 41 150 23 0 7 45 29 2 .352 .498 .409 126 71 155 23 3 0 47 39 10 .286 .352 .347 155 136 241 36 10 10 81 115 23 .299 .465 .429 183 117 265 30 2 16 74 24 29 .349 .505 .380 112 86 151 16 1 7 52 69 18 .261 .352 .371 129 63 197 20 3 14 80 43 3 .312 .476 .378

SH 4 0 1

W 21 14 20

Storey (for Salem) and Brenner were playing managers. I’m afraid that my first base choice would be the Vancouver Capilanos’ Bob Wellman. His .333/.593/ .4¡¡ averages are all better than Warner’s, as are his 2¡ homers and ¡08 RBIs. Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, Wenatchee shortstop, led the league in put-outs, assists, double plays, and chances per game, his 5.9 in the latter trumping Clark’s 5.¡. As it happens, he also hit better than Clark (.297), slugged better than Clark (.407), and got on base more than Clark (.425% of the time). His 24 steals put him second in the league. He is my man at short. I am a big Eddie Murphy fan, and have been for twenty years. But I don’t think that he belongs on

L 10 7 8

% .677 .667 .714

IP 280 196 255

H 266 190 182

ER 81 81 71

SO 112 101 233

BB 72 71 161

ERA 2.60 3.72 2.51

BR/9 11.0 12.5 12.3

this team over Dick Greco. Greco’s numbers were .346/.6¡2/.434, all well over the similar marks for Murphy. His ¡9 homers were fourth, and he also added 86 RBIs. (Note that Byron Charlton managed to score ¡¡7 runs despite only drawing 24 walks, an unusual set of figures.) Making room for the obligatory lefty (Yaylian) meant that John Carmichael of Yakima and John Anderson of Spokane were shunted to a siding and left to rust in the cooling Northwest rain, as far as the scribes were concerned. Carmichæl went 20–¡0 with a 2.72 ERA, third in the league, and an ¡¡.8 BR/9 ratio, second among qualifiers. Anderson, who was only in the league for ¡2 games, went ¡0–¡ with a ¡.95 ERA and a very good 9.6 BR/9 ratio.

Big State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Keith Little Rex Babcock Oran Davis Roberto Sanchez Roman Mejias Jack Falls Hardie Nettles Troy Mitchell No selection made

Gale Pringle James Vitter Richard Roberson Donald Kildoo

TEAM Galveston Waco Tyler Waco Waco Waco Austin Tyler

Tyler Corpus Christi Austin Waco

G 112 142 147 131 139 125 138 131

AB 400 494 562 539 560 478 532 493

H 122 126 177 162 198 167 170 153

R 97 81 114 130 108 113 76 74

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 256 21 1 37 113 85 1 .305 .640 .433 173 23 3 6 79 73 7 .255 .350 .351 284 43 8 16 115 69 4 .315 .505 .397 254 26 9 16 95 85 26 .301 .471 .397 316 49 12 15 141 33 23 .354 .564 .393 281 34 7 21 110 76 5 .349 .588 .439 244 35 6 9 100 48 4 .320 .459 .380 217 33 2 9 80 26 4 .310 .440 .350

G GS CG SH W L % IP 45 32 24 — 21 9 .700 283 43 32 27 — 23 11 .676 295 40 29 13 — 17 10 .630 247 33 19 7 — 15 4 .789 183

John Wilkinson, who played for Temple and Corpus Christi, hit .333, slugged .475, and had the second best OB% in the league, .436. He led the league in walks with ¡¡¡ and in runs, with ¡5¡ in his ¡40 games. His fielding was virtually identical to Sanchez’s, so the Golden Laurel of Big State Immor-

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 229 81 212 82 2.58 9.9 277 90 134 72 2.75 10.9 229 83 155 88 3.02 11.8 156 69 139 104 3.39 12.9

tality must, rightfully after these fifty years, be bestowed upon the worthy brow of John Wilkinson. Okay, I’m open to discussion as to how Dean Sta›ord (Galveston/Corpus Christi) was left of o› the outfield list. Let’s see now, he led the league with a .362 BA, he led the league with a .669 SA, he led the

394

Minor League All-Star Teams

league with 38 home runs, he led the league with an impressive ¡7¡ RBIs, and yet was apparently (to the selectors) unworthy of being on the All Star squad. Interesting. Is it because he only finished second in doubles (with 48) and in runs (with ¡33)? Was it because of his disappointing third place finish in OB% (.435)? Or, was it because the selectors were dunderheads. I am inclined toward the latter opinion. Half-timer Roy “The Ragin’ Cajun” Parker made the most of his 8¡ games in the league. He hit .3¡8, slugged .604, hit ¡7 homers, and scored 83 runs. Two players vied for the non-existent utility spot on the Big State Dream team: Maurice Santomauro, Tyler outfielder/first baseman, and Galveston manager Henry Robinson. Santmauro’s averages were .333, .540, and .4¡0, he had 24 homers, scored ¡¡0 runs and drove in ¡2¡. Robinson, who played third, first, outfielder, and catcher (he also pitched in a game) was a bit better in the averages department (.359/.543/.4¡6) and a bit worse in the raw numbers (23 homers, 83 runs, 96 RBIs). I think I’d go with Robinson because of his greater versatility.

According to the o‡cial stats, Vitter only gave up ¡77 hits (5.4/9 IP). That has got to be a misprint, as that would mean he only allowed 7.9 BR/9, by far the years best ratio, and that does not translate to either a 2.75 ERA or eleven losses (most especially for a team which hit .300 and averaged 6.8 runs a game). A lot of good pitchers did not make the team despite there being four slots available. 49 year old Earl Caldwell made the most of his swan song. He was in 3¡ games (seven of them starts) and went ¡2–4 with a very good 2.47 ERA. Jodie Phipps, the Big State career leader in wins with ¡39, was ¡8–5 with a highish 3.8¡ ERA. Bill Bagwell was in only ¡6 games, but was a terrific ¡3–2 with a 2.¡5 ERA. Lee Roy Jones was a mediocre ¡4–¡¡ for Austin, but had a 2.¡5 ERA. Ronald Sheetz was ¡9–7 for Waco with a 2.67 ERA, second among qualifiers. And, in my opinion, the best of the non-selectees, Rafael Rivas who went ¡5–¡3 for the 4¡-games-under-.500 Harlingen Capitals. Hs ERA was 3.¡2 and his BR/9 ratio ¡2.3.

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

NAME Jim Pokel Jake Charvat Gene Hassell John Pfie›er Jack Hussey Dewey Benson George Bullard Peter Naton Guy Morton Mel Collins Bill Evans

TEAM Fayetteville Greensboro Burl.-Graham Greensboro Fayetteville Fayetteville Durham Burl.-Graham Greensboro Danville Reidsville

G 115 134 111 132 123 94 120 135 130 129 132

SP SP

Harry Gilbert Bob Cruze

Burl.-Graham Durham

G 36 33

AB 432 505 418 470 404 327 461 476 483 499 512

H R TB 2B 129 87 263 19 146 74 195 20 141 104 173 14 130 71 224 33 130 91 254 24 126 51 190 31 157 82 226 26 137 75 224 31 168 81 302 38 141 79 190 26 157 86 222 22

GS CG 30 14 25 17

SH 1 4

Robert Lyons, Fayetteville second baseman, out hit Charvat by 26 points (.3¡5–.289), out slugged him by 37 points (.423–.386) and had an OB% 89 points higher (.434–.345). I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t think Lyons deserved to be selected. We have a clash of ideologies at third. Hassell, speed, good OB% ability, no power at all. Steve Demeter (Durham) the opposite, lots of power (23 homers, .545 SA, ¡¡¡ RBIs) but walks as often as Ironside. To add to the titanic clash of diametrically opposed world views, Hassell fielded a good .950 but had no range (2.8 TC/G). Demeter had more problems afield (.905 FA) but made a lot more plays (3.6 TC/G). A conundrum of Russian National Character proportions. As for me, I’ll take the Solomonic path and cop out for a co-starship.

W 17 19

3B HR RBI BB 1 38 103 69 7 5 64 42 9 0 37 101 3 15 63 65 2 32 115 111 3 9 72 44 8 9 55 64 4 16 89 53 0 32 120 58 4 5 29 85 1 13 51 67

L % IP 6 .739 230 7 .731 211

H 214 198

SB 2 5 47 1 4 1 28 2 2 14 19

ER SO 86 122 65 116

BA .299 .289 .337 .277 .322 .385 .341 .288 .348 .283 .307

SA OB% .609 .398 .386 .345 .414 .469 .477 .368 .629 .474 .581 .458 .490 .422 .471 .364 .625 .420 .381 .387 .434 .389

BB ERA 113 3.37 71 2.77

BR/9 13.2 11.8

I do know that I would take Burlington-Graham’s manager/outfielder Stan Wentzel over Bullard. Wentzel hit .3¡8, slugged .534, hit 20 home runs and drove in ¡08 runs. “Utility” man Collins played short, Evans played outfield. If Pokel, who played first and outfield, had taken Evans’s place, a spot at first would have opened up for R.C. Stevens, Burlington-Graham slugger. R.C. had 25 homers and drove in ¡¡5 runs, and also walked ¡00 times. I think that I could’ve found a spot for a ¡.58 ERAtotin’ pitcher had one been available. As it turns out, one such was. Available, that is. John Patula (Greensboro) was ¡2–7 to go with that excellent ERA. Don Schultz (Burlington-Graham) was ¡7–¡¡ with a 2.95 ERA and a league best ¡0.9 BR/9 figure. Reliever

¡954

395

thing which, as far as I am aware, never occurred before and which may be equaled but will never be topped. “Wild” Bill played for three hyphenated franchises in the same league in the same year: Burlington-Graham, High Point–Thomasville, and Winston-Salem.

Herm Starrette was in 57 games (49 from the bullpen) for the 27 games under .500 Reidsville (not so) Luckies. He was 9–¡2 with a 3.¡0 ERA. Let’s see what we have in our Carolina league grab bag for ¡954…. Well, a certain Tasi Vriga played for Fayetteville. I wonder if he was the first pro ballplayer of Polynesian extraction. And Bill Cayavec did some-

Piedmont League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Daniel Keith Tom Giuliano Harold Treinen Stan Rosenzweig William Schimchak Edward Stockton Charles Peete Roland LeBlanc No selection made

Al Bennett Kenneth Bardslee Eugene Weglarz Lloyd Carden

TEAM Norfolk Lancaster C.H.-Petersburg Norfolk C.H.-Petersburg Lynchburg Portsmouth Lynchburg

Hagerstown Norfolk York Portsmouth

G 35 33 36 26

G 133 140 130 141 132 137 140 128

GS 24 23 22 21

AB 479 481 480 518 479 523 546 393

CG 16 13 9 15

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 157 91 234 29 6 12 96 67 4 .328 .489 .410 134 91 189 24 5 7 66 122 10 .279 .393 .427 137 90 240 20 10 21 99 46 19 .285 .500 .353 137 116 189 26 4 6 46 116 20 .264 .365 .403 161 84 241 31 5 13 82 33 13 .336 .503 .383 166 100 266 32 13 14 96 67 4 .317 .509 .395 170 92 264 25 9 17 79 72 10 .311 .484 .395 129 42 193 29 4 9 72 63 9 .328 .491 .422

SH 2 3 1 5

W 11 15 12 13

L 10 4 11 8

% .524 .789 .522 .619

IP 207 179 173 171

H 167 137 156 143

ER 54 63 62 46

SO 162 123 112 100

BB 78 73 77 81

ERA 2.35 3.17 3.23 2.42

BR/9 10.9 10.7 12.4 12.0

C.H. is Colonial Heights.

on the selectors faces. But they recede into the dim gray past, doomed to shu‡e until, at last, someone breaks the doom they brought upon themselves. That doom-breaker has come, Piedmont wraiths, so rest. But I caution you, never — never — sell the Tas-man short again. Vernon Cray (Lynchburg) was the league’s premier reliever. He was 7–3 in 48 games with a 2.57 ERA.

LeBlanc was a playing manager. Just a note: York shortstop Dave Mann motated his way to 88 steals but could not beat out Rosenzweig for the spot on the team. I dreamed that Willie Tasby made the ’54 Piedmont All Star team as an outfielder, but then I awoke… Was this some kind of a joke? Much to my surprise, when I opened my eyes, despite homers 27 and RBIs ¡2¡, no Tasby on the team. Willie led with a .529 SA and even stole 24 bases, so I look for regret

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Eugene Faszholz Bobby Malkmus Ed Barbarito Robert Shawver Roger Maras (sic) Tom Gott Larry Novak Earl Battey No selection made

SP SP SP RP

Stan Pitula Dan Osinski James O’Reilly Jack McMahan

TEAM Peoria Evansville Quincy Peoria Keokuk Quincy Terre Haute Waterloo

Keokuk Keokuk Quincy Quincy

G 33 27 25 44

G 128 129 134 136 134 127 110 129

GS 27 25 24 8

AB 485 522 495 487 502 483 399 418

CG 24 15 16 6

H 155 154 159 165 158 168 124 122

SH 3 2 1 0

R 109 94 121 105 105 107 73 76

W 20 13 13 11

The old Three-Eye probably, in fairness, should have named four outfielders to its Roll of Immor-

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 200 28 4 3 51 90 7 .320 .412 .427 219 27 10 6 66 42 11 .295 .420 .348 297 27 3 35 119 83 12 .321 .600 .425 249 27 6 15 104 119 12 .339 .511 .470 292 26 6 32 111 80 25 .315 .582 .413 225 33 3 6 47 85 26 .348 .466 .445 217 21 6 20 64 54 2 .311 .544 .397 186 25 3 11 67 73 5 .292 .445 .404

L 9 10 9 7

% .690 .565 .591 .611

IP 245 193 193 159

H 222 181 163 163

ER 86 83 86 67

SO 172 141 148 103

BB 70 118 127 70

ERA 3.16 3.87 4.01 3.79

BR/9 10.8 14.2 13.8 13.3

tals, and one of them shouldn’t have been Novak. The two exiles from the Shores of Evermore are Art

396

Minor League All-Star Teams

“Superman” Pennington (Cedar Rapids) and Len Tucker (Peoria). Pennington rang up averages of .345, .539, and .46, respectively third, fourth, and second in the league. Tucker only hit .293, but had secondary averages of .500 and .420. He also had 23 home runs, scored ¡20 runs, and led the league with 47 steals. Behind the plate, while Battey undeniably had a fine year, Robert Rand of Peoria had a better one. Rand not only out performed Battey in all three hitting areas (compiling .320/.5¡4/.420 averages), he also displayed more run-producing ability, as testified to by his ¡8 homers and ¡¡0 RBIs. The pitching choices were solid except for the fact that James “Lefty” O’Reilly should have been, at an

optimistic best, the fourth starter, and Ray “Righty” Ripplemeyer, who led the league with a 2.9¡ ERA and went ¡6–5, should have been one of the three actually-selected starters. An aside: Bill Palumbo, Burlington second baseman, got into ¡¡¡ gamers despite a .¡73 BA and “slugging” .2¡4. He was able to do so because he walked ¡20 times, which gave him a .383 OB% (35 points higher than the All-Star, Malkmus). Palumbo thus becomes a member of the very small “OB% double BA” club, and may be the one with the most at bats ever. He also, in 48¡ plate appearances, drove in an Enzo Hernandez-like ¡5 runs. I wonder how many of those came on bases loaded walks?

Tri-State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Fred Boiko Robert Parker Thomas Marino Jasper Spears Omer Tolson Albert Neil Gordie Coleman Kenneth Worley Mel Kerestes Oscar Sierra George Bradshaw

Lester Fessette Ralph Mauriello Eurice “Pete” Treece Freddy Rodriguez

TEAM Anderson Asheville Greenville Asheville Rock Hill Knoxville Spartanburg Asheville Rock Hill Asheville Gr’ville/Knoxville

G 130 140 92 140 114 102 137 81 138 125 117

AB 478 546 331 571 438 356 556 281 552 431 374

G 39 19 51 32

GS 24 18 36 23

CG SH W L % IP H 12 0 22 8 .733 202 221 10 4 8 4 .667 136 93 29 2 26 15 .634 314 329 18 1 11 14 .440 199 172

Asheville Asheville Rock Hill Greenville

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 144 81 224 27 7 13 90 81 2 .301 .469 .408 150 92 197 24 7 3 78 48 14 .275 .361 .334 110 67 159 13 6 8 71 60 2 .332 .480 .435 188 120 279 28 24 5 82 55 18 .329 .489 .390 152 89 227 26 11 9 77 64 5 .347 .518 .431 116 77 212 18 6 22 97 69 5 .326 .596 .441 177 93 269 35 9 13 100 35 3 .318 .484 .368 91 44 129 15 7 3 42 17 11 .324 .459 .365 167 98 212 21 12 0 51 67 17 .303 .384 .381 125 83 200 36 3 11 104 97 8 .290 .464 .428 101 57 123 10 3 2 48 58 1 .270 .329 .370

Boiko and Bradshaw were playing managers (Bradshaw for Greenville). Two outfielders were on the very cusp of being transmogrified into Baseball Valhalla itself. Richard “Inter” Stellern of Spartanburg hit .309, had a .436 OB%, and scored 99 runs. He also had a tremendous 3¡ assists. Rock Hill flyhawk Juan “Mysterious” Visituer hit .309 and had ¡02 RBIs, second in the league. Stellern also had a tremendous 3¡ assists, and Visituer led all outfielders with 380 put-outs. Bradshaw should have been named as a co-catcher

ER SO BB ERA BR/9 90 55 60 4.01 12.7 37 107 101 2.45 12.9 127 181 121 3.64 12.9 79 221 122 3.57 13.7

rather than a utility man. Kerestes played third and short, Sierra first and the outfield. All the chosen pitchers were probably worthy of the honor (only four league hurlers won at least ¡5 games), but none more so than Treece. He won a phenomenal 40% of the ¡0-games-under-.500 Chief ’s victories. Without Eurice, Rock Hill wins only .394 percent of the time and is 22 games under .500. Please also notice that Fessette won 22 games without chucking a whitewash, and Rodriguez had more than one strike-out an inning.

California League (C) Perry was a playing manager, and won his seventh consecutive home run crown. The scribblers for the various league dailies were dead-on with their infield choices, might have done a little better in the outfield, and dropped the ball entirely in the utility area. Al “The Catch” Gionfriddo and Chuck “Pinch”

Essegian, former and future Dodger World Series stars were Channel Cities Oilers teammates. Al hit .332 with a very good .490 OB%, drawing ¡2¡ walks. Chuck had .3¡9/.555/.450 averages, scored ¡¡9 runs, drove in ¡¡8, and rocked 3¡ homers into the stillblue-but-growing-ever-grayer southern California skies. And, although his .267 average precludes him

¡954 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Jose Perez Renaldo Camacho Ray Perry Charles Bell James Keating Joe Brunacki Donald Musto Franklin Kerr John Smith

Robert Thorpe Rene Gutierrez Rick Botelho Marshall Epperson

TEAM Channel Cities Fresno Bakersfield Modesto Modesto Fresno Bakersfield Modesto San Jose

Stockton Bakersfield Modesto Visalia

G 34 28 32 23

G 132 136 140 140 82 112 128 130 140 GS 33 24 29 18

AB 491 507 461 548 317 459 528 473 503 CG 32 21 18 10

H 165 140 157 157 108 158 172 146 154 SH 5 1 2 0

from All Star consideration, mention should be made of Frank Ernaga, still, I believe, the only player to homer and triple in his first two major league at bats. He did rip 29 homers and drive in ¡¡0 runs. “Utility” man Smith was a shortstop. Nick Ananias played first and second for Visalia and Bakersfield. He crushed 36 homers, scored ¡33 runs, and drove in a league-best ¡39 in his ¡38 games. Former Pirate Bonus-Baby Paul Pettit played first, outfield, and was 8–7 on the mound. He hit .324, slugged .573, and, thanks to ¡¡7 walks in his ¡08 games, had a very good .493 OB%. He also hit 20 homers and drove in ¡03 runs. Please take note (once again) of Perry’s huge walk total and his Promethean .532 OB%.

397

R 69 81 142 99 64 105 112 106 116

TB 208 213 291 229 162 225 237 251 221

W 28 18 17 9

L 4 4 12 8

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 25 6 2 89 64 5 .336 .424 .416 21 2 16 77 83 4 .276 .420 .381 17 3 37 128 184 10 .341 .631 .532 35 5 10 94 88 5 .286 .418 .388 25 1 9 79 65 2 .341 .511 .453 29 4 10 91 49 9 .344 .490 .412 30 4 9 70 66 6 .326 .449 .405 34 1 23 128 84 4 .309 .531 .416 34 3 9 68 118 9 .306 .439 .443 % .875 .818 .586 .529

IP 300 212 226 148

H 266 186 187 146

ER 76 56 74 72

SO 179 204 234 111

BB 94 83 92 85

ERA 2.28 2.38 2.95 4.38

BR/9 11.0 11.5 11.2 14.1

I assume that Epperson was selected because he was a lefty. Well, so what. So was Pettit, and he had a better year 3.6¡ ERA, ¡2.9 BR/9 ratio). A far better choice would have been Earl Escalante of the 28games-under-.500 Salinas Packers. He was ¡8–¡8, sixth in ERA with a 2.93 mark, and in the top ten with his ¡2.2 BR/9 mark. No relief pitcher was selected, but Ambrose Palica was the best the league had to o›er. He was in 50 games (he started seven) and went ¡4–7 with a 3.¡8 ERA. Rene Gutierrez was better known as Rene Valdez. Finally, two neat names for the cognomen collector: Heron McDaniel and Artist Demery. Dig ’em, people.

Evangeline League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Ed Stutsman Victor Colo Jesus Gonzales Juan Alvarez Joe Nodar Bill Lynn Rogers Hornsby McKee Royce McElroy Jack Hall Rac Slider Jose Garcia John Laliberte John Richard Antonio Sosa Lucio Alvarez Carmine Donato

TEAM Lafayette Alexandria Baton Rouge Lafayette Texas City/Thib. Alexandria Baton Rouge Lafayette Alexandria Alexandria Baton Rouge

Alexandria Lafayette Lafayette Baton Rouge Texas City/Thib.

G 131 137 130 131 121 129 140 84 137 139 138

AB 467 553 477 485 487 563 495 289 530 592 577

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 109 62 145 18 3 4 56 68 1 .233 .310 .331 159 96 209 19 5 7 67 68 2 .288 .378 .367 126 88 156 23 2 1 48 91 2 .264 .327 .384 135 80 195 34 4 6 86 75 4 .278 .402 .382 157 98 193 22 4 2 59 67 20 .322 .396 .411 211 99 286 48 6 5 91 30 10 .375 .508 .407 159 117 311 29 12 33 130 126 6 .321 .628 .462 61 40 75 6 1 2 21 48 0 .211 .260 .331 134 80 254 22 4 30 111 60 3 .253 .479 .333 163 97 210 19 8 4 43 51 9 .275 .355 .337 170 114 268 30 7 18 91 62 9 .295 .464 .365

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 32 28 18 6 16 11 .593 229 225 76 103 87 2.99 12.7 40 30 26 0 15 17 .469 289 325 148 124 84 4.61 12.9 38 27 17 0 10 17 .370 234 236 96 143 127 3.69 14.2 40 23 14 2 15 11 .577 235 238 102 62 53 3.91 11.2 31 21 6 0 9 14 .391 173 190 100 109 115 5.20 16.2

Thib. is Thibodaux.

The league selectors must have gotten some serious Voudoun-style gris-gris done on them by a deep swamp wangateur from far back up the bayou if the choices they made are any indication of their reasoning powers.

Look at the first base choice, for example. Stutsman must have forgotten to perform a mange loa ceremony over his bat, ’cause the dude had a bad hitting year for a shortstop, let alone a first baseman. William Reynolds of New Iberia, however, must’ve

398

Minor League All-Star Teams

used a bat carved out of the poto mitan for his season. Reynolds had .340/.542/.400 averages, hit 40 doubles and 2¡ homers, scored ¡08 runs and drove in ¡24. At second, Port Arthur manager Louis Fitzgerald had .3¡8/.39¡/.395 averages, all better (but not outstandingly so) than Colo’s. However, when you factor in Fitzgerald’s .8 chance per game range factor advantage (6.4–5.6) the scales take a mighty tip toward Lou. Crowley manager Tony York out-hit third base choice Gonzales by 27 points (.29¡–.264) and outslugged him by 75 points (.402–.327). Gonzales had more runs, York more RBIs. Close, but once again fielding makes a close decision easier. York fielded .948 on 3.9 chances a game, Gonzales .9¡5 on 3.4. York for me at third. In the in memory evergreen Evangeline garden, McKee is an absolutely rock-solid choice, even if he did play 36 games at first. Lynn? Maybe, as a fourth outfielder. Nodar? No way. New Iberia’s William Barrett hit for .358/.500/.450 averages, hit 4¡ doubles, scored ¡24 runs in his ¡23 games, and stole 67 bases. James Moore of Crowley (which, instead of the quotidian Millers, I would have named the Alistairs) hit .342, slugged .537, had 42 doubles and 2¡ homers, scored ¡20 runs and drove in ¡¡3. He also had 4¡8 put-outs. A larger outfield error, however, was the exclusion of another New Iberia outfielder, Remy LeBlanc. Remy scored ¡46 runs in his ¡40 games and drove in ¡29. He hit .3¡9. slugged a very good .623, and had a .42¡ OB%. Heck, he even stole 28 bases. In the field, he had 40¡ POs and 28 assists. He was a force in the league, plain and simple. But, there was an even bigger error at catcher, one for which the selectors should have been made to walk on gilded splinters as an act of atonement. Thibodaux manager William Dossey, passed over, mind you, for the .2¡¡/.260 bat of McElroy, rang up a .4¡0, .660, .503 season. He must have soaked his bat in oil of John the Conquer Root. The man had 204 hits, hit 28 homeruns, scored ¡22 times, and drove in ¡39 runs. How often do you see a catcher hit .400, at any level? More Bayou Battiness ensues on the utility player field. Slider was a shortstop, Garcia an outfielder. Does this mean that there were no Evangeline utility worthies? No way, no way at all. John Karpinski of Baton Rouge went ¡4–¡4 as a pitcher and also played outfield, batting a low .248 but compensating with 2¡

homers and 86 RBIs. The league chose two utilitarians, so here’s a second, even better one (actually, an immeasurably better one): Roy Dale “Tex” Sanner of Port Arthur went 8–2 as a pitcher with a 2.¡8 ERA, and also played first and the outfield. He hit 40 doubles and racked 37 homers, drove in ¡4¡ runs, hit .35¡, slugged a league-best .677, and had a fine OB% of .453. That’s some bodacious gumbo ya-ya of a year. Five league pitchers won at least 20 games, but you can scan the O‡cial All Star Roster all you want, and you won’t see a one. James “Jimmy” Stuart was the league’s most used fireman, relieving in 43 of his 59 games. He went 2¡–¡0 with a 3.73 ERA. Jerome “Simple” Simon of Crowley was 2¡–¡3 with a 4.00 ERA. Even though these two fellows were 20 game winners, I agree that they should not have made a five-man All Star squad sta›. Not so with the next three aces, however. Lefty Marv Holleman of Crowley was 2¡–¡7, and hurled 3¡ complete games. His ERA was 3.67, his BR/9 ratio ¡2.6. If you insisted on having a southpaw on the squad, doesn’t he seem a better choice than Donato, the selected portsider? Okay, now to dispose of one Lafayette pitcher and replace him with a more worthy pitcher. Lafayette finished 30 games under .500. If you feel that a pitcher on such a team deserves notice, and if you’ve been reading these little post-team commentaries, you know that I do too. But to name two, especially when better pitchers are left on the outside looking in is madness. Madness, I tell you! Rene Vega of Port Arthur was 23–¡¡, he struck out 207 batters, had a 3.65 ERA (fourth in the league) and allowed ¡¡.8 BR/9 (third in the league). Vega’s teammate, Fidel Alvarez had an even better year. He started 45 games (32% of his team’s total) and appeared in 58 games all together, 4¡% of the Sea Hawks’ ¡40 games. He went 24–¡0 with a 3.98 ERA, ninth in the league, and had a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.5, second best. So, to recap, my five-man sta› would be Lalliberte (who, by the way, hit .355 with 35 RBIs), Vega, L. Alvarez, F. Alvarez (who hit .266 with four homers and 23 RBIs), and Holleman, throwing to Dossey. My infield is Reynolds, Fitzgerald, Alvarez, and York, and my outfield is McKee, Sanner, and LeBlanc. I kept no record of which o‡cial All Star teams I disagreed the most with, but I’ll bet that the ’54 Evangeline League has to be in the Top Three.

¡954

399

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME David Roberts John “Pigley” Wigley John Goryl William Hain Jesse Rogers Frank Gravino Richard Anderson Kenneth Bawek No selection made

Leverette Spencer William Smith

TEAM Aberdeen St. Cloud Eau Claire Aberdeen St. Cloud Fargo-Moorhead Superior Duluth

Winnipeg Winnipeg

G 23 27

GS 21 22

G 135 131 117 135 128 135 135 82

CG 18 17

AB 499 473 465 503 475 501 517 272

H 148 134 146 150 146 151 174 71

SH 5 3

By my reckoning, Wigley was the number three second baseman in the League. Steve Janokowski had averages of .294/.466/.423, drove in 80 runs and scored ¡23 for Fargo-Moorhead. Waldon Williams hit for .3¡9/.467/.447 averages for Superior and scored ¡0¡ runs. The best fielder was Charles Graham of Eau Claire (.972 FA, 6 TC/G), and he was not all that bad at bat, hitting .270 with ¡04 runs. Now, Wigley was the worst fielder (.94¡), but tied with Graham for the best range (6.0). Jankowski (.97¡/5.4) and Williams (.958/5.3) fall somewhere in between. I think that I would have gone with Jankowski, with Williams and Wigley tied for second and Graham fourth by half a nose. Either one of these four that you prefer though, I would have no great quarrel with. A similar situation exists at short, but without the large fielding di›erences to help sort out the competition. Pedro Arroyo of Superior had .333/.4¡6/.447 averages, 79 RBIs and 99 runs. William Figueroa (a rare five-vowel man) of Eau Claire hit .285 had a .4¡9 OB% and scored ¡03 runs. All three averaged 5.¡ TC/G, and made from 44 to 52 errors. My feeling is that Hain was the best of the three, but the other two are not far behind by any means. I do not understand the selection of Anderson over Willie “Toothpick” Kirkland of Duluth for an outfield spot. Kirkland hit a league-best .360 and his .640 SA trailed only Gravino’s monster .704. Willie hit 27 homers and drove in ¡05 runs in his ¡¡4 games, and he even added 22 steals.

R 114 101 79 102 115 128 96 30

W 14 17

L 7 8

TB 289 176 217 245 252 354 233 99

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 28 7 33 114 99 27 .297 .579 .428 22 7 2 45 118 27 .283 .372 .433 33 3 9 90 42 3 .314 .467 .373 25 8 18 104 79 6 .298 .487 .401 23 7 23 92 61 14 .307 .531 .391 25 5 56 158 81 6 .301 .707 .408 26 3 9 122 71 4 .337 .451 .420 8 4 4 46 29 2 .261 .364 .347

% .667 .680

IP 167 178

H 173 177

ER 59 58

SO 144 133

BB 60 64

ERA 3.18 2.93

BR/9 12.8 12.3

At catcher, St. Cloud manager Charlie Fox was short-shifted. He hit .323 with a .433 OB% and had 52 RBIs. Another playing manager, Danny Litwhiler of Duluth, was also cheated by the voter’s decision not to select a utility man. Litwhiler played first, third, outfield, and even pitched in two games. He had .306/.572/.427 averages and whacked ¡9 homers in his 84 games. Jim “Mudcat” Grant was worthy, nay, eminently worthy, of a pitching spot. I don’t mean that one of the two selectees should have been dropped, but rather that more pitching spots should have been made available. The Mudcat was 2¡–5 with a 3.40 ERA, sixth in the league. He also hit .252 with ¡6 RBIs. Ron “K” Mahrt of St. Cloud was ¡6–¡0 and led the league with an ERA of 2.84. Georges Maranda (Eau Claire) went ¡8–6, 3.¡6, ¡¡.6, the latter a league best. So, you can see that there were more worthy candidates than open spots. By the way, Grand Forks played .32¡ ball, was last in batting by sixteen points, last in fielding by eight, scored 4.7 runs a game and gave up 7.2. How bad were they? They gave Julius Fedak fourteen starts (two of which he managed to win). “So what,” you say, “A pitcher goes 2–¡2 for a bad team. Big Deal.” Well, let me tell you … The Rest of the Story. Fedak allowed 22.7 BR/9 and had a ¡0.46 ERA (he gave up ¡2.2 total runs a game). He walked ¡0¡ batters in his 80 inning of toil. That, my friends, is the sign of a desperate sta›.

Pioneer League (C) Old Pioneer League stand-by Svend “the Slammin’ Swede” Jessen had at least as good a year as did league first base choice Newkirk. Jessen (.293/.5¡3/ .445) hit lower, got on base more (he had ¡22 walks), hit more homers (27), scored more runs (¡¡7) and

had more RBIs (¡2¡). I’m going all out for Jessen, the Harold Stassen of the Pioneer League. Idaho Falls manager Bob Mavis would have been my second base choice. The one game-as-a-Detroit Tiger veteran fielded a major-league quality .980,

400 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME William Newkirk Walter Bryce Carmichael Tom Sarna Pablo Bernard Bernie Mateosky E. “Bennie” Sinquefield Donald Cameron John Turk No selection made

Kenneth Hommel Burton B. Barkelew William Francis Charles Jorgenson

TEAM Ogden Pocatello Idaho Falls Billings Idaho Falls Billings Pocatello Salt Lake City

Ogden Salt Lake City Boise Magic Valley

G 133 132 125 120 132 128 131 95

AB 527 498 495 473 549 533 514 333

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 172 102 284 35 13 17 108 77 8 .326 .539 .417 152 84 246 28 3 20 99 74 8 .305 .494 .399 184 109 265 31 13 8 109 80 5 .372 .535 .463 158 95 217 33 4 6 64 86 40 .334 .459 .438 161 123 287 29 8 27 140 69 6 .293 .523 .374 164 89 209 23 5 4 60 49 37 .308 .392 .367 168 97 260 38 3 16 113 68 6 .327 .506 .409 123 78 202 25 6 14 87 74 1 .369 .607 .499

G GS CG SH W L % 30 28 22 3 17 12 .586 30 21 13 2 16 6 .727 46 24 14 4 10 15 .400 30 16 4 1 8 4 .667

had 79 RBIs, scored ¡22 runs in ¡2¡ games, hit .334, slugged .462 and drew ¡50 walks, which gave him terrific .5¡8 OB%. I can’t see why Sinquefield was selected as an outfielder over Len Schuermann (Great Falls) or Bob Will (Magic Valley). Sure, Schuermann hit a measly .264, but he drew 203 [!] walks which gave him a princely .5¡3 OB%. He also had 25 assists and led in OF FA with a .994 mark to Sinquefield’s 23 errors and horrid .927. I also believe that I would have chosen Will over Cameron. Will scored ¡07 runs in his 94 games, hit .359, slugged .527, and, thanks to ¡27 walks, had a kingly OB% of .539 (¡72 [!] points higher than Sinquefield’s). Francis Hardy of Boise was the league’s handiest handy man, playing first, third, outfield, and catching. His .22¡ BA may have militated against the league having a utility spot, but, on the other hand, Hardy was handy with the getting on base phase of the game, walking 93 times and bringing his OB% all the way up to .408. By the way, no fewer than eight men drew at least ¡20 walks in the ’54 Pioneer League.

IP 230 199 204 128

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 191 79 277 150 3.09 13.4 194 75 129 68 3.39 12.1 201 88 91 3.88 13.1 127 73 63 87 5.13 15.5

Left o› of the mound sta› (so that the 5.¡3 ERA/¡5.5 BR/9 left hander Jorgenson could be on it) was Dwight Stoddard, Magic Valley, who went a league-best ¡7–3 and was second in ERA (3.23) and BR/9 (¡2.4). In a league of wild men (24 pitchers with at least 90 walks), no one was wilder than Ray D’Agrosa of Ogden. He walked ¡¡4 men in just 79 innings (¡3/9), had 3.4 walks for every strike-out (of which he had 33), allowed 25.2 BR/9, had an ERA of 9.¡¡ (and allowed ¡2.7 runs per 9 IP total), and still got to pitch in 23 games, seven of which were starts. I don’t often say this, because I am very cognizant of the gap between me at my uttermost best and a professional athlete at his worst, but I really do think that I would not have done much worse. I would not have gotten 33 strike-outs (I probably would not have not gotten any, in fact), but I wouldn’t have walked ¡¡4 batters either. (Our old pal Nansen Vold was a good ¡0–2 with a bad 5.69. The next best Pioneer name was Vertis Elmore, probably not the old delta bluesman.)

Provincial League (C) Kiley only played 55 games at third, and his batting record is not so dominating as to preclude the selection of a player with roughly equal stats who also has far better range afield. Aurelio Ala of Thetford Mines hit .3¡2 and slugged .505 with 7¡ RBIs. His range was 3.8 TC/G to Kiley’s 3.0. More power, more mobility. The only pitchers with quality season who were

overlooked were Lawrence “Bobby” Locke of Sherbrooke and Felicien Bourbeau of Drummondville. Locke was ¡7–7 with a 2.70 ERA and ¡82 strike-outs in 200 innings. Bourbeau was called in from the pen more often than any other Provincialist (24 of his 40 games) and was 7–9 with a 3.¡4 ERA and the league’s second best BR/9 ratio, ¡0.5. Overall, a very well selected team.

Western Association (C) Kubski was a playing manager. Ed Carnett, manager of the Ponca City Jets, would have been an excel-

lent utility choice. He played first and outfield and was 7–3 as a pitcher. He hit .283 with 64 RBIs.

¡954

401

Provincial League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME Robert Stephens Michael Fandozzi David Kiley Julio Palazinni William Stuif bergen David Shea Bill Williamson Edward “Sad” Sack No selection made Paul Beltz Matt Peoplis

TEAM Sherbrooke Quebec Trois Rivieres Quebec Drummondville Drummondville Sherbrooke Trois Rivieres

Trois Rivieres Quebec

G 33 31

G 130 124 66 123 128 123 130 85

GS 21 25

AB 523 486 259 440 471 463 433 293

CG 18 15

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 173 102 252 43 6 8 86 64 14 .331 .482 .408 161 110 188 17 5 0 40 79 6 .331 .387 .428 81 42 106 17 1 2 46 15 2 .313 .409 .355 136 83 180 26 3 4 59 94 5 .309 .409 .431 143 97 245 24 3 24 118 62 2 .304 .520 .390 136 64 199 19 4 12 98 50 6 .294 .430 .369 133 93 249 21 7 27 118 128 32 .307 .575 .469 75 54 124 19 0 10 61 52 4 .256 .423 .370

SH 3 4

W 18 15

L 5 5

% .783 .750

IP 195 204

H 183 136

ER 63 53

SO 110 220

BB 57 96

ERA 2.91 2.34

BR/9 11.5 10.4

Western Association (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME Al Kubski Tom Watson Ray Posipanka Fritz Brickell Reginald Gerald Walter Fishburn Winfred James Eldridge Charles Scha›ernoth No selection made Robert Lowe Malcom Landry

TEAM Blackwell Hutchinson Topeka St. Joseph Hutchinson Muskogee Ponca City Topeka

Topeka Muskogee

G 29 31

G 134 136 138 121 139 138 124 129

GS 29 30

AB 465 562 507 468 536 499 415 468

CG 25 18

H 150 182 169 143 169 140 133 137

SH 3 7

In my view, there were three more pitchers worthy of honoration, which is not by any means to say that the two chosen chuckers were the wrong two. Al Kipper of St. Joseph was 20–7 and had an ERA of 3.09, third in the W.A. His ¡2.2 BR/9 mark was second among qualifiers. Hutchinson’s Cleophus Lewright was 20–¡0, 3.45 (fifth in the league). The third pitcher under consideration is the most intriguing.

R 129 115 120 95 101 109 101 62 W 21 17

TB 291 250 275 227 290 275 222 215

L 8 8

2B 24 29 34 24 40 17 30 26

% .724 .680

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 3 37 144 131 5 .323 .626 .476 15 3 55 74 36 .324 .445 .408 9 18 113 109 18 .333 .542 .453 14 11 97 80 11 .306 .485 .409 15 17 114 71 21 .315 .541 .404 8 34 96 87 15 .281 .551 .398 4 17 109 121 17 .320 .535 .476 2 16 106 55 3 .293 .459 .371 IP 247 226

H 238 171

ER 78 82

SO 174 172

BB 57 168

ERA 2.84 3.27

BR/9 10.9 13.7

Rudy Hernandez of Muskogee was ¡5–4 (a league best .789 winning percent) and was seventh with a 3.57 ERA. The intriguing aspect is the fact that he hit .425, slugged .750, had five homeruns and three triples, and drove in 23 runs. That is some good hitting. This was another very well selected team, one of the very best of the year. Plaudits to the pundits.

West Texas-New Mexico League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME G. Doug Lewis Robert Westfall Curt Hardaway Gilberto Valentin Don Stokes Peter Trabucco Roberto Fernandez Isaac “Ike” Palmer No selection made Carroll “Red” Dial John Isenhart Jonas Gaines Ernesto Clark

TEAM Pampa Albuquerque Pampa Borger./Alb. Plainview Clovis Lubbock Borger/Pampa

Clovis Lubbock Pampa Pampa

G 44 19 31 44

G 131 137 113 134 130 132 113 139 GS 30 16 27 23

AB 538 490 517 567 511 508 454 546 CG 23 12 15 19

H 185 164 172 202 207 177 170 199

R 101 120 152 113 120 129 102 132

TB 286 279 319 318 342 306 301 341

SH 2 1 1 2

W 25 11 16 18

L 12 3 7 7

Lewis was a playing manager. I’m afraid that I just can’t accept the proposition that Lewis was the best first baseman in the WTNM in ¡954. I am fully willing to grant that he had a very

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 54 4 13 111 44 13 .344 .532 .396 40 9 19 110 92 15 .335 .569 .445 36 6 33 122 81 14 .333 .617 .438 39 19 15 103 29 10 .356 .561 .388 46 7 25 90 59 2 .405 .669 .471 38 8 25 119 70 12 .348 .602 .427 34 11 25 116 42 23 .374 .663 .427 52 3 28 132 50 9 .364 .625 .425 % .676 .786 .696 .720

IP 258 124 191 232

H 241 75 251 249

ER 127 25 98 113

SO 234 164 130 234

BB 96 45 62 96

ERA 4.43 1.81 4.62 4.38

BR/9 11.9 9.1 14.9 13.5

fine year, although somewhat short on long ball power and OB%, and give him all due worthy to one who led his team to a pennant. However, “Frosty” Kennedy of Amarillo hit .372, slugged a league-lead-

402

Minor League All-Star Teams

ing and most excellent .7¡5, and had a good .44¡ OB%. In his ¡¡2 games, he scored ¡¡3 runs and drove in ¡20, and he also led the loop with 37 home runs. At catcher, Abilene’s Art Bowland once again had a very good year (I would even go so far as to say exceptional, for a catcher) and once again came up short because another backstop had a better one, in this case (and not for the first time) Ike Palmer. Bowland both scored and drove in ¡¡3 runs, had a .357 BA, slugged .53¡ and had a good .462 OB%. In almost any other league, or in almost any other year, he’da been The Man. No utility player was selected, but two pitcher/ outfielders certainly had seasons which would fill that slot—in fact, one of the players was named to the team as a pitcher. Eddie Locke (Amarillo) hit .3¡¡ and had a .493 SA. He drove in 68 runs, scored 62 and popped ¡2 homers. League pitching choice Carroll Dial scored 70 runs, drove in 6¡ and had ¡¡ homers. His averages were even better than those put up by Locke, as he hit .366, slugged .564, and had an OB% of .409. Before getting into a discussion of pitching selection, let me draw your attention to John Isenhart’s year. In a league that batted .292, slugged .455, and where an average of ¡3.3 runs were scored in each game, Isenhart had a ¡.8¡ ERA. In order to not lead the league in ERA (he fell ten innings short of actually qualifying, although he was, rightfully, declared the league leader), he would have had to give up 29 earned runs in those ten innings. Only four league pitchers with at least ¡00 IP had fewer hits than innings: Reuben Phillips, 7.0 (but he also walked 7.2

men per 9IP); Carroll Dial, 8.4; and Dave Anderson, 8.9, and Isenhart, who allowed only and incredible 5.4. That would have been good in any league. In the WTNM, well, it’s just plain flabbergasting. Note also that Isenhart averaged ¡¡.9 K/9. He also hit .283, slugged .604, and hit four home runs. The above mentioned Eddie Locke was 24–¡5 with 2¡¡ strike-outs. His very high-seeming 4.79 was actually eleventh in the league, and his ¡2.7 BR/9 ratio was actually second. Leonard Ruyle, also of Amarillo, was 20–¡3 with six shut-outs, a whopping 20% of the league total. His 4.09 ERA was fourth, and his ¡2.9 mark was third. Thus endeth the listing of pitchers deemed Team-worthy. Those following below are just mentioned for posterity’s sake. George Socha was 2¡–2¡ for the twelve games under .500 Albuquerque Dukes. He struck out 2¡2 opponents and had an ERA of 4.3¡, sixth in the league. Another twenty game winner for a sub-.500 team was Andres Alonzo of Abilene. He won 22 games despite a 5.28 ERA, 20th in the league. (For comparison’s sake, 20th in the Eastern League was 3.00). Finally, Cecil Davis was ¡9–¡3 for Plainview with a 5.¡8 ERA. He also hit .279 with five homers and 27 RBIs. The best WTNM name, to me, is the Willie Dixon-appelated Socrates Red. Laramie Boyd’s brother Lincoln also makes the scene, to the tune of 30 home runs I might add. And, as a final note, Jack Venable may have set an All-Time record by playing for five teams in the same league in one year, as he pitched for Amarillo, Borger, Lubbock, Plainview, and Clovis.

Alabama-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME John Streza Homer Ray Wilson Frank Mirielli Frank Tepedino Neal Cobb James Burns Richard Hicks Tommy Patton No selection made

Nicolas Berbesia Charles Vowels Spencer Davis Reginald Sturgill

TEAM Ft. Walton Beach Dothan Ft. Walton Beach Andalusia-Opp Crestview Andalusia-Opp Ft. Walton Beach Dothan

Graceville Dothan Dothan Ft. Walton Beach

G 124 120 115 123 115 122 127 113

AB 468 425 453 454 435 467 511 400

H 171 137 135 141 188 180 162 122

R 124 96 72 149 108 118 143 74

TB 307 191 167 219 246 279 268 179

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 39 2 31 137 115 7 .365 23 5 7 86 80 8 .322 12 4 4 68 52 11 .298 33 6 11 102 118 42 .311 27 8 5 127 86 3 .432 42 3 17 143 106 7 .385 26 7 22 118 112 13 .317 18 6 9 75 70 10 .305

G GS CG SH W L % IP 15 14 11 2 12 2 .857 107 30 21 7 0 9 11 .450 139 31 24 23 1 23 4 .852 242 26 25 14 0 15 4 .789 165

Streza, Wilson, and Tepedino were playing managers. Fred “Pap” Williams, Crestview manager/first baseman, had a rare over .400 season which really

SA OB% .656 .499 .449 .432 .369 .376 .482 .456 .566 .534 .597 .503 .524 .447 .448 .415

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 101 31 60 46 2.61 12.7 127 77 145 108 4.99 15.3 215 76 196 85 2.83 11.4 137 55 119 70 3.00 11.6

was not worthy of being a first-team All Star season. He had averages of .403, .524, and .459, all quite good (and of course the .403 was better than “quite good”), but with only 8¡ runs and ¡¡¡ RBIs, he did not have

¡954 as good a season as Streza. Williams did, however, perform quite an unusual feat, one indeed worthy of comment: at age 4¡, he stole 44 bases (and in only a ¡24 game season, or he might have stolen 50). Not many over-40’s stole their age. It’s like a 75-year old shooting an ¡8-hole 75 in golf, or a 2¡0 year-old man bowling a 2¡0. I believe I would have called the second base chase a draw. John Adair, who played for Andalusia-Opp, hit only .283 and had a poor .336 SA, but he managed to score ¡4¡ runs in his ¡25 games thanks to ¡¡5 walks, and fielded a near-major league .973 with an excellent 6.2 TC/G mark. At first glance at third, it would seem a lock for Mirielli over my candidate, the .257-hitting Ersell Beck of Andalusia-Opp. He also had a low .327 SA, but, thanks to ¡06 walks, bested Mirielli in the OB% arena by 40 points with his .4¡6 mark. Beck, despite only having ¡06 hits, managed to score ¡06 runs. He also stole 40 bases and reached 3.3 TC/G compared to 2.8 for the .895-fielding F.W.B. Jet. The league could have had an all-.500 OB% outfield if they had chosen to choose Panama City’s Robert Karasak. He hit .350, had a SA of .504 and an OB% of .50¡. A Cobb/Burns/Karasak outfield would have had a mighty .5¡3 OB%. Walter Chadwick, Panama City catcher, was at the very least as good as Patton at bat. He hit .326, slugged .472 and had an OB% of .4¡7 with 86 RBIs. It looks like another case which can only be solved

403

by…. Co-position Man, costumed minor league super hero, righter of wrongs and doer of doable deeds. Once again, no utility man was selected despite a veritable plethora of fitting candidates. Well, maybe not a plethora, but surely a cornucopia of choices. Okay, would you believe two? James Scott (Panama City) played outfield, first, and third. He hit .335 and had a .40¡ OB%. The delightfully Tolkien-surnamed Albert Rivenbark (Graceville) played first and outfield. He hit a mighty .353 with a .440 OB%, drove in ¡08 runs and scored ¡¡2 times. Charles “Sometimes Y” Vowels, despite his importance to our language both written and spoken, was not an All-Star caliber pitcher. Dothan played .600 ball when the decision was anyone else’s but his. A far, far, far, better choice would have been Emanuel Rogers of the hapless Panama City Fliers, who were mostly grounded to the tune of 33 games under .500. Rogers managed to go ¡4–¡4 for a team which played .330 ball when he was not involved in the decision, a sort of anti–Vowels, if you will. The Fliers, by the way, gave up approximately 8.¡ runs a game when Rogers, who had a 3.06 ERA, was not airborne. Finally, wrapping up the odd and ends of the ’54 Ala-Fla season, an average of ¡3.8 runs were scored in every league games. And, a big Minnie Pearl Howdee to ¡–¡ Crestview pitcher Clovis Butts.

Appalachian League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT UT SP SP SP SP

NAME Walter Lance William Whiteko Richard Stanton James Mahoney Carl Chianese Marshall Radebach George Pfister Bob Walsh George Triandos Andy Madelone Alfred Davis Bob Quinn Dick Morgan Don Cardwell Ken McBride Jerome Kucharski

TEAM Bristol Pulaski Johnson City Bluefield Welch Bluefield Wytheville Bluefield Pulaski Bluefield Johnson City Pulaski Bluefield Pulaski Bluefield Pulaski

G 28 17 27 28

G 114 73 97 113 112 113 118 95 99 75 78 93

AB 424 306 351 470 418 466 442 352 370 264 288 347

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 153 97 244 29 10 14 103 71 6 .361 .575 .455 105 73 159 14 5 10 52 56 7 .343 .520 .448 101 67 197 23 2 23 77 40 6 .288 .561 .362 148 101 252 26 6 23 78 71 21 .315 .536 .406 135 88 203 24 7 10 87 66 10 .323 .486 .425 147 98 261 40 7 20 92 51 7 .315 .560 .389 141 82 176 23 6 0 40 79 18 .319 .398 .424 78 51 119 16 2 7 48 23 1 .222 .338 .271 116 58 196 30 1 16 93 47 1 .314 .530 .392 86 53 138 24 5 6 44 50 8 .326 .523 .433 84 44 140 20 6 8 32 26 12 .292 .486 .354 118 83 226 20 5 26 99 31 6 .340 .651 .397

GS 26 15 23 25

CG 25 13 20 15

SH 4 2 5 1

Lance and Triandos were playing managers. A well selected team, only the second catcher and a pitching spot can be disputed. Welch catcher Paul Petroskey hit .252 with a .353 OB%, much, much better that the execrable .27¡ of Walsh. Once again, if a league feels it must select a left-

W 21 12 18 9

L 5 3 8 10

% .808 .800 .692 .474

IP 222 132 210 188

H 173 118 160 197

ER 58 28 59 77

SO 191 146 178 208

BB 75 20 79 129

ERA 2.35 1.91 2.53 3.69

BR/9 10.1 9.6 10.6 16.0

handed pitcher, at least choose the correct one. Pulaski was a .6¡9 team when Kucharski took the decision. William “Lefty” Kirk (Welch) was ¡2–9 with a 3.32 ERA and had a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.2, almost five a game fewer than Kucharski. To give him his due though, the K-man was a K man, averaging ¡0/9 IP.

404

Minor League All-Star Teams

Georgia-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

NAME Chuck Buheller Adrian Rechichar Robert Stewart Philip Schartzer Kelvin Roberts Floyd Faust Samuel Farless Van Hill Ken Retzer Charles Brockwell

TEAM Brunswick Brunswick Valdosta Fitzgerald Tifton Brunswick Brunswick Fitzgerald Tifton Brunswick

G 141 126 122 59 140 141 127 133 130 134

AB 567 462 440 218 522 560 495 430 450 457

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 184 102 284 27 8 19 119 45 15 .325 .501 .385 126 78 165 24 6 1 62 43 9 .273 .357 .344 125 65 171 22 6 4 54 60 13 .284 .389 .373 52 26 61 9 0 0 28 31 3 .239 .280 .336 173 85 232 36 4 5 92 87 12 .331 .444 .427 153 143 242 27 10 14 67 89 76 .273 .432 .382 141 86 180 13 7 4 74 42 19 .285 .364 .347 114 62 139 16 3 1 67 70 8 .265 .323 .386 138 54 188 24 1 8 75 48 7 .307 .418 .380 123 63 196 29 4 12 98 52 1 .269 .429 .348

G GS CG SH W L SP SP SP SP

Ch. “Whammy” Douglas William Knox Earl Gearhart Ronald Gray

Brunswick Albany Fitzgerald Brunswick

37 32 40 31

28 27 28 27

27 19 22 12

Stewart fielded, if you will, .878, and got to, if you will allow me, 2.4 chances a game. Thurmond Davis of Fitzgerald numbers were .938 and 3.¡. Stewart was a better hitter, Davis having .252, .280, .356 averages. The choice is yours: fair glove/no bat or fair bat/no glove. There were no fewer than thirty shortstops in the league who got into at least ten games, only one who got into at least a hundred, and only four more who played in as many as seventy. These shortstops collected a total of 5¡8 errors, 65 per team (and don’t forget, this doesn’t include any that may have been committed by players who were in fewer than ten games at short). Enrique Salazar (Thomasville/AmericusCordele) was the one who played in over ¡00 (¡07, to be exact), but he hit a very weak .22¡. Dick Tracewski of Thomasville would have to have been my choice. He played 72 games, hit .277 and slugged .365. Over all, one of the year’s weakest positions to fill. Absent from the outfield is Fitzgerald’s manager Leon Treadway. He was second by a point in the batting race with a .363 mark, and first with a .453 OB%, and scored 87 runs.

4 7 2 2

27 20 20 19

6 9 9 4

%

IP

.818 .690 .690 .826

271 240 258 209

H ER 195 185 275 187

62 48 88 63

SO

BB ERA BR/9

273 116 187 67 118 66 116 101

2.06 1.80 3.07 2.71

10.6 9.5 12.3 12.4

I am second to no one in my respect for Ken Retzer, a fine man who not only responds to autograph requests but also answers any questions asked and even sends along clippings, but Don Williams of Thomasville had .3¡¡/.443/.405 averages and scored 65 runs. A duumvirate is in order. Utility choice Brockwell played third and short and hit with a modicum of power. Other possible choices were Larry Spinner and Edgar Hartness, both of Tifton. Spinner caught, played third and outfield, hit .286 with 96 RBIs and scored 95 runs. Manager Hartness played first and outfield, led the league with a .364 BA and was second in SA (.482) and OB% (.450). Maybe two utility players would have been in order, there being no rule against such a radical choice. James Greene (Valdosta) was ¡¡–4 with a ¡.70 ERA and allowed only 9.9 BR/9. John Clasit (Fitzgerald) was ¡9–¡¡, 2.90 and had 243 strike-outs. He allowed ¡¡.0 BR/9, in the top five of the league. Either or both could have been added to the sta› with no diminution of e›ectiveness.

Georgia State League (D) Crouch, who played only 6¡ of his games at second and also played third and short, should have been the non-existent utility man. In that event, Doug Fleming would have filled the Keystone spot. He was by far the league’s finest afield at second (leading in PO, A, DP & FA), and hit .269 with 78 runs and 79 RBIs. A similar situation occurs in the outfield. Driggers also played first and caught, and Warren was ¡5–7 as a pitcher. If those two had been named as utility fellows, their outfield spots would have been filled by William Causion of Dublin and Bobby

McGee of Sandersville. Causion hit .326 with a SA of .535 and an OB% of .426. He had ¡8 homers, drove in ¡¡6 runs, and scored ¡23 times. McGee hit .306 for the Wacos, with ¡7 triples and ¡6 homers. He added 99 runs and ¡¡¡ RBIs. Dublin manager George Kinnamon deserved to be selected to fill the catching spot. “Free Silver” Hinson’s averages were, to put it charitably, wretched. Kinnamon hit a robust .335 with 77 RBIs. His secondary averages were .44¡ and .427. I believe that I would have named All Star outfielder Warren to the pitching sta› also. As stated

¡954 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Van Davis Lester Crouch Dennis Meekins Belasco Bossard Bobby Driggers Drew Gilbert James Warren Wm. Bryan Hinson No selection made

Phil Gilbert Jimmie Hiland Bill Green Donald Vaughn

TEAM Douglas Douglas Dublin Douglas Vidalia Douglas Statesboro Vidalia

Vidalia Hazle.-Baxley Douglas Vidalia

G 123 116 127 100 122 130 99 115

G 40 35 34 13

AB 453 465 507 431 502 516 371 410

GS 28 28 26 10

H 146 131 142 155 169 173 123 90

CG 22 16 19 8

R 120 106 111 107 90 134 70 69

SH 6 1 4 1

405 TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 269 24 3 31 125 129 4 .322 .594 .476 189 16 9 8 69 86 20 .282 .406 .398 197 21 5 8 83 79 37 .280 .389 .382 223 33 4 9 65 36 18 .360 .517 .415 274 45 6 16 105 60 9 .337 .546 .413 275 34 10 16 96 86 14 .335 .533 .432 230 15 1 30 99 25 15 .332 .620 .377 138 24 3 6 64 56 3 .220 .337 .319

W 22 13 16 9

L 6 10 10 1

% .786 .565 .615 .900

IP 258 218 228 87

H 215 191 157 66

ER 64 82 60 20

SO 168 247 218 81

BB 74 84 100 28

ERA 2.23 3.39 2.37 2.07

BR/9 10.3 11.7 10.7 9.8

Hazle. is Hazlehurst.

above, he was ¡5–7 and he also had a 3.¡9 ERA (fifth best) and allowed ¡0.4 BR/9, third best in the Georgia State League. It should be noted that the Pilots

were ¡6 games under .500, and played .389 ball when Warren was not involved in the decision.

Kitty League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Allan Shinn Bearl Brooks Norman Abrams William Pass Joseph Moran Frank Layana Edwin Allen Marvin “Judge” Crater No selection made

Rene Masip Dominick Maisano Charles Templeton Edward Dick

TEAM G AB H R TB Union City 90 330 129 101 233 Hopkinsville 64 272 105 70 159 Hopkinsville 107 464 169 112 231 Madisonville 91 461 162 101 212 Mayfield 110 430 156 102 251 Madisonville 85 300 107 70 162 Union City 93 393 140 102 214 Owensboro 95 335 101 57 137

Union City Owensboro Union City Owensboro

G 29 20 16 11

GS 20 18 14 9

CG 15 11 11 6

SH 1 2 3 3

Brooks and Crater were playing managers. Shinn had a magnificent season. That .706 SA is huge, and his .556 OB% is the years best mark, period. Extrapolated out over a ¡50 game season, he would have had ¡68 runs, 20¡ RBIs, and walked ¡83 times. An Olympian year, no doubt. Still, and in no way implying that he should take Shinn’s place, Fultons Ned Waldrop had a noteworthy year also. He hit .380 with a very good .603 SA, led the league with 22 homers, and drove home ¡59 runs (which, if extrapolated out over ¡50 games as were Shinn’s, comes out to 206). I just thought you might like to know. At short, despite his very good year, Abrams was not unchallenged for hot corner supremacy. Sal DeMatties (Union City) hit .338 and actually had a better SA (.505) and OB% (.494) than the .364-hitting Abrams. DeMatties drove in 78 runs (in 22 fewer

W 18 10 9 7

L 5 5 2 0

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 26 12 18 121 110 3 .391 .706 .556 22 1 10 53 35 20 .386 .585 .461 32 6 6 72 58 27 .364 .498 .444 24 7 4 79 43 11 .351 .460 .419 34 17 9 113 72 13 .363 .584 .456 23 1 10 76 72 4 .357 .540 .484 20 9 12 94 45 14 .356 .545 .426 20 5 2 68 50 3 .301 .409 .400

% .783 .667 .818 1.000

IP 173 133 118 81

H 181 139 70 77

ER 65 64 28 21

SO 141 111 154 85

BB 44 88 87 19

ERA 3.38 4.33 2.14 2.33

BR/9 11.8 15.9 12.1 10.7

games than Abrams) and scored ¡05 runs in his 85 games. DeMatties was a poor fielder (.876), but I couldn’t compare him with Abrams because he had no fielding stats at third (he did play 33 games at short and ¡7 at second with no great distinction). Of course, this could have been resolved by naming Abrams to the utility spot, had there been one. Shortstop was a wash between selectee “They Shall Not” Pass and non-selectee Tony Kubek. In virtually the same number of plate appearances, Kubek had .344/.5¡8/.429 averages with ¡02 runs and 77 RBIs. Pass was better afield, both in FA and TC/G. Slight advantage, Pass, but not enough to reign solitarily as KITTY shortstop, model ¡954. A co-catchership should also have been the order for the league. Stephen Durst had superior (to the Judge’s, anyhow) .3¡7/.467/.43¡ averages and scored 88 runs.

406

Minor League All-Star Teams

The pitching choices were right on. Templeton, it should be noted, averaged ¡¡.7 K/9. Mayfield’s Clayton Haney was 5–4 on the year for his 2¡ games and eleven starts. I know you are waiting for the other shoe to drop, so stand back, as this is no shoe; it is a combat boot, size twelve. Haney had a 9.35 ERA and allowed a very untidy 2¡.6 BR/9. And here’s one for the ages: The Jackson Generals played 27 games before dropping out of the league.

They started out the season with 26 straight losses before splitting a double-header and bidding adios to Miss KITTY forever. They did manage to score 4.9 runs a game. Unfortunately, they gave up ¡7.4 runs a game (not a misprint), thereby losing each of their contests by an average of ¡2∂ runs a game. To paraphrase Comic Book Guy, “Worst professional ball team ever!”

Mississippi-Ohio Valley League (D) POS NAME

TEAM

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Dubuque Danville Hannibal Decatur Dubuque Clinton Danville Mt. Vernon

SP SP SP SP

Donald Strickland Robert Loftin Arthur Burnett Manuel Valdez Richard Lombardi John Wrye Leon Wagner Charles Starasta No selection made

David Jiminez John Bumgarner Kenneth Anderson Luis Herrera

Clinton Decatur Danville Decatur

G 30 52 12 34

G

AB

166 125 124 121 118 122 125 123

383 465 428 476 448 495 482 435

GS 25 20 12 29

CG 19 17 5 17

H

R

TB 2B 3B HR RBI

122 93 197 123 61 184 120 77 180 125 98 173 144 105 257 159 71 254 160 108 287 151 94 227

SH 6 0 2 0

Paris first baseman Joe Schmidt was fifth with 22 homers, third with a .337 BA, tied for fourth with ¡05 runs, and led in RBIs with ¡25 and SA with a mark of .607. I would have named him as my first baseman without breaking a sweat. At second, I would have named Hannibal’s Jack Robinson to the team faster than you could say “Jack Robinson.” His averages of .3¡7/.529/.39¡ make Loftin’s seem puny by comparison, and he had ¡9 homers, scored 96 runs, and drove in 99. It should have been a slam-dunk. At short, James Rader of Paris is the guy for me. He led the league with ¡¡7 runs, and hit for .304/.38¡/ .434 averages. (My Schmidt-Robinson-BurnettRader infield hits .3¡0 to the o‡cial StricklandLoftin-Burnett-Valdez .280. My guys score 395 runs and drive in 343 to their 329/278 marks.) The league failed to select any one for the utility

W 20 22 5 17

L 6 8 7 10

28 24 19 19 27 39 23 30

% .769 .733 .417 .630

4 2 10 13 10 19 16 8

13 11 7 1 22 6 24 10

IP 216 239 89 214

BB SB

81 102 75 30 58 79 64 55 81 67 78 19 115 42 85 88

H 141 188 80 222

ER 65 68 39 93

4 9 29 6 18 6 26 12

SO 249 137 85 174

BA

SA OB%

.319 .265 .280 .263 .321 .321 .332 .347

.514 .396 .421 .363 .574 .513 .595 .522

.465 .320 .400 .339 .417 .351 .390 .463

BB 128 72 67 86

ERA 2.71 2.56 3.94 3.91

BR/9 11.6 10.2 15.9 13.2

slot, thereby overlooking two worthy player/managers. Johnny Lucadello of Decatur, whose major league career was derailed by WWII service, led the league with a .362 BA and a Ruthian .527 OB%. He played second and third and was 4–¡ in ten games as a pitcher. J.C. Dunn of Hannibal played first, third, outfield, and pitched in four games. He hit .332 and slugged .566 with ¡03 RBIs, ¡04 runs, and a leaguehigh 26 homers. As the sta› had its tradition-required-thoughoften-producing-a-shooting-oneself-in-the-foote›ect lefty in Herrera, I think that left hander Anderson was taking up a slot that should have gone to Mattoon’s Tom Cronin. Cronin went ¡7–¡¡ with a 3.¡2 ERA, fifth in the league, and a ¡2.¡ BR/9 mark, third best. Note Bumgarner’s 20 win/no shut out season.

PONY League (D) Sepkowski was a playing manager. He broke his own PONY league record of 37 home runs set in ¡953, came within one of his RBI record, and set a new slugging record with his .788 SA. Not a poorly selected team, the only changes I would make are adding two outfielders and dropping one, and the addition of a utility player. In the outfield, I would have chosen Ray Peery of

Bradford and Stanley Anderson of Olean over Gruner. Anderson hit .304 and slugged .456, and, thanks to a fine .445 OB%, scored ¡07 runs. Peery hit .3¡3, slugged .427 and had the third best OB% in the league, .480. He scored ¡¡6 runs and walked a league-high ¡40 times. James Hirsch of Corning played first, second, and third. He was third in batting (.365), second in slug-

¡954 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Hollis Powell Robert Yoder Ted Sepkowski Raymond Reed Harold Gruner Charles Soraci Arthur Remsa Ronald Witucki No selection made

Robert Harrell Eli Grba Thomas Van Remmen Marty Kutyna

TEAM Jamestown Hornell Wellsville Wellsville Corning Hornell Hamilton Jamestown

G 126 124 117 107 109 123 114 87

AB 456 505 411 401 440 522 376 315

407

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 154 127 245 27 11 14 94 102 25 .338 .537 .475 201 130 267 32 11 4 77 75 31 .398 .529 .478 155 103 324 24 5 45 144 77 1 .377 .788 .476 124 99 215 18 5 21 86 69 3 .309 .536 .418 152 81 214 32 6 6 91 36 10 .345 .486 .397 169 84 234 24 4 11 124 39 7 .324 .448 .375 107 91 164 14 8 9 76 122 5 .285 .436 .462 126 65 194 26 12 6 99 50 5 .400 .616 .489

G GS CG SH W L % IP 23 17 14 1 12 7 .632 145 30 27 18 3 14 10 .583 222 30 23 13 5 16 5 .762 178 25 23 19 2 17 6 .739 193

Bradford Corning Jamestown Hamilton

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 124 59 112 51 3.66 11.0 194 83 209 101 3.36 12.0 165 82 120 116 4.15 14.4 157 71 157 104 3.31 12.2

a 3.3¡ ERA. Bob Adubato of Corning had a leaguetopping winning percentage of .800 (on a ¡6–4 record), struck out ¡62 men in ¡67 innings, and had a 3.45 ERA. Finally, it must be noted that Eli Grba hit .379, slugged .505 and had ¡8 RBIs and that Marty Kutyna had .366/.489 marks and ¡7 RBIs. Van Remmen, who also played some outfield, hit .33¡, slugged .469 and had 32 RBIs. Add in Harrell’s good-for-a-pitcher .237/.356 and ¡3 RBIs, and the PONY sta› hit .337, slugged .465 and had 80 RBIs.

ging (.635), and first in OB% with an excellent .5¡8 mark. His ¡¡2 runs scored (in ¡¡0 games) was fourth, his ¡2¡ walks were fourth, he added 96 RBIs, and his ¡6 homers placed him sixth in the league. The PONY League scribes should definitely have found a place for Hirsch. Please notice that Witucki, who lacked the at-bats (but not the later required plate appearances) to qualify as the league’s batting champion hit a very uncatcher-like .400. Bob Mische, who pitched 29 of his league-high 4¡ games in relief for Jamestown, was ¡6–6 and had

Sooner State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Robert White Billie Davidson Ray Mitchell Don LeJohn Carl Hrovatic Gene Green Eddie Haas Frank Ricco Leonard Jackson Walter Massefski

Wendell Doss Joe Roberson

TEAM Ardmore Shawnee Shawnee Shawnee Lawton Ardmore Gainesville McAlester Gainesville Gainesville-Ada

Lawton Shawnee

G 37 25

GS 31 24

G 134 87 129 127 122 98 122 111 87 126

AB 553 408 499 482 467 417 455 366 328 502

CG 23 17

H 187 127 185 173 173 150 152 92 97 182

SH 5 5

R 136 92 127 110 105 105 102 69 50 122

W 24 16

It is hard to dispute with White’s season as being the best overall at first, but posterity demands that the year McAlester pilot Malcom Mick had be duly noted and appreciated. Mick may have only batted .327, but he did score ¡33 runs and steal 29 bases. He also drew ¡89 walks and wound up with a fabulous .524 OB%. At third, Herman Charles of Seminole had .326/ .509/.409 averages and ¡¡9 RBIs. Mitchell fielded .927, but only “got to” (and I use the term lightly) 2.7 chances a game. Charles fielded a weak .893, but he got to a terrific 4.¡ chances a game. My vote would

L 12 5

TB 314 180 283 237 238 287 251 159 144 276

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 23 4 32 124 77 5 .338 .568 .424 14 6 9 51 25 3 .311 .441 .358 30 7 18 95 84 2 .371 .567 .465 27 8 7 99 81 7 .359 .492 .452 21 7 10 83 77 3 .370 .510 .465 33 1 34 116 37 7 .360 .688 .417 29 11 16 92 92 16 .334 .552 .449 17 1 16 71 85 2 .251 .434 .402 15 1 10 48 52 11 .296 .439 .394 27 8 17 101 76 11 .363 .550 .448

% .667 .762

IP 249 196

H 229 126

ER 83 55

SO 188 225

BB 86 131

ERA 3.00 2.53

BR/9 11.7 12.1

have been split as to who should be the Sooner State All Star third baseman. There is a Shawnee Hawk flyhawk who was not selected who deserves consideration for an outfield spot: William Louis Fox. He scored ¡39 runs in ¡34 games, had ¡05 RBIs, batted .329 and stole 29 bases. Incidentally, the Hawks starting seven (minus the catchers, who hit a puny .¡86 between them but still scored 75 runs) hit .326, slugged .5¡3, and had an OB% of .4¡2. They averaged ¡¡4 runs (five over ¡00, the other two over 90) and ¡00 RBIs (four over ¡00

408

Minor League All-Star Teams

and two over 90). Even with the catchers, the eight non-pitching spots had .308/.477/.398 marks. The utility choice Massefski played third, short, and outfield, each of them horrendously. In 39 games at third, he fielded .825 and committed 25 errors. In 80 games in the outfield, he “fielded” a jaw-dropping .844 with 26 errors. If you prefer your utility men to be somewhat more capable afield, “Hot” Rod Kanehl is your guy. He too played third, short, and outfield, and, while his fielding was poor (.892 at all three spots combined), it was not Masque of the Red Death poor (Massefski’s .842 combined FA). Kanehl hit .3¡3 with ¡09 runs and 99 RBIs, and stole 27 bases.

Only two really good pitchers were not named to the Sooner State sta›, Frank Golob and Richard Miller of Shawnee. Golob was ¡9–5 with a 2.98 ERA (third) and a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.2 (fourth). Miller’s numbers were ¡0–4, 2.64 (second), and ¡¡.9 (also second). Two sets of twins played in the league in ’54: Herman and Hugh Charles and Roy and Ray Mantle, Mickey’s brothers. Another Mantle also played for McAlester, Maxie Mantle. I have not been able to ascertain if he is a cousin, but I would be willing to bet that he is.

! ¡955 ! In ¡955, there were 33 leagues in the National Association. 28 of them (85%) named All-Star teams.

Pacific Coast League (Open) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Steve Bilko Curt Roberts Harry Bright Carl “Buddy” Peterson George Metkovich Earl Rapp Bobby Del Greco Joe Ginsburg No selection made

TEAM Los Angeles Hollywood Sacramento San Diego Oakland San Diego Hollywood Seattle

G 168 123 120 154 151 169 159 147

AB 622 452 459 576 532 582 481 475

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 204 105 356 35 3 37 124 73 4 .328 145 79 197 22 3 8 49 30 17 .321 140 51 213 31 3 12 73 28 0 .305 176 105 222 34 3 2 38 57 4 .306 178 94 254 21 2 17 79 51 10 .335 173 109 303 25 6 30 133 103 1 .297 138 86 211 26 4 13 73 70 21 .287 139 48 193 27 3 7 66 59 6 .293

SA OB% .572 .399 .436 .371 .464 .346 .385 .375 .477 .399 .521 .407 .439 .399 .406 .373

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP George “Red” Munger Hollywood 36 35 25 5 23 8 .742 272 223 56 133 57 1.85 9.3 SP Leo “Bud” Daley Sacramento 40 33 18 1 18 16 .529 259 268 99 118 87 3.44 12.7

Third baseman Milt Smith (San Diego) was slighted by the selectors for reasons not readily apparent to either a casual observer or a serious researcher. His averages (.338/.53¡/.4¡¡) were all either better or much better than were Bright’s. In 23 fewer plate appearances, Smith had eight fewer RBIs but scored 38 more runs. Their fielding was about equal, so why the collective cold shoulder from the voters? Bobby Del Greco played 32 games at third, so the league could have named him as a utility player. If they had done so, my choice for the vacated outfield spot would be the fiery Carlos Bernier of Hollywood. He had .279/.4¡0/.360 averages, led the league in steals with 29, scored 93 runs and drove in 73. John Ritchey of San Francisco was worthy of at the very least a co-catcher spot. He hit .285, and, in

96 fewer plate appearances than Ginsburg, scored four more runs (52). Daley pitched well for a team 20 games under .500. Whether he pitched well enough to be an All Star, I don’t know. Charles Adams (Portland) was ¡2–¡2 for a .500 team, but he led the league in both ERA (2.05) and BR/9 ratio (9.0). Elmer Singleton (Seattle) was ¡9–¡2 with a good 2.20 ERA and allowed only 9.6 BR/9. There were two relievers who could have been selected, had there been a relief spot to be selected for. Omar “Turk” Lown was in 6¡ games, went ¡2–5, and had a 2.¡3 ERA. Bill Kennedy of Seattle was in 52 games, went 8–6, and had an ERA of ¡.9¡. He allowed only 9.2 BR/9.

American Association (AAA) It seems to me that whosoever selected this team was, to quote that eminent philosopher

Foghorn Leghorn, “About as sharp as a sack of wet mice.”

¡955 POS 1B 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF OF C C C UTIF UTIF SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Frank Torre Maurice “Mo” Mozzali Don Blasingame Frank Malzone Jasper Spears Bill Harrell Bob Lennon George Wilson Jim Dyck Marty Keough Darrell Johnson Carl Sawatski Haywood Sullivan Rance Pless Billy Gardner

Ross Grimsley Bob Trowbridge Stu Miller Al Worthington Joe Margoneri

TEAM Toledo Omaha Omaha Louisville St. Paul Indianapolis Minneapolis Minneapolis Indianapolis Louisville Denver Minneapolis Louisville Minneapolis Minneapolis

Charles.-Omaha Toledo Omaha Minneapolis Minneapolis

G 150 117 132 154 154 149 114 140 78 151 152 142 128 156 73

AB 544 319 497 607 637 581 422 541 278 588 555 447 445 593 290

H 178 86 150 188 167 159 118 166 105 178 170 120 115 200 90

R 86 49 104 99 89 99 66 115 57 104 56 67 53 116 55

409 TB 232 131 195 262 261 232 237 298 153 275 216 220 173 326 158

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 29 2 7 73 47 3 .327 .426 .388 15 0 10 53 55 3 .270 .411 .379 14 11 3 46 93 17 .302 .392 .416 33 7 9 88 40 1 .310 .432 .356 32 7 16 76 65 4 .262 .410 .332 30 8 9 60 76 7 .274 .399 .360 18 4 31 104 52 2 .280 .562 .361 33 3 31 99 66 4 .307 .551 .384 15 5 17 58 34 3 .378 .550 .447 33 14 12 67 81 12 .303 .468 .393 26 4 4 49 33 3 .306 .389 .349 15 2 27 72 81 0 .268 .492 .382 26 7 6 61 34 2 .258 .389 .317 34 7 26 107 58 3 .337 .550 .398 15 1 17 48 22 1 .310 .545 .369

G GS CG SH W L % IP 29 26 9 4 9 9 .500 180 29 28 10 2 13 8 .619 182 39 33 13 5 17 14 .548 244 38 33 18 2 19 10 .655 239 26 17 5 0 9 6 .600 119

The league Eminence Grises chose two first basemen, and there were indeed a pair of A.A. initial sackers worthy of that high honor. They just didn’t happen to be the ones selected. Luscious “Luke” Easter of Charleston (a very bad team that finished 42 games out with a 50–¡04 record) hit .283 with a .545 SA and an OB% of .4¡¡. He had 30 homers and drove in ¡02 runs. Marv Throneberry of Denver (in his pre–Marvelous days) hit .275, only a bit higher than Mozalli, but he slugged .535 and led the league with 36 homers and ¡¡7 RBIs. In fact, I’ll go a step further and say that the A.A. should have even had a third first baseman, and it still wouldn’t be one of the select duo. Louisville’s Dick Gernert hit .287, slugged .552 and had a league-best OB% of .442. He hit 24 homers and had 86 RBIs. So, with eight possible choices, the two selected were the fifth and sixth best on the list (Norm Larker of St. Paul also had a better year than Torre and Mozalli). If two first basemen and two shortstops and three catchers were selected, why just a single second baseman? Especially since Vinicio Garcia of Toledo and Roy Hartsfield of St. Paul were having fine years themselves. Garcia hit for averages of .300, .425, and .405, and walked ¡00 times. He led all A.A. second basemen with a .984 FA. Hartsfield led in range with a fine 5.6 and boosted his .259 BA by slugging .452 and driving 26 balls into the seats. His 85 RBIs were by far the most of any other league keystoner. Any two of these would be as good as any other two, in my opinion, but to leave two out in the cold just seems unfair. We find another pass-overee at short. Louisville’s Don Buddin hit .292 and slugged .463 on the strength of 39 doubles and ¡8 homers. He had 86 RBIs and scored ¡¡¡ runs, third in the league. Would

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 188 83 111 56 4.15 12.5 172 74 135 82 3.66 12.7 224 82 161 77 3.02 11.4 226 95 150 94 3.58 12.1 135 68 85 57 5.14 15.0

a trio of “6’s” have been more unorthodox than having three catchers, or were the selectors afraid of the religious connotations? On to the outfield, where Rocco Domenico Colavito (third in put-outs, first in assists and DPs) was ignored. Sure, the Rock only hit .268, but he slugged .495 and had 84 walks in addition to 30 homers and ¡04 RBIs. I would have added him to the gardening sta›. Three catchers selected, and not a one was Earl Battey. The Charleston backstop hit .269, had an OB% of .377 and drove in 7¡ runs. Would I take him over Sullivan? Yes, yes I would. Finally, we come to the pitchers. Grimsley was, at best, the fourth best lefty in the league. Margoneri was not in the top ten. So, we’ve already opened up two spots, spots I would fill with Humberto Robinson of Toledo and Jerry Casale of Louisville. Robinson was a very fine ¡4–4, and his 2.35 ERA and ¡¡.0 BR/9 ratio would both have been league leaders if he had had enough innings to qualify (he had ¡38). Casale (who hit .278 with four homers and ¡3 RBIs), was ¡7–¡¡, 2.96, ¡¡.2 and led the league with ¡86 strike-outs. Of course, no relievers were selected despite several good candidates. The two best were Bud Byerly of Minneapolis and Johnny Kucab of Denver. Byerly was in 50 games, most in the league, and was 8–8 with a 3.60 ERA. He only walked eleven batters unintentionally all season. Kucab was 6–4, 2.8¡ and allowed ¡0.4 BR/9. He only had fifteen unintentional walks all season By my reckoning, the voters got ¡2 out of a possible twenty right. Even if half of my choices were incorrect, the scribes still get only a C-.

410

Minor League All-Star Teams

International League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Glenn “Rocky” Nelson Forrest “Spook” Jacobs Steve Demeter Hector Rodriguez Archie Wilson Gino Cimoli Jackie Brandt Lew Berberet No selection made

Ken Lehman Jack Crimian

Montreal Toronto

TEAM Montreal Columbus Bu›alo Toronto Toronto Montreal Rochester Toronto

G 34 41

GS 32 21

G 154 122 142 146 150 144 151 115

CG 21 16

AB 506 456 516 560 561 519 587 389

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 184 115 335 36 2 37 130 118 11 .364 .662 .493 144 83 178 24 5 0 37 68 13 .316 .390 .410 147 68 244 28 9 17 79 24 4 .285 .473 .322 162 99 236 31 8 9 57 62 7 .289 .421 .367 179 87 264 21 8 16 119 35 3 .319 .471 .362 159 73 241 39 8 9 85 46 12 .306 .464 .365 179 98 277 38 12 12 70 46 24 .305 .472 .359 103 49 164 10 3 15 52 54 1 .265 .422 .360

SH 6 4

Well, at third it was another of those “Power vs. On Base” struggles, and power won. That .322 OB% of Demeter’s just looks a bit too weak for me to go along with that decision. Loren Babe (Toronto) hit.286, slugged .4¡7, and had an OB% of .39¡. He drove in ¡5 fewer runs than did Demeter, but scored ¡9 more. At short, Humberto “Chico” Fernandez of Montreal had virtually the same numbers Rodriguez did (.30¡/.424/.365). They both had good range, and about the only di›erence between the two is the fact that Fernandez fielded .973 and Rodriguez .959. A tie would not have been a blasphemy against the Baseball Gods. Two outfielders who were left out of the Halls of Glory Eternal which are reserved for The Chosen Men had, I must say it again, virtually identical seasons to those who were not left out. Alberto Baro of Havana hit only .289, but his .389 OB% was better than any of the Three International League Outfield Demi-Gods. He scored 94 runs, drove in 85 , and stole 20 bases. Russ Sullivan (Columbus) was second in the league with a SA of .585 and 29 homers. He was only in ¡¡9 games, but his 94 RBIs were good

W 22 19

L 9 6

% .710 .760

IP 241 210

H 208 175

ER 74 49

SO 120 84

BB 75 53

ERA 2.76 2.10

BR/9 10.7 9.8

enough for third. He hit .3¡9 (fourth) and had an OB% of .406 (also fourth). There was no utility man selected, but third baseman/outfielder Stan Jok of Rochester filled all the qualifications had there been a choice to be made. He hit .290, slugged .473, had a .388 OB%, hit ¡6 homers and drove in 84 runs. Overlooked: Patricio Scantlebury, Havana. ¡3–9, league-best ¡.90 ERA, league-best BR/9 ratio of 9.8. He actually fell nine innings short of qualifying for any league titles, but he would have had to give up seven earned runs in those innings to lose the ERA title. Overlooked: Ben Flowers, Bu›alo. ¡2–9, 2.24 ERA (third), ¡0.8 BR/9 ratio (fifth). Overlooked: Lynn Lovenguth of sub-.500 Syracuse. ¡5–8, 2,52 ERA (fourth), ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio (sixth). Now, should Lehman and Crimian have been passed over for the Overlooked Three? No, but maybe there should have been five starters selected. Two relievers stand out: Glen Mickens (Montreal) and Bill “96” Voiselle (Richmond). Mickens was in 49 games and went ¡2–3 with a 2.¡8 ERA. Voiselle worked in 72 games was 7–6, and had a 3.37 ERA.

Mexican League (AA) Diaz was a playing manager. The only changes I would make would be to add a utility man and a pitcher. For the former, I would use second base-selectee Hernandez, who split his time between second and third. I would then put Barney Serrell of Nuevo

Laredo at second. Serrell hit .338, had a .394 OB% and scored 82 runs in 93 games. On the sta›, I would add Raul Galata of Veracruz. He was second in ERA with a 3.72 mark and tied for second in wins with ¡4. He also hit .306, slugged .505, hit six homers, and drove in ¡4 runs.

Southern Association (AA) If the Reader would prefer a full-season first baseman instead of Skinner’s 57%-of-a-full-season stylings, take heart, one such exists. Atlanta Cracker Earl Hersh hit .3¡4 and slugged .502 with 25 homers and ¡05 RBIs, third and fifth in the league respec-

tively. I myself, a devotee of the OB% cult, will stick with Skinner and his .446 (Hersh’s was .372). I would also go with the OB% guy at third. Ralph “Country” Brown of Nashville had a .3¡¡ BA, slugged .476, and got on base .378% of the time. All three av-

¡955

411

Mexican League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Alonso Perry Felipe Hernandez Leo Rodriguez Guillermo Alvarez Fernando Diaz Pedrozo Gail Henley Paul Pettit Edric Leon Kellman Mario Diaz No selection made

TEAM G AB MC Diablos Rojos 92 365 MC Diablos Rojos 95 409 MC Tigres 71 291 Veracruz 88 353 N.L.-M.C.D.R. 95 411 MC Tigres 72 284 MC Tigres 78 288 Nuevo Laredo 100 351 MC Diablos Rojos 71 260

H 137 157 112 118 136 109 110 118 66

R 76 88 56 68 86 74 72 80 37

TB 254 208 146 207 211 168 178 171 93

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 24 15 21 122 53 5 .375 .696 .457 31 4 4 67 34 4 .384 .509 .439 15 8 1 65 28 0 .385 .502 .441 33 1 18 63 32 16 .334 .586 .391 20 2 17 79 27 5 .331 .513 .376 23 6 8 67 46 2 .384 .592 .476 25 8 9 80 59 1 .382 .618 .490 23 3 8 65 74 3 .336 .487 .458 16 4 1 24 32 4 .254 .358 .347

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Fred Waters MC Tigres 28 17 14 6 18 3 .857 170 135 39 126 68 2.06 10.9 SP Vincente Lopez MC Diablos Rojos 36 25 10 2 13 10 .565 195 227 89 101 75 4.11 14.2

MC is Mexico City. N.L. is Nuevo Laredo.

Southern Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UTIF SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Bob Skinner Charles Williams Leon Carter Jerry Lumpe Edward White Bob Martyn Ben Downs Jim Lemon Bob “Hurricane” Hazle Danny Kravitz Cal Neeman Joe Tipton Frank DiPrima

Ralph Mauriello John Wingo Bill George Donald Gross Hal Griggs

TEAM New Orleans Nashville Birmingham Birmingham Memphis Birmingham Nashville Chattanooga Nashville New Orleans Birmingham Memphis Atlanta

Mobile Birmingham Atlanta Nashville Chattanooga

G 35 34 46 32 40

G 86 141 116 151 152 153 145 148 150 122 122 60 153

GS 34 33 24 13 30

AB 321 573 459 614 552 591 526 518 601 426 412 191 554

CG 13 14 10 5 10

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 111 62 171 24 6 8 62 58 3 .346 .533 .446 211 108 295 44 5 10 70 55 1 .368 .515 .432 128 55 167 14 2 7 60 25 1 .279 .364 .318 185 94 228 24 8 1 53 60 5 .301 .371 .367 191 97 296 32 11 17 107 84 19 .346 .536 .433 188 94 270 26 10 12 87 49 9 .318 .457 .372 179 94 260 39 3 12 108 106 8 .340 .494 .454 144 95 272 32 12 24 109 85 3 .278 .525 .391 189 114 316 32 4 29 92 77 6 .314 .526 .392 127 63 215 11 10 19 88 28 0 .298 .505 .347 121 52 162 17 6 4 59 57 0 .294 .393 .382 53 23 82 8 0 7 34 20 0 .277 .429 .355 171 79 240 30 3 11 58 87 3 .309 .433 .406 SH 5 2 0 2 3

erages are better than Carter’s, plus, in 75 fewer plate appearances, Brown scored nine more runs and drove in ¡8 more than did Carter. There is a dark horse hot corner candidate to throw into the mix, however. George Risley, a Traveler of the Little Rock sort, was marginally better than Carter at bat (.276/.373/.36¡), though not as good as Brown. The big di›erence is in the field. Risley fielded .957 to Carter’s .937 (and Brown’s .926), and it was a legit .957, as Risley led in POs, As, and DPs. His range was very good (3.5 TC/G), Carter’s merely average (2.9). I believe that I would sneak Risley in, were it my decision. There are also two alternate candidates for the shortstop spot: Gair Allie of The Big Easy and Luis Aparicio of Memphis. Now, some might well sco› at mentioning Allie and Aparicio in the same sentence (unless the sentence was the answer to the undoubtedly frequently asked question “Name two Southern Association shortstops who both played in ¡955 and

W 18 15 11 8 15

L 8 10 14 2 9

% .692 .600 .440 .800 .625

IP 215 215 207 127 209

H 159 189 242 125 198

ER 66 73 82 52 88

SO 159 89 104 117 180

BB 132 123 73 45 122

ERA 2.76 3.06 3.57 3.69 3.79

BR/9 12.3 13.5 13.7 12.1 13.9

whose last names both started with ‘A’”), I assure you that in this case the juxtaposition was warranted. In the field, the three were just about equal (FAs from .942 to .945, TC/G from 4.8 to 5.3). In steals, not surprisingly, Aparico stole over five times as many as the other two combined (he led the league with 48, over double the total of the runner-up). Allie, on the other hand, hit twice as many homers as his two rivals (he had ¡5, twelfth in the league). Allie’s secondary averages (.422/.407) were also far superior to Lumpe’s or Aparicio’s (.358/.370). I do believe, after weighing all the facts, that, if the attributes of the three were displayed on a pie chart, Allie’s slice would be 35% of the pie, Aparicio’s 33%, and Lumpe’s 32%. A slim margin indeed, but my choice would be Allie. Frank DiPrima, utility infield choice, played second. A far better choice would have been Don Grate of Chattanooga. He played at second, third, short, and he threw in some outfield. And, if that was not

412

Minor League All-Star Teams league if he had enough innings to qualify. So, does this fellow make the All-Star team or not. Well, if you are a Southern Association Selector, the answer is not just “No,” but a resounding “No!” I suppose that the selectors would justify their horrid mistake by saying (imagine monocles, noses pointed skyward, and voices that sound like sni‡ng British royals) “But the pitcher (and we use the term lightly) in question was a reliever. Not our sort at all, dontcha know.” Fine. I guess they were planning on having their five choices pitch nothing but complete games, dontcha know. Bottom line: Dahlke was robbed.

enough, he also pitched in five games. That, as I have said before of other players in other leagues in other years, is a Utility Season. He also batted .295 with a very DiPrima-like .433 SA. Now, here’s a trip down memory lane for those of you who been paying attention. A pitcher, oh, I don’t know, let’s just call him Jay Dahlke and let’s also just say that he happened to pitch for Memphis, just happens to go ¡9–5 with a .792 winning percentage, leading the league in both categories. Let us further suppose that he has an ERA of ¡.85 and that he allows ¡¡.6 BR/9, both of which would also lead the

Texas League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Bob Boyd Geo. “Sparky” Anderson Ossie Virgil Joe Koppe Dick Williams Ed Knoblauch Pidge Browne Ray Murray No selection made

SP

John “Red” Mur›

TEAM Houston Ft. Worth Dallas Shreveport Ft. Worth Beaumont/Dallas Shreveport Dallas

Dallas

G 42

GS 35

CG 28

G 163 158 159 158 153 157 152 110

AB 635 594 614 548 596 588 533 362

SH 10

First base. Power position. Texas League. ¡955. Joe Macko. Well, maybe. Macko hit 28 homers (second in the league) and had ¡02 RBIs, but hit .273 with a poor .328 OB%. I’d stick with Boyd, who was also the only league first sacker to record at least ¡00 assists (¡¡8, to be exact). Anderson handled an excellent 6.0 TC/G while fielding .98¡. For me, that was enough to cover his abysmal lack of power. Kal Segrist, San Antonio third baseman, had .284/.486/.402 averages, the latter good enough for fourth in the league. He hit 25 homers and scored 93 runs. I am inclined to go with him over Ossie. Koppe handled a su-poib 5.7 chances a game. Of course, he did make 56 errors, but still… I believe that I would have been forced to select a four-man outfield. Jim Pisoni (San Antonio) may have hit a humble .270, but he hit 26 homers and led the league with ¡¡8 RBIs. “Enough about the hitters,” I hear you saying, “what about the pitchers? Was Mur› the only good pitcher in the league?” No and no, he was not, although he was indeed the best. A very close second, although you would not know it to look at his (still good) ERA (2.55) or BR/9 ratio (¡¡.¡), was Oklahoma City’s Al Papai. Big Al actually was second in the league in winning percentage with a .767 mark (he went 23–7) despite playing for a team which was twenty games under .500 and which played .36¡

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 197 96 293 39 6 15 94 81 7 .310 .461 .391 158 86 184 24 1 0 42 69 6 .266 .310 .343 181 86 273 31 5 17 79 44 5 .295 .445 .343 150 118 234 27 6 15 70 134 5 .274 .427 .418 189 82 298 29 4 24 91 47 0 .317 .500 .372 192 98 256 48 2 4 60 100 8 .327 .435 .428 162 89 313 40 6 33 103 62 2 .304 .587 .376 119 59 219 23 1 25 80 44 0 .329 .605 .404

W 27

L 11

% .711

IP 303

H 240

ER 67

SO 157

BB 78

ERA 1.99

BR/9 9.7

when the decision went to someone else. He won 33% of the Indian’s games. Pete Burnside was ¡8–¡¡ for Dallas, had a fine 2.47 ERA and led the league with 235 Ks. Despite his ¡20 walks, he was third in BR/9 allowed with a ¡0.7 figure. He was also, if such things are important to you, the league’s second-best lefty. The best southpaw, and perhaps the best pitcher in the league (although that is based on just 76 innings over nine starts, seven CGs and four shut-outs) was Don Ferrarese. Don was 9–0 (hard to top a ¡.000 winning percentage) with a miniscule ¡.48 ERA. He allowed only a miserly 4.9 H/9 (opponents hit about .¡32 (!) against him). His control was not the best, so he wound up with a ¡0.3 BR/9 ratio, still lower than his ¡¡.3 K/9 ratio. It was just a marvelous year. But wait! There’s still more! Mel Held of San Antonio was 24–7 (for a league-best .774), had a 2.87 ERA and allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9. Al Atkins was another 20 game winner, going 22–8, 3.0¡, ¡¡.4. And, if you like relievers, have I got one for you, one of the year’s best, in fact. Mel Waters of Fort Worth was in 77 games out of the pen, went 7–¡ with an ERA of 2.20 and an excellent 9.8 BR/9 mark. (He may even have been the actual league MVP. The Cats were 77–84 on the year, and it is certainly conceivable that, without their bull-pen ace, they may have been hard-put to avoid the cellar.

¡955

413

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Neal Hertwick Martin Delvin Milt Gra› Richard Barone Roger Maris Sam Suplizio John “Zeke” Bella John Blanchard William Onuska No selection made

Jim Singleton Don Minnick

TEAM Allentown Elmira Williamsport Williamsport Reading Binghamton Binghamton Binghamton Williamsport

Wilkes-Barre Reading

G 138 69 116 130 113 121 109 125 114

AB 446 298 440 507 374 463 372 448 378

H 136 98 139 134 108 138 138 126 111

R 92 63 82 79 74 82 78 89 52

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 223 17 5 20 112 103 4 .305 .500 .436 134 17 5 3 30 16 4 .329 .450 .365 194 22 15 1 57 72 11 .316 .441 .412 190 23 3 9 54 76 21 .264 .375 .367 186 15 3 19 78 77 24 .289 .497 .415 238 18 5 24 84 39 7 .298 .514 .363 206 24 7 10 78 67 7 .371 .554 .474 248 12 4 34 111 54 4 .281 .554 .361 167 23 3 9 59 33 1 .294 .442 .355

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

26 30

24 26

16 20

3 5

14 20

5 4

.737 .833

197 223

211 204

53 69

90 106

42 56

2.42 2.78

11.6 10.7

every hitting aspect, compiling .300/.390/.425 averages. He walked 96 times and scored 87 runs. I would have had a four-man outfield roster, adding Emil Panko of Williamsport. Emil hit .306, slugged .528, and had a .394 OB%. He tied for second with 24 homers and was sixth in RBIs with ¡02. No utility man was chosen which meant that two guys who had All-Star-type seasons were left lacking well-deserved (hypothetical) laurel leaves when post-season honors were passed out. Spencer Robbins (Schenectady) hit .3¡0 and slugged .545 and had 22 homers while scoring ¡08 runs. He played outfield and third base. Andrew Rellick ( Johnstown) played first and outfield, hit .335, slugged .556, had a .4¡3 OB%, and hit 24 homers with ¡06 RBIs. The pitching selections were fine, but another starter and a reliever were team-worthy. Jim Coates (Binghamton) led in strike-outs (with ¡86 in ¡85 innings) and was ¡3–8, 2.77. Reading’s Bennet “Harumph” Smyth relieved in 36 of his 40 games and was 6–9 with an ERA of 2.38.

First base was a close call, but I’d’ve called Bouchee. Ed Bouchee, that is. The Schenectady first sacker had very similar averages (.3¡3/.498/.454) to those complied by Hertwick, was close in runs (95), RBIs (¡07), and homers (22). Bouchee did tie for the league lead in doubles with 40. I guess the real reason I would select Ed is twofold: He was an original Met (that carries high cachet with me) and he always responds to my letters and answers any questions that I ask of him. In a race this close, it’s the little things that count. Williamsport’s Bill Mazeroski was in strong consideration for the second base spot. He hit .293 with a .438 SA, and (of course) led the league keystoners in TC/G. In the end though, I think the spot should have gone to Allentown’s John Huesman. Huesman led the league in runs with ¡¡6 and walks with ¡33. He hit only .249, but his .4¡6 OB% compensated for that. He also led the league in steals and was second to Maz in TC/G. I’m afraid that I must also disagree with the shortstop selection. My man would have been Frank Staucet of Allentown. He outperformed Barone in

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UTIF UTOF

SP SP

NAME John Jones Jimmy Bragan Tom Sarna Al Facchini George Toepfer Horace Garner Al Spangler Bill Robertson Matt Sczesny Albie Pearson

Charlie Rabe Paul “Bat” Cave

TEAM Macon Columbia Augusta Jacksonville Montgomery Jacksonville Jacksonville Savannah Montgomery Montgomery

Columbia Jacksonville

G 30 22

G 140 131 134 100 139 123 129 111 120 128 GS 30 19

AB 552 533 488 415 566 425 488 403 412 462 CG 23 13

H 177 164 149 97 180 125 140 118 118 141 SH 6 1

R 80 99 80 53 87 67 99 35 55 94 W 21 12

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 215 23 6 1 69 50 19 .321 .389 .378 202 25 2 3 51 55 5 .308 .379 .376 245 20 11 18 79 70 2 .305 .502 .392 120 13 5 0 32 30 4 .234 .289 .287 247 34 6 7 79 52 1 .318 .436 .376 198 11 4 18 77 77 8 .294 .466 .409 191 16 10 5 36 87 12 .287 .391 .395 143 13 6 0 48 19 5 .293 .355 .325 173 22 0 11 56 43 3 .286 .420 .359 198 27 9 4 50 132 13 .305 .429 .461 L 7 9

% .750 .571

IP 251 163

H 189 129

ER 56 37

SO 219 104

BB 121 69

ERA 2.01 2.04

BR/9 11.4 11.2

414

Minor League All-Star Teams

Only nineteen players in the entire league reached double figures in home runs. In the WTNM League, for comparison’s sake, 2¡ players hit at least 20 homers and 42 hit at least ten. The Sally League was not one of those southwest power leagues. Nonetheless, I still think that a first basist should have more than one homer and 69 RBIs. Columbia’s Bill Thompson hit only .276, but he outslugged Jones by 73 points, .462–.389. Thompson had ¡4 homers. He also tied for the lead in RBIs with 94 (which would have put him 2¡st in the WTNML). Sarna was one of the league’s better hitters, but Marvin Williams was better still. Williams played in 97 games (94 at third) for Columbus and hit ¡6 homers with 84 RBIs in addition to compiling averages of .328, .556 (the best in the league), and .422. As weak as Facchini’s season was, it was still just about the best o›ensive season any league shortstop had. The only other possible choice was Inman (Coot) Veal of Augusta. Coot hit .227 and slugged .288, but his OB% did creep over .300, landing at .3¡8. Coot only had 29 RBIs, but his 70 runs were the most for any shortstop. Fielding was no help in this issue. I have a problem with the entire outfield. I think that the best possible Sally outfield for ¡955 would be Pearson (named as the utility outfielder), Wes Covington of Jacksonville, and Ultus Alvarez of Columbia. I would have Garner as a fourth outfielder and put Spangler in the utility spot. Covington hit .326 (the league leader), slugged .508 (third) and had a .385 OB%. He had ¡6 homers, scored 93 runs, and drove in 8¡ runs (both fifth best in the league). Alvarez hit .30¡, slugged .5¡2, and had an OB% of .373. He scored ¡02 runs, a league best, and drove in 79 (tied for sixth). (As an aside, my threesome hits .3¡¡ and slugs .484, the league’s hits .30¡ and slugs .430. Not a huge di›erence, but a di›erence nonetheless). Montgomery’s catcher, Guy Morton Jr., hit 30 points lower than Robertson but slugged 59 points higher. Morton also had ten homers to Robertson’s

none and had 47 runs and 53 RBIs. No superstars here, but perhaps both should have been touched with the anointing only being named to All Star status can bring. Sczensny played second, third, short, and outfield and was a fine selection. I, however, would have added Wiley “Cat” Williams to the utility roster. He played first and outfield for Savannah and Jacksonville and led the league with 28 home runs, the only guy in the entire Sally to exceed 20. He had 92 RBIs (third) and scored 85 runs (seventh), which made his low .266 BA a little easier to deal with. (It was interesting for me to note that Williams accomplished a very rare feat, much more uncommon than, say, hitting four home runs in a game. He had over 20 homers (28, as stated above) and fewer than ten doubles (six, to be exact). Although my research as this book goes to print is incomplete, I am sure that this occurred fewer than twenty times in the history of the minors and majors combined with Mark McGwire the only hitter to do it twice). As you can probably guess from the lack of hitting, the pitching in the ’55 Sally was pretty good. Fourteen pitchers with at least ¡00 IP had ERAs under 3.00 (two were under 2.00) compared to none in the WTNM. The tenth place qualifier came in at 3.¡¡, compared to 4.54 in the WTNML. The highest ERA for a Sally league pitcher with at least ¡00 IP was 4.97 (and only one other qualifier was over 4.00), the highest in the WTNML was 7.5¡ (22 chuckers with at least ¡00 IP had ERAs over 5.00). Troy Herriage of Montgomery (who would go ¡–¡3 in his only major league season for the ¡956 Athletics) was ¡5–7 with a 2.4¡ ERA and allowed a league-low ¡0.4 BR/9. Gus Keriazakos, who pitched half a season for Savannah, was ¡¡–2 with an ERA of ¡.67 and ¡2 CGs in fifteen starts. The league’s top reliever was Adrian “Viva” Zabala of Jacksonville. He was in 36 games (35 in relief ) and went ¡¡–3 with a ¡.82 ERA. Another guy who pitched mostly in relief, Columbia’s Bill Upton, had an 8–3 record, a ¡.5¡ ERA, and allowed but 9.4 BR/9 in his 89 innings.

Western League (A) The league chose two catchers. Hairston was obviously the best choice. Wilbur Jenkins of Sioux City was just as obviously the second choice. Obvious, apparently, to all but the voters. I mean, c’mon — Gaspar had thirteen walks. Thirteen ! He “slugged” .3¡6 and had an on-base percentage of .289—.289, for Pete’s sake. This, of course, means that he had an o›base percentage of .7¡¡. It is my contention that no one who has an o›-base percentage of a 24-hour

convenience store should ever be named to an AllStar team. Jenkins had an o›-base percentage of .6¡9, generally not too bad for a catcher. He slugged .424, not that good but very much an improvement over Gaspar (a ¡08 point improvement, to be exact). He hit twelve homers and drove in 68 runs. There was no utility man chosen, but, as usual, there were two who were cheated from joining the ranks of the immortals because of the un-choice.

¡955 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Ken Landenberger Robert McKee Ed Barbarito Clarence Moore Willie Kirkland Domenick DiTusa Frank Rice Sam Hairston Miguel Gaspar No selection made

Andrew Pane Bob Harrison

415

TEAM Colorado Springs Des Moines Wichita Pueblo Sioux City Colorado Springs Lincoln Colorado Springs Wichita

G 105 150 148 150 141 124 150 142 115

AB 374 536 554 591 502 445 525 546 430

H 115 149 176 194 158 149 153 191 113

R 70 69 94 112 117 86 102 107 45

G 22 32

CG 12 18

SH 2 2

W 12 14

L 8 12

Sioux City Wichita

GS 19 26

TB 191 220 272 272 315 239 251 255 136

2B 3B HR RBI 28 0 16 81 23 3 14 77 32 2 20 87 21 12 11 80 25 6 40 116 27 6 18 92 41 3 17 85 38 4 6 91 13 2 2 68

% .600 .538

IP 152 206

H 141 124

ER 55 55

BB SB BA SA OB% 61 3 .307 .511 .407 50 4 .278 .410 .343 49 8 .318 .491 .378 42 17 .328 .460 .377 79 14 .315 .627 .410 42 2 .335 .537 .393 98 3 .291 .478 .406 65 2 .350 .467 .420 13 3 .263 .316 .289

SO 117 270

BB 84 140

ERA 3.26 2.40

BR/9 13.7 11.8

Star quality utility man, but he was also the best pitcher in the league. Dude, where’s the justice in that? Hall was not the only overlooked hurler however. Gene Fodge (Des Moines) was ¡6–¡0 and second in the league in both ERA (2.28) and BR/9 (¡0.7). Pueblo’s Roger Wright was the top reliever. He was in 39 games (one start) and wound up ¡¡–5 with a 2.28 ERA and a BR/9 mark of ¡0.7. Please note that Harrison averaged ¡¡.8 K/9.

Ramon Conde of Sioux Falls played second and short and also finished second in the batting race. He hit .346, had a .484 SA and an OB% of .4¡3, and drove in a good-for-a-middle-infielder 84 runs. The other overlookee was Dick Hall, pitcher/outfielder for Lincoln. He hit .302 and had a slugging average of .508, aided by his ¡3 homers. He was also ¡2–5 for a last place club, led the league in both ERA with a 2.24 mark and in BR/9 ratio with a fine 9.¡ number. Hall, in fact, was twice shunned. Not only was he an All-

Big State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Keith Little Ed Charles Jack Bloomfield Jack Wilkinson Lynn Vandehey Paul “Junior” Gri‡th Dean Sta›ord John Faucett Kenneth Jones No selection made

SP SP

Alvin Jackson Elmer Toth

TEAM Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Harlingen Corpus Christi Texas City Texas City Corpus Christi Galv./Texas City Tyler/Austin

G 97 141 115 132 135 135 140 133 137

AB 364 555 458 492 517 508 558 511 449

H 112 185 142 144 195 161 189 139 115

R 83 135 91 125 101 122 120 56 45

G 15 33

CG 9 21

SH 2 4

W 8 21

L 5 7

Waco Texas City

GS 15 31

Little’s home run total extrapolated over 550 ABs is a mighty 7¡. He hit a homer every 7.7 ABs. That, my friends, is some serious Whack-a-Mole action! Please also note his most excellent .745 SA. Bloomfield played only sixteen games at third. Shades of Rafael Palmero’s Gold Glove! Herminio Cortes was second among Big State third basemen in games played with 93 (no one played ¡00 or more). Even if Bloomfield had led the league in games at third, Cortes would still be my choice. The Waco star hit .3¡3 and slugged .5¡¡. He had 38 doubles and 20 home runs, and also drove home ¡22 runs. In my version of the Big State outfield, Gri‡th is replaced by Jim Kirby of Port Arthur. Kirby led the

TB 271 305 171 216 276 221 341 183 139

% .615 .750

2B 16 35 18 29 33 24 37 23 24

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 1 47 116 47 2 .308 .745 .387 14 19 116 78 19 .333 .550 .420 4 1 34 42 13 .310 .373 .375 11 7 80 117 13 .293 .439 .430 12 8 92 41 6 .377 .534 .425 15 2 37 109 47 .317 .435 .440 2 37 159 50 8 .339 .611 .397 0 7 56 31 2 .272 .358 .322 0 0 43 43 1 .256 .310 .324

IP 116 248

H 102 225

ER 36 95

SO 88 134

BB 65 73

ERA 2.79 3.45

BR/9 13.1 11.0

league in put-outs and also hit .373, second in the league. He slugged .555, good for third. His .452 OB% was second in the league. He had seventeen homers, ¡00 RBIs and scored ¡07 runs. Gri‡th would have been my fourth flyhawk. The best hitting catcher in the league was Frank Calo of Port Arthur. The Sea Hawk backstop hit .28¡, slugged .396, and drove in 73 runs. Johnny Lucadello, another Sea Hawk, would have made a good utility man. He played second and third, hit .350, had a SA of .498, and led the league with an OB% of .462. He also added 94 RBIs. Now, I know that this will be hard to believe, but the league’s best pitcher (by far) was not named to the

416

Minor League All-Star Teams

All Star team! I know that seems impossible, and that it stretches the bounds of credulity, but, nonetheless, there you are. Rene Vega of Corpus Christi had 26 complete games, five shut-outs, and pitched 284 innings. He led in wins and winning percentage (28–6, .824) as well as in ERA (2.69). No wonder he didn’t make the squad — he makes the other pitchers look

bad. I would also have included Gale Pringle of Tyler. He was ¡¡–5 in ¡8 games, had a 2.86 ERA and allowed ¡0.2 BR/9. Lee Roy Jones pitched in 53 games for Austin. The Pioneers finished 27 games under .500 (and played .37¡ ball when Jones was not involved in the decision). Lee Roy went ¡5–¡2, 3.50 (fifth in the league), ¡¡.5.

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF

SP SP SP SP

NAME Hal Holland Bob Beier Bill Ford Arthur “Bucky” Jacobs Mel Collins Dan Morejon Al Viotta Dick McCarthy Charlie Lau M. Lamar “Larry” Dorton Charles Fred Harrington Joe Cristello

Woody Rich Jack Taylor John Fitzgerald Malcom Simmons

TEAM Danville Danville Hi’p’t-Thom’ville. Fayetteville Danville Hi’p’t-Thom’ville Fayetteville Greensboro Durham Burl.-Graham Hi’p’t-Thom’ville Fayetteville

Hi’p’t-Thom’ville Hi’p’t-Thom’ville Danville Durham

G 135 137 78 137 132 136 134 138 127 80 132 133

AB 445 478 277 541 496 510 475 555 396 243 498 498

H 129 129 71 141 151 165 147 172 116 75 128 151

R 96 77 39 94 90 101 104 104 69 28 79 78

TB 243 159 107 181 185 254 239 238 198 85 194 255

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 17 2 31 121 130 4 .290 .546 .454 27 0 1 47 79 6 .270 .333 .378 15 0 7 41 31 2 .256 .386 .335 21 2 5 42 57 10 .261 .335 .340 26 4 0 48 85 8 .304 .373 .407 30 10 13 86 54 11 .324 .498 .388 24 1 22 80 69 16 .309 .503 .407 26 8 8 78 77 24 .310 .429 .396 18 5 18 75 97 4 .293 .500 .443 10 0 0 34 50 3 .309 .350 .440 24 3 12 52 78 11 .257 .390 .358 34 2 22 97 28 4 .303 .512 .351

G GS CG SH W L % IP 26 26 16 1 19 4 .826 212 31 31 23 8 17 11 .607 263 30 29 11 4 14 7 .667 185 59 15 6 1 17 9 .654 167

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 189 67 129 88 2.84 12.2 177 52 130 97 1.78 9.7 108 59 233 164 2.87 13.8 135 68 129 87 3.66 12.0

H’p’t-Thom’ville is High Point Thomasville.

Dorton was a playing manager. Yes, Hal Holland deserved the first base spot, but Jim Pokel deserves mention. The Fayetteville first sacker hit .32¡ and had the league’s best SA, .60¡. He was only in 94 games, but he hit 22 homers and drove in 77 runs. The second base situation is messed up. William Dougan (Reidsville) was the best hitting keystoner in the league, period. His averages were .304/.404/ .394, he scored 80 runs and drove in 6¡. At the very least he rates over Ford for the co-spot. Baseball is a strange game. Woody Rich was a terrific ¡9–4, while teammate and fellow selectee Jack

Taylor, who had an ERA over a run per game lower and who allowed 2∂ base runners fewer every nine innings lost seven more games. Proof once again, and I’m sure you know this refrain by now, that it’s better to be lucky than good. Fitzgerald only gave up 5.3 H/9, a terrific figure. Unfortunately, he walked a huge 8.2/9, a horrific figure. Fortunately, he struck out ¡¡.3/9, a terrific figure. Two terrifics minus one horrific adds up to an All Star season. Walt Miller of the Hi-Toms would have been the league’s relief choice, had a relief choice been made. He pitched in 42 games (39 in relief ) and went 6–4 with a 2,78 ERA.

Northwest League (B) Hillis Layne, Lewiston manager /third baseman, led the league with a .39¡ average and a .499 OB%. He also had a .5¡7 SA and was by far the best fielding hot corner man in the league. The spot should have been his. I would have had to have had four outfielders. Charles Lundgren, Wenatchee, may have only hit .308, but his ¡¡8 walks led to a very good .47¡ OB% and ¡¡6 runs. He was no slouch in the power department either, hitting ¡9 home runs and garnering 93 RBIs.

Duretto was rightly selected to the team, but to the wrong spot. He played only 32 of his games in a squatting position, and also played first, third, and outfield (he even pitched once for an 0–¡ record). In other words, he was a perfect utility choice. The catcher should have been Eugene’s manager Cli› Dapper. He not only led the Emeralds to both the pennant and the play-o› championship, he also hit .300, had an OB% of .438, and drove in 84 runs. Berlyn Hodges (Eugene) was the league’s top

¡955 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP

NAME Carl Joe Porter Joe Jacobs Tom Agosta Gene Tanselli Duane Helbig Herman Lewis Napoleon Gulley Robert Duretto Arthur William Preston Mel Krause

Gayle Hayden George Storti

TEAM Spokane Lewiston Salem Salem Tri-City Yakima Spokane Wenatchee Eugene Salem

Wenatchee Eugene

G 37 25

G 123 126 129 125 120 124 127 123 91 115

GS 25 22

AB 467 492 484 472 435 479 479 454 338 468

CG 17 18

417

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 143 70 189 23 1 7 91 53 2 .306 .405 .380 136 117 174 22 8 0 38 100 62 .276 .354 .406 173 98 248 24 18 5 84 64 18 .357 .512 .439 150 92 226 29 7 11 106 74 13 .318 .479 .416 150 95 221 34 5 9 95 70 5 .345 .508 .443 162 83 267 27 12 18 105 35 7 .338 .557 .388 173 88 257 26 2 18 126 67 11 .361 .537 .443 171 123 291 27 6 27 143 94 8 .377 .641 .486 100 78 146 16 9 4 49 70 29 .296 .432 .424 150 104 189 19 7 2 48 52 12 .321 .404 .400

SH 1 4

W 16 15

L 10 6

% .615 .714

IP 212 195

H 216 150

ER 102 49

SO 166 139

BB 181 100

ERA 4.33 2.26

BR/9 17.9 11.6

southpaw, if that’s the way you want to play this All Star game. Compare his ¡6–5, 3.03, ¡2.¡ numbers to Hayden’s, and see if you don’t agree.

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Donald Voigt G. “Deacon” Jones Robert Sagers Tony Kubek Gordy Coleman Bob Will Gene Green John “Honey” Romano Russ Nixon Enrique Izquierdo

Norman Rehm Donald Swanson Barry Latman William Roland

TEAM Burlington Waterloo Waterloo Quincy Keokuk Burlington Peoria Waterloo Keokuk Keokuk

Evansville Burlington Waterloo Evansville

G 34 35 27 20

G 99 78 125 110 93 115 104 118 94 119 GS 25 23 24 16

AB 392 267 467 470 401 412 428 402 358 483 CG 11 12 14 8

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB 128 76 165 21 5 2 44 67 12 85 64 137 11 7 9 58 70 1 136 86 222 28 2 18 83 72 10 157 105 243 34 5 14 81 34 12 140 78 216 24 2 16 77 25 0 138 89 194 25 5 7 70 103 15 135 74 234 29 5 22 92 29 4 129 108 272 27 1 38 124 100 6 138 66 186 29 2 5 77 53 2 146 101 206 29 5 7 55 60 22

BA .327 .318 .291 .334 .349 .335 .315 .321 .385 .302

SA OB% .421 .431 .513 .466 .475 .387 .517 .384 .539 .389 .471 .472 .547 .364 .677 .458 .520 .467 .427 .383

SH 5 0 0 1

BB 112 86 80 61

ERA 3.18 4.33 4.12 3.18

At first, I’m afraid that I will have to go against the jolly Three-Eye gazeteers and bang a drum for John O’Keefe of Cedar Rapids. Once again, although my candidate’s numbers (.302/.469/.39¡) are not the equal of Voigt’s, I must remind myself of the Three-P rule (Power/Production/Position) which states that said rule must assume primary importance when selecting a first baseman. In this case, O’Keefe’s ¡2 homers and 84 RBIs win the day for the unassuming son of Erin. Mitchell June of Keokuk deserves mention as an outfielder for the III Squadron of Heroes. Four league flyhawks had seasons in which each separated them from the rest of those who graced the pastures of the league. Each brought a little something to the table the others may have been short on. June (.323/ .479/.395) brought speed (22 steals) and run-scoring ability (with the fewest ABs of the four, he scored the most runs, 93). I would not have hesitated to name him as a fourth outfielder for the III Dream Team, ¡955 edition.

W 14 12 18 9

L 11 11 5 6

% .560 .522 .783 .600

IP 170 183 203 116

H 134 201 205 88

ER 60 88 93 41

SO 155 124 114 127

BR/9 13.3 14.2 13.0 11.6

Romano who set a new Three-I League home run record, homered in seven games in a row and nine days in a row. Izquierdo caught, played second, third, outfield, and even pitched in one game. Keokuk went an incredible 92–34, .730 on the season. They led the league in batting (.292), slugging (.442), OB% (.377), scoring (6.5 runs a game), fewest runs allowed (4.2), and margin of victory (2.3 runs). Despite that, no Keokuk Kernels pitchers were deemed All Star material. I must beg to di›er. Bill Dailey led the league in ERA with a 2.52 mark and had the lowest BR/9 ratio, ¡0.3. He was ¡7–4. Bob Yanen went ¡5–5 and was second in ERA (3.¡2) and third in BR/9 ratio (¡2.¡). The Mudcat, Jim Grant, led the league in wins and winning percentage (¡9–3, .864) and hit five homeruns with sixteen RBIs himself. The Kernels “Big Four” went 63–¡7 (.786) and their “Fab Five” was 76–22, .776.

418

Minor League All-Star Teams

West Texas-New Mexico League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Robert “Blaise” Pascal Robert Scott Eddie Bockman Gilberto Valentin Len Attyd Don Stokes Taft Wright Isaac “Ike” Palmer Ernie Choukalos No selection made

Kenneth Yoke Ted Shandor

TEAM Abilene Lubbock Albuquerque Albuquerque Amarillo Plainview Amarillo Plainview Albuquerque

El Paso Albuquerque

G 124 140 139 132 113 138 106 140 122

AB 483 565 504 551 454 571 387 562 458

H 185 186 174 187 159 209 150 228 132

R 112 106 109 100 123 130 102 130 94

TB 280 259 288 264 250 338 238 399 234

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 44 0 17 114 80 12 .383 .580 .474 35 10 6 65 46 5 .329 .458 .381 36 6 22 137 106 5 .345 .571 .462 25 8 12 98 37 10 .339 .479 .384 28 3 19 100 55 7 .350 .551 .423 50 2 25 121 60 1 .366 .592 .426 23 1 21 127 85 2 .388 .615 .500 46 4 39 138 52 9 .406 .710 .460 24 3 24 116 68 1 .288 .511 .387

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

41 38

26 33

19 28

1 2

19 23

11 12

.633 .657

256 285

265 317

104 118

170 117

95 60

3.66 3.73

12.8 12.0

Scott and Bockman were playing managers. Wright took over the reins in Amarillo on July ¡4. Oops! The scribes must have stepped out for a tall, frosty Lone Star when the voting for the first base position was put on the table. Either that or they had already had one (or six) too many when the decision was made. Joe Fortin of Pampa hit .367, slugged .663 and had a .456 OB%. What is really important though is the fact that he hit 4¡ homers and collected ¡54 RBIs. The homer total was third, the RBIs, second. He also scored ¡38 runs in his ¡37 games. In fact, I would place Pascal no higher than third on the WTNM first base roll of honor. Paul Mohr of Amarillo only played 89 games, but he sure made the most of his opportunity. He had 85 runs and ¡02 RBIs with 27 home runs (the latter two of which extrapolate out to 42 and ¡60 over a full ¡40 game schedule). He hit .395, slugged a terrific .775, and had a very good OB% of .478. He also had a four home run game during the season, as did Plainview manager/outfielder Jodie Beeler (about whom more later). Pampa third baseman Curtis Hardaway’s .3¡3/.589/ .406 was not quite enough to displace Bockman, despite his (Hardaway’s) 43 homers. He scored ¡37 runs, but had only ¡06 RBIs. Besides, Bockman fielded .958 and led with 4.0 TC/G to Hardaway’s .886/3.5. There were two odd exclusions in the outfield. Pampa’s Paul Halter hit .350, slugged .62¡, and had a .436 OB%. He had ¡37 RBIs, scored ¡32 times, and smacked 37 homers. Clovis’s Lincoln Boyd hit “only” .340 (and in the WTNML, the “only” really applies), but made that up with secondary averages of .678 and .454. He led the league in homers with 44 and RBIs with ¡57. Back to Beeler. Although he only played in 5¡ games, I was nevertheless tempted to add him to the outfield roster. You see, he had .40¡/.854/.484 averages, and yes, that .854 is correct. Jodie hit 24 home

runs in those 5¡ games (which works out to 66 over a full ¡40 game WTNML season), had a four home game run and six homers in a double-header, one of those games being of the seven-inning variety. Anyways, my first three outfielders would have been Wright, Boyd, and Halter. The o‡cial outfield hit for .367/.584/.447 averages with 75 homers, my trio’s numbers were .356/.639/.460 with ¡02 homers. I’ve made my call, now you make yours. The utility spot was not selected for, but Roberto Fernandez (Lubbock) played first and the outfield. He hit .375, slugged .595, and had an OB% of .420. He also had 2¡5 hits and 49 doubles, hit 23 homers and drove in ¡30 runs. As an aside, the starting eight of the WTNML All Stars hit .355, slugged .586, and had a .432 OB%. They scored ¡006 runs (¡26 per man), hit 3¡¡ doubles (39 per), ¡85 homers and drove in ¡0¡6 runs (¡27 per). All in all, one of the weaker WTNM All Star teams. Also, please notice that catcher Ike Palmer hit a catcher-rare .406 and had a very good .7¡0 SA. Two excellent (for the league) pitchers were left o› of the roster. Carroll Dial pitched in 50 games for Pampa and went 20–¡5. He led the league in ERA with a mark of 3.56. He was also tied for second with a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.8. His Pampa mound mate Tom Pollett was 2¡–6 and was fourth in ERA with a 4.¡8 figure. Marshall Bridges of Amarillo went a fabulous ¡4–¡ and had ¡77 strike-outs in ¡39 innings (¡¡.5/9). His 4.66 ERA was not as bad as it looks when taken in context, as it was the number twelve ranked mark in the league. “‘Now,” I can hear you asking, “just how desperate was the old WTNM League for pitchers in ’55?” Well, I’m glad you asked, because the question also gives me an opportunity to give an example of how good the hitting was. Jerry “Chip And” Dale was in 4¡ games for Amarillo, a team which hit .306, slugged .499, and had a .397 OB%. He got 26 starts and

¡955

419

The ’55 West Texas–New Mexico League also gave us the Ra brothers, Phil and Natale. Too bad there wasn’t a third Ra in the league, because that would have given a whole new meaning to the venerable “Ra-Ra-Ra” cheer.

hurled ¡0 complete games. His record was ¡3–¡0 (.565, in line with the Gold Sox’s .568 season mark). Dale also had an ERA of 7.¡2 and allowed ¡7.6 BR/9. Stats like that (¡3–¡0 with a 7.¡2 ERA) tell the whole story of the WTNML, I hope to shout.

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Russ Rosburg James Marlan Caughtry Ben Valenzuela Elijah “Pumpsie” Green Donald Moitoza Bobby Gene Smith Al Gionfriddo Roland LeBlanc Jerry Crosby

Ted Wills Charlie Beamon Ronald May Glen Stablefield

San Jose Stockton Salinas Fresno

TEAM Modesto San Jose Fresno Stockton Stockton Fresno Visalia Fresno Modesto G 31 16 36 34

GS 22 15 30 28

G 134 141 147 144 94 141 144 135 141 CG 14 15 16 20

AB 518 481 591 514 363 557 538 462 535

H 180 142 209 164 122 206 198 150 167

SH 1 4 0 2

LeBlanc and Crosby were playing managers. Up in the ultra-violet, Fresno played .707 ball (¡04–43), hit .297, scored 7.¡ runs a game and gave up 4.7. Meanwhile, on down in the infrared, Channel Cities/Reno played .274 ball (40–¡06), hit .240, scored 4.¡ runs a game, gave up 6.7, and finished 63∂ games in back of the Cardinals. Outfielder Mel Nelson of Fresno has to wonder what Moitoza had that he didn’t. Sure, Moitoza hit .336 to Nelson’s more modest .296, but “Maulin’“ Mel hit 27 homers, drove in ¡¡2, and scored ¡5¡ runs. He also, with 29 steals, was one of only two 20–20 men in the league (Howie Goss, Salinas, with 25–33 was the other). Crosby played first and second. Beamon had an amazing year. He gave up only 5.2 H/9 and surrendered but a single home run all year. San Jose had a pair of pitchers with the necessary

W 15 16 13 24

R 113 102 151 133 59 111 125 101 102 L 8 0 16 4

TB 325 223 312 253 163 318 269 217 260

2B 40 26 32 31 16 26 43 26 44

% .652 1.000 .448 .857

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 3 33 130 84 6 .347 .627 .442 11 11 89 109 9 .295 .464 .428 19 11 139 67 19 .354 .528 .423 11 12 83 122 31 .319 .492 .452 5 5 88 39 18 .336 .449 .405 16 18 141 41 24 .370 .571 .415 2 8 96 114 14 .368 .500 .480 4 11 105 77 29 .325 .470 .428 5 13 115 92 2 .312 .486 .414 IP 188 139 235 229

H 153 80 230 234

ER 61 21 93 78

SO 153 112 170 147

BB 99 62 143 64

ERA 2.92 1.36 3.56 3.07

BR/9 12.2 9.5 14.7 11.8

credentials to have had a spot reserved for them on the glory train known as the Cal League All Star Flyer. Jack Osborn went 2¡–8 with a 2.82 ERA, and Eli Grba was ¡7–6 with a 2.67 ERA. The two were tied for third in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.9. Grba, by the way, hit only .224 but had 5 homers and ¡7 RBIs. The selection of May is a mystery. He was not the best pitcher for the 26 games-below-.500 Salinas Packers, nor was he the league’s best southpaw. Both of those honors go to Don Corella. He finished at ¡5–¡0 and had a 2.8¡ ERA. Fresno had a ¡5–8, 2.92 lefty of its own, Ted Wills, so, once again: why May? The league also had a pair of non–All-Star type 20 game winners: Fresno’s Tom Hughes and Stockton’s Ernie Broglio who were, coincidentally, the league’s premier power pitchers also. Hughes was 20–6, 3.57 and struck out 273 men in 228 innings a rate of ¡¡.¡/9. Broglio was 20–¡0, 3.43 with 230 Ks in 252 IP.

Cotton States League (C) McDowell was a playing manager. An excellently selected team, my only quarrel is with the selection of Mantle over Arthur Lettieri of El Dorado in the garden. Lettieri hit .286 with ¡4 homers (fifth in the league), 83 runs (eighth), and 82 RBIs (fourth).

Twin Cities hurler Bill “Bulldog” Drummond was ¡3–4 with a fine 2.02 ERA and should been selected as a third pitcher.

Evangeline League (C) Klein and Smith were playing managers. Klein, who played first, third, and pitched in eight

games, should have been named as a utility man. Had he been so, Jesus Gonzalez of Baton Rouge

420

Minor League All-Star Teams

Cotton States League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME Marshall Gilbert Bob Maness Jim Davenport Jose Pagan Kenneth Kortum George Blash Banks McDowell Roy Mantle Wallace Widholm No selection made Edward Dick Richard Maibauer

TEAM Monroe Monroe El Dorado El Dorado Hot Springs Meridian Greenville Monroe Vicksburg Monroe El Dorado

G 111 117 105 97 85 112 107 101 116

G 22 32

AB 414 450 405 322 288 417 367 378 396

GS 18 23

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 132 84 233 30 7 19 101 59 3 .319 .563 .406 147 109 238 31 6 16 68 62 23 .327 .529 .415 147 102 239 29 6 17 76 68 16 .363 .590 .457 88 69 111 12 1 3 40 35 10 .273 .345 .350 68 53 89 13 1 2 21 72 6 .236 .309 .399 128 90 204 17 4 17 89 74 7 .307 .489 .415 107 77 151 19 8 3 48 90 7 .292 .411 .442 103 67 153 12 10 6 44 57 11 .272 .405 .369 114 52 148 22 0 4 45 56 4 .288 .374 .387

CG 12 14

SH 3 3

W 12 17

L 4 6

% .750 .739

IP 132 187

H 81 128

ER 26 42

SO 115 197

BB 70 122

ERA 1.77 2.02

BR/9 10.6 12.0

Evangeline League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP

NAME Ben Dye Alvin “Have A” Seegar Lou Klein Lawrence Koppe James Moore William Lynn Tom “Nereid” Nerad Richard Tindall Roy “Red” Smith No selection made Donald Robinson John Fuller

TEAM New Iberia Lafayette Lafayette Alexandria Crowley Alexandria Lafayette Lafayette New Iberia

G 139 138 112 135 139 132 137 45 131

G 36 41

GS 23 30

Baton Rouge Alexandria

AB 563 555 357 531 523 565 525 168 475 CG 19 27

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 171 107 228 34 4 5 48 69 8 .304 .405 .384 166 105 232 31 4 9 60 40 5 .299 .418 .352 122 96 221 24 3 23 94 25 6 .342 .619 .388 152 73 178 16 2 2 69 52 5 .286 .335 .352 185 90 308 34 7 25 101 49 3 .354 .589 .416 196 85 254 31 6 5 89 17 25 .347 .450 .367 153 80 269 28 5 26 103 60 1 .291 .512 .364 47 15 65 2 2 4 28 9 2 .280 .387 .324 148 79 224 23 1 17 98 79 10 .312 .472 .418 SH 4 4

would have slid into the slot. Not much of a hitter (but better than the other candidates), Gonzales hit a lowly .242 but was the only third baseman in league with at least 80 games to field over .900. (He played ¡24 games with a .93¡ FA.) Another B.R. Red Stick was slighted in the outfield selection process. Jose Garcia hit .329 and slugged

W 15 21

L 12 12

% .556 .636

IP 219 279

H 211 220

ER 38 95

SO 149 186

BB 62 61

ERA 1.56 3.06

BR/9 11.3 9.4

.489 while leading the league in runs with ¡¡7, steals with 42, and outfield assists with 24. Mario Cardenas (Alexandria) went 20–¡4 with 205 Ks, a fine 2.¡6 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.¡, third in the league. Russ Wingo was ¡7–5 (league-best .773) with a 2.37 ERA and was the league’s other sub–¡0.0 BR/9 man coming in at 9.7.

Longhorn League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP

NAME Elias Osorio Oswaldo Alvarez Carroll “Tex” Gholson Elwayne “Eny” Wilcox Jimmy Bawcom Duane White E.L. “Je› ” Adams Art Bowland Bob Boyd Tom Jordan Marshall Epperson Harry Young

TEAM San Angelo Hobbs Carlsbad Midland Artesia Roswell Roswell San Angelo Artesia Artesia

G 138 68 126 139 135 134 106 95 135 136

AB 552 260 487 517 515 574 371 351 516 543

H 196 86 173 141 182 184 100 118 164 221

R 142 77 106 66 104 117 85 66 128 116

TB 353 112 319 171 240 261 175 203 205 378

2B 33 13 21 9 22 19 24 27 22 69

G 33 34

GS 22 29

CG 16 20

SH 1 1

W 18 20

L 8 12

% .692 .625

San Angelo Artesia

Jordan was a playing manager. The flying saucer of ’47 is not the only mystery to come out of Roswell. Big Joe Bauman was not named the Longhorn league’s All-Star first baseman in ¡955. I admit his hitting was a bit down (a lowly .336), but

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 10 35 123 78 15 .355 .639 .440 2 3 24 39 17 .331 .431 .424 16 31 142 55 7 .355 .655 .423 9 1 63 49 5 .273 .331 .337 9 6 90 63 9 .353 .466 .426 11 12 92 47 53 .321 .455 .373 6 13 65 65 6 .270 .472 .378 2 18 88 42 3 .336 .578 .407 8 1 62 98 4 .318 .397 .430 2 28 159 54 4 .407 .696 .462 IP 199 241

H 167 237

ER 71 118

SO 151 178

BB 80 82

ERA 3.21 4.41

BR/9 11.3 12.4

he still whapped 46 home runs, slugged .724, drew ¡32 walks, and had an OB% of .489, all of which were league-leading numbers. Oliver Hardy of Carlsbad hit .336, drove in ¡03 runs, and scored ¡¡5 times, yet was nowhere to be

¡955 found on the rosters posted post haste post-season. He was a third baseman. (Notice that Alvarez would had to have over ¡000 ABs to match Hardy’s RBI total.) Roswell manager/shortstop W. Hayden “Stubby” Greer also watched the All-Star Train pull away from the station without him. In addition to being the league’s best fielder at short, he had .337/.585/.398 averages, burying those of Wilcox in the dry, red southwestern dust. “Stubby” also scored ¡¡¡ runs and drove in ¡03, further demonstrating his manly superiority over the Midland upstart. Once again, I will match my outfield selections against theirs any time, any where. My guys are Norlden Williams, (San Angelo), Alfredo Jimenez, and Glen Burns, both of whom roamed the garden for Midland. Williams had averages of .325, .605, and .409 with 35 homers, ¡2¡ RBIs, and ¡27 runs. Jimenez’s numbers were .3¡7, .6¡6, and .425 with 39 homers, ¡26 runs, and ¡26 RBIs. Burns was .400 (that’s right, .400), .693 (uh-huh, .693), and .483. He had 34 homers, scored ¡27 runs, and drove in ¡30. Okay, let’s recap: Bawcom/White/Adams outfield hits .3¡9, slugs .463, has a .394 OB%, pops 3¡ homers (ten each) scores 306 runs (¡02 each), and drives home 247 (83 each). An outfield of Williams, Jimenez and Burns outfield hits .349, slugs 638, has a .439 OB%, blasts ¡08 homers (36 each), scores 377

421

runs (¡26 each), and drives home 380 (¡27 apiece). Not exactly a Hobson’s Choice, is it? San Angelo catcher Rudy Briner was left out in the cold despite .322/.486 averages and driving in 90 runs. The crazy thing is, it’s not a miscarriage of justice. Poor Rudy. The league utility choice was a stone first baseman, and should have been so named, in tandem with Bauman. Jim Zapp of Big Spring played first and the outfield, hitting a low .3¡¡ but having a good .6¡7 SA. He hit 29 homers and drove in 90 runs in 89 games. Another candidate is the redoubtable Eddie Locke, pitcher/hitting machine. He hit .355, slugged .624, and was a mere 20–7 on the mound. Yes, Mr. Locke deserved to be on the Super Squad’s sta› also. In addition to the abovementioned 20–7, he was fourth in ERA with a 3.75 mark and tied San Angelo’s Jodie Phipps for the best BR/9 ratio with ¡¡.0. Midland’s Robert Swanson was in only ¡9 games, but pitched enough innings to qualify as the ERA leader with a 3.04 mark. He was ¡¡–5. Jodie Phipps, mentioned above, spent half the year in the Big State League. He was 8–6 in his Longhorn stint and walked only 20 in his ¡¡0 IP. Finally, Dean Franks benefited from Roswell’s 7.2 runs scored per game to go 27–¡3 despite a 5.33 ERA. (As an aside, only 24 shut–outs were pitched in the ’55 Longhorn, a mere 2% of all games.)

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Edward Kopacz John Stratton Henry Moreno Andre Rodgers Theodore Dargie Leon Wagner Richard Phillips Kenneth Retzer Roger Jongwaard No selection made

TEAM St. Cloud Eau Claire Aberdeen St. Cloud Fargo-Moohead St. Cloud Eau Claire Fargo-Moorhead Eau Claire

SP Cli›ord Savage Winnipeg SP Merlin Beatty Fargo-Moorhead

G 124 124 122 123 128 125 98 124 84

AB 483 528 453 452 481 501 400 460 296

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 139 96 223 25 4 18 98 59 11 .288 .462 .371 145 115 228 27 4 16 71 75 24 .275 .432 .371 148 96 241 37 4 16 103 61 15 .327 .532 .419 175 133 301 28 7 28 111 84 6 .387 .666 .488 149 90 209 29 8 5 70 87 22 .310 .435 .424 157 102 287 33 5 29 127 55 10 .313 .573 .389 128 94 194 26 8 8 82 47 8 .320 .485 .393 139 72 187 29 5 3 68 56 7 .302 .407 .387 89 46 125 16 1 6 83 55 1 .301 .422 .415

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 28 24 15 3 13 10 .565 196 169 67 125 106 3.08 13.1 34 5 2 0 6 11 .353 129 101 36 97 69 2.51 12.1

Another finely chosen team. I would add Eau Claire outfielder Eugene Schiller to the roster. He hit .308, but was second in OB% with a nice .467 figure. He led the league with ¡¡8 walks and was second with ¡28 runs scored. Beatty would have been the perfect choice as the league’s A-S fireman. There were three starters who

should have had spots on the squad, though. Tom Richards (Superior) was ¡7–¡0 with a 2.59 ERA and led the circuit with 208 strike-outs. A pair of St. Cloud Rox also had good years. Tom Pruett was ¡3–3 (tops with a .8¡3 winning percentage), 2.56 and had a ¡0.9 BR/9 mark. Frank Funk led the league with ¡8 wins (he lost seven) and had a 3.34 ERA.

422

Minor League All-Star Teams

Pioneer League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Daniel Lobitz Dolson Ayers Don LeJohn Robert King Arnold Hallgren Dick Stuart Drew Gilbert Tommie Roberson No selection made

Bob Sha›er James Espinola

TEAM Magic Valley Salt Lake City Great Falls Boise Boise Billings Ogden Pocatello

G 124 103 133 126 132 101 123 92

AB 461 431 458 472 491 366 440 302

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 136 94 247 21 3 28 115 88 1 .295 .536 .408 119 65 143 13 4 1 44 54 9 .276 .332 .359 158 110 257 29 17 12 99 135 17 .345 .561 .496 117 101 147 20 5 0 42 107 0 .248 .311 .388 171 113 283 37 9 19 139 96 9 .348 .576 .455 113 84 238 19 5 32 104 67 4 .309 .650 .416 132 89 225 26 11 15 83 97 4 .300 .511 .428 92 54 150 17 1 13 55 50 5 .305 .497 .408

G 33 29

GS 25 28

CG 16 18

SH 5 4

Magic Valley Boise

Boise manager/second baseman Lou Stringer would seem to have been a better choice. In addition to leading the Braves to the pennant (if not to the playo› championship), he hit .34¡, slugged .543 and got on base .463 percent of the time. At short, Ogden’s Lazaro Terry was given the short end of the stick despite .293/.39¡ figures and 99 RBIs and handling 5.3 TC/G to King’s 4.9. A fourth for outfield would have been ever so charming also. Pocatello Bannock Jess Duran hit .346, slugged .6¡¡, and had an OB% of .496 (tied for the league’s best mark). Pocatello catcher Tony Cannizzo should have been named co-catcher with his Bannock teammate Roberson. Cannizzo had .309/.52¡/.387 averages, ¡3

W 17 15

L 8 9

% .680 .625

IP 206 228

H 200 188

ER 82 73

SO 117 142

BB 86 111

ERA 3.58 2.88

BR/9 12.6 12.1

homers, 46 runs, and 60 RBIs. Combined, the Bannock backstops hit .307, slugged .508, and had a .400 OB%. They had 26 homers, scored ¡00 runs, and wound up with ¡¡5 RBIs between them. Selecting just one of them seems, well, sort of dysfunctional to me. Why split a happy team? Ogden’s Jesse Gonder caught and played outfield and would have made the best utility choice. He hit .279 with 67 RBIs. Two good starters and a fine reliever were shunned at seasons end. William Dunn of Billings went ¡5–7 with a 2.32 ERA. John Sabalasky of Ogden was ¡0–5 with a league-best 2.¡9 ERA. Dewey Adkins of Boise was called in from the pen 34 times, went 7–4 and had a 2.85 ERA.

Provincial League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Ray Barker Michæl Fandozzi Francis Glamp Walter Hardy John Wrye Frank Washington Bill Robertson Vincent Palumbo Valmy Thomas No selection made

Jack Hale Ramon Salgado

TEAM Thetford Mines Quebec St. Jean St. Jean St. Jean St. Jean Quebec Burlington St. Jean

Burlington St. Jean

G 36 27

G 130 125 130 110 124 85 130 100 106

GS 26 22

AB 486 477 421 424 473 343 506 251 357

CG 16 18

H 150 138 90 117 134 108 173 72 102

SH 2 3

Palumbo was a playing manager. Glamp accomplished two rarities: he hit more than 20 homers with fewer than ten doubles, and he had a .400+ OB% with a batting average under .220. St. Jean outfielder Bill Causion hit .338, slugged .560, and had an OB% of .446, all three averages being the second best in the league. He led in runs with ¡05 and in home runs with 24 and was second with 94 RBIs. So, why no berth on the Provincial

R 72 81 87 61 70 71 87 41 59

W 17 16

TB 244 163 173 152 210 168 277 115 151

L 7 5

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 32 4 18 87 50 6 .309 .502 .381 10 6 1 55 71 3 .289 .342 .384 8 3 23 82 127 11 .214 .411 .404 19 2 4 45 54 8 .276 .358 .363 22 3 16 94 40 2 .283 .444 .343 16 4 12 39 38 13 .315 .490 .391 33 7 19 108 66 7 .342 .547 .419 15 2 8 50 94 3 .287 .458 .491 18 2 9 63 56 7 .286 .423 .384

% .708 .762

IP 212 207

H 197 157

ER 66 51

SO 102 156

BB 88 58

ERA 2.80 2.22

BR/9 12.3 9.7

League version of the Valhalla Express? League shorttimer Dick Greco (he played 76 games) had 77 RBIs, hit 22 homers, batted .305 and slugged .6¡5. Hale and Salgado could have had the company of Wendell Doss (Quebec) on the sta› without any diminution of e‡ciency. Doss was ¡6–8, had a 2.55 ERA, and allowed ¡¡.8 BR/9. As an aside, Trois Rivieres batted only .227 as a team and scored a weak 3.8 runs a game.

¡955

423

Alabama-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME John Streza Charles Grant Robert Johnson Albert Morris Jimmie Cantrell Barton Dupon Nesbit Wilson Chase Riddlle Jack Feller No selection made

TEAM Ft. Walton Beach Donalsonville Panama City Dothan Dothan Panama City Crestview Dothan Panama City

G 84 117 93 109 116 119 117 95 115

AB 329 432 376 405 471 486 402 316 428

H 102 142 119 132 164 153 162 100 141

R 78 118 83 88 103 104 124 92 62

TB 152 271 173 191 237 262 293 179 182

G GS CG SH W SP Dean Higgenbotham Ft. Walton Beach 37 SP Je› Wadkins Crestview 44

26 19

14 13

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 17 3 9 63 68 5 .310 12 3 37 98 93 10 .329 20 5 8 73 62 4 .316 19 5 10 78 47 22 .326 26 4 13 96 56 19 .348 30 5 23 103 63 8 .315 23 6 32 108 140 5 .403 20 1 19 75 72 23 .316 25 5 2 70 62 1 .329

L

%

IP

H ER

1 13 13 .500 200 165 3 20 9 .690 220 195

SO

SA OB% .462 .434 .627 .449 .460 .419 .472 .403 .503 .420 .539 .396 .729 .565 .566 .448 .425 .418

BB ERA BR/9

91 240 167 4.10 77 138 93 3.15

15.4 12.3

No utility man was selected, but Peter Johnson of Dothan played second, third, and the outfield, hit .3¡8, and scored 80 runs. The eight starters for the Ala-Fla league had averages of .333, .532, and .440. Renaldo Alonzo of FWB was the best pitcher the league had to o›er in ’55. He went ¡8–8 and led in ERA and BR/9 with 2.96 and ¡2.0 marks respectively. Spencer Davis of Graceville (which finished ¡9 games under .500) was a mediocre at best ¡¡–¡4, but he was fourth with a 3.22 ERA and ¡2.¡ BR/9 allowed.

Streza, Grant, Wilson, and Riddle were playing managers. Check out Wilson’s season: .403 BA, terrific; .729 SA, outstanding; .565 OB%, the stu› of science fiction. Charles Tulner, outfielder for Fort Walton Beach, had a better season than did Dupon. Tulner hit .3¡2, slugged .589, and had a .430 OB%. He hit 3¡ homers, and led the league with ¡29 runs and ¡¡4 RBIs. And, with his 2¡ steals, he was the only 20–20 man in the league.

Appalachian League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

NAME Arthur “Howdy D” Oody Chester Boak Stanley Anderson Ron Weidenhammer Lu Clinton Allen Barbee Chuck Weatherspoon Ronald Glasgow Joe Theis No selection made

SP SP

Ben Swaringen Rudy Tanner

Salem Bluefield

TEAM Welch/Marion Salem Wytheville Pulaski Bluefield Salem Salem Welch/Marion Bluefield

G 35 25

GS 13 22

G 110 120 111 85 75 48 105 77 71

CG 5 14

AB 409 482 415 338 288 192 387 329 245

SH 1 1

Leo “Muscle” Shoals, Kingsport manager/first baseman, was robbed by a TV puppet. Now, granted, the red-haired marionette was as popular as popular can be, but I’ll bet my Buster Browns against a trunk load of Wonder Bread (it builds strong bodies ten ways) that “Muscle” had more power. Of course, I’m being facetious. But Leo must have thought his stars were in the house of Cancer the crab when he discovered he had been passed over. I mean geez, the guy finishes second in the league in hitting (.362), first among qualifiers in slugging (with a very good .657), and second in OB% (with a muscular .496).

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 137 78 218 23 8 14 91 31 11 .335 .533 .389 163 116 248 28 9 13 90 55 7 .338 .515 .414 104 80 150 17 4 7 43 68 10 .251 .361 .367 96 55 119 14 3 1 34 36 6 .284 .352 .360 104 61 186 15 5 19 76 27 7 .361 .646 .420 81 41 133 9 5 11 67 23 7 .422 .693 .484 118 73 208 19 7 19 87 52 8 .305 .537 .391 108 54 131 19 2 0 23 16 12 .328 .398 .359 70 30 111 14 3 7 42 22 4 .286 .453 .347

W 12 10

L 3 9

% .800 .526

IP 148 170

H 131 160

ER 60 57

SO 183 114

BB 52 65

ERA 3.65 3.02

BR/9 11.3 12.1

His 33 homers and ¡34 RBIs (in ¡26 games) led the league, and his ¡06 walks were tied for the lead. His ¡¡3 runs were second. He must have wondered “What’s a guy gotta do to get some respect around here?” Only two third basemen in the Appy played over 65 games at the hot corner, Stan Anderson and Manuel Valdez of Salem. One hit .294, slugged .432, had an OB% of .385, and drove in 52 runs (nine more than the other fellow in ¡09 fewer plate appearances). As you must surely know by now, Valdez, the superior hitter, was not the one chosen.

424

Minor League All-Star Teams

Wytheville manager/shortstop Frank Tepedino had averages of .30¡, .4¡3, and .4¡8, scored 94 runs, stole 30 bases, and led the league in every fielding category. Like Shoals and Valdez however, he must be counted among the missing from the roster of Appalachian Glory. No fewer than four outfielders had, in my opinion, better seasons than either Weatherspoon or Glasgow. You could move Weatherspoon to the (unselected) utility spot, as he also caught in 39 games. But still, with four spots open on the team, somebody was gonna have to lose out. If you want to keep (very) short season Barbee, fine. He was a terror while he was in the league. Clinton, another partseason man? Fine, he too beat the league’s pitchers to, if not to a bloody pulp, at least a bruised one. But what about Charlie Sedor of Salem? He hit .339, had a good .47¡ OB%, led the league with 3¡ steals, and tied for the lead with ¡¡6 runs. What about Michæl Coppola of Wytheville? He hit .306 and slugged .6¡3, second in the league to Shoals, as were his 33 homers and ¡¡9 RBIs. What about the Johnson City duo of Grady Chavis and Harry Keister? Chavis

led the league in hitting with a .377 average and also in OB% with a really terrific .524. Keister hit .309, slugged .568, slammed 27 homers, scored ¡00 runs and drove in ¡¡6. Frankly, I can’t decide which four to take. I would have named two catchers, and Theis would have been my third choice. Robert Pratt (Kingsport) hit .283 and had a .424 SA. He scored 68 runs and drove in 65. If limited to a single catcher, it would have been Rich Czekaj for me. He hit .287, but blasted 25 homers for a .563 SA. He also sported a .395 OB%, scored 7¡ runs, and drove in 86, tied for tenth best. Billy Wing, who pitched for Bluefield and Salem, was ¡2–4 and had the league’s best ERA, 2.79. Johnson City’s Howie Nunn was ¡8–5 with a 3.¡¡ ERA and a league-topping 249 Ks (in 243 innings). Salem’s Paul Johnston led the league in wins and winning percentage, with 20–4 and excellent .833 marks. He, as did Nunn, had a 3.¡¡ ERA. And, if any of you share my delight in odd names, you will be happy to be introduced to Isben Seif of Salem.

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP

NAME Dan Keith Edward Houseknecht Bill Wyatt Dave Drapp Thurman Terrell Inocencio Rodriguez Charles “Duke” Wilson Doug Williams John Cuesta No selection made

John Valmas John Herlihey Rolando Ortega

TEAM Sanford/Day. B. Orlando Gainesville Orlando Sanford Cocoa Orlando Cocoa St. Petersburg

G 136 137 141 140 117 127 140 137 119

AB 497 521 475 562 436 432 470 495 391

H 199 139 157 172 130 138 146 128 124

R 106 114 75 132 80 91 119 66 45

G 39 38 33

CG 26 22 25

SH 3 2 2

W 25 18 25

L 11 14 5

Orlando Cocoa Gainesville

GS 36 34 32

Williams and Keith were playing managers (Keith at Sanford). Only 2¡ players in the entire league played as many as ¡00 games at any position, and five of those were catchers! Houseknecht handled a very good 6.0 TC.G. Wyatt handled a pedestrian 3.3 TC/G. Orlando Gonzalez of Cocoa got to 4.0. He also hit .276, slugged .393, and had a .376 OB%. Not as good as Wyatt, no, but Gonzalez scored ¡¡8 runs (fourth in the league) and stole 53 bases. I would go for a sharing of the honors in this case. Two catchers chosen, and no spot for poor Lavern Watercutter (of the Bag End Watercutters per-

TB 279 170 189 228 295 235 217 162 143

2B 38 21 26 23 21 23 25 25 11

% .694 .563 .833

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 6 10 122 121 19 .400 .561 .518 5 0 60 143 21 .267 .326 .429 3 0 72 57 6 .331 .398 .404 12 3 71 109 23 .306 .406 .420 10 8 88 70 7 .298 .677 .401 7 20 111 95 24 .319 .544 .461 11 8 101 152 20 .311 .462 .486 0 3 72 76 1 .259 .327 .365 4 0 48 38 3 .317 .366 .386

IP 277 254 264

H 251 202 239

ER 87 70 91

SO 142 147 177

BB 113 108 106

ERA 2.83 2.48 3.10

BR/9 12.0 11.2 12.1

haps?). He hit .279, but it was a fruitful .279, as he scored 75 runs and drove in 96. Either have three catchers (which has been done before), or go with the firm of Williams and Watercutter, I say. Now, let us on to the pitchers. You might want to settle in, I think it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. Left o› of the roster were three 20 game winners, two pitchers with ERAs under 2.00 (and two others with ERAs under 2.40), a 300-strike-out pitcher, and a pitcher who finished second in BR/9 ratio and seventh in ERA. The last named was Gaspar DelMonte, who both managed and pitched for both Cocoa and St. Pete. He went ¡4–9, 2.54, ¡0.3, the latter figure being the

¡955 league’s second best ratio. John Ivory Smith, Daytona Beach, wound up a mere ¡9–¡4, 3.66, but he set league records in strike-outs (320, ¡¡.4/9) and walks (202, 8.7/9). He gave up only six hits per nine innings, but his walk total left him with a BR/9 mark of ¡3.7. Another Daytona Beach Islander, Robert Arendt, was 22–¡4 with an ERA of 2.37. He led in shutouts with seven and in innings pitched with 300, was fourth in ERA (2.37), tied for third in BR/9 (¡0.8), and was second in strike-out with 228. Orlando’s Alex Gordey was 23–9, was third in ERA (2.¡5), and was tied for third in BR/9 ratio (¡0.8). Yet another Islander (and one who would still be pitching twenty

425

years later) went 2¡–8, was one of those tied for third in BR/9 ratio (¡0.8, in case you don’t recall), and was second in ERA with an excellent ¡.96 figure. The (eventually) ageless one was Orlando Peña. Finally, we come to the ERA, games pitched, and BR/9 leader, William Boyette who pitched for West Palm Beach. He had what was surely the ¡955 season’s best relief year, coming in to extinguish a fire in 66 of his 68 games. He went ¡7–7, averaged almost a strike-out an inning (¡60 in ¡74 IP, 8.3/9), allowed ¡0.2 BR/9 and fashioned a marvelous ¡.9¡ ERA. I think that I would have been hard-pressed to limit my choices to six, let alone three. At the very least, I would have added Peña, Boyette, and Arendt.

Georgia-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UTIF

SP SP SP SP

NAME Earl Fackler Galen Williams William Robertson Marv Breeding Warren Wilson Wayne Davis Phillip Condru Dick Lubinski Joseph Canuso William Thompson Paul DeMont

William Lackey Jim Du›alo David Scranton Robert Sedlak

TEAM Brunswick Albany Brunswick Cordele Brunswick Albany Moultrie Cordele Brunswick Albany Cordele

Albany Brunswick Waycross Thomasville

G 33 29 42 31

G 132 132 137 71 140 135 121 123 96 124 84 GS 32 19 32 26

AB 487 498 485 266 502 549 454 424 363 384 322 CG 28 17 21 22

H R TB 153 97 217 159 115 233 145 94 231 91 47 131 175 124 226 164 101 267 151 69 199 127 97 211 103 66 169 101 42 145 104 53 126 SH 2 1 4 6

Except for the utility player and adding a pitcher, this is one of the year’s better-selected teams. DeMont played second and third. Albany manager J.C. Dunn played first, second, outfield, and pitched in two games. He hit .300, tied for third in home runs with ¡7, led in RBIs with ¡25, was fourth in runs with ¡09, was third in slugging with a .488 (no one in the Ga-Fla reached the .500 mark in SA), and was second in steals with 48. He seems a better utility choice to me.

W 22 17 20 17

L 8 4 10 7

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 31 6 6 69 61 10 .314 .446 .409 28 14 6 79 103 27 .319 .468 .441 19 8 17 88 88 11 .299 .476 .421 11 9 4 48 18 27 .342 .492 .390 26 8 3 97 99 21 .349 .450 .464 25 9 20 106 51 4 .299 .486 .363 20 8 4 77 48 5 .333 .438 .400 21 3 20 87 84 18 .300 .498 .427 21 0 15 89 22 4 .284 .466 .340 18 4 6 68 64 4 .263 .378 .371 11 4 1 43 29 8 .323 .391 .379 % .733 .810 .667 .708

IP 277 201 258 229

H 249 178 202 161

ER 61 59 67 39

SO 222 124 206 220

BB 124 67 91 81

ERA 1.98 2.64 2.34 1.53

BR/9 12.4 11.3 10.7 9.7

Ken Polivka, Moultrie manager, was the closest the league came to having a full-time reliever. He called himself in from the bullpen 22 times (he also stared eight games) and went an amazing ¡5–4 for a team which finished 32 games under .500! Minusing out Polivka’s decisions, the Redlegs went 38–8¡, .3¡9. He had an ERA of 2.52 and was second in BR/9 ratio with a mark of ¡0.6.

Kitty League (D) Mayfield Clothier manager/second baseman Dave Garcia (.339/.570/.390) was strangely absent from the All-Star roster. His BA and RBI total was fourth, his SA was third, and he was second in homers with ¡9. What else can be said? Conspicuous by his absence is Paducah outfielder Dave Cachot. His .340 (second), .548 (fourth) and .457 (second) averages and ¡00 runs (third) earned him a spot in my book.

The utility man should have been the fellow who led the league in homers with 24 and slugging with .6¡6, and who was third in RBIs with 87, if only such a man existed, and, of course, if he played at least two positions, say, oh, third and the outfield (for the sake of argument). Yes, if there were such a man, he surely would have been named over a .257-hitting guy with no power and no on-base-getting ability. If only Paul Bentley of Mayfield had existed, why

426 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Edward Russell Charles Burris Fred Studstill Ed Herstek Eugene Conquy Robert Thomas Joseph Cintron Benjamin Bland Leland Browning Paul Stammen Russell Serzen

Vernon White Joe Shipley William Liberto David Palmer

TEAM Mayfield Fulton Mayfield Mayfield Union City Fulton Owensboro Union City Fulton Union City Owensboro

Mayfield Mayfield Union City Owensboro

G 106 108 104 107 62 55 109 77 103 90 86 G 23 27 27 21

AB 416 402 443 407 264 174 375 301 345 281 292

GS 15 19 20 19

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 129 105 227 24 10 18 114 72 5 .310 .546 .412 111 73 134 11 3 2 46 61 18 .276 .333 .374 150 111 209 30 4 7 72 57 15 .339 .472 .416 146 93 238 36 7 14 85 48 1 .359 .585 .429 89 56 132 16 6 5 52 17 26 .337 .500 .379 45 42 65 8 3 2 16 51 14 .259 .374 .432 122 84 177 27 5 6 60 99 3 .325 .472 .471 87 67 160 13 9 4 55 34 15 .289 .532 .371 87 30 115 14 1 4 42 38 2 .252 .333 .332 87 44 105 16 1 0 57 55 10 .310 .374 .431 75 36 94 9 2 2 28 34 2 .257 .322 .338

CG 8 12 8 9

SH 0 1 2 1

W 13 13 9 6

L 5 5 12 11

% .722 .722 .429 .353

IP 131 155 146 140

H 129 139 160 101

ER 56 72 65 51

SO 92 174 87 137

BB 67 116 69 82

ERA 3.85 4.18 4.01 3.28

BR/9 13.6 15.3 14.2 12.1

leading the league in wins and percentage (.762). He was second in ERA and third in BR/9, allowing 3.08 and ¡3.0, respectively. Jim Jennings was ¡0–4, 3.76 and had the best BR/9 ratio in the league at ¡¡.4. His 3.77 ERA was sixth.

then, obviously the selectors would have selected Paul Bentley of Mayfield as their utility selection, making Paul Bentley of Mayfield the league’s utility selectee, so to speak. Paducah had two pitchers who, in my opinion, were the two best in the league. Tom Baker was ¡6–5,

Mississippi-Ohio Valley League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Richard Patton Billy Wilgus Orlando Cepeda Lawrence Cutler Jimmy Lynn Edward Jones Thomas Paddock Jimmie Coker Larry Smith Daniel Brown

Fritz Ackley John Dewald Ronald Hagler Richard Ghelfi

TEAM G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% Dubuque 113 447 145 90 202 22 4 9 83 52 4 .324 .452 .406 Clinton 68 218 73 31 92 8 4 1 30 25 6 .335 .422 .411 Kokomo 92 374 147 83 237 23 2 21 91 25 5 .393 .634 .437 Dubuque 108 394 124 90 144 16 2 0 58 101 20 .315 .365 .465 Dubuque 126 496 180 121 295 36 11 19 121 70 28 .363 .595 .446 Decatur 126 463 141 84 219 29 14 7 71 71 26 .305 .473 .400 Paris 122 433 127 109 225 27 1 23 102 90 16 .293 .520 .418 Mattoon 124 423 137 108 220 24 10 13 85 90 17 .324 .520 .448 Decatur 91 313 94 39 120 15 1 3 60 33 2 .300 .383 .369 Paris 98 383 136 80 215 27 8 12 93 33 13 .355 .561 .408

Dubuque Mattoon Hannibal Decatur

G 22 32 40 27

GS 22 28 29 24

CG 13 17 24 17

SH 4 3 2 1

Kokomo manager/first baseman Walter Dixon was the best at his position in the ’55 M.O.V., period. His BA (.3¡0) was a bit lower than Patton’s, but he slugged .54¡ (fourth) and had an OB% of .446 (tied for third). He also led the league with 24 homers and was second with ¡¡2 RBIs. At second, Mattoon’s William Whiteko’s .29¡ may have been 44 points lower than was Wilgus’s, but, thanks to 8¡ walks, his OB% was a bit higher (.4¡5). Whiteko also scored 88 runs (.85/G) to Wilgus’s 3¡ (4.6). To top it o›, Whiteko got to an above-average 5.5 chances per game to the (below average) 3.9 of Wilgus.

W 16 17 17 13

L 4 9 15 11

% .800 .654 .531 .542

IP 159 227 250 196

H 136 203 278 164

ER 64 83 124 76

SO 133 187 187 146

BB 73 68 126 86

ERA 3.62 3.29 4.46 3.49

BR/9 12.2 10.9 14.7 11.7

Cutler actually played fewer games at short (50) than he did at second (58). The best full-time second baseman in the league was Robert Clark, who had .304/.422/.392 averages. Cutler should have made the team as a second utility man. (By the way, utility selectee Brown played first, outfield, and catcher). The outfield choices were sound. The problem is, however, that there were two more flyhawks whose seasons were indistinguishable from Jones and Paddock (Lynn was out there by himself ). Rich Jennings of Kokomo had .3¡5/.5¡4/.4¡0 averages, hit ¡9 homers, drove in 96 runs, and scored ¡¡0 times. Tom

¡955

427

Dave Wegerek was ¡7–8, 2.59 (league leader) for Lafayette. When he was not involved in the decision, the Chiefs played .444 ball. Glen Rosenbaum of Dubuque was ¡5–3 (league-best .833) and had the best BR/9 ratio in the league, ¡0.9. I’d’ve selected both Wegerek and Rosenbaum over Ghelfi.

Humber of Clinton had .306/.436/.4¡6 averages, scored ¡03 runs and led the league with 36 steals. Pitcher Ackley hit .299 and slugged .73¡ (!). He hit eight homers and had 23 RBIs. Hagler pitched for a team that finished 42 games under .500, and won an amazing 40% of the Citizens games.

PONY League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Paul Owens Eddie Lyons Arthur Burnett Don Carter Don Landrum Tom Keane Dale Bennetch Bob Walsh William Brown No selection made

Gary Geiger Don Nottebart

TEAM Olean Hamilton Hamilton Wellsville Bradford Bradford Bradford Corning Hamilton

G 126 114 115 90 93 126 125 92 120

AB 457 389 428 325 388 437 469 315 428

G 28 36

GS 27 28

CG 26 24

Hamilton Wellsville

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 177 105 246 30 6 9 86 89 22 .387 .538 .488 136 92 221 34 0 17 115 96 7 .350 .568 .483 133 104 181 24 6 4 49 113 22 .311 .423 .461 102 59 151 19 6 6 73 65 1 .314 .465 .433 115 88 166 17 8 6 60 47 29 .296 .428 .374 147 115 205 21 11 5 86 136 31 .336 .469 .496 137 93 245 31 10 19 112 83 15 .292 .522 .407 76 44 114 22 2 4 46 36 1 .241 .362 .325 146 77 179 23 2 2 56 47 6 .341 .418 .406

SH 8 5

Owens and Lyons were playing managers. I just can’t see leaving a player whose OB% is over .500 o› of any All Star team. Corning third baseman James Hirsch batted .3¡9, slugged .489, and got on base .502 percent of the time. He walked ¡32 times. Of course, Burnett had a fine year himself (a .46¡ OB% is quite good indeed), so I believe that it would not be out of order for me to opine that the PONY would have been better served with two third basemen. Fran Boniar of Hornell hit an incredible .435 and failed to make the squad, losing out to two guys who hit in the .290’s. Try explaining that to an arbitrator. And it’s not that Fran lacked power, indeed, his .683 SA was also a league best. He hit ¡8 homers and drove in ¡00 runs in his 90 games. His .495 OB% was second (to, if you will recall, another non-selectee).

W 20 18

L 7 11

% .741 .621

IP 236 231

H 173 167

ER 52 66

SO 177 162

BB 115 147

ERA 1.98 2.57

BR/9 11.2 12.5

Pedro Alomar also seems to have su›ered ignominy at the hands of the scribes. His .350/.502 averages would have earned him a spot on the team, in a perfect world. His 39 steals led the league, by the way. Once again, no utility man was selected, and once again, there was a man to fill the slot. James “La Hommideau” Lumadue played outfield and short for Jamestown and had respectable .280/.455/.407 averages. He scored 77 runs. Pitcher Geiger hit .289 with four homers and twenty RBIs. Garland Shiflett (Erie) led the league with a fine ¡.95 ERA and in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.0 mark. He was ¡¡–5. Henry Bolinda of Bradford went 20–8 and had an ERA of 3.¡0. Robert Gotovac of Erie was the league’s premier fireman. In 35 games (32 in relief ), he was 6–2 with a 2.53 ERA.

! ¡956 ! In ¡956, there were 28 leagues in the National Association. 24 of them (86%) named All-Star teams.

Pacific Coast League (Open) I would be strongly tempted to make it four of a kind in the infield. Four Angels, that is. At third, George Freese had a better year at bat than Risley. He hit about the same as the Solon (.29¡), got on base a little more frequently (.370), and crushed him in slugging (.5¡3). Freese hit 22 homers and drove in ¡¡6 runs. In Risley’s defense, he did have an admirable 4¡8 assists at third.

Angel shortstop Kendall “Casey” Wise hit .287 and scored ¡22 runs. Littrell had 506 assists from the shortstop spot and considerably more power than Wise. In the final analysis, my infield would have been Bilko, Mauch, Littrell, and Freese. I would not have had Tappe at a co-catcher spot. Rather, I would have chosen Sammy Calderone of

428 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Steve Bilko Gene Mauch George Risley Jack Littrell Bobby Usher Bob Speake Jim Bolger Luis Marquez El Tappe Haywood Sullivan Lorenzo “Piper” Davis

TEAM Los Angeles Los Angeles Sacramento Portland San Diego Los Angeles Los Angeles Portland Los Angeles San Francisco Los Angeles

G 162 146 164 147 157 158 165 155 100 136 64

AB 597 566 610 528 595 580 592 602 303 476 152

H 215 197 176 162 208 174 193 207 81 141 48

R 163 123 67 82 84 107 88 122 30 67 19

TB 410 292 237 282 291 284 322 329 106 206 75

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 18 6 55 164 104 4 .360 .687 .457 29 3 20 84 70 2 .348 .516 .424 31 3 8 54 52 2 .289 .389 .349 34 10 22 80 39 4 .307 .534 .356 37 5 12 74 56 5 .350 .489 .413 29 3 25 111 74 14 .300 .490 .382 37 4 28 147 48 3 .326 .544 .381 27 10 25 110 43 18 .344 .547 .389 14 1 3 36 46 0 .267 .350 .371 32 0 11 77 42 3 .296 .433 .355 9 0 6 24 5 1 .316 .493 .342

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Darius “Dave” Hillman Los Angeles 33 29 15 3 21 7 .750 210 207 79 130 60 3.39 11.6 SP Rene Valdes Portland 41 35 18 8 22 11 .667 254 245 97 148 69 3.44 11.2 SP Elmer Singleton Seattle 29 29 17 4 18 8 .692 226 212 64 110 58 2.55 10.9

kowski. Borkowski played first, third, and outfield, and hit a solid .289, with sixteen homers and 96 RBIs. The best reliever in the PCL was Milo Candini. He was in 49 games (no starts) and was 3–4 with an ERA of 2.05 and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.6.

Portland. Sammy hit .289 and slugged .460, with seventeen homers and 66 RBIs. Davis played first, second, third, short, outfield, and caught. As you can see, he also hit well. But, it was in limited service. I would not have eliminated Piper, but I would have added Portland’s Bob Bor-

American Association (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UT UT SP SP SP SP SP RP

NAME Marv Throneberry Bobby Richardson Woody Held Tony Kubek Charlie Peete Willie Kirkland Bob Martyn Clyde Danny Schell Darrell Johnson John Bucha Wilburn Jenkins Harry Hanebrink Billy Harrell Tom Cheney Jim Bunning Ted Abernathy John Jancse Ralph Terry Jim DePalo

TEAM Denver Denver Denver Denver Omaha Minneapolis Denver Omaha Denver St. Paul Minneapolis Wichita Indianapolis

Omaha Charleston Louisville St. Paul Denver Denver

G 29 22 36 31 25 47

G 152 124 154 138 116 154 145 139 107 109 116 146 135 GS 22 21 31 26 23 2

AB 565 534 565 532 417 574 582 491 367 338 367 511 455 CG 10 8 19 8 12 0

H 178 175 156 176 146 168 183 143 117 96 102 137 127

R 123 102 99 87 84 114 108 90 61 50 31 75 76

SH 3 0 2 1 1 0

W 10 9 12 11 13 13

Please note: it was an all-Bear infield, and each one deserved the spot. In the outfield, I believe that the incorrect Bear was Chosen, as I would have gone for Jim Fridley. Yes, he only hit .29¡ to the .3¡4 put up by Martyn and the secondary averages were very close (.495, .369 for Fridley), but Fridley had more homers (24), more RBIs (¡05) and scored almost as many runs (¡05) as did Martyn. Perhaps five outfielders would have been the way to go. The league selected three catchers, and I still think one was overlooked. Russ Nixon (Indianapolis) hit

TB 345 259 304 245 234 338 275 232 164 154 138 230 186 L 5 11 16 8 4 5

2B 31 30 21 31 28 34 38 17 20 17 13 21 18 % .667 .450 .429 .579 .765 .722

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 5 42 145 68 6 .315 .611 .392 12 10 73 29 8 .328 .485 .362 11 35 125 66 4 .276 .538 .362 10 6 85 36 6 .331 .461 .373 6 16 63 68 3 .350 .561 .445 12 37 120 57 15 .293 .589 .365 9 12 75 43 7 .314 .473 .365 3 22 90 81 1 .291 .473 .396 3 7 48 17 1 .319 .447 .359 1 13 57 35 1 .284 .456 .353 4 5 50 36 3 .278 .376 .344 6 20 77 63 1 .268 .450 .356 10 7 56 56 14 .279 .409 .358 IP 169 163 231 158 174 94

H 150 142 229 173 191 106

ER 55 64 100 77 86 51

SO 122 144 212 61 96 46

BB 64 56 92 50 63 55

ERA 2.93 3.53 3.90 4.39 4.45 4.88

BR/9 11.5 10.9 12.7 13.0 13.3 15.7

.3¡9, slugged .447, and had an OB% of .368, all better than Jenkins. Roy’s twin brother would have been in my top three. Hanebrink was a third baseman. Harrell played outfield and short. My second utility selection would have been St. Paul manager Roy Hartsfield. He played outfield and second, hit .287, slugged .460, whacked ¡9 homers and drove in 80 runs. I assume that Terry was selected because of his ¡3–4 record, his other numbers being pedestrian at best. If that is indeed the case, than the scribes should have selected Stan Pitula of Indianapolis. Stan went

¡956

429

fantastic .9¡7), and would have led in both ERA (2.3¡) and BR/9 ratio (9.9) had he had enough innings to qualify. Shucks, even the wrong reliever was selected. Bobby Tiefenauer of Charleston was, as was DePalo, in 47 games with two starts. He only went 7–¡2, but his 3.2¡ ERA was over a run and a half lower than DePalo’s, and, at ¡¡.3, he allowed over four fewer base runners every nine innings, and that’s huge. My six pitchers would have been Daley, Woodeschick, Jones, Pitula, Cheney and Gray, with Tiefenauer in relief. I know that no A.A. pitcher had a great year, but Jansce, DePalo, and Terry didn’t even have good years (Terry’s winning percentage aside). The scribes were wide of the mark in mound choices.

Ralph two better in the win column and had a better winning percentage, going ¡5–4, .789. Both his ERA (3.73) and BR/9 ratio (¡¡.5) were also better than Terry’s. I don’t know why Jansce was selected, but I do know that Gordy Jones (Omaha) had a better year. He was ¡3–8, and his 2.88 ERA was third in the league. His BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.5 was third among qualifiers. I’ll go on: John Gray, Indianapolis, twenty starts in 4¡ games, only ¡0–7, but led in ERA (2.72) and second in BR/9 (¡¡.4). There were no leftys amongst the six selectees, but Hal Woodeschick of Charleston was a fine ¡2–5 and was second in ERA with a mark of 2.75. Buddy Daley was called up during the season, but he had the best year of any A.A. pitcher. He went ¡¡–¡ (a

International League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Ed Bouchee Mike Goliat Clyde Parris Eddie Kasko Cal Abrams Bob Wilson Archie Wilson Carl Sawatski No selection made

Fred Kipp Lynn Lovenguth

TEAM Miami Toronto Montreal Rochester Miami Montreal Toronto Toronto

Montreal Toronto

G 40 39

G 144 149 152 147 129 140 139 106

GS 33 32

AB 496 504 552 590 454 571 532 332

CG 18 25

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 146 78 233 22 7 17 94 103 1 .294 .470 .420 140 82 241 26 3 23 86 93 0 .278 .478 .400 177 92 265 37 0 17 78 62 3 .321 .480 .390 179 83 231 23 1 9 67 53 10 .303 .392 .363 126 100 179 17 3 10 50 119 6 .278 .394 .428 175 83 260 43 3 12 90 20 14 .306 .455 .334 160 83 245 22 3 19 84 32 5 .301 .461 .346 93 50 172 11 1 22 63 55 0 .280 .518 .386

SH 2 4

Even if I were not an unabashed Luke Easter fan, I would still say that the mammoth Bu›alo first baseman should have been the first base choice. His .578 SA was, by far (60 points) the highest in the league. His .434 OB% also led the league, and his .306 BA was sixth. He also led in home runs and RBIs with 35 and ¡06, respectively. He was The Man. In the outfield, Sam Jethroe was the best allaround player. He had speed (22 steals), Power (¡9 homers), he could get on base (.399 OB%), when he got on he could score (league-best ¡05 runs), and he led all outfielders with 35¡ put-outs. No utility selection was named, but Havana’s Hal Bevan was capable of filling any such slot, should the

W 20 24

L 7 12

% .741 .667

IP 254 279

H 220 247

ER 94 83

SO 127 153

BB 118 93

ERA 3.33 2.68

BR/9 12.3 11.1

opportunity have presented itself. He played first and second, hit .302, and drove in 67 runs. Don Cardwell did not win the games Kipp did, but he was a better pitcher. He went ¡5–7 for Miami, had a 2.85 ERA, and allowed ¡¡.7 BR/9. Richmond manager Eddie Lopat also had a good year. The 38year old ex–Yank ace was ¡¡–6, 2.85 and allowed only ¡¡.0 BR/9. The league’s best pitcher was almost old enough to be Lopat’s father. 50-year old Satchell Paige was in 37 games for Miami (he started ten and had two shut-outs), had a ¡.86 ERA and allowed ¡0.9 BR/9, the lowest of any pitcher in the I.L. with at least ¡00 innings pitched.

Mexican League (AA) Kellman was a playing manager for Nuevo Laredo. A fairly well-selected team, I would only add an outfielder and a utility man, change a catcher, and add two pitchers. Bill Causion (M.C.T.) had averages of .3¡9, .435, and .406, and he drove in 74 runs. In my opinion, his

season was better than Moreno’s. And, even if it were not, I would still have Causion on the squad, because Montemayor played 47 games at first and pitched in nine games, going ¡–¡, which, in my book, makes him a utility player. Catcher Earl Taborn of Veracruz led all catchers in home runs, runs, and RBIs. He hit .279 and slugged

430 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Alonso Perry Barney Serrell Leonardo Rodriguez Hector Mayer Fernando Pedrozo Alejandro Moreno F. Angel Montemayor Leon Kellman Guillermo Vento No selection made

TEAM M.C. Diablos Rojos Nuevo Laredo M.C. Tigres M.C. Diablos Rojos M.C. Diablos Rojos M.C. Tigres M.C. Tigres N. Laredo-Yucatan Monterrey

G 123 107 112 121 120 85 117 101 118

AB 451 432 441 450 464 327 407 296 396

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 177 103 320 33 13 28 118 67 10 .392 .710 .472 141 58 191 27 4 5 51 25 20 .326 .442 .365 154 98 202 33 3 3 66 41 6 .349 .458 .408 121 70 151 14 8 0 33 59 2 .269 .336 .355 160 70 214 27 9 5 66 31 8 .345 .461 .390 99 55 126 9 3 4 40 29 16 .303 .385 .361 122 86 231 22 10 22 84 93 12 .300 .568 .435 88 50 127 11 0 8 41 72 3 .297 .429 .439 107 44 150 20 1 7 38 41 11 .270 .379 .346

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Rafael Rivas M.C. Diablos Rojos 35 21 9 3 14 6 .700 168 158 52 89 53 2.79 11.6 SP Francisco Ramirez M.C. Diablos Rojos 41 25 13 4 20 3 .870 232 194 58 148 49 2.25 9.7

M.C. is Mexico City.

.435. He seems to be a more reasonable choice for the co-catcher position than does Vento. Diomedes Olivo, Red Devils chucker, went ¡5–8, had a 2.65 ERA and allowed ¡¡.5 BR/9. He also hit

.38¡, slugged .504, and drove in 23 runs. Julio Ladera, who split his season between sub-.500 Yucatan and sub-.400 Nuevo Laredo still managed a ¡2–¡2 year and posted a good 2.65 ERA.

Southern Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Clarence Riddle Milt Gra› Tom Brown Lyle Luttrell Guilford Dickens Emil Panko Johnny Powers Harold Grote Johnny Blanchard Bob Oldis Dick Brown Larry Taylor

John Gebhard Corky Valentine Al Papai John Wingo John Brechin

TEAM Atlanta Birmingham Nashville Chattanooga Memphis New Orleans New Orleans Birmingham Birmingham Chattanooga Mobile Nashville

Birmingham Atlanta Memphis Birmingham Nashville

G 40 32 36 33 35

G 111 156 139 120 141 143 153 148 131 118 141 143 GS 21 25 34 26 27

AB 390 563 468 460 507 519 574 507 430 378 507 545 CG 9 15 18 10 14

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 101 55 184 12 7 19 65 48 1 .259 .472 .342 207 106 263 25 14 1 58 56 9 .368 .467 .429 148 82 220 34 4 10 85 63 0 .316 .470 .400 149 84 203 27 9 3 48 53 7 .324 .441 .397 161 98 283 31 11 23 95 52 1 .318 .558 .384 162 97 283 20 1 33 114 76 1 .312 .545 .403 179 131 352 32 12 39 116 80 2 .312 .613 .405 121 89 216 31 2 20 81 65 3 .239 .426 .332 116 64 187 18 1 17 70 62 0 .270 .435 .364 108 48 131 13 5 0 41 45 3 .286 .347 .363 136 69 228 20 0 24 90 33 3 .268 .450 .321 153 81 183 16 7 0 42 61 2 .281 .336 .355 SH 0 0 2 2 0

Jesse Levan (Chattanooga) was the best first baseman in the S.A. in ¡956. He hit .3¡¡, slugged .5¡2, and had an OB% of .399. He hit 25 homers, scored 9¡ runs, and drove in ¡¡4 runs. Gordy Coleman (Mobile) was the second-best first baseman in the S.A. in ¡956. He hit .3¡6, slugged .5¡5, had an OB% of .363, hit 27 home runs and drove in a league-best ¡¡8. Al Grunwald (New Orleans) was the third-best first baseman in the S.A. in ¡956. He hit .332, slugged .563, had an OB% of .420, and drove in 89 runs. Jim Marshall (Memphis) was the fourth-best first baseman in the S.A. in ¡956. He hit only .264, but slugged .5¡0 with 28 homers and ¡06 RBIs. All this is a roundabout way of saying that the choice of Riddle reeked. An aside: Tommy Brown reached base twenty

W 10 16 20 14 11

L 5 7 10 8 10

% .667 .696 .667 .636 .524

IP 167 199 266 177 200

H 161 208 279 168 218

ER 62 86 109 95 91

SO 73 110 98 87 99

BB 75 54 76 89 63

ERA 3.34 3.89 3.69 4.83 4.10

BR/9 12.9 11.9 12.1 13.4 12.8

times in a row, getting ten hits and drawing ten walks in late May. Another odd selection was that of Hal Grote in the outfield. If the aim of the scribes was to choose the best gol-darned outfielder in the whole league who hit under .260, why then, they failed. Jack “Sour Mash” Daniels (Atlanta) qualifies on the hitting count, coming in at .257. However, he slugged .504, hit 34 homers, drove in 86 runs, and led the league with ¡43 walks (which enabled him to score ¡26 runs and have an OB% of .403). But, if the goal of the scribes was to pick the best gol-darned outfielder in the whole league with a BA of under .240, why then, they got the right man. Taylor was a second baseman exclusively. Bob

¡956

431

Two relievers also had good years. Chuck Churn (whose main claim to fame is the fact that he was the victor in the only game that Roy Face lost in ¡959 when he went ¡8–¡) was 9–7 in 5¡ games with a 3.22 ERA. Stan Johnson (Birmingham) was in 53 games, went 9–9 and had a good 2.27 ERA. My pitchers would have been: Papai, Valentine, Rudolph, Dailey, Churn, and Johnson.

Montag of Atlanta played first and the outfield. He hit but .264, but his 27 homers raised his SA up to .539. He also had an OB% of .397 thanks to 82 walks, scored 8¡ runs, and had 70 RBIs. Wingo and Brechin as pitchers? I think not. Neither one was a lefty, so even that weak stu› is not an excuse. Memphis southpaw Dick Rudolph matched Brechin’s ¡¡–¡0, but he had an ERA of 3.¡9 and the best BR/9 ratio of any qualifier with ¡0.8. Bill Dailey (Mobile) led the S.A. in ERA with a mark of 3.¡8 and went ¡5–8.

Texas League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Prentice “Pidge” Browne Howard Phillips Dick Gray Andre Rogers Everett Joyner Don Demeter Ken Guettler Robert Schmidt No selection made

SP

Bert Thiel

Dallas

G 34

TEAM Houston Houston Fort Worth Dallas Shreveport Fort Worth Shreveport Dallas

GS 33

CG 18

G 149 154 152 148 150 152 140 111

SH 4

AB 539 587 613 482 584 533 481 346

H 177 170 175 128 201 153 141 98

W 18

Jim Gentile, Ft. Worth first baseman, had .296/ .59¡/.4¡4 averages. That .59¡ is the key. Gentile smashed 40 home runs. He also drove in ¡¡5 runs, scored ¡08 times, and walked ¡04 times. Browne was good, Gentile better. I think that third should have been a co-spot. Benny Valenzuela (Houston) rang up .4¡4,.490,.39¡ marks to go with 99 RBIs and 92 runs. When you take Gray’s ¡23 plate-appearance advantage into consideration, you may even be tempted to just go with B-B-B-Benny as a solo act. At catcher, Schmidt and Les Peden finished up right next to one another in the stats (as you may know, up until the late ’50’s, batters were listed in the guides according to batting average, fielders according to FA, and pitchers either by winning percentage or ERA). How did it escape the voters notice that Peden had 23 homers, 88 RBIs, and scored 6¡ runs? No utility choice was made, but Marvin Williams of Tulsa played first, second, third, and outfield. He hit .322, slugged .562, and reached the .400 OB% plateau with a .40¡. He scored ¡02 times, drove in ¡¡¡ runs, and bopped 26 homers. Please take special notice of Guettler’s home run and slugging marks. As an aside, if you put Gentile at first (where he rightfully belongs anyway), place Williams at second (he played more games there than at any other spot),

R 100 97 115 85 114 115 115 35

L 11

TB 307 219 293 219 293 306 349 154

% .621

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 37 3 26 105 87 4 .328 .570 .422 27 5 4 42 90 4 .290 .373 .388 24 11 24 91 59 10 .285 .478 .357 23 1 22 90 98 3 .266 .454 .394 43 5 13 91 65 3 .344 .502 .410 22 4 41 128 89 10 .287 .574 .393 20 1 62 143 89 1 .293 .726 .407 17 0 13 66 46 3 .283 .445 .369

IP 249

H 230

ER 86

SO 113

BB 56

ERA 3.11

BR/9 10.5

insert Peden at catcher (see the remark after Gentile), and substitute Ray Shearer and his 26 homers for Joyner, the ¡956 Texas league starting eight has 264 home runs, 33 a man. That is an unusually powerful lineup, one that, if the batting averages were all raised thirty points and thirty RBIs were added to each batter, would not be out of place in the WTNML. Since the league selected only one pitcher (and the wrong one, if but a single pitcher was going to be named), I feel free to fill up a sta› without having to explain why non-selected pitcher A is better than selectee B. Freddie Rodriguez, Dallas, was ¡2–8 and led the league with an ERA of 2.34. He also led in BR/9 with a ¡0.2 mark, and was second in strike-outs with ¡84. Since he pitched only ¡58 innings, he was way out in front of the K/9 race with a ratio of ¡0.5/9. Tom Hughes (Houston) went ¡8–6, was third in Ks with ¡78 and third in ERA with 2.70. The guy who should have been named to the sole pitching spot was Bob Mabe, also of Houston. He went 2¡–¡0 with a 2.83 ERA and led in Ks with ¡96. Two relievers could have been selected, had such selections taken place. Mexican Jumping Bean Fred Martin was in 64 games and was 9–6, 3.33 for Shreveport. Hisel Patrick was in 52 games for Dallas and was ¡3–4, 2.03.

432

Minor League All-Star Teams

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Tony Bartirome Moises Camacho Richard Sanders Elijah “Pumpsie” Green Gerald Thomas Don Landrum Marvin Melton Lamar North Richard Czekaj No selection made

Richard Bunker L. “Bobby” Locke

TEAM Williamsport Allentown Binghamton Albany Allentown Schenectady Johnstown Binghamton Allentown

Schenectady Reading

G 115 132 139 138 116 141 133 100 87

AB 442 465 495 481 453 539 494 316 268

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 135 61 168 19 7 0 48 58 13 .305 .380 .386 125 72 188 21 3 12 70 60 1 .269 .404 .358 151 101 266 27 14 20 95 79 2 .305 .537 .407 132 78 169 14 7 3 44 106 13 .274 .351 .408 134 65 203 27 9 8 63 37 8 .296 .448 .352 152 98 185 16 7 1 33 69 18 .282 .343 .366 150 82 228 21 6 15 85 43 3 .304 .462 .362 81 30 108 13 1 4 46 41 0 .256 .342 .349 69 34 102 8 2 7 36 21 3 .257 .381 .318

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

34 28

24 28

14 20

4 3

17 18

8 9

.680 .667

202 226

163 167

47 61

143 191

95 106

2.09 2.43

11.7 11.0

This was not a hitter’s league. The E.L. as a whole hit .246 and slugged .350. An average of 8.4 runs was scored in each game. A BA of .284 would have gotten you tenth in batting, 69 tenth in RBIs, 73 tenth in runs, and ¡3 tenth in homers. Only three guys slugged over .450, only three guys had an OB% over .400. (On the other hand, a 2.84 ERA would have only gotten you tenth.) Schenectady first baseman Francisco “Pancho” Herrera hit .286, slugged .424, had an OB% of .370, hit ¡4 homers, and drove in 88 runs. Each of those placed him in the Top Ten of the league. Bartirome won the batting title with his .305, and his OB% was in the Top Ten. His no home runs and 48 RBIs are not very impressive for a first baseman though. I go for “Pancho.” At short, the choice is between Green, Top Ten in runs and second in OB%, and Alan Grandcolas of Allentown, Top Ten in homers (¡5), RBIs (86), and slugging (.436). On a team this starved for power, make mine a cool, frosty Grandcolas. Joe Tesauro, Binghamton outfielder, was only in 80 games, but in those 80 games scored 63 runs, drew 87 walks, and had an OB% of .465, better than anyone else in the league by a far piece. Hal Holland

(Johnstown) gets consideration of his ¡¡8 walks and league-best (among qualifiers) .438 OB%. In 59 more games than Tesauro however, he scored but a single run more. Ramon Conde (Johnstown) played second and third and was Top Ten in runs with 73 and BA with a .294 average. He was the best utility man in the E.L. If you want a little more power (and with this league you may well might), you should go with Andy Rellick, who played outfield and some at first and led the league with 22 homers. He was also Top Ten in RBIs with 82 and SA with .46¡. Reading pitcher Vic Lapiner went ¡7–5 with a league-topping ¡.96 ERA. Bob Conley of Schenectady was ¡6–5, 2.3¡ with a tops-among-qualifiers ¡0.4 BR/9 ratio. Binghamton’s Bill Bethel was ¡¡–2, had a 2.23 ERA, and was ¡3 innings short of qualifying to lead the league in BR/9 ratio with a superb 8.9 ratio. Finally, Johnstown finished last, 28 games under .500. Without James “Corn Oil” Mazzola, the Johnnies would still have finished in the cellar, but would have been much further under .500. Mazzola relieved in 42 games, was 6–2 and had an ERA of 2.4¡. He allowed ¡¡.¡ BR/9, and was all that stood between the Johnnies and the abyss.

South Atlantic League (A) Osborne played first, third and outfield and should have been the league’s utility man, as both Tanner and Glenn were outfielders. Ray Barker (Columbus) would then slide into the vacated first base slot. Barker hit .252 and slugged .406, hit ¡7 homers (tied for second in the league), drove in 72 runs (sixth in the league), and scored 82 runs (tied for fourth). In selecting Pahr, the scribes passed over Ed Barbarito of Jacksonville. Now, all Barbarito did was lead the league in homers with 27 (the only player who had more than ¡7), RBIs with 99, and slugging

with .5¡5 (the only qualifier over .500). He also finished third in hitting (.3¡0) and fifth in OB% (.399). Perhaps it makes sense to you, and perhaps it made sense at the time (though I doubt it), but it seems an odd omission to me. If you don’t mind having a short-timer in a spot, then young Harmon Killebrew would be your choice. He was only in the SALLY for 70 games, but his averages (.325/.627/ .444) would all have led the league. He hit ¡5 homers and his 6¡ runs and 63 RBIs were both just out of the Top Ten.

¡956 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

NAME Larry “Bo” Osborne Marv Breeding Joseph Pahr Elio Chacon Fleming “Junior” Reedy Lenny Green Glenn Zimmerman Bill Robertson Rudy Tanner John Glenn

SP SP SP RP

Juan Pizarro Bobby Lee Brown John Tsitouris Roger Wright

TEAM Augusta Columbus Columbia Savannah Columbia Columbus Charlotte Columbia Charlotte-Knoxville Macon

Jacksonville Charlotte Augusta Macon

G 31 24 20 58

GS 31 22 17 0

G 130 127 130 120 138 139 111 116 121 138

CG 27 16 11 0

AB 466 519 504 446 478 478 402 381 385 493 SH 6 3 2 0

433

H 117 158 159 124 141 152 114 107 119 128

R 79 85 71 56 77 92 67 41 47 63

TB 194 210 226 156 206 227 146 128 150 186

W 23 13 13 9

L 6 9 6 2

% .793 .591 .684 .818

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 25 2 16 66 71 4 .251 .416 .358 24 8 9 45 96 7 .304 .405 .416 28 6 9 79 47 11 .315 .448 .376 7 5 5 37 82 7 .278 .350 .392 27 13 4 57 80 11 .295 .431 .407 26 5 13 83 93 17 .318 .475 .437 20 6 0 31 62 5 .284 .363 .386 19 1 0 54 16 1 .281 .336 .310 10 3 5 46 42 4 .309 .390 .381 18 5 10 52 41 11 .260 .377 .320 IP 274 170 154 99

H 149 132 111 88

ER 54 43 26 19

SO 318 86 55 40

BB 149 71 49 28

ERA 1.77 2.28 1.52 1.73

BR/9 10.1 10.7 9.6 10.7

.38¡ averages and hit ¡3 homers (to Robertson’s zero). He was the best backstop the SALLY had to o›er in ’56. As you can tell by the hitting, the league was strong on pitching in ’56. Pizarro allowed only an incredible 4.6 (!) H/9, one of the truly great performances. Opponents hit approximately .¡55 against him, an amazingly low figure (he himself hit .254 with ¡4 RBIs). And don’t overlook his 3¡8 Ks. The only addition which I would make (and there would be no subtractions, for a change) would be to add Charlotte’s Evilio Hernandez Lopez to the sta›. Evilio was ¡8–4 (league-best .8¡8), had a 2.46 ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9.

I am afraid that I am also in the dark about the selection of Chacon over Joe Morgan of Jacksonville. Morgan’s averages of .300/.44¡/.420 were all better than were Chacon’s, the latter two being fifth and second in the league. He also scored 85 runs, second best behind Green. Speaking of Green, he is the lone solid choice in the outfield. I would have bracketed him with Dick Phillips (Jacksonville) and Ken Wood (Charlotte). Phillips hit .288 and slugged .4¡4. He had ¡5 homers, drove in 67 runs, and scored 83 times, all Top Ten marks. Wood had 96 RBIs and ¡7 homers, second and tied for second, respectively. His .438 OB% was fifth. Mike Roarke, Jacksonville catcher, had .276/.423/

Western League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Ken Landenberger Ken Toothman Don Russell Maury Wills Art Ciutti Eddie Haas Dick Stuart Sammy Taylor Ken Worley No selection made

Marshall Bridges Reggie Lee Benny Daniels Michael Coen

TEAM Sioux City Lincoln Pueblo Pueblo Amarillo Des Moines Lincoln Topeka Pueblo

Topeka Albuquerque Lincoln Amarillo

G 123 132 138 134 135 98 141 132 130

G 39 27 30 34

AB 443 489 517 540 514 359 523 525 468

GS 31 25 28 27

H 139 160 158 163 187 115 156 188 142

CG 19 10 10 17

R 82 121 105 110 132 82 131 116 64

SH 3 3 4 4

Look, no one is disputing the fact that Landenberger had a good year. It’s just that Topeka’s J. Allen Weygandt had a better one. J. Allen hit .304 and had an OB% of .420, but, thanks to 49 homers (yes, 49, and when’s the last time you saw a player with 49 homers left o› of an All Star team?) he slugged .660.

W 18 11 15 17

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 248 23 1 28 95 87 0 .314 .560 .427 266 25 6 23 88 85 33 .327 .544 .434 264 32 7 20 97 81 6 .306 .511 .402 242 33 8 10 54 60 34 .302 .448 .375 350 21 2 46 139 85 3 .364 .681 .457 179 25 3 11 54 72 9 .320 .499 .435 385 25 3 66 158 88 4 .298 .736 .404 326 38 8 28 123 42 4 .358 .621 .410 230 32 4 16 80 38 7 .303 .491 .357

L 11 9 3 9

% .621 .550 .833 .654

IP 242 176 183 208

H 208 139 164 200

ER 105 81 83 80

SO 213 183 121 171

BB 154 145 109 93

ERA 3.90 4.14 4.08 3.46

BR/9 13.5 14.7 13.6 13.0

He also scored ¡¡¡ runs and drove in ¡¡6. And that, my friends, is a better year than Landenberger. My second catcher would have been Colorado Springs’ Sam Hairston. He had .3¡8/.455/.4¡8 averages and scored 82 runs. I admit that this is a sentimental selection, but it is still not unwarranted.

434

Minor League All-Star Teams

There was no utility player named, but Colorado Springs’ Dick DiTusa played some first in addition to outfield. He hit .325, slugged .633, and had an OB% of .4¡0. He also scored ¡08 times, drove in ¡¡5 runs, and rocked 37 homers. An aside: If a line-up of Weygandt, Toothman, Russell, Charles Bell (Amarillo shortstop who hit 20 homers), Ciutti, Stuart, DiTusa, and Taylor were fielded, said line-up would hit an incredible 289 homers (36 apiece), score 9¡6 runs (¡¡5 each), drive in 908 runs (¡¡4 each) and have a SA of .608. That is a powerful club, especially for a class A league. The Western League was kind of the Bizzaro Sally League. Barbarito’s 27 homers and 99 RBIs, which led the Sally, would have placed him eighth and tied for tenth in the W.L. Green’s league-leading .3¡8 would be eleventh here, and Barbarito’s .5¡5 SA would be well out of the Top Ten. On the other hand, John O’Donnell’s (about whom more below) Western league-leading 3.32 ERA would have been seventeenth in the Sally.

And, when compared to its (figurative) antipodal, the Eastern League, the comparison is hyperBizzaro-al. Bartirome’s E.L.-leading .305 is ¡7th, Rellick’s league-best 22 homers is sixteenth, and Sander’s 95 RBIs would be tied for thirteenth. Twenty two players hit for double-figure home runs in the E.L., fifty one in the W.L.). No hurler in the W.L with at least ¡00 innings pitched had an ERA under 3.00 (in fact, only a single pitcher with more than thirty IP did). The leagueleader was the abovementioned John O’Donnell of Topeka. He was ¡5–¡¡, 3.32. He also led in BR/9 ratio with a ¡2.0 figure. The league also had an unheralded reliever, Lincoln’ Don Williams. He was in 44 games (40 out of the pen) and went ¡¡–8 with a 3.39 ERA. I would replace Lee with O’Donnell (they were both lefties) and add Williams. Daniels, by the way, hit .325, slugged .626, and drove in 33 runs.

Big State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Danny Ozark Ken Hilyer Don LeJohn Julio Palazzini James Kirby Joe Christian Bill Lajoie Victor Comolli Dan Gatta No selection made

TEAM Wichita Falls Beaumont Wichita Falls Port Arthur Port Arthur Corpus Christi Texas City Port Arthur Wichita Falls

Ben Swaringen Roy “Tex” Sanner James Hardison Herman Carlock Greene

G 113 111 140 99 136 140 129 96 127

Abilene Port Arthur Waco Corpus Christi

AB 386 430 561 405 530 557 504 290 491

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 135 92 260 23 3 32 101 59 15 .350 .674 .443 123 73 200 28 2 15 67 47 6 .286 .465 .358 186 111 285 42 9 13 86 79 13 .332 .508 .415 131 72 165 23 1 3 39 57 6 .323 .407 .408 190 90 261 31 2 11 105 66 14 .358 .492 .433 179 119 298 40 17 15 142 80 5 .321 .535 .409 165 91 249 24 6 16 84 72 16 .327 .494 .417 80 50 131 19 1 10 47 46 1 .276 .452 .381 128 85 211 16 2 21 100 53 6 .261 .430 .335

G GS CG SH W L 31 28 21 2 17 11 21 19 12 3 14 5 47 24 18 0 18 9 38 30 18 1 21 10

Ozark was a playing manager. The only changes which I would make would be those of addition, not subtraction. To the outfield corps, I would add the 75-game stylings of the ultra-cool Willie Tasby. He hit .3¡8, slugged .626, had 72 RBIs and slammed 20 runs. Corpus Christi manager Sibby Sisti would have been a good utility choice. He played second, third, short and outfield, hit .297, had a .409 OB%, and scored 76 run. He also led the Clippers to the pennant, although they lost in the playo›s.

% .607 .737 .667 .677

IP 250 155 221 245

H ER 221 93 126 44 183 73 228 104

SO 224 114 202 174

BB 75 118 110 108

ERA BR/9 3.35 10.9 2.55 14.3 2.97 12.1 3.82 12.6

Finally, I would add two twenty game winners to the sta›, Leverette Spencer of Port Arthur and Ramon Salgado of Waco. Salgado was 2¡–¡0, 3.¡6 with a good-for-the-league ¡¡.0 BR/9 ratio. Spencer was in 47 games, had 25 CGs, five shut-outs, went 2¡–9 and led the Big State in both ERA (2.37) and BR/9 ratio (an excellent 8.4, one of the year’s best marks).

Carolina League (B) A exceptionally well-selected team, I do› my chapeau to the scribes.

Montgomery played first, third, short, and outfield; Hardaway played outfield, second and third.

¡956 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP SP

NAME Willie McCovey Billy Joe Ford Doug Hubacek John Pfei›er Leon Wagner Curt Flood Carl Long Jim Coker Don Montgomery Curtis Hardaway

Jack Taylor Larry Dresen Orlando Peña

435

TEAM Danville H.P.-Thomasville Greensboro Greensboro Danville H.P.-Thomasville Kinston Wilson Fayetteville Winston-Salem

G 152 152 154 150 152 154 142 135 112 117

AB 519 550 572 536 543 559 537 450 377 405

H 161 153 160 139 179 190 156 121 113 124

R 119 87 103 63 118 133 85 69 56 76

TB 302 256 278 234 359 317 235 197 153 219

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 38 8 29 89 90 10 .310 .582 .420 34 3 21 89 97 5 .278 .465 .388 28 9 24 119 64 5 .280 .486 .362 15 1 26 85 63 5 .259 .437 .342 23 2 51 166 80 8 .330 .661 .421 24 8 29 128 102 19 .340 .567 .452 21 2 18 111 49 10 .291 .438 .353 20 4 16 63 53 4 .269 .438 .347 15 2 7 45 33 1 .300 .406 .358 22 5 21 61 67 10 .306 .541 .415

G H.P.-Thomasville 40 Fayetteville 33 H.P.-Thomasville 39

GS 31 29 32

CG 28 19 26

SH 4 3 3

W 22 17 19

L 11 10 12

% .667 .630 .613

I would like to add a few pitchers, specifically, two starters and a reliever. Earl Hunsinger (Wilson) was ¡4–9 with a (relatively) high 3.08 ERA. However, I would like to point out that he allowed but 5.3 H/9, a very low figure, and that he struck out 232 batters in his ¡87 innings of work. He was undone by ¡42 his walks, which raised his BR/9 ratio to ¡2.7. Cleo Lewright pitched for Kinston, which finished 2¡

IP 289 222 286

H 225 172 255

ER 79 68 77

SO 184 156 176

BB 80 99 100

ERA 2.46 2.76 2.42

BR/9 9.8 11.1 11.3

games under .500. Despite that, he finished ¡3–¡0 and sported a 2.38 ERA. His ¡0.5 BR/9 figure was the league’s second best mark. Ken Deal pitched in 6¡ games for Greensboro with a record of ¡3–9, an ERA of 2.¡9, and a BR/9 ratio of 9.3. He was fourteen innings short of qualifying to lead the league in the latter two categories.

Northwest League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP

NAME Roy Nixon Ron Jackson Hillis Layne Elwayne Wilcox Chuck Essegian Lawrence Segovia Herman Lewis Joe Rossi Vinnie Moreci Daniel Holden

Jerry Cade Richard Young

TEAM Yakima Spokane Lewiston Yakima Salem Wenatchee Yakima Spokane Yakima Tri-City

Salem Yakima

G 48 47

G 125 133 109 130 110 132 131 96 130 112

AB 450 533 362 530 358 496 529 320 448 397

H 137 177 128 161 131 137 187 101 140 123

R 73 114 77 115 95 108 116 54 126 87

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 188 34 4 3 97 43 1 .304 .418 .370 222 37 1 2 52 70 15 .332 .417 .411 197 24 0 15 86 73 3 .354 .544 .468 182 12 3 1 53 60 10 .304 .343 .376 247 26 3 28 95 105 7 .366 .690 .511 216 29 4 14 80 83 28 .276 .435 .383 310 31 7 26 140 40 10 .353 .586 .400 144 22 3 5 62 49 10 .316 .450 .407 281 19 7 36 111 129 17 .313 .627 .467 191 31 5 9 77 67 7 .310 .481 .411

GS 26 32

CG 21 20

SH 7 3

W 17 22

L 13 12

Layne and Rossi were playing managers. Yet another well-chosen team, I would only change one outfielder, add a catcher, and expand the sta› by three. Lewiston gardener Joe Riney had averages of .3¡7, .582, and .423, all far superior to those of Segovia. He also hit 28 home runs and drove in ¡35 runs, both second in the league. I must admit that Segovia was a far better outfielder, probably the best in the league (he led in put-outs, assists, and double plays), and, for all I know, may also have been a better cellist. Perhaps the outfield roster should have even been expanded to five, as utility choice Moreci was ¡00% flyhawk. Two catchers may also have been a more just solution to have been arrived at seasons end. Yakima’s

% .567 .647

IP 233 267

H 204 265

ER 90 91

SO 212 186

BB 119 75

ERA 3.48 3.07

BR/9 12.8 11.6

Richard Neal hit only .268, but he popped thirteen homers, drove in 8¡ runs, and scored 87 times. Holden, the second utility choice, was indeed a man of many mitts. He played first, short, third, and outfield. I would have added Lewiston’s John Anderson to the sta›. His ¡22 IP left him nine innings short of qualifying to lead the league in both ERA (he came in at 2.66) and BR/9 (his mark was ¡0.8). He completed thirteen of his fourteen starts and was a terrific ¡3–¡. Andrew George of Salem was ¡5–¡0 and had a league-leading (because Anderson needed one more start) 2.70 ERA. J. Vernon Kindsfather was ¡8–¡8 for the thirteen-games-under-.500 Tri-City Brave, and was seventh in ERA at 3.36.

436

Minor League All-Star Teams

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME William Smith Clyde McNeal James VandeWettering Lyle Krall Norm Cash Arthur Lee Maye Horace Garner Arlan Barber Roger Jongewaard Richard Windle

Ernest Craumer Dale Hendrickson Don Nottebart Glen Rosenbaum

TEAM Evansville Cedar Rapids Keokuk Peoria Waterloo Evansville Evansville Keokuk Evansville Quincy

Keokuk Evansville Evansville Waterloo

G 120 116 110 107 115 119 85 88 89 115

AB 458 452 391 410 419 482 314 309 294 416

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 146 91 180 21 2 3 37 87 137 86 238 18 1 27 89 53 114 75 194 27 1 13 70 85 114 60 164 30 1 6 49 45 140 81 235 20 3 23 96 67 159 103 261 16 7 24 99 46 111 59 181 23 4 13 91 50 101 62 161 22 1 12 64 41 81 42 123 17 2 7 38 56 133 73 198 26 3 11 79 52

SB 5 12 5 3 11 14 6 3 0 5

BA .319 .303 .292 .278 .334 .330 .354 .327 .276 .320

SA OB% .393 .432 .527 .385 .496 .422 .400 .349 .561 .441 .541 .395 .576 .450 .521 .412 .418 .393 .476 .399

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

23 25 28 35

17 21 25 22

6 9 17 13

3 0 4 2

7 11 18 15

5 2 3 5

.583 .846 .857 .750

124 155 206 164

96 123 152 169

46 55 52 65

142 122 156 123

86 80 98 60

3.34 3.19 2.27 3.57

13.4 12.0 11.1 12.6

nally been Van Der Wetting) fielded .896 and handled only 2.9 chances a game. Bob Bauer of Peoria had averages of .266, .474, and .38¡, admittedly not up to VDW’s marks, but he hit 20 homers, scored 82 runs, and was .942/3.6 afield. So, in summation, my Three-I infield would be Gilbert, Narleski, Bauer, and Krall. Dave Wegerek of Keokuk would have been my reliever/spot starter. He pitched in 45 games, 32 in relief and ¡4 starts, went ¡3–8 with a 2.94 ERA, led in strike-outs with ¡58 and tied for best BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.8 mark. Bob Botz, another Evansville chucker, was ¡2–6, 2.83 and also had a ¡0.8 BR/9 ratio. I would delete Craumer, add Botz, and have Wegerek in the pen. Nottebart, by the way, had a ¡6 game win streak after losing his first decision of the year in relief.

As I have stated previously (and may state again), first base must be a power/production spot. I’m afraid that three homers and 37 RBIs just doesn’t pass the P/P test. Quincy’s Lewis Gilbert was second in homers with 26 and third in RBIs with 94. He led in walks, which gave him an OB% of .402 despite a .273 BA, and was fifth in SA with a .523 mark. To put it bluntly, perhaps it just may be conceivable that a possible error in judgment might possibly have been made when the writers chose Smith to be the III standard bearer representing first base to both the world and posterity. McNeal only played 68 of his games at second. Keokuk’s Ted Narleski played ¡09 games there, hit .302, had a .407 OB%, and scored 99 runs, second most in the league. I’m for Narleski. At short, Vanderwetting (it seems to me that it may have origi-

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Dick Wilson Eddie Lyons Antonio Conde Alomar Bob Reasonover Harry “Bud” Heslet Richard Greco Dick Whitman Wilbert Tiesiera Eddie Lake

Donald Orwiler David Jordan Peter Hernandez Alvin Spearman

TEAM Bakersfield Fresno Fresno Reno Visalia Modesto San Jose Salinas Salinas

Modesto Stockton Visalia Stockton

G 36 34 36 22

GS 29 29 34 19

G 137 110 128 131 140 140 129 127 119

AB 520 390 514 534 524 539 448 441 330

CG 22 26 29 18

H 182 129 183 155 175 192 175 138 103

SH 1 5 3 4

Wilson, Lyons, Whitman, and Lake were playing managers. It is with heavy heart that I must report that I have

R 108 78 114 112 147 135 94 58 68

W 17 19 24 18

L 9 11 10 3

TB 322 199 246 198 359 369 254 176 155

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 35 3 33 132 73 10 .350 .619 .435 29 4 12 79 64 9 .331 .510 .428 23 20 0 66 49 26 .356 .479 .416 18 8 3 49 84 14 .290 .371 .387 27 2 51 172 111 4 .334 .685 .451 39 3 44 162 95 14 .356 .685 .460 34 15 5 94 60 17 .391 .567 .466 23 3 3 65 55 1 .313 .399 .394 12 2 12 66 101 15 .312 .470 .478

% .654 .633 .706 .857

IP 248 256 287 175

H 273 208 286 166

ER 96 93 129 51

SO 179 227 212 88

BB 89 96 109 58

ERA 3.48 3.27 4.05 2.62

BR/9 13.5 10.9 12.6 11.9

a quarrel with every infield spot. Wilson had a tremendous year, but he was really a utility player, playing only 6¡ of his games at first. He also played

¡956 outfield, third, and pitched in three games. Putting Mr. Wilson where he belongs opens up the first base spot for Eduardo Escalante of Fresno. He was not the hitter Wilson was, but he was a first baseman. His averages were .340, .476, and .4¡0, and he had 92 RBIs. I actually have no problem with Lyons at second; I just think that there should have been two selectees. Tony Asaro of Modesto hit .309, had 37 doubles, and scored ¡2¡ runs. At third, I am a Ray Perry man all the way. The Reno manager hit for averages of .3¡6, .5¡7, and .470, had twenty homers to Alomar’s none and drove in ¡0¡ runs. It is hard to argue with a .356 however, so third seems a two-man spot also. It is at short where the real problem of the Cal League Infield lies. Raul Dieppa of Modesto hit .326 to Reasonover’s .290 and slugged .459 to his .37¡. Dieppa scored eleven fewer runs (¡0¡) but drove in 47 more (96). There is no real basis here for an All Star tandem as there was at second and third. The outfield was A-Number-One in quality, but could have used a skosh more quantity. Joe “Ox” Brovia of San Jose was in only 7¡ games (he spent part of the year in Bu›alo), but hit 22 homers, scored 67 runs, and drove in 90 in those 7¡ games. He hit .36¡, slugged .694 and had an OB% of .484. And, once again, Al Gionfriddo was in the mix with his .354 BA and .484 (league-best) OB%. Al walked ¡27 times and scored ¡35 runs. Any combination of any three of these five would have been dynamite. Batting

437

Average? Whitman, Brovia & Greco: .370. Slugging? Greco, Heslet & Brovia: .687. OB%? Whitman, Gionfriddo & Brovia: .478. Homers? Heslet, Greco& Brovia: ¡¡7 (39 per). Runs? Gionfriddo, Heslet & Greco: 4¡7 (¡39 per). RBIs? Heslet, Greco & Whitman: 448 (¡47 per). If Brovia had spent his entire year in San Jose, the extrapolated home run total becomes an electrifying ¡39 (46 per man) and the RBI total becomes a whopping 5¡4 (¡7¡ per man). Any way you slice it, this is a potent outfield. Eddie Lake played outfield, third, and pitcher (he was ¡–0 in four games), but I still think Wilson would have been a better selection. Three pitchers were, depending on how you look at it, either overlooked or cheated. Sam Williams (San Jose) went ¡5–9, finished second in ERA at 3.¡0, and Led in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.8 mark. He also hit .35¡ with ¡4 RBIs. Two Fresno chuckers went 23–7: Nelson Chittum and Howie Nunn. Nunn had a 3.67 ERA (tenth) and Chittum’s was 3.62 (ninth). Chittum also hit .286 with ¡7 RBIs. A six man sta› would have been perfect, but, if forced to go with five, my sta› would be Spearman, Williams, Jordan, Chittum, and Nunn. If it were pared to four, then I’d choose Spearman, Williams, Jordan, and Chittum. And, if the three man sta› were a commandment carved in stone, then Jordan, Williams, and Spearman (who had a ¡6 game winning streak during the year) would be the surviving trio.

Central Mexican League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP

NAME Pedro Ramirez Ramon Mendoza Joe Joshua Gilberto Villarreal Juan Hernandez William “Burnis” Wright Juan Rodriguez Jose Luis St. Claire Jose Sosa No selection made Marcelino Solis Marte de Alejandro

TEAM G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% Saltillo 90 370 134 80 237 21 8 22 108 48 10 .362 .641 .446 Saltillo 86 338 113 75 132 14 1 1 43 46 11 .334 .391 .419 Ciudad Juarez 97 294 99 74 172 24 2 15 76 95 10 .337 .585 .504 Chihuahua 102 393 143 94 224 19 10 14 85 69 9 .364 .570 .464 Durango 101 345 126 103 227 21 7 22 102 100 13 .365 .658 .518 Aguascalientes 79 297 102 48 140 8 3 8 45 27 7 .343 .471 .407 Durango 92 330 115 89 190 19 16 9 64 71 10 .348 .576 .470 Saltillo 99 378 133 53 182 20 7 5 59 42 1 .352 .481 .421 Durango 92 302 76 49 112 20 2 4 50 50 2 .252 .371 .363

Saltillo Chuhuahua

G 26 37

GS 20 26

CG 10 16

SH 1 2

Dual first basemen should have been on the Central Mexican League menu for the first base position. Obviously, Ramirez must remain, but Blas Guzman (Fresnillo), though hitting a pale .327, still belongs. That puny .327, you see, was supported by both a tied-for-the-lead 28 home runs and a tied-for-second ¡06 RBIs. Blas’s SA of .6¡4 was good for fourth. At third, Jesus Olvera (Fresnillo) should have gotten the call. He hit .334, slugged .636 (third), had

W 11 18

L 5 4

% .688 .818

IP 141 224

H 156 190

ER 84 83

SO 63 129

BB 89 113

ERA 5.36 3.33

BR/9 15.9 12.4

an OB% of .48¡ (also third), hit 26 homers (third) and scored 85 runs while driving in 83, both Top Ten marks. Joshua split his time between third and the outfield, so should have been named the (nonselected) utility man, thereby opening a spot for Olvera. Outfielder Silvio Meza (Durango-Saltillo) was the number three outfielder in the league over Wright. Meza had averages of .336, .583, and .380, hit 22

438

Minor League All-Star Teams

homers, drove in ¡06 runs, and scored 88 times. The selection of Wright is wrong. The wrong co-catcher was named to the equipo Todo Estrella. D. Mario Garcia (Chihuahua) was in 66 games, scored 49 runs, drove in 56, and recorded the following averages: .403, .606, and .507. How does a .252/.37¡/.363 hitter beat out those marks? Still, this is not that bad a team. The eight starters (minus second-string catcher Sosa) hit for .35¡/.548/ .458 averages, and that ain’t hay. In a league that hit .298 and where an average of ¡2.4 runs was scored in every game, you would not

expect to find many good pitchers. And, in this case, you would be correct. Nevertheless, Solis, ¡¡–5 notwithstanding, stinks as a choice. Two better selections would have been Pedro Carillo of Saltillo or Aurelio Espericueta of Aguascalientes. Carillo was ¡6–6 with a 3.80 ERA, and Espericueta, who pitched for a last place team which finished ¡4 games under .500 and which scored over a hundred fewer runs than any other team in the league) was 9–¡¡ and led the league in both ERA with 3.29 and BR/9 allowed with ¡2.3. Slim pickin’s indeed, but not slim enough to warrant Solis’ inclusion on any post-season roster.

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Orlando Cepeda Robert MacConnell Martin Rosell Daryl Robertson Richard Lombardi Inocencio Rodriguez Pedro Cardinal Jesse Gonder Bob Rikard No selection made

TEAM St. Cloud Eau Claire Wausau St. Cloud Duluth-Superior St. Cloud Winnipeg Wausau Winnipeg

G 125 122 110 122 119 124 118 119 92

AB 499 495 423 417 430 442 464 415 326

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 177 100 306 33 9 26 112 43 11 .355 .613 .409 158 77 227 23 5 12 95 43 5 .319 .459 .374 116 76 218 15 12 21 80 50 8 .274 .515 .352 111 77 182 17 6 14 71 85 14 .266 .436 .394 110 73 192 29 4 15 82 97 10 .256 .447 .398 147 95 233 20 3 20 111 86 18 .333 .527 .449 146 88 205 17 9 8 96 40 14 .315 .442 .372 123 54 192 23 2 14 68 54 6 .296 .463 .381 82 48 128 17 4 7 56 49 7 .252 .393 .351

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Jack Kralick Duluth-Superior 24 22 14 2 11 10 .524 166 140 71 124 66 3.85 11.6 SP Elliott Coleman Aberdeen 28 23 16 4 14 8 .636 193 139 55 160 108 2.56 11.7

George Holder, Eau Claire third baseman, had .33¡/.506/.432 averages. He had only 6¡ RBIs compared to the 80 of Rosell, but scored ¡07 runs to Rosell’s 76. Now, I realize that the RBI and run totals are dependent upon which position in the line-up one finds oneself, but, had the two candidates both batted in the same spot, I believe that Holder would have had far superior stats to the ones posted by Rosell (it’s my guess that Rosell batted fifth or possibly sixth, and that Holder hit in either the lead-o› or, more probably, the number two slot). At short, Winnipeg manager Vern Benson hit a bit lower than did Robertson (.258) and with less power (.383), but Benson walked ¡25 times en route to a .465 OB%, second in the league, which more than makes up for his lower averages elsewhere. Lombardi is a mystery choice. Grand Forks’s flyhawk Ben Crumpton hit .336, slugged .524, and

led the league with a .466 OB%. He also stole 39 bases and scored 89 runs. There was no utility selection, but there were two candidates for the spot. Grand Forks’s Tony Washington played first and outfield hit .3¡3 and slugged .540. He had 2¡ homers, 90 RBIs and scored 97 runs. Fred Studstill of St. Cloud played third and outfield, hit .290, and also scored 97 runs. Please take note of the fact that Cepeda won the Northern League “Triple Crown.” Ron Piche (Eau Claire) and Ed Szyczewski (Duluth-Superior) had years better than Kralick. Piche went ¡6–7 with a 2.86 ERA and an ¡¡.7 BR/9 ratio. Szyczewski was ¡2–7 and led the league in both ERA (2.¡9) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.9). Paul Toth of the Winnipeg Goldeyes was the most e›ective reliever in the league. In 45 games (one start), he was 6–2, 2.86.

Pioneer League (C) King was a playing manager. John Moskus played 64 games at first for Salt Lake City. In those 64 games he scored 6¡ runs, drove in 74 and hit 2¡ home runs. His BA was .386, He slugged an astronomical .78¡, and got on base an

amazing .546 percent of the time. Pascal had too good a year to be ignored, but Moskus had, if not a Godzilla year (due to his paucity of games), than at the very least a Godzooky one. I say, let ’em both bathe in the glory of Pioneer immortality.

¡956 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Robert Pascal Ellis Burton Bob Johnson Robert King H. Duane Hermon Mike Coppola Jackie Lee Lundquist Samuel Mauney Charles Brockell No selection made

Tommy Hull John Buzhardt

TEAM Magic Valley Billings Idaho Falls Boise Magic Valley Pocatello Salt Lake City Magic Valley Billings

Billings Magic Valley

G 39 34

G 129 132 132 116 131 103 111 106 113

GS 31 28

AB 431 476 555 439 505 363 443 400 412

CG 18 22

H 157 127 198 132 148 110 113 137 108

SH 2 1

Pocatello manager/second baseman Lou Stringer hit .306, slugged .5¡6 and had an OB% of .4¡3, all better than the marks posted by Burton. In ¡09 fewer ABs, Stringer was outscored ¡06–75, but managed four more RBIs (80–76) and hit only one less homer. Another tie, perhaps? Despite playing in only 77 games, Leonard Williams made my Pioneer League All Star team in the outfield. He hit .352, had a SA of .662, and an

R 114 106 133 89 134 63 74 62 42

W 22 18

439 TB 275 216 300 147 248 215 192 195 135

L 10 12

2B 3B HR RBI BB 31 3 27 137 128 18 4 21 76 96 43 19 7 90 57 13 6 0 48 69 32 10 16 78 106 17 2 28 100 72 23 6 15 63 52 25 3 9 94 29 12 0 5 69 36

% .688 .600

IP 258 237

H 231 233

ER 69 94

SB 4 24 25 12 10 2 6 3 2

SO 194 188

BA .364 .267 .357 .301 .293 .303 .255 .343 .262

BB 82 105

SA OB% .638 .518 .454 .397 .541 .420 .335 .399 .491 .420 .592 .426 .433 .336 .488 .401 .328 .330

ERA 2.41 3.57

BR/9 11.0 13.3

OB% of .456. He also hit 24 homers (third best) and drove in 93 runs. He was worthy of selection. Bob Arendt (Boise) was ¡5–7, 2.97 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡2.¡. Aren’t you in accord that Arendt is a better choice than Buzhardt? Another Boise pitcher was the league’s top reliever. Paul Sereduk was in 56 games (three starts) and went ¡0–7 with an ERA of 3.23. He allowed ¡¡.9 BR/9 — and hit .306.

Alabama-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Nesbit Wilson Charles Grant Robert “Whitey” Reis Nicholas Aloisi Eddie Napoleon John Wyatt Byrd Whigham James Crawford Charles Staniland No selection made

TEAM Donalsonville Graceville Dothan Dothan Dothan Ft. Walton Beach Graceville Ft. Walton Beach Dothan

G 117 116 76 117 117 75 73 100 79

AB 410 433 244 456 456 268 299 395 277

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 143 133 290 25 1 40 125 120 15 .349 .707 .509 154 100 270 29 6 25 112 17 11 .356 .624 .380 88 39 137 19 0 10 56 34 6 .361 .561 .441 123 78 153 12 6 2 50 73 9 .270 .336 .371 147 98 214 19 6 12 77 65 17 .322 .469 .411 90 39 132 14 5 6 44 39 14 .336 .493 .429 101 82 138 20 7 1 37 50 34 .338 .462 .438 114 51 149 18 4 3 57 28 11 .289 .377 .340 67 42 119 13 0 13 44 28 0 .242 .430 .316

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Robert Ho›man Donalsonville 40 23 9 0 13 9 .591 186 153 106 196 137 5.13 14.5 SP Thomas Fitzgerald Donalsonville 40 20 10 0 14 6 .700 194 189 88 206 117 4.08 14.5

Wilson and Reis were playing managers. Wilson’s great (and I use the word in its pre–ESPN sense of “unusually outstanding,” not in its new meaning of “slightly above average”) season makes that of another manager/first baseman, Walter Dixon of Crestview fade into insignificance. Nevertheless, Dixon’s season is worthy of note. He hit 22 homers, drove in ¡03 runs, hit .328, slugged .556 (fourth best in the league), and had an OB% of .46¡ (second best). Louis Caputo, Donalsonville third baseman, is mentioned for those readers who have a problem with part-timers or short-seasoners being named All Stars. He hit .285, slugged .463, had a .408 OB%, scored 83 runs and drove in 85. To be fair, it must be mentioned that he also played about a third of his ¡¡7 games at second.

Owen James, Donalsonville shortstop, had .280/ .367/.40¡ averages, drove in 54 runs and scored 84. All of these marks bettered those of Aloisi. James also fielded .920 to Aloisi’s .899. James, simply put, had a better year than did Aloisi. The league scribes, you will notice, named two part-timers to the outfield roster. That, in itself, is not a problem for me. The fact that there was a fulltimer who had as good a season as they did does register on my patented “What The!-O-Meter” though. George Morgan (Donalsonville) registered .328/.422/ .460 averages over a full season. He added 88 runs and 82 RBIs, and should have supplanted one of the short-timers. No utility man was selected. Ft. Walton Beach’s Robert “Trader” Horn played third and outfield and

440

Minor League All-Star Teams

hit .29¡ with 78 RBIs and 80 runs, good enough to fill the unopened spot. Ho›man may have averaged more than a strikeout an inning, but he was also the worst pitcher (among qualifiers) in the league. Fitzgerald finished eleventh in ERA. I prefer my pitchers a bit more stingy, if possible. Alex Garguilo of Graceville led the league in wins (he was ¡7–¡¡), was second in ERA (2.77) and first among qualifiers in BR/9 ratio (¡¡.4). Is he not a better choice than the Donalsonville duo? Rene Nodarse (Ft. Walton Beach) was ¡¡–6, led the league in ERA (2.26) and was second in BR/9 ratio

(¡2.5). Is he not to be considered above the duet from Donalsonville? Helidoro Moreno, trapped on the ¡8games-under-.500 Crestview Braves, went ¡6–¡4 with a 2.90 ERA and was third in BR/9 allowed with ¡2.9. Where the Justice in his absence from this team? Finally, Billy Beane pitched 83 innings for Dothan and went ¡0–3 with a phenomenal ¡.¡9 ERA. There are four players on the hitter side of the roster who were short-seasoners. Why not one pitcherespecially when that one pitcher was by far — and I mean Far — the best pitcher in the league?

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Glen Cockrell Octavio “Cookie” Rojas Dave Bristol Thomas Wright Dave Dillard Felipe Alou Walter Eugene Bennett William Johnson William Close

TEAM Cocoa West Palm Beach West Palm Beach Cocoa Daytona Beach Cocoa Daytona Beach St. Petersburg West Palm Beach

Mike Marinko Leesburg Robert Dunn West Palm Beach David Tyriver Daytona Beach Julio Navarro Cocoa

G 134 129 117 138 128 119 136 95 74

AB 509 476 441 563 510 445 549 305 274

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 147 85 245 22 5 22 114 53 10 .289 .481 .363 131 75 165 19 6 1 43 64 12 .275 .347 .368 121 72 166 21 6 4 57 44 20 .274 .376 .343 145 110 189 28 2 4 60 73 27 .258 .336 .345 191 87 283 28 17 10 127 39 4 .375 .555 .422 169 111 259 15 6 21 99 66 48 .380 .582 .460 169 84 255 36 10 10 117 44 7 .308 .464 .361 70 37 90 7 2 3 38 58 0 .230 .295 .365 81 31 105 10 4 2 34 25 2 .296 .383 .361

G GS CG SH W L 24 19 7 2 8 12 29 22 11 1 15 7 28 22 16 2 13 7 49 22 20 1 24 8

% .400 .682 .650 .750

IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 131 98 54 193 120 3.71 15.0 188 120 46 196 118 2.20 11.4 185 128 60 189 121 2.92 12.1 246 186 59 216 120 2.16 11.2

HB not recorded for pitchers, so BR/9 figures are approximate.

Gainesville third baseman Jim McKnight hit .275 and had an OB% of .360. He also scored 97 runs and drove in 7¡. A case could be made for him at third, but I would go along with the selection of Bristol. Another G-Man, in this case outfielder German Pizarro, has a better case for inclusion to the Florida State Hall of Immortal Heroes. His .286 BA was lower than those of the selectees, but he hit 22 homers, scored ¡02 runs, and drove in ¡09, fourth in the latter two categories. I’d go with four outfielders on my roster. The eight catchers who worked the most games hit a collective .2¡3 and hit 26 home runs. ¡8 of them were hit by the man who should have been named to the All-Star team, Charles Pearson of Cocoa. He hit .24¡ (second highest among catchers) and was the only one to slug over .400, coming in at .446. He also scored 50 runs and drove in 5¡, the only catcher above 40 in either category. On the debit side (and I imagine that this is why he was not named to the squad), he struck out ¡32 times. The catchers, minus Pearson, “slugged” .248. One of the starting catchers hit .¡47, slugged .¡82, and had an OB% of .247. He drove home ¡3 runs and scored 2¡ times himself.

Close played third and outfield. I think that a better utility choice would have been (Name Hall-ofFame member) Anibal Gurri. Anibal cavorted at second and in the outfield for Saint Pete, and Anibal hit .320. Anibal also drove in 45 runs. The pitching was strong in the Fla State in ’56. Fifteen pitchers who worked more than ¡00 innings had ERAs under 3.00. Six such pitchers also averaged more than a strike-out per inning, more than the total of the entire National Association some earlier years. Despite the fact that Marinko only gave up one home run all year, he still is out of place on this sta›. The four best “other” choices are: Leo Giannecchini and Hal Byfuss (Gainesville), Ross Carter (Leesburg), and Claude Brophy (Orlando). Byfuss only pitched in twelve games (eleven starts, nine CGs), but he went 9–¡ with a miniscule ERA of ¡.4¡, allowing ¡0.4 BR/9. His G-Man teammate, Giannecchini, had a strong ¡9–7, 2.42, ¡¡.2 season. Carter went ¡0–3 with a 2.42 ERA. Brophy, who pitched for a team which finished last, 28 games under .500, had the biggest obstacles to overcome to have a good season, and overcome them he did. The Seratomas’ ace was

¡956 ¡0–4 for a team that hit .222, blasted 25 homers, and averaged 4.¡ runs scored per game. Brophy had an ERA of 2.¡4 and allowed ¡0.2 BR/9. Tyriver gave up a mere 5.7 H/9. Note that three of the four selected

441

pitchers averaged more than a strike-out an inning, and the sta› as a whole had 794 strike-outs in 750 innings.

Georgia-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Fred Hopke Ronald Welch James Cross William Ryckman Jim Hickman Barton Dupon Arvie Pilgram John Lowery Ray Engel Donald Whitcomb Francis Sisolak

Benny Rich Richard Scott David Scranton Kenneth Shepard

TEAM Tifton Valdosta Valdosta Valdosta Albany Valdosta Waycross Waycross Waycross Brunswick Brunswick

Brunswick Thomasville Waycross Valdosta

G 136 133 139 123 137 133 137 137 133 122 128 G 34 32 35 36

AB 512 501 549 500 536 500 527 450 458 459 462 GS 30 30 31 29

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 136 86 223 21 3 20 89 81 8 .266 .436 .379 143 83 197 21 3 9 82 82 6 .285 .393 .399 148 110 182 16 3 4 61 94 44 .270 .332 .383 150 86 188 20 3 4 59 41 10 .300 .376 .361 144 94 217 17 7 14 91 77 13 .269 .405 .366 148 83 242 20 7 17 98 86 5 .296 .484 .404 131 84 145 12 1 0 31 52 62 .249 .275 .325 126 73 183 23 2 10 78 92 16 .280 .407 .407 127 73 184 22 1 11 73 74 3 .277 .402 .394 106 48 190 15 0 23 81 18 0 .231 .414 .268 115 100 166 26 2 7 36 113 17 .249 .359 .405 CG 22 16 22 25

SH 3 5 3 4

Moutltrie manager/first baseman Bob Wellman had 37 doubles, 30 homers, scored ¡0¡ runs, drove in ¡24, hit .347, slugged .623, and had an OB% of .448. Respectively, those marks were second, first, fifth, second, second, first, and second in the league. Seems like a pretty good year to me. In fact, I’ll even go one better than that. It makes Hopke’s look downright punesome. Tifton second baseman Glen Miller hit but .247. He did, however, draw ¡29 walks, which, to slip into the colloquial, brung his OB% up to even with Welch’s. Miller, however, scored 30 more runs than did Welch. In the final analysis, Welch retains his title by virtue of fielding .978 to Millers .946 with an equal number of TC/G. It is a shudderable thing to have an outfielder, named an All-Star mind you, who hits .249 with no home runs and has a slugging percentage under .300 (for accuracy’s sake, make that under .280). It just doesn’t set right. I believe that Pilgrim — who, make no mistake, has a pearl-buttoned bangle billy of a name, giving’ credit where credit is due — should be replaced by Robert Hunt of Tifton. Hunt had .277, .403, .377 averages, drove in 77 runs, and scored ¡04. He also led all outfielders in put-outs and assists. Now, you Brunswick partisans can faunch and beller all you want about how handy Sisolak was, and you can go on about how he played short, second, third, and outfield. But that doesn’t hide the fact that he only hit .249 or that there is another player who played first, third, outfield, catcher, pitched in six

W 19 15 19 17

L 9 13 12 13

% .679 .536 .613 .567

IP 256 216 247 262

H 208 137 211 203

ER 75 51 80 64

SO 257 251 202 271

BB 124 110 86 126

ERA 2.64 2.13 2.91 2.20

BR/9 11.8 10.5 11.2 11.6

games, and who just happened to win the batting title. Albany’s Chase Riddle had .353/.606/.472 averages (first, second, first), drove in ¡42 runs (first), scored ¡¡5 runs (first), hit 39 doubles (first), 24 homers (second), and even stole 35 bases (third). I’d take Riddle ten times outta ten, I tell you what. The eight position players hit .276 with a .388 SA and a measly 89 home runs and 662 RBIs. Bill McNiel (Valdosta) went an outstanding 20–4 with a 2.70 ERA and a (tied for league best) BR/9 ratio of ¡0.3: rejected. Bob Dustal, McNiel’s Valdosta teammate, went ¡8–7, 2.20, ¡0.6: rejected. Lawrence Kendig pitched in 5¡ games for Albany, was 20–¡0 with a 2.45 ERA, struck out 227 opponents, and tied with McNiel in BR/9 ratio with ¡0.3: rejected. John Scroggs of Waycross relieved in 42 of his 43 games, had a 2.79 ERA and allowed ¡0.¡ BR/9: rejected. What it boils down to is the fact that there were eight eminently worthy pitchers vying for four spots. One problem could be solved by choosing a reliever, Scroggs. Okay, now that leaves seven for four spots. My selections would have been McNiel, Scott, Dustal, and … Rich, whose team finished at .449 with him and .39¡ when he was not the deciding pitcher. And, wouldn’t you know it, after my remarks about the pitching sta› of the Florida State League immediately above, note that Rich, Scott, and Shepard all averaged over a strike-out an inning. The GaFla All Star Sta› had 98¡ strike-outs in 98¡ IP, and was the first such sta› to have four 200+ K pitchers. Their ERA was 2.47.

442

Minor League All-Star Teams

Midwest League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP

NAME John Kreuter Grover “Deacon” Jones Carroll “Tex” Gholson Dale DeSilva Eddie Logan Lee Handley Donald Miles Joe Theis Jimmie Scha›er No selection made

Charles Smith Arturo Miro Joe Scha›ernoth William Rouse Charles Alsop

TEAM Paris Dubuque Paris Lafayette Mattoon Paris Kokomo Lafayette Decatur

Lafayette Clinton Paris Dubuque Michigan City

G 120 100 88 124 121 126 118 96 59

AB 438 330 351 458 528 480 455 350 207

H 154 135 105 109 203 173 142 109 60

R 112 105 85 89 131 115 72 53 40

TB 231 250 223 186 313 260 235 182 85

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 29 3 14 99 84 9 .352 .527 .458 26 6 26 120 102 8 .409 .758 .553 20 4 30 93 59 8 .299 .635 .401 25 5 14 63 89 8 .238 .406 .368 39 13 15 80 46 12 .384 .593 .438 29 5 16 106 74 10 .360 .542 .448 14 5 23 86 28 30 .312 .516 .356 21 8 12 89 43 7 .311 .520 .388 12 2 3 36 23 6 .290 .411 .361

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

31 33 31 35 25

29 27 23 27 20

20 23 20 17 17

3 4 1 1 4

21 22 21 18 14

4 5 6 5 7

.840 .815 .778 .783 .667

242 236 202 227 191

218 203 173 222 164

78 77 61 98 56

263 248 185 170 131

115 117 71 112 60

2.90 2.94 2.72 3.89 2.64

12.4 12.4 11.0 13.6 10.7

Gholson, though eminently worthy of membership on the elite Midwest Dream Team, unfortunately played only 27 games at third. James Hirsch (Lafayette) hit .305 with 93 runs and an OB% of .442 — and he was a third baseman. Art Brown, outfielder of Dubuque, was, at the very least, a step above Miles in total hitting productivity. He drove in ¡00 runs and scored ¡¡9 (in ¡¡6 games) to compliment his .3¡8/.498/.426 averages. I believe we have another case of a league which needed four outfield spots to ensure that justice was done. Bill Schmidt of Paris played 80 of his ¡25 games at catcher, the third most of any catcher in the league (he also played first and outfield). He hit .333 with an OB% of .432, 85 runs, and ¡03 RBIs. I would have ei-

ther named him as a catcher or, had there been such, a Utility Man. And, speaking of utility men, do you recall Carroll Gholson? 30 homer, .635 SA guy? Well, how about him for a second utility spot? But wait — there’s still more! Tom Humber (Clinton) hit .345, scored ¡20 runs (in ¡25 games) and stole 67 bases while playing outfield, first, and second. To sum up: The Midwest could have selected three perfectly qualified utility men to strengthen the squad and instead chose none. Please take special note of Jones’s season: .403, .758, .553, all among the year’s very best averages. Miro closed out the regular season winning ¡9 games in a row.

Nebraska State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Jimmie Hall Thomas “Sylvia” Plath Jay Ward James Knerr Deron Johnson Leroy Scercy Claude Horn Edward Stogosky John Sweazy No selection made

Gary Peters Ted Ellis

Holdrege Lexington

TEAM Superior Holdrege Kearney Lexington Kearney Grand Island Grand Island Superior Lexington

G 25 16

GS 12 9

G 58 64 62 63 63 59 62 58 40

AB 226 288 254 255 243 208 255 210 130

CG 10 7

SH 1 2

H 87 81 84 72 80 73 74 69 32

W 10 11

Just a note here. Ward fielded .830. Don Dantoni, Superior shortstop (or should I have said “shortstop for Superior”?) had averages of .333/.525/426, all of which were superior to Knerr.

R 65 55 59 53 70 63 53 36 19

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 155 11 6 15 61 41 4 .385 .686 .479 129 10 4 10 53 34 6 .281 .448 .361 122 13 2 7 50 40 12 .331 .480 .428 108 16 1 6 46 27 4 .282 .424 .360 167 9 3 24 78 63 8 .329 .687 .472 123 8 6 10 44 48 27 .351 .591 .479 113 16 7 3 49 40 16 .290 .443 .391 94 12 2 3 32 36 6 .329 .448 .427 48 9 2 1 20 21 0 .246 .369 .355

L 5 1

% .667 .917

IP 128 97

H 120 66

ER 40 19

SO 142 92

BB 58 36

ERA 2.81 1.76

BR/9 12.7 9.6

Dantoni also scored 6¡ runs in 58 games. Carlos Ramirez (McCook) had .299/.500/.473 averages, also superior to Knerr’s, and he scored 58 runs in his 59 games. The evidence seems to show that Knerr was

¡956

443

Peters hit .32¡, slugged .5¡2, had four triples, and drove in ¡7 runs, all of which should come as no surprise to fans of sixties baseball.

at best the third best shortstop in the Nebraska State League. No utility player was selected, but first baseman/ outfielder Bill Fries hit .394, slugged .582, and had a terrific .5¡9 OB% for Kearney, leading one to believe that perhaps a utility player should have been selected.

PONY League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Paul Owens Joey Lawrence Sheldon Brodsky Juan Guzman Gustave Sancimino Glenn Owens George Lewis Sidney Goldfader Wendell Antoine No selection made

Robert Milo Antonio Diaz

TEAM Olean Hornell Hornell Wellsville Hornell Olean Corning Wellsville Jamestown

Olean Wellsville

G 31 25

G 114 112 95 120 111 123 115 103 101

GS 29 23

AB 399 436 387 444 426 452 415 380 379

CG 22 19

H 147 119 134 125 128 155 127 125 109

R 87 85 81 82 82 84 77 79 53

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 214 34 3 9 76 80 6 .368 .536 .481 198 22 0 19 80 70 5 .273 .454 .380 234 21 2 25 99 28 4 .346 .605 .398 160 23 3 2 78 69 2 .282 .360 .390 226 24 1 24 93 64 9 .300 .531 .393 245 28 1 20 95 93 15 .343 .542 .456 256 29 2 32 100 61 1 .306 .617 .404 204 23 1 18 88 34 4 .329 .537 .386 178 18 9 11 83 29 2 .288 .470 .346

SH 4 2

W 20 17

L 9 6

Owens was a playing manager. Olean second baseman Lou Vassie did not have the power or RBI production Lawrence did (.408 SA, 4¡ RBIs), but he hit better (.303), got on base more often (.433 OB%, thanks to a league-leading ¡0¡ walks), and scored a league-high ¡¡6 runs. This is yet another case of two players with mirror-image strengths and weaknesses. I don’t think that the very fabric of space and time itself would have been rent if the PONY had had two second basemen on its All Star team. There is no such conflict at shortstop. Frank Kostro (Jamestown) hit .332, slugged .433, had an OB% of .4¡8, drove in 83 runs, and scored 97 times. Clearly, the future Denver Bear (and Detroit Tiger) Kostro was the best at his position. Corning outfielder Richard Hidalgo hit .320, slugged .552 (third), had an OB% of .457 (second), drove in 98 runs and scored 94 runs. He was no

% .690 .739

IP 226 185

H 227 174

ER 87 69

SO 190 144

BB 92 69

ERA 3.46 3.36

BR/9 12.7 12.1

worse than the third-best outfielder in the league. I would have gone with four flyhawks. Jim Hubbard (Erie) played outfield and third base (and the infamous “Less Than ¡0” at other positions) and could have been a utility man on the squad. He hit .306, slugged .529, hit 20 homers, and drove in ¡09 runs. Keith Nicolls of Wellsville was the league’s best pitcher. He was only ¡4–6, but he had a ¡.75 ERA and allowed only 9.8 BR/9, both league bests by quits a margin. He had ¡8 starts and ¡8 complete games. Martin Stabiner (Hornell) was ¡7–6 with 2¡6 strikeouts in 2¡3 innings. He sported a 2.62 ERA. The pitcher who turned out to have the brightest future (four ’56 PONY league pitchers eventually reached the majors) was the second-best in the league, going ¡5–7 with a 2.45 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.8. This would be future Red Sox 20-game winner and no-hit hero Bill Monbouquette.

Sooner State League (D) The average ¡956 Sooner State game featured ¡2 runs, ¡4 strike-outs, ¡0.8 walks and 4.6 errors. Two outfielders had seasons which deserve mention. Bob Stangel (Ardmore) scored ¡32 runs in ¡30 games, drew ¡2¡ walks (which gave him a fine .425 OB%) and stole 65 bases. He hit .28¡. David “Doctor” Gorrie (Seminole) scored ¡25 runs in his ¡28 games and walked ¡32 times for a .444 OB%. He hit .278. No utility player was named, but there were two very worthy candidates, one of whom was robbed of

a spot on the Sooner State Dream Team because he played all over the field. Ardmore manager J.C. Dunn had .335/.566/.4¡3 averages, scored ¡¡9 runs and drove in a league-leading ¡34 in ¡33 games. He had 27 homers and 40 steals, and was one of two 20–20 men in the league (the other being the .24¡ hitting,¡54 time whi‡ng Dennis Loudenback of Ponca City who had 20 and 23). Dunn played second, third, outfield, and pitched in one game. The second handy man was Sammy Drake of Ponca City. He got into 87 games at second, third, short and outfield, scoring

444 POS 1B 1B 2B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Tony Lembo Douglas Smith Peter Aviotti Daniel Staniec Jim Burton Phil Jantze Gary Anderson Gene Oliver Russell Gragg Richard Lubinski Tony Cannizzo William Gilmore No selection made

John Bartek Rolf Scheel

TEAM Shawnee Lawton Ardmore Lawton Paris Ardmore Lawton Ardmore Ponca City Paris Seminole Lawton

Ardmore Paris

G 39 54

G 140 134 113 140 82 121 138 122 140 139 90 77

GS 29 9

AB 531 533 474 511 314 439 600 484 520 506 327 260

CG 17 4

H 170 165 146 120 102 153 169 161 183 160 96 86

SH 2 0

R 118 102 90 84 78 86 123 100 118 124 66 58

W 21 14

93 runs and garnering 96 walks. He also hit ¡3 home runs and stole 34 bases. His averages were .285, .49¡, and .448. Disincluded from the sta› were some pitchers who had some pretty good seasons. Seminole Oiler ace Mike Mazzamorra led the league in ERA with a 2.28 mark, struck out ¡72 batters in ¡58 innings, was second in BR/9 ratio (¡¡.¡) and went ¡4–4. Vincent “The Finn” Kilpela of Ardmore was ¡4–9, 2.8¡. He led the league with 276 Ks in 23¡ innings. Lawton’s

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 230 25 10 5 92 115 5 .320 .433 .445 259 29 4 19 123 64 3 .310 .486 .386 222 35 4 11 90 43 10 .308 .468 .367 159 14 5 5 61 63 13 .235 .311 .324 178 22 6 14 73 63 6 .325 .567 .438 209 29 9 3 91 91 12 .349 .476 .469 210 28 2 3 56 62 12 .282 .350 .350 316 34 2 39 113 70 6 .333 .653 .417 259 25 15 7 120 109 71 .352 .498 .467 307 35 5 34 123 109 15 .316 .607 .446 171 24 3 15 90 69 1 .294 .523 .418 132 25 0 7 60 49 2 .331 .508 .441

L 6 10

% .778 .583

IP 232 163

H 218 154

ER 98 62

SO 226 107

BB 147 50

ERA 3.80 3.42

BR/9 14.4 11.8

Don Eason (who formed a brother battery with his twin, Ron) was ¡5–8 with a 2.53 ERA and led in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.7 figure. Finally, we have John Wheeler. He pitched for the last place (and 26 games under .500) Shawnee Hawks. He was 7–7 with ¡8¡ Ks in ¡35 innings (¡2.¡/9) and had a 3.27 ERA (the rest of the Hawk sta› had a 5.72 ERA). Now, I don’t think that Wheeler was an All-Star, but I did want his season noted.

! ¡957 ! In ¡957, there were 28 leagues in the National Association. 26 of them (93%) named All-Star teams.

Pacific Coast League (Open) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP RP

NAME Steve Bilko Ken Aspromonte Jim Baumer Carl “Buddy” Peterson Bill Renna Lennie Green Joe Taylor Bill Hall No selection made

George “Red” Witt Morrie Martin Jim “Mudcat” Grant Leo Kiely

TEAM Los Angeles San Francisco Hollywood Vancouver San Francisco Vancouver Seattle Hollywood

Hollywood Vancouver San Diego San Francisco

G 158 143 138 154 138 139 115 132

AB 536 512 486 617 484 505 394 453

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 161 111 353 22 1 56 140 108 8 .300 .659 .418 171 83 235 35 4 7 73 69 1 .334 .459 .415 146 79 217 21 4 14 76 34 1 .300 .447 .358 184 99 259 38 5 9 55 64 11 .298 .420 .369 136 73 246 17 3 29 105 34 1 .281 .508 .337 157 81 219 35 6 5 57 56 11 .311 .434 .382 120 70 209 15 4 22 72 65 3 .305 .530 .415 125 53 173 18 6 6 62 37 0 .276 .382 .332

G GS CG SH W L % 30 27 11 6 18 7 .720 31 22 11 3 14 4 .778 34 23 18 3 18 7 .720 59 3 1 0 21 6 .778

Baumer was actually more of a utility player than a third baseman (more on that in a bit). The best full-time third baseman was Vancouver’s Kal Segrist. He hit .265, scored 7¡ runs and drove in 70. Former bonus-baby pitcher Paul Pettit seems wor-

IP 185 176 218 146

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 141 46 114 58 2.24 9.8 154 37 87 30 1.89 9.5 169 56 178 102 2.31 11.4 119 36 38 24 2.22 8.9

thy of an outfield spot to me. He hit .284, slugged 456, and had an OB% of .389, fourth in the league. The Hollywood Star hit 20 homers and drove in ¡02 runs. Portland’s Solly Drake hit .290 and led the league in steals. He scored 84 runs and had a .38¡ OB%.

¡957 No utility player was selected, but three were worthy candidates. The abovementioned Baumer played first and second in addition to third. Earl Averill Jr. (San Diego) played outfield, third, and caught. He hit .273 with ¡9 homers and had 67 RBIs. Hal Bevan (Seattle) played first and third, hit .27¡ with 23 homers, and drove in 90 runs.

445

A fine sta›, I would only add another reliever, lefty Bill Kennedy. The Seattle bullpen ace was 9–3 in 5¡ games and sported a fantastic ¡.¡6 ERA. His BR/9 ratio was 9.6.

American Association (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Ron Jackson Curt Roberts Dick Gray Eddie Bressoud Norm Siebern Don Demeter Archie Wilson Ray Shearer Bob Schmidt Bob Oldis No selection made

Carl Willey Frank Barnes Stan Williams Pete Burnside

TEAM Indianapolis Denver St. Paul Minneapolis Denver St. Paul Charleston Wichita Minneapolis Denver

G 146 147 154 81 144 134 121 138 120 85

AB 546 572 558 318 548 447 472 493 413 262

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 166 85 278 27 11 21 102 60 2 .304 .509 .380 174 115 254 36 7 10 81 84 23 .304 .444 .394 166 88 255 27 7 16 111 65 5 .297 .457 .379 91 48 137 26 4 4 35 15 3 .286 .431 .320 191 124 338 45 15 24 118 97 2 .349 .617 .447 138 90 251 17 6 28 86 48 13 .309 .562 .380 139 63 233 31 3 19 86 17 0 .294 .494 .322 156 93 281 28 5 29 109 73 1 .316 .570 .406 108 51 181 14 4 17 61 31 1 .262 .438 .316 77 42 108 13 3 4 31 32 1 .294 .412 .371

G 32 31 35 20

GS 32 27 34 17

CG 17 14 16 9

SH 1 6 1 4

Wichita Omaha St. Paul Minneapolis

I am afraid that I would go with Denver’s Marv Throneberry at first. He only hit .250, yet his SA was slightly higher at .5¡¡, and, thanks to a league-leading ¡¡¡ walks, his OB% was only slightly lower (.376). In power and run production, however, it was no contest between Marv and the hulking (6'7") Jackson. Marv led the league in homers with 40 and RBIs with ¡24, and he also managed to score ¡¡3 runs. Fritz Brickell (Denver) is my shortstop choice. His .295, .435, .366 averages are better than Bressoud’s, he had 85 runs and 83 RBIs and also accrued a marvelous 540 assists. My four outfielders would have been Siebern, Demeter, Ted Beard of Indianapolis and George Washington Wilson of Denver. Beard was in only 96 games, but he had .347, .550, and .457 averages. He scored 9¡ runs in his 96 games. Wilson hit .298, had

W 21 12 19 10

L 6 10 7 5

% .778 .545 .731 .667

IP 247 205 246 131

H 202 153 188 101

ER 89 55 83 36

SO 174 165 223 114

BB 94 93 148 51

ERA 3.24 2.41 3.04 2.47

BR/9 11.1 11.1 12.8 10.6

a SA of .50¡ and an OB% of .399. He had 92 RBIs and scored 85 runs. Shearer would have been my fourth outfielder, as Wilson’s low .322 OB% is to big a hurdle for me to get over, especially since I am not a major league manager. Denver’s John Blanchard would have either been one of my catchers or the (unselected) utility man. He hit .3¡0, slugged .499, hit ¡8 homers and had 86 RBIs while also playing in the outfield. I would have chosen Omaha mound man Tom Cheney over his teammate Barnes, despite Barnes’s lower ERA. Cheney went ¡4–8 with a 2.62 ERA, led the league in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.6 figure, and struck out ¡75 men in his ¡82 innings, an 8.7/9 figure, very good for a triple A league. Fernando Rodriguez of Minneapolis was the league’s best relief man. He was in 66 games with a 6–5 record and a 2.97 ERA.

International League (AAA) This just might be the slowest line-up of all times, the eight starters stealing just 36 bases, with ¡4 of them coming from a player who probably didn’t really deserve a spot on the squad. I would replace Landrum with Tom Burgess of Rochester. Burgess had .289/.524/.388 averages with 22 homers and 72 RBIs (I think that having two 4¡RBI outfield starters is at least one too many). He

also scored 72 runs, more than Landrum in 82 fewer plate appearances. My catcher would have been Rafael Noble of Bu›alo. He hit .252, but had a SA of .463 due to his 2¡ home runs. He also had 62 RBIs and a .366 OB%. I would add a starter, two spot starter/relievers and a closer to the sta›. The starter would be Toronto’s Humberto Robinson. He went ¡8–7 with

446 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Luke Easter Mike Goliat Forest Smith Mike Baxes John Powers Don Landrum Joe Ca‡e Harry Chiti No selection made

Walt Craddock Jim Coates

TEAM Bu›alo Toronto Miami Bu›alo Columbus Miami Bu›alo Richmond

G 154 138 155 154 127 140 108 120

G 31 33

GS 30 30

Bu›alo Richmond

AB 534 480 570 599 476 541 445 395

CG 15 12

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 149 87 300 27 2 40 128 100 0 .279 .562 .396 142 75 260 28 3 28 90 73 0 .296 .542 .394 158 63 221 17 2 14 73 58 3 .277 .388 .345 179 101 264 40 3 13 76 64 9 .299 .441 .368 140 73 265 16 11 29 95 45 3 .294 .557 .367 159 70 221 19 17 3 41 30 14 .294 .409 .332 145 69 212 33 5 8 41 35 7 .326 .476 .379 107 50 171 18 8 10 56 40 0 .271 .433 .342

SH 4 6

a 2.95 ERA and was third among qualifiers with a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.0. One spot starter would be Mike Cuellar went but 8–7 for the Havana Sugar Kings yet led the league in ERA (2.44) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.5). The other would be the ageless wonder of the Miami

W 18 14

L 8 11

% .692 .560

IP 217 226

H 192 185

ER 81 66

SO 161

BB 80 86

ERA 3.36 2.63

BR/9 11.3 10.9

Marlins, fifty year-old Satchel Paige. He appeared in 40 games (eight starts) and was a deceiving ¡0–8. His ERA was 2.42 and he allowed a measly 8.2 BR/9. The reliever would be Bob Tiefenauer of Toronto. He worked in 68 games, was 6–6 and had a 2.¡4 ERA.

Mexican League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Alonso Perry Aldo Salvent Jose Guerrero Hector Mayer Fernando Pedrozo Oscar Sardinas Orlando Leroux Earl Taborn Leon Kellman No selection made

TEAM M.C. Diablos Rojos Veracruz Monterrey M.C. Diablos Rojos M.C. Diablos Rojos Monterrey Yucatan Nuevo Laredo Yucatan

G 121 95 116 122 117 97 103 104 104

AB 466 337 436 483 465 325 365 331 334

H 164 121 151 139 155 102 112 104 103

R 96 75 72 78 69 59 64 66 46

TB 274 173 204 161 208 158 166 195 141

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 32 6 22 107 53 15 .352 .588 .427 16 9 6 52 66 18 .359 .513 .464 25 5 6 67 51 4 .346 .468 .415 14 4 0 39 53 0 .288 .333 .361 19 5 8 89 24 3 .333 .447 .369 15 1 13 51 76 1 .314 .486 .453 17 2 11 71 34 0 .307 .455 .374 8 1 27 69 57 5 .314 .589 .419 19 2 5 57 69 3 .308 .422 .435

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Lino Donoso M.C. Tigres 23 14 4 1 8 2 .800 112 109 32 59 27 2.57 11.0 SP Gilberto Guerra M.C. Diablos Rojos 37 17 6 0 13 4 .765 149 158 61 93 60 3.68 13.8

M.C. is Mexico City.

Monterrey shortstop Roberto Montelongo hit only .24¡, but he had the same SA as did Mayer, had a better OB% (.37¡) than did Mayer, scored 8¡ runs, stole 23 bases, and handled 5.6 TC/G to Mayer’s 5.0. Eddie Moore, Monterrey outfielder, would have been a fourth on my roster. He hit .284, slugged .490, hit 22 home runs, drove in 7¡ runs and scored 72. Felipe Montemayor (M.C. Tigres) was (or would

have been) a perfect utility man. He played outfield, first, and pitched (¡–0 in eleven games). He hit .295, slugged .535 (third in the league), had an OB% of .448 (also third) and hit ¡6 homers. Monterrey’s Eddie Locke was ¡8–¡4 with a leagueleading 2¡ complete games. He also led the league with an ERA of 3.20 (among qualifiers).

Southern Association (AA) Sisler was a playing manager. Just for reference sake, Chattanooga First baseman Jesse Levan hit 25 homers and drove in ¡¡4 runs, third and first in the league respectively. He hit .287 and slugged .5¡0. I would have added George Schmees of Nashville to the outfield roster. He hit .287 with ¡7 homeruns and 93 runs, and was tied for second in RBIs with ¡¡2.

The league selected three catchers and left o› Les Peden (Little Rock). He hit .297 with ¡5 homers and 8¡ RBIs, and his .450 was the best among league backstops. At utility, I would not have named Morgan. I would have had him at short instead of Shartzer, as he played all of his games there. The utility infield spot would then have been filled by Mobile’s Jarrett Baumer, who played second and third.

¡957 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C C UT UTOF UTOF

SP SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Dick Sisler Stan Roseboro Harmon Killebrew Phil Shartzer Stan Palys Bob Coats Don Nicholas Harry “Dutch” Dotterer Sammy Taylor Guy Morton Joe Morgan Eric Rodin Vern Morgan

George Brunet Gerald Davis Bob Kelly Don Minnick Gary Bell Hal Griggs

TEAM Nashville Chattanooga Chattanooga Nashville Nashville Memphis Nashville Nashville Atlanta Chattanooga Atlanta Little Rock Chattanooga

Little Rock Nashville Nashville Chattanooga Mobile Chattanooga

G 33 34 38 32 23 45

GS 31 31 31 29 23 31

G 113 138 142 150 134 153 97 129 131 103 149 123 148

AB 358 498 519 529 493 563 377 455 470 336 551 425 544

CG 13 13 22 16 9 14

SH 5 1 4 3 4 2

447

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 119 66 195 20 4 16 79 53 1 .332 .545 .423 156 77 204 17 5 7 57 64 6 .313 .410 .395 145 90 276 30 7 29 101 70 2 .279 .532 .370 138 69 180 28 1 4 78 61 2 .261 .340 .345 177 116 295 34 6 24 112 93 5 .359 .598 .463 184 87 237 22 11 3 73 70 4 .327 .421 .401 128 83 174 25 6 3 47 77 16 .340 .462 .453 138 82 202 29 4 9 79 59 3 .303 .444 .388 121 52 178 17 2 12 87 55 1 .257 .379 .338 96 32 147 26 5 5 48 27 1 .286 .438 .342 174 111 257 31 8 12 77 116 13 .316 .466 .438 145 64 240 35 9 14 75 34 0 .341 .565 .398 182 107 269 29 8 14 92 66 7 .335 .494 .408

He only hit .26¡, but he drew 86 walks, hit ¡9 homers, drove in 84 runs and scored 78 times. Six pitchers, and the scribes (a bit injudiciously, if you ask me) left o› the number one and two men in ERA and BR/9 ratio and the league’s best lefty. Hy Cohen (Memphis) was ¡5–7 and led the league in ERA with a 2.72 mark. He was also second In BR/9 allowed with ¡0.5. Jim Atkins of Birmingham was

W 14 13 24 17 10 21

L 15 9 11 6 7 12

% .483 .591 .686 .739 .588 .636

IP 213 213 259 204 156 256

H 162 207 261 189 105 241

ER 81 108 96 70 57 95

SO 235 186 185 76 178 169

BB 127 146 96 70 92 115

ERA 3.42 4.56 3.34 3.09 3.29 3.34

BR/9 12.3 15.1 12.6 11.4 11.8 12.6

¡4–5 with a 2.86 ERA (second), and led the league in BR/9 with a ¡0.3 figure. Atlanta lefty Ken MacKenzie went ¡4–6, 3.26, ¡0.7, all markedly superior to the league’s lefty, Davis. By the way, Brunet (who was still pitching in the minors 29 [!] years later) was on a Traveler team which finished 24 games under .500 and which did not score a run for him in eight consecutive games!

Texas League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP

NAME Willie McCovey Alex Cosmodis Benny Valenzuela Bobby Winkles Jim Frey Don Taussig Dick Sinovic Nelson Burbrink No selection made

Tom Bowers

Dallas

TEAM Dallas Dallas Houston Tulsa Tulsa Dallas Austin Houston

G 35

G 115 150 146 154 155 152 147 123

GS 33

AB 395 509 556 639 589 548 527 373

CG 15

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 111 63 183 21 9 11 65 52 11 .281 .463 .373 141 69 178 27 2 2 59 65 10 .277 .350 .369 159 86 274 37 3 24 90 55 0 .286 .493 .350 178 86 210 18 4 2 48 27 11 .279 .329 .310 198 102 294 50 11 8 74 78 21 .336 .499 .416 154 95 254 28 3 22 91 61 6 .281 .464 .360 148 56 224 31 2 13 65 80 11 .281 .425 .386 115 44 139 18 3 0 44 57 4 .308 .373 .400

SH 3

W 20

This was not a banner year for either hitters or pitchers in the Texas League. (That is a rather unusual situation, because when the hitters are strong, that usually means the pitching is weak and vice versa.) The Texas League Dream Team (minus the pitchers, of course) hit .29¡, slugged .425, had an OB% of .369, and only averaged ten home runs and 67 RBIs a man. These would be okay numbers for a shortstop, but are very weak for a would-be Super Squad. I guess that I would have taken Mike Lutz as an

L 8

% .714

IP 250

H 227

ER 85

SO 90

BB 84

ERA 3.06

BR/9 11.5

outfielder to try and get a little punch into the lineup. He played for San Antonio, Shreveport, and Tulsa, hitting a not-so-hot .258. He did, however, hit 26 home runs (second) and had 83 RBIs. (The league leader in homers, first baseman Keith Little, had 30, but had only 64 RBIs and hit .243. He was the only player to have a SA over .500, coming in at .506). Catcher Jim Coker of Tulsa would have been the best choice for a second catcher. He hit only .243, but he did have ¡4 homers and 6¡ RBIs. No utility

448

Minor League All-Star Teams

man was chosen, which meant that the league’s top RBI man, Spencer Robbins was left of o› the team. The Oklahoma City outfielder/third baseman hit .275, slugged .452 (sixth in the league), hit 2¡ homers (also sixth), scored 85 runs (tied for fifth), and had 95 RBIs. Three other starters and a reliever had seasons good enough to be on an All Star team which had more than a single pitcher. Two other Dallas Eagles, Murray Wall and Ernie Broglio, could well have

joined Bowers on the sta›. Broglio was ¡7–6 with a 2.5¡ ERA, Wall was ¡6–7 and led the league with a very good ¡.79 ERA and with an even better 8.8 BR/9 ratio. Houston hurler Billy Mu›ett was ¡4–6 with a 2.20 ERA and was second with a ¡0.2 BR/9 ratio. Fellow Bu›alo Phil Clark was in 63 games, had an excellent (especially for a reliever) ¡6–6 record, logged a ¡.83 ERA, and allowed only 8.3 BR/9. He also gave up only 5.9 H/9 (remember, anything under 6 is very good indeed).

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Matthew Daskalakis Bob Deakin Ramon Conde Paul Jones Deron Johnson Felipe Alou Dave Mann Frank Biscup Lamar North No selection made

Edward Dick Leverette Spencer

TEAM Albany Binghamton Springfield Reading Binghamton Springfield Reading Reading Binghamton

Binghamton Allentown

G 34 47

G 136 125 134 131 137 106 121 98 114

GS 31 26

AB 492 408 481 427 501 359 487 284 377

CG 21 19

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 136 73 184 27 6 3 62 98 5 .276 .374 .403 119 91 172 25 8 4 50 83 6 .292 .422 .421 148 65 216 43 5 5 73 59 2 .308 .449 .384 111 92 158 18 1 9 54 99 23 .260 .370 .410 152 103 279 23 13 26 102 78 7 .303 .557 .401 110 45 166 14 3 12 71 27 18 .306 .462 .357 156 96 236 18 19 8 48 54 53 .320 .485 .394 72 41 84 8 2 0 21 39 1 .254 .296 .352 98 43 130 20 0 4 45 50 2 .260 .345 .351

SH 5 3

As stated (many times) previously, I think that, whenever possible, first base should be a power/production position. Daskalakis just doesn’t fill that bill. Former Yankee “Bonus Baby” Frank Leja does. Hitting a low .239, he finished second in home runs with 22 and first in RBIs with ¡¡7. His 8¡ runs were good enough for fifth, and his 82 walks were eighth. His .434 SA was also a Top Ten figure. At third we have the eternal Power vs. On Base struggle. Conde and Schenectady’s Wilbur Johnson both hit about the same (.308–.296), but Conde crushed Johnson in power (.449–.325) and Johnson outdistanced Conde in OB% (.444–.384, Johnson in fact leading the lead in that important stat). Their fielding prowess was equal, so no help there. Conde led the league in doubles; Johnson led in walks (¡05). In the end, Conde’s lead in RBIs (73–28) outweighed Johnson’s lead in runs (77–65). For me, I’ll go con Conde.

W 18 16

L 9 14

% .667 .533

IP 237 245

H 202 219

ER 70 79

SO 204 198

BB 61 61

ERA 2.66 2.90

BR/9 10.2 10.4

Short-time outfielder Chuck “The Armenian Assassin” Essegian actually dominated the league (while he was in it). The Schenectady bomber had .355/.624/ .466 averages, all of which would have been good enough to lead the league. As it is, his 20 homers were third-best and his 87 RBIs were fourth-best in the E.L., despite the fact that Chuck only played in 80 games. Marvin Melton (Springfield and Albany) was the league’s best handy man. He played first, third, and the outfield and hit .267 with 47 RBIs. Left of o› the roster of E.L. immortals was Albany ace Bill “Cut Me Some” Slack. He was ¡6–7, led the league with an ERA of 2.24, and allowed a low ¡0.6 BR/9. Marco Mainini of Schenectady was the best bull-penner in the league. He worked in 62 games and went an exceptional ¡2–2. His ERA was a very serviceable 2.53.

South Atlantic League (A) Verble was a playing manager. Although he played in only 58 games, Savannah first baseman Bob Wellman should be mentioned. Called up from the Alabama-Florida League (where he had been managing Graceville and about which more when you get to that league’s All Star team), he hit .32¡ and slugged .6¡0 with ¡7 homers and 58

RBIs. Extrapolated out over ¡50 games, he would have hit 44 homers with ¡50 RBIs, had he spent the entire year in the SALLY. Ed “The Glider” Charles played 94 of his games at short (which is where I would have put him on the team). The second best second baseman (if you buy onto Charles at the keystone) was Pierre Ethier (pro-

¡957 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP

NAME Ray Barker Ed Charles Curt Flood Gene Verble Bernie Mateosky Tom St. John Drew Gilbert Joseph Montalvo Kent Hadley George Alusik

Jerry Cade Ron Rozman

449

TEAM Knoxville Savannah Savannah Charlotte Augusta Savannah Savannah Charlotte Augusta Augusta

G 154 154 152 123 130 135 148 122 130 93

AB 563 574 568 414 451 519 494 387 479 325

H 174 170 170 114 133 169 134 113 133 100

R 90 96 98 55 94 79 90 67 72 57

TB 311 242 252 153 245 199 236 168 187 176

G 29 22

GS 23 18

CG 13 15

SH 4 3

W 11 15

L 11 1

Macon Augusta

2B 40 17 24 19 26 18 21 13 19 9

3B 14 8 8 4 13 3 12 0 4 2

% .500 .938

HR 23 13 14 4 20 2 19 14 9 21 IP 189 150

RBI 97 62 82 53 95 42 73 71 58 68 H 122 101

BB 80 68 81 74 65 39 100 80 67 51 ER 47 29

SB 9 14 8 4 13 8 6 2 9 1 SO 116 89

BA .309 .296 .299 .275 .295 .326 .271 .292 .278 .308

SA .552 .422 .444 .370 .543 .383 .478 .434 .390 .542

OB% .401 .371 .390 .387 .386 .376 .395 .423 .371 .413

BB 86 42

ERA 2.24 1.74

BR/9 10.0 8.8

Hadley played first and Alusik played outfield. Cade pitched for a last-place team which finished 48 games under .500. He allowed only 5.8 H/9. Rozman (and be sure that you notice his W–L mark) only allowed 8.8 BR/9, one of the years top marks. Okay, now on to those pitchers who did not get selected. Let’s start with Jim Archer of Knoxville. Only ¡¡–6, he nevertheless had a fine ¡.84 ERA and allowed only ¡0 BR/9. Matt Saban of Charlotte was ¡6–7 with a 2.¡7 ERA and also allowed but ¡0 BR/9. The league’s best reliever was Claude Raymond who appeared in 54 games for Jacksonville. He went ¡2–6 with a 2.50 ERA, and struck out ¡4¡ batters in his ¡33 innings.

nounced Et’-yay) of Savannah. The best of a rather weak crop, he hit .24¡, hit ¡4 homers, and scored 56 runs. I would have gone the four outfielder route in the ’57 SALLY, and St. John, despite his batting crown, would not have been one of them. I’d’ve added Willie Tasby (Knoxville) and Arthur Lee Maye (Jacksonville). Tasby hit .272 and slugged .429, hit ¡5 home runs, scored 73 runs, and drove home 86 (fourth in the league). His 20 steals were third in the league. Maye hit .264, slugged .459, was tied for second with 23 homers, scored 76 runs and drove in 78, and stole 24 bases.

Western League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

NAME Bob Pascal Chuck Cottier Mike Krsnich Ray Webster Leonard Williams Al Pinkston Chuck Coles Clay Dalrymple Jim McDaniel Gene “Clean” Sheets

SP SP SP SP

Kenneth Yoke Joe Gibbon John Stadnicki Hugh Blanton

TEAM Des Moines Topeka Topeka Amarillo Topeka Amarillo Albuquerque Amarillo Topeka Colorado Springs

Amarillo Lincoln Topeka Amarillo

G 38 17 35 33

GS 32 15 26 32

G 144 151 117 154 141 141 154 128 141 143 CG 21 10 19 24

AB 499 603 433 627 534 554 604 443 490 535

H 170 158 151 178 169 206 208 132 153 167

R 101 95 105 136 119 104 122 67 122 103

TB 261 255 286 268 335 328 342 205 295 260

SH 2 4 3 3

W 20 9 23 20

L 8 4 6 9

% .714 .692 .793 .690

Dick Stuart, Lincoln “first baseman,” was called up to Atlanta (S.A.) and from there to Hollywood (P.C.L.), but during his 97 game stay in the Western League, he hit 3¡ homers and drove in 84 runs (on the year his numbers were 45 and ¡22). He would have given Pascal a run for the first base money had he stayed in Lincoln all year. Another heavy hitting first baseman played in the Western League in ’56 — Jim Pokel of Topeka. Pokel hit a lowly .268, but blasted 4¡ home runs and drove in ¡20 runs. His SA was .559.

2B 3B HR RBI BB 35 1 18 115 128 29 4 20 79 66 28 4 33 108 69 23 5 19 87 88 27 5 43 113 70 41 6 23 133 43 32 12 26 121 78 18 2 17 81 51 26 4 36 116 107 30 3 19 109 60 IP 262 109 221 258

H 301 70 226 263

ER 122 22 82 82

SB 5 11 9 10 4 2 2 1 10 1

SO 133 119 146 138

BA .341 .262 .349 .284 .316 .372 .344 .298 .312 .312 BB 92 42 67 72

SA OB% .523 .476 .423 .336 .661 .448 .427 .382 .627 .400 .592 .421 .566 .421 .463 .377 .602 .436 .486 .388 ERA 4.19 1.82 3.34 2.86

BR/9 13.6 9.7 12.0 11.7

The W.L. first base cup ranneth over in ¡956, as several other players either hit over .300 or hit over 25 home runs. Amarillo second sacker Frank Murray hit .29¡, had a .380 OB%, and also scored ¡25 runs. Cottier was a better in the field, as fans of ’60’s baseball will recall. Roger McCardell, Sioux City catcher, should have been no less than co-catcher for the team. His averages were .303, .526, and .375. He had 22 homers and

450

Minor League All-Star Teams

drove in 95 runs. Utility man McDaniel played outfield, first, and third. Sheets was an outfielder. Sioux City Soos handy man Joe “Rocky” Tedesco, although not the hitter Sheets was, played first, second, third, short, and outfield. The .26¡-hitting Tedesco (which means “Germany” in Italian) did pop 20 dingers had 82 RBIs. As an aside, the o‡cial All Star team, minus pitchers and utility men, hit .3¡9, slugged .530, had an OB% of .407, hit ¡99 homers (25 per man), had 837 RBIs (¡05 per), and scored 849 runs (¡06 per). A team of Pokel, Cottier, Krsnich, Webster, Williams,

Pinkston, McDaniel, and McCardell averages .3¡0, .550, and .399 — but has 237 homers (30 per man), scores 832 runs (¡04 per), and has 85¡ RBIs (¡06 per). Other combinations would give you a higher average or OB%, but none will have more than 237 homers. The pitching sta› was the best the league had to o›er, but there was a reliever who was worthy of a spot as a closer. Lincoln’s Don Williams (twin of mound mate Deward) was in 60 games, all in relief, and went ¡5–6 with a 2.98 ERA and a fine 8.6 K/9 strike-out ratio.

Big State League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Tony Washington Don Domenichelli Terry Robertson Gilberto Valentin Don Miles Chuck Buheller Nate Peeples Ron Henry Dan Gatta No selection made

Roy “Tex” Sanner John Bober Chris Nicolosi Dave Wickersham

TEAM Beaumont Victoria Victoria Abilene Victoria Beaumont Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Victoria

Temple-Victoria Abilene Victoria Beaumont

G 123 121 114 126 122 111 124 117 42

AB 503 484 378 469 487 417 555 413 137

H R TB 179 88 238 149 82 204 108 60 187 126 64 159 154 90 277 124 54 190 143 116 252 102 51 160 32 28 67

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 34 5 5 68 35 21 .356 .473 .402 29 1 8 58 46 12 .308 .421 .368 14 7 17 63 72 5 .286 .495 .407 17 5 2 54 38 3 .269 .339 .325 27 6 28 72 42 26 .316 .569 .378 16 1 16 75 15 1 .297 .456 .325 22 6 25 99 76 31 .258 .454 .350 22 9 6 50 59 3 .247 .387 .342 3 1 10 30 22 0 .234 .489 .340

G GS CG SH W L % 24 14 7 1 12 4 .750 21 19 8 0 11 7 .611 40 27 20 3 21 10 .677 31 23 18 3 15 8 .652

IP 148 144 241 217

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 115 46 96 71 2.80 11.6 153 58 80 35 3.63 11.8 209 79 208 53 2.95 9.9 178 47 150 48 1.95 9.5

The Port Arthur franchise moved to Temple on 30 May and disbanded 20 August.

Shortstop Lazaro Terry rose from the ashes of the Port Arthur/Temple franchise to hit .277, and slug .398. He scored 6¡ runs, just three fewer than did Valentin, in 8¡ fewer plate appearances. Buheller’s .325 OB% moves me. It moves me to replace him with Charlie Secrest of Abilene, who hit ¡8 points lower but had an OB% 79 points higher (that would be .279 and .404). The Blue Sox flyhawk also scored 8¡ runs. No utility man was selected, but All Star pitching choice “Tex” Sanner also played outfield and first, hit .33¡, and slugged .590 in his 74 games and ¡66 at-bats. I would add two to the sta›: Joe “Beluga” Baliga (Victoria) and Stan Silcott (Corpus Christi). Baliga

fell four innings short of the ¡28 required to be among the league leaders, but his ¡.96 ERA and 9.7 BR/9 ratios are both a close second to the marks posted by Wickersham. The Rosebud hurler went ¡0–4. Silcott was a league-best ¡5–3, .833 winning percentage for the Clippers with a 2.68 ERA. (An aside: Wichita, a former powerhouse in the Texas League, disbanded after only 30 games. The Spudders, who played more like the Sputters, had a record of 4–26 at that time, due in large part, no doubt, to the fact that they gave up 8.¡ runs a game while scoring only 4.8 a game themselves. In fact they gave up almost as many runs (244) as they had hits (247), a truly abysmal statistic indeed).

Carolina League (B) Rodriguez should have been named as a utility player (about which more to follow), and the first base spot should have gone to Richard Colone of Durham. Colone hit only .254, but whacked 25 homers, scored 86 runs, and drove home ¡03 runs. And, thanks to ¡04 walks, his OB% was .390, a single point behind the .289-hitting Rodriguez.

At third, John Kennedy, in addition to being a better fielder than was Bradley, hit ¡9 homers, drove home 8¡ runs, and even stole 23 bases, tops in the league. He hit .270 and slugged .467. The W. in W. “Bubba” Morton stands for Wycli›e. “Bubba” made it to The Show in ¡96¡, which would make him, I believe, the only Wycli›e to grace a

¡957 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP RP

NAME Inocencio Rodriguez Billy Joe Ford Leroy Bradley Frank Kostro Fred Van Dusen Bob Perry W. “Bubba” Morton Dick Harris Jack Feller Fred Harrington Gene Oliver

Reggie Lee David Reed Arthur Hirst George Moton Bill “Forgotten” Lore

AB 523 466 463 575 400 519 445 320 307 455 477

451

TEAM Danville High Pt.-Thom. Greensboro Durham High Pt.-Thom. Danville Durham High Pt.-Thom. Durham High Pt.-Thom. Winston-Salem

G 141 125 130 141 119 141 126 108 95 119 135

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 151 109 268 32 5 25 114 86 10 .289 .512 .391 135 69 232 25 6 20 85 38 3 .290 .498 .350 139 63 184 22 1 7 70 65 3 .300 .397 .386 167 84 237 34 12 4 70 47 6 .290 .412 .348 124 97 224 15 5 25 93 123 6 .310 .560 .478 162 104 302 32 9 30 90 66 11 .312 .582 .394 138 93 232 24 4 18 82 71 18 .310 .521 .416 84 52 115 14 1 5 54 50 3 .263 .359 .367 81 30 105 16 1 2 41 37 1 .264 .342 .347 126 77 184 22 3 10 62 71 7 .277 .404 .378 136 83 258 26 3 30 94 62 4 .285 .541 .371

Danville Durham High Pt.-Thom. Winston-Salem Greensboro

G GS CG SH W L % 33 25 14 1 15 6 .714 33 24 16 6 14 8 .636 37 25 12 3 15 7 .682 40 26 16 3 18 10 .643 51 2 1 1 13 3 .813

IP 196 207 185 219 96

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 174 78 199 131 3.58 14.2 153 47 200 63 2.04 9.6 168 74 107 61 3.60 11.4 189 80 165 90 3.29 11.6 65 14 48 18 1.31 8.1

The Thom. in High Point-Thom. is Thomasville.

Please take special note of Lore’s ERA and BR/9 ratio, the former being very good and the latter one of the years very best marks.

major league park. (As a player. There may have been thousands of Wycli›es in the stands.) Harrington was solely a shortstop. Rodriguez, mentioned above, played only 55 of his games at first, the rest being outfield appearances. Oliver played first, outfield, and catcher.

Northwest League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP

NAME Herbert Anderson Ellis Burton Hillis Layne John Keller Donald Frailey John Dunn Herman Lewis Don Lundberg Mel Krause Daniel Holden

James Bailey Charles Lybeck

TEAM Wenatchee/Yakima Tri-City Lewiston Eugene Eugene Salem Yakima Wenatchee Eugene Tri-City/Eugene

G 133 98 102 130 111 124 129 128 129 103

AB 495 344 356 448 349 454 461 437 437 297

H 157 105 121 113 115 149 141 136 124 75

R 89 86 70 84 70 98 96 58 89 49

TB 239 197 196 137 164 185 222 175 162 104

G 17 32

GS 16 30

CG 16 24

SH 3 6

W 10 20

L 6 9

Wenatchee Wenatchee/Salem

Layne and Lundberg were playing managers. Karl Kuehl, Salem Senator first baseman, hit .347, scored 93 runs and drove in 86, had a decent .467 SA and, thanks to ¡¡2 walks, finished second in OB% with a fine .486 mark. Obviously, he would be my first base choice. At short, Yakima’s Charles Elson was a far better hitter than was Keller (.3¡4/.400/.394). Elson scored 95 runs and stole 2¡ bases. Their fielding was pretty much alike, although Keller was better (.956/4.9 to Elson’s .933/4.7). I guess the little fielding advantage of Keller’s was enough to sway the judges, but I think the hitting gap is larger than the fielding one and would have to go with Elson.

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 27 5 15 93 48 8 .317 .483 .380 17 3 23 88 69 26 .305 .573 .432 25 1 16 78 55 2 .340 .551 .435 17 2 1 44 69 9 .252 .306 .367 19 9 4 69 76 10 .330 .470 .457 24 3 2 45 84 13 .328 .407 .438 30 6 13 114 68 9 .306 .482 .396 21 0 6 69 52 9 .311 .400 .386 13 8 3 63 78 14 .284 .371 .405 12 1 5 56 71 1 .253 .350 .397 % .625 .690

IP 131 229

H 113 158

ER 28 80

SO 140 105

BB 44 67

ERA 1.92 3.14

BR/9 11.1 9.0

I would have gone with an entirely di›erent outfield: Lucio Hague (Tri-City), Vinnie Moreci (Yakima), and Bob Duretto (Salem). Hague hit .306, had a .4¡3 OB%, scored ¡08 runs, stole 23 bases and led the league in POs. Duretto hit .274, but walked ¡03 times for a .409 OB%, hit ¡8 home runs, and drove in ¡06 runs. Moreci hit ¡7 homers, hit .3¡3, slugged .57¡, led the league in walks and OB% with ¡¡3 and .49¡ respectively, and scored 92 runs. Well, on further consideration, maybe not an entirely di›erent outfield. Frailey/Dunn/Lewis had .320/.452/.428 averages; Hague/Moreci/Duretto had .29¡/.450/.433, but had 37 homers to ¡9 for the other guys. ¡9 home runs for an All-Star outfield seems

452

Minor League All-Star Teams

very weak to me, very weak indeed. A Lewis/Moreci /Duretto outfield comes in at .296/.490/.428 with 48 homers and 265 RBIs. An outfield made up of Frailey, Dunn, and Moreci comes in with .324/.490/.460 figures. It seems that the only way out of this mess, since there is not one single dominating outfielder, is to leave the decision to the reader. Do you go with three (any three), four, or five on your team? (I would have five). Krause was a second baseman, Holden played outfield and caught.

Bailey and Lybeck were good choices, but I would add three more pitchers. Eugene Emerald Ollie Brantley was 22–¡5 and was ninth in ERA with a 3.65 mark. Salem’s Vernon Kindsfather was ¡7–¡3, eighth in ERA at 3.5¡. Thornton Kipper, pitching for the 20-games-under-.500 Lewiston Broncs, was ¡6–¡¡ with a 3.¡3 ERA. The Broncs played .385 ball when Thornton was not involved in the decision. Kipper, who had spent the ¡955 season as a Philadelphia Phillie, hit .308 with three homers and ¡6 RBIs.

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP RP

NAME Billy Smith Anthony Asaro George Holder William Davidson Ray Reed Jim McAnany Horace Garner Jim Koranda Tom Tarrantino “Hot” Rod Kanehl

Henry Hemmerly Peter Olsen Noel Mickelson Don Nichols

TEAM Evansville Peoria Evansville Peoria Evansville Davenport Evansville Cedar Rapids Peoria Peoria

G 130 106 127 99 107 118 108 123 92 116

G 37 38 34 44

GS 22 28 20 0

Evansville Keokuk Evansville Peoria

AB 466 352 511 356 396 432 383 416 282 365

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 146 107 187 21 4 4 54 118 97 48 142 31 1 4 56 34 148 81 184 15 6 3 71 36 87 67 151 10 3 16 49 82 118 73 196 16 7 16 92 45 131 78 210 20 4 17 67 79 128 69 216 20 4 20 100 67 133 88 251 21 2 31 93 106 80 50 148 13 5 12 55 50 94 65 152 22 2 6 57 60

CG 11 14 9 0

SH 2 1 3 0

Peoria had a second baseman that played 87 games there (Asaro) and another who played 82, one George Delfino. The spot should have either been shared between the two or given to Delfino. His averages (.286/.397/.433) were better than his teammate’s, and he scored 82 runs to Asaro’s 48.

W 15 14 17 20

L 8 8 5 3

% .652 .636 .773 .870

IP 179 207 191 138

H 166 202 177 107

ER 47 70 54 32

SB 6 10 16 18 5 7 4 11 2 10 SO 121 126 148 89

BA .313 .276 .290 .244 .298 .303 .334 .320 .284 .258

SA OB% .401 .462 .403 .341 .360 .345 .424 .387 .495 .374 .486 .416 .564 .441 .603 .458 .525 .393 .416 .365

BB 86 73 50 56

ERA 2.36 3.04 2.54 2.09

BR/9 12.9 12.1 11.0 10.6

Kanehl played short, third, and the outfield, but Koranda should have been listed as a utility man. In addition to catching, he played first and outfield. Please note that Nichols won 20 games without a single start. All in all, a nicely selected team.

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Jerome Stack Damon Phillips Ray Perry James Dougherty Fran Boniar Vada Pinson Thomas Humber William Gilmore No selection made

Bill Dial Robert Giallombardo Pete Hernandez William Cornell

TEAM Visalia Modesto Reno San Jose Reno Visalia Reno Salinas

San Jose Reno Visalia Modesto

G 134 118 133 122 110 135 135 128

AB 509 506 451 438 443 569 560 471

H 183 162 158 128 193 209 181 159

R 100 87 122 88 102 165 162 90

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 249 31 7 7 118 87 23 .360 .489 .456 224 34 2 8 67 52 1 .320 .443 .388 257 34 4 19 124 138 10 .350 .570 .507 151 13 5 0 39 98 13 .292 .345 .428 289 35 15 11 138 60 4 .436 .652 .504 349 40 20 20 97 79 53 .367 .613 .447 243 20 18 2 69 98 75 .323 .434 .427 202 24 2 5 64 74 3 .338 .429 .432

G 28 30 33 26

GS 27 28 30 23

CG 26 21 27 14

SH 6 4 5 1

W 20 21 25 13

Phillips and Perry were playing managers. Visalia’s Carlos Castillo is the keystoner for me. He hit .3¡¡, slugged .465, and got on base .398 per-

L 8 6 6 7

% .714 .778 .806 .650

IP 233 219 264 186

H 205 183 239 176

ER 55 75 79 69

SO 185 202 229 134

BB 83 125 93 96

ERA 2.12 3.08 2.69 3.34

BR/9 11.2 12.9 11.4 13.3

cent of the time. He also just happened to hit ¡6 homers, drive in ¡03 runs, score ¡30 times, and steal 39 bases. The choice of Phillips is odd.

¡957

453

highest in pro ball in ’57. Note also Boniar’s .436 BA, the best in O.B., and his .504 OB%. Note also that Pinson was a 20–20–20–50 man, and that both he and Humber scored over ¡60 runs in a ¡40 game season. Giallombardo hit .306 with 2¡ RBIs and eleven extra-base-hits, including five triples, the most hit by any pitcher in ¡957. Dial pitched forty scoreless innings in a row, including four shut-outs.

Johnny Callison should have been added to the outfield roster. An ¡8 year old right out of high school, he got into 86 games after graduation. He hit .340, slugged .57¡, and had an OB% of .424. He had ¡7 homers, stole 3¡ bases, and scored 83 runs. No utility player was selected, but Fresno manager Roland LeBlanc caught and played outfield, hit .326, and had 89 RBIs. Please note Ray Perry’s .507 OB%, one of the

Central Mexican League (C) POS NAME

TEAM

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Saltillo 87 357 136 100 225 26 6 Fresnillo 85 352 148 82 206 21 2 Fresnillo 98 384 129 87 198 33 3 Chihuahua 100 392 150 89 223 35 4 Chihuahua 102 385 132 92 221 29 6 Saltillo 99 410 153 95 259 25 12 Durango-Laguna 90 296 92 87 190 14 6 Saltillo 80 306 114 52 155 17 6 Durango-Laguna 85 269 82 37 102 15 1

SP SP

Pedro Ramirez Juan Arias Rogelio Vargas Gilbert Villarreal Norlden Williams Silvio Meza Juan Hernandez Jose Luis St. Claire Mario Flores No selection made

Marcelino Solis Ruben Rendon

Saltillo Chihuahua

G AB

G 32 37

GS 24 11

CG 14 6

SH 1 2

St. Claire was a playing manager for part of the season. The Cent. Mex. should have had co-first basemen. Ramiro Caballero of Chihuahua hit .366, slugged .627, hit 24 homers, and drove in ¡09 runs in 99 games. Chihuahua Dorado outfielder Luis Casablanca should also have been added to the Registro de Heroes. He hit .330, outside of the league’s Top Ten, but he managed to slug .583. His league-leading ¡03 walks resulted in a league-leading .508 OB%. Luis also scored ¡05 runs (on 95 hits) in 90 games. The league as a whole hit .305 (.3¡¡, minus lastplace Aguascalientes’ .272) and an average of ¡3.7 runs were scored in each game, so it’s not that sur-

H

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB

W 15 11

L 9 5

% .625 .688

IP 196 137

17 111 11 66 10 78 10 90 16 103 19 122 27 88 4 72 1 44

H 224 161

ER 123 79

55 34 53 69 67 34 97 33 29

10 11 12 8 34 7 11 2 9

SO 129 100

BA .381 .420 .336 .383 .343 .373 .311 .373 .305

BB 123 44

SA OB% .630 .585 .516 .569 .574 .632 .642 .507 .379

.467 .478 .423 .476 .445 .426 .489 .434 .375

ERA 5.65 5.19

BR/9 16.1 13.6

prising how rotten the selected pitchers were. Except, of course, it is. 5.65 and ¡6.¡ are not All Star numbers. Jaime Ochoa of last place Aguascalientes was ¡0–9 and led the league in ERA (at 3.78, he was the only pitcher under 4.00) and in BR/9 ratio at ¡2.3. Antonio Dicochea (Chihuahua) led the league in games (4¡), starts (27), CGs (¡5), wins (¡7), IP (243) and strike-outs (¡57). He was second in both ERA and BR/9 with 4.56 and ¡3.¡ marks. Do you not think that he was a better pitcher than either Solis or Rendon? By the way, the starting eight (using St. Claire and not Flores at catcher) hit .366, slugged .582 and had an OB% of .455.

Evangeline League (C) There were several odd choices here. For example, Lafayette manager/first baseman Walter Dixon, who had .372/.649/.494 averages, scored 54 runs, and drove in 53 in his 57 games. He also hit ¡4 home runs, which tied him for third in the league. Besides, he played more games at first than the league choice, McElroy, who was only in 35 games there. In fact, McElroy would have been a good selection for the utility position, had one been selected, as he played second and third in addition to first. Alexandria’s shortstop Dave Davis had averages of .282, .373, and .373, all superior to Mueller’s.

Davis scored 83 runs and drove in 52. They had 47¡ and 475 plate appearances respectively, and fielded almost exactly the same, although Mueller had six more errors. Davis for me, for there is no apparent reason for it to be otherwise. I would have had a fourth outfielder: David “Dr.” Gorrie of Crowley. He hit .289 and had an OB% of .435, and his 89 runs were second in the league. He also led all OFers in PO with 275. It is also worth noting that future NFL Hall of Famer Yale Lary (who was related to Al and Frank Lary) hit .354 and slugged .582 in his 24 games before he left for football training camp.

454 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Joe McElroy Dave “Red” Irby Henry MacKenzie Joseph Mueller Claude Horn James Nisewonger Jack Davis Aaron Silvera No selection made

TEAM Lake Charles Alexandria Crowley Lake Charles Crowley Thibodaux Alexandria Crowley

G 111 113 110 107 106 102 52 104

AB 410 453 406 419 387 381 184 370

H 141 133 125 108 135 110 65 106

R 77 98 88 85 86 75 43 55

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 193 14 4 10 92 64 17 .344 .471 .432 247 24 6 26 89 53 10 .294 .545 .369 179 28 4 6 63 83 6 .308 .441 .425 140 20 3 2 32 52 8 .258 .334 .342 215 25 8 13 67 70 17 .349 .556 .452 192 17 1 21 70 47 4 .289 .504 .368 115 12 1 12 37 33 2 .353 .625 .454 131 17 1 2 78 39 6 .286 .354 .364

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Bob Riesener Alexandria 24 24 18 4 20 0 1.000 204 165 49 131 75 2.16 10.6 SP Donald Gorrondona Lake Charles 30 26 18 3 12 11 .522 204 177 83 161 107 3.66 12.6

Lafayette, several of whose players will be mentioned below, folded after 58 games.

Lafayette catcher George Schmidt was in all of the Oiler’s games and hit for .359/.452/.440 averages. I feel that he is deserving of a slot on the squad. Ed Donnelly was the ace of the Oiler sta› (they were in first place when they disbanded). He was ¡¡–3

with a 4.37 ERA and, with 97 Ks in ¡03 IP, was on pace to lead the league in that department by a wide margin. Gorrondona’s Giants finished last, 24 games under .500.

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Walter Matthews Charles Lehmann Eugene Elliott Juan Guzman Richard Lombardi Don Brown James Miller Donald Whitcomb Alberto Alvarez No selection made

Joe Hoerner Dave Tyriver

TEAM Winnipeg Duluth-Superior Fargo-Moorhead Eau Claire Duluth-Superior Winnipeg St. Cloud Grand Forks Wausau

Duluth-Superior Fargo-Moorhead

G 28 30

G 122 124 122 91 124 122 117 93 107

GS 23 26

AB 466 497 451 334 446 505 447 334 365

CG 12 17

H 150 140 112 108 146 152 142 85 109

R 62 80 60 61 90 98 85 41 55

TB 226 180 186 135 251 221 225 152 150

SH 3 1

W 16 14

L 5 9

I am in agreement with every choice of a position player. Not so, however, regards the sta›. Richard Sovde of St. Cloud led in ERA (2.05) and BR/9 ratio (9.9), so, in a flashback to teams from the thirties and forties, he was, of course, left of o› the team. He was ¡6–¡0. The league leader in wins, Win-

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 32 7 10 100 44 3 .322 .485 .386 15 2 7 35 62 13 .282 .362 .363 18 4 16 75 43 9 .248 .412 .314 13 1 4 37 57 4 .323 .404 .425 24 9 21 89 77 3 .327 .563 .431 40 10 3 51 35 19 .301 .438 .351 26 6 15 60 58 14 .318 .503 .401 13 3 16 60 30 0 .254 .455 .323 21 4 4 54 59 8 .299 .411 .399

% .762 .609

IP 185 208

H 166 167

ER 53 62

SO 86 140

BB 71 100

ERA 2.58 2.68

BR/9 11.8 11.7

nipeg Goldeye ace Harold Byfuss (he was ¡7–8), who also happened to be second in both ERA and BR/9 ratio (2.45 & ¡0.5) was likewise conspicuous by his absence from the squad. Vincent Zeimis was the leagues best reliever. He was in 55 games (he started once) and was ¡2–6 with a fine ¡.86 ERA.

Pioneer League (C) Aurelio Ala, Pocatello third baseman, seems to have had a better season than did Sadowski. Ala had better range afield, hit .3¡7, had 87 RBIs, and an OB% of .430. I could see having two guys at third, no problem. Salt Lake City shortstop John Wisniewski is another player who would not have harmed the league’s posterity by being named to the team as a second at his position. He hit only .287, but slugged .470. He hit 20 homeruns and drove in ¡0¡, and was also a better fielder.

Missoula Timberjack flyhawk Dick Greco led the league in hitting (.364), slugging (.656), OB% (.487), and home runs (30) but you will look in vain for him to appear on the Pioneer Roll of Eternal Honor. (I’ve grown accustomed to the league’s best pitcher being left of o› the team, but it is rather unusual for the best hitter to be so utterly and ignominiously ignored). Another outfielder passed over is “Dangerous” Dan DeGroote of Pocatello. He played in ¡¡8 games, scored ¡¡3 runs and drove in ¡09. He also had power

¡957 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Fred Hopke Lou Vassie Bob Sadowski Donald Dantoni Leon “Duke” Carmel Robert Jacoby Jackson Queen Tony Cannizzo No selection made

Ernest Evans Richard Schultz

TEAM Salt Lake City Salt Lake City Billings Missoula Billings Boise Idaho Falls Pocatello

Billings Missoula

G 34 39

GS 31 31

G 124 125 101 125 126 123 123 62

CG 18 21

AB 508 495 394 516 454 468 473 201

H 171 139 119 175 147 148 152 65

SH 5 2

W 16 21

(24 homers, .576 SA) and a good eye (¡2¡ walks, .46¡ OB%). I would stack my outfield choices; Carmel, Greco, and DeGroot, against the league’s anytime. (My three hit .326 with a .6¡6 SA and a .466 OB%, 83 homers and 338 RBIs. The o‡cial trio comes in at .320, .523, and .432 with 56 homers and 294 RBIs.) Should you desire another catcher, Al Kenders of S.L.C. may be just the man for you. In no way comparable to Cannizzo as a hitter, he was better than the rest of the Pioneer backstops. He hit .265 with 52 runs and 56 RBIs. And, should your baseball

455

R 106 118 95 102 118 94 115 61

L 9 10

TB 241 237 210 231 279 239 212 124

2B 36 21 20 31 21 26 20 15

% .640 .677

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 2 10 90 61 9 .337 .474 .414 7 21 78 95 21 .281 .479 .405 13 15 64 61 6 .302 .533 .400 11 1 50 80 40 .339 .448 .430 12 29 121 104 6 .324 .615 .452 4 19 93 73 10 .316 .511 .410 8 8 80 93 26 .321 .448 .435 1 14 53 64 0 .323 .617 .487

IP 232 253

H 212 249

ER 76 90

SO 150 188

BB 101 96

ERA 2.95 3.20

BR/9 12.4 12.4

mind evince the slightest velleity for a utility man, Missoula’s catcher/third baseman/outfielder Chuck Weatherspoon is the palliative to your yearning. He only hit .263, but drove in 73 runs and scored 7¡. To the sta› I would add a starter and a reliever. Don Choate of Billings went ¡9–8 and had a 3.¡¡ ERA. The bullpen ace of the Bees, Edwin Radzevich, was in 53 games (he started eleven times), worked ¡6¡ innings, went ¡2–7, and had a 3.69 ERA (seventh best in the league).

Alabama-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Bob Wellman James Deery Charles Strange Norman Manning Alfred Jakubowski Bob Zuccarini Henry Marockie Willis Maupin James Hay No selection made

Robert “Bo” Belinsky Bill Beck

TEAM Graceville Panama City Montgomery Montgomery Graceville Pensacola Ft. Walton Beach Montgomery Panama City

G 82 102 119 120 119 115 118 95 113

AB 297 401 466 416 473 403 412 370 433

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 120 80 238 26 1 30 113 62 3 .404 .801 .512 109 72 130 17 2 0 33 46 8 .272 .324 .348 141 66 189 15 9 5 66 41 9 .303 .406 .363 104 80 130 9 1 5 58 70 15 .250 .313 .362 163 103 243 24 7 14 69 51 12 .345 .514 .419 142 111 253 30 0 27 87 99 8 .352 .628 .487 113 60 165 10 12 6 71 68 7 .274 .400 .381 108 56 159 23 2 8 52 21 2 .292 .430 .338 115 62 171 14 11 3 50 34 8 .266 .395 .325

G 32 33

GS 23 24

CG 13 22

SH 2 2

Pensacola Graceville

Wellman and Deery were playing managers. The league as a whole had a dismal slugging percentage of .345 (.337 if you leave out Bob Wellman, he had that good a year). Only twelve hitters had as many as twenty doubles, only nine reached double figures in home runs. Fewer than ten hitters attained the (hardly) magical .400 plateau in slugging. You may recall Wellman from comments following the SALLY League. For the year, he hit 47 homers with ¡7¡ RBIs with a .720 SA and a .369 BA. Please take special note of his Alabama-Florida SA, a mighty .80¡. Panama City third baseman Louis Caputo hit an alright .275, bested Strange in SA with a .442 mark,

W 13 19

L 6 7

% .684 .731

IP 195 220

H 170 178

ER 65 58

SO 202 184

BB 90 85

ERA 3.00 2.37

BR/9 12.7 10.9

and, thanks to a league best ¡20 walks, crushed him by 83 points in OB%, .446–.363. He outscored Strange by 20 runs and had ¡7 more RBIs. I would have chosen Pensacola outfielder Ray Billingsley over Hank “Don’t Knockie” Marockie. “The Bill” hit .286 and had a .4¡4 OB%. He also scored 94 runs. No utility player was selected, but, as appears to be usual, there were two players who were qualified to fill that spot. Selma Cloverleaf Nick Tedesco played third, short and outfield. He was in 88 games and scored 84 runs, hit .305, and led the league with 47 steals. Jose Diaz of Pensacola played outfield, second, and third. He led the league with 32 dou-

456

Minor League All-Star Teams lost nine times). Charles Townsend (Panama City) was ¡3–7 with a 2.70 ERA and his ¡0.3 was the lowest BR/9 ratio in the league. You may have noticed that they were not among the chosen for the All-Star sta›. They should have been.

bles, had 77 RBIs, was fourth with a .455 SA, and hit .3¡¡. Bill “Triple K” Kakuske led in ERA with a 2.26 mark, was second in BR/9 allowed with a ¡0.4 figure, and tied for the league lead in victories with ¡9 (he

Appalachian League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT UT

SP SP

NAME Jim Nidds James Hatfield Anthony Nicotera Dick Shepler Bobby Wine Ronald Zander Ken Fisher Al Fantuzzi Duane Emaar Felix Pizarro Frank Bergey

Jack Hamilton Tom Donovan

TEAM Johnson City Johnson City Salem Johnson City Johnson City Kingsport Pulaski Bluefield Salem Salem Bluefield

Wytheville Bluefield

G 10 14

G 60 46 55 64 54 71 71 64 56 65 53

AB 216 172 172 225 202 264 289 231 208 237 163

H 66 54 47 61 68 69 93 87 77 84 52

GS 9 12

CG 5 10

SH 0 0

Man, this was an odd league to figure (short-season leagues frequently are). For example, the league chose two third basemen. Nothing wrong with that — except that one of the choices was a second baseman, and a .349-hitting lad was relegated to the umbras of history due to the fact that the voters scorned, shunned, and otherwise overlooked him. One P. Andrew Cockrell (Salem) was the very lad in question. He did indeed hit .349 (and he slugged .506), had a fine .457OB%, and tied for the league lead in runs with 68. True, he only played 53% of his games at third, but Nicotera played 84% of his at second. Where the justice in that? (As an aside, as you may have noticed, whenever I notice an oddity, I like to point it out. Pulaski third sacker Gus Niklas hit .¡80 with a “slugging” percentage of .2¡0. He had but 37 hits the entire season, yet scored 48 runs. He walked 75 times, which gave him an OB% of .402, more than double his BA. That, my friends, is a rare accomplishment indeed. By the way, he played part of the season in the Sooner State league, where he hit a mighty .240 and slugged a powerful .3¡2. His S.S.L. OB% was .374, 30 points lower than when he hit .¡80 here. On the season he hit .206, slugged .253, drew ¡09 walks for a rather good .39¡ OB%, and scored 79 runs on only 74 hits.) Emaar was on a pace (¡.46 RBI/G) which, extrapolated out over ¡50 games, would have given him 2¡9 RBIs. “Utility” Choice Pizarro was an outfielder and should have made the squad as such over Zander.

R 51 39 42 48 53 47 66 61 57 61 39

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 81 8 2 1 26 41 20 .306 .375 .419 92 6 4 8 30 21 16 .314 .535 .392 75 3 2 7 37 66 7 .273 .436 .483 92 7 3 6 37 41 14 .271 .409 .383 109 11 6 6 42 29 10 .337 .540 .420 114 12 3 9 53 52 5 .261 .432 .383 129 15 3 5 53 36 18 .322 .446 .399 129 20 8 2 64 30 15 .377 .558 .450 128 15 3 10 82 34 3 .370 .615 .465 102 6 6 0 37 49 17 .354 .430 .469 64 5 2 1 18 20 6 .319 .393 .393

W 7 9

L 0 3

% 1.000 .750

IP 68 110

H 58 87

ER 27 35

SO 76 141

BB 46 60

ERA 3.57 2.86

BR/9 14.0 12.0

(An outfield of Zander, Fisher, and Fantuzzi comes in with averages of .3¡4, .469, and .404. The PizarroFisher-Fantuzzi model comes in with .348, .456, .437 averages.) The other utility choice, Bergey, played second, short, third, outfield, and pitched in four games (he was 2–0). He hit .3¡9, but only drove in ¡8 runs. The problem is, for the positions we have fielding stats for, he “fielded” .827, about the same as the guys on your average slow-pitch softball team. I would have chosen Bob Adams of Kingsport. He played second and third, and though he hit only .249, he led the league in walks and was second in OB%. Now dig this: the average Appy game in ’57 had ¡7.4 strike-outs and ¡3 walks. Half of the teams averaged more than a strike-out an inning, four of the teams struck out more than nine times a game. Bill George of Johnson City led the league in ERA and BR/9 ratio with 2.3¡ and ¡¡.3 figures. He was 6–2. Jim Duckworth of Bluefield was ¡0–2 with 3.09 and ¡¡.7 marks. He averaged ¡3.9 K/9. There was a pitcher (who fell eight innings short of qualifying for league leadership in the categories which require a minimum amount of IP) who—now get ready, this is gonna knock your socks o›— gave up only 3.2 H/9! Now, if that has ever been beaten, I don’t know about it. And sure, it was only over 62 innings, but still… This same pitcher struck out ¡7.5 (! batters every nine innings. And wait, there’s still more. Opponents only batted .¡06 against him! Incroyable, n’est-ce pas? There was also a pitcher who threw 5.7 wild

¡957 pitches every nine innings! He also walked ¡8.¡ (!) batters every nine innings. He gave up 9.9 runs per 9/IP, his ERA was 8.¡3, and he surrendered a horrendous 22.5 BR/9! What is really cool is that the two pitchers described above were the same guy, the immortal Steve Dalkowski, the fastest pitcher in the history of base-

457

ball. His fastball has been estimated at anywhere from ¡¡0 (probably too slow) to ¡20 (probably a bit too fast) MPH. (By the way, the three players I would most like to have seen play are Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Steve Dalkowski, and Steve probably tops that list.)

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Nesbit Wilson Homer Ray Wilson Robert Whitekiller Neal “Mos” Skeeters Larry Helms Dario Rubensteing Tony Curry Charles Fields Chuck Hiller

SP SP

Harry Coe Julio Guerra

TEAM St. Petersburg Daytona Beach Daytona Beach Palatka Palatka Tampa Tampa Tampa Cocoa

Tampa Cocoa

G 32 53

GS 31 32

G 139 122 99 124 139 106 137 133 133

CG 25 21

AB 515 409 369 412 495 400 558 491 505 SH 5 5

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 192 108 282 47 8 9 104 101 10 .373 .548 .482 120 77 146 11 6 1 66 42 24 .293 .357 .368 103 65 130 11 8 0 46 50 16 .279 .352 .365 108 111 158 14 6 8 73 110 67 .262 .383 .421 155 97 239 34 10 10 112 85 17 .313 .483 .421 117 85 147 18 3 2 45 65 19 .293 .368 .398 196 110 256 32 13 4 57 64 11 .351 .459 .423 144 89 206 18 10 8 94 79 16 .293 .420 .399 148 99 220 21 9 11 51 78 10 .293 .436 .388 W 26 26

Wilson was a playing manager. Believe it or not, I would give the third base spot to a .2¡8 hitter, Dennis Weiss of Cocoa. He led the league in fielding with (a lowly) .907. Whitekiller, who played only 62 games at third, fielded .888). Weiss, due to his receiving 99 walks, wound up with an OB% just two points lower (.363) than Whitekiller and scored 78 runs. Skeeters played 72 of his games at short.

L 3 9

% .897 .743

IP 264 292

H 189 219

ER 40 78

SO 266 308

BB 67 111

ERA 1.36 2.40

BR/9 8.9 10.5

The pitchers (who had 574 Ks in 556 IP) were good choices, but two other pitchers were worthy of selection. Bob Cruze of Tampa was 2¡–9, had a 2.08 ERA, and allowed only 9.8 BR/9. Floyd Shriver of Daytona Beach was 20–5, had a 2.76 ERA, and hit .296 with ¡9 RBIs. Please take special note of Coe’s terrific year in winning percentage, ERA, and BR/9.

Georgia-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Michæl Stopchuck Albert Morris James Cross George Scott Jim Hickman Ronald Rossi Danny Briner Louie Brown Jack Bowen William DeGraaf Ronald Sockman

Fred Gladding Siebert Scott Clarence Ingram William Fincher

TEAM Brunswick Albany Valdosta Thomasville Albany Thomasville Valdosta Albany Valdosta Albany Fitzgerald

Valdosta Thomasville Albany Fitzgerald

G 109 131 130 114 138 138 132 140 126 127 138

G 37 58 34 37

AB 439 509 501 437 522 517 550 539 413 447 574

GS 24 16 23 28

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 142 83 212 23 10 9 92 36 12 .323 .483 .380 143 97 236 24 3 21 80 75 28 .281 .464 .378 135 85 176 18 4 5 72 95 24 .269 .351 .387 141 52 177 14 8 2 85 40 3 .323 .405 .382 150 94 260 24 4 26 113 99 9 .287 .498 .404 166 104 220 22 10 4 91 80 11 .321 .426 .415 171 97 202 15 5 2 45 55 14 .311 .367 .378 160 105 226 26 14 4 67 112 38 .297 .419 .424 125 72 162 22 3 3 61 69 12 .303 .392 .407 121 68 161 9 2 9 68 68 4 .271 .360 .372 160 81 194 18 5 2 49 65 22 .279 .338 .353

CG 16 12 15 13

SH 5 1 3 2

Two playing managers, one who led his team to the pennant and one whose team finished last, were really robbed by the voters. Chase Riddle, Albany manager/first baseman hit .322 (fourth), slugged .520 (first), had an OB% of .440 (second), hit 27

W 16 20 17 15

L 8 9 7 12

% .667 .690 .708 .556

IP 217 205 189 201

H 185 177 167 188

ER 51 75 48 87

SO 185 144 70 157

BB 93 92 58 104

ERA 2.12 3.29 2.29 3.90

BR/9 11.7 11.9 10.9 13.2

doubles (tied for first), ¡9 homers (third), scored ¡07 runs (second), had 89 RBIs (fourth), and to top it all o›, stole 34 bases (third). I know, I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: What’s a guy gotta do to get noticed around here?

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Minor League All-Star Teams One pitcher I would add I would also add to the Name Hall of Fame, the first new entry in a while. The euphoniously named Kedy Curl (if comic book heroine Katey Keene married him, she would be Katey Keene-Curl) pitched for Earl Weaver at Fitzgerald, going ¡5–9 with a 2.5¡ ERA, fourth best in the league. He was third in BR/9 at ¡¡.8. I would also like to mention Albany third baseman Richard Gunn. He hit .236 and was one of my high school teachers.

The other manager was Mike Fandozzi, second baseman for Waycross. His case is even stranger than Riddle’s, which should serve to point out just how in the dark the selectors were. Fandozzi hit .422, a full 99 (!) points higher than the second best mark. He had a SA of .509, second in the league, and had the year’s best OB%, .538. His 90 runs were ¡4% of the entire Waycross team’s total. How often does a .422 hitter not make an All Star team? Sockman played 33 games at second, but was mostly a very bad outfielder. He fielded .908 with 25 errors.

Midwest League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Tom “Tim” Harkness Galen Williams John Riley Eugene Klyczek Donald Gordon Thomas Paddock H. Thomas Davis Charles Staniland John Orsino Manny Mota Lawrence Cutler

William Rouse Dick Lines Emerson Unzicker William Garcia

TEAM Kokomo Decatur Clinton Dubuque Dubuque Paris Kokomo Decatur Michigan City Michigan City Clinton-Dubuque

Dubuque Clinton Kokomo Decatur

G 19 20 40 28

GS 15 17 30 23

G 87 125 57 99 125 93 127 113 119 126 104

AB 321 466 216 385 453 312 518 384 408 471 383

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 112 57 179 19 3 14 74 32 151 93 196 22 7 3 70 76 67 31 89 15 2 1 27 32 121 88 170 18 2 9 47 56 134 100 228 14 7 22 116 75 98 71 163 19 2 14 70 80 185 115 271 23 6 17 104 35 110 60 182 18 3 16 85 61 91 64 172 19 1 20 79 46 148 82 196 23 2 7 91 59 108 88 135 6 9 1 34 106

CG 11 14 15 16

SH 3 4 2 2

W 11 12 20 17

L 5 5 11 6

% .688 .706 .645 .739

IP 112 145 238 182

H 99 102 229 158

ER 32 29 80 61

SB 3 19 1 2 14 3 68 4 0 12 2

SO 96 110 189 133

BA .349 .324 .310 .314 .296 .314 .357 .286 .223 .314 .282 BB 36 46 82 48

SA OB% .558 .416 .421 .421 .412 .404 .442 .405 .503 .399 .522 .455 .523 .404 .474 .390 .422 .308 .416 .399 .352 .446 ERA 2.57 1.80 3.03 3.02

BR/9 10.9 9.5 11.9 10.4

very good 8.8. He also had over one strike-out per inning, with ¡65 Ks in ¡50 IP. And here’s another dandy name for those keeping score: Juane Emaar, twin brother of Appalachian League All-Star catcher Duane.

A fine team. Mota was an outfielder and Cutler played second. The sole and only problem I have is the snubbing of Kokomo pitcher Edwin Picker. He was the league’s best pitcher. He went ¡6-3 (league-best .842), was second in ERA (¡.86) and first In BR/9 ratio with a

Nebraska State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C

SP SP

NAME Milt Campo Tony Christopher James Wasem Phil Linz Jackie Creed Robert Boyd James McClain Tony DeGennaro

Phil Groth Wayne Coughtry

TEAM Kearney Holdrege Holdrege Kearney Lexington Superior Hastings Grand Island

Holdrege Lexington

G 12 19

G 55 54 49 46 52 56 55 52 GS 10 13

AB 203 202 186 174 220 192 226 149 CG 6 8

H 66 65 68 40 71 60 61 48

R 48 56 54 33 41 42 50 37

SH 1 0

North Platte was ¡¡–45, .¡96. The Indians batted .2¡6 with a .3¡5 SA (more like Apu Nahasapimapetelon than Louis Sockalexis). They committed 3.5

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 128 7 2 17 59 39 2 .325 .631 .448 100 5 6 6 42 27 11 .322 .495 .409 100 9 4 5 42 35 19 .366 .538 .468 52 5 2 1 17 30 8 .230 .299 .353 109 12 4 6 40 13 2 .323 .495 .371 72 5 2 1 38 45 6 .313 .375 .448 102 11 6 6 39 21 16 .270 .451 .340 76 11 1 5 40 44 0 .322 .510 .479 W 9 11

L 3 1

% .750 .917

IP 88 112

H 64 106

ER 20 45

SO 98 73

BB 39 45

ERA 2.05 3.62

BR/9 10.6 13.5

errors a game en route to a somewhat less than gaudy .907 FA. Finally, they only scored 4.4 runs a game and gave up a cool 8.¡.

¡957

459

son of Kearney. He went 9–3 with a very good ¡.68 ERA. He also struck out ¡49 batters in just ¡02 innings, an average of ¡3.2 Ks every nine innings. Grand Island’s Robert Kucher was ¡0–3 with a 3.¡¡ ERA. He struck out ¡¡.5 batters every nine innings (¡40 Ks in ¡¡0 IP), and had a league best 9.6 BR/9 ratio.

Superior shortstop Fred Hill was superior to Phil Linz. Hill hit .276, scored 49 runs in 5¡ games, led the league with 60 walks and was third with a .455 OB%. Two outfielders were likewise overlooked: Don Yurger (Lexington) and Don Bonomini (Holdrege). Yurger’s averages were .339, .443, and .4¡6, and Bonomini’s were even batter at .35¡, .509, and .43¡. The league’s best pitcher was Leonardo Fergun-

New York-Pennsylvania League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Ken Kraynak Joaquin Perez Thaddeus Brzenk R.. “Yogi” Hergenrader Ray Withrow Joseph Edgley Norman Bernard Robert Rodgers Stephen Herschner No selection made

Richard Gri‡th Luis DeLeon

TEAM Batavia Wellsville Erie Corning Wellsville Wellsville Corning Erie Olean

Elmira Wellsville

G 45 22

G 114 117 114 117 116 99 117 115 75

GS 24 20

AB 462 477 416 433 466 375 432 407 243

CG 11 19

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA 157 74 244 28 1 19 99 26 0 .340 149 86 199 35 3 3 71 47 3 .312 117 78 188 26 6 11 78 48 14 .281 102 57 124 16 3 0 35 55 8 .236 115 76 200 20 4 19 61 48 0 .247 119 101 185 27 3 11 64 83 19 .317 139 104 191 19 9 5 58 103 19 .322 112 60 156 16 2 8 54 59 12 .275 73 36 128 10 3 13 57 22 3 .300

SA OB% .528 .386 .417 .381 .452 .361 .286 .324 .429 .321 .493 .452 .442 .454 .383 .374 .527 .363

SH 4 3

ERA 3.56 2.36

“Flash! History repeats itself as Paul Owens, manager/first baseman for Olean, bats over .400 and is not selected for his league’s All-Star team!” Gee, was it only two leagues back that I su›ered a patented Tex Avery Jaw Drop because the .422 hitting Mike Fandozzi was not chosen for the Ga-Fla team? I wasn’t even done shaking my head over that when up pops tall Paul Owens, hitting .407 for the second time to lead the league by 63 points, slug .604 to lead the league by 76 points, and ring up an impressive .529 OB% to lead the league by 75 points in that category. Brznek fielded .885 to the .922 chalked up by Wellsville’s Richard Seelinger. That makes Seelinger my choice. Well, that and the fact that Seelinger hit .3¡0, slugged .524, got on base .42¡ percent of the time and led the league with 37 doubles and ¡00 RBIs. James Passila, Hornell shortstop, absolutely

W 14 17

L 11 5

% .560 .773

IP 202 179

H 173 144

ER 80 47

SO 174 97

BB 104 42

BR/9 12.5 9.4

crushed ‘’Yogi” in the stats battle, hitting .3¡4 (78 points up on Hegenrader), slugging .4¡3 (¡43 points up!), and having a .4¡3 OB% (89 points up). Those advantages are just too large to overlook. There are four outfielders on my squad: Edgley, Bernard, Carmen Santoli, and George McCue. McCue of Erie hit .292, slugged .45¡, had a .4¡3 OB%, and scored 86 runs in 97 fewer plate appearances than “Corky” Withrow. Santoli (Olean) hit .293, had 59 RBIs to Withrow’s 6¡, stole a creditable 68 bases, and had 86 more put-outs than any other outfielder. On the pitching front, Gerald Lis matched DeLeon’s ¡7–5 for Batavia and had a 2.70 ERA. Harry Fenn of Corning pitched in bad luck as he was only 8–7, but both his ERA (2.45) and His BR/9 figure (9.9) were second best in the PONY League. Keith Nicolls, pitching for Wellsville, was ¡5–5 with a 2.45 ERA (fourth in the league) and a ¡0.5 BR/9 ratio (third).

Sooner State League (D) J. C. Dunn led Ardmore to the league championship. He was also the team’s first baseman. He had averages of .323, .543, and .427. He also hit 36 doubles, scored 80 runs, drove in 86, and stole 23 bases. These figures, plus the fact that he managed the championship team, earn him a co-first base spot on my version of the Sooner State Dream Team. (By the way, Dunn was shot by a fan [who was shooting

at the opposing team in a hotel] on 8 August, when his team had a ten game lead. They wound up finishing a half a game back of Paris, but Dunn returned in time to play in the play-o›s. He proceeded to hit .593 in the seven games it took to dispose of first Muskogee and then Paris. Wow!) Bobby Knoop played a major-league second base, fielding .96¡ with 5.4 TC/G. Shawnee manager/sec-

460 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME William Rozich Bobby Knoop Jim McKnight Ainsworth Yeomans Johnny Weekly Billy Leo Williams Bob Beattie Wade Arnold Richard Mu‡ck No selection made

TEAM Paris Lawton Ardmore Muskogee Muskogee Ponca City Paris Shawnee Greenville

Steve Barber Will “Crash” Corrigan Harold DeMars Gerald Keller

Paris Seminole Lawton Ardmore

G 79 125 122 125 122 126 125 104 107

AB 310 471 471 496 474 451 460 325 315

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 114 50 175 18 5 11 76 26 1 .368 .565 .420 123 61 186 22 4 11 67 37 2 .261 .395 .318 160 101 254 37 3 17 112 44 18 .340 .539 .402 157 76 206 25 9 2 74 44 8 .317 .415 .373 142 99 245 26 7 21 80 61 19 .300 .517 .394 140 87 237 40 3 17 95 87 13 .310 .525 .429 138 91 245 26 3 25 96 67 13 .300 .533 .395 98 46 137 15 6 4 66 43 1 .302 .422 .383 75 48 90 12 0 1 40 66 4 .238 .286 .378

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 28 24 6 1 9 9 .500 152 134 77 175 137 4.56 17.2 26 24 16 2 9 14 .391 176 156 74 149 118 3.78 14.2 13 10 5 2 7 3 .700 74 44 18 114 62 2.19 13.3 23 22 14 0 15 6 .714 169 172 60 98 59 3.20 12.4

ond baseman Ed Serrano didn’t, fielding .925 with a poor 4.8 TC/g mark. However, Serrano hit .3¡¡, slugged .438, and led the league with a .469 OB%. He scored 84 runs, 23 more than Knoop. Knoop is immortalized by his entry in the Baseball Encyclopedia. I say let Serrano have his day. The third base battle was the hardest fought one in the S.S.L., with McKnight duking it out (figuratively, of course) with Dick Simpson of Paris. Simpson’s o›ensive numbers were actually better than those posted by McKnight: .348/.576/.434 with 23 homers and ¡¡6 runs, although his 86 RBIs lagged behind. McKnight fielded .9¡9 with 3.3 TC/G, Simpson’s numbers were .893 and a poor 2.6. I’d’ve called this one a draw. This was not a good fielding outfield. Williams came in at .903 with 25 errors and Beattie even worse at .883 with ¡9 big Es by his name. Weekly was somewhat better at .944, but he still committed ¡6 errors. The threesome fielded .9¡0 with 60 (!) errors. That is just plain bad, period. Catcher Arnold should have been named to the squad as a utility man, as he played second and outfield in addition to catching. Mu‡ck simply was not that good. My two catchers would have been Neil Wilson of Muskogee and Lee Freeman of Lawton. Wilson hit .28¡, had 60 RBIs and scored 58 runs, and Freeman batted .288, slugged .465, hit ¡3 homers, drove in 60 runs, and scored 58. Barber developed into a major-league All-Star,

but he was not one in the ’57 S.S.L., no matter what the scribes decided. ¡7.2 BR/9 is just about six too many. Steve hit 20 batters and threw 20 wild pitches, pulling o› the very rare 20–20 double. DeMars allowed only 5.4 H/9 and struck out ¡3.9/9, very good numbers indeed. And now on to pitchers who should have been immortalized on the Sooner State Scroll of Stars, but weren’t. Jack Curtis was ¡8–¡5 for a Ponca City team that was 22 games under .500 and which played .366 ball when he was not involved in the decision. He led the league in CGs, IPs, strike-outs (with 2¡9) and, amazingly, wins. Not bad for a pitcher on a poor seventh-place team. John Jeanes (stop me if you’ve heard this before) led the league in ERA (2.40) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.9) and went ¡2–5 for Paris, and was ignored for his e›orts. Omar lee Anthony, Seminole manager, was in 25 games (five starts and five complete games. I guess the skipper decided to go with him till the end) and went 5–2, but he had a very fine ¡.43 ERA and allowed but 9.4 BR/9. And finally, to close out ¡957 on a high note, I present Paul Dean Jr. of Lawton. He was third in the league in ERA with a 2.94 mark, and his team played .505 ball when he was not involved in the decision. Including when he was the pitcher of record, they played at a .472 level. Dean must have been the unluckiest pitcher in baseball in ’57, as his 2.94 resulted in a 4–¡6 won-lost record.

! ¡958 ! In ¡958, there were 24 leagues in the National Association. 22 of them (92%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) Two shortstops had better years than the .3¡7-onbase-getting Lillis. Ron Samford of Charleston was

the best hitter and had the most power, batting .30¡ with a .406 SA and 5¡ RBIs. Jerry Green, who played

¡958 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Zeke Bella Wayne Terwilliger Ben Valenzuela Bob Lillis Bobby Gene Smith Bob Wilson Willlie Tasby Johnny Callison John Blanchard Ed Sadowski Johnny Romano No selection made

Juan Pizarro John Gabler Jerry Davie Bob Mabe Barry Latman Ted Bowsfield

461

TEAM Denver Charleston Omaha St. Paul Omaha St. Paul Louisville Indianapolis Denver Minneapolis Indianapolis

G 96 146 126 67 131 74 150 154 141 123 139

AB 316 535 454 272 499 252 540 545 554 401 468

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 107 58 149 20 2 6 58 49 2 .339 .472 .434 144 103 177 23 2 2 38 101 24 .269 .331 .390 129 56 186 14 2 13 72 64 0 .284 .410 .373 74 42 105 10 6 3 17 18 3 .272 .386 .317 157 76 242 24 5 17 79 16 4 .315 .485 .338 88 26 116 20 1 2 42 11 2 .349 .460 .383 174 96 291 31 10 22 95 68 20 .322 .539 .402 154 92 282 23 9 29 93 76 8 .283 .517 .377 161 88 256 28 5 19 96 51 1 .291 .462 .354 105 54 166 12 2 15 44 37 6 .262 .414 .324 136 74 252 29 6 25 89 71 2 .291 .538 .390

G 23 32 32 10 25 19

GS 20 30 26 8 21 16

CG 16 15 18 5 8 9

SH 3 2 6 3 2 1

Wichita Denver Charleston Omaha Indianapolis Minneapolis

for Minneapolis, had the best OB%, a .380 mark abetted by his league-leading ¡07 walks. He also scored 90 runs. I’d vote Green, both for the ’58 A.A. All Star shortstop and for the future of our planet. Gordy Windhorn, Arizona’s high school sprint champ in his younger days and Denver outfielder in ¡958, would be my third outfielder ahead of Bobby Gene. Gordy hit a league-best .328 with 96 runs and was third in OB% with .393.

W 9 19 17 6 9 8

L 10 7 5 1 11 4

% .474 .731 .773 .857 .450 .667

IP 165 217 209 60 150 117

H 127 224 168 47 138 94

ER 52 103 57 14 77 34

SO 158 89 93 84 85 71

BB 69 94 66 21 48 70

ERA 2.84 4.27 2.45 2.10 4.62 2.62

BR/9 10.9 13.4 10.3 10.4 11.6 12.8

There were two relievers who could have been added had spots been available for them. Tom Hurd (Minneapolis) was in 52 games and was ¡0–8 with an excellent ¡.65 ERA. “Red” Mur› was in 5¡ games for Wichita, went ¡¡–5, and had a ¡.80 ERA. He also gave up only 9.7 BR/9. Pizarro, by the way, hit .233 with three homers.

International League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Glenn “Rocky” Nelson “Sparky” Anderson Forest Smith Elio Chacon Solly Drake Jim Pendleton Deron Johnson Tim Thompson No selection made

Tom Lasorda Bennie Daniels

TEAM Toronto Montreal Miami Havana Montreal Columbus Richmond Toronto

Montreal Columbus

G 34 22

G 148 155 151 142 155 123 154 98

GS 31 21

AB 522 580 539 472 607 490 570 307

CG 16 13

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 170 104 340 27 7 43 120 92 1 .326 .651 .431 156 78 207 35 3 2 56 47 21 .269 .357 .331 157 77 237 33 4 13 79 63 4 .291 .440 .367 137 56 190 26 3 7 41 49 1 .290 .403 .359 183 105 277 35 16 9 68 68 20 .301 .456 .376 153 73 232 21 8 14 68 34 3 .312 .473 .358 148 79 266 27 5 27 103 58 1 .260 .467 .333 93 37 169 14 1 20 53 29 0 .303 .550 .369

SH 5 4

Nelson led in BA, SA, OB%, homers, and RBIs and I am not about to say that another first baseman should take his spot. However, another player at the same position, a 42 year old someone in fact, finished third in batting and second in slugging, OB%, home runs, and RBIs and deserves, if not a co-spot, then at least mention. The player in question was the mightiest Bison of all, Luscious “Luke” Easter, who had averages of .307, .600, and .4¡7 with 38 homers and ¡09 RBIs. Montreal third baseman Clyde “The Glide” Par-

W 18 14

L 6 6

% .750 .700

IP 230 160

H 191 122

ER 64 41

SO 126 112

BB 76 56

ERA 2.50 2.31

BR/9 10.5 10.2

ris hit .300 with 93 RBIs and matched Smith almost to the proverbial “T” with an SA of .435 and an OB% of .365. Here too, I would have opened up a spot for another worthy guy to slide into. At short, I don’t think a spot should have been opened. Rather, I think the wrong guy was honored. Clete Boyer of Richmond hit 22 homers and had 7¡ RBIs to go with his .284/.494/.354 averages. The 20 year old also led in every fielding category but FA. Bob Lennon (Montréal outfielder) had a good enough season to have been included on the All-Star

462

Minor League All-Star Teams

Roster. He popped 25 homers, drove in 87 runs, hit better than Johnson (.287), had a better SA than the three honorees (.52¡) and fell in middle on OB% (.367). Perhaps you can pry him out of the three chosen men, but I cannot. Rafael Noble, Havana catcher, hit .269 with 20 homers and 72 RBIs, and if you think a second catcher necessary, he is your man. No utility man was selected, but Toronto’s Mike “Whiz Kid” Goliat, who played second and in the outfield, had the wherewithal to fill the (unopened) spot. He hit .270 with 22 homers and 70 RBIs.

Werner “Babe” Birrer was ¡2–5 with a 2.36 ERA and allowed only ¡0.6 BR/9 for Montreal. Reliever Bobby Tiefenauer was in 64 games for the Maple Leafs and pitched enough innings to win the ERA crown with a ¡.89 mark. He also had the best BR/9 ratio (9.2) and led the league in winning percentage (¡7–5 for .773). I would have also included a spot starter/long reliever, the pride of the Miami Marlins, Satchel Paige. He was ¡0–¡0 with a 2.95 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of 8.9 (he only pitched ¡¡0 innings). He only had ten unintentional walks all year (a terrific 0.8/9IP).

Pacific Coast League (AAA) POS 1B 1B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Willie McCovey Vernal “Nippy” Jones Jack Dittmer Tony Roig George Freese Andre Rogers James McDaniel Vada Pinson Dave Pope Earl Averill No selection made

Marshall Bridges George Bamberger

TEAM Phoenix Sacramento Phoenix Spokane Portland Phoenix Salt Lake City Seattle San Diego San Diego

Sacramento Vancouver

G 35 31

G 146 137 109 112 146 122 131 124 142 112

AB 527 507 422 393 537 427 467 475 545 401

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 168 91 267 37 10 14 89 52 4 .319 .507 .390 153 73 231 24 3 16 78 18 1 .302 .456 .330 133 59 187 23 2 9 46 16 1 .315 .443 .345 111 46 156 26 2 5 32 68 5 .282 .397 .390 164 94 294 23 1 35 81 66 2 .305 .547 .386 151 104 295 43 4 31 88 82 0 .354 .691 .461 137 92 282 22 6 37 100 71 3 .293 .604 .391 163 92 240 28 8 11 77 42 37 .343 .505 .401 172 88 274 31 7 19 96 62 11 .316 .503 .388 139 84 241 16 7 24 87 58 2 .347 .601 .434

GS 31 24

CG 16 14

SH 1 5

If I were to select two first basemen as the league did, one of them would not be Jones. It would have been “Dr. Strangeglove,” Dick Stuart of Salt Lake City. “Stonefinger” was in only 80 games but he had 82 RBIs and 3¡ home runs. He had a .657 SA and hit .3¡¡. How anyone could pass over Carlos Bernier for an outfield is beyond me. He hit .332 with a .504 SA, popped ¡5 home runs, stole 34 bases, drove in 86 runs and led the league with ¡26 runs. Four outfielders or bid adieu to Pope, I’m afraid. Averill should have been on the team, no doubt, but as a utility player. He only caught in twelve

W 16 15

L 11 11

% .593 .577

IP 232 184

H 206 183

ER 95 50

SO 205 71

BB 111 26

ERA 3.69 2.45

BR/9 12.6 10.3

games, also playing in the outfield, at first and at second. Bob Roselli, Sacramento backstop, was the best choice among catchers. He hit .272 and slugged .438. Another utility man (who joined the ranks of the “unpeople” by virtue of the fact that the P.C.L. ignored handymen) was George Prescott of Phoenix. Big George hit .309, slugged .558, hit 24 homers, had 96 RBIs and scored 90 runs. He played outfield and third. Bamberger only walked ¡.3 batters every nine innings, and went 68∂ innings without issuing a free pass. Don Williams (Salt Lake City) was the league’s premier reliever, going 8–5, 2.62 in 43 games.

Mexican League (AA) The only change I would make to the lineup is the substitution of Eugene Collins of Poza Rico for Leroux. Collins hit .324, slugged .539 and had a .40¡ OB%. He also had ¡7 homers and scored 73 runs. The team, with Collins and using Rodriguez at catcher, slugs .546. With Leroux, the team SA is a still-good .53¡.

I would add two Lanzadores to the sta›, Rodolfo Alvarado of Yucatan and Eddie Locke of Monterrey. Alvarado went ¡5–7 with a 2.93 ERA and a league best ¡0.3 BR/9 ratio. Locke was ¡9–¡6 for a sub-.500 team and led the league in wins, starts, complete games, and, unfortunately, losses. His ERA was 3.37 and he was second in BR/9 allowed at ¡0.8.

¡958 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Alonso Perry Moises Camacho Luis Garcia Pablo Bernard Herminio Cortes Eddie Moore Orlando Leroux Ramon Rodriguez Earl Taborn No selection made

Juan Piedra Julio Moreno

TEAM M.C. Diablos Rojos Nuevo Laredo Poza Rica Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo Monterrey Yucatan Poza Rica Nuevo Laredo

N.Laredo/Yucatan Nuevo Laredo

G 43 27

G 115 120 97 118 115 119 120 113 112

GS 27 21

AB 417 475 371 490 442 409 440 378 383

CG 15 12

463

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 152 93 256 30 4 22 85 61 5 .365 .614 .449 132 87 224 25 2 21 97 55 4 .278 .472 .356 135 68 221 23 3 19 71 37 7 .364 .596 .426 182 106 253 27 4 12 56 42 10 .371 .516 .423 128 83 227 14 5 25 98 50 3 .290 .514 .363 133 88 266 27 5 32 95 73 3 .325 .650 .432 123 66 191 19 5 13 69 47 4 .280 .434 .360 109 69 180 12 4 17 72 60 6 .288 .476 .391 105 69 169 10 0 17 58 73 5 .274 .441 .394

SH 3 4

W 15 13

L 11 8

% .577 .619

IP 217 160

H 198 160

ER 85 48

SO 159 78

BB ERA BR/9 114 3.53 13.0 43 2.70 11.6

M.C. is Mexico City.

Southern Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UTIF

SP SP SP SP SP SP RP

NAME Chuck Coles Chuck Cottier Sammy Meeks Dick Phillips Jim Fridley Drew Gilbert Bob Thorpe Don Dillard Les Peden Ebba St. Claire Lamar North Shep Frazier

TEAM Nashville Atlanta Atlanta Atlanta Nashville Nashville Birmingham Mobile Little Rock Atlanta New Orleans Memphis

Bob Hartman Jim O’Toole Wilbur “Jake” Striker Joe Grzenda Dick Stigman William DuFour Bill Slack

G 153 153 135 98 142 145 122 140 133 105 130 149

Atlanta Nashville Mobile Birmingham Mobile Chattanooga Memphis

AB 574 583 499 380 515 482 481 539 458 341 403 557

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 176 117 302 27 6 29 107 90 2 .307 .526 .403 157 32 226 29 8 8 62 53 2 .269 .388 .334 147 81 247 27 2 21 94 52 1 .295 .495 .367 113 64 180 18 5 13 58 47 2 .297 .474 .379 179 85 285 32 7 20 101 65 1 .348 .553 .429 119 83 222 18 2 27 85 118 12 .247 .461 .395 156 70 256 23 4 23 85 36 1 .324 .532 .373 172 80 277 32 5 21 78 43 3 .319 .514 .375 153 67 266 29 3 26 88 59 1 .334 .581 .413 98 37 123 8 4 6 45 63 0 .287 .361 .409 103 49 171 14 0 18 53 44 2 .256 .424 .335 154 66 184 19 1 3 39 65 4 .276 .330 .356

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 38 31 19 3 20 10 .667 233 202 76 163 78 2.94 10.9 35 33 21 4 20 8 .714 280 245 76 189 132 2.44 12.2 35 34 15 2 17 11 .607 238 198 82 187 104 3.10 11.8 33 32 11 1 16 7 .696 223 170 79 189 128 3.19 12.1 26 24 13 4 15 7 .682 192 156 52 141 73 2.44 10.7 35 25 18 2 18 11 .621 214 197 70 111 81 2.94 11.8 69 7 1 0 10 11 .476 154 141 62 103 74 3.62 12.7

Peden was a playing manager. I am absolutely positive that the 32 runs Cottier are credited with are the wrong total. That would mean that he only scored ¡5% of the time he got on base, and that is an unacceptable figure. Atlanta scored 740 runs, and only around 680 are accounted for in the stats (the LT¡0s had ¡7 hits, so they certainly didn’t score the 64 missing runs. Add 64 to Cottier and he now has 96 runs, a much more probable scoring percentage). Anyway, if I had chosen the team, the point would be moot, for I would have selected Tony Asaro of New Orleans. He had .298/.480/.386 averages, hit 24 homers, drove in 7¡ runs, and scored 96. He also handled just as many chances a game as Cottier, who was noted for his fielding. Meeks should have had Frazier’s utility spot. Frazier played only at second, while Meeks played only

68 games at third and also played first and short. I would have had two third basemen, Steve Demeter of Birmingham and Jarret Baumer of Mobile. Demeter, in 624 PAs, hit .309, slugged .495 and had a .39¡ OB%. He hit ¡8 homers, and both scored and drove in 88 runs. Baumer, in 583 PAs, also drove in 88 runs and scored 92 times, despite hitting only .236. He had a .355 OB% and an OB% of .355. A fifth outfielder would not have been misplaced, if that fifth wheel was Pelican flyhawk Jack Reed. His averages were .309, .458, and .373, he led the league in hits (¡98), runs (¡20), and steals (22). The S.A. scribes had seven chances to get the sta› right, and they failed. Bill Harrington of Birmingham pitched in 53 games with a 2.99 ERA and was 20–7 (league-best .74¡ winning percentage). Would you take him or Bill “Cut Me Some” Slack? Sure you would. Unless, that is, you happen to know baseball.

464

Minor League All-Star Teams

Texas League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Bill Gabler Jerry Kindall Joe Macko Rick Herrscher Don Miles Eric Rodin Mike Lutz Ray Murray No selection made

SP

Joe Kotrany

Dallas

TEAM Fort Worth Fort Worth Fort Worth Austin Victoria Corpus Christi Corpus Christi Corpus Christi

G 37

GS 31

G 127 143 137 145 102 146 152 93

CG 10

AB 503 512 504 578 372 534 546 283

SH 3

H R TB 136 80 233 117 60 206 146 76 243 140 83 176 121 72 211 171 89 293 171 114 325 101 45 176

W 19

Murray was a playing manager. I would have been inclined to have chosen Marv Williams of Tulsa as my first baseman. At .294, .477, and .378, his averages were all at least a little better than were Gabler’s. He scored 76 runs and drove in 88, both totals being a bit lower than Gabler’s. Call it even if you like. Kendall was a good fielder, no doubt about that. His 6.0 TC/G mark was a full half a chance a game better than any other league keystoner. He evinced some power, as attested to by his ¡6 dingers. I could even get past his .229 BA. That .282 OB% is just too much for me though. Jim Rice of Corpus Christi hit .270 with a .369 OB%, neither figure exactly Hall of Fame standard, but 4¡ and 87 points higher than Kindall’s numbers. Rice also scored 99 runs. To be fair, it must be stated that Kindall handled a huge .9 chances a game more than did Rice, and I can see that big of a fielding di›erence canceling out the di›erence in hitting. My feeling is to (narrowly) go with Rice. Yours may be di›erent. There are two outfielders I would like to add to the roster, Ellis Burton of Houston and Bob Will of Fort Worth. Burton hit only .286, but it was a fairly productive .286 as he added .522 and .389 secondary averages as well as 22 homers, 77 RBIs, a league-leading 4¡ doubles, and ¡09 runs. Will was only in the league for 82 games before being called up to the PCL., but rang up impressive averages while he was a Texas Leaguer: .36¡, .540, and .46¡. As only two full-season players exceeded the .400 OB% mark (and they just barely), we can say with some degree of assuredness that Bob would have led the league in that department. If a 93 game catcher makes you feel a desire to add another of the species to the roster, let me say that I

L 10

% .655

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 18 5 23 94 65 0 .270 .463 .355 23 9 16 65 38 5 .229 .402 .282 25 0 24 81 37 1 .290 .482 .344 11 2 7 43 47 6 .242 .304 .307 28 4 18 77 41 12 .325 .567 .405 28 8 26 95 57 6 .320 .549 .394 31 3 39 111 80 8 .313 .595 .407 14 2 19 63 17 0 .357 .622 .397

IP 244

H 236

ER 81

SO 128

BB 47

ERA 2.99

BR/9 10.7

share your feeling. My selection would have been Al Stieglitz of Corpus Christi. He hit .290 with 25 doubles and 54 RBIs. No utility player was chosen, but “Hot” Rod Kanehl fulfilled that function, playing second, third, short, and outfield for Dallas. He hit .295, scored 78 runs, and led the league with 28 steals. Once again, there was but a single pitcher selected for the Texas League All Star Team. And, once again, there were several other pitchers worthy of that honor, including three pitchers from Dallas (which in itself is interesting because Dallas finished fifth, one game under .500). First though, let me present Don Erickson of seventh place Tulsa. Don was in league high 72 games and went 8–9 with a 2.96 ERA. It is probably safe to say that without Dandy Don, the Oilers would not have managed to attain the rarified air of seventh. The three Dallas Rangers were Dave Hoskins, Fred Martin (who managed part of the season), and Jim Tugerson. Hoskins was ¡7–8 (never a bad mark for a sub-.500 team), with a 3.¡8 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.0. Tugerson had a ¡4–¡3 mark with an ERA of 3.33 and a league-high ¡99 strike-outs. Martin appeared in 47 games, all in relief, and was 9–8 with a good 2.84 ERA. Two Fort Worth Cats were likewise overlooked in the rush to have a single-pitcher sta›: Marcelino Solis and reliever Harry Perkowski. Solis was a terrific ¡5–2 with what would have been a leagueleading (he was ¡4 innings short of qualifying) 2.44 ERA, and ditto with a¡0.7 BR/9 ratio. Perkowski, on the downside of a career which started in ¡942, went ¡2–4 with a 2.76 ERA and a 9.7 BR/9 ratio, the only pitcher in the league with at least ¡00 IP to go under ¡0.0.

Eastern League (A) First base was close, but my calculations seem to favor LeRoy Thomas of Binghamton. His averages

were all pretty close to Matthews’s (.28¡/.449/.370), but he hit ¡7 homers and drove in 88 to Matthews’s

¡958 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF

SP SP

NAME Walt Matthews Steve Jankowski Jose Pagan Gilbert Valentin John Easton Dave Mann Paul Leslie Don Gile Roger McCardell Paul “Cooter” Jones Dale Bennetch

Bill Sta›ord Ed Drapcho

TEAM York Reading Springfield Albany Williamsport Reading York Allentown Springfield Reading Williamsport

Binghamton Reading

G 22 29

GS 22 26

G 125 121 126 125 118 132 127 106 66 129 124

AB 440 422 513 515 473 537 467 405 233 437 464

CG 11 13

465

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 124 67 192 25 5 11 76 48 2 .282 .436 .356 122 56 157 14 3 5 73 44 12 .289 .372 .358 153 68 209 27 7 5 77 25 13 .298 .407 .335 137 68 168 16 6 1 46 24 3 .266 .326 .301 152 86 243 32 10 13 69 44 4 .321 .514 .384 155 110 214 15 10 8 51 51 66 .289 .399 .355 135 62 180 19 4 6 67 40 11 .289 .385 .355 111 60 213 19 7 23 86 33 2 .274 .526 .335 72 36 106 16 0 6 36 28 1 .309 .455 .383 125 83 190 28 5 9 70 64 22 .286 .435 .385 131 73 230 25 4 22 102 66 0 .282 .496 .376

SH 2 4

W 11 14

L 7 10

% .611 .583

IP 172 195

H 134 171

ER 43 64

SO 112 138

BB 66 101

ERA 2.25 2.95

BR/9 10.5 12.6

slugged .488. The Red Rose utility man also hit ¡5 home runs and drove in 76 runners in only 90 games. Fred Koenig, handyman for the York Red Roses, played first, third, and the outfield. He hit .299 and slugged .452 with 58 RBIs. Jim Perry of Reading went ¡6–8 and was third with a 2.79 ERA and second in BR/9 ratio with a ¡0.6 figure. Another Reading pitcher, Paul Robinson, was ¡4–6 and posted the second-best ERA, 2.77. Jim Donohue was only in the league for ¡4 games (ten starts) and went 7–0 with an excellent ¡.48 ERA. Two relievers, one righty and one lefty, waited in vain for the league to recognize their e›orts. Marco “Main Man” Mainini, was in 55 games for Williamsport and went ¡0–¡0 with a 3.00 ERA. Lefty Chet Vincent was in 43 games and went 5–2 with a very good ¡.73 ERA, allowing ¡0.5 BR/9.

¡¡ and 76. A similar situation exists at second, where Al Paschal (I wish I could have found out if he was related to Ben) had .295/.358/.383 averages and scored 89 runs, 33 more than Jankowski. He had 37 fewer RBIs than Jankowski’s 73, so it seems a wash to me. There is no such double mindedness about shortstop however. Harold Charnofsky (twin brother, I believe, of Stan, who was a player/manager [for two games] in the SALLY League in ’58) had .284/.428/.403 averages and scored 93 runs, all far better than Valentin’s totals. Harold had ¡9 more errors than Gil, but I’d still go with one of the Twin Terrors. The utility selections were fine (“Cooter” played second, third, and short by the way), but two other fellows deserve a mention. Al Benza, Lancaster first baseman/second baseman/outfielder, hit .287 and

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME Bill Thompson Octavio “Cookie” Rojas Leo Burke Leo Cardenas George Alusik Charles Soraci Chuck Buheller Jack Feller No selection made Roberto Vargas Jerry Walker

TEAM Jacksonville Charleston Knoxville Savannah Augusta Macon Jacksonville Augusta

Macon Knoxville

G 30 28

GS 11 26

G 139 134 140 141 104 137 124 100 CG 8 14

AB 520 527 511 498 363 534 473 318

H 144 134 157 133 118 170 146 83

SH 1 3

Buheller was a playing manager. Like their Eastern League counterparts, the SALLY first base struggle was about as even as Oeschger and Cadore. Harry Warner of Charlotte had averages of .287, .447, and .40¡ with 8¡ runs and 88 RBIs, just about as even as you can get. I give it to Warner because his OB% crept above the .400 mark.

W 9 18

R 93 74 95 76 68 63 70 24

TB 234 192 259 213 204 214 204 105 L 4 4

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 29 5 17 83 84 5 .277 .450 .380 24 2 10 44 47 10 .254 .364 .319 33 9 17 71 57 3 .307 .507 .390 29 6 13 58 57 2 .267 .428 .347 26 3 18 88 63 3 .325 .562 .434 24 4 4 66 35 4 .318 .401 .365 18 5 10 68 25 2 .309 .431 .347 15 2 1 39 30 1 .261 .330 .325

% .692 .818

IP 126 200

H 104 164

ER 28 58

SO 97 126

BB 46 78

ERA 2.00 2.61

BR/9 10.9 11.0

At second, it may seem counterintuitive to give the spot to a .238/.299/.303 hitter, but this is one of those occasions where fielding does make that much of a di›erence. Don Domenichelli handled an outstanding 6.3 chances per game (and he also handled them well, leading the league with a FA of .973), just a superior number. And, as if to add impetus to my

466

Minor League All-Star Teams ratio of ¡0.3. Ross Carter and Fredrico Olivo ,Jacksonville teammates, were ¡7–7 and ¡5–¡¡ respectively. Olivo had an ERA of 2.64 and was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡0.9. Carter led in ERA, coming in with a fine 2.¡9. There was also a short-service pitcher (he only worked 42 innings) who allowed only 3.6 hits per nine innings, and who held opponents to a BA of .¡¡9. He also struck out an incredible 82 batters in his 42 innings. At the other end of the scale, there was a short-service pitcher who threw over two wild pitches and who walked 20.3 (!) men every nine innings, while allowing 8.8 runs over the same span. The first pitcher was Steve Dalkowski. The second pitcher was Steve Dalkowski.

choosing him over “Cookie,” despite his huge gap in SA and his smaller one in OB%, he scored 76 runs and drove in 52, outperforming the scribes choice in both categories. Dare mi Domenichelli. Carl Warwick of Macon should be added to the outfield stew. He hit only .279, but both his SA (.463) and OB% (373) are top five material, his 22 homers led the league, and his 9¡ runs were third. My catcher would have been Mike Napoli of Macon (how can one be an All Star with 24 runs?). Napoli hit only .232, but he had 52 RBIs and scored 53 runs. And, amazingly, he led the league with 29 steals! You could probably count on one hand the number of times a catcher has done that. Candido Andrade of last place Savannah was ¡5–¡2 with a 2.98 ERA and led the league with a BR/9

Western League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME R.T. “Dixie” Upright Gerald Streeter Daniel Lynk Don Prohovich Jim McAnany Stan Johnson Wm Joe Hicks Charles Staniland Ron Henry No selection made

Al Jackson Dick Lines Pedro Carrillo Hugh Blanton

TEAM Amarillo Amarillo Sioux City Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Colorado Springs Sioux City Topeka

Lincoln Pueblo Albuquerque Amarillo

G 31 24 29 37

GS 29 24 28 31

G 146 141 129 144 119 142 115 107 131

CG 16 11 18 11

AB 554 549 490 493 438 560 465 332 448

SH 4 4 5 1

Other than adding a fourth outfielder and recommending a utility player, I wouldn’t mess with the starting eight. The outfielder I would add is forty-year old Al Pinkston. Giving nothing away to age, Al led the league with 44 doubles, 330 total bases, and ¡26 RBIs. He also scored ¡¡4 runs, hit 24 homers, batted .337, and slugged .545 for the Sky Sox. At utility, I would have placed Art Cuitti, Pinkston’s Colorado Springs teammate. He caught, played third, and roamed the outfield. Art had .336/.572/.4¡5 averages, hit 24 homers, drove in ¡¡9 runs, and scored ¡0¡ (one of six Colorado Springs players who scored at least ¡00 runs). (A slight aside: What a di›erence a little altitude makes. The average altitude of the Eastern League cities was 364 feet. Binghamton was the Lhasa of the E.L. at 863 feet. The averages for the E.L. All-Stars were .289, .4¡8, and .347, with 72 homers and 545 RBIs. The average altitude of the Western league cities was 2338 feet,

H 190 156 151 147 175 204 177 106 135

R 106 113 107 106 108 120 119 68 76

W 18 10 17 20

L 9 6 6 6

TB 288 236 290 242 284 297 243 199 224

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 33 7 17 116 96 1 .343 .520 .441 28 11 10 59 85 16 .284 .430 .384 24 2 37 109 59 2 .308 .592 .385 26 3 21 98 123 9 .298 .491 .442 29 1 26 117 76 8 .400 .648 .490 35 11 12 110 60 15 .364 .530 .433 31 4 9 69 54 12 .381 .523 .455 15 0 26 79 50 1 .319 .599 .408 25 8 16 88 61 1 .301 .500 .385

% .667 .625 .739 .769

IP 230 160 206 240

H 189 148 181 292

ER 53 56 75 127

SO 162 98 177 138

BB 101 51 105 107

ERA 2.07 3.15 3.28 4.76

BR/9 11.5 11.4 12.7 15.2

topping out at 6008 for Colorado Springs [the Death Valley of the league was Des Moines, deposited at an abyssal-like 805 feet]. The W.L. had averages of .337, .536, and .433, with ¡58 homers and 757 RBIs.) Hugh Blanton may have won 20 games, but he was not a better pitcher than Dave Stenhouse (Pueblo). The Sten-man was ¡6–8 with a 2.92 ERA and a league-best (among qualifiers) BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.2. Gale Pringle of Colorado Springs was by far the league’s best reliever. He pitched in 6¡ games (he started three with three CGs), went ¡4–3 (for a league-best .842 winning percentage) and had a 2.38 ERA. (And, if you will permit another aside, Jim Derrington, ¡8, who had spent the previous two years as a bonus baby in Chicago for the White Sox, proved once again that “It’s better to be lucky that to be good” by going ¡0–8 despite having a ¡7.9 BR/9 ratio and an ERA of 7.06. When you pitch for a team that hits .3¡3 with a .422 OB% and scores 7.2 runs a game, anything is possible.)

¡958

467

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Jim Johnston Gene Elliott Joe Theis Ron Kabbes Jackie Davis Fred Valentine Manny Mota Bob Tillman Jack Bowen Bert Barth Robin Co›man

TEAM Greensboro Burlington Raleigh Winston-Salem H. P.-Thomasville Wilson Danville Raleigh Durham Wilson Danville

Byron “Jack” Taylor Roland Passaro Chris Short Don Hyman

G 111 129 134 136 106 121 103 123 87 112 134

H. P.-Thomasville Winston-Salem H. P.-Thomasville Danville

AB 384 458 487 492 391 473 385 447 303 390 512

H 109 132 141 119 118 151 116 126 84 101 159

R 73 74 56 58 74 85 63 58 42 66 88

TB 169 211 210 155 216 239 170 200 114 201 235

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 8 5 14 79 83 14 .284 .440 .411 29 4 14 83 41 13 .288 .461 .352 21 5 10 68 52 5 .290 .431 .362 19 4 3 41 57 6 .242 .315 .325 21 1 25 88 55 5 .302 .552 .391 26 7 16 55 61 27 .319 .505 .419 20 5 8 55 36 5 .301 .442 .361 18 1 18 76 36 2 .282 .447 .337 13 1 5 34 19 6 .277 .376 .324 21 2 25 68 62 4 .259 .515 .366 24 5 14 76 60 6 .311 .459 .386

G GS CG SH W L % 33 32 21 5 19 9 .679 35 27 9 3 14 6 .700 34 32 17 3 13 13 .500 32 26 17 0 18 9 .667

If there is not one Big Bopper of a first baseman, why then, why not go for the guy who comes closest to that? In the ’58 Carolina League, the man who came closest was not Johnston, it was Allen Milley of Danville. His .30¡, .475, .42¡ averages were all better than the selectee’s, as were his 94 runs, 97 RBIs, and even his ¡5 homers. I believe that I would have a pair of first sackers on the squad. Raleigh shortstop Rich Hergenrader had almost identical marks to Kabbes’s (.236/.3¡2/.359), more runs and fewer RBIs. Kabbes had more range, Hergenrader a better fielding average. Anyone for yet another tie? Outfielder Tony Curry (the second Bahamanian to make the majors, by the way) led the league with ¡68 hits and ¡06 runs for the Hi-Toms. He whacked 20 homers (third) and drove in 83 runs (sixth best in the league). Frank Wehner who roamed the greensward for Greensboro hit .284 and led the league with a .45¡ OB%. I would have selected both over Mota. Two catchers were selected by the scribes of the Carolina circuit. They went one and one. John Malangone, who caught for Greensboro, hit only

IP 264 219 243 228

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 252 90 181 67 3.07 11.1 168 72 166 117 2.96 11.9 211 71 221 93 2.63 11.7 211 93 207 112 3.67 12.9

.256, but at least his SA climbed over .400 (.4¡8) and his OB% reached a respectable .36¡. He also added ¡7 homers and 77 RBIs. Barth played first, third, outfield, and pitcher (7–5, 2.93). Co›man was an outfielder. John Aehle pitched for the last-place Durham Bulls and managed to go ¡¡–7. More importantly, he led in both ERA (¡.86) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.7). That shoulda been worth something. Gene Snyder should have been the third Hi-Tom pitcher on the squad. He was ¡4–7, 2.76, he was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.0, and he led in Ks with 234 (in only ¡96 IP). Jay Ritchie of Raleigh was the top bullpenner. He went 8–2, 2.63 in 43 games. There was also a fellow who was an extremely short-service kinda guy (only ¡4 innings). He struck out 29 (!) guys in that short span however (¡8.6/9). Opponents batted a slight .¡43 against him in those ¡4 innings. However, he also walked 38 (!) batters in those ¡4 innings (24.4/9 (!)) and had an ERA of ¡2.2¡. Who was this Jekyll/Hyde? Why, Steve Dalkowski, of course.

Northwest League (B) Layne was a playing manager. I would have had two Wenatchee outfielders on my squad, but Toboso would not have been one of them. Larry Helms hit .302, was second with a SA of .56¡, and led the league in homers (26) and RBIs (¡¡6). Joe Wilson hit .322 and had a .400 OB%. He scored 94 runs and drove in 9¡, one of only four players to top 90 (along with Helms, who scored 95 runs) in both categories. The Anthony/Hallgren/Toboso outfield has .3¡7/.486/.42¡ averages with 84 runs and 80 RBIs per man. An outfield of Hallgren/Wilson/

Helms comes in at .324/.530/.423, with 99 runs and ¡05 RBIs per man. It really doesn’t seem all that close to me (although I really dig Anthony’s first name, the only Photios I’ve ever seen, never having been to Greece). Yakima Bear backstop Pete “Gor” Gongola hit .27¡, slugged .428, and had an OB% of .380. With only a four PA di›erence twixt the two players, Gongola had eleven more RBIs, even though the Wenatchee team out-hit and out-scored Yakima on the year.

468 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Bruce McIntosh Maurice Lerner Hillis Layne Reggie Hamilton Photios Anthony Arnie Hallgren Elio Toboso John McNamara No selection made

Ted Kambour Thornton Kipper

TEAM Lewiston Yakima Lewiston Tri-City Salem Lewiston Wenatchee Lewiston

G 136 83 83 132 104 134 132 133

G 40 36

GS 26 34

Yakima Lewiston

AB 516 273 265 514 348 470 525 439

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 174 111 282 35 8 19 101 72 16 .337 .547 .421 95 48 124 15 4 2 37 40 12 .348 .454 .442 96 47 114 9 0 3 46 66 4 .362 .430 .499 159 94 213 10 4 13 59 49 50 .309 .414 .372 97 57 172 25 4 14 70 84 6 .279 .494 .422 164 108 266 35 7 18 107 102 9 .349 .566 .466 165 87 215 29 9 1 63 53 13 .314 .410 .378 117 62 147 20 2 2 63 65 2 .267 .335 .361

CG 10 32

SH 2 2

Eugene had the best utility man in the league. Dan Holden played outfield, first, and caught (he even pitched twice). He hit .284 with an OB% of .409. If a selection had been made, it is hard to see who else it would have gone to. Claude Osteen, who celebrated his eighteenth birthday while pitching for Wenatchee, was ¡4–4 (for a league best .778 winning percentage). He also struck out ¡74 batters in ¡5¡ innings, hit .326, and had ¡4 RBIs. Not bad for a player who began the sea-

W 14 23

L 9 11

% .609 .676

IP 197 282

H 210 269

ER 86 85

SO 183 193

BB 65 74

ERA 3.93 2.71

BR/9 12.7 11.0

son to young to be drafted (I’m talking about the military draft here. Does that age me or what?). Pitcher/manager Vernon Kindsfather of Salem (which finished last, 42 games under .500) went ¡5–¡2 and was tenth with a ERA of 3.50. When he was not involved in the decision, Salem played .293 ball. The melodiously monikered Bailey Brem was ¡5–9 for Eugene with a 3.03 ERA. He was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.6.

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Don Mincher Bobby Knoop Bab Sagers Harry Wallace Frank Howard Richard Lombardi Lee Handley Gordy “Moose” Massa Chuck Lindstrom No selection made

Charles “Bob” Hendley Bill Hamilton Bill Rouse Robert Sedlak

TEAM Davenport Cedar rapids Davenport Green Bay Green Bay Davenport Burlington Burlington Davenport

G 128 121 126 115 129 111 108 105 127

AB 476 417 520 433 487 400 384 294 475

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 156 101 259 29 2 23 97 79 5 .328 .544 .431 114 63 159 22 1 7 61 41 3 .273 .381 .346 180 102 278 41 3 17 75 61 13 .346 .535 .418 126 96 190 16 9 10 48 56 12 .291 .439 .375 162 104 311 34 2 37 119 81 2 .333 .639 .431 118 64 230 26 4 26 97 60 3 .295 .575 .395 116 61 198 27 2 17 74 64 1 .302 .516 .402 93 41 127 19 0 5 35 67 0 .316 .432 .449 131 73 206 21 6 14 71 44 3 .276 .434 .344

Cedar rapids Cedar rapids Davenport Green Bay

G GS CG SH W L % IP 25 20 13 2 14 5 .737 157 32 29 17 3 15 10 .600 227 29 27 17 1 14 11 .560 213 38 30 18 2 15 16 .484 216

I’m afraid that Carlos “Little Potato” Pascual would have to be my third base choice. Sagers had ¡37 more PAs than the Fox Cities Phantom, yet Pascual had eight more RBIs. He hit 27 homers, batted .372 to lead the league, had a SA of .63¡, good for second, and an OB% of .44¡, third in the league. John Stratton, Cedar Rapids shortstop, had .30¡, .444, and .40¡ averages. He also had 70 RBIs. I would have at least considered him for a III Dream Team slot. I would also have considered (and then chosen) Horace Garner for an outfield spot. His .3¡3, .589,

H ER 145 49 190 55 199 94 202 100

SO BB ERA BR/9 142 62 2.81 12.2 183 57 2.18 10.0 110 90 3.97 12.5 192 114 4.17 13.3

.409 marks are better than Handley’s and he blasted 27 homers. A change at catcher also seems in order. Richard Rogers, who played for Rochester/Winona, hit a low .246, but he walked a league best ¡33 times for a league-topping .458 OB%. He also had some power, as his 27 homers and .52¡ SA show. He scored 8¡ runs on only 86 hits. The pitching sta› was about the best you could find in the old III. Vince Zeimis was the best reliever, appearing in 42 games for Davenport. He went ¡0–3 with an ERA of 2.97.

¡958

469

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UTIF

SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Richard Beall John Scarmaglia Tom Dotterer Bobby Wine Barton Dupon Willard Fox Carlos Dore Tom Johnson S. O’Neil Wilson Thomas Humber

Alvin Spearman Dale Ziegler Bob Gontkosky Leonardo Fergunson Frederick Rick

TEAM Visalia Fresno Visalia Bakersfield Bakersfield Reno Stockton Visalia Fresno Reno

G 83 136 121 112 130 137 138 124 137 81

Stockton Modesto Bakersfield Modesto S. Jose/L. Vegas

AB 279 569 460 440 495 584 556 440 548 341

H 87 179 144 137 157 175 175 139 191 129

R 57 109 93 78 103 118 97 67 101 99

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 177 18 3 22 70 88 2 .312 .634 .480 210 18 5 1 84 83 26 .315 .369 .406 180 17 5 3 83 96 12 .313 .391 .441 205 13 11 11 75 50 4 .311 .466 .382 312 27 4 40 136 92 9 .317 .630 .427 247 28 16 4 90 39 24 .300 .423 .350 230 22 6 7 69 67 38 .315 .414 .401 177 21 1 5 79 69 3 .316 .402 .414 289 50 12 8 133 62 3 .349 .527 .418 200 29 12 6 60 50 38 .378 .587 .462

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 31 28 28 2 20 9 .690 246 222 71 150 59 2.60 10.4 29 27 16 0 13 11 .542 208 171 83 180 195 3.59 16.2 35 33 18 3 19 7 .731 252 232 108 272 184 3.86 15.0 37 33 26 1 23 8 .742 291 229 97 302 134 3.00 11.5 40 20 12 2 17 7 .708 209 239 76 144 59 3.27 13.0

It’s hard to turn down a spot for a guy who had ¡28 runs and who walked ¡58 times for a spot, but that’s just what happened to Fresno First baseman Bob Farley. He hit .3¡9, had 88 RBIs, and a league-topping .490 OB%, yet the spot went to Beall, and I can’t say that I disagree. Perhaps two slots should have been allocated to ensure that Farley’s extraordinary walk/OB% figures would not fade into the mists of what once was. (An aside: It has long been rumored that the picture on “Dutch” Dotterer’s ¡96¡ Topps card is actually that of his brother Tom. I managed to find Tom’s address, and put the question to him. Unfortunately, Mr. Dotterer was disinclined to respond.) Bakersfield outfielder Bill McGuckin sported .303/.443/.434 averages, stole 35 bases, and scored ¡¡4 runs. He had just about the same season that Fox, Dore, and Johnson had. I am not sure how the voters distinguished between these four and decided to omit McGuckin, but it is a task beyond my limited abilities to do so. Wilson played all ¡37 of his games at catcher, so

please take note of his 50 doubles. I do believe he was the last catcher to reach that standard. Humber played second and third. No fewer than nineteen pitchers in the ’58 Cal league walked over ¡00 batters. In fact, five walked over ¡50, including (as you can see) two of the AllStar selections. I would have selected two other hurlers before I went with Ziegler’s ¡6.2 BR/9 figure for a Dream Team spot. Fellow southpaw John Dewald of Bakersfield was ¡5–5, 3.60 with a ¡2.7 BR/9 ratio, not especially good but still 3 and a half fewer base runners every nine innings than Zeigler, a not inconsiderable figure. Pete Hernandez of Visalia was ¡8–¡3 with a 2.95 ERA and was third in the league with a ¡2.¡ BR/9 ratio. Either or both would more than make up for leaving Ziegler o› of the sta›. Please note Spearman’s 28 complete games in 28 starts. By the way, (the unselected) Hernandez hit .288 with 22 RBIs, and (the selected) Fergunson hit .299 with 2¡ RBIs.

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Joe Martin Don Brummer Julio Gotay Mike da la Hoz Matty Alou Manny Jimenez William “Will” Williams Johhny Orsino Jimmy Scha›er No selection made

TEAM Duluth-Superior Fargo-Moorhead Winnipeg Minot St. Cloud Eau Claire Minot St. Cloud Winnipeg

SP Robert “Bo” Belinsky Aberdeen SP Gary Willison Winnipeg

G 123 119 115 122 124 105 114 110 109

AB 464 480 449 473 448 415 437 401 404

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 153 78 228 27 9 10 86 61 10 .330 .491 .415 151 119 196 14 8 5 68 63 16 .315 .408 .400 145 96 250 23 5 24 95 57 17 .323 .557 .421 149 95 209 24 9 6 62 82 3 .315 .442 .420 144 92 179 13 5 4 52 84 36 .321 .400 .439 141 83 225 31 4 15 71 31 3 .340 .542 .406 144 88 233 22 14 13 95 57 17 .330 .533 .429 117 73 200 21 1 20 88 50 0 .292 .499 .374 125 85 212 26 2 19 87 60 7 .309 .525 .400

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 27 24 15 4 10 14 .417 181 148 45 184 79 2.24 11.7 33 31 21 3 19 9 .679 235 225 102 136 115 3.91 13.3

470

Minor League All-Star Teams

H. Glen Merklen, Fargo-Moorhead first baseman, was out-hit by Martin by 76 points .254–.330) yet was a mere eight points back in OB% (.407–.4¡5). But Merklen doubled Martin’s homer output with 20 and had ¡04 RBIs, ¡8 more than Martin. Despite the hitting discrepancy, Merklen would be my choice. I had Gotay as the utility man on my early version of the Northern League All Star team (Gotay played short, second and third). At third, I had Emil Fiore of St. Cloud who hit .293 with 72 runs and 76 RBIs. Since there is no utility man on the squad, I would put Gotay at third to get his bat in the line-up. Some good pitchers were left of o› the sta› roster. Julius “Swampfire” Grant, Mudcat’s’ little

brother, was ¡8–9 with a 3.32 ERA and ¡5¡ strikeouts. Ernie Christo›, Eau Claire, was ¡5–4 (for a league-leading .789 %) and had a good 2.80 ERA. Gaylord Perry (St. Cloud) was a mediocre 9–5, but was second in ERA (2.39) and had the best BR/9 ratio in the league with a ¡0.5 mark. There was also a short-service (62 innings) pitcher who allowed only 4.2 H/9 and who held opponents to a .¡35 BA while averaging a dynamite ¡7.6 (!) srtike-outs every nine innings. There was a shortservice pitcher who walked ¡6.3 (!) batters every nine innings and who allowed 20.5 BR/9. The first name of the first pitcher was Steve, and the last name of the last pitcher was Dalkowski.

Pioneer League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Norman Shill Lou Klimchock Tom Brown Alex George Chuck Weatherspoon Bill DiCrosta Jackson Queen Bob Uecker Doug Camilli Frank Franchi

Don “1984” Orwiler Jim Kaat

TEAM Pocatello Pocatello Boise Pocatello Missoula Billings Idaho Falls Boise Great Falls Idaho Falls

Missoula Missoula

G 34 39

G 135 115 130 132 118 122 100 92 109 124 GS 22 30

AB 489 506 488 556 442 480 382 325 404 421 CG 14 15

H 144 197 136 157 153 160 131 108 127 148 SH 0 5

I know, I know: I’ve been saying for several hundred pages that first base is a PPP (Power/Production Position), yet here I am trying to make a case for fellow with five homers and 53 RBIs. Well, for one thing, Billy Smith also managed Boise and led them to both the pennant and the play-o› championship, and that has to count for something. But, even if that were not the case, I’d still be stumping for the .3¡5 hitting, .440 slugging Smith. You see, he walked ¡39 times and was plunked a further ¡5 times, giving him a .500 OB%, and I can’t see leaving one of that rare breed o› the team. The Hot Corner was crowded with worthies in the Pioneer league of ¡958. John Osborne (Great Falls) hit .293 and matched Brown’s .40¡ OB%. He scored ¡¡4 runs, but only had 49 RBIs. Aurelio Ala (Pocatello) hit a dynamite .364, slugged a robust .527, and got on base .449 percent of the time. He also scored ¡05 runs and drove in ¡¡8 (the league’s top figure). Art Burnett (Billings) hit .336 and slugged .526 with 73 RBIs and ¡¡7 runs. Thanks to ¡27 walks, he had a very good .483 OB. I would have had to have two representatives at third: Ala and Burnett, with Brown third.

R 105 123 101 120 99 75 83 79 76 88

TB 234 312 235 263 295 231 180 200 209 221

W 13 16

L 10 9

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 22 4 20 101 93 2 .294 .479 .422 24 8 25 112 43 4 .389 .617 .439 29 2 22 112 93 4 .279 .482 .401 21 8 23 90 81 5 .282 .473 .377 27 5 35 113 73 5 .346 .667 .444 22 5 13 92 32 16 .333 .481 .377 19 6 6 73 52 18 .343 .471 .428 19 5 21 78 63 2 .332 .615 .442 22 3 18 95 43 8 .314 .517 .380 30 5 11 109 106 8 .352 .525 .486 % .565 .640

IP 199 223

H 225 189

ER 79 74

SO 142 245

BB 55 118

ERA 3.57 2.99

BR/9 13.0 12.8

Weatherspoon played only 40 games in the outfield, and also played first, second, third, and caught. He would definitely been my utility choice in addition to Franchi. Then I would put Charles Pruitt (Pocatello) in the outfield. He hit for .306, .484, and .400 averages, scored ¡08 runs, and drove in ¡0¡. The Pioneer was also strong in catchers, there being two other men who, in many years in many other leagues, would themselves have been Chosen Men. Bob “Buck” Rogers, who would go on to a long career with the Angels, hit .304 with a dozen homers and also scored 73 runs with 74 RBIs for Idaho Falls. Tony Cannizzo of Pocatello hit .280, but, thanks to 24 homers and 92 walks, slugged .538 with a .432 OB%. He scored 78 runs and knocked in 75. I see no escape from having a mighty four-man catching sta›. Franchi played first, third, and outfield. Unselected manager/first baseman/third baseman/pitcher Dick Wilson of Magic Valley hit .365, slugged .628, and had an OB% of .470. He had ¡7 homers and 78 RBIs in his ¡0¡ games. My solution here, as elsewhere in the ’58 edition Pioneer League Roster of Immortals, is to add Wilson, which, with the shift of Weath-

¡958

471

I would add George Schmid of Idaho Falls to the sta›. Only ¡0–7, his 3.67 ERA was fourth and his ¡0.9 BR/9 ratio first in the league.

erspoon, gives us three (worthy) Utility Men of Power and Might. Kaat hit .273 with ¡6 RBIs, Orwiler .337 with 27 RBIs (he also slugged .500).

Alabama-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Leo Smith Francis Traill Charlie Strange Al Caesar R. “Brandy” Davis Nesbit Wilson Teolindo Acosta Robert Catton Reinaldo Oliver No selection made

Paul Underwood Tom Kelleher

TEAM Montgomery Selma Montgomery Columbus Columbus F.W.B.-Pensacola Dothan Columbus Dothan

Graceville Selma

G 28 33

G 124 118 80 18 112 119 124 51 115

GS 24 26

AB 462 415 309 64 365 409 520 161 420

CG 13 21

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 137 85 218 29 5 14 85 69 10 .297 .472 .394 114 69 170 24 7 6 74 48 5 .275 .410 .357 91 44 121 17 5 1 36 32 3 .294 .392 .363 19 12 33 3 1 3 16 5 0 .297 .516 .357 125 100 163 20 6 2 45 86 26 .342 .447 .470 162 102 278 38 2 24 106 87 3 .396 .680 .513 163 95 206 19 3 6 76 50 36 .313 .396 .379 56 33 86 11 2 5 34 26 4 .348 .534 .456 129 84 185 21 7 7 65 43 15 .307 .440 .380

SH 4 4

W 13 20

L 10 6

% .565 .769

IP 185 217

H 122 159

ER 59 56

SO 215 160

BB 121 81

ERA 2.87 2.32

BR/9 12.6 10.2

F.W.B. is Fort Walton Beach.

manager J.C. Dunn hit .330, was fifth in runs with 86, and second in RBIs with 89 while playing outfield, first, and second. Seems to fit the bill to me. A four man sta› would have been both justified and apropos. Selma’s Frank Roland went ¡9–7 with a league-leading ERA and a second-place ¡0.8 BR/9 figure. Jim Lehew of Pensacola was 20–9 with a 3.¡¡ ERA and was the third sub-¡¡ BR/9 man in the league with a mark of ¡0.9.

Davis was a playing manager, and Wilson managed at Fort Walton Beach. All of the league scribes may have hailed Cæsar, but ¡8 games does not an All-Star season for me make. Al Rodriguez (Panama City) had .309/.430/ .429 averages and scored 7¡ runs, and is my shortstop. Please take note of Wilson’s very good SA and his better-than-very-good .5¡3 OB%. There was no utility man selected, but Pensacola

Appalachian League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Charles Leonard George Williams Bill Schnellbaecher Danny Cater Dan Branson Francisco Coimbre Dan Casteen Jesus O. McFarlane No selection made

Bill Hofmeister John Pregenzer

TEAM Salem Johnson City Wytheville Johnson City Wytheville Salem Johnson City Salem

Johnson City Salem

G 16 14

G 67 60 42 68 37 55 58 68

GS 14 9

AB 253 230 136 261 153 206 185 218

CG 9 4

H 83 83 50 90 59 65 53 68

R 50 44 30 70 44 45 30 54

SH 0 0

Appy League pitchers recorded 2758 strike-outs in 2898 innings, 8.6 every nine innings. The average game saw ¡5.3 batters go down on strikes (the di›erence between the per inning rate and the per game rate is due to the fact that some games were seven inning jobs, as is the minor league custom). Dennis Bennett, who I believe formed half of a brother battery with his brother Charles, was 7–3 with league bests in ERA (¡.52) and BR/9 (9.8). He

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 132 13 3 10 52 26 17 .328 .522 .393 101 8 2 2 46 26 14 .361 .439 .428 81 6 2 7 38 24 3 .368 .596 .469 153 13 4 14 68 27 5 .345 .586 .412 104 10 4 9 40 15 2 .386 .680 .450 113 12 6 8 37 28 6 .316 .549 .405 84 6 5 5 20 20 6 .286 .454 .356 109 9 4 8 42 29 26 .312 .500 .412

W 11 6

L 2 2

% .846 .750

IP 108 78

H 99 74

ER 39 25

SO 87 76

BB 55 25

ERA 3.25 2.88

BR/9 13.0 12.1

had 92 Ks in 77 IP. Bob Hellmer, like Bennett a Johnson City hurler, was 9–2 with an ERA of 2.63. He averaged ¡¡.¡ Ks per 9 IP with ¡0¡ in 82 innings. There was a short-service pitcher who toiled for Salem, getting five starts in his eight games. He averaged ¡4.4 Ks per nine innings, but unfortunately, he also averaged 27.5 (Sacred Bovine!) walks and 39.6 BR/9, as well as 20.4 runs, 8.4 wild pitches and 4.2 hit batsmen every nine IP (his WPs and HBs kept his

472

Minor League All-Star Teams

ERA down to ¡5.60). The name of this wildman? No, not Steve Dalkowski (although I’ll bet a lot of readers went down that path, but the paucity of strike-

outs should have been a clue), but Preston Bruce. No legend he.

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME German Pizarro Pedro Gonzalez George Banks Tom Tresh Jim Niemann Clarence Bartunek Art Pennington Charles Jennings Jesus Torres Jorge Talavera Jim Horsford

TEAM G’Ville-Tampa St. Petersburg St. Petersburg St. Petersburg Palatka CoCoa St. Petersburg Daytona Beach Daytona Beach

G 125 142 141 126 120 121 128 135 104

G 35 22

GS 26 21

Daytona Beach St. Petersburg

AB 428 561 454 440 406 422 419 434 343

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 133 98 253 25 10 25 112 112 6 .311 .591 .456 162 117 198 16 5 3 44 31 31 .289 .353 .335 143 111 245 24 15 16 113 92 14 .315 .540 .434 139 108 186 24 9 5 67 92 5 .316 .423 .439 138 88 187 15 2 10 68 51 23 .340 .461 .419 136 93 236 29 4 21 89 61 11 .322 .559 .410 142 94 208 26 7 8 93 77 12 .339 .496 .449 131 58 164 15 9 0 56 47 6 .302 .378 .374 95 54 136 19 5 4 46 23 7 .277 .397 .330

CG 17 21

SH 0 4

W 18 18

L 8 3

% .692 .857

IP 201 182

H 188 127

ER 66 39

SO 148 132

BB 59 53

ERA 2.96 1.93

BR/9 11.4 9.0

G’ville is Gainesville.

The selection of position players was right on. Utility man Torres played first, second, outfield, catcher, and even pitched in six games (he was ¡–¡). Banks, you may be interested to know, hit two bases loaded triples in the fifth inning of a game on May seventh. The pitching choices were also good; there just weren’t enough of them. The Tampa Tarpon tandem of Bob Cruze and Harry Coe were both ¡8–¡2. Coe

had a 2.4¡ ERA (fourth best in the FSL) and a BR/9 ratio of 9.7 (second). Cruze had an ERA of 2.36 (third) and a BR/9 ratio of 9.8 (also third). Art “Swede” Henriksen was ¡7–3, .850, and was second in ERA with a 2.¡2 mark and fourth in BR/9 allowed with a mark of ¡0.2. Horsford, by the way, hit .327, slugged .500, hit four homers, and had 26 RBIs. Notice also his 2¡ CGs in 2¡ starts.

Georgia-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME David Bedner Jim Hatfield John Simicich Dick McAuli›e Bob Boyer T. Michael Shannon Michæl Stopchuck Don Ewin William Morton Charles Julian No selection made Cecil Butler Ronald Pearson Warren Roddenberry Joel McDaniel

TEAM Dublin B’wick-Waycross Brunswick Valdosta Albany Albany Brunswick Dublin Albany Thomasville

Waycross Dublin Albany Valdosta

G 26 36 26 39

G 124 103 119 96 125 62 114 56 126 115 GS 21 28 22 20

AB 469 393 436 336 452 245 446 225 440 374 CG 16 15 8 10

H 128 135 156 96 132 79 141 79 117 117 SH 2 2 3 3

First baseman/manager Mo Mozzali led Albany to an 86–4¡, .677 record. He himself hit .335 and scored ¡00 runs and was second in OB% (.4846 to Simicich’s .4852). I would have given him the spot. By the way, please take note of Bedner’s very un-first baseman-like 32 steals. Here’s a shocker: The best pitcher in the Ga-Fla League didn’t (repeat, did not) make the All-Star

R 103 77 104 70 107 50 102 62 79 73 W 14 15 11 15

TB 197 183 232 147 256 118 210 118 166 163 L 6 13 7 8

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 17 2 16 96 90 32 .273 .420 .395 17 2 10 58 54 8 .344 .466 .427 25 3 15 104 103 5 .358 .532 .485 17 5 8 62 82 9 .286 .438 .430 20 4 32 121 96 21 .292 .566 .419 15 3 6 54 25 8 .322 .482 .385 22 7 11 105 61 3 .316 .471 .407 12 3 7 43 47 0 .351 .524 .463 25 0 8 66 79 5 .266 .377 .379 17 4 7 80 98 2 .313 .436 .460 % .700 .536 .611 .652

IP 177 228 161 184

H 151 251 156 192

ER 47 100 66 86

SO 115 139 90 102

BB 43 104 120 100

ERA BR/9 2.39 10.0 3.95 14.1 3.69 15.7 4.21 14.6

Team. In this case, it was Eugene Burroughs of Valdosta. His numbers were ¡3–7, ¡.66, 9.9. He allowed but 5.¡ hits per nine innings. I would also have selected George Werley, former Oriole bonus baby, over several who won a spot on the team, despite his 4.28 ERA. For one thing, he led the league in wins with ¡6, and his BR/9 ratio of ¡2.2 was better (or far better) than guys chosen ahead of him.

¡958

473

Midwest League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF

SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Fred Whitfield Tony Christopher Napoleon Savinon Don Williams Larry Elliott Gustave Sancimino Lou Johnson Bob Smith Jim Napier Lorenzo Fernandez Seymour Bonem

Bob Butterfield Harvey Branch Juan Marichal Barney Kunert Hal Kolstad

TEAM Keokuk Dubuque Kokomo Kokomo Clinton Kokomo Paris Clinton Dubuque Decatur Keokuk

Kokomo Paris Michigan City Clinton Waterloo

G 123 123 116 118 124 115 105 119 113 111 121 G 23 27 35 19 32

AB 486 467 428 427 423 427 395 416 402 414 487 GS 18 20 28 18 23

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 150 89 258 22 5 23 118 57 6 .309 .531 .397 140 98 230 23 2 21 81 56 22 .300 .493 .384 109 75 160 19 3 9 51 55 4 .255 .374 .348 121 71 170 14 4 9 55 76 8 .283 .398 .398 123 87 201 18 6 16 82 105 .291 .475 .432 129 88 237 17 2 29 99 61 2 .302 .555 .392 144 103 226 23 7 15 77 44 35 .365 .572 .448 104 47 155 18 3 9 66 40 5 .250 .373 .323 102 73 186 20 5 18 79 55 11 .254 .463 .353 118 74 152 18 5 2 43 55 3 .285 .367 .385 162 99 194 16 5 2 50 74 12 .333 .398 .424

CG 13 12 24 10 14

SH 2 2 3 1 1

W 13 12 21 6 16

L 6 9 8 7 7

% .684 .571 .724 .462 .696

IP 146 167 245 134 198

H 120 122 200 104 126

ER 46 50 51 38 52

SO 101 213 246 146 250

BB 50 102 50 60 95

ERA 2.84 2.69 1.87 2.55 2.36

BR/9 10.8 12.1 9.3 11.5 10.7

stad averaged ¡¡.4 K/9, Branch ¡¡.5. The sta› as a whole joined the League of K-Super Heroes, becoming the third (sixth?) sta› to average more than a strike-out an inning with 956 in 890 IP, 9.7 K/9. Not bad.

A very well chosen team. I would only add pitcher H. Scott Breeden of Kokomo. He was second to Marichal in wins, ERA, and BR/9 with ¡7, 2.09, and 9.8 respectively. His ¡7–5 record was good enough to lead in winning percent with a .773 mark. Kol-

Nebraska State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP

NAME J. Keith Williams Joe Teague Ron Debus Larry “Fulla” Bulla Ed Gary Kent Hathaway Hugh Mendez Robert Biedermann Ron Staples No selection made Tom Gensauer Ceferino Foy

TEAM North Platte North Platte Grand Island North Platte Kearney North Platte McCook McCook Lexington

North Platte McCook

G 14 20

G 63 51 60 61 57 63 55 50 50

AB 258 172 211 233 223 215 139 148 156

GS 14 9

CG 9 6

H 76 44 83 75 69 80 37 44 39 SH 2 2

Hal Ritchie, McCook first baseman, came in at .3¡9 with a .464 OB%. He drove in 50 runs and scored 62. Roger Schmandt (eight letters, one vowel, one syllable) of Kearney hit .336 and had an OB% of .455. He scored 59 runs and even managed to top his fellow second baseman in RBIs with 22. Those two would have been the right side of my infield. Gensauer and Foy are fine, but I would add two

R 52 47 55 68 47 58 40 23 30

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 135 13 5 12 72 25 0 .295 .523 .368 51 5 1 0 16 64 2 .256 .297 .469 108 13 3 2 38 42 3 .393 .512 .496 107 12 10 0 33 41 6 .322 .459 .436 119 12 4 10 50 21 8 .309 .534 .374 119 16 4 5 52 58 5 .372 .553 .507 51 6 4 0 18 27 28 .266 .367 .393 66 10 3 2 32 25 2 .297 .446 .402 59 11 0 3 29 40 1 .250 .378 .409 W 10 10

L 1 1

% .909 .909

IP 106 98

H 64 80

ER 28 30

SO 118 78

BB 43 52

ERA 2.38 2.76

BR/9 9.3 12.6

more arms to the sta›. Larry Del Margo (Kearney) led the league with a 2.25 ERA and was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡0.5 and was 7–3. Bill Spanswick was 7–4 with a 3.¡3 ERA, but that does not tell the full Spanswickian story. He gave up a low 4.7 hits per nine innings, opponents hit .¡5¡ against him, and he led the league with ¡42 strike-outs in 92 innings, a cool ¡3.9 K/9 ratio.

New York-Pennsylvania League (D) I would replace Panero with Marion “Bud” Zipfel of Auburn. The Zipper had a lower BA (.27¡) but a higher everything else: .479 SA, .398 OB%, 74 runs, 89 RBIs, and 2¡ home runs, the latter two being fourth and tied for third in the NYP.

Bush was the league’s best reliever, no doubt. But the league’s best pitcher was Ed Banach of Wellsville. He was ¡3–¡ (.929) and led the league in ERA with ¡.92 (.69 better than the number two man, Risenhoover) and in BR/9 allowed (with a mark of ¡0.522

474 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Harold Jones William Wyatt Ray Greisheimer Zoilo Versalles Ray “Corky” Withrow Marcial Allen Harry Panero Merritt Ranew William Maupin No selection made

Bob Risenhoover Wally Bush

TEAM Batavia Batavia Geneva Elmira Wellsville Wellsville Geneva Wellsville Erie

Geneva Geneva

G 33 57

G 122 123 114 124 117 121 122 117 71

GS 28 5

AB 489 483 404 497 447 465 426 467 256

CG 11 2

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 160 91 271 33 6 22 97 28 10 .327 .554 .370 145 103 192 20 3 7 51 78 56 .300 .398 .401 103 79 174 18 1 17 57 82 2 .255 .431 .383 145 71 192 18 7 5 50 59 19 .292 .386 .373 132 104 258 24 2 32 142 81 8 .295 .577 .405 139 95 214 37 4 10 89 71 14 .299 .460 .397 124 61 161 19 3 4 50 55 7 .291 .378 .382 135 56 207 34 4 10 79 36 3 .289 .443 .343 75 44 138 13 4 14 54 25 0 .293 .539 .360

SH 0 0

W 20 11

to Bush’s ¡0.524). Who could have imagined that a scribble of scribes would overlook the best pitcher

L 8 5

% .714 .688

IP 248 145

H 194 134

ER 72 52

SO 236 53

BB 93 64

ERA 2.61 3.23

BR/9 10.5 12.4

in the league when deciding on an All-Star team? It is purely incomprehensible.

! ¡959 ! In ¡959, there were 2¡ leagues in the National Association. 20 of them (95%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Jim Gentile Elijah “Pumpsie” Green Steve Demeter Ray Bellino Bob Will Arthur Lee Maye Chuck Tanner Luciean Clinton Camilo Carreon Bob Oldis Ossie Virgil

George Maranda Earl Wilson Jack Spring Carl Thomas Ed Donnelly Dean Stone Don Lee

TEAM St. Paul Minneapolis Charleston Fort Worth Fort Worth Louisville Minneapolis Minneapolis Indianapolis Denver Charleston

Louisville Minneapolis Dallas Indianapolis Denver Omaha Charleston

G 34 21 39 13 31 24 36

G 151 98 137 160 162 94 152 151 145 135 154 GS 25 16 32 12 31 18 30

AB 531 350 512 562 605 348 549 517 531 453 554 CG 11 4 12 6 17 9 11

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 153 80 272 26 6 27 87 84 2 .288 .512 .390 112 77 155 16 3 7 31 75 11 .320 .443 .441 151 79 219 25 2 13 77 36 0 .295 .428 .341 123 64 168 20 2 7 43 88 2 .219 .299 .327 203 101 278 32 5 11 77 96 0 .336 .460 .431 118 64 210 23 9 17 79 37 3 .339 .603 .406 175 79 272 41 10 12 78 65 6 .319 .495 .391 130 65 223 23 5 20 77 50 7 .251 .431 .321 165 70 227 22 5 10 91 44 8 .311 .427 .366 133 59 174 29 3 2 65 56 4 .294 .384 .375 149 57 196 19 2 8 49 43 5 .269 .354 .325 SH 1 0 6 2 3 3 4

Bellino, even with his horrid .2¡9/.299/.327 averages was the best shortstop in the league. Incredible, isn’t it? In his defense, he did dish out 5¡2 assists, which is good in any league. Now, about that outfield… I would have selected Jim Fridley (Houston) over Clinton. He out-hit Lu by 3¡ points (.282–.25¡), out-slugged him by 87 points (.5¡8–.43¡), and out-on based him by 30 points (.35¡–.32¡). He also had 26 homers and 80 RBIs. I would take Luis Marquez (Dallas) over Tanner. He out-hit Chuck by 26 points (.345–.3¡9), out-

W 18 10 15 7 14 9 14

L 6 2 13 2 10 6 9

% .750 .833 .536 .778 .583 .600 .609

IP 207 113 238 95 229 121 194

H 170 85 239 71 237 117 202

ER 57 48 76 29 90 52 77

SO 130 129 97 55 95 81 115

BB 62 84 62 38 70 63 59

ERA 2.48 3.82 2.87 2.75 3.54 3.87 3.57

BR/9 10.3 13.7 11.5 10.7 12.5 13.7 12.4

slugged him by ¡9 points (.5¡4–.495), and out-on based him by ¡7 points (.408–.39¡). The Will/Maye/ Marquez/Fridley foursome outperforms the Will/ Maye/Tanner/Clinton foursome as follows: .3¡9–.3¡0 in BA, .503–.487 in SA, .393–.388 in OB%, and 72–60 in homers. Virgil played first, second, third, short, and outfield. Gentlemen! Behold! A seven man sta› which manages to overlook not only three pitchers better than at least three of those selected, but also has no

¡959

475

Fred “Lefty” Baczewski of Dallas was in 68 games, and though he was only 2–7, he had a good 2.46 ERA and an above average ¡¡.¡ BR/9 ratio. George “Righty” Spencer set a new A.A. record by appearing in 85 games. He was ¡¡–7 with a 2.98 ERA and a good ¡0.0 BR/9 ratio.

place for a reliever. I have no idea how the selectors managed that trick. Ben Johnson (Fort Worth) was ¡7–8, 3.22, ¡2.3, better than Donnelly, Stone, and Lee. Mario Fricano (Dallas) was ¡2–4, 2.02, 9.9 (the latter two league bests, and better than all seven selectees. Tom Borland (Minneapolis) was ¡4–8, 2.73, ¡0.6. Better than all but Maranda. And we haven’t even gotten to the relievers in the mist yet.

International League (AAA) POS NAME

TEAM

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

Bu›alo Rich.-Montreal Miami Bu›alo Bu›alo Montreal Rochester Bu›alo

SP SP

Frank Herrera Curt Roberts Forest Smith Ruben Amaro Bobby Del Greco E. “Sandy” Amoros Charlie James Jimmie Coker No selection made Bill Short F.D.R. Wieand

Richmond Havana

G AB

G 27 38

151 138 156 119 152 151 152 111

GS 26 28

569 500 563 423 542 519 607 376

CG 10 13

H

R

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB

187 104 346 42 3 148 84 217 34 1 154 67 255 49 2 109 59 142 18 3 155 109 268 48 1 156 99 277 33 5 182 96 294 32 13 108 60 181 22 3

SH 3 2

Please notice that, not only did “Pancho” Herrera win the Triple Crown, he also led in SA and OB%. Clyde Parris, if I may be blunt, should have been the third baseman on this team. The Montreal slugger, in 7¡ fewer PAs than Smith, had more runs (7¡), more RBIs (90), and more homers (23). He also outaveraged Smith with .299/.453/.356 marks. I’d visit Parris for my I.L. hot corner guardian, ’59 edition. No utility man was selected. One existed: Bobby Morgan, Bison all-purpose infielder. He hit .262, but knocked 2¡ homers and drove in 83 runs. The two best starter, and, of course, the two best relievers, were unchosen. Columbus Jets teammates

W 12 16

L 9 11

% .571 .593

IP 182 217

37 128 11 56 16 79 3 31 21 72 26 79 18 79 15 64 H 153 187

ER 64 77

BA

SA OB%

73 8 .329 .608 42 11 .296 .434 59 3 .274 .453 44 4 .258 .336 88 5 .286 .494 89 14 .301 .534 38 10 .300 .484 39 5 .287 .481 SO 130 123

BB 57 70

ERA 3.16 3.19

.413 .354 .346 .330 .408 .408 .345 .360 BR/9 10.6 10.9

Joe Gibbon and Alvin Jackson were the starters. Gibbon was ¡6–9 and had an ERA of 2.60. He led the league in strike-outs with ¡52 and was second in BR/9 allowed with 9.9. Jackson was second in ERA (2.33), third in BR/9 ratio (¡0.¡) and led in winning percentage, .789 on a ¡5–4 record. The relievers were Artie Kay of Miami and Luis Arroyo of Havana. Kay pitched enough innings in his 55 games to win the ERA title with a 2.08 mark and also win the BR/9 crown, coming in at 9.6. Luis Arroyo was only 8–9 in his 4¡ games for Havana, but the “crafty little lefty” had an eye-popping ¡.¡5 ERA and allowed only 9.0 BR/9.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP

NAME Steve Bilko Jim Baumer George Freese Bob Lillis Sam Miley Tommy Davis Joe Taylor Allen Jones Hal Bevan No selection made Jake Striker Dick Hall

TEAM Spokane Salt Lake City Portland Spokane Salt Lake City Spokane Vancouver San Diego Seattle

San Diego Salt Lake City

G 34 27

G 135 149 120 103 138 153 110 106 116 GS 25 27

AB 478 553 453 406 514 612 401 345 370 CG 8 19

H 146 154 135 116 171 211 117 87 119 SH 1 6

Bilko was a PCL legend, no doubt. But Willie McCovey (Phoenix) did some serious damage in the 95

R 76 73 65 50 78 90 70 37 47 W 12 18

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 250 24 1 26 92 72 2 .305 .523 .396 233 28 6 13 79 52 6 .278 .421 .347 217 17 1 21 80 46 2 .298 .479 .370 154 17 6 3 27 16 4 .286 .379 .316 223 39 2 3 62 38 0 .333 .434 .381 315 32 9 18 78 40 21 .345 .515 .388 215 25 2 23 77 59 10 .292 .536 .385 149 17 0 15 77 30 1 .252 .432 .312 178 16 2 13 55 29 0 .322 .481 .373 L 8 5

% .600 .783

IP 191 217

H 178 162

ER 60 45

SO 123 128

BB 68 28

ERA 2.83 1.87

BR/9 11.9 7.9

games in which he played before being called up for a 22-year “cup of co›ee” in the bigs. He hit .372,

476

Minor League All-Star Teams only was it one of the year/s best, it was one of the best of the decade. Hall walked only ¡.2 batters per nine IP. As a second starter, I would go with Ken Johnson over Striker. Johnson was ¡6–¡¡ with a 2.82 ERA, and he was second in BR/9 allowed with a good 9.9 mark. Jim Umbricht was the class of the PCL bullpenners. He was in 47 games (he started five and had four CGs), went ¡4–8, had a 2.78 ERA and allowed ¡0.6 BR/9.

slugged an awesome .759, had an OB% of .459, whacked 29 homers, and drove in 92 runs. At short, I would be disinclined to go with the slick-fielding Lillis, opting instead for the strapping Ron Hansen. Hansen actually had better range than Lillis, he just wasn’t quite as sure-handed. And, yes, he was out-hit by Lillis (Ron hit .256), but Ron had a modicum of power, popping ¡8 homers, and he drove in 6¡ runs. Please note Hall’s fantastic 7.9 BR/9 ratio. Not

Mexican League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Marv Williams Moise Camacho Luis Garcia Hector Mayer Al Pinkston Jose Garcia Aldo Salvent Miguel Gaspar Ramon Rodriguez No selection made

Roberto Vargas Eddie Locke

TEAM M.C.D.R-M.C.Tigres Nuevo Laredo Poza Rica M.C. Diablos Rojos M.C. Diablos Rojos Poza Rica Poza Rica Veracruz Poza Rica

Poza Rica Monterrey

G 21 43

GS 17 35

G 109 143 133 142 140 131 143 129 115

CG 14 22

AB 378 548 488 536 534 481 505 397 362

SH 3 2

Garcia and Gaspar were playing managers. Shortstop Pablo Bernard (Nuevo Laredo-Veracruz) had .297/.390/.373 averages. Since just about everything else was just about equal, why not go for the better hitter? Oscar Rodriguez, third baseman/catcher for Veracruz and Nuevo Laredo would have been a good utility selection. He had .3¡4/.5¡5/.39¡ averages and hit 22 homers. He was second in the league with 97 runs and seventh with 90 RBIs.

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 117 76 222 14 2 29 109 74 1 .310 .587 .424 152 85 260 28 4 24 93 43 4 .277 .474 .337 159 87 263 26 0 26 93 33 2 .326 .539 .373 139 85 166 6 9 1 48 60 5 .259 .310 .337 197 114 292 34 11 12 97 44 7 .369 .547 .423 159 73 240 21 6 16 79 45 15 .331 .499 .399 160 92 287 26 7 29 108 69 16 .317 .568 .401 106 40 130 14 2 2 48 38 0 .267 .327 .336 102 60 159 6 3 15 68 62 7 .282 .439 .393

W 13 21

L 3 14

% .813 .600

IP 152 278

H 138 276

ER 43 110

SO 103 147

BB 39 57

ERA 2.55 3.56

BR/9 10.7 10.8

Pinkston’s season was not bad for a 4¡ year-old geezer, and there was another 40+ fellow who most certainly should have been on the squad but wasn’t chosen. I am speaking, of course, of Diomedes Olivo. The ageless Poza Rica pitcher was 2¡–8 and led the league with 23 CGs. He outdistanced whippersnappers of all ages with his 233 strike-outs, the thirdhighest total in O.B. for ¡959. He also hit .269 with five homers and 22 RBIs. (Eddie Locke, by the way, hit .327 with ¡8 RBIs, and Vargas hit .3¡0).

Southern Association (AA) Peden was a playing manager. Since the league chose two first basemen, I feel fully justified in saying that they got it half right. Drew Gilbert of Nashville hit .282, slugged .5¡5, had an OB% of .400, scored 9¡ runs, hit 24 homers, and had 84 RBIs. All of these figures, except batting average, were better than Cooke’s. And, to top it o›, Gilbert was singled out by Curt Flood in his autobiography as a man without a prejudiced bone in his body, an altogether decent guy. He deserves to be remembered. Jay “Bullwinkle” Ward of Shreveport hit 40 points lower than did league third base choice Johnson, and also trailed (by more narrow margins) in SA and OB%. Ward, however, hit 22 homers and added 84 RBIs. The hitting gap isn’t large enough for me to prefer Johnson over the more productive Ward.

Shortstop was a weak spot in the ’59 SA. Gair Allie of Memphis hit .256, slugged .408, and had a .396 OB%. He also hit thirteen homers to Shartzer’s three, and scored 76 runs, by far the most of any shortstop in the league. By gum and by gar, Gair is the guy for me. There were no less than five “Chosen Men” in the outfield. By my reckoning only three flyhawks as good or better were left out in the cold. Harold “Tookie” Gilbert hit a low .242 for New Orleans, but thanks to his ¡¡8 walks, he sported a very decent .392 OB%. Is 86 runs were more than any of the heavenly five could muster, as were his 22 home runs. He had 80 RBIs. Shreveport Sport outfielder Ken L. Hunt was only in 99 games before being called up, but he hit .322 and slugged .548 during his SA sojourn. He

¡959 POS 1B 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UTIF SP SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Gordy Coleman Jay Cooke Lou Klimchock Bob Johnson Phil Shartzer Ultus Alvarez Crawford Davidson Emerit Lindbeck Don Saner George Alusik Eddie Irons Les Peden Frank Baldwin George Holder

Wyman Carey Don Bradey Thomas Gibson Wynn Hawkins Carl Mathias Ray Rippelmeyer

TEAM Mobile Birmingham Shreveport Birmingham Nashville Nashville Nashville Atlanta Mobile- N.Orleans Birmingham Nashville Shreveport New Orleans Atlanta

Birmingham New Orleans Nashville Mobile Mobile Atlanta

G 30 41 26 41 38 23

GS 28 34 22 26 28 23

G 137 142 151 117 136 132 122 137 142 136 94 82 131 115 CG 14 16 8 12 11 19

AB 507 493 609 461 441 505 409 514 484 466 304 237 428 445 SH 5 3 2 0 5 1

already had 2¡ homers and had driven in 7¡ runs when he left for higher grazing pastures. Finally Leo Posada (yes, he is Jorge’s father) Hit .307 (higher than three of the select five), slugged .493 (again, higher than three of the select five), had a .386 OB% (higher, it would once again seem, than three of the select five). He drove in 8¡ runs (higher than … well, you know the drill), and his 20 homers and 94 were both higher than any of the select five could muster. So which outfielders would you select? Were it up to me, the Fab Five would have been Gilbert, Hunt, Posada, Saner, and Alusik. My guys average .300, .484, and .404 with 90 homers and 403 RBIs. Now, those numbers are not going to scare an old WTNM League pitcher, but they are better than the “o‡cial’s” .302/.479/.359 with 76 homers and 387 RBIs. And don’t forget, my guys include the .242hitting Gilbert and Hunt, who spent only two-thirds of a season in the SA. Conspicuous by his absence from the “Gang of Three” catchers is Jack Parks, Shreveport’s number one catcher (99 games to Peden’s 6¡). I would put him in Baldwin’s spot. Parks hit .26¡ and slugged .430, and his twelve homers were the most of any catcher. His 63 RBIs were second. Between them, the Shreveport catchers hit 22 homers and had ¡28 RBIs. I am also at odds with the utility choice. Holder played short and a little second, but I’d take Chris Kitsos who played in The Big Easy. Kitsos hit only .236, but his league-best ¡25 walks gave him a .400

H 179 143 192 137 112 150 122 146 156 144 84 71 115 121 W 14 19 11 14 17 11

477 R 93 75 94 70 39 83 65 70 80 71 39 38 38 59 L 11 14 6 9 9 12

TB 307 219 303 205 146 250 205 241 228 216 133 111 155 167

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 30 4 30 110 56 0 .353 .606 .419 21 5 15 77 75 5 .290 .444 .386 44 5 19 85 48 3 .315 .498 .368 21 7 11 67 50 13 .297 .445 .370 23 1 3 71 53 4 .254 .331 .335 31 12 15 87 43 5 .297 .495 .352 26 3 17 65 40 1 .298 .501 .366 28 8 17 67 42 7 .284 .469 .342 20 5 14 79 94 2 .322 .471 .435 27 3 13 89 59 0 .309 .464 .389 20 1 9 51 41 1 .276 .438 .366 10 0 10 65 47 2 .300 .468 .422 25 0 5 46 58 0 .269 .362 .357 12 2 10 57 39 6 .272 .375 .332

% .560 .576 .647 .609 .654 .478

IP 192 235 153 226 205 188

H 167 252 142 185 182 191

ER 70 138 52 64 66 67

SO 122 133 95 149 183 91

BB 109 123 86 99 73 54

ERA 3.28 5.29 3.06 2.55 2.90 3.21

BR/9 13.5 14.7 13.7 11.6 11.4 12.1

OB%, and his 92 runs were tied for fifth. The rugged Greek played second, third, and short. Ripplemeyer pitched for a last place team which was forty games under .500. Bradey is another exhibit in the cabinet of curiosities I like to call the “It’s Better to be Lucky than Good” gallery. He won ¡9 games with a 5.29 ERA for a team that only averaged 4.6 runs a game! That is not like winning ¡9 games with a 5.26 ERA for a team which averaged 7.9 runs a game, approximations of which happened every year in the WTNM and SWInt and Az-Tex leagues. ¡959 would’ve been a good year for Bradey to try his luck in Vegas. Say, I know you readers are not going to believe this, but the best pitcher in the ¡959 SA didn’t make the All-Star team. (No, really)! Birmingham’s Ron Mrozinski was ¡2–8, nothing special, but he had a terrific ¡.86 ERA and the best BR/9 ratio in the league, ¡0.¡. He didn’t have enough innings to qualify to lead the league in either department (he pitched ¡45 innings,¡54 were necessary), but he would have had to give up twelve runs and twenty base runners in the nine innings he needed to reach the qualifying mark to not win those titles. Angel Oliva (Chattanooga) was the league’s premier reliever. He was in 56 games and was 6–7 with a 2.75 ERA. You can be sure the Lookouts would have finished more than ¡9 games under .550 without him.

Texas League (AA) Murray was a playing manager. McKnight played only 72 games at second and

might actually have made a good utility choice. Bill Hain (Amarillo) played ¡09 of his ¡46 games there,

478 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Leon “Duke” Carmel Jim McKnight Ramon Conde Julio Gotay Al Nagel Carl Warwick Lee Handley Ray Murray No selection made

Carroll Beringer

TEAM Tulsa Tulsa Victoria Tulsa Amarillo Victoria San Antonio Corpus Christi

Victoria

G 29

G 104 103 128 124 135 144 131 83

GS 29

AB 361 394 472 476 482 550 460 198

CG 18

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 105 80 211 21 8 23 70 64 10 .291 .584 .399 131 57 173 20 2 6 60 29 18 .332 .439 .384 154 62 212 27 2 9 75 43 3 .326 .449 .390 135 88 205 11 4 17 64 39 12 .284 .431 .345 166 102 291 28 8 27 123 55 5 .344 .604 .415 182 129 324 27 5 35 94 99 18 .331 .589 .436 148 82 221 27 2 14 80 66 4 .322 .480 .409 65 22 86 9 0 4 38 23 0 .328 .434 .398

SH 0

W 19

L 5

% .792

IP 196

H 206

ER 73

SO 109

BB 22

ERA 3.35

BR/9 10.7

make. Tulsa’s Jimmie Scha›er was the “best of the rest.” He hit .255 with 46 RBIs. Other pitchers who would have (or should have) been considered for the team if the scribes had decided to go with more than a single hurler include Charles “Bridge Master” Gorin of Austin, Bob Blaylock of Tulsa, and reliever Gale Pringle of Amarillo. Gorin was ¡6–7 with a 2.96 ERA and led the league with ¡43 strike-outs. Blaylock was only in fourteen games before being called up. He was ¡0–¡ with a 2.56 ERA and allowed 9.5 BR/9. Pringle was in 64 games with a 2.72 ERA and a 9.9 BR/9 ratio. Please note that Beringer only walked one man every nine innings.

and hit .305 with ¡06 runs. He’s the “Hain” man for me. There were three candidates in the running for the third base spot: Conde, Jim Rice, and Ron Santo. Rice played for Corpus Christi and led the league with ¡35 walks, which, in turn, gave him the OB% crown with a .466 mark. He also hit ¡6 homers and scored ¡08 runs. Santo played for San Antonio, hit .327 and led the league with 35 doubles. He had 87 RBIs and scored 82 runs. My (imaginary) ballot would have split the third base spot between Rice and Santo. The league seems to need another catcher, doesn’t it? I mean, 83 games and ¡98 at bats do not a season

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF

SP SP

NAME Fred Hopke Wilbur Johnson James Woods Miguel de la Hoz Tony Curry Dave Mann Lou Jackson Bob Tillman Tom Haller Gil Valentin Bill Kern

Julius Grant Juan Marichal

TEAM Williamsport Williamsport Lancaster Reading Williamsport Reading Lancaster Allentown Springfield Albany Albany

Reading Springfield

G 35 37

G 136 139 140 117 139 134 132 105 110 107 121 GS 18 32

AB 487 510 520 421 568 522 522 364 348 424 455 CG 6 23

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 154 80 273 290 0 30 130 49 2 .316 .561 .393 148 103 182 19 6 1 43 92 16 .290 .357 .402 151 69 259 24 12 20 89 32 0 .290 .498 .336 124 75 199 18 6 15 60 41 10 .295 .473 .361 178 108 314 49 9 23 60 38 5 .313 .553 .360 166 99 239 15 17 8 52 61 65 .318 .458 .394 177 94 257 35 12 7 61 40 12 .339 .492 .386 99 55 193 17 1 25 72 44 3 .272 .530 .355 96 45 134 19 2 5 50 52 5 .276 .385 .387 133 60 167 13 9 1 41 14 0 .314 .394 .336 144 84 242 29 6 19 87 50 9 .316 .532 .388 SH 3 8

The selectors held steady up until it came time to fill in the utility infielder blank. Valentin was a shortstop, probably the number two guy at his position in the E.L., but if you want a utility infielder, Andrew Madalone was the guy for you. The Allentown handyman played second, third, and short. And, he was not a complete dud at bat either, hitting .276 with a .366 OB%. I consider my self second to none in my admira-

W 12 18

L 11 13

% .522 .581

IP 164 271

H 159 238

ER 68 72

SO 132 208

BB 88 47

ERA 3.73 2.39

BR/9 14.0 9.5

tion and appreciation of Julius “Swampfire” Grant, but his spot (on a two man sta›) should have gone to The Dominican Dandy’s teammate, Jim Du›alo. He was ¡5–8 with a 2.9¡ ERA and allowed ¡¡.9 BR/9, not good, but better than Swampfire’s. Allentown’s Jay Ritchie was in 56 games with a 9–5 record and a fine ERA of ¡.90. He was the best bullpenner in the Eastern League in ’59.

¡959

479

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Nathaniel Dickerson Willie Melendez Cli› Cook Juan Guzman Sheldon Brodsky Manny Jimenez Hilario Valdespino Bob Rogers Sam Hairston No selection made

SP SP

Ralph Lumenti Jim Proctor

TEAM Asheville Columbus/Gastonia Savannah Jacksonville Macon Jacksonville Charlotte Knoxville Charleston

Charlotte Knoxville

G 106 134 129 113 95 128 129 105 120

AB 389 481 451 424 329 483 485 355 427

H 141 122 115 111 106 139 131 102 141

R 63 68 73 67 53 59 72 53 60

TB 186 174 232 135 184 180 196 153 196

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 21 0 8 50 42 3 .362 .478 .426 22 3 8 48 50 1 .254 .362 .333 15 3 32 100 47 1 .255 .514 .327 8 2 4 41 91 5 .262 .318 .396 22 4 16 56 48 4 .322 .559 .415 22 5 3 48 46 1 .288 .373 .362 15 10 10 61 60 11 .270 .404 .368 18 6 7 55 47 3 .287 .431 .372 21 2 10 63 37 0 .330 .459 .386

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

25 28

25 20

10 15

3 2

12 15

8 5

.600 .750

166 181

123 139

50 44

141 131

83 55

2.71 2.19

11.7 9.8

Lazaro Terry, Charleston shortstop not only had a .940 FA to Guzman’s .9¡0, he handled a noteworthy 5.6 chances a game to Guzman’s poor 4.7. Terry hit .276, but had only a .349 OB% to Guzman’s .396. How important is fielding to you? For, that is what the ’59 SALLY shortstop decision ultimately rests upon. I would replace Jimenez with Arnesta Joe Gaines. His averages were .280, .42¡, and .375, a bit better than Manny’s. Arnesta scored 8¡ runs and drove in 74, both superior to Jimenez’s. I would also have named Barton Dupon, who performed in only 79 games for Asheville before being called up. Despite that fact, he finished third in the league with 20 home

runs. He also had 63 RBIs in that short time, more, you may notice, than any of the selectees. He hit .289 with a .537 SA. Catcher Hairston, patriarch of a three-generation major league dynasty, was 39 years old in ¡959. The pitching selections were fine but a bit on the meager side. I’ll add two, Bob Dustal of Knoxville and Dave Jimenez of Columbus/Gastonia. Dustal was ¡4–9 and had a 2.63 ERA. Jimenez was only around for ¡8 games, and was 7–3. He had a low 2.00 ERA however, and racked up ¡¡2 strike-outs in ¡08 innings.

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME Fred Whitfield Carl Yastrzemski Mike White Dick McAuli›e Tom Agosta Dan Briner George Watts Joe Thies Harding Peterson “Yogi” Hergenrader Bob Veale Bob Spanswick Frank Carpin Warren Hogdon

TEAM Winston-Salem Raleigh Burlington Durham Raleigh Durham Wilson Raleigh Wilson Raleigh

Wilson Raleigh Greensboro Raleigh

G 21 26 30 27

G 107 120 117 94 105 112 100 101 95 107 GS 21 20 23 23

AB 441 451 424 315 395 443 337 354 283 385 CG 10 8 14 10

H 129 170 119 84 124 132 109 92 74 105 SH 2 1 1 0

Peterson was a playing manager. ¡959 was not the best year for outfielders in the Carolina League, but we still should be able to come up with a threesome which hits more than 22 home runs and has in more than ¡83 RBIs. Don Lock of Greensboro (.283/.549/.395) led the league in homers, runs, and RBIs with 30, ¡02, and ¡22. Larry Elliott of Wilson was not much of a hitter (.265), but he popped 25 homers and drove in 85 runs. The

R 66 87 75 68 62 84 59 57 29 61 W 12 15 12 13

TB 226 261 153 124 173 164 167 141 93 128 L 5 4 9 5

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 19 3 25 103 23 3 .293 .512 .336 34 6 15 100 78 16 .377 .579 .474 15 5 3 39 62 20 .281 .361 .375 20 4 4 43 91 8 .267 .394 .435 19 6 6 62 43 6 .314 .438 .384 16 2 4 47 41 8 .298 .370 .367 21 1 12 74 64 4 .323 .496 .434 16 0 11 63 65 3 .260 .398 .378 13 0 2 31 41 2 .261 .329 .367 18 1 1 48 72 6 .273 .332 .390 % .706 .789 .571 .722

IP 147 152 175 152

H 103 90 154 139

ER 57 42 63 71

SO 187 156 143 109

BB 126 124 103 95

ERA 3.49 2.49 3.24 4.20

BR/9 14.0 12.8 13.5 14.3

league trio had .3¡¡/.429/.393 averages to go with the paucity of power and productivity mentioned above. An outfield of Watts, Lock, and Elliott has .287/.508/.399 averages, lower in BA, but with a small OB% advantage and a huge SA superiority of 79 points. It also has 67 home runs and 28¡ RBIs, significant advantages. My case is not only resting, it is fast asleep.

480

Minor League All-Star Teams

Northwest League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UTIF UTOF

SP SP

NAME Dick Wilson Chuck Hiller Angelo “Rocky” Columbo Sal Ferrara Gerald Mason Walter O’Neil Joe Wilson John McNamara Mel Krause Layton Ducote

Jack Curtis Bob Bolin

Wenatchee Eugene

TEAM Wenatchee Eugene Yakima Lewiston Wenatchee Yakima Salem Lewiston Eugene Wenatchee

G 133 139 103 114 100 135 140 141 98 140

AB 453 487 377 415 385 452 502 491 313 511

H 130 166 123 134 137 149 161 122 77 147

R 80 92 64 84 80 93 94 74 54 80

TB 189 247 151 192 207 236 287 158 107 233

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 30 1 9 81 82 6 .287 .417 .400 24 9 13 77 57 7 .341 .507 .414 22 3 0 43 48 1 .326 .401 .402 18 5 10 75 55 16 .323 .463 .405 28 6 10 70 51 2 .356 .538 .432 34 7 13 100 75 13 .330 .522 .434 22 7 30 102 57 23 .321 .572 .391 25 4 1 44 62 12 .248 .322 .333 9 3 5 28 30 17 .246 .342 .316 31 8 13 95 62 7 .288 .456 .371

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

36 31

30 30

22 23

5 9

20 20

10 8

.667 .714

244 225

244 158

77 71

160 271

80 144

2.84 2.84

12.1 12.5

Wilson and McNamara were playing managers. Allison Owen (Wenatchee) is my third base choice by a whisker. He hit .307, slugged .423, and an OB% of .404, all pretty much a dead heat with Columbo (their fielding is a virtual dead heat also, so no help there). Owen scored ¡04 runs, a league high, and that made it 52–48 Owen, at least for me. Krause, who was the last baseball coach for the University of Oregon before they dropped the program, played first and third. My second utility man

would have been Herman Lewis of Yakima. He played outfield and first, hit .273 with a .497 SA, and had 20 homers, 95 RBIs and 85 runs in 88 fewer PAs than Ducote. I would have added Yakima’s Roger Clapp to the hill sta›. He led in wins, winning percentage, ERA, and BR/9 allowed (he was 2¡–6, .778, with 2.45 and ¡¡.¡ marks). Unfortunately for his All-Star chances, he was the league’s best pitcher.

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Cal Emery Robert Parker George Scott Zoilo Versalles James Lynn Tom McDonald Bill McGuckin Al Kenders Chuck Weatherspoon

TEAM Des Moines Green Bay Green Bay Fox Cities Lincoln Sioux City Des Moines Des Moines Fox Cities

Pete Richert Henry “Hank” Hemmerly Barton Dziadek Fred Bruckbauer

G 127 126 126 83 126 126 111 106 125

Green Bay Cedar Rapids Topeka Fox Cities

AB 462 481 535 363 514 454 411 359 443

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 149 107 281 41 5 27 129 100 6 .323 .608 .452 135 79 181 25 3 5 72 55 7 .281 .376 .360 155 93 219 19 9 9 58 43 10 .290 .409 .310 101 65 151 19 2 9 47 22 18 .278 .416 .323 154 85 226 26 8 10 91 47 11 .300 .440 .363 113 102 218 21 6 24 90 114 10 .249 .480 .406 121 74 174 22 2 9 62 65 15 .294 .423 .401 108 64 168 22 4 10 66 59 7 .301 .468 .409 125 77 216 23 4 20 80 81 4 .282 .488 .407

G GS CG SH W L % IP 23 22 10 2 10 8 .556 156 32 18 13 2 14 10 .583 183 29 26 12 2 15 9 .625 207 20 18 10 4 12 5 .706 140

Tom Morgan, Des Moines second baseman, hit a low .237 and slugged a poor .305, yet he is still my choice for the Three-Eye keystoner of the year. He drew ¡24 walks and scored ¡04 runs on only 99 hits, a rarity in this modern age. He also stole 22 bases. However, both Parker and Morgan fall beneath the bar set by Dick Howser of Sioux City. His .278 BA was nothing special, and his SA of .378 was decidedly unspectacular. His .464 OB% was a steed of a di›erent hue, however. The lad (for he was indeed just a lad in ’59) led the league in walks with ¡29 and steals with 3¡, and scored ¡09 runs in his ¡¡¡ games.

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 126 57 173 99 3.29 13.0 180 69 104 78 3.39 12.9 198 77 142 125 3.35 14.2 123 45 111 63 2.89 12.2

He was, and time would bear this out even though it has no bearing on this discussion, the best of the three keystone candidates. Horace Ingram (Burlington) and old favorite Horace Garner (Cedar Rapids-Sioux City) were in the outfield mix. Ingram hit .295 and scored 85 runs, complimented by a .4¡2 OB%. Garner, winding down his career, was in 95 games. He hit .309, slugged .546 (second in the league), and had a .43¡ OB%, (third-best in the III). He still managed to pop ¡7 homers and drive in 75 runs. Sioux City catcher Tony Cannizzo hit only .23¡,

¡959

481

ratio, ¡¡.¡. Those two league-bests, as usual, insured that he had no chance of being an All-Star. By the way, selectee Dziadek hit three home runs during the year, and two of them were grand slams. I would also like to mention Burbon Wheeler. Burbon Wheeler is not being mentioned solely for the fact that he was named Burbon Wheeler. Burbon Wheeler was 8–6 with a 4.27 ERA, not good enough for All Star status, no, but Burbon Wheeler did manage to strike out ¡57 men in his ¡¡6 innings of work, giving Burbon Wheeler a ¡2.¡ K/9 ratio, good even for someone not named Burbon Wheeler.

but he whacked ¡7 homers and drove in 53 runs and drew 73 walks. I would have named him as a second catcher. Weatherspoon played first, outfield, and catcher. I would have added another utility man, first baseman/outfielder Ray “Corky” Withrow of Cedar Rapids. He had 6¡ RBIs and hit ¡9 homers in only 75 games. His BA was .323, and his SA was a more than respectable .62¡. Jim Brewer, of ¡8-games-under .500 Burlington, was ¡0–¡0. He led the league in ERA with a 2.67 mark. He also managed to lead the league in BR/9

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Jerome Stack Dave Bristol Hal Charnofsky Hilario Ruiz Willie Davis Ron Wiley Rich Barry John Edwards Charles Strange

Ken Page Horace Denny Hal Reni› Hugh Hendry

TEAM Fresno Visalia Modesto Visalia Reno Bakersfield Modesto Visalia Fresno

Reno Stockton Modesto Modesto

G 32 49 35 37

G 114 138 136 137 117 136 135 122 138 GS 16 22 20 30

AB 390 543 510 599 513 491 505 469 548 CG 7 7 12 10

H 129 157 166 151 187 149 135 150 165

R 71 100 129 110 135 118 95 76 72

SH 3 1 2 1

Bristol and Charnofsky were playing managers. Ivan Knowles, Reno second baseman, was a slightly better fielder than was Bristol (.985–.975 FA, 5.8–5.6 TC/G, although that latter figure may have been a function of the pitching sta›s rather than an actual di›erence). Knowles only hit .265, but he walked ¡47 times, had a .445 OB%, and scored ¡¡3 runs. If you prefer Bristol because of his BA and RBI total, you won’t get an argument from me. What a battle at short: Harmonica Phil versus Gun Totin’ Chico. A virtual dead-heat afield, I went with Linz’s hitting over Ruiz’s speed. Linz hit .298, slugged .389, had an OB% of .40¡, scored ¡26 runs, and, though no Ruiz, stole 22 bases.

W 12 15 21 14

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 199 24 5 12 89 105 3 .331 .510 .480 243 33 7 13 97 84 16 .289 .448 .390 265 37 4 18 115 104 34 .325 .520 .445 197 17 7 5 44 69 61 .252 .329 .335 304 40 16 15 90 53 33 .365 .593 .434 276 22 3 33 125 90 3 .303 .562 .420 272 18 4 37 111 89 8 .267 .539 .383 230 24 4 16 99 78 2 .320 .490 .424 220 20 7 7 93 52 9 .301 .401 .372 L 6 8 7 8

% .667 .652 .750 .636

IP 157 191 186 214

H 141 176 160 193

ER 52 68 66 74

SO 115 132 143 146

BB 71 123 94 86

ERA 2.98 3.20 3.19 3.11

BR/9 12.5 14.9 12.5 12.0

A fourth outfielder would not have sullied the escutcheon of the ’59 California League All Star Team. Lowell Barnhart hit for .300/.477/.409 averages, scored ¡05 runs, and drove in ¡¡5. Wiley and Davis are stone locks, but to choose between Barry and Barnhart is too much for me at this point of the game. Strange played second, third, and short. George Ga›ney (Stockton) had the best ERA (2.49), but was only ¡3–¡¡ on a team that was slightly better when he was not involved in the decision than when he was.

Northern League (C) Fabio may have been fabulous in Fargo (and maybe marvelous in Moorhead), but Bill Wyatt of Minot was better in the other eight cities of the Northern League of ’59. Of, course, perhaps I overstate; Wyatt was a better hitter, fielder, and base runner, but I don’t know if he was a better cook or landscape artist. All I have to go on are baseball statistics, and, by those admittedly narrow perspectives, Wyatt should have been the All-Star second baseman. He hit

.297, slugged .4¡6, had a .422 OB%, and led the league in runs (¡¡8) and steals (37). There should have also been room made for four outfielders. None of the three selectees deserved the ignominy of being left o› of (or, by my reckoning replaced) the Squad of Heroes, but neither does Dave “Swish” Nicholson deserve to known to posterity only as the first major leaguer to strike out over ¡70 times in a season. Dave Hit .298, was second with a

482 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Harold Jones Fabio Fiallo Emile Fiore Arnaldo Suarez Manly Johnston Chuck Hinton Rogers Robinson Jim Napier Roberto Herrera No selection made

Tim Lane Bill Carpenter

TEAM Minot Fargo-Moorhead St. Cloud Winnipeg Duluth-Superior Aberdeen Winnipeg Duluth-Superior Winnipeg

St. Cloud Winnipeg

G 27 30

G 122 121 117 121 106 126 121 121 110

GS 24 25

AB 456 453 432 506 412 497 474 424 350

CG 7 18

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 148 114 292 25 7 35 127 67 2 .325 .640 .418 130 101 176 13 6 7 66 107 5 .287 .389 .427 130 68 205 23 2 16 83 65 1 .301 .475 .398 160 94 230 34 15 2 69 54 12 .316 .455 .390 145 76 232 29 2 18 100 35 0 .352 .563 .403 178 112 274 22 7 20 108 78 17 .358 .551 .448 153 92 239 27 7 15 83 65 29 .323 .504 .406 89 58 134 16 4 7 62 41 4 .210 .316 .286 106 65 167 12 5 13 50 65 12 .303 .477 .418

SH 2 3

W 8 19

.627 SA, had a .4¡¡ OB%, scored 98 runs, drove in ¡¡4, and tied for the league lead in homers with 35. Of the four outfielders who would have made my gardening sta›, he is fourth in hitting, second in OB% and runs, and first in SA, RBIs, and home runs. He belongs among the memorialized Immortals. (By the way, he was also 3–¡, 2.9¡ as a pitcher with 43 Ks in 34 IP, a good ¡¡.4 K/9 ratio.) Herrera was by so far the best catcher in the league that I don’t understand why the league though they needed another. But, since it was their idea, just let me say that that selected the wrong number two man. Napier’s .2¡0/.3¡6/.286 just doesn’t seem the stu› of which dreams are made. Marion “Tim” Talton was a bit better than Napier (at least he hit over .250 (.262, to be exact)) and surpassed the pitifully low .300 OB% barrier by ringing up a hardly sterling in itself .3¡0 mark. A league actually selected its best pitcher for its All-Star Team! Kudos’ all around to the numinous Northern league notaries. “Lefty” Lane, however, is

L 12 4

% .400 .826

IP 153 204

H 128 165

ER 91 36

SO 100 158

BB 107 80

ERA 5.35 1.59

BR/9 14.2 10.9

a bad choice. Look, why not also have all star choices who are under 6', or who are vegetarian, or who throw left but bat right? Bob Sadowski (not of the Pittsburg Sadowski’s) was ¡5–5 with a 2.63 ERA and had the best BR/9 ratio (¡0.89 to Carpenter’s ¡0.94). Don “I’m not Irish” Osinski (and, yes, I have seen his name printed as O’Sinski several times, although I do not recall the exact title and page of said renderings) was numer jeden in the Northern relief ranks in ’59. He pitched in 59 games with an 8–9 record and an ERA of 2.4¡, second in the league to Carpenter. On yes, I almost forgot — there was a Northern League pitcher of short service (only 59 innings) against whom opponents batted only .¡45 and who surrendered only 4.6 H/9 to go with a ¡5.¡ K/9 ratio. There was also a Northern League pitcher who walked ¡6.8 (!) batters every nine innings and had a BR/9 ratio of 2¡.4. The hard-to-hit fireballer was Steve Dalkowski. The wild man was Steve Dalkowski. What a coincidence, that both pitchers would have the same name.

Pioneer League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Donn Clendenon Mike Castanon Rigoberto Mendoza Roberto Sanchez Ronald “Whole” Hogg Kerry Buckner Eddie Reed James Campbell James Hay Richard Rogers

Les Bass Bill Kunkel John Tupper Bruce Haroldson

TEAM Idaho Falls Great Falls Missoula Idaho Falls Pocatello Boise Great Falls Idaho Falls Boise Billings

Boise Great Falls Pocatello Billings

G 34 43 38 36

G 105 127 126 121 129 120 108 119 123 90 GS 24 24 24 24

AB 416 426 487 490 526 477 386 428 462 304 CG 17 10 7 11

H 148 128 174 157 167 162 131 129 142 97

R 93 72 105 101 120 108 88 82 64 44

TB 249 166 260 257 287 246 220 227 212 133

SH 3 2 1 0

W 21 14 11 12

L 3 12 7 11

Space must be made for Billy Smith, Boise first bagger (or, if you prefer, initial sacker). He led the

2B 26 26 32 29 28 30 25 20 27 10 % .875 .538 .611 .522

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 15 15 96 40 13 .356 .599 .416 0 4 57 77 6 .300 .390 .413 9 12 94 52 8 .357 .534 .421 10 17 78 63 26 .320 .524 .401 16 20 91 62 18 .317 .546 .401 9 12 73 61 12 .340 .516 .417 5 18 103 69 15 .339 .570 .447 3 24 99 81 8 .301 .530 .419 2 13 95 39 5 .307 .459 .361 1 8 59 34 0 .319 .438 .389 IP 214 189 164 174

H 192 199 186 214

ER 70 88 83 100

SO 214 160 115 129

BB 67 92 92 90

ERA 2.94 4.19 4.55 5.17

BR/9 11.3 14.4 15.5 16.1

league with a lofty .390 BA, was third with a SA of .562, and compiled a Hughesian .54¡ OB%. Sorry to

¡959 you ’69 Mets fans (of which I am one), but Clendenon should, at best, be a co-first baseman. As a guardian (self-appointed though I may be) of the door to Clio’s anteroom, I can do no less. In my view,” Minnie” Mendoza should have had a partner at third for the team. Aurelio Ala of Pocatello had .370/.532/.448 averages, the latter two being the second best marks in the league (to the also forgotten Billy Smith). His runs and RBIs were not of Mendozan quantity, but that can be explained by his only appearing in ¡0¡ games. If One is mandated by “Higher Authority” as the maximum number of third basemen allowed to be honored, post-seasonally speaking, than Mendoza is the Minnie for me (his fielding was much, much better than was Ala’s), but if two be allowed, I say “Aha! Ala!” This is one of ¡959’s better line-ups. The first eight listed above have a BA of .329, slug .529, and have an OB% of .4¡6. It is the year’s only starting eight

483

wherein all the players have an OB% over .400 (it must be noted that the averages with Smith at first and Ala at third work out to a cool .332/.520/.438). Idaho Falls Russets manager Elwood “Bob” Clear was ¡3–8 and led the league with an ERA of 2.8¡ and also in BR/9 ratio at ¡0.3. I don’t think that he was a better pitcher than Bass, but he sure was better than anyone else in the ’59 Pioneer. Tony Cloninger (Boise) was only around for ¡9 games and went a pretty average 8–6. His 3.42 ERA would have placed him fourth in the league if he had pitched nine more innings. My rotation would have been Bass, Clear, Cloninger, and Kunkle. Cloninger, by the way, struck out ¡54 batters in his ¡2¡ IP, ¡¡.5 /9. Clear also had over a strike-out an inning with ¡89 Ks in ¡74 IP. Eugenio Roman (Boise) was the league’s best reliever, pitching in 4¡ games with a 2.43 ERA and allowing ¡0.5 BR/9.

Alabama-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Keith Williams Legrant Scott Max Alvis Larry Brown Teo Acosta Jim Bethea Peter Walski Howard “Doc” Edwards Robert Koehl No selection made

TEAM Selma Montgomery Selma Selma Dothan Montgomery Montgomery Selma Montgomery

SP Jorge Rapado Dothan SP Joseph Kaiser Fort Walton Beach

G 116 119 117 117 119 114 119 90 76

AB 458 455 434 457 457 384 441 303 255

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 156 84 229 29 4 12 80 22 138 129 232 33 5 17 81 93 129 79 182 25 5 6 70 34 137 84 183 23 4 5 50 48 154 92 218 29 7 7 46 61 123 97 211 23 1 21 99 123 113 85 208 20 6 21 98 80 102 33 131 15 1 4 53 14 79 37 92 11 1 0 36 35

SB 3 42 18 10 46 8 6 1 0

BA .341 .303 .297 .300 .337 .320 .256 .337 .310

SA OB% .500 .375 .510 .425 .419 .355 .400 .375 .477 .425 .549 .491 .472 .374 .432 .370 .361 .401

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 30 20 15 1 14 5 .737 176 156 44 109 41 2.25 10.5 29 29 17 5 16 10 .615 229 176 63 192 67 2.48 9.7

A well-selected team, I would only add two pitchers, a starter and a reliever. Montgomery’s Dick Egan was ¡4–8 with a 2.70 ERA and led the league with 20¡ strike-outs. Claude Pinder of Selma was in 42 games and went a fine ¡4–3 (for a league-best .824 winning percentage) with a 2.92 ERA. Kaiser’s Jets were twenty games under .500.

Steve Dalkowski was in seven games for Pensacola covering 25 innings. He was 0–4 with a ¡2.96 ERA, despite giving up only four hits every nine innings and holding opponents to a .¡28 BA and averaging ¡5.5 strike-outs every nine innings. The problem was that he also walked 28.8 (!!) batters every nine innings for a total of 32.8 (!) BR/9. He had a ¡2.96 ERA.

Appalachian League (D) Possible other outfielders include DeMorris Smith of Wytheville and John Trinceri of Morristown. Smith came in with .320/.465/.4¡4 averages with 63 runs and 5¡ RBIs. Trinceri’s numbers were .3¡0/.485/ .372 with 57 runs and a like number of RBIs. Please note that Blunt walked 70 times in 70 games and scored 6¡ runs on 53 hits. Dean Chance deserved a chance to be on the ¡959 Appy Dream Team. He was ¡0–3 with a 2.94 ERA

and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.6, the best in the league. Arthur Thompson (Morristown) likewise deserves a look on the basis of his ¡3–2, .867 marks, both league toppers, and also his ¡36 Ks in ¡24 innings, but his 3.77 ERA and ¡4.¡ BR/9 ratio militate against him, at least in my view. Thorsland stuck out a Dalkowksi-like ¡5.¡ batters every nine innings. Oh, and by the way, Aldrich hit .343 and Thorsland an easy-to-reckon .000.

484 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Rich Marks Jerry Carey Bertrand Gladney Bob Saverine John “Boog” Powell Larry Daniels Art “May I Be” Blunt Ed Cannon Jim Saul No selection made

Gary Aldrich Arne Thorsland

TEAM J.C./Salem Salem Morristown Bluefield Bluefield Johnson City Salem Salem Wytheville

G 15 16

Salem Bluefield

GS 11 14

G 59 69 68 70 56 59 70 62 29

AB 201 238 252 252 191 208 213 190 76

CG 5 9

H 63 72 83 89 67 53 51 51 24

SH 1 2

R 51 51 66 70 38 44 63 33 22

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 102 14 5 5 37 42 28 .313 .507 .450 127 15 2 12 63 49 3 .303 .534 .432 125 11 8 5 64 54 7 .329 .496 .451 150 14 7 11 39 64 36 .353 .595 .492 116 7 0 14 59 19 1 .351 .607 .412 117 10 0 18 48 36 11 .255 .563 .367 106 9 2 14 57 70 19 .239 .498 .455 66 10 1 1 24 36 4 .268 .347 .401 33 6 0 1 22 27 0 .316 .434 .505

W 7 9

L 3 5

% .700 .643

IP 67 107

H 60 65

ER 26 35

SO 46 180

BB 35 58

ERA 3.49 2.94

BR/9 13.0 11.1

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Tom Hamilton H. Ray Wilson Don Keller Joe “Iron” Curtain Mario Zambrano Gerald Reimer Elvio Jimenez Cl. “Choo-Choo” Coleman M. Von McDaniel

SP SP

Vic Davallilo Gilberto Clark

Palatka Palatka

TEAM St. Petersburg Daytona Beach St. Petersburg Orlando Palatka Tampa St. Petersburg Orlando Daytona Beach G 53 42

GS 3 30

CG 1 17

G 125 104 135 139 136 121 132 137 104

AB 401 337 442 491 518 473 550 460 342

SH 1 4

W 16 22

Hamilton and Wilson were playing managers. Yankee farm club St. Petersburg dominated the hitting stats. They placed six batters in the Top Ten, as well as having six of the Top Ten run scorers. The Saints’ .287 BA was fifteen points higher than number two Palatka’s .272. They had a fine, almost WTNM-like .392 OB%, 26 points higher than runner-up Palatka’s .366. Their .4¡9 SA was 4¡ points higher than (again runner-up) Palatka’s .378. (By way of comparison, the Sanford Greyhounds, who finished last with a 33–97 record, hit just .224 with a .298 SA, and scored only 3.6 runs a game.) Tampa first baseman John Moskus was third with ¡8 homers, second with an OB% of .440, and led in RBIs with ¡¡0. A good season, but it was left in the dust by Hamilton’s .387 BA and rare (by ¡959 standards, though never very common earlier) .500 OB%. I firmly believe that a playing manager should have been the keystoner of choice. I just don’t happen to believe that said keystoner should have been Wilson. I would go for Orlando’s own Martin Devlin. Marty hit .294 with an OB% of .392, and scored 78 runs as well. Saint’s shortstop Horace Clarke, who would become one of the very few players ever to have an era

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 155 109 241 20 3 20 96 87 3 .387 .601 .500 93 46 112 10 3 1 38 31 15 .276 .332 .342 128 94 166 17 3 5 76 116 11 .290 .376 .439 133 83 166 23 2 2 61 74 17 .271 .338 .371 172 99 235 24 9 7 86 67 24 .332 .454 .417 166 102 266 31 12 13 92 45 17 .351 .562 .410 181 110 274 29 17 10 65 34 14 .329 .498 .372 119 80 169 16 5 8 80 58 15 .259 .367 .348 107 63 151 12 1 10 71 24 4 .313 .442 .363 L 7 10

% .696 .688

IP 147 268

H 114 244

ER 40 78

SO 150 213

BB 65 101

ERA 2.45 2.62

BR/9 11.3 11.8

named for him (the Yankee ¡965–¡974 “Horace Clarke Years”) led the league with ¡¡5 runs and 34 steals and hit .292. I would have split my vote between him and Curtain St. Pete outfielder Charlie Keller Jr. hit .29¡, slugged .5¡2 and had a .429 OB% (fourth in the league). His ¡9 homers were second, his ¡05 RBIs were third, and his 99 runs were tied for fourth. His outfield mate Bill Cline hit .306, scored 90 runs, was fourth with ¡7 homers, and drove in an even ¡00 runs. I would not replace any of the scribeordained designees, but I would expand the roster to accommodate this pair of Saints. ( I know the two St. Pete Kellers were related, but I seem to have lost track of my notes which would reveal if they were brothers [which would make them “Sons of Kong”] or cousins. I lean toward the former, but am unable at this time to verify that. For that I apologize to the reader.) McDaniel, Lindy’s brother and a year removed from being hailed as one half of “The new Dean brothers,” played first, second, third, short, outfield, and pitched (about which more below). I would consider that a utility year with a capital “U.” The second-best starter in the league was Billy Bolding of Daytona Beach. He was ¡7–¡3 with a 2.54 ERA (second) and was also second in BR/9 ratio

¡959

485

Santa’s Little Helper’s progenitors). He was twelfth in ERA with a 3.5¡ mark (pretty good considering that Sanford fielded .933 with 2.4 errors a game). The Greyhounds played .240 when he was not the pitcher of record, and posted a 4.94 ERA without him. Finally, a certain Arturo Polanco pitched in seven games for St. Pete, going 4–¡. Big deal, except for the fact that Arturo rang up a 0.92 ERA in his 39 innings, and that was deemed worthy of mention.

(¡¡.3¡ to Davalillo’s ¡¡.33). The pitcher who led in BR/9 allowed and winning percentage was Dan Casteen of Tampa. He went ¡4–3, .824, with an ERA of 2.85 and a BR/9 mark of ¡0.3. McDaniel was ¡3–5 with a 3.49 ERA and was third with an ¡¡.9 BR/9 ratio. Joe Bonikowski, one of three Fla. State hurlers who would eventually reach the majors (McDaniel already having completed his Big League career) was 7–¡5 for the wretched, 64 games under .500 Greyhounds (the team must have been named after

Midwest League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF

SP SP SP SP

NAME Gary Dobereiner Julio Duran Frank Jaciuk Rich Johnson Stan Schultz Donald Branson Martin “Bo” Toft Bobby Lee Smith Tim McCarver Dale Richert Jorge Aguiles Gomez

Al Madigan Morris Stevens Joel McDaniel Galen Cisco

TEAM Keokuk Clinton Decatur Waterloo Kokomo Keokuk Waterloo Clinton Keokuk Kokomo Kokomo

Clinton Paris Decatur Waterloo

G 34 32 35 23

G 123 114 110 124 109 103 97 118 65 125 106 GS 26 26 28 23

AB 448 409 421 464 377 405 362 414 275 458 338 CG 16 15 26 20

H R 148 85 113 80 127 77 138 87 112 67 136 92 120 75 127 81 99 58 133 94 106 100 SH 1 5 9 5

W 16 14 22 15

TB 214 143 183 159 152 208 187 215 122 240 192 L 11 12 9 7

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 27 3 11 102 84 8 .330 .478 .440 22 4 0 48 55 15 .276 .350 .369 12 7 10 49 46 5 .302 .435 .373 16 1 1 61 74 6 .297 .343 .395 19 3 5 55 76 3 .297 .403 .426 23 11 9 81 67 17 .336 .514 .434 23 1 14 81 51 5 .331 .517 .424 19 6 19 110 73 10 .307 .519 .413 6 4 3 24 21 11 .360 .444 .415 11 3 30 116 87 7 .290 .524 .405 20 0 23 75 112 16 .314 .568 .490 % .593 .538 .710 .682

IP 201 201 240 182

H 216 184 193 142

ER 68 75 62 45

SO 144 156 212 165

BB 52 117 82 62

ERA 3.04 3.36 2.33 2.23

BR/9 12.1 14.0 10.5 10.4

and 25 steals. Version ¡A has 49, 2¡7, 298, and 73 marks. Version ¡ has 33 assists and 27 errors, Version ¡A’s numbers are 52 and ¡6 (Tartabull had 32 assists). My keen baseball instincts tell me that Version ¡A is a better threesome. John Carter (not of Mars, I am assuming) was the league’s premier reliever. In 48 games (no starts), he was 8–2 with a fine ¡.87 ERA.

My three outfield choices were Branson, Gomez, and Jose Milages Tartabull of Michigan City. Tartabull hit .305 with a .434 OB%. He popped ¡7 homers, stole 40 bases, and scored a league-best ¡06 runs. The League-Certified Schultz/Branson/Toft outfield has averages of .32¡/.478/.428. An outfield of Branson, Gomez, and Tartabull comes in with .3¡9/.5¡3/.452 marks. Version ¡ has 28 homers, 2¡7 RBIs, 234 runs,

Nebraska State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Frank Saia William Fontana Elwood “Woody” Huyke Ike Futch Jim Hicks Frederick Loesekam Bill Stevens Boyd Co‡e Robert Barton No selection made

SP SP

Dennis Overby Paul Chenger

McCook McCook

TEAM McCook Grand Island Hastings Kearney Holdrege Holdrege McCook Kearney Hastings G 17 14

GS 14 13

G 62 54 62 52 62 58 61 56 44 CG 8 10

AB 231 192 228 207 211 208 208 199 143

H 68 58 71 66 67 69 66 57 41

SH 1 1

A tie at short would have been just dandy. McCook’s Carl Derr hit .283, slugged .435, and had a .377 OB%.

R 63 48 52 39 46 49 45 32 14

W 8 10

TB 111 81 125 80 122 96 107 105 57 L 2 1

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 5 7 8 51 39 4 .294 .481 .399 10 5 1 28 49 4 .302 .422 .449 6 6 12 50 38 3 .311 .548 .416 8 3 0 18 34 2 .319 .386 .420 11 7 10 56 53 8 .318 .578 .459 12 9 2 34 43 7 .332 .462 .451 9 10 4 50 36 5 .317 .514 .425 11 2 11 63 27 0 .286 .528 .377 4 3 2 28 25 3 .287 .399 .396

% .800 .909

IP 93 97

H 59 53

ER 28 23

SO 136 125

BB 58 69

ERA 2.71 2.13

BR/9 11.4 11.5

He bested Futch in runs with 48 and RBIs with 42. Fielding was a wash. To me, the two seem complimentary.

486

Minor League All-Star Teams

Tony Filicchia (Grand Island) was ¡¡–2 with a 2.¡9 ERA. There is no doubt that Overby, Chenger, and Filicchia were the best the M.W.L. had to o›er, so why exclude one of them? The league’s best reliever was a knuckleballer name of Niekro, Phil Niekro in 23 games, all in relief, he was 7–¡ with a 3.¡2 ERA.

Chenger, by the way, allowed only 4.9 H/9, and opponents hit only .¡54 against him. He also recorded ¡¡.6 strike-outs every nine innings. Overby topped that with a ¡3.2 mark.

New York-Pennsylvania League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Robert Lawrence Mario Diaz Lee Elia Amado Samuel Marcial Allen Willard Hamill Harry Panaro John Sullivan H. Eugene McGaughey No selection made

Stanley Jones Robert Baillargeon Ben Griggs James King

TEAM Corning Wellsville Elmira Wellsville Wellsville Corning Geneva Erie Wellsville

G 74 122 98 116 123 101 123 110 85

AB 265 492 374 393 461 402 444 348 313

G 29 25 35 23

GS 23 24 27 20

CG 17 18 21 12

Geneva Elmira Wellsville Wellsville

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 84 54 143 21 1 12 68 42 144 98 201 26 5 7 71 65 111 103 155 18 1 8 66 95 124 87 193 36 1 10 73 85 164 101 260 31 4 19 92 68 129 83 203 25 8 11 92 51 129 97 197 20 3 14 88 103 112 69 182 20 1 13 58 69 93 45 126 7 1 8 64 30

SH 0 2 0 1

I would go with Wellsville manager Harry Minor at first. He hit .3¡8, slugged .522, and had an OB% of .476. He also scored 86 runs while leading his club to a first-place .635 season (80–46) as well as the playo› championship. Another manager gets my nod at third, Bob Bauer of Auburn. He led the league with 22 homers in 86 games and hit .332. His slugging mark of .623 would have led the league, but he fell 2¡ PAs short of qualifying (even if he had gone 0–2¡, his SA would still

W 19 15 21 15

L 4 8 7 2

% .826 .652 .750 .882

IP 212 198 235 146

H 170 180 231 117

ER 60 72 104 63

SB 3 7 19 22 10 12 6 6 2

SO 171 171 175 116

BA .317 .293 .297 .316 .356 .321 .291 .322 .297

SA OB% .540 .424 .409 .380 .414 .445 .491 .442 .564 .442 .505 .399 .444 .435 .523 .441 .403 .360

BB 80 76 95 105

ERA 2.55 3.27 3.98 3.88

BR/9 10.7 11.9 12.7 13.9

have been a league-best .58¡). Under the current rules, he would be King of Slug for the ¡959 NYP. He also had an OB% of .473. Wellsville outfielder Lorne Johnson had ¡7 homers and 82 RBIs in 89 games. He had .3¡7/.55¡/.4¡8 averages. Fred Izzolo of Auburn hit .303 with a .4¡5 OB%, hit ¡6 homers, drove in 82 runs and scored ¡0¡ runs. I guess I would have had to have five outfielders, because the only one I’m ¡00% sure about is Allen.

! ¡960 ! In ¡960, there were 22 leagues in the National Association. 2¡ of them (95%) named All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) There were three second basemen who had seasons of such quality as to be considered for enumeration among the unforgettables whose names were inscribed in gold script on the coveted A.A. All Star Roster of Fame. Schaive was indeed one of the three so considered, the other two being Chuck Schilling of Minneapolis and Jake Wood of Denver. Schilling hit .308 with a .380 OB% and scored 86 runs. He had the highest FA (no surprise there) but the poorest range factor (Schaive was second in both areas). Wood hit .305 and slugged .462, scored ¡0¡ runs and stole 34 bases. He also rapped ¡8 triples. His FA was

the lowest of the three, but his range factor was the best (a good 5.6 TC/G). I know that this will seem to be a cop-out, but any thing other than a three-way tie seems to slight whoever would be left out of. The two other regular Denver outfielders were just out of the top four, but close enough to merit mention. Wycli›e “Bubba” Morton hit .296, scored ¡07 runs and stole 30 bases. George “Turk” Alusik hit .329 and slugged .589, third and second in the league respectively. He had 43 doubles and 26 homers, scored 94 runs and drove in ¡06. Another possible outfielder was Carl Yastrzemski, Minneapolis, who

¡960 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP RP

NAME Larry “Bo” Osborne John Schaive Steve Boros Zoilo Versalles Billy Williams Arthur Lee Maye Jim McDaniel Carl Warwick Mike Roarke Bob Tillman Bob “Hawk” Taylor No selection made

Carroll Beringer Jim Brewer Al Lary Phil Regan Art Fowler Mel Wright

TEAM Denver Charleston Denver Charleston Houston Louisville Denver St. Paul Denver Minneapolis Louisville

St. Paul Houston Houston Denver St. Paul Dallas-Ft. Worth

G 141 138 151 139 126 72 134 155 109 123 135

AB 482 541 571 554 473 288 475 612 369 454 482

487

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 165 108 309 40 1 34 119 95 170 70 229 26 3 9 78 26 181 128 329 42 8 20 119 81 154 83 235 33 12 8 38 27 153 74 265 28 3 26 80 53 97 43 160 18 9 9 52 15 137 97 243 37 6 19 92 95 179 104 285 27 11 19 75 49 94 47 146 22 3 8 40 44 116 54 207 15 2 24 82 33 130 63 211 26 2 17 80 41

G GS CG SH W L % 33 27 7 1 10 4 .714 18 18 5 2 8 5 .615 30 27 10 2 12 8 .600 23 12 2 1 9 3 .750 36 24 6 2 13 10 .565 54 0 0 0 5 4 .556

was second in the batting race at .339 and who led the circuit with ¡93 hits and was the only non–Bear in the top six in doubles with 36 (Alusik led with 43, Boros had 42, Osborne 40, McDaniel 37, then Yaz with his 36, and Morton with 35). No utility selection was made, but three players records cried out for that slot. One, “Hawk” Taylor, made the team as a catcher although he played 66 games at first and 67 behind the plate. Huge Don Gile played first and catcher for the Millers, and in his 87 games drove in 64 runs, hit ¡9 homers, batted .28, and slugged .5¡7. Ray “Jabbo” Jablonski played first and third for Dallas-Fort Worth, had respectable .295/.484/.380 averages, hit ¡6 homers and drove in 74 runs. Any or all of these fellows could have filled a handy man spot. Please do not overlook the fact that Osborne won the league’s Triple Crown. The strangest thing happened when the scribes met in secret conclave (one can almost picture them

IP 150 120 171 97 187 70

SB 2 2 22 12 5 5 7 18 3 0 1

BA .342 .314 .317 .278 .323 .337 .288 .292 .255 .256 .270

SA OB% .641 .457 .423 .351 .576 .407 .424 .323 .560 .392 .556 .376 .512 .410 .466 .346 .396 .334 .456 .310 .438 .331

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 162 63 86 22 3.78 11.1 119 45 75 28 3.38 11.2 172 67 119 52 3.53 11.8 92 33 62 30 3.06 11.5 208 61 109 38 2.94 11.8 61 18 60 6 2.31 8.7

in their cowls, the few feebly flickering candles causing their shadows to dance wild and strange tarantellas on the dripping walls of their catacomb-like underground Star Chamber). The leagues best pitcher, St. Paul’s Jim Golden, he of the twenty wins and league-leading 2.32 ERA, he who was second in strike-outs and third in BR/9 ratio, was also, with a simple stroke of the stooped and wizened scrivener’s goose quill pens (presumably not dipped in the blood of ritually slaughtered small, furry creatures), consigned to the outer darkness of the unchosen, forever lumped with such as the 7–¡3 Bob Botz or the 5.77 ERA of Don Kaiser. When, one wonders, will these pitchers ever learn that the shortest route to oblivion in the dark and convoluted minds of the all-powerful league-al prothonotaries is to be the best pitcher in a league? On a somewhat less paranoid note, please note that Wright only threw five unintentional walks all season– a shockingly low .6 walks every nine innings.

International League (AAA) This was as weak a triple-A line-up as you’ll ever see. The infield hit .26¡ and slugged .394 with a very poor .3¡2 OB%. The entire team (minus, of course, the pitchers) hit only .273, slugged .424, and compiled a weak .333 OB%. My selection at short would have been Bu›alo’s Bobby Wine. His .269/.378/.3¡9 averages were just about the same as Adair’s (although he did manage to break the .300 barrier in OB%), but I am giving credit to Wine’s accumulating 500 assists, and, since all else is basically equal, that’s enough to trip the scales Wine-ward. No utility selection was made, but there were two

players who could have filled the bill, had a bill been forthcoming. Deron Johnson of Richmond played first and the outfield, and cranked 27 homers, second in the league. His 92 RBIs were likewise the second highest total, and his (low) .455 SA was good enough for fourth. Joe Morgan played second and third for Bu›alo, hit .252, and popped ¡7 homers. His 8¡ walks led the league, and his .375 OB% was the second highest among qualifiers. Howie Nunn,¡2–6 and second in both ERA with a very good ¡.99 mark and BR/9 ratio (¡0.0) certainly deserved a spot, had the sta› consisted of more than a pair of pitchers. A spot starter and no fewer than

488 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Joe Altobelli G. “Sparky” Anderson Billy Harrell Jerry Adair Jim Pendleton Don Landrum Jim King Jesse Gonder No selection made

Al Cicotte Rbt. “Steamboat” Smith

TEAM Montreal Toronto Rochester Miami Havana/Jersey City Bu›alo Toronto

G 154 148 150 152 152 155 139 109

AB 552 543 564 602 590 610 442 336

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 141 79 269 25 5 31 105 51 1 .255 .487 .323 123 67 159 11 5 5 21 41 12 .227 .293 .286 165 86 252 24 9 15 78 39 7 .293 .447 .339 160 78 211 29 2 6 35 27 12 .266 .350 .298 178 73 272 28 9 16 88 47 3 .302 .461 .356 178 112 287 35 10 18 75 63 13 .292 .470 .366 127 73 219 16 2 24 86 68 4 .287 .495 .385 110 44 165 12 2 13 45 28 4 .327 .491 .383

G GS CG SH 28 26 12 8 28 25 10 3

Toronto Toronto

W L 16 7 14 6

% .696 .700

IP 201 166

H ER 138 40 143 56

SO 158 142

BB 60 114

ERA BR/9 1.79 9.0 3.04 14.3

The crafty little lefty screwballer was 9–7 with a 2.27 ERA and 99 whi›s in 95 innings. Frank Funk (Toronto) was 6–3 with a 6–3, 2.¡0 record and a fine 9.7 BR/9 ratio before he too was called up (to the Indians, for whom he was 4–2, ¡.97). Finally, we have Fred Kipp, who, in 47 games for Richmond, was 5–3 with a low ¡.56 ERA and an excellent 9.¡ BR/9 ratio.

three relievers also merited mention. The first was 40 year old Diomedes Olivo of Columbus. In 42 games (¡2 starts) for the sub-.500 Jets, he was 7–9 with a 2.88 ERA and allowed just 9.¡ BR/9, a very fine figure. Luis Arroyo pitched in 39 games for Havana/Jersey City (the Havana franchise moved to J.C. on July ¡3) before being called up to the Yankees (for whom he pitched in 29 games and was 5–¡, 2.85).

Pacific Coast League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME R.C. Stevens Jim Baumer Harry Bright Charlie Smith Ron Fairly Willie Davis Stan Johnson Tom Haller Hal Bevan No selection made

Chet Nichols Eddie Fisher

TEAM Salt Lake City Salt Lake City Salt Lake City Spokane Spokane Spokane San Diego Tacoma Seattle

Vancouver Tacoma

G 33 38

GS 27 32

G 148 127 153 141 147 147 138 127 131

AB 533 457 587 565 505 624 517 342 478

CG 13 15

H R TB 2B 147 84 276 18 134 63 208 24 184 88 322 31 182 93 291 35 153 98 276 34 216 126 347 43 172 72 249 31 86 39 150 15 146 57 199 27

SH 2 4

Joe Taylor would have been my third outfielder in place of Johnson. He hit only .29¡ to Johnson’s .333, but both his slugging average (.538) and OB% (.37¡) were higher. He also hit 30 home runs, knocked in 94 runs, and scored ¡04 times. Hal Bevan would have made an excellent utility choice, had one been made. He caught, played first, and probably also played third and maybe even in the outfield (26 games are not accounted for in the fielding stats, meaning they were part of that researchers bane, the infamous “LT¡0” group). My second catcher would then become Camilo Carreon of San Diego. Cam hit .279 with 62 RBIs and 53 runs. (As an aside, Baumer, as you can see above, stole one base. He was caught ten times. His manager

W 18 17

L 6 12

% .750 .586

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 0 37 109 72 1 .276 .518 .366 4 14 72 45 1 .293 .455 .362 13 27 119 56 2 .313 .549 .374 7 20 106 21 7 .322 .515 .349 4 27 100 100 4 .303 .547 .421 26 12 75 31 30 .346 .556 .383 11 8 62 18 10 .333 .482 .366 5 13 42 34 3 .251 .439 .319 1 8 66 35 2 .305 .416 .355

IP 190 239

H 175 229

ER 77 88

SO 109 132

BB 57 39

ERA 3.65 3.31

BR/9 11.0 10.3

probably shouldn’t have given him the steal sign so many times.) That’s some interesting pitching selections. I have four other starters at least as good (if not as lucky). Three Seattle Raniers were one-two-three in ERA. Ray Ripplemeyer was ¡6–¡2 with a 2.7¡ ERA and allowed ¡¡.3 BR/9. Erv Palica was ¡5–8 with a 2.52 mark, and he allowed only ¡0.8 BR/9. Don Rudolph was only ¡2–¡0, but he led the league in ERA with a 2.42 ERA. The league also had a pretty e›ective reliever in ’60: Sherman “Roadblock” Jones. The Tacoma stalwart pitched in 47 games, all in relief, and rang up a 2.42 ERA. He also finished the season at ¡0–0, not too shabby for a closer.

¡960

489

Mexican League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Jose Echeverria Vinicio Garcia Miguel Fernandez Carlos Ramirez Al Pinkston Aldo Salvent Juan Delis Oscar Rodriguez Miguel Gaspar No selection made

TEAM Mexico City Tigres Monterrey Veracruz Mexico City Tigres M.C. Diablos Rojos Poza Rica Monterrey Pueblo Veracruz

G 129 127 140 131 138 136 139 140 114

AB 472 493 515 461 567 517 557 485 379

H 174 173 142 142 225 163 186 167 119

R 80 102 97 109 110 113 87 102 41

TB 262 270 281 188 366 308 276 277 143

G GS CG SH W SP Silvanio Castellanos Veracruz 51 SP Luis Tiant Jr. Mexico City Tigres 41

25 24

I would have been forced to have co-second basemen. Bobby Avila, who played for the Tigres, hit .333, scored ¡25 runs, drew ¡24 walks, and had a .486 OB%, those last three all league-leading marks. You can’t leave a season like that out in the cold. I had Miguel Fernandez as my shortstop (he played 98 games there to 44 at third), and had cothird basemen also. Luis Garcia (Poza Rica) had averages of .346, .539, and .4¡2 with ¡7 homers and 97 RBIs. Humberto Guerrero of the Diablos Rojos came in at .3¡7/.503/.4¡5 with ¡8 homers, 95 runs, and 95 RBIs. Al Pinkston, as you will note above, hit .397 — at

8 9

L

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 25 6 17 131 57 0 .369 .555 .440 41 4 16 75 58 3 .351 .548 .421 26 7 33 101 84 5 .276 .546 .381 25 9 1 46 100 27 .308 .408 .440 41 11 26 144 36 4 .397 .646 .438 25 6 36 95 64 3 .315 .596 .393 43 10 9 82 50 13 .334 .496 .394 28 2 26 105 59 1 .344 .571 .418 18 3 0 46 27 2 .314 .377 .363

%

IP

H ER

3 17 11 .607 211 203 0 17 7 .708 180 194

SO

BB ERA BR/9

76 122 102 3.24 93 107 124 4.65

13.1 16.0

age 42. If he had gotten two more hits, he would have hit an even .400. I double-dog guarantee you that Al did not get one single leg hit. At this stage in his career, the big fella (he was 6'5") was kinda on the gordo side. He must have went at least 250, if not more. That .397 is one of baseball’s most amazing feats. In the outfield, while we are in the vicinity, I would replace Delis with Luis Zayas. He only hit .305 to Delis’s .334, and his .492 SA and .4¡¡ OB% were not that far from Delis, but, in 65 fewer PAs, Zayas scored 97 runs and drove in ¡09. He also led the league with 30 steals.

Southern Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UTIF

SP SP SP SP SP SP

NAME Tim Harkness Chet Boak Don LeJohn Dick Tracewski Stan Palys Leo Posada Jim Koranda Ernie Oravetz Bob Thorpe John Edwards Doug Camilli Les Peden Al Grandcolas

TEAM Atlanta Shreveport Atlanta Atlanta Birmingham Shreveport Atlanta Chattanooga Little Rock Nashville Atlanta Shreveport Chattanooga

Pete Richert Ron Nischwitz Bob Allen Bob “Venus D’“ Milo Charles” Ru› N” Ready Don Bradey

G 151 150 133 150 147 150 143 152 150 136 131 83 126

Atlanta Birmingham Mobile Chattanooga Little Rock Little Rock

AB 553 538 442 532 540 576 525 600 587 437 449 217 408

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 162 92 285 29 5 28 111 72 4 .293 .515 .376 157 74 230 33 2 12 96 64 4 .292 .428 .371 130 69 159 23 3 0 51 88 4 .294 .360 .411 153 107 197 22 8 2 58 86 9 .288 .370 .387 200 101 353 43 13 28 116 71 2 .370 .654 .449 181 89 290 35 10 18 122 58 4 .314 .503 .383 157 102 254 30 2 21 100 87 3 .299 .484 .402 196 87 226 26 2 0 42 90 5 .327 .377 .416 170 78 258 37 6 13 94 34 5 .290 .440 .331 128 58 187 11 3 14 70 46 0 .293 .428 .363 126 73 199 26 4 13 78 45 1 .281 .443 .349 71 31 118 14 0 11 46 48 2 .327 .544 .449 125 58 195 23 4 12 81 80 0 .306 .478 .424

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 36 29 18 6 19 9 .679 225 172 69 251 115 2.76 11.6 34 30 14 4 14 7 .667 241 201 62 136 63 2.32 10.0 43 24 9 1 16 11 .593 213 190 67 132 98 2.83 12.2 34 27 9 2 13 9 .591 184 203 91 85 60 4.45 13.0 31 23 10 5 15 7 .682 197 173 58 133 71 2.65 11.4 36 23 10 0 17 8 .680 184 185 82 100 74 4.01 13.1

Peden was a playing manager. At short, a compromise between Tracewski and Bob Micelotta (Birmingham) should have been reached by impartial judges, perhaps, let us say, con-

sisting of the author and the reader. The facts are these: Tracewski’s strong points are his BA and his OB% (a shock to those of us old enough to recall the ’68 Tigers and their Axis of Shortstopocity (Tracew-

490

Minor League All-Star Teams the league in runs with ¡¡6, and was second in POs to Oravetz. Grandcolas played first, third, outfield and catcher. Let us propose a hypothetical: let us say the SA electors decided to name a reliever. Then, let go a step further and say that, in keeping with the ancient custom (which some say had its origins in the Fertile Crescent in the days of Hammurabbi, while others opt for the co-temporal pre–Celtic inhabitants of the British Isles), we pick both a lefty and a righty reliever. Now, having yielded to the stated hypothetical and its manifested implicated codicil, which relievers, within those narrow parameters, should have been chosen? The answer is the very essence of simplicity: Shreveport mound mates Charles Bogan, the southpaw segment of our tandem, and Dave Wickersham, the corresponding northpaw. Brogan was in 52 games (no starts) and was 3–¡ with a fine 2.22 ERA. Wickersham was in 69 games (with eleven starts) and went ¡0–7 with a 2.65 ERA. All kidding aside, this may have well been the best lefty/righty bullpen duo in the up-till-then history of the SA.

ski and Don Oyler) which had averages of .¡45, .2¡0, and .235), and his ¡07 runs, second in the league. Micelotta’s strong points were his P&P numbers, good for a middle infielder of the pre–A Rod/Garciaparra era, of 20 homers and 87 RBIs. Bob also had a quite good 5.6 TC/G mark to Dick’s pedestrian 5.0. The voice of reason, I’m sure you agree, cries out “Tie,” and I’m all in favor of reason. (There is also a wild card in the shortstop deck: Dick Howser of Shreveport. He was called up from the Three-I League in time to play 88 games for the Sports. His .47¡ SA was better than either of the other two contenders, and his .338 BA and .457 OB5 were much better. He scored 78 runs and drew 7¡ walks in his 88 games. If his 88 games are enough to qualify him for the All Star position, then Howser is definitely your man, and you’d get no argument for me. There will be more on Howser later.) Even with five outfielders, I think that one was overlooked: Jay Hankins of the Shreveport Sports. Now, he wouldn’t replace Palys, Posada, or Koranda as one of the top three, but he is of the same class as Oravetz and Thorpe, and I can’t discern enough of a di›erence between this second three to exclude any of them. Hankins’ averages of .300, .4¡3, and .363 are each second among the three in question, he led

Texas League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP

NAME Fred Whitfield Chuck Hiller Kal Segrist J.C. Hartman Layton Ducote Manny Mota Jim Hickman John Orsino No selection made

Jack Curtis

TEAM Tulsa Rio Grande Valley Victoria San Antonio San Antonio Rio Grande Valley Tulsa Rio Grande Valley

San Antonio

G 43

GS 32

G 138 144 121 143 141 141 111 114

CG 19

AB 520 560 400 581 552 541 393 314

H 161 187 130 170 144 166 127 93

R 74 89 86 94 89 76 91 53

TB 266 251 217 209 267 216 215 184

SH 2

W 19

L 8

% .704

Leroy Thomas was in Amarillo for only 6¡ games, but he knocked in 76 runs (which extrapolates out to ¡80 over a ¡40 game season). He hit .390, had a .460 OB%, and a terrific .766 SA. He was on pace for a 47 double, ¡9 triple, 40 home run season. I know that “on pace for” is, in actuality, meaningless. Nevertheless, Thomas’s extrapolations are pretty impressive. Hickman, by the way, was ¡2–0 in steals. Once again, the Texas League chose a single All Star pitcher (falling prey, no doubt, to the “Hoss” Radbourn syndrome). Actually, the league was really pitcher-weak in ¡960. Only a single qualifying

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 25 7 22 89 28 5 .310 .512 .347 47 4 3 74 58 17 .334 .448 .403 24 0 21 93 96 0 .325 .543 .461 24 3 3 49 73 17 .293 .360 .376 25 1 32 98 69 6 .261 .484 .346 18 10 4 79 52 14 .307 .399 .373 23 10 15 61 84 12 .323 .547 .446 16 6 21 63 41 0 .296 .586 .386

IP 257

H 252

ER 102

SO 144

BB 103

ERA 3.57

BR/9 12.5

pitcher (Gaylord Perry) had an ERA under 3.00, but he was 9–¡3 for a team that played .623 ball when he was not involved in the decision. Ron Herbel was ¡5–4 (league-best .789) and had a 3.50 ERA, fifth lowest in the league. Ray Daviault, Herbel’s Rio Grande Valley teammate, was in 53 games and went ¡3–5 with a 2.76 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8, the latter two both the best marks posted by any pitcher with at least ¡00 innings of work. He also had ¡¡3 strike-outs in ¡¡¡ innings. All in all, a quite well selected squad.

¡960

491

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP

NAME Marion “Bud” Zipfel Pedro Gonzalez Don Eaddy Larry Brown Don Lock John Herrnstein Bill Williams Dick Harris Marion “Tim” Talton No selection made Julius Grant Jim Du›alo

TEAM Binghamton Binghamton Lancaster Reading Binghamton Williamsport Reading Williamsport Springfield

Reading Springfield

G 139 131 105 140 136 136 137 80 100

AB 509 547 378 509 477 478 536 232 322

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 138 95 268 30 8 28 107 72 2 .271 .527 .365 179 83 241 26 3 10 70 18 27 .327 .441 .360 115 76 172 17 8 8 33 79 9 .304 .455 .432 120 71 187 18 2 15 68 63 5 .236 .367 .332 125 101 262 14 9 35 117 85 6 .262 .549 .377 146 79 219 13 3 16 85 56 11 .305 .458 .391 152 79 238 19 8 17 96 39 11 .284 .444 .339 65 31 82 8 0 3 42 50 .280 .353 .408 106 46 144 22 2 4 46 35 0 .329 .447 .400

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

32 24

31 21

14 16

1 3

13 16

8 5

.619 .762

225 171

189 122

84 50

162 148

126 54

3.36 2.63

13.0 9.3

played for Williamsport, had .284/.399/.376 averages, scored 83 runs, and led the league in both stolen bases with 40 and outfield put-outs with 34¡. Sorensen (Lancaster) hit .285, and was fourth in SA (.53¡), homers (2¡) and RBIs (¡0¡). In the absence of an o‡cial utility man, may I propose the candidature of Ted Schreiber of Allentown. He played third, second, and the outfield, and though he hit only .257, had acceptable total of 7¡ runs and 76 RBIs. Please note that Du›alo’s BR/9 ratio of 9.3 was among the year’s best. Other pitchers in the race for immortality were Bob He›ner and George Moton of Allentown. He› went ¡6–9 with a 3.23 ERA (third in the league) and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.32, third behind Du›alo and Norm Camp (Williamsport) who came in at ¡¡.29 (Camp, by the way, was ¡2–8 with a 2.88 ERA, and he too deserves consideration). Moton was in 62 games (no starts) and was 8–7 with a 3.¡3 ERA and ¡¡2 Ks in ¡¡5 IP. He was by far the best bull-penner in the league.

Hal Jones must have somehow enraged, irritated, or otherwise piqued the selectors. There is no other explanation for his not being named the league’s first baseman. The Reading slugger hit .299, sixth in the league, slugged .595, the top E.L. mark, and his .405 OB% was third. He led with ¡07 runs and 286 total bases, was second with 34 homers, and his ¡04 RBIs were third. Zipfel had a good year (for the Eastern league), but Jones’s was better, period. At second, Marlan “Goin’ Up The” Coughtry had ¡52 fewer PAs than did Gonzalez, yet scored only eleven fewer runs and had only fourteen fewer RBIs. He hit .308, had a good .532 SA, and, thanks to ¡05 walks, led the league in OB% by a wide margin (57 points) with a .489 mark. Gonzalez had a 6.0 TC/G ratio, one of the years very best marks, so his selection was not a miscarriage of justice by any means, but Coughtry needed to be mentioned. By my reckoning, Williams was the number five outfielder in the ’60 E.L., topped by Lock, Herrnstein, Ted Savage, and Craig Sorensen. Savage, who

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UTIF UTOF UTOF SP SP

NAME Leo Smith Jr. Bobby Case Ed Sada Hilario “Chico” Ruiz Purnal Goldy Donn Clendenon Lamar Jacobs Guy Lavalliere Dick Mcauli›e Len Gabrielson Ernie Rodriguez

Charlie Rabe Ken Hunt

TEAM Knoxville Charleston Savannah Columbia Knoxville Savannah Charlotte Charleston Knoxville Jacksonville Macon

Columbia Columbia

G 22 30

GS 22 30

G 135 139 101 137 138 137 138 100 138 137 140 CG 11 10

AB 525 550 400 594 544 490 588 306 538 473 528

H R TB 2B 158 74 254 28 150 78 188 13 120 77 197 28 172 90 219 17 186 86 302 36 164 92 297 18 167 84 197 20 76 39 104 22 169 109 252 27 132 73 197 19 168 73 210 20

SH 4 2

Rigoberto “Minnie” Mendoza, who would play ten years in Charlotte and become the most popular

W 13 16

L 8 6

% .619 .727

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 10 16 111 46 0 .301 .484 .361 11 1 27 68 14 .273 .342 .360 1 15 49 39 3 .300 .493 .372 9 4 44 34 55 .290 .369 .335 10 20 106 36 1 .342 .555 .391 15 28 109 62 6 .335 .606 .417 5 0 35 26 18 .284 .335 .327 0 2 58 44 3 .248 .340 .350 21 7 54 93 8 .314 .468 .418 8 10 68 65 8 .279 .416 .370 8 2 48 59 5 .318 .398 .394 IP 161 211

H 142 153

ER 43 67

SO 88 221

BB 44 134

ERA 2.40 2.86

BR/9 10.6 12.5

player Hornet ever, has my vote (both forty four years (as of this writing) too late and also totally in-

492

Minor League All-Star Teams and .464 SA marks, 70 and ¡29 points above the figures posted by Jacobs which prompt my support for Mr. Moore. Shifting to catcher, Jackie Moore (Knoxville) hit .27¡ and slugged .433, and the league would have been well served by having a duo of catchers. I would add a spot starter/long man and a reliever to the sta›, Charleston’s Joe Hoerner being the dual purpose guy. He was in 46 games, eighteen of which were starts. He was ¡¡–9 for a team 2¡ games under .500, had a 3.78 ERA and the second best BR/9 ratio at ¡0.0. The reliever was Hector Maestri of Charlotte. In 5¡ games (48 in relief ), he was ¡¡–9 and was second in ERA (he pitched ¡43 innings and ¡40 were needed to qualify for leadership) with a 2.45 mark and led in BR/9 ratio with a 9.9 mark.

consequential) for the second base spot. His averages (.295/.378/.346) were not that much di›erent from Case’s, but Case’s 27 RBIs seem low for a player designated an All-Star, and, unless accompanied by ¡20 runs or so, seem not the stu› of which dreams are made, to paraphrase a phrase. I had utility infielder Dick McAuli›e at short, where he played all but four of his games. He was clearly the best shortstop in the ¡960 SALLY, no question, no doubt, and no dubitation. In the outfield, Jacobs .335 SA and .327 OB% are not All Star caliber. Columbia’s Eddie Moore was my man. His .296 BA was better than Jacobs’s’s (as Homer Simpson would say), and he had ¡5 homers to Lamar’s none, but that is not the impetus behind my support of Moore. Rather, it is Eddie’s .397 OB%

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Gene Davis Joe Teague Ed Olivares Phil Linz Mitchell June Fred Carpenter Juan Visteur Andy Kosco Bob Rikard John Sullivan Jim Burton

Lee Stange Jim Bouton Johnny Seale Joe Kaiser

TEAM Wilson Burlington Winston-Salem Greensboro Burlington Greensboro Wilson Durham Wilson Durham Wilson

Wilson Greensboro Durham Wilson

G 39 28 38 37

G 108 139 134 126 115 117 105 133 100 125 137 GS 35 24 27 32

AB 393 573 470 505 443 449 399 501 321 419 460 CG 20 12 12 15

H 116 164 149 162 142 137 118 137 93 117 129

R 70 86 91 85 80 71 80 67 48 59 69

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 185 15 6 14 66 45 4 .295 .471 .393 213 20 10 3 54 59 6 .286 .372 .356 283 16 9 35 125 83 2 .317 .602 .425 212 26 6 4 74 42 16 .321 .420 .375 255 25 8 24 90 36 26 .321 .576 .384 183 9 8 7 66 44 9 .305 .408 .368 175 23 2 10 54 55 12 .296 .439 .384 236 17 8 22 75 30 1 .273 .471 .317 146 18 1 11 54 66 1 .290 .455 .414 176 18 4 11 71 53 3 .279 .420 .364 204 26 5 13 84 111 6 .280 .443 .422

SH 3 0 3 1

W 20 14 12 14

L 13 8 11 9

I would not have chosen Carpenter for the outfield. Instead, I would have gone to WinstonSalem and their gardeners Rogers Robinson and John Roth. Robinson had .298/.447/.360 averages, scored 84 runs and drove in 86. Roth came in at .3¡4/ .436/.394 with 90 runs and a league-best 265 putouts. If push came to shove, I would chose both, not

% .606 .636 .522 .609

IP 251 194 216 222

H 235 175 203 230

ER 100 59 75 90

SO 196 121 197 137

BB 92 51 78 52

ERA 3.59 2.74 3.13 3.65

BR/9 11.8 11.1 11.8 11.6

only over Carpenter, but also over Kosco and his .3¡7 OB%. Burton played second, third, and in the outfield. Seale’s Bulls finished in last place, 2¡ games under .500. The league’s best reliever was Dan Wooden of Raleigh. He pitched 63 of his 64 games in relief, had a 2.¡4 ERA and an excellent 8.9 BR/9 ratio.

Northwest League (B) Except for (maybe) one outfielder and the lack of both a reliever and a utility man, this was a well chosen team. There is no chosen outfielder who is unworthy of a spot in the Northwest sun, but Eugene’s Felix Maldonado should perhaps have been added to the roster. He hit .334, slugged .447, and had an OB% of .398 with 93 runs, 85 RBIs and 29 steals. Please also take note of Tucker’s very un–first baseman–like 48 steals (he was successful on 87% of

his steal attempts). Harvey Jones (Tri-City) played second and third and hit .278. Thanks to ¡48 walks, he scored ¡¡8 runs and had the best OB% (.454) in the league. Don Tarlton, who split his season between Yakima and Tri-Cities (since he was only in two games for Yakima, it wasn’t much of a split), was in 5¡ games (he had one start). He was ¡2–5 with league-bests in ERA (2.98) and BR/9 (¡¡.5).

¡960

493

Northwest League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C SP SP

NAME TEAM Len Tucker Yakima Ray Tabacchi Lewiston Edmund Zander Yakima Denis Menke Yakima Jose Tartabull Eugene Lorne Johnson Yakima Walter O’Neil Tri-Cities Merritt Ranew Yakima Harry Dunlop Tri-Cities John Stokoe Frederick Rick

Yakima Tri-Cities

G AB H 132 469 158 140 552 167 139 482 157 140 473 159 138 518 178 141 509 156 118 416 131 102 365 133 119 387 129 G 33 37

GS 26 28

CG 15 16

R TB 126 265 95 207 99 267 114 283 104 246 118 266 95 197 61 191 58 157

SH 0 5

W 16 20

L 8 8

2B 25 23 24 26 20 30 24 30 22

3B 5 7 1 7 15 13 3 2 0

% .667 .714

HR 24 1 28 28 6 18 12 8 2 IP 203 226

RBI 117 57 122 103 52 100 76 71 68 H 214 221

BB 66 61 64 88 56 89 99 20 58 ER 71 92

SB BA SA 48 .337 .565 10 .303 .375 3 .326 .554 14 .336 .598 24 .344 .475 12 .306 .523 4 .315 .474 3 .364 .523 0 .333 .406 SO 154 176

BB 81 84

ERA 3.15 3.66

OB% .430 .376 .410 .447 .410 .416 .453 .404 .424 BR/9 13.4 12.2

Three-I League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME Gerry Reimer George Williams Pete Ward Al Weis Don Buford Ed Napoleon Billy Joe Dashner Cal Ripkin No selection made Pat Gillick Dick Warren Ron Woods Hank Fischer

TEAM Des Moines Des Moines Fox Cities Lincoln Lincoln Burlington Topeka Fox Cities

G 137 136 131 137 120 130 136 107

AB 540 521 478 510 433 449 458 356

G 19 22 29 27

GS 17 20 28 26

CG 10 15 12 16

Fox Cities Green Bay Lincoln Cedar Rapids

H 179 176 165 118 125 128 147 100 SH 4 0 3 6

Bob Saverine appears a better choice at short. The Fox Cities Fox hit .273, slugged .365, and had an OB% of .366, all superior to Weis’s marks. Saverine only fielded .9¡0, but the FA posted by Weis (.935), though better, was not enough to close the o›ensive gap. Saverine scored ¡¡0 runs and drove in 60, and stole 33 bases, so even in that arena, not as much is lost by going with the future Oriole/Senator over the future White Sock/Met. But, here is where the wild card known only as Richard Dalton Howser from Miami, Florida reenters our tale. He played 44 games for Sioux City, hitting .349, slugging .564, and with a humonginoid OB% of .549. He scored 59 runs on his 52 hits, a rate which would have given him ¡88 runs over a full III season (his 66 walks extrapolate out to 2¡0). It seems a shame to have a player who, on the season, had .342/.500/.493 averages and scored ¡37 runs with ¡33 walks in only ¡32 games left o› of any Squad of

R 104 104 109 83 83 72 108 59 W 11 8 17 15

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 294 37 12 18 99 54 20 .331 .544 .397 261 30 11 11 101 72 20 .338 .501 .418 245 34 5 12 105 112 10 .345 .513 .477 150 15 1 5 34 70 42 .231 .294 .328 183 21 8 7 53 91 36 .289 .423 .417 195 27 2 12 78 90 4 .285 .434 .407 242 24 1 23 108 99 9 .321 .528 .461 155 20 4 9 74 58 1 .281 .435 .389 L 2 10 9 7

% .846 .444 .654 .682

IP 132 168 211 193

H 114 126 173 141

ER 28 53 66 43

SO 135 172 160 217

BB 67 98 88 93

ERA 1.91 2.84 2.82 2.01

BR/9 12.4 12.4 11.4 11.4

Undying Glory because he was too good for one league and didn’t quite spend enough time in another. I am glad I got to mention him here, and would give Mr. Howser two asterisks for his ¡960 season. I might be persuaded to delete either Buford or Napoleon in favor of Frank Montgomery of Fox Cities. He hit .276, and while his .344 SA was far behind that posted by the other two, his .434 OB% was better (he walked ¡32 times), and he far outdistanced his fellow contenders with ¡¡¡ runs. He, like Buford, stole 36 bases. I would add a reliever to the sta›: Dan Osinski of Lincoln. Dan was in 47 games (all in relief ) and posted a 9–2 won-lost mark. His ERA was 2.89, and he struck out an impressive ¡¡5 batters in only 8¡ innings, a ¡2.8 K/9 pace. The selected sta› as a whole averaged 8.7 K/9, a good ratio indeed.

California League (C) Ike Futch was hard to strike out (he whi›ed only ¡8 times all year, once every 26 ABs). He also hit fairly well. However, I’m going to cast my (ex post facto and non-counting) vote for Bobby Cox. Cox

hit only .255, but his .4¡¡ SA and .397 OB% were both well above Futch’s marks. Cox also scored 99 runs, had 75 RBIs, walked 95 times, and stole 28 bases. The choice seems clear to me.

494

Minor League All-Star Teams

POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UTIF UTOF

SP SP SP RP

NAME Richard Edwards Ike Futch Ricardo Joseph Joseph Curtin Elvio Jimenez Chuck Hinton Lowell Barnhart Frank “Noodles” Zupo Lionel Rogers Al Ferrara

Thad Tillotson Bob Lasko Gary Kroll Robert Arrighi

TEAM Bakersfield Modesto Fresno Reno Modesto Stockton Reno Stockton Fresno Reno

Reno Modesto Bakersfield Reno

G 30 21 35 69

G 138 113 139 139 105 101 140 106 131 136

GS 29 21 34 0

AB 556 470 554 516 437 371 522 364 500 525

CG 12 11 17 0

H 155 146 177 130 161 137 165 116 151 185

SH 2 3 4 0

R 80 84 106 88 83 95 116 52 100 116

W 19 12 17 16

L 6 7 12 10

TB 249 168 277 164 225 233 246 161 231 270

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 20 4 22 104 42 13 .279 .448 .334 14 4 0 39 51 13 .311 .357 .379 35 13 13 106 76 8 .319 .500 .418 19 3 3 90 78 16 .252 .318 .357 29 7 7 83 26 7 .368 .515 .409 22 7 20 88 79 34 .369 .628 .482 31 4 14 109 82 13 .316 .471 .428 18 3 7 69 49 0 .319 .442 .411 31 2 15 104 71 12 .302 .462 .394 34 6 13 97 79 14 .352 .514 .447

% .760 .632 .586 .615

IP 212 158 257 155

H 196 121 191 107

ER 75 59 83 45

SO 128 188 309 230

BB 88 98 166 101

ERA 3.18 3.36 2.91 2.61

BR/9 12.5 12.8 12.9 12.3

ERA. We shall get to the third Port pitcher in a bit, after I mention Bakersfield’s John Hogg. He worked in 52 games (¡5 starts) and went ¡5–¡0 with a 2.59 ERA and 2¡2 strike-outs in 222 innings. Alrighty then, the third Stockton hurler is the incredible, the unbelievable, the awesome … Steve Dalkowski. He spent the entire year in the California League, and worked ¡70 innings. He managed a 7–¡5 record while trimming his ERA down to a modest 5.¡4. He gave up 5.6 H/9 and held opponents to a .¡7¡ BA. He even got his BR/9 figure under twenty for the first time, coming in at ¡9.9. He worked ¡70 innings and had 262 strike-outs and 262 walks, the first time he reached parity in those stats. He averaged ¡3.9 Ks and (obviously) ¡3.9 BB every nine innings.

Hinton was 34–2 on steal attempts, a 94% success rate. Rogers played first, second, outfield, and catcher. His Fresno teammate Lou Caputo played second, third, and short and hit .274. He led the league in steals with 50 and in walks with a huge ¡6¡, which gave him a .438 OB%, second to Hinton. Caputo also scored ¡¡3 runs and managed 73 RBIs. Arrighi is the first reliever I have come across (all of his 69 games were in relief ) to strike out over 200 batters. He wound up with an absolutely terrific ¡3.4 K/9 ratio. Kroll struck out ¡0.9/9. Three Stockton pitchers deserve mention. Roger Kudron was an e›ective ¡0–2 with a 2.39 ERA. Harold Woods was 6–2 in 40 games with a low 2.¡6

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Roger Morgan Al Muench Max Alvis Horace Clarke Johnny Lewis Joe Patterson W. “Gates” Brown Joe Torre Elmo Plaskett No selection made

Basil Curry Larry West

TEAM Eau Claire Grand Forks Minot Fargo-Moorhead Winnipeg Winnipeg Duluth-Superior Eau Claire Grand Forks

St. Cloud Grand Forks

G 32 24

GS 26 21

G 90 122 115 114 124 114 121 117 93

CG 10 14

AB 334 440 429 466 435 421 461 369 346

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 109 69 153 19 2 7 65 58 2 .326 .458 .433 119 86 149 14 2 4 38 112 11 .270 .339 .426 147 82 214 21 8 10 76 67 20 .343 .499 .439 143 100 172 17 3 2 40 60 22 .307 .369 .392 130 79 247 24 12 23 104 90 12 .299 .568 .425 131 113 212 21 6 16 60 101 39 .311 .504 .452 135 104 205 14 13 10 68 77 30 .293 .445 .394 127 66 204 23 3 16 62 38 1 .344 .553 .411 102 49 163 14 7 11 78 26 5 .295 .471 .351

SH 2 1

The most powerful first baseman, although he was probably too self-e›acing to mention it himself, was John Self, a Winnipeg Goldeye. His .467 SA, ¡7 homers, and 76 RBIs make him the biggest power threat at his position, but I think I’ll stick with Morgan who was so close to Self ’s run and RBI totals in 9¡ fewer PAs. Curry’s Rox finished last, 2¡ games under .500,

W 7 14

L 15 8

% .318 .636

IP 181 179

H 173 187

ER 66 73

SO 169 89

BB 79 64

ERA 3.28 3.67

BR/9 12.7 12.8

but I would have selected Grand Forks manager Elwood “Bob” Clear as a starting pitcher ahead of him. He went 2¡–6 with a 2.50 ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9, leading the league in wins, finishing second in BR/9 ratio, and third in ERA (he also tied for the lead in strike-outs with ¡83). More impressive was the fact that when he was not involved in the decision (and he was so involved in all 27 games in which he

¡960

495

(¡0.3), which, as we have learned, (almost) automatically disqualifies him from All Star consideration. He was in 50 games (three starts). Funge pitched in 57 games (one start) and was ¡4–3 (for a league-best .824 winning percentage). His ERA was 2.73.

pitched), the Chiefs played .4¡4 ball. He also had 23 CGs in his 27 starts. Two relievers should have been picked: Alejandro Castro of Aberdeen and Bob Funge of Winnipeg. Castro led the league in ERA (2.¡3) and BR/9 allowed

Pioneer League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Gerald McNertney Cesar Tovar Ruthford Salmon Bill Lucas Ray Reed Fred Loesekam Bill Shepard Milo Fuller Tony Cannizzo No selection made

Robert Radovich Dave Eilers Fred Talbot Lou Vickery

TEAM Idaho Falls Missoula Pocatello Boise Boise Idaho Falls Missoula Pocatello Missoula

Great Falls Boise Idaho Falls Billings

G 34 44 29 35

G 130 123 123 123 109 126 128 88 79

GS 24 19 28 28

AB 516 471 527 476 401 493 470 316 227

CG 16 10 14 19

H 176 143 182 148 139 180 153 117 61

SH 1 1 4 1

Bill Pinckard, Missoula first baseman, who played in only 58 games, did not have a good enough (read: long enough) season to supplant McNertney for the positional spot. Plus, big Bill only hit .254 with a poor .325 OB%. But, and this is a big but, he hit 22 homers in only 228 ABs, and, in his 58 games, drove in 56 runs. His SA was .592. He was a force in the P.L. of ¡960. Salmon played a third of his games at second, and would have made a fine utility choice. The best fulltime (and the only one with at least a ¡00 games at the position) third baseman was Dayton Orsburn. Orsburn (who sounds like he should have a “the Third” behind his name and whom I can picture sitting on a yacht in the Hamptons snifting brandy and talking about his girl friend Mu›y) hit .298 with sixteen homers and ¡05 RBIs. He also scored 9¡ runs and slugged .466. By the way, he fielded a terrible .888 at third, just 26 points better than Salmon’s .85¡ (and they both had the same range factor). The outfield choices are fine, but there really should have been a fourth added to the roster. Teolindo Acosta, who played for Billings and Mis-

R 100 109 108 128 86 104 86 62 36

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 267 32 10 13 125 52 2 .341 .517 .412 221 22 10 12 63 56 21 .304 .469 .391 238 23 9 5 65 59 23 .345 .452 .416 217 25 7 10 79 100 27 .311 .456 .436 276 22 2 37 134 58 0 .347 .688 .434 292 22 21 16 109 64 17 .365 .592 .446 278 37 8 24 107 62 10 .326 .591 .412 145 16 0 4 59 57 2 .370 .459 .471 115 12 0 14 48 41 3 .269 .507 .390

W 13 15 16 15

L 12 8 8 11

% .520 .652 .667 .577

IP 188 190 195 203

H 194 188 184 251

ER 85 73 99 105

SO 140 176 189 142

BB 79 54 127 87

ERA 4.07 3.46 4.57 4.66

BR/9 13.3 11.8 14.9 15.1

soula, led the league with a .369 BA, an OB% of .453, and 45 steals. He scored ¡¡4 runs, the number two total in the league. Rather than consign such a season to the scrap heap of history, reason cries out for a four-man Pioneer League outfield in ¡960. As an educated reader can tell (and you must be an educated reader, or you would not even be reading this tome) that pitching was not a strong suit in the Pioneer League in ’60. No qualifier had an ERA under 3.00 (Eilers’ 3.46 led the league and only two other pitchers were under 4.00). That is why the omission of Jose Lizondro (Idaho Falls) is puzzling. The Russet ace was seventh in ERA at 4.38, second in BR/9 allowed at ¡2.3, and led the league in winning percentage with a .765 mark on a ¡3–4 season. The league’s best pitcher was reliever Bill Hooker, another Russet hurler. He was in 57 games (all in relief ) and went 8–8 with a 2.97 ERA and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.4. Had he pitched 24 more innings (and had his performance level remained the same), he would have led the league in both categories, guaranteeing his absence for the team with almost ¡00% assurance.

Alabama-Florida League (D) Aside from the fact that several good pitchers were left of o› the two-man sta› (Could the selectors been thinking that Kalmes and Miller could pull o› a Mickey Welch-Tim Keefe sort of feat if they were teammates for an entire season? Probably not.), this team was, if I may borrow a phrase from the ’60’s, right on.

Foremost among the missing from the sta› are Bruce Griewe, Fred Waters, Pete Pekich, and reliever Dennis Swan. Griewe pitched for Panama City and compiled a ¡2–7 record with a league-topping ¡.84 ERA, mighty low to be overlooked. Fred Waters, ace moundsman of the Pensacola Angels, was ¡4–7 with

496 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME James Abdella Weldon “Hoss” Bowlin Carlos Pascual Bob Sloan Jose Villar Vic Pagel Jim Barbieri Bill Kelso Duane “Duke” Sims No selection made

TEAM Selma Dothan Ft. Walton Beach Panama City Selma Panama City Panama City Panama City Selma

G 106 118 101 115 109 116 112 97 104

AB 340 456 360 436 423 425 390 327 331

H 91 128 117 138 134 136 117 87 91

R 53 86 56 82 87 80 75 57 43

TB 143 182 183 181 243 174 175 152 149

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 11 4 11 61 90 14 .268 .421 .424 32 2 6 50 80 15 .281 .399 .394 22 1 14 82 44 4 .325 .508 .404 20 4 5 55 53 20 .317 .415 .396 28 6 23 81 45 40 .317 .574 .393 23 6 1 53 59 13 .320 .409 .410 16 9 8 68 96 10 .300 .449 .445 15 1 16 71 42 0 .266 .465 .351 18 2 12 56 48 0 .275 .450 .373

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP William Kalmes Panama City 22 22 15 5 15 4 .789 174 92 41 239 128 2.12 11.5 SP George Miller Ft. Walton Beach 29 22 12 1 11 12 .478 188 157 52 162 75 2.49 11.3

By the way, Kalmes only allowed 4.8 hits per nine innings, an exceptionally low mark, and opponents also hit only .¡50 against him. He also averaged ¡2.4 K/9. Quite a year for young “Remain” Kalmes.

an ERA of 2.55 and a league-low BR/9 ratio of 9.3. Pete “Pick a Peck of Pickled” Pekich was the main man of the Selma Cloverleaf sta›. He led the league in wins (he finished at ¡7–7), struck out 2¡9 hitters in ¡93 IP, had a 3.¡2 ERA and was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡¡.2. Swan (Panama City) was in 35 games, 34 in relief. He was 7–¡ with a low ¡.67 ERA.

Appalachian League (D) POS 1B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Phil Barth Bill Sorrell Francis Pittaro Norm Housley LeRoy Hock Joy Gritts Kenny Faulkner Sam Bowens Randy Hundley No selection made

Vern Merrick John Ellen

TEAM Bluefield Johnson City Wytheville Kingsport Wytheville Wytheville Morristown Bluefield Salem

Wytheville Bluefield

G 14 18

G 65 65 53 62 66 70 68 57 44

GS 6 15

AB 245 225 180 214 222 252 255 225 153

CG 3 8

H 66 67 60 56 73 65 82 73 41

R 56 41 51 49 52 64 52 48 32

SH 0 0

W 4 6

Housley played 50 games at first, and if he played any games at all at third, the number was under ten. In fact, I would have selected Housley as the squad’s first baseman over Barth. I would have then installed Jimmie Price into the now-vacant third base slot. Price, who played for

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 117 11 0 14 51 29 3 .269 .478 .356 106 7 4 8 34 29 21 .298 .471 .380 94 10 6 4 34 46 24 .333 .522 .483 105 11 4 10 42 49 2 .262 .491 .408 87 5 3 1 21 46 15 .329 .392 .450 147 8 1 24 60 52 9 .258 .583 .389 122 21 5 3 49 37 5 .322 .478 .408 116 21 2 6 41 23 3 .324 .516 .394 66 10 3 3 15 21 0 .268 .431 .356

L 4 5

% .500 .545

IP 80 109

H 75 106

ER 23 36

SO 87 137

BB 39 42

ERA 2.59 2.97

BR/9 12.8 12.4

Kingsport, hit .285 and had a .393 OB%, the best of any third baseman who played in at least 40 games. Walt Bales of Morristown would have been my catching choice. His averages were .307/.500/.4¡6 and he had 3¡ RBIs. Ellen averaged ¡¡.3 Ks every nine innings.

Florida State League (D) Bristol was a playing manager. I was grabbing for straws in such a weak line-up, but there were precious few to be grasped. The only alternatives which I could come up with were Santiago Rosario, Daytona Beach first baseman, and Frank Cipriani, Sanford outfielder. Rosario had it all over “The Hawk,” winning the batting crown with a .3¡9 BA. and the OB% crown

with a mark of .424. He was fourth with 7¡ RBIs and second with ¡02 runs. Cipriani hit .335 in 69 games, and his .442 SA and .4¡9 OB% would both have been Top Five marks had he enough ABs to qualify. Ken Sanders (Sanford) led the league with ¡9 wins (he was ¡9–¡0) and in BR/9 ratio with ¡¡.2. Teddy Davidson, who pitched for Palatka, led the league in

¡960 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF

SP SP SP SP

NAME Ken Harrelson Dave Bristol Charlie Green Tommy Helms Bolivar Hinjosa Pat Sisk Miles McWilliams Pat Corrales Bob Perez Luis Alcarez Julian Vicente

Bob Golick Sam Thompson Jim Dunlap Marcelino Lopez

TEAM Sanford Palatka Tampa Palatka Sanford Sanford Palatka Tampa Sanford Orlando St. Petersburg

Sanford Palatka Leesburg Tampa

G 36 29 31 28

G 126 137 130 137 137 125 137 128 72 70 85

GS 26 23 27 25

AB 472 499 468 586 508 459 510 386 294 247 309

CG 18 18 15 10

497

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 107 70 168 21 5 10 72 62 11 .227 .356 .319 147 97 222 26 2 15 95 102 24 .295 .445 .416 116 65 154 16 2 6 64 44 6 .248 .329 .319 171 119 223 33 5 3 69 38 10 .292 .381 .336 153 72 226 32 7 9 109 75 20 .301 .445 .392 125 91 153 16 3 2 31 99 28 .272 .333 .403 163 86 253 29 8 15 113 77 12 .320 .496 .417 95 73 126 18 5 1 60 91 6 .246 .326 .392 72 45 108 15 3 5 41 19 10 .245 .367 .291 51 49 83 13 2 5 45 44 15 .206 .336 .329 87 49 100 8 1 1 39 32 9 .282 .324 .349 SH 1 2 3 7

ERA at 2.35, but was only 9–5. Ivan Davis (also a Palatkaite) was in 58 games (he had two starts) with a ¡4–¡¡ record and a good 2.47 ERA.

W 14 16 16 14

L 13 8 12 11

% .519 .667 .571 .560

IP 212 217 223 177

H 188 185 187 125

ER 78 67 66 58

SO 133 149 216 162

BB 88 95 105 141

ERA 3.31 2.78 2.66 2.95

BR/9 11.8 11.8 11.8 14.3

The Fla. State hit only .235 as an entity and slugged a weak .3¡6. Only 9.7 runs were scored (on average, per game.

Mexican Center League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Idelfonso Ruiz Genaro Puente Rogelio Jimenez Abundio Hernandez Saul Villegas Roberto Moreño Luis Hernandez Alfonso Ibarra Eloy Gutierrez No selection made

Adolfo Flores Gregorio Polo

TEAM G AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% San Luis Potosi 81 287 83 43 139 17 6 9 52 40 4 .289 .484 .382 San Luis Potosi 97 341 115 55 155 20 7 2 33 53 6 .337 .455 .429 Salamanca 94 315 114 66 140 1 2 54 54 84 10 .362 .444 .501 Aguascalientes 94 367 109 79 148 23 5 3 37 51 32 .297 .403 .383 Salamanca 100 391 127 105 222 18 4 23 105 65 11 .325 .568 .429 Guanajuato 90 341 110 66 200 19 7 19 82 42 15 .323 .587 .400 Guanajuato 79 297 120 70 199 26 7 13 64 38 23 .404 .670 .476 San Luis Potosi 83 320 97 66 181 24 3 18 70 38 0 .303 .566 .384 Guanajuato 98 379 128 80 199 29 9 8 62 23 13 .338 .525 .385

Celaya Aguascalientes

G 21 31

GS 18 12

CG 12 6

SH 2 0

Hector Espino, who for many years held the AllTime record for minor league home runs with 484, began his career in the ¡960 San Luis Potosi Tunero outfield. He hit .362 with an OB% of .459 and a terrific .729 SA. He hit 20 home runs in 229 ABs and drove in 60 runs in 63 games.

W 12 11

L 6 4

% .667 .733

IP 145 155

H 125 153

ER 46 68

SO 62 77

BB 91 73

ERA 2.86 3.95

BR/9 13.6 13.6

Rafael Rodriguez of Leon was 8–2 with a exceptional ¡.44 ERA, and he also led in BR/9 ratio with 9.7. Manuel Perez went ¡3–6 for the Celaya Cajetaros. He was second to Rodriguez in ERA (2.45) and BR/9 (¡0.3).

Midwest League (D) Wendell Wear wore out MW league pitchers in ’60 (well, perhaps that is a touch hyperbolic, but, he certainly inflicted more damage than did Mason), but was overlooked at first at first. At second look, however, forty some-odd years later, Wear can finally wear the mantle of MWL Dream Teamhood which he should have been wearing lo these many years. Wear hit .297, had an OB% of .396, and was second in slugging with a .54¡ mark. His 25 homers were also second, and his 83 RBIs were third. DeCandido only played eleven games at third (he

was in 96 at second). Willie Broughton (Quincy) was in 83 games and led the league with ¡02 walks. He scored 7¡ runs and had a very good .493 OB%. If he had gone hitless and walkless in the 26 more PAs he needed to reach league-leader-qualifying status, he would still have led with a .485 mark. Sprout only gave up 5.4 H/9, and opponents only hit .¡65 against him. He also struck out ¡2.4 batters every nine innings. Haake threw three one-hitters during the season. The selected sta› had 769 strikeouts in 693 innings, ten Ks per nine IP.

498

Minor League All-Star Teams

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF SP SP SP SP

NAME John Mason Julio Linares Joe DeCandido Karl Frantz Art Blunt Wayne McDonald Victor Ramirez Hector Valle Archie Skeen John Ryan James Springborn

Bob Sprout Scot Seger Tom Haake Gale Dennis

TEAM Keokuk Quincy Waterloo Davenport Dubuque Davenport Dubuque Kokomo Waterloo Decatur Quincy

Decatur Clinton Dubuque Waterloo

G 122 115 104 70 111 76 108 100 76 122 119

AB 467 460 369 253 363 290 377 319 260 412 418

H 144 149 112 67 110 104 120 84 70 129 117

R 81 81 83 37 99 48 78 46 44 70 74

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 213 22 16 5 86 41 24 .308 .456 .370 210 24 11 5 60 29 18 .324 .457 .365 169 25 4 8 62 81 16 .304 .458 .429 86 9 5 0 15 35 0 .265 .340 .356 214 14 6 26 91 90 9 .303 .590 .458 155 19 4 8 62 33 4 .359 .534 .431 183 16 7 11 66 65 20 .318 .485 .421 100 10 3 0 46 56 2 .263 .313 .380 113 7 6 8 61 48 2 .269 .435 .387 179 19 11 3 62 73 4 .313 .434 .421 174 20 5 9 63 55 12 .280 .416 .369

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

28 23 25 23

24 21 22 22

14 14 18 16

5 3 4 3

15 12 19 15

7 10 3 8

.682 .545 .864 .652

190 158 175 170

113 108 114 168

55 50 49 48

264 176 208 121

120 108 74 34

2.61 2.85 2.52 2.54

11.3 12.7 10.0 11.2

New York-Pennsylvania League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME William Halter David Sanchez Gene Domzalski Loevel Vento Kenneth Roesler Art Shamsky Pablo Mitchell Pete Cronin Walter James Frank Franchi No selection made Joel Kiger Roland Sheldon Bruce Brubaker William Jones

TEAM Corning Erie Auburn Erie Wellsville Geneva Erie Corning Auburn Erie

Erie Auburn Wellsville Erie

G 25 18 27 30

G 128 130 121 89 121 119 117 81 100 130 GS 23 17 24 28

AB 448 451 492 335 473 409 451 276 312 464 CG 20 15 10 17

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 141 91 203 29 6 7 86 100 4 .315 .453 .441 118 73 161 12 11 3 74 78 11 .262 .357 .374 149 98 202 19 5 9 104 62 4 .303 .411 .382 95 70 134 19 4 4 49 64 10 .284 .400 .403 139 100 213 14 6 16 83 76 14 .294 .450 .396 111 84 197 16 8 18 86 91 5 .271 .482 .406 157 111 217 25 7 7 70 80 22 .348 .481 .457 84 49 107 10 5 1 42 24 9 .304 .388 .364 101 71 153 17 4 9 68 65 7 .324 .490 .442 144 95 208 28 3 10 89 120 2 .310 .448 .457 SH 2 1 2 0

As much as I enjoy Loevel Vento’s name, I don’t think that his name alone is enough to justify his spot on this team. For one thing, he fielded only .9¡8 and handled fewer than 5 chances a game (4.8 to be exact). For another, Gary Hess. The Corning shortstop led the NYP in FA, POs, As, and DPs. He also hit .302, but it is mostly the fielding that makes me favor Hess. Vento is definitely the number two guy though. Auburn played 392 (!) ball when Sheldon was not involved in the decision. The Yankees also had a 5.86

W 18 15 16 20

L 6 1 5 5

% .750 .938 .762 .800

IP 212 150 182 229

H 167 112 138 195

ER 66 48 74 100

SO 188 127 142 196

BB 93 56 98 147

ERA 2.80 2.88 3.66 3.93

BR/9 11.0 10.3 12.1 13.8

team ERA when Rollie’s innings and ER are subtracted from the team totals. Given the poor (putting it kindly) performance of the rest of the sta›, one could almost say that this was one of the more dominating performances of the year. As an aside, I wrote Mr. Sheldon to ask about his one loss. Unfortunately, I can’t find his kind reply (don’t laugh—if you lived in our house, you couldn’t find anything either), but his sole loss was either ¡–0 or 2–¡ in extra innings.

Sophomore League (D) As Hector Martinez played only 48 games at second (he played 69 at short), I think that he would have been a better choice as a utility infielder. Don DeJarnette (Artesia) who was the only league player with at least ¡00 games at second (in fact, the only one with over 73), would have been my selection for the roster spot. He hit .270 and had an OB% of .39¡.

Hobbs flyhawk Jose Vidal hit .342 and slugged .570, and had 85 runs and 8¡ RBIs in 96 games. His ¡7 home runs were the second-highest total in the league, and he also stole 20 bases. I would add two starters and a reliever to the sta›. Jose Santiago (Albuquerque) was ¡5–6 with a leaguebest 3.30 ERA. He had 2¡7 strike-outs in 207 innings.

¡960 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Tommy Rinks Hector Martinez Michæl Imbriani Gil Garrido Jesus Alou Dick McLaughlin Lewis Bishop Dave Massarelli William Bevels No selection made

Frank Bork Rodger Irvine

TEAM Hobbs Albuquerque Alpine Artesia Artesia Odessa Carlsbad Hobbs Odessa

Hobbs Hobbs

G 26 10

GS 21 9

G 99 117 126 128 126 131 119 102 78

AB 358 451 428 511 534 506 403 302 252

CG 12 1

H 116 140 123 185 188 174 133 87 74

SH 1 0

499

R 71 83 95 112 102 105 105 64 48

W 15 7

TB 209 213 185 223 266 267 242 150 96

L 4 1

2B 23 32 13 22 33 19 22 22 11

% .789 .875

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 14 14 91 53 4 .324 .584 .424 4 11 82 39 22 .310 .472 .374 11 9 85 84 11 .287 .432 .410 8 0 57 65 45 .362 .436 .435 6 11 91 16 18 .352 .498 .372 19 12 109 61 12 .344 .528 .417 9 23 92 89 10 .330 .600 .452 1 13 48 59 17 .288 .497 .414 1 3 52 39 2 .294 .381 .390

IP 175 64

H 175 49

ER 65 17

SO 171 82

BB 56 41

ERA 3.34 2.39

BR/9 12.2 13.4

and was 8–5. He had an ERA of 4.07, but walked only ¡.5 batters every nine innings for a good (for the league) ¡¡.6 BR/9 ratio. Irvine, by the way, averaged ¡¡.5 strike-outs per nine innings.

Ken Whitmore of Hobbs went ¡6–5 with a 3.34 ERA, third in the league, and led in BR/9 allowed with a mark of ¡¡.5. The reliever was Minervino “Minnie” Rojas of Artesia. He pitched in 33 games (six starts)

Western Carolina League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME LeRoy Scercy Jack Turney Charles “Fabian” Forte Don Killian Jack Falls L. Lanier Robinson Herb Burnette Gary Cowan Jim Burnette No selection made

John Isaac Danny Hayling

TEAM Newton-Conover Salisbury Lexington Shelby Gastonia Shelby Lexington Rutherford County Newton-Conover

Newton-Conover Hickory

G 36 38

GS 21 25

G 66 97 93 50 89 83 90 84 96

AB 254 398 387 187 267 314 373 293 341

CG 15 24

Falls and Isaac were playing managers. Believe it or don’t, there were no fewer than two league teams with the nickname “Owls.” That has got to be a first. The two teams of the Striges persuasion were Rutherford County (which represented Forest City) and Statesville. I wonder if either team played better at night. Can you believe the batting line for the selector’s choice at shortstop? These sages must have gone on to get jobs on the Florida State Election Commission. But seriously, Norm Smith of Lexington, a shortstop by trade, hit .299 (falling but a single short of doubling Killian’s BA), slugged .395 (a mark which the mighty Killian managed to attain a staggering 4¡% of ), and had an OB% of .345 (in itself unimpressive, being a mere ¡44% of Killian’s figure). He led the league in runs with 83 and had 50 RBIs. What could the electors been thinking (or drinking)? Only three guys reached double figures in home

H 77 144 124 28 85 109 128 83 88

SH 2 2

R 54 73 64 20 61 52 76 42 38

W 16 22

TB 152 173 162 30 128 171 181 114 118

L 9 9

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 19 4 16 52 49 3 .303 .598 .418 18 4 1 73 36 8 .362 .435 .416 23 6 1 49 15 19 .320 .419 .354 2 0 0 14 17 5 .150 .160 .239 18 2 7 56 84 4 .318 .479 .487 29 6 7 53 38 10 .347 .545 .423 25 2 8 50 28 13 .343 .485 .394 9 5 4 36 26 5 .283 .389 .352 11 8 1 44 29 9 .258 .346 .324

% .640 .710

IP 167 229

H 164 195

ER 35 51

SO 177 174

BB 39 72

ERA 1.89 2.00

BR/9 11.3 10.6

runs. One was Scercy, and the other two were unselected outfielders. Now, I can see not selecting George Washington Wilson, Shelby manager (even though I would have). After all, G.W. only played in 49 games and had only ¡02 ABs. But, check this out: he hit .382, had an OB% of .496, and slugged a huge .745. He hit ten homers in his ¡02 ABs (that’s one every ten times at bat so you figure filberts out there can put away your slide rules), and had 39 RBIs. Power and Production, despite the few opportunities he had to do either; that was the hallmark of George Washington’s season. Salisbury’s Paul Roberts hit 23 home runs, 44% more than the runner-up in that category. He had 9¡ RBIs in a league where only ten other players had even fifty, and where only two others reached 70. He scored 67 runs, good for sixth in the league. He may have only hit .283, but his power makes up a lot of distance in the race for a spot on the squad. Besides, Falls should have been a utility choice

500

Minor League All-Star Teams

anyways. He played first and second as well as the outfield. Robinson played first and third as well as the outfield. By naming those two worthies to utility spots, suddenly the outfield is abloom with alternative possibilities. Overlooked for a mound spot was Bill Bethea of Lexington. He went ¡¡–3 (for a league-best .786 mark) and had a very low ¡.35 ERA. He allowed only 4.6 hits every nine innings and held opponents to a

.¡45 BA, a most excellent figure indeed. If not for his 6.6 walks a game, Bethea may well have gone under ¡.00 in ERA! Hayling, by the way, hit .367 with 2¡ RBIs. And, finally, I would be remiss not to mention Hickory manager Marc “A” Hoy. He only pitched 30 innings over five games for himself, but had an ERA of 0.60. I just thought you’d like to know, because I know I would.

! ¡96¡ ! In ¡96¡, there were 22 leagues in the National Association. All 22 of them named All-Star teams.

American Association (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C C UT UT UT

SP SP SP SP SP RP

NAME Marion “Bud” Zipfel Jim Baumer Cli› Cook Jim Fregosi Jim McDaniel Bill Lajoie George Alusik Don Pavletich J.W. Porter Bob Rogers J.C. Hartman Ted Kazanski Jack Waters

Claude Osteen Hugh Pepper Jack Spring Gordon Seyfried Don Rudolph Willard Hunter

TEAM Houston Denver Indianapolis Dallas-Ft. Worth Denver Omaha Denver Indianapolis Denver Dallas-Ft. Worth Houston Dallas-Ft. Worth Houston

Indianapolis Dallas-Ft. Worth Dallas-Ft. Worth Denver Indianapolis Omaha

G 101 118 145 150 150 129 102 142 137 124 144 134 147

AB 378 478 515 516 554 506 379 511 470 427 599 429 549

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 118 75 207 18 4 21 62 65 2 .312 .548 .414 148 71 219 27 4 12 76 32 3 .310 .458 .359 160 102 303 33 7 32 119 68 3 .311 .588 .394 131 54 175 18 4 6 50 50 6 .254 .339 .325 156 101 279 27 3 30 114 77 10 .282 .504 .369 162 68 208 29 4 3 64 39 6 .320 .411 .371 113 70 184 27 1 14 81 41 1 .298 .485 .376 151 76 249 28 3 22 78 54 4 .295 .487 .364 133 71 225 23 6 19 77 60 3 .283 .479 .365 122 55 159 22 3 3 62 47 2 .286 .372 .359 155 64 198 19 3 6 53 20 7 .259 .331 .284 106 44 143 20 1 5 51 29 2 .247 .333 .296 147 81 218 25 5 12 47 40 5 .268 .397 .317

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 28 26 11 1 15 11 .577 191 184 75 132 77 3.53 12.3 34 32 8 2 15 11 .577 227 234 87 129 94 3.45 13.1 23 23 2 1 8 7 .533 128 146 57 64 28 4.01 12.3 30 27 11 1 14 8 .636 198 244 96 90 38 4.36 12.9 35 33 11 3 18 9 .667 221 236 87 109 46 3.54 11.6 66 0 0 0 6 8 .429 101 92 41 82 57 3.65 13.3

My choice for the shortstop position only played 64 games for Denver before being called up to Detroit, but a mighty fine 64 games they were. Dick McAuli›e hit .353 with a .587 SA and a .4¡8 OB%. He hit ¡4 triples, just one o› the league lead, and scored 62 runs. Both Pavletich and Porter were first basemen/ catchers and should have been named as utility men.

The best catcher in the league, by far (despite his selfdeprecating humor over the years), was Bob Uecker. He hit .309, had, a .5¡0 SA and a .4¡8 OB% and popped ¡4 homers. Fredrico “Chi Chi” Olivo, Louisville, was the league’s best pitcher. He led in ERA (2.66) and BR/9 ratio (¡0.¡) while compiling a 7–4 record in 42 games (34 in relief ). Osteen hit .259 with ¡7 RBIs.

International League (AAA) I would switch Clendenon and Powell, even though neither was primarily an outfielder. The Booger only played 44 games in the outfield, and should have been the league’s first baseman. Clendenon played 56 games in the outfield, so I suppose that he should replace the large lad in the garden, since he does deserve a spot on the squad.

And, speaking of the outfield, I had two non-selected players marked o› in my ancient papyrus ¡962 edition record book, “Sweet” Lou Johnson and “Semi-Sweet” Don Lock. Johnson, who gamboled over the green, green grass of Toronto, hit .286, slugged .476, and scored 93 runs. He had 2¡ steals and led the circuit with ¡8 triples. Lock played for

¡96¡ POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Donn Clendenon Julio Gotay Felix Torres Tom Tresh Ted Savage John “Boog” Powell Roman Mejias Bob Oldis No selection made

TEAM Columbus S. Juan/Charleston Bu›alo Richmond Bu›alo Rochester Columbus Columbus

G 147 115 144 144 149 142 126 81

AB 507 398 532 521 547 486 428 241

501

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 147 87 257 26 9 22 82 67 25 .290 .507 .375 122 61 164 15 3 7 39 36 17 .307 .412 .376 147 74 252 32 0 24 97 34 2 .276 .474 .323 164 70 223 23 6 8 42 53 13 .315 .428 .382 178 117 287 29 4 24 65 96 31 .325 .525 .428 156 86 288 26 5 32 92 53 0 .321 .593 .390 119 62 205 11 6 21 71 27 9 .278 .479 .335 54 24 70 6 2 2 21 30 1 .224 .290 .320

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Ray Washburn S. Juan/Charleston 30 26 12 4 16 9 .640 181 160 47 115 55 2.34 10.9 SP Bob Veale Columbus 28 28 11 4 14 11 .560 201 169 57 208 92 2.55 11.7

Richmond, and, though he hit a poor .236, slammed 29 home runs and had a .47¡ SA. He scored 76 times and drove in 77 runs. The catching was not particularly outstanding, but 2¡ RBIs does not an All-Star make. I nominate Oldis’s Ex-Pirate teammate, Danny “Dusty” Kravitz for the spot. “Beak” hit .270 with ¡0 homers and 54 RBIs, the best the l.L. had to o›er. No utility man was selected, but the player chosen by the National Association of Baseball Writers as the best second baseman in Triple A for the ¡96¡ season (despite playing only 43 games there) certainly fills that bill. Bob Johnson played second,

third, and short for Rochester, and had .332, .548, .393 averages. He hit ¡8 homers, scored 66 runs and had 65 RBIs in the 9¡ games in which he played before being called up to Washington. Al Jackson (Columbus) was ¡2–7 with a 2.89 ERA and was second in BR/9 ratio (to 7–¡¡ Ron Negray’s ¡0.3) with a ¡0.7 mark. His ancient (42 year old) Jet teammate, Diomedes Olivo, was by far the best reliever in the league. In 66 games he went ¡¡–7 and racked up a 2.0¡ ERA. He BR/9 ratio was a fabulous 8.7, and he gave up ¡.5 unintentional walks every nine innings, while striking out 8.2 batters over the same span, a terrific 5.5–¡ K/BB ratio. Quite a year for the old fellow.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Gene Oliver Chuck Hiller Ed Charles Denis Menke Al Lupow Howie Goss Lu Clinton Howard “Doc” Edwards Ken Retzer No selection made

TEAM Portland Tacoma Vancouver Vancouver Salt Lake City Vancouver Seattle Salt Lake City San Diego

SP Ron “Hit Man” Herbel Tacoma SP Ron Piche Vancouver

G 121 73 148 137 152 142 127 120 100

AB 417 281 594 434 596 518 475 402 309

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 126 88 255 17 2 36 100 86 6 .302 .612 .423 91 54 127 16 3 5 32 30 4 .324 .452 .395 181 114 274 36 9 13 77 79 29 .305 .461 .386 127 75 207 23 6 15 73 89 11 .293 .477 .419 180 90 281 18 16 17 91 69 4 .302 .471 .378 155 93 270 18 8 27 100 44 10 .299 .521 .355 140 90 240 27 5 21 102 55 5 .295 .505 .373 133 51 172 14 5 5 54 29 1 .331 .428 .382 87 38 123 13 1 7 42 43 2 .282 .398 .369

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 29 28 9 1 16 5 .762 187 169 73 114 86 3.51 12.4 29 21 10 5 14 7 .667 175 152 44 119 69 2.26 11.6

I had Oliver as a utility man (he caught in 36 games) and had Hal Jones of Salt Lake City at first. Jones hit .270 with a .5¡3 SA, 27 homers, and ¡00 RBIs. There were two outfielders from the Hawaii Islanders on my squad: George Prescott and Carlos Bernier. Prescott hit .30¡, slugged .582, had a .4¡7 OB%, rapped 32 homers, and drove in ¡00 runs. Bernier led the league with a .35¡ average and a .472 OB% and was third with a .559 SA. He had 20 homers and 22 steals, drove in 87 runs and scored 89. My outfield of Goss, Bernier, and Prescott had

.3¡¡/.544/.408 averages to the league trio’s .299/.498/ .369. U-Pik-Em. Not strong on pitching, the PCL needs some relief, and that relief ’s name is Radatz — Dick Radatz. If you can recall the “Monster,” you will remember that, before his arm went south, he left batters shaken, not stirred. (For my money, he was the best and most feared reliever in baseball history for the three years he had his stu›, approached only by Ryne Duren in his two good years, at least until the arrival of Greg Gagne.) He was 5–6 in 54 games with a 2.28 ERA and had 74 Ks in 7¡ innings.

502

Minor League All-Star Teams

Mexican League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Jose Guererro Vinicio Garcia Luis Garcia Jorge Fitch Asdrubal Baro Juan Delis Al Pinkston Miguel Gaspar Alberto Palafox No selection made

SP SP

Julio Moreño Ramon Araño

TEAM Pueblo Monterrey Poza Rica Pueblo Veracruz Monterrey Veracruz Veracruz M.C. Diablos Rojos

Pueblo Veracruz

G 112 121 116 90 133 119 109 113 96

AB 426 488 387 329 465 432 406 367 314

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 139 71 194 17 4 10 72 41 6 .326 .455 .387 169 85 239 49 3 5 63 37 6 .346 .490 .397 127 71 221 20 4 22 78 67 3 .328 .571 .438 103 47 127 16 4 0 36 22 2 .313 .386 .360 162 108 237 30 6 11 86 98 6 .348 .510 .468 148 85 222 22 11 10 83 45 13 .343 .514 .418 152 79 225 26 4 13 86 48 4 .374 .554 .449 121 39 134 13 0 0 42 26 1 .330 .365 .380 95 36 121 12 7 0 43 12 3 .303 .385 .328

G

GS

CG

SH

W

L

%

IP

H

ER

SO

BB

ERA

BR/9

25 34

23 20

12 11

1 3

13 11

4 3

.765 .786

167 172

147 198

56 71

77 124

40 48

3.02 3.72

10.1 13.0

Moises Camacho, Puebla Perico keystoner, had .335/.533/.435 averages and hit ¡5 homers. His 77 runs were eight fewer than Garcia’s total, his 7¡ RBIs were eight more. Seems to be about sies of one and una mitad docena de otro.

You will notice that Al Pinkston slumped to .374, but take into consideration the fact that he was now 43 years old. As an aside, Moreño was forty years old.

Southern Association (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C C UTIF

SP SP SP SP SP SP RP

NAME Don Saner Legrant Scott Jr. Wayne Graham Arnaldo Suarez Stan Palys Joe Christian John Herrnstein Gerald Reimer Al “The Bull” Ferrara Mike Brumley Lou Holdener John Sullivan Norm Gigon

TEAM Little Rock Birmingham Chattanooga Macon Birmingham Nashville Chattanooga Chattanooga Atlanta Atlanta Mobile Birmingham Chattanooga

Howie Koplitz Birmingham John Boozer Chattanooga Charlie Rabe Macon Al Koch Birmingham Dale Willis Shreveport Douglas Gallagher Birmingham Jack Smith Atlanta

G 119 152 151 136 139 146 150 141 143 105 131 126 135

AB 404 592 601 571 492 545 569 530 543 348 441 415 540

G GS CG 36 24 18 35 24 14 33 27 14 36 26 11 32 19 7 30 27 17 70 3 2

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 141 77 189 27 3 5 52 84 6 .349 .468 .461 186 128 234 22 7 4 55 123 18 .314 .395 .434 199 89 280 51 9 4 85 47 9 .331 .466 .383 159 73 193 18 5 2 45 35 3 .278 .338 .325 164 110 250 33 7 13 114 93 2 .333 .508 .444 183 99 263 35 9 9 85 78 2 .336 .483 .423 166 98 251 22 6 17 95 65 3 .292 .441 .373 171 85 261 35 14 9 93 22 1 .323 .492 .352 145 70 229 31 1 17 100 50 8 .267 .422 .337 94 48 131 15 2 6 37 50 7 .270 .376 .367 111 39 162 27 0 8 47 22 0 .252 .367 .293 95 47 137 14 2 8 57 70 0 .229 .330 .342 165 77 226 28 7 6 78 37 4 .306 .419 .356 SH 3 4 2 3 3 3 0

Saner’s year was rather unproductive for a .349 BA, don’t you think? My choice is Cal Emery (Chattanooga) who may have hit just .292 but scored 85 runs and drove in 97. His SA was .542, and his OB%, while not up to Saner’s league-best .46¡, was an acceptable .4¡9, as he drew 9¡ walks. At short, I’d go give consideration to Lee Elia (Chattanooga). Suarez was a better fielder (.960, 5.2 to Elia’s .935, 4.8), but Elia scored 83 runs and drove in 56 with .266/.363/.358 averages. Consideration I gave Elia indeed, but in the end, Suarez’s fielding won out, as the SA/OB% advantage of Elia’s was not

W 23 19 15 15 11 15 12

L 3 9 10 10 11 9 7

% .885 .679 .600 .600 .500 .625 .632

IP 230 207 231 194 169 209 155

H 163 170 219 175 124 196 129

ER SO BB ERA BR/9 54 166 75 2.11 9.4 60 116 57 2.61 9.9 82 135 61 3.19 11.0 76 173 87 3.53 12.7 58 116 107 3.09 12.4 82 161 105 3.53 13.2 36 111 56 2.09 11.0

enough, in my mind, to make up the fielding di›erence. Those wacky SA voters did it again! Five, count ’em, five outfielders selected and they missed one. Shreveport’s Bill Kern hit .278, slugged .495 (second best of the six OFers in question), and had an OB% of .380 (third best). He hit 24 homers, third highest total in the league, drove in 9¡ runs and scored 90. I would place “Hot” Rod Kanehl at the utility spot. Gigon was strictly a second baseman, while Kanehl played second as well as in the outfield, giv-

¡96¡

503

scribes managed to select the seven best pitchers. Kudos all around, gentlemen.

ing greater flexibility to the squad. Rod hit .304 and scored 92 runs. Amazingly, with seven possibilities for error, the

Texas League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

NAME Tommie Aaron Jack Damaska Mike Mathieson Phil Linz Dick Berardino Jose Tartabull Johnny Lewis Joe Pepitone Marion “Tim” Talton Charlie Strange

SP SP

Lary Maxie Hal Stowe

Austin Amarillo

TEAM Austin Tulsa Amarillo Amarillo Amarillo R.G.V./Victoria Tulsa Amarillo R.G.V./Victoria Victoria/Ardmore G 27 24

GS 23 18

G 138 138 134 105 139 137 128 123 115 136

CG 15 8

AB 528 562 475 433 529 563 413 484 380 543

SH 4 1

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 158 77 234 25 3 15 70 66 5 .299 .443 .379 148 102 233 22 3 19 73 37 4 .263 .415 .312 146 88 203 27 9 4 57 80 13 .307 .427 .411 151 70 197 28 3 4 41 37 13 .349 .455 .401 159 102 255 16 10 20 93 50 17 .301 .482 .377 171 103 240 31 10 6 50 47 37 .304 .426 .362 121 83 220 19 7 22 85 96 12 .293 .533 .431 153 86 254 24 7 21 87 33 1 .316 .525 .367 111 33 157 20 1 8 60 36 3 .292 .413 .356 152 67 211 25 5 8 50 36 3 .280 .389 .329

W 17 14

L 7 1

% .708 .933

IP 203 134

H 122 141

ER 47 47

SO 147 88

BB 97 35

ERA 2.08 3.16

BR/9 10.4 12.2

R.G.V. is Rio Grande Valley, which represented Harlingen and which moved to Victoria on the tenth of June, oddly replacing a Victoria team which moved to Ardmore on 27 May.

Good news everyone! The writers and wordwrights got it right. Except for leaving o› a pitcher and naming a reliever, the team was just as peachy as the cheeks of a Southern Belle at her debutante’s ball. At least the league dropped its traditional “one pitcher doth an All-Star team make” stance. The left-o› pitcher was Harry “Flamethrower”

Fanok of Tulsa. He went ¡6–7 with a 2.24 ERA and led the league in strike outs with ¡58. He also led with the lowest BR/9 ratio, a fine 9.7. The reliever was Phil Niekro. He was in 5¡ games and was 4–4 with a 2.95 ERA. 50 of his games were in relief. Strange, by the way, played second, third, and short.

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Charles Keller III Lou Vassie George Banks Tony Martinez Bob Stotsky Keith Williams Jim O’Rourke Archie Skeen Larry Cutwright Danny Cater

Gerald Thomas Marcelino Lopez

TEAM Binghamton Williamsport Binghamton Reading Johnstown Reading Lancaster Johnstown Williamsport Williamsport

Springfield Williamsport

G 139 110 139 122 118 139 135 103 108 137 G 32 22

AB 464 389 473 506 456 538 476 332 328 562 GS 30 22

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 162 104 291 38 17 19 104 95 1 .349 .627 .465 120 98 198 23 2 17 68 75 12 .308 .509 .425 140 110 274 24 10 30 108 95 3 .296 .579 .415 153 78 216 28 10 5 58 26 7 .302 .427 .340 136 75 197 26 10 5 56 25 12 .298 .432 .347 158 81 241 21 7 16 80 29 2 .294 .448 .333 127 74 212 22 6 17 71 59 15 .267 .445 .353 93 48 150 20 2 11 79 43 0 .280 .452 .368 83 48 119 19 1 5 40 54 2 .253 .363 .362 193 114 287 28 9 16 80 37 1 .343 .511 .386 CG 21 9

SH 6 0

Martinez only got to 4.4 chances a game. Al Moran of Johnstown led the league with a 5.¡ figure, and also led the league with ¡¡8 runs as well as ¡¡7 walks. His .420 OB% was 80 points higher than was Martinez’s, which more than make up for Al’s .285 BA. Another shortstop worthy of mention is Horace “The Era” Clarke. He hit .278 with ¡00 runs and stole a leaguehigh 40 bases. In the absence of Moran, Clarke would still have been a better choice than Martinez. O’Rourke led the league with ¡23 strike-outs to

W 20 10

L 7 5

% .741 .667

IP 229 156

H 175 162

ER 61 65

SO 214 121

BB 88 65

ERA 2.40 3.75

BR/9 10.6 13.4

go with his underwhelming .267 BA. A better choice for an outfield spot would seem to be Rich Barry. He hit .274, slugged .529, and his .363 OB% was higher than that posted by any of the three selectees. He was second in the league with 23 home runs, and his 85 RBIs were seventh. I agree with Skeen at backstop, but my second catcher would have been Allan Hall of Binghamton. Hall hit fourteen homers and had .26¡/.434/.363 averages.

504

Minor League All-Star Teams

Al Downing, even though he pitched in only twelve games, would have gotten my vote for a spot on the sta›. He went 9–¡ with a ¡.84 ERA and 96 Ks in 98 innings. The league also had two good reliev-

ers: Tom Hallett of Johnstown and Ken Bracey of Springfield. Hallett was in 50 games, went 4–4, and had a 2.95 ERA while allowing ¡0.3 BR/9. Bracey was in 53 games and was 9–5 with a 2.85 ERA.

South Atlantic League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Bill Roman Bobby Klaus Duncan Campbell Nestor Velazquez Jesse Queen Gary Rushing Teolinda Acosta Jesus McFarlane Jose Cesar

TEAM Knoxville Columbia Asheville Charlotte Knoxville Asheville Columbia Asheville Greenville

G 136 135 106 133 119 134 125 118 108

AB 542 522 399 484 409 473 487 392 413

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 167 95 251 20 17 10 71 57 2 .308 .463 .377 146 72 205 31 5 6 58 69 10 .280 .393 .366 119 80 196 23 3 16 75 42 16 .298 .491 .382 137 66 174 27 5 0 38 69 22 .283 .360 .377 126 100 217 18 11 17 83 104 10 .308 .531 .453 147 108 258 30 3 25 99 93 7 .311 .545 .428 167 104 199 11 9 1 27 60 40 .343 .409 .423 118 92 207 20 3 21 74 54 27 .301 .528 .400 112 49 159 14 3 9 46 33 1 .271 .385 .333

Jim Hardison Jon “Nick” Willhite

Asheville Greenville

G 21 28

GS 18 27

CG 13 23

SH 1 6

Despite his hitting but .283, I would still opt for Grover “Deacon” Jones at first. His .443 SA was not that much lower than Roman’s, and his .43¡ OB% (thanks to¡02 walks) was much better. He had 78 RBIs and scored 8¡ runs. At short, it is one of those cases where one players fielding advantage over the others is so large that it makes up a lot of o›ensive ground. In this case, the make-upee is Al Weis of Charleston. He hit .26¡ and scored 9¡ runs, but he handled a huge ¡.5 chances a game more than Velasquez, 5.7–4.2. I would have named Rushing as my utility man. He played first and outfield, while Cesar was a weak-

W 16 16

L 2 9

% .889 .640

IP 164 230

H 149 176

ER 50 46

SO 90 161

BB 70 65

ERA 2.74 1.80

BR/9 12.3 9.5

hitting second baseman. In Rushing’s outfield spot, I’d’ve inserted Willie Stargell (Asheville). Willie hit .289 and slugged .5¡7, hitting ¡9 homers and driving in 89 runs. Byron Taylor of Charlotte would have been added to my pitching sta›. Taylor went ¡7–¡2 for a Hornets team which finished eighteen games under .500, had a 2.86 ERA and was second with a ¡0.0 BR/9 ratio. Dan Osinski was the best reliever in the SALLY league. He pitched in 56 games for Charleston, was 8–6 with a 2.50 ERA, and struck out ¡¡4 batters in ¡08 innings.

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Chuck Reidell Rufus Anderson Gene Domzalski Orlando Martinez Gates Brown Chuck Weatherspoon Ron Solomini Dean Robbins Joe McCabe Duane “Duke” Sims Ronnie Retton

TEAM Greensboro Durham Greensboro Wilson Durham Wilson Greensboro Winston-Salem Wilson Burlington Greensboro

Bill MacLeod Al Eisele Dick “Thunder” Klunder Norm Forsythe

G 137 133 92 139 113 137 74 123 101 124 136

Winston-Salem Burlington Durham Greensboro

AB 517 526 317 472 432 490 279 440 348 404 509

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 142 93 256 20 5 28 100 49 143 83 231 21 5 19 77 29 90 67 155 18 1 15 71 75 125 60 156 18 5 1 56 67 140 84 224 33 3 15 72 61 133 121 254 18 5 31 123 89 85 56 139 13 4 11 52 36 133 62 184 28 4 5 50 60 101 58 146 16 4 7 58 52 123 83 224 36 1 21 88 61 148 114 197 19 3 8 60 103

G GS CG SH W L % IP 31 26 15 2 15 8 .652 206 38 27 11 0 15 11 .577 208 34 24 12 3 13 8 .619 198 33 21 8 3 11 5 .688 164

Ronnie Retton, who was chosen as a utility player, played 90% of his games at short, and that’s where I would put him in place of the weak-hitting Martinez

H 152 223 172 144

ER 53 84 56 65

SB 20 17 4 12 33 21 15 6 4 5 35

BA .275 .272 .284 .265 .324 .271 .305 .302 .290 .304 .291

SA OB% .495 .343 .439 .315 .489 .422 .331 .363 .519 .409 .518 .396 .498 .386 .418 .387 .420 .386 .554 .405 .387 .415

SO BB ERA BR/9 208 89 2.32 11.8 111 94 3.63 14.2 146 97 2.55 12.6 113 82 3.57 12.7

(who was, though, a better fielder). Then, in Retton’s place at utility, I’d place Ruthford “Chico” Salmon of Durham. He played second and third, hit .292

¡96¡

505

man. He worked in 54 games, went 8–2 with a 2.78 ERA and allowed ¡0.8 BR/9. Oh, and two final tidbits ... MacLeod hit 30 (!) batters, and Weatherspoon hit seven grand slams in ’6¡, and Wilson as a team hit thirteen!

with a .400 SA, scored 84 runs, and led the league with 38 steals. Wilson’s Bill Jones went ¡5–8 with a 2.48 ERA (second) and a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.3 (first). His Tobs teammate Jim Rantz was the league’s premier fire-

Northwest League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C C UT

SP SP

NAME Mo Morhardt Ossie Chavarria Dick Green Michæl Sinnerud Jesus Alou Dick Bogard Jim Barbieri Bob Barton John McNamara Billy Bryan No selection made

Larry Danforth Lazaro Gomez

TEAM Wenatchee Lewiston Lewiston Yakima Eugene Salem Salem Eugene Lewiston Lewiston

G 120 136 137 133 138 97 115 124 77 94

AB 416 522 455 525 518 324 369 385 204 292

G 33 34

GS 25 24

CG 21 18

Lewiston Eugene

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 141 78 234 27 6 18 90 78 5 .339 .563 .446 156 102 218 28 8 6 56 54 15 .299 .418 .373 124 89 202 24 0 18 64 53 4 .273 .444 .359 152 91 222 25 9 9 70 34 10 .290 .423 .340 174 82 245 31 5 10 71 21 16 .336 .473 .369 115 64 168 22 2 9 60 63 2 .355 .519 .465 115 102 178 17 5 12 49 105 9 .312 .482 .469 112 48 154 21 6 3 56 59 2 .291 .400 .388 54 28 60 6 0 0 27 41 1 .265 .294 .390 83 39 165 10 3 22 70 25 1 .284 .565 .347

SH 4 4

W 20 14

L 5 9

% .800 .609

IP 205 189

H 167 155

ER 55 63

SO 180 167

BB 47 58

ERA 2.41 3.00

BR/9 9.5 10.1

Tri-Cities represented Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick in Washington.

McNamara was playing manager Jesse White (Wenatchee) and Raynor “Ragnorok” Youhgdahl (Tri-Cities) both seem to be more deserving of an outfield spot than Alou, despite his high average. White hit .320 with a .390 OB%, led the league with ¡7 triples, was second in steals with 24 (Alou led in caught stealing with ¡4), and was third in runs with ¡0¡. Youngdahl was not a good hitter (.257), but he matched Alou’s SA by leading the league with 28 round trippers. He had ¡67 fewer PAs than Alou, yet scored only six fewer runs and had eleven more RBIs. He also drew three times as many walks in 85% of Alou’s plate appearances. There was no utility man selected, but Wenatchee Chief Ken Hubbs filled the bill. He split his time between second and short, and hit .286. The nineteen year old scored 69 runs and drove in 68. Salem’s John Lutz was the NWL’s best reliever. In

42 games, he went 8–4 and had good ¡.76 ERA, allowing 9.4 BR/9. Steve Dalkowski spent his entire season throwing (notice that I didn’t say “pitching”) for the Tri-Cities Atoms. He went 3–¡2 (he had one complete game, a shut-out). He allowed 24.2 base runners every nine innings, and gave up ¡0.22 runs a game (only 8.39 earned). His strike-outs were down to ¡3.¡ per 9 IP, but he kept both his walks (¡7.¡/9) and wild pitches (2.4/9) at his usual levels. In an aside, it should be noted that Steve’s Atoms teammate John Dewald was one of the last minor league pitchers (perhaps the last outside of the Mexican League) to lose 20 games in season. He was 4–2¡ with a 5.¡5 ERA and allowed ¡6.3 BR/9. The 49–90, .353 Atoms were an almost respectable .424 with out the “Demon D-men’s” 7–33 record.

Three-I League (B) A well-selected league, I only question the first base choice and would add a reliever. Miles McWilliams is the first baseman of choice according to a special Blue-Ribbon panel consisting of the author of this book. Miles hit .307, had a SA of .50¡ (fourth highest in the ol’ Three-Eye), and an OB% of .390. He scored 84 runs and drove in ¡02, the league’s highest total. The forgotten reliever is Ivan Davis of Topeka. He led the league with 43 appearances and was 5–¡ with a 2.54 ERA.

I would like here to say a bit about the shortstop for the Fox Cities Foxes (I wonder how come it isn’t “Foxen”?). Richard “Dick” Yencha had ¡¡5 Ks in ¡¡2 games, striking out about 30% of the time — and that was his strong point. He hit .¡63 (I know, there have been others, mostly catchers but with a scattering of shortstops, who have played in over ¡00 games and had averages about the same as Yencha’s). He backed that up with a pitcher-like .¡94 SA, one of the lowest ever for a ¡00-game player, and was able to muster an almost unbelievable .23¡ OB%. Throw

506 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Paul Snyder Tommy Harper Dayton Orsburn Roberto Peña Sam Bowens Barry Morgan Joseph Trenary Pat Corrales Ron Brand

Bill Holmes Bob Locker Richard Kelley Dave McNally

TEAM Cedar Rapids Topeka Lincoln Burlington Fox Cities Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids Des Moines Burlington

Cedar Rapids Lincoln Cedar Rapids Fox Cities

G 126 142 129 129 126 130 119 104 120

G 24 33 26 25

AB 493 426 465 485 436 456 452 333 440

GS 23 30 24 21

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 153 72 222 19 4 14 76 47 1 .310 .450 .376 138 131 232 27 11 15 62 135 31 .324 .545 .492 138 89 210 28 4 12 83 88 8 .297 .452 .415 132 86 183 26 5 5 70 77 23 .272 .377 .379 115 84 213 24 7 20 90 71 30 .264 .489 .379 132 77 229 20 4 23 89 79 6 .289 .502 .398 142 83 237 24 4 21 72 48 12 .314 .524 .384 103 33 130 18 0 3 36 33 2 .309 .390 .383 139 62 174 18 1 5 66 38 10 .316 .395 .373

CG 17 16 14 7

SH 2 4 3 0

his ¡4 RBIs into the mix, and you have a very, very bad season. The Des Moines Demons were apparently plagued

W 18 15 15 8

L 4 12 5 10

% .818 .556 .750 .444

IP 200 228 186 141

H 168 170 132 121

ER 49 65 50 58

SO 172 215 200 130

BB 65 106 122 72

ERA 2.21 2.57 2.42 3.70

BR/9 10.8 11.2 12.7 13.1

by same. They were 37–93, .285 and finished 28 games out of fifth.

California League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP SP RP

NAME Dick Nen Louis “Turtle” Ertle Jim Ray Hart Don Williams John Upham Jerry Kushner Ken “Hawk” Harrelson Hector Valle No selection made

Natividad Martinez Joe Moeller Bruce Gardner John “Whole” Hogg

TEAM Reno Reno Fresno Reno Bakersfield Fresno Visalia Reno

Stockton Reno Reno Bakersfield

G 28 18 30 57

G 139 140 138 136 129 103 135 116

GS 27 14 26 1

AB 504 540 507 542 491 359 535 403

CG 13 13 18 0

H 177 156 180 197 175 113 161 131

SH 4 5 4 0

The Reno Silver Sox played .693 ball and won the pennant by fifteen games. Jim Ray Hart had a very good season. However, he did not play third base (he played 60 games in the outfield and 77 at short). He would have made a fine utility choice (about which more later), but he was most emphatically not a third baseman, at least not in ¡96¡. No, my friends, the hot corner designee should have been Ken McMullen of Reno. His averages were .288, .485, and .4¡7. He hit 2¡ home runs, drove in 96 runs, and scored ¡09 times, as well as leading the league in walks with ¡07. (An aside about the Reno infield: Nen, Ertle, McMullen, and Williams played in 55¡ of 560 possible games, 98.4% of all the games possible. That is a rocksolid infield. They, as a group, hit .323, slugged .536, and had a .42¡ OB%. They scored 48¡ runs (each scored over ¡00), drove in 428 (all had at least 9¡), and bopped 89 home runs. This was one of the most productive infields since the old days of the WTNM league.)

R 121 119 100 132 107 60 94 70

W 12 12 20 12

TB 315 270 298 291 230 176 263 172

L 10 3 4 7

2B 34 34 24 32 22 14 23 18

3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 4 32 144 102 25 .351 .625 .461 13 18 91 71 4 .289 .500 .376 14 22 123 56 15 .355 .588 .423 4 18 97 66 13 .363 .537 .433 12 3 63 57 24 .356 .468 .429 8 11 75 61 13 .315 .490 .421 2 25 114 44 15 .301 .492 .356 1 7 71 51 8 .325 .427 .405

% .545 .800 .833 .632

IP 181 119 188 102

H 129 80 151 92

ER 57 24 59 26

SO 205 162 162 118

BB 87 27 87 60

ERA 2.83 1.82 2.82 2.29

BR/9 11.0 8.3 12.0 13.8

No utility player was selected, but there were two worthies who could have filled the slot admirably. Hart was mentioned above, and the other was Ferdinand “The Bull” Walters of Bakersfield. He was your classic first baseman/third baseman/catcher guy, and he could hit. His .329 BA was fifth, his .602 SA was second, and his OB% of .486 was first. He walked ¡03 times, hit 24 homers, and drove home ¡02 runs. Kudos to the selectors on the selection of Martinez. His hapless team was thirty games under .500 and played .362 when he was not involved in the decision. Congratulations are also due for their choice of a reliever. Please note that Moeller allowed only 8.3 BR/9, a truly wonderful performance. He struck out ¡2.3 batters every nine innings and walked only 2.0, giving him a K-BB ratio of over 6–¡. This was a good, no, a very good year. Note also that the selected sta› had 647 Ks in 590

¡96¡

507

IP– 9.9 for every nine inning pitched. This is quite a figure indeed.

Mexican Center League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Alejandro Flores Gabriel Heredia Jorge Calvo Fernando Remes Eladio Urias Luis Hernandez Humberto Ayala Alfonso Ibarra Jesus Contreras No selection made

Cesar Gutierrez Adolfo Flores

TEAM Salamanca Aguascalientes Guanajuato Aguascalientes Celaya Aguascalientes Leon San Luis Potosi Celaya

G 79 86 117 121 123 88 84 113 112

AB 243 294 418 435 490 301 305 388 369

H 63 90 154 122 152 91 97 101 92

R 25 59 98 60 92 67 52 58 48

TB 87 135 290 155 218 156 152 166 127

G 33 26

GS 23 23

CG 15 13

SH 5 1

W 21 14

L 5 10

Aguascalientes Celaya

Although there was no “Big Bopper” first baseman, .259 and .358 do not seem adequate for the position. The best prospect a highly detailed and lengthy research e›ort could uncover was a certain Evaristo Madrigal of Leon. He managed .27¡, .389 averages and drove in 60 runs. First is not a strong point for the ¡96¡ Mexican Center League. At second, Heredia played all of 67 games there. His hitting was okay, I suppose, but he reached only 4.7 chances a game. Genaro “Tito” Puente got to a whole extra ball a game (5.7 TC/G), which is very important in a middle infielder. Puente hit only .24¡ but he did draw 86 walks and scored 82 runs and evinced some extra base power with his 3¡ doubles and ¡2 triples. He played for San Luis Potosi. I had Calvo as an outfielder, even though he really should have been a utility man (he played 49 games at third, 57 in the outfield, and ¡¡ at first). My third baseman was Alejandrino Cuevas of S.L.P., who hit .3¡¡, scored 89 runs and had 88 RBIs. He also fielded .95¡ (4.3 TC/G) to Calvo’s .886 (3.6 TC/G).

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 9 0 5 43 47 0 .259 .358 .390 25 1 6 38 36 5 .306 .459 .400 31 9 29 130 68 19 .368 .694 .467 16 4 3 43 55 14 .280 .356 .371 24 12 6 53 43 32 .310 .445 .369 20 9 9 70 57 18 .302 .518 .417 21 2 10 55 26 3 .318 .498 .375 23 2 13 78 60 0 .260 .428 .365 17 6 2 58 62 8 .249 .344 .369

% .808 .583

IP 203 173

H 165 177

ER 66 81

SO 190 64

BB 84 101

ERA 2.93 4.21

BR/9 11.2 14.8

Left o› of the outfield roster were Jaime Fabela (Celaya-Gunajuato) and Lorenzo Lopez (Guanajuato). Fabela was fourth in batting (.328), third in slugging (.573), fourth in OB% (.4¡5), third in steals (20), and second in runs, home runs, and RBIs (with ¡05, 23, and ¡¡3 respectively). He was the league’s only 20–20 man. Lopez was third in batting (.336), second in slugging (.609) and OB% (.427), led in runs (¡¡7), and was third in homers and RBIs (¡9 and 92). I would bid a hasta la vista to Urias and Ayala and a hearty bienvenido to Lopez and Fabela. (The Urias/Hernandez/Ayala outfield has averages of .3¡0, .480, and 385. The Hernandez/Fabela/ Lopez version comes in at .324, .572, and .4¡9.) Flores had .64 strike-outs for every walk (the league as a whole had .8, with 2782 Ks and 3366 walks). Left o› of the squad was the league’s ERA leader, Nicolas Garcia. He was ¡6–¡¡, 2.52, and was second with a ¡2.3 BR/9 ratio.

Northern League (C) Phil Barth (Bert’s brother; sorry that I don’t know if they were twins) was Aberdeen’s third baseman. He hit .262, about the same as Campbell, but his SA was .430 and his OB% was .362. He also had 79 RBIs to Campbell’s 49. Rico Carty was a catcher for Eau Claire and should have been one of the two selectees. The “Beeg Boy” hit .298, had a SA of .456 and an OB% of .4¡. He scored 69 runs. An interesting sidelight on Masserelli: he got on base eight times during the sea-

son via catcher’s interference — and he was guilty of same six times! There were no pitching performances in the Northern league which stand out, so I guess Timmerman and Knowles are the best choices, but Timmerman’s Duke teammate Ricardo Delgado was the league’s best reliever and should have been acknowledged as such. He was in 45 games, went ¡3–6, had an ERA of 2.5¡, and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.9.

508

Minor League All-Star Teams

Northern League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Bert Barth Al Baker Ron Campbell Jose Martinez Lou Brock Don Branson Pat Owens Carlos Dore Dave Massarelli Pat Foley No selection made

TEAM Aberdeen Duluth-Superior St. Cloud Grand Forks St. Cloud Aberdeen Grand Forks Winnipeg Aberdeen Winnipeg

G 128 111 128 122 128 118 128 124 105 90

AB 472 427 531 460 501 444 470 502 326 267

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 138 79 233 22 2 23 99 74 9 .292 .494 .395 141 95 202 21 8 8 55 80 12 .330 .473 .438 140 79 171 17 4 2 49 31 10 .264 .322 .308 129 74 164 13 5 4 26 45 40 .280 .357 .348 181 117 268 33 6 14 82 56 38 .361 .535 .429 145 87 229 30 9 12 73 84 13 .327 .516 .437 136 94 233 15 5 24 90 49 11 .289 .496 .364 154 92 200 22 9 2 46 82 24 .307 .398 .416 86 47 131 15 0 10 44 66 3 .264 .402 .389 66 38 91 9 2 4 40 55 1 .247 .341 .380

G GS CG SH W L SP Tom Timmerman Duluth-Superior 27 SP Darold Knowles Aberdeen 23

25 22

14 9

%

IP

H ER

3 15 6 .714 183 160 1 11 5 .688 164 118

SO

BB ERA BR/9

55 122 65 60 183 106

2.70 3.29

11.3 13.0

Pioneer League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME Costen Shockley Douglas Clayton James Shinn Domingo Carrasqual Bobby Sanders Eugene Du›y Eddie Reed Everett “Chis” Krug Victor Baron Jose Valladares Jim Ward William Ryan Joel Gibson Robert Wasko

TEAM Magic Valley Boise Great Falls Great Falls Magic Valley Idaho Falls Great Falls Billings Magic Valley Idaho Falls

Great Falls Boise Magic Valley Great Falls

G 31 23 17 24

G 126 122 123 130 126 88 118 113 109 130 GS 31 23 15 22

AB 470 453 447 504 453 344 412 407 395 468 CG 17 13 6 11

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 169 105 281 31 6 23 108 61 143 86 214 33 7 8 84 51 143 71 213 30 2 12 77 48 182 115 272 32 11 12 89 70 147 113 291 18 3 40 118 91 102 65 147 15 6 6 47 49 123 74 211 18 5 20 87 58 127 63 199 17 2 17 81 43 116 60 177 18 2 13 72 47 129 92 154 17 4 0 38 130 SH 1 3 1 1

Magic Valley second baseman Dick “Don’t Call Me Richie” Allen was the league’s nonpareil at the keystone. He hit .3¡7, slugged .526, and had an OB% of .402. He hit 2¡ homers, drove in 94 runs and scored ¡0¡ times. Boise’s Rafael Gomez was my choice for the third base spot. He hit .308 and slugged .484, not much di›erent from the averages put up by Shinn. However, with the help of his 96 walks, his OB% was a good .44¡ and he scored ¡¡0 runs. He also displayed a modicum of power, hitting ¡8 home runs. Domingo Carrasqual played only 64 games at short and would have made a very good utility man, as he also played third and second (the league utility choice Valladares also played second, third, and short but wasn’t near the hitter Carrasqual was).

W 20 13 8 13

L 6 5 6 6

% .769 .722 .571 .684

IP 240 171 116 172

H 261 162 121 163

ER 92 71 54 68

SB 11 3 5 27 16 10 7 4 2 8

SO 219 156 141 131

BA .360 .316 .320 .361 .325 .297 .299 .312 .294 .276

SA OB% .598 .445 .472 .389 .477 .387 .540 .442 .642 .440 .427 .387 .512 .393 .489 .385 .448 .372 .329 .435

BB 69 90 48 67

ERA 3.45 3.74 4.19 3.56

BR/9 12.8 13.7 13.2 12.3

Magic Valley’s John Weghorn was the best pure shortstop available in the ’6¡ Pioneer League. He hit .289, scored ¡05 runs and showed some pop with ¡7 homers. I would also have made Sanders a utility choice (he also played second, third, and short) and installed Raymond Reed of Boise at the vacant spot. Reed hit .323 and slugged .609. He hit 23 home runs in only 90 games. The pitching was not particularity good (an average of ¡¡.7 runs being scored every game) so just about all the deserving pitchers were selected, except for Magic Valley’s Jim Poncero›. He was ¡5–9 with a 3.75 ERA (sixth best in the league) and a ¡2.0 BR/9 ratio, second to Lee Featherstone (Idaho Falls) who had a ¡¡.8 to go with his ¡3–¡0 record.

Alabama-Florida League (D) Erickson was 26–2 in stolen base attempts, a .929 success rate. Mike Holodick (every time I see his name I think “Holodeck”) was another second base who, in my mind, deserved at least a “co” spot. He

hit .270 with a .394 OB% and 86 runs. He too was a good thief, going 56–6 (.903). Alfred Sommerstad (F.W.B.) was the league’s foremost practitioner of the Utilitarian Arts. He played

¡96¡ POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Bob Loftin John Erickson Gary Dempsey John Kennedy H. “Mickey” Strickland Braxton Bailey John Schoenberger Lance Nichols No selection made

SP SP

Tom Young Fred Waters

TEAM Panama City Fort Walton Beach Panama City Pensacola Panama City Panama City Pensacola Panama City

Panama City Pensacola

G 23 24

GS 21 23

G 119 113 80 115 117 101 116 105

CG 13 16

AB 464 473 318 418 434 368 428 370

SH 4 5

509

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 145 75 215 32 4 10 91 47 3 .313 .463 .382 137 101 172 20 3 3 57 51 26 .290 .364 .367 107 52 145 20 3 4 50 25 5 .336 .456 .387 106 69 137 10 6 3 46 70 5 .254 .328 .366 141 103 200 35 6 4 34 111 28 .325 .461 .469 131 89 229 34 11 14 78 61 16 .356 .622 .454 128 79 167 19 4 4 69 78 3 .299 .390 .411 82 40 129 20 3 7 60 46 2 .222 .349 .314 W 13 16

L 6 4

% .684 .800

IP 152 183

H 125 136

ER 33 40

SO 176 197

BB 69 45

ERA 1.95 1.97

BR/9 11.7 9.0

two more pitchers (both Selma Cloverleafs) deserve mention. Harry Walters was ¡5–4 (.789) with a 2.36 ERA, and Dave Seeman was ¡7–3 (.850) with an ¡¡.2 BR/9 ratio.

first and outfield, and had .337, .497, .425 averages (second, second, and third in the league). He scored 92 runs and drove in 83. The two pitching selections were excellent, but

Appalachian League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME Dick Hickerson Willard Oplinger Dave Wissman Stan Majesky Tony Oliva Wally Cockrell Bob Michæl Dan Hagan No selection made Lynn Bridwell Carlos Medrano

TEAM Bluefield Bluefield Kingsport Middlesboro Wytheville Salem Morristown Wytheville

Wytheville Middlesboro

G 64 60 68 66 64 52 69 62

G 19 15

AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 219 70 47 134 13 6 13 63 44 5 .320 .612 .436 225 82 53 106 19 1 1 41 31 9 .364 .471 .446 265 88 72 147 19 5 10 71 53 13 .332 .555 .449 241 75 49 120 19 1 8 41 38 11 .311 .498 .418 249 102 58 159 15 6 10 81 18 4 .410 .639 .456 174 58 55 77 7 3 2 24 50 7 .333 .443 .496 228 57 48 104 10 2 11 46 50 4 .250 .456 .400 221 83 47 124 16 5 5 48 32 12 .376 .561 .457

GS 9 13

CG 3 8

SH 0 0

W 9 11

L 1 2

% .900 .846

IP 75 98

H 77 80

ER 37 32

SO 104 100

BB 27 43

ERA 4.44 2.94

BR/9 13.0 11.4

perhaps because he struck out ¡¡3 batters in 70 innings (¡4.5/9 IP). Mel Stottlemyre (who was ¡9) pitched in eight games and went 5–¡, 3.¡2 and allowed ¡0.3 BR/9.

No comment, except for adding two pitchers, both of whom were Harlan Smokies. Mike DeGerick (who was ¡8 and who would pitch for the White Sox later in the year) went 9–2 despite a 4.450 ERA —

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME William Mayer Pete Rose Jim Livesey Ted Kubiak Lawson Mitchell Fleming Reedy Norm Shuey Pedro Martinez Ronald “Nelson” Paiva

SP SP

Dan Neville Pete Cianfione

TEAM St. Petersburg Tampa Leesburg Sarasota Daytona Beach Sarasota Tampa Tampa Palatka

Tampa Orlando

G 20 29

GS 20 26

G 121 130 132 138 130 137 119 101 87 CG 15 20

AB 406 484 460 463 480 439 408 300 256

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 112 75 158 17 7 5 52 52 25 .276 .389 .361 160 105 246 20 30 2 77 60 30 .331 .508 .410 159 95 205 23 10 2 64 67 10 .346 .446 .431 117 76 138 9 6 0 53 78 7 .253 .298 .362 143 77 209 26 11 6 71 33 8 .298 .435 .351 138 107 186 18 12 2 69 92 41 .314 .424 .442 126 77 156 14 8 0 52 58 25 .309 .382 .397 72 46 93 6 3 3 36 36 3 .240 .310 .325 85 36 99 14 0 0 38 19 1 .332 .387 .380

SH 2 5

W 15 18

In a league as starved for any kind of power as the ’6¡ Fla. State (the entire league hit 207 homers), you’d think that the selectors would have made a selectee of the only guy in the league who reached double

L 4 8

% .789 .692

IP 153 193

H 99 159

ER 33 46

SO 140 131

BB 66 66

ERA 1.94 2.15

BR/9 10.0 10.5

figures (¡2) in homers and who even reached 90 (93, to be exact) in RBIs, but you would have to be disabused of such conceits. So it was that Paul Catto, who won two legs of the

510

Minor League All-Star Teams

triple crown for his Palatka team did not get named for the All-Star team. By the way, he was tenth in batting, fifth in slugging, and third in OB%. Walter James, catcher of St. Pete, hit .293, slugged 393, and had an OB% of .4¡3, all markedly superior to the designee Martinez. He also drove in 6¡ runs, 25 more than Pedro. The utility selection was a middle infielder. How weak was the hitting in this league? Well ¡7 doubles would have put you in the top ten (nine players in more than ¡00 games hit fewer than ten

doubles, and another five hit exactly ten). Five homers would have made the top ten. That weak enough? Neville allowed only 5.8 hits per nine innings, and he allowed no home runs, as in none at all. There was a reliever who should have been named had an opening existed: Julio Anglade of St. Pete. In 54 games (53 in relief ) he was ¡0–5 with an ERA of 2.9¡. As an aside, St. Petersburg runners attempted 97 steals and were successful on 88 of them, a fantastic 9¡% success rate.

Midwest League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF

SP SP SP SP

NAME M. Antulio Martinez Hilario Rojas Peter Jernigan John Butler Ken Berry Tom Richards Hector Cardenas Ron Staples Doyle Wagner Dick Krotz Bill Dixon

Steve Busby Dennis Ribant Bob House Tom Newton

TEAM Quincy Decatur Waterloo Dubuque Clinton Kokomo Dubuque Waterloo Quad Cities Kokomo Quincy

Waterloo Quad Cities Clinton Quad Cities

G 29 20 21 29

G 116 95 85 119 113 78 120 77 107 114 115

GS 27 19 18 27

AB 451 338 288 446 453 300 453 238 348 395 382

CG 22 17 11 22

H 166 102 110 136 140 99 147 66 84 99 115 SH 3 5 3 4

R 92 83 81 94 79 65 91 48 42 75 59 W 21 17 14 20

TB 257 156 185 234 209 149 223 110 130 179 173 L 7 2 3 7

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 31 6 16 81 27 19 .368 .570 .418 26 5 6 49 44 27 .302 .462 .395 20 2 17 67 63 13 .382 .642 .493 30 4 20 106 78 5 .305 .525 .411 29 5 10 67 25 8 .309 .461 .355 16 2 10 69 47 10 .330 .497 .432 22 3 16 85 42 7 .325 .492 .384 18 1 8 47 69 3 .277 .462 .442 20 1 8 59 58 1 .241 .374 .351 16 2 20 79 95 16 .251 .453 .396 21 5 9 63 71 10 .301 .453 .416 % .750 .895 .824 .741

IP 219 155 137 228

H 176 110 132 201

ER 59 32 54 74

SO 237 155 94 208

BB 62 39 38 74

ERA 2.42 1.86 3.55 2.92

BR/9 9.9 8.7 11.6 11.1

The Quad Cities were Davenport-Bettendorf Iowa and Moline-Rock Island Illinois.

Well, for starters, the selected first baseman should have been the selected utility infielder (he played first and third, which, last I looked were considered infield positions). The first baseman should have been Bob Lawrence of Waterloo. Big Bob (.305/.550/.4¡¡) bopped 30 homers, drove in ¡27 runs and scored ¡¡3 times, all three league-leading performances. At second, there was a certain Dick Kenworthy (no relation, I believe to the fabulous Kenworthy truck fortune). All this fellow did was hit .288, slug .523, compile a .398 OB%, score ¡08 runs, drive in 8¡, and hit 20 home runs. Which brings us around the horn to third. Jernigan played only ¡9 games at third (he played 53 in the outfield, which is where I had him). R. David Hall, who, like Jernigan played for Waterloo, started the season at third for the Hawks and played the first 58 games of the season there. In those 58 games he

hit .408, had an OB% of .464, and slugged a tremendous .773. He hit 22 homers and had 90 RBIs before being called up to the Eastern League. My foursome had 94 homers and 404 RBIs to the league’s 59 and 303. Allrighty now, let us proceed in an orderly fashion to the outfield. My threesome was Jernigan, Cardenas, and J. Don Ganus (Quad Cities). Ganus had .299, .482, .457 averages and scored 99 times. He walked ¡¡8 times and drove in 87 runs. My utility outfielder was Richards, and Berry was the odd man out. I would add one pitcher to the sta›: Ramon Cordiero of Decatur. In ¡5 games, he was ¡0–3 with a ¡.77 ERA, and he had an absolutely terrific BR/9 ratio of 8.4. He also had ¡30 Ks in ¡07 IP. Please also note Ribant’s equally terrific 8.7 BR/9 ratio. The selected sta› was 72–¡9 (.79¡) with an 8.5 K/9 ratio.

New York-Pennsylvania League (D) Karl Kuehl not only led Geneva to the pennant, he also should have been the All-Star first baseman. He

hit .3¡5, scored 80 runs, and drove in 83 in 97 games (and in only 270 ABs, 2.8 a game). He also hit ¡9

¡96¡ POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Humberto Sama Cesar Tovar Tony Perez Teofilo James Leon Douglas Art Blunt Arthur Jasinski Larry Baughman No selection made

Jim Hannan Gary Aldrich

TEAM Erie Geneva Geneva Wellsville Wellsville Batavia Jamestown Elmira

Olean Batavia

G 31 24

G 104 122 121 123 112 101 120 96

GS 23 18

AB 345 461 460 466 401 357 440 331

CG 11 12

511

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 100 65 150 18 4 8 46 44 3 .290 .435 .389 156 134 267 28 13 19 78 105 88 .338 .579 .471 160 110 287 32 7 27 132 61 17 .348 .624 .435 144 77 203 21 4 10 79 50 11 .309 .436 .381 133 67 227 29 1 21 94 108 6 .332 .566 .477 106 94 229 18 0 35 92 75 5 .297 .641 .438 141 93 220 21 5 16 88 63 14 .320 .500 .414 94 56 144 17 0 11 43 45 3 .284 .435 .370

SH 5 1

W 17 12

home runs, had a good .600 SA, and an absolutely monster .523 OB%. (Over a 550 AB season, his numbers extrapolate out to ¡69 RBIs, ¡73 runs, and 39 homers. His walks (he had ¡¡4) work out to ¡76.) Tom Fries, Erie catcher, hit only .247 and had a .392 SA, but he drove in 59 runs and scored 73 times himself. He walked 74 times which gave him a .387 OB%. I’d’ve made him a co-catcher. Now, on to the biggest NYP blunder of all. Roberto Sanchez split his time between second (67 games) and short (54 games), and so was named to no position at all. Roberto also happened to hit 36 homers, drive in ¡¡7 runs, and score ¡25 runs for Batavia. He hit .308, had a .393 OB%, and slugged .605. There should either have been a utility slot made for him or he should have been selected at

L 7 6

% .708 .667

IP 196 150

H 146 124

ER 69 43

SO 254 143

BB 86 94

ERA 3.17 2.58

BR/9 10.7 13.2

shortstop. A Kuehl/Tovar/Perez/Sanchez infield has the following averages: .328, .640, and .453. It hit ¡0¡ home runs and drove in 4¡0 runs. Compare this to the o‡cial infield’s .323, .523, .422 numbers (not bad in their own right) and its 64 homers and 335 RBIs, and I’m sure that you will agree the former foursome is more fearsome than the latter. The league had a bonified reliever in Larry Alander of Wellsville. He was ¡¡–9 in his 59 games (he started five) with ¡32 strike-outs in ¡46 innings and an ERA of 3.08. John Morris (Elmira) was an overlooked starter, perhaps because he was only ¡0–7. He did ring up a 2.02 ERA and probably would have prospered on a team which managed to play at a .500 clip.

Sophomore League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Jose Calero Luis Alcarez Jose Cardenal Gene Michæl Tommy Martz Luis Rodriguez Bob Chance Dick Dietz Ron Thompson No selection made

TEAM El Paso Artesia El Paso Hobbs Hobbs Albuquerque El Paso El Paso Alpine

G 130 122 128 121 98 95 118 109 118

AB 510 477 502 513 354 338 442 328 420

H 180 161 178 166 137 125 164 109 113

R 116 126 159 121 117 84 107 106 79

TB 266 258 336 220 177 194 249 214 213

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 29 9 13 105 65 26 .353 .522 .430 24 5 21 100 73 11 .338 .541 .426 39 7 35 108 109 64 .355 .669 .472 25 7 5 79 62 36 .324 .429 .398 18 5 4 36 84 49 .387 .500 .507 19 10 10 78 37 12 .370 .574 .439 29 4 16 96 58 9 .371 .563 .446 21 6 24 95 159 6 .332 .652 .553 22 3 24 102 39 3 .269 .507 .331

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 SP Jim Little Hobbs 21 20 19 3 17 3 .850 162 129 60 190 124 3.33 14.2 SP Aurelio Monteagudo Albuquerque 23 21 12 1 11 4 .733 154 160 69 187 45 4.03 12.3

The only criticism I have is the fact that Cardenal played only 52 games at third (and a very poorly played 52 games, as attested to by his .849 FA). I had him down as an outfielder in my now 42-year old Guide, but I would today list him as a utility man. At third, I had Lou Pannella. He led all third basemen in games played with 92 (he, it must be said, fielded only .887 himself, but he did lead in TC/G with a 3.7 figure). Pannella, who played for Artesia,

hit .352, slugged .592, and had a good .44¡ OB%, so you can see that he certainly carried his fair share at the plate. He also hit ¡9 home runs and drove in 87 runs. Now, before moving on to the pitchers, allow me to say a few words about the hitting of this team. The eight starters (I used Dietz at catcher instead of Thompson) hit .352, slugged .553, and had a terrific .452 OB%. The Elite Eight scored 936 runs (¡¡7 per)

512

Minor League All-Star Teams erage, years posted by any pitcher. The one pitcher overlooked was John Drysdale of the Artesia Dodgers (and, no, I don’t know if he was Don’s brother. He was not mentioned in Drysdale’s biography). He was ¡4–¡¡ for a team which finished 30 games under .500 and which played .337 ball when he was not involved in the decision. He led the league with a 3.328 ERA (Little’s ERA was 3.333).

and also stole 2¡3 bases (27 per). That is a good hitting squad, my friends, even if it was Class D. Oh, and please be sure to notice Cardenal’s ¡59 runs and Dietz’s ¡59 walks (most ever for a catcher?) as well as the OB%’s of Martz (.507) and Dietz’s fabulous .553 (!). With all that hitting (an average of ¡3.5 runs were scored in every game), it is not surprising that there were no terrific, or, for that matter, even above av-

Western Carolina League (D) POS NAME

TEAM

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

Salisbury 93 321 129 117 197 19 14 Belmont 97 336 91 84 125 18 2 Shelby 103 392 109 68 156 15 7 Salisbury 70 273 81 55 102 8 5 Shelby-Lexington 97 335 116 85 186 24 5 Statesville 88 327 96 77 167 18 4 Salisbury 80 270 87 72 137 24 7 Lexington 76 255 73 51 131 16 3 Statesville 96 332 108 63 145 20 4

SP SP

Aaron Pointer Mario “Buddy” Cia Jerry Autry Lee Hyman Ron Henson Richard Simpson Dick Loughridge Bob Worthington Jack Hiatt No selection made

Phil Andress George Conrad

Shelby Statesville

G AB

G 24 29

GS 22 21

CG 14 11

SH 1 0

Salisbury third baseman Tommy Murray hit .290 with a .4¡4 SA, but also was second in the league with 83 RBIs, and would have been my selection. Be sure to take special note of Pointer’s season, especially his fantastic OB%. Marvin Dutt (also from Salisbury) went 9–¡ with

H

W 13 11

R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB

L 5 7

% .722 .611

IP 164 168

7 4 6 1 12 15 3 12 3

73 42 62 26 76 94 58 62 69

H 130 128

ER 59 60

84 86 21 32 70 37 47 39 44

42 19 17 5 4 15 16 9 13

SO 121 172

BA .402 .271 .278 .297 .346 .294 .322 .286 .325

BB 89 116

SA OB% .614 .372 .398 .374 .555 .511 .507 .514 .437

.535 .428 .320 .375 .476 .377 .426 .391 .414

ERA 3.24 3.21

BR/9 12.5 13.3

a 2.74 ERA, but fell eight innings short of qualifying for the league leadership (which went to Conrad). He would have had to give up seven runs in those eight innings to lose the title. He did lead in winning percentage, but I’ll let you try to figure out what it was (calculators not allowed).

! ¡962 ! In ¡962, there were 20 leagues in the National Association. All 20 of them named all-star teams. This was the last season which had B, C, or D leagues. Hereafter, only AAA, AA, and A existed.

American Association (AAA) Kostro played outfield, third, and short. He also started a game on the mound and went seven innings. Two pitchers should be mentioned: Frederico Olivo of Louisville and Al Worthington of Indi-

anapolis. Olivo was ¡3–¡¡ with a 3.2¡ ERA and was third in BR/9 allowed with an ¡¡.0 ratio. Worthington led the league in winning percentage (.789 on a ¡5–4 record). His ERA 2.94 and his BR/9 ratio was ¡¡.3.

International League (AAA) Ward played third base as well as the outfield, and would have made a fine utility choice. In his outfield slot, I would put Wilver Dornel Stargell of Columbus. Willie hit .29¡ with a .5¡3 SA, whacked 27 home runs, drove in 82 runs and scored 97 times. Seeing as Chiti played in only 70 games, adding

another catcher to the roster doesn’t seem blasphemous. My choice would have been Danny Kravitz, who played for both Rochester and Richmond. Danny hit .274 and slugged .490 while powering ¡8 homers and driving in 60 runs. Ron Taylor, who pitched for Jacksonville, was

¡962

513

American Association (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP RP

NAME Tommy McCraw Leo Burke Wayne Graham Al Weis Jim Koranda Dave Roberts Ellis Burton Jackson Queen Mike Brumley Bill Freehan Frank Kostro

TEAM Indianapolis Dallas-Fort Worth Dallas-Fort Worth Indianapolis Indianapolis Oklahoma City Louisville Denver Omaha Denver Denver

Connie Grob Jon “Nick” Wilhite Frank Kreutzer Jack Smith

G 140 132 149 136 142 133 110 141 114 113 136

AB 525 492 601 577 521 481 392 516 367 392 514

H 171 137 187 171 155 155 112 163 104 111 165

R 93 82 92 94 67 86 76 98 55 47 84

TB 243 248 284 221 242 254 187 273 133 164 253

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 29 11 7 59 67 19 .326 .463 .410 28 1 27 85 45 0 .278 .504 .347 34 6 17 70 34 8 .311 .473 .352 15 13 3 49 36 31 .296 .383 .346 24 3 19 103 58 3 .298 .464 .369 38 8 15 96 61 3 .322 .528 .404 18 6 15 51 56 8 .286 .477 .383 34 8 20 83 88 10 .316 .529 .418 18 1 3 47 39 12 .283 .362 .354 22 2 9 58 42 0 .283 .418 .360 33 8 13 97 66 3 .321 .492 .406

G GS CG SH W L % IP 36 27 18 5 14 10 .583 230 38 32 19 1 18 14 .563 243 33 30 6 3 15 10 .600 194 71 1 0 0 17 7 .708 144

Louisville Omaha Indianapolis Omaha

H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 230 73 84 43 2.86 10.8 229 90 129 68 3.33 11.1 168 71 121 105 3.29 12.9 126 33 91 45 2.06 10.9

International League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Frank “Pancho” Herrera Phil Gagliano Bob Bailey Tony Martinez Vic Davalillo Pete Ward Neil Chrisley Harry Chiti No selection made

Joe Scha›ernoth Jim Constable

TEAM Bu›alo Atlanta Columbus Jacksonville Jacksonville Rochester Toronto Jacksonville

Jacksonville Toronto

G 30 32

G 143 143 153 150 150 152 106 70

GS 30 17

AB 509 556 548 579 578 545 375 236

CG 12 9

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 150 93 271 25 0 32 108 71 8 .295 .532 .386 158 87 212 30 3 6 49 50 4 .284 .381 .349 164 109 293 31 7 28 108 96 11 .299 .535 .406 166 74 224 23 13 3 72 21 7 .287 .387 .318 200 99 296 27 18 11 69 44 24 .346 .512 .393 179 114 291 34 6 22 90 76 17 .328 .534 .415 109 58 192 22 2 19 75 52 2 .291 .512 .383 79 38 131 16 0 12 44 22 0 .335 .555 .391

SH 0 3

W 18 16

L 11 4

% .621 .800

IP 219 162

H 191 127

ER 65 46

SO 160 126

BB 60 73

ERA 2.67 2.56

BR/9 10.4 11.3

reliever. In 45 games (no starts), he was 5–2 with a very good ¡.88 ERA.

¡2–4 and was second in ERA with a 2.62 mark. He led the league in BR/9 ratio with a 9.¡ figure. Ted Abernathy, his Suns teammate, was the league’s premier

Pacific Coast League (AAA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Rogelio Alvarez Nate Oliver Tommy Harper Hilario “Chico” Ruiz Ken Walters Stan Palys Walt Bond Jesse Gonder No selection made

John Tsitouris Dick Egan

TEAM San Diego Spokane San Diego San Diego San Diego Hawaii Salt Lake City San Diego

San Diego Hawaii

G 29 40

GS 25 33

G 132 124 144 144 152 148 132 136

CG 16 15

AB 481 477 499 621 583 554 472 491

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 153 88 244 27 5 18 73 47 3 .318 .507 .381 151 76 217 34 7 6 60 42 12 .317 .455 .374 166 120 284 24 8 26 84 105 22 .333 .569 .454 179 108 232 20 6 5 43 27 40 .288 .374 .319 175 87 269 43 6 22 96 34 1 .300 .461 .342 184 111 321 32 3 33 91 72 3 .332 .579 .415 151 80 229 21 12 11 76 29 7 .320 .485 .363 168 76 264 31 1 21 116 40 1 .342 .538 .392

SH 3 2

Grizzled vet Dick Gernert was my first base choice. In just ¡03 games (and ¡27 fewer plate appearances) he had just five fewer RBIs (68) and hit three more homers (20) than did Alvarez. Wiley Dick hit .289, slugged .5¡7, and had an OB% of .390.

W 13 17

L 8 11

% .619 .607

IP 200 253

H 173 239

ER 65 97

SO 107 201

BB 54 81

ERA 2.93 3.45

BR/9 10.5 11.6

I’ve no problem with the choice of Harper at third, but would like to mention Max Alvis’s performance for Salt Lake City. Max hit .3¡9 with a SA of .542, hit 25 home runs, drove in 9¡ runs, and scored ¡¡3 times. Harper, by the way, got to only 2.7

514

Minor League All-Star Teams

chances a game and fielded .905. Alvis got to 3.3 and was marginally more successful with a .922 FA. Once again I had Carlos Bernier as one of my outfielders. He hit .3¡3, slugged .5¡¡, and had the league’s best OB%, .459. He hit ¡7 homers and drove in 92 runs. I had the Hawaii Islander in place of Walt “Big Man” Bond. Another wily vet earned a berth as a second catcher on my now forty plus year old roster. Hal Bevan (San Diego) was winding down his career, but he hit .307 with a .482 SA in ¡962.

No utility player was selected, but I picked out yet another ancient campaigner to fill the slot, this time Mr. Billy Harrell of Seattle. He played third and the outfield (and even pitched in one game) while hitting .294 with a .488 SA. He hit ¡7 homers and 78 RBIs. Gaylord Perry of Tacoma was only ¡0–7, but he led the league in ERA with a 2.48 mark. Dan Osinksi (Portland) once again was the best reliever in whichever league he happened to be pitching. He was 9–4 with a good ¡.6¡ ERA and a terrific 8.9 BR/9 ratio. He struck out 82 batters in his 84 innings.

Mexican League (AA) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Alonzo Perry Vinicio Garcia Luis Garcia Leonardo Rodriguez Hector Espino Ruben Esquivas Al Pinkston Jaime Corella Miguel Gaspar No selection made

TEAM Monterrey Monterrey Poza Rica M.C. Diablos Rojos Monterrey M.C. Tigres Vera Cruz Monterrey Vera Cruz

SP Ramon Arano Vera Cruz SP Aaron Flores M.C. Diablos Rojos

G 124 126 120 123 126 129 123 117 110

AB 468 504 448 519 444 429 451 362 363

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 149 91 235 28 5 16 105 60 4 .318 .502 .398 172 91 237 28 5 9 76 48 9 .341 .470 .402 152 61 247 31 2 20 85 40 2 .339 .551 .402 164 95 229 30 7 7 610 26 7 .316 .441 .352 159 106 272 20 12 23 105 67 3 .358 .613 .459 137 57 198 21 11 6 47 53 10 .319 .462 .394 172 75 245 33 8 8 87 45 5 .381 .543 .443 122 51 160 17 3 5 61 47 2 .337 .442 .415 111 36 125 14 0 0 30 24 1 .306 .344 .349

G GS CG SH W L % IP H ER SO BB ERA BR/9 28 24 17 2 17 6 .739 197 180 57 121 46 2.60 10.6 29 24 12 5 13 8 .619 182 188 73 94 69 3.61 12.8

I had four outfielders, and Esquivas was not one of them. Pueblo’s Oscar Rodriguez hit .374, slugged .567, and had a .443 OB%. Monterrey’s Juan Delis hit .365, slugged .54¡, and had a .425 OB%. He also scored 87 runs and led the league with 37 doubles. Both performances seem superior to Esquivas’s. Pinkston, by the way, was 44.

There were no particularly strong pitching performances in the league in ’62, which makes Arturo Cacheux’s omission even more puzzling. He was ¡8–¡0 with a 3.33 ERA (fifth best in the league) and had a for-the-league good ¡¡.7 BR/9 ratio.

Texas League (AA) POS 1B 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT

SP SP

NAME Charlie Dees Paul Snyder Jerry Robinson Don Eaddy Cap Peterson Ray “Corky” Withrow Joe Patterson Jesus Alou Jim Small Tim Talton Clyde Bloomfield

Lazaro Gomez Gordy Richardson

TEAM El Paso Austin El Paso San Antonio El Paso Austin Tulsa El Paso Albuquerque El Paso Tulsa

El Paso Tulsa

G 41 36

GS 26 23

G 141 132 132 111 136 131 118 118 127 115 117

AB 515 519 467 433 526 486 418 505 435 384 338

CG 11 9

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB 179 117 301 41 6 23 115 74 162 95 257 22 8 19 113 50 135 108 276 19 7 36 125 69 117 66 169 22 3 8 64 49 176 128 315 34 9 29 130 71 141 92 277 22 6 34 105 48 136 84 203 25 9 8 36 47 173 97 261 35 10 11 68 26 138 92 219 20 11 13 82 109 119 64 194 22 4 15 101 40 97 55 123 10 2 4 36 29

SH 3 2

The El Paso Sun Kings hit .3¡0, slugged .506, had a .384 OB%, and scored 7.¡ runs a game. As much as I admire Joe Patterson, who toiled

W 15 13

L 7 6

% .682 .684

IP 198 198

H 225 194

ER 95 70

SB 20 1 5 7 13 0 31 24 4 3 1

SO 143 153

BA .348 .312 .289 .270 .335 .290 .325 .343 .317 .310 .287 BB 63 57

SA OB% .584 .439 .495 .375 .591 .384 .390 .347 .599 .419 .570 .359 .486 .397 .517 .377 .503 .456 .505 .378 .364 .347 ERA 4.32 3.18

BR/9 13.2 11.5

long and productively in the minors without ever even getting the proverbial “Cup of Co›ee” in the show, I still had Felix Maldonado of El Paso ahead

¡962 of him. Maldonado hit .326, slugged .454 and had an OB% of .420. He stole 26 bases and scored ¡25 runs. On further (and more mature) review, I now realize that the di›erence between Patterson and Maldonado is a factor of the teams for which they played. Make Felix an Oiler, and he doesn’t score ¡25 runs. Make Joe a Sun King and he does. Perhaps a four man outfield is the answer. Albuquerque’s catcher Billy Bryan also lacked the El Paso advantage, otherwise his 25 homers would certainly have garnered him more than 85 RBIs. Bryan hit .293, had a .6¡3 SA (the only player with over 200 ABs who reached the .600 barrier), and had

515

an OB% of .395. He also scored 82 runs, the best by far of any league catcher. Bloomfield played second, third, and short. Jose Santiago was ¡6–9 for Albuquerque and was third in the league with a .388 ERA. His ¡88 strikeouts were second. Freddie Burdette (San Antonio) pitched in 65 games, was 9–9 , and had a 3.02 ERA (he would have had to give up six runs in the nine innings he needed to qualify to lose the ERA championship to Richardson and allowed nineteen base runners to lose the BR/9 crown to Richardson (Burdette came in at ¡¡.0).

Eastern League (A) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Ken Harrelson Bobby Sanders Jim Ray Hart Dalton Jones Richie Allen Ray Youndahl Jerry Gri‡n Duane “Duke” Sims Bob Barton No selection made

SP RP

Dave McNalley Herm Starrette

TEAM Binghamton Williamsport Springfield York Williamsport Elmira Williamsport Charleston Springfield

Elmira Elmira

G 34 61

GS 28 7

G 140 132 140 127 132 111 133 83 103 CG 13 4

AB 536 496 540 530 511 385 509 268 323 SH 4 0

H 146 154 182 164 168 104 150 86 85 W 15 14

Only eleven players in the ’62 E.L. hit as many as ten home runs. 60 RBIs would have gotten you into the league’s top ten. Only 8.6 runs a game were scored. I would have had four pitchers, only one of who would have been among the two selectees (with Starrette as my reliever). 35-year old former Whiz Kid Granny Hamner made a comeback (which got him back to the majors) as a pitcher. He led the league with a 2.03 ERA for Binghamton and went ¡0–4. Bob He›ner (York) was ¡3–¡0, 2.68 with a BR/9 ratio of ¡¡.0. He led the league with 234 strike-outs in 2¡5

R 86 98 97 77 97 58 95 37 34 L 11 10

TB 296 245 284 227 280 173 215 128 113

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 20 8 38 138 58 12 .272 .552 .346 21 5 20 81 59 14 .310 .494 .387 30 9 18 107 60 5 .337 .526 .405 16 13 7 52 35 8 .309 .428 .357 32 10 20 109 69 11 .329 .548 .411 19 4 14 67 46 5 .270 .449 .353 22 11 7 55 56 10 .295 .422 .375 16 1 8 57 36 0 .321 .478 .407 19 3 1 50 43 1 .263 .350 .357

% .577 .583

IP 196 163

H 153 155

ER 67 48

SO 195 133

BB 115 29

ERA 3.08 2.65

BR/9 12.7 10.3

innings. Gary Kroll (Williamsport) was ¡2–2 (for a league-best .857) and was second in ERA at 2.¡5. He struck out ¡54 hitters in ¡42 innings. Steve Dalkowski spent the entire year at Elmira and seemed to be on the verge of getting his stu› together. He was 7–¡0 (he led the league with six shutouts), and, though his strike-outs were down to ¡0.8/9, his walks were down even farther to a miniscule (in context) 6.4/9. His ERA was 3.04, over two runs lower than it had ever been before, and, thanks to the fact that he had only twelve wild pitches, his runs-per-nine was only 3.4.

South Atlantic League (A) Buford played only 43 games at third, and I had him as an outfielder on my squad. My hot corner man was Gus Gil of Macon. He fielded .937 to Buford’s .870, hit .276 and had a .400 OB%. I had Plaskett as a utility player (he played first, third, outfield, catcher, and even pitched in one game). My outfield was Oliva, Buford, and Jim Hicks of Savannah/Lynchburg. Hicks hit .342, slugged .478, had an OB% of .43¡, and drove in 96 runs. Cox would have been a fourth outfielder on my squad. An ERA of 5.27 does not an All-Star make, out-

side of the old WTNM League. Good-bye (or should I say, “Auf Wiedersehen”) Mecklenburg. Dick Lines su›ered from the kiss of death — he led the league in ERA (2.¡¡) and BR/9 ratio (9.9). No wonder he was not selected. Dave DeBusschere was ¡0–¡ for Savannah/Lynchburg. He had an ERA of 2.49 and struck out 93 batters in 94 innings. Horace “Dooley” Womack (yes, that Dooley Womack) was in 45 games (no starts) and had a very good ¡.94 ERA while going ¡2–9.

516 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Grover “Deacon” Jones Pete Rose Don Buford Tommy Helms Ronnie Cox Elmo Plaskett Tony Oliva J.C. Martin John Sullivan No selection made

Camilo Estevis Marv Mecklenburg

TEAM Savannah/Lynch. Macon Savannah/Lynch. Macon Portsmouth Asheville Charlotte Savannah/Lynch. Knoxville

Greenville Portsmouth

G 28 35

G 136 139 111 139 126 134 127 94 117

GS 25 25

AB 499 540 418 573 473 486 469 338 389

CG 23 7

H 159 178 135 195 145 170 164 111 104

SH 2 0

R 119 136 100 102 79 91 71 64 50

W 18 14

TB 277 270 185 250 249 285 262 155 144

L 9 9

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 30 5 26 101 98 11 .319 .555 .432 31 17 9 71 95 15 .330 .500 .433 22 5 6 43 91 18 .323 .443 .444 38 7 1 50 32 15 .340 .436 .375 27 4 23 93 45 0 .307 .526 .368 30 2 27 96 63 7 .350 .586 .429 35 6 17 93 43 1 .350 .559 .408 18 1 8 52 34 4 .328 .459 .393 18 2 6 36 69 0 .267 .370 .386

% .667 .609

IP 214 169

H 189 185

ER 70 99

SO 147 129

BB 66 75

ERA 2.94 5.27

BR/9 10.8 13.8

Carolina League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP SP

NAME “Rusty” Staub Cesar Tovar Tony Perez Rico Petrocelli Ron Flender Ronnie Davis Ed Napoleon Jim Gosger Albert Barth Buddy Booker Clint Courtney Glenn Vaughan

Steve Blass Wally Wolf Mel Stottlemyre Frank Bork Jimmy Roland

TEAM Durham Rocky Mount Rocky Mount Winston-Salem Rocky Mount Durham Kinston Winston-Salem Rocky Mount Burlington Durham Durham

Kinston Durham Greensboro Kinston Wilson

G 23 21 32 29 24

G 140 131 100 137 132 92 132 131 135 123 81 140

AB 509 510 384 487 518 341 471 491 479 422 248 571

GS 23 20 31 28 20

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 149 115 246 20 4 23 93 116 9 .293 .483 .432 168 115 241 35 4 10 72 78 56 .329 .473 .425 112 72 202 20 8 18 74 68 8 .292 .526 .402 135 76 224 30 4 17 80 77 5 .277 .460 .381 168 77 241 25 6 3 60 56 8 .324 .465 .396 101 83 148 15 4 8 42 60 8 .296 .434 .403 134 77 198 30 5 8 68 74 4 .285 .420 .384 139 88 239 31 6 19 83 64 4 .283 .487 .367 137 82 270 26 4 33 136 87 13 .286 .564 .405 108 52 152 14 9 4 55 37 17 .256 .360 .323 61 37 99 11 0 9 57 74 0 .246 .399 .425 165 100 227 24 4 10 71 77 15 .289 .398 .375

CG 15 12 17 18 10

SH 8 4 7 4 2

Outfield selectee Barth played ¡02 games at first base and should have been selected as a utility man. Vaughan played all of his games at short (where he led the league in assists and TC/G). Courtney was in-

W 17 16 17 19 10

L 3 3 9 7 8

% .850 .842 .654 .731 .556

IP 178 160 241 230 168

H 112 113 167 166 100

ER 39 51 67 51 37

SO 209 172 190 191 197

BB 82 89 92 55 113

ERA 1.97 2.87 2.50 2.00 1.98

BR/9 9.9 11.8 10.2 8.8 11.5

deed the 35-year old former St. Louis Brown. This was a good sta›, compiling a 2.26 ERA, allowing only ¡0.3 BR/9, and striking out 8.7 men every nine innings.

Northwest League (B) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Gary Johnson Rafael Gomez Roland Campbell Walt Hrniak Nelson Mathews Emiliano Telleria Ethan Blackaby Rico Carty John McNamara No selection made

SP RP

Larry Staab Ed Nottle

TEAM Tri-City Yakima Wenatchee Yakima Wenatchee Tri-City Yakima Yakima Lewiston

Salem Tri-City

G 29 50

McNamara was a playing manager.

GS 27 1

G 135 126 132 139 101 134 139 108 93

AB 522 435 532 444 318 484 503 352 281

CG 12 1

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 178 89 260 35 10 8 103 55 6 .341 .498 .407 130 74 201 25 5 12 76 84 5 .299 .462 .415 163 90 209 25 3 5 51 17 10 .306 .393 .333 133 64 174 21 7 2 54 60 2 .300 .392 .385 117 74 225 19 10 23 68 59 11 .368 .708 .468 161 91 219 17 7 9 94 38 31 .333 .452 .396 163 108 266 43 6 16 75 61 8 .324 .529 .400 129 68 213 21 6 17 79 42 12 .366 .605 .435 77 41 95 11 2 1 33 51 2 .274 .338 .386

SH 2 1

W 14 10

L 10 6

% .583 .625

IP 173 116

H 166 93

ER 80 29

SO 154 146

BB 105 47

ERA 4.16 2.25

BR/9 14.1 10.9

¡962 Billy Cowan deserves either one of the three spots (in place of Telleria?) or a fourth slot. He hit only .30¡, but his SA was .606 on the strength of 24 home runs, 86 RBIs, and 2¡ steals in 9¡ games. (Cowan was called up to the Texas League where he hit a further ¡¡ home runs and drove in 36 more runs, giving him 35 and ¡22 with 27 steals). The sta› could use another starter or two. Matt Gayeski of Eugene was ¡4–9 with a .388 ERA (sixth

517

in the league) and 209 strike-outs in 202 innings. Darrell Peters of Salem was ¡5–9, 3.72 (fifth). Archie White (Yakima) was 6–2, ¡.47 before he was called up to the Texas League, where he had one start and pitched a shut-out. He averaged ¡2.8 K/9 in the NWL. (Overall on the year, he was ¡2–3 with a ¡.9¡ ERA and ¡29 Ks in 99 innings, an ¡¡.7/9 ratio.) Note that Nottle had ¡¡.3 Ks every 9 IP.

California League (C) POS NAME

TEAM

1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

Reno Reno Stockton Fresno Santa Barbara Bakersfield San Jose Reno Santa Barbara Modesto Visalia

SP SP SP SP

Bill Haas Jim Lefebvre P. Fred Studstill Hal Lanier Grimm Mason Larry Daniels Dick Simpson Dennis Marquardt Bob Rikard John Bateman Dale Rohde

Jose Lizondro Darold Knowles Pat Rogan Mike Urrizola

Visalia Stockton San Jose Bakersfield

G 24 23 26 33

G

AB

H

R

138 138 101 133 140 122 135 139 129 121 138

555 541 394 555 544 452 511 568 388 435 546

204 177 120 173 189 143 161 174 129 122 174

128 139 64 89 137 93 119 126 101 67 119

339 335 165 216 298 300 320 296 253 214 292

GS 23 21 22 30

CG 14 12 8 11

SH 1 1 2 1

W 13 12 12 15

L 6 7 9 13

Just a mention for Modesto first baseman Len Tucker. In 94 games, he hit 30 home runs and had ¡0¡ RBIs. His BA was only .294, but his SA beat the .368hitting Haas’s .625–.6¡¡. Notice to football fans: Lefebvre was pronounced “Le-Fever,” not “Le-farv.” Fresno’s Frank Corej hit only .254, but he fielded a weak .9¡¡ to Studstill’s truly execrable .868. Corej’s other averages were not much di›erent than Studstill’s (.4¡7 SA, .365 OB%), and he hit ¡4 homers with 58 RBIs. Reno’s shortstop Rolland Petranovich had .286/ .458/.372 averages, but his P&P numbers crushed Lanier’s: ¡8 homers, 94 RBIs, and ¡20 runs. When

TB 2B 3B HR RBI 30 3 33 4 19 4 20 4 34 12 23 1 19 7 26 6 21 2 25 2 29 4 % .684 .632 .571 .536

IP 174 161 156 226

33 39 6 5 17 44 42 28 33 21 27

BB SB

BA

SA OB%

144 100 7 .368 .611 130 97 23 .327 .619 55 41 13 .305 .419 49 32 17 .312 .389 82 86 44 .347 .548 108 69 7 .316 .664 113 55 11 .315 .626 126 85 24 .306 .521 121 139 8 .332 .652 75 16 5 .280 .492 107 58 8 .319 .535

H 198 117 146 278

ER 69 41 68 108

SO 151 202 137 153

BB 33 80 85 68

ERA 3.57 2.29 3.92 4.30

.466 .436 .373 .353 .441 .413 .389 .405 .510 .317 .387 BR/9 12.3 11.2 13.6 14.1

you add in the fact that Lanier played all of his games at second, I think that a pretty good case can be made for Petranovich. Please note catcher Rikard’s .5¡0 OB%— and his .652 SA is not too shabby either. Rohde was a first baseman. The best pitcher (by far) in the ’62 Cal League was Fred Newman of San Jose. He was ¡5–¡ (in ¡6 games) with a ¡.58 ERA and a BR/9 allowance of 9.3. He also struck out ¡32 men in ¡08 innings, eleven per nine innings. Shockingly, he was overlooked for the Cal League Dream Team. Obviously, some ballots were lost in the mail, because only a knucklehead would chose a ¡5–¡3, 4.30 guy over a ¡5–¡, ¡.58 one.

Mexican Center League (C) Man! Talk about your hitting. This league hit a reminiscent-of-the-¡930-N.L. .303, slugged (as a league, mind you) .482, had ¡3.8 runs scored in an average game, and hit 949 homers, 2.5 per game. Guanajuato hit .327, slugged an incredible .557 and had a .4¡8 OB%. The Tuzos hit 244 homers (two a game) and averaged 8.2 runs a game. Unfortunately their pitchers gave up 8.5 runs a game and they finished fifth, twelve games under .500. Caballero was a playing manager. Please note his

unimaginable .9¡0 slugging percent. He hit a homer every 7.¡ at bats, on a pace for 77 over a 550 AB season. He was also on a 225 RBI pace for a ¡50 game season, and extrapolates out to 500 (!) total bases over 550 at bats. At third, one of the great power years of all times was deemed unworthy of notice. Hector Sanudo of Aguascalientes hit .38¡ with ¡03 runs and ¡00 RBIs in 97 games. He had a most excellent .498 OB% and an .805 SA, one of the best ever (even though it pales in

518 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

Minor League All-Star Teams NAME Ramiro Caballero Rogelio Vargas Jose Maria Murillo Juan Manuel Salinas Servando Gonzalez Miguel Angel Gutierrez Gonzalo Villalobos Alfonso Ibarra Rogelio Jimenez No selection made

Ricardo Vazquez Alfredo Ortiz

TEAM Guanajuato Leon Leon Fresnillo Leon San Luis Potosi Guanajuato Leon Salamanca

Leon Fresnillo

G 34 42

GS 6 30

G 113 127 125 90 102 83 119 97 121

CG 6 20

AB 423 469 494 339 512 313 472 342 463

H 175 141 161 106 172 132 161 107 159

R 123 117 102 79 81 85 109 62 111

TB 385 221 234 178 220 234 256 168 241

SH 1 1

W 13 19

L 2 10

% .867 .655

comparison to the one posted by Caballero). He hit 37 homers, one every 9.5 ABs. By the way, a Caballero/Vargas/Sanudo/Salinas infield hits .35¡, slugs an amazing .674, and has a terrific .456 OB%. The selected infield is still quite potent (.338/.590/.443), but the selection of Sanudo would have made it a record setter. In the outfield, I bid adieu to Gonzalez and welcome Jesus Delgado of Guanajuato. In 72 games, he scored 89 runs, drove in 8¡ and popped 26 homers. He hit a humongous .426, slugged a mammoth .783, and had a Godzillan .535 OB%. An outfield of Delgado, Gutierrez, and Villalobos hits 386, slugs .664, and has an OB% of 472 — terrifyingly terrific. The chosen outfield of Gonzalez, Gutierrez, and Villalobos have good .359/.547/.420 numbers, but the D-GV trio rocks. On to catcher, where yet another Tuzo was shunned as if he had the plague. Guillermo Frayde hit .347, slugged a very good .66¡, and had a fine .429 OB%. He also popped 32 homers and drove in ¡¡9 runs. I think he should at least have been selected ahead of Ibarra, as I am sure you will agree. No utility players were chosen, but two (from Guanajuato, where else) should have been. Both played about half a season. Elpidio Osuna played second and outfield. He appeared in 59 games, scored 73 runs and drove in 78. He popped 28 homers, batted

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 25 4 59 170 54 3 .414 .910 .494 29 9 11 79 81 25 .301 .471 .411 26 4 13 83 102 18 .326 .474 .444 21 6 13 60 63 16 .313 .525 .425 17 8 5 62 26 17 .336 .430 .370 20 2 26 94 40 8 .422 .748 .493 27 4 20 94 59 27 .341 .542 .421 17 1 14 73 50 2 .313 .491 .402 31 3 15 90 77 6 .343 .521 .440

IP 140 235

H 116 264

ER 37 131

SO 87 145

BB 82 102

ERA 2.38 5.02

BR/9 13.2 14.4

.370, had an OB% of .46¡ and a slugging percentage of .8¡5. Eduardo Escalante was in 58 games and played first and outfield. He scored 52 runs, drove in 60, batted a huge .430, slugged an equally huge .809, and had a Ruthian .537 OB%. As an aside (of paramount interest to me, and hope of at least passing interest to the reader), the six Guanajuato players mentioned above, All-Star or no, hit ¡96 homers (in only ¡993 ABs), batted .38¡, slugged a Titanic (and I don’t mean the boat) .735, and had a .470 OB%. That, my friends, is a true Murderers Row. As you may well imagine, pitching in the ’62 Mexican Center League was not up to major league standards– not even ¡930 Phillies standards. Nine pitchers who pitched the requisite number of innings to qualify for the ERA crown had ERAs over 6.00 (including Guanajuato ace Jesus Rodriguez who came in at 8.23). 5.20 was good enough for tenth, and only two pitchers had ERAs under 4.00. All of this makes Leon’s Ricardo Vazquez’s season even more remarkable. The Diablos Verdes hurler was ¡3–2 and posted a 2.38 ERA, less than half of the league average. Enrique Castillo of Aguascalientes was ¡2–2 and finished third in ERA with a 4.04 mark. Baldemar Flores (Leon) went 8–5 and was the only other pitcher under 4.00, coming in at 3.44. His ¡2.¡ BR/9 ratio led all qualifiers.

Northern League (C) At third (and at first glance) it would seem that Aberdeen’s Phil Barth should have been the selectee. After all, he hit .282, slugged .44¡, and had a .374 OB%, all markedly superior to Wissman. However, this is one of those (fairly) rare situations where the decision turns on fielding. Wissman got to 3.4 chances a game, while Bart seemed virtually immobile at 2.5. This was enough of a di›erence for me to go along with the o‡cial designee. I am afraid, however, that I must disagree with

which future Tiger favorite made the All-Star team in the outfield. Yes, I do think that Mickey Stanley’s play at short is one of the great (but sadly forgotten, except by Tiger fans and SABRites) World Series stories of all time. Nevertheless, here I must go with his teammate Jim Northrup. Jim hit .324, slugged .5¡4, and had an OB% of .437, all quite above Stanley’s marks. Northrup also scored more runs (79) and had more RBIs (6¡) in 73 fewer plate appearances. Of course, we could insert Northrup into the non-se-

¡962 POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME J. Michael Derrick Willard Oplinger Dave Wissman Teofilo James Curt Motton Mickey Stanley Lorne Johnson Vic Ramirez Jim Price Reinaldo Oliver No selection made

Troy Giles Tom Hilgendorf

TEAM Grand Forks Aberdeen Grand Forks Eau Claire St. Cloud Duluth-Superior Eau Claire Grand Forks Grand Forks Winnipeg

Grand Forks Winnipeg

G 26 30

G 115 124 119 121 124 123 73 123 104 82

GS 23 22

AB 415 471 454 471 440 466 263 434 368 257

CG 20 12

519

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 127 71 199 29 5 11 73 63 5 .306 .480 .401 135 75 163 18 2 2 43 64 9 .287 .346 .373 111 85 167 19 2 11 70 50 12 .244 .368 .325 132 83 187 15 8 8 51 37 27 .280 .397 .340 128 70 197 22 4 13 69 96 4 .291 .448 .425 133 72 180 21 7 4 43 50 18 .285 .386 .356 95 54 167 14 5 16 80 50 3 .361 .635 .465 126 102 188 20 6 10 53 92 18 .290 .433 .418 104 44 170 25 1 13 79 31 5 .283 .462 .351 75 45 104 11 3 4 29 34 6 .292 .405 .377

SH 3 3

lected utility spot (he played 35 games at first) and keep Mickey in the Northern League garden. Giles had a remarkable year. Other than that, two relievers had good years and deserve mention. Fred Lasher, who pitched for Bismarck-Mandan (and who would be a future teammate of Stanley and North-

W 18 11

L 5 9

% .783 .550

IP 194 176

H 151 143

ER 37 52

SO 122 155

BB 55 111

ERA 1.72 2.66

BR/9 9.8 13.3

rup) was in 4¡ games and went 8–5 with an ERA of 2.03. Vern Orndor›, who was a teammate of Northrup and Stanley at Duluth-Superior but who would not go up to the show with them, was in 42 games, went 7–4, and had a very good ¡.78 ERA.

Pioneer League (C) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UTIF UTOF

SP SP SP SP

NAME Harold Allen Derrell Gri‡th Jim Livesey Sandy Alomar Adolfo Phillips Felix DeLeon Marcial Allen Ferdinand Walters Tom Kowalowski Jerry Funk Jim Horsford

Robert Radovich Fred Ballard Gerald Wild James Handrahan

TEAM Magic Valley Great Falls Great Falls Boise Magic Valley Billings Boise Magic Valley Idaho Falls Pocatello Idaho Falls

G 130 126 124 129 112 117 130 105 86 124 100

AB 509 498 426 535 409 381 480 385 273 492 288

H 176 156 139 176 135 131 156 132 76 142 86

R 118 106 96 83 135 113 87 91 48 87 55

TB 326 249 217 220 278 272 245 242 125 244 120

G 25 26 36 33

GS 25 20 15 26

CG 14 7 9 14

SH 3 1 1 3

W 12 11 13 13

L 11 4 6 14

Great Falls Billings Billings Boise

Weldon “Hoss” Bowlin, Billings third baseman, should have shared top billing with Gri‡th, despite his .287 BA. “Hoss” scored ¡¡8 runs and his 8¡ walks gave him a .39¡ OB%. It is not his hitting which makes him a contender though. Gri‡th fielded just .92¡, while Bowlin led the league with a .964 (on more TC/G). Gri‡th’s hitting was not enough to separate him from Bowlin, and Bowlin’s fielding was not enough to do likewise from Gri‡th. So, it’s two at third for me. Livesey played less than half of his games at third (he also played first and outfield) and would have made a better utility choice than Funk, if only by a bit. My third baseman was Jim Couch of Magic Valley. He had .283/.488/.393 averages and smacked 23

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 29 5 27 140 69 8 .346 .640 .426 29 11 14 87 57 6 .313 .500 .389 20 8 14 100 108 7 .326 .509 .469 31 2 3 72 21 10 .329 .411 .354 34 5 33 79 68 46 .330 .680 .442 18 6 37 125 121 11 .344 .714 .509 37 2 16 84 78 9 .325 .510 .421 21 4 27 97 89 5 .343 .629 .466 17 1 10 41 27 1 .278 .458 .346 35 5 19 109 33 11 .289 .496 .337 12 5 4 41 44 13 .299 .417 .395 % .522 .733 .684 .481

IP 179 153 164 181

H 191 136 118 181

ER 89 60 49 104

SO 186 158 220 241

BB 58 70 123 106

ERA 4.47 3.53 2.69 5.17

BR/9 12.6 12.3 13.3 14.6

homers. He also had ¡08 RBIs. If you consider Livesey a third baseman, than Couch would not be on the team. If not, he’s your man. In the outfield, John Harmon was my third with Phillips and DeLeon. Harmon (of Pocatello) matched Allen with a .325 BA, but he slugged a far superior .627 and garnered a .450 OB%. Harmon’s P&P (Power and Production, in case you don’t recall) figures were also better than Allen’s, as he walloped 27 homers, drove in 86 runs and scored ¡06 runs in seventeen fewer games than Allen. Oh, and please note DeLeon’s .509 OB%. Funk played second, short, and third and is wellqualified for the infield utility position, especially if you keep Livesey at third. Horsford played third as

520

Minor League All-Star Teams

well as outfield, and pitched in 28 games, going ¡¡–8. And, quite possibly for the last time (there are only seven leagues to go to the end of this book), a candidate with a cool cognomen has popped up: Gage Naudain, outfielder/first baseman for Pocatello. He hit .280 with 26 homers, 95 runs, 98 RBIs, a .527 SA, an OB% of .4¡8 (and he struck out ¡40 times, second most in the league). As an aside, the starting eight (with Walters at catcher) hit .33¡, slugged .566, and had a .433 OB%, hit ¡7¡ homers, drove in 784 runs (98 per) and scored 829 runs (¡04 per). A very potent squad, especially considering they gathered these stats in a ¡30 game season.

Turning to pitching, this was a strike-out league. On average, ¡6.7 strike-outs a game were rung up by the two team’s pitchers. The selectee’s, by the way, had 805 strike-outs in just 677 innings, a red-hot ¡0.7 every nine innings. Despite Handrahan’s 24¡ Ks (¡2 per 9/IP), his 5.¡7 ERA is just too high for me, especially when he can be replaced by Boise’s Clay Carroll. “The Hawk” was ¡4–7 with a 3.83 ERA, and, with 223 Ks in ¡8¡ IP (¡¡.¡ per 9/IP), not much “stu› ” is lost. Carroll also led in BR/9 ratio with a ¡2.0 mark. I would also have added Otto Meischner (Billings) as a reliever. Otto was in 4¡ games (only one start) and went ¡0–4 with an ERA of 2.25 as well as 95 Ks in 88 innings.

Alabama-Florida League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C UT

NAME Carlos Pascual Bill Timberlake Gary Dempsey Frank Caradonna Nelson Gardner Lou Abrams Dick DeLong Walter Dobryzkowski No selection made

SP RP

Fred Waters Charles Herzberger

TEAM Fort Walton Beach Pensacola Ozark/Andalusia Pensacola Dothan Pensacola Montgomery Selma

Pensacola Dothan

G 23 54

GS 14 0

G 115 111 104 115 119 103 119 78

CG 11 0

AB 434 430 371 475 460 393 451 221

SH 2 0

Carlos “Little Potato” Pascual is the same fellow who pitched for the Washington Senators at age ¡9 in ¡950. At second, Montgomery’s Mike Holodick came in with .297/.373/.39¡ averages, led the league with ¡¡8 runs and 40 steals, and got to over half a chance more a game than did Timberlake. He is my keystone choice on both hitting and fielding grounds. (A note, before getting into the outfield, on Nelson Gardner’s fielding; in twelve games at third, he fielded .8¡4, in 92 games in the outfield, he fielded a much better but still horrid .896. Overall, he fielded at an .869 clip.) Now, about that outfield: Steve Brackin (Pensacola) hit only .300, but thanks to a league-leading

H 147 123 98 128 145 124 139 73

W 11 15

R 83 94 51 96 95 74 82 39

L 2 9

TB 237 145 133 160 252 174 189 118

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 25 1 21 103 63 4 .339 .546 .431 14 4 0 55 76 28 .286 .337 .398 15 4 4 60 32 7 .264 .358 .326 8 3 6 53 43 31 .269 .337 .331 21 10 22 100 50 4 .315 .548 .385 24 7 4 73 60 18 .316 .443 .411 26 3 6 76 61 7 .308 .419 .397 16 1 9 58 22 3 .330 .534 .396

% .846 .625

IP 139 134

H 93 109

ER 22 29

SO 158 123

BB 30 40

ERA 1.42 1.95

BR/9 8.0 10.3

¡02 walks, he also led the league with a good .46¡ OB%. I would choose him over DeLong. Another note, if you will bear with me: Dobryzkowksi, All-Star catcher, also pitched in ¡2 games. Shades of Al Unser! I believe that Fred Waters is the same fellow who pitched for the Pirates in the mid–50’s. If so, he was 35 in ¡962. I would have added Bob Baird (Pensacola) to the sta›. He was ¡3–3 with a 2.98 ERA and 207 Ks in ¡5¡ innings. He allowed only 5.5 hits per 9/IP, one of the year’s best marks, but his BR/9 ratio was hurt by ¡24 walks and eight hit batsmen. Please note that the aforementioned Waters had a fantastic BR/9 ratio of 8.0 (actually, 7.96), one of the top figures in this entire volume.

Appalachian League (D) Not much to say except that I would have had Ron Kopp (Bluefield) on my sta› instead of Sorenson.

Kopp was 8–2 and led the league with a 2.96 ERA. His ¡2.¡ BR/9 ratio was second.

Florida State League (D) Cleo James of St. Pete played 84 games at second (he also played short) and would have been my choice for that position, especially noting the puny

hitting and absence of power and the on-base-getting struggle of the selected duo. James led the league with 98 runs and was second with a .309 BA. He also led

¡962

521

Appalachian League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF OF C UT SP SP SP

NAME Allen Feldhaus Wayne Edwards Stanley “Jack” Jaciak Mark Belanger Jerry Pritchett Dave May John Riddle Luis Delis Charles Aikens George Farson Tom Solters Bill Larkin Geo› Maloney Dick Sorenson

TEAM Middlesboro Bluefield Harlan Bluefield Wytheville Salem Bluefield Middlesboro Bluefield Bluefield Wytheville

Bluefield Wytheville Wytheville

G 8 13 14

G 57 66 55 47 68 59 66 62 64 64 60 GS 8 10 10

AB 204 241 178 151 255 214 219 226 249 202 206

H 68 82 56 45 86 81 63 73 81 57 64

CG 2 9 5

SH 1 1 0

R 42 70 34 44 60 53 47 58 61 61 48

TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 107 14 5 5 52 39 3 .333 .525 .445 119 15 2 6 41 56 13 .340 .494 .465 74 7 1 2 27 28 12 .315 .416 .413 63 7 1 3 23 55 15 .298 .417 .490 146 8 11 10 66 33 5 .337 .573 .413 120 12 6 5 41 30 10 .379 .561 .459 130 11 4 16 60 35 6 .288 .594 .393 103 13 4 3 37 58 10 .323 .456 .465 120 17 2 6 42 24 12 .325 .482 .389 100 10 0 11 41 75 6 .282 .495 .478 104 13 3 7 36 37 8 .311 .505 .416

W 5 8 6

L 3 2 2

% .625 .800 .750

IP 55 93 75

H 41 76 73

ER 15 33 32

SO 65 94 80

BB 38 37 43

ERA 2.45 3.19 3.84

BR/9 13.1 11.0 14.0

Florida State League (D) POS 1B 2B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF OF C UT SP SP

NAME Mike Hegan R. “Tito” Fuentes Reinold Garcia Jimmy Wynn Len Boehmer Bryce Smith Art Lopez William Evans Alex Johnson Ed Barberie No selection made John Zahn Steve Dillon

TEAM Fort Lauderdale Lakeland Miami Tampa Tampa Daytona Beach Fort Lauderdale Sarasota Miami Sarasota

Sarasota Fort Lauderdale

G 35 25

G 121 68 124 120 119 100 118 114 113 107 GS 30 25

AB 418 255 447 400 474 321 481 433 431 377 CG 17 11

H 128 56 97 116 139 90 123 130 135 106 SH 4 5

in HBP with ¡7 and was second in steals with 36. His secondary averages were .382 and .4¡¡. No utility man was selected, but Dagoberto Campaneris of Daytona Beach has a season which cried out for handy-man recognition. He played first, second, third, short, catcher, outfield, and pitched in three games. He hit .290 with a .394 OB%. It must be here noted, in case you don’t already know, that Bert pitched both righty and lefty in one of his stints. He had a 3.00 ERA and struck out six in six innings of work. Five pitchers had BR/9 ratios under ¡¡ in the ’62 Fla. State League. None of them made the All-Star Team. Five pitchers had ERAs under 2.45. None of them made the team either, as they were, as you probably have guessed, the same five pitchers. Bob Bishop of Lakeland (which finished ¡7 games under .500) was ¡2–¡2 with an ERA of 2.28 (third in the league) and a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.8 (actually, ¡0.78),

R 75 25 83 93 96 53 69 92 60 55 W 14 14

TB 150 68 113 178 167 131 166 184 188 137

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 11 4 3 43 99 18 .306 .359 .442 6 0 2 24 16 15 .220 .267 .268 12 2 0 27 79 23 .217 .253 .341 10 5 14 81 113 20 .290 .445 .453 13 6 1 44 62 23 .293 .352 .375 13 5 6 59 59 4 .280 .408 .403 18 8 3 45 39 37 .256 .345 .326 15 15 3 46 85 27 .300 .425 .420 16 11 5 60 29 13 .313 .436 .365 21 5 0 58 46 5 .281 .363 .371

L 12 7

% .538 .667

IP 233 169

H 208 144

ER 70 49

SO 255 196

BB 90 61

ERA 2.70 2.61

BR/9 11.8 11.0

third in the league. He was also second with 224 Ks (in ¡97 innings). (There were three Bishops who played for Lakeland in ¡962, Harry, Lewis, and Robert. I don’t know if they were brothers [or perhaps even triplets] but the possibility exists.) Leonardo Ferguson (who has appeared before as Leonardo Fergunson) was in 49 games for Ft. Lauderdale and was fourth with a 2.28 ER, second with a BR/9 ratio of ¡0.6, and struck out ¡67 hitters in ¡38 innings. Bob Angel of Sarasota was second in ERA (2.20), fifth in BR/9 allowed (¡0.9), and second in winning percentage (.824 on a ¡4–3 record). Nick Curtis (Daytona Beach) was first in ERA (2.¡3) and winning percentage (.833 on a ¡5–3 record), fourth in BR/9 ratio (¡0.8¡) and also struck out more than a batter an inning with ¡54 Ks in ¡44 innings. Finally, we have Ed Stein, league leader in wins with ¡6, third in winning percentage (.7620, fourth in ERA (2.42) and the leader in BR/9 ratio at ¡0.3.

Georgia-Florida League (D) This was a four team league which drew 92,875 fans for the season. No qualifier in the league hit .300. At first base, Richard Hart (Dublin) was in 46

games and, with 46 RBIs, drove in almost as many runs as Jacobus. Hart also doubled Jacobus’ home run total with twelve and, in fewer than half as many

522

Minor League All-Star Teams

POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

NAME Steve Jacobus Jack Newcomer Glenn Clark John Thomas Matchik Raymond Staub Al Peterkin Dick Anderson Herbert “Butch” Troy Harley Warren Barty No selection made

SP RP

Jim Holbrook Dick Hagen

TEAM Moultrie Brunswick Dublin Brunswick Moultrie Moultrie Dublin Moultrie Brunswick

Moultrie Dublin

G 25 32

G 110 111 73 71 74 66 114 62 107

GS 22 0

AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 365 99 49 146 17 6 6 48 63 2 .271 .400 .383 392 110 75 172 18 4 12 56 62 12 .281 .439 .383 292 100 71 197 15 2 26 72 37 4 .342 .675 .422 264 82 53 105 14 3 1 31 27 9 .311 .398 .379 238 75 39 89 8 3 0 26 52 12 .315 .374 .460 212 55 40 85 8 2 6 27 21 7 .259 .401 .340 413 99 72 156 22 7 7 65 50 12 .240 .378 .323 146 39 23 49 4 0 2 24 55 0 .267 .336 .468 339 95 68 146 14 2 11 55 47 9 .280 .431 .371

CG 9 0

SH 0 0

W 6 7

PAs, was outscored by only ten runs. Hart’s averages were .30¡, .584, and .383. At second, Martin Richardson (Thomasville) hit .279 and finished second in the league with 9¡ runs scored. He also fielded .948 to Newcomer’s .928 and tied for the league lead with ten triples. He hit .279. Shortstop Manuel Samuel (Amado’s brother?) of Dublin hit only .269 with a poor .308 SA, but he did lead the league in walks with 92 and in runs with ¡00 and was second in OB% with a .394 mark. Dublin outfielder Dan Kern was in only 56 games, but he had 56 RBIs (tied for eighth, this may be the fewest games ever for full-season Top Ten RBI man)

L 12 3

% .333 .700

IP 147 95

H 140 75

ER 59 24

SO 138 123

BB 90 25

ERA 3.61 2.27

BR/9 14.3 9.8

and was second with fifteen home runs. He hit .300 and slugged .553, and I would have picked him over any of the three selectees. Holbrook’s team finished thirty games under .500, and, minus his e›orts, posted a 5.25 ERA. Hagen had an ¡¡.6 K/9 ratio. The league’s two top ERA men (who both also happened to tie for the most victories) were left o› of the squad. Alex Pietrewicz (Dublin) was ¡4–8 with a 3.5¡ ERA. He led the league in strikeouts with ¡75 (in ¡69 innings). Charles Haygood (Thomasville) was a bit better at ¡4–6, and led the league in winning percentage (.700), ERA (2.08) and BR/9 allowed (¡¡.0).

Midwest League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP SP SP

NAME Tony Torchia Bob Kilpatrick Orlando Centelles Bob Litchfield Vince Ferguson Ed Crawford Felix Pizarro Milt Swift William Sebera No selection made

Art Siefert Ernie Kumerow Barry Shollenberger Jim McGlothlin

TEAM Keokuk/Midwest Clinton Dubuque Appleton Cedar Rapids Quad Cities Burlington Cedar Rapids Keokuk/Midwest

G 124 79 114 121 108 84 114 97 106

AB 477 277 428 432 404 264 415 287 347

H 161 80 127 124 128 84 126 92 97

R 81 58 92 71 85 65 64 70 64

TB 240 101 217 151 207 141 178 155 168

G 19 26 29 25

GS 16 22 25 17

CG 6 14 16 10

SH 0 2 3 3

W 10 15 16 13

L 1 9 5 5

Dubuque Waterloo Waterloo Quad Cities

2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 33 8 10 94 45 8 .338 .503 .398 10 4 1 35 51 18 .289 .365 .403 27 3 19 85 54 13 .297 .507 .386 12 6 1 45 74 26 .287 .350 .402 19 6 16 62 52 28 .317 .512 .404 16 10 7 60 65 11 .318 .534 .461 21 8 5 69 58 12 .304 .429 .390 26 2 11 75 79 3 .321 .540 .472 20 3 15 83 62 9 .280 .484 .393

% .909 .625 .762 .722

IP 128 178 185 129

H 105 178 122 87

ER 36 56 44 40

SO 104 121 226 165

BB 51 47 102 67

ERA 2.53 2.83 2.14 2.79

BR/9 11.1 11.4 11.3 11.0

Keokuk surrendered its franchise to Dubuque on 7 August, and became known as the Midwest Dodgers. Quad Cities represented Davenport and Bettendorf Iowa, and Moline and Rock Island Illinois.

Torchia had a good season, leading the league in hitting and RBIs. Still, another first baseman is worthy of mention. John Price (Decatur) hit .3¡2 (fourth) and led all qualifiers with a .539 SA. His .457 OB% was second, as were his 88 RBIs, and his 22 homers topped the league. Luis Alcaraz (Keokuk/Midwest) played in 85

games to Kilpatrick’s 79 and had fifteen more PAs, and he made the most of most of them. His averages (.29¡/.563/.449) were all better than Kilpatrick’s, he had 59 RBIs, and he popped sixteen homers. I would have voted for him Over at third, I think a dual All-Star citizenship is in order. Paul Schaal (Quad Cities) only hit .278 with

¡962 a .4¡7 SA, but his OB% was .40¡ and he scored a league-best ¡09 runs. A tie seems not to be out of place. Continuing the Great Midwestern League Infield Massacre, two other claimants to the shortstop throne need their cases put before the tribunal of the qualified (the readers) so that they (again, the readers) can make an informed and just decision about who the wearer of the oak leaves and bearer of the olive branch should have been. Marv Staehle (Clinton) hit .282 and had a .405 OB%. He was tied for third in the league with 99 runs and tied for fifth with 27 steals. Charlie Daniel, who played for Keokuk/Midwest, hit .274, had a .44¡ OB%, was tied with Staehle for third with 99 runs (in only ¡05 games, in his case) and led in steals with 67. None were outstanding fielders (Litchfield .9¡8, 4.5; Staehle .907, 4.6; Daniel .897, 4.5), so there is no clear-cut decision maker afield. Now, Litchfield struck out 6¡ times, Daniel 33, and Staehle a very low ¡8, once every 24 at-bats. I guess that, for me, it would be devolve to approximately 33.¡ % Litchfield, 33.2% Daniel, and 33.7% Staehle, because of the strike-out factor. Your numbers may vary. No utility man was selected, but, boy howdy, was there ever one qualified to be just that in the ’62 edition of the MWL. The wonderfully appelated (and I thought that that bucket had been emptied) Vanity Rushing (Waterloo) played second, third, and short. But it is not his multi-positional aspect alone which supports his legitimate claim to the unchosen spot, no, far from it. Vanity (sounds like a ’90’s pop diva, doesn’t it?) hit .28¡, not bad for a middle infielder, slugged .487 (he had ¡6 homers), very good for a middle infielder, and had a .500 OB%, terrific for anyone, anytime. He scored ¡06 runs (on just ¡0¡ hits), stole 4¡ bases, and walked ¡50 times, which extrapolates out to ¡99 over ¡50 games. Okay then, what have we in the MWL infield? The

523

selected foursome of Torchia, Kilpatrick, Centelles, and Litchfield hits .304, slugs .439, and has an OB% of .397. An infield of Price, Alcaraz, Schaal, and Rushing hits only .290, but slugs .490 and has a very good .45¡ OB%. I’d be willing to take my chances with the second group. The Midwest was a power-pitching league in ¡962. Only two pitchers pitched as many as 200 innings, but five had over 200 strike-outs, and eleven pitchers with at least ¡00 innings had more Ks than innings pitched. There was an average of ¡6.6 strikeouts in every league game, and the Dubuque Packers pitchers averaged 9.4 K/9. There is nothing wrong with the sta› as selected, nothing at all. However, there were at least four other pitchers as worthy of being chosen. Tony “Alles Klar” Komisar (Cedar Rapids) was only ¡2–¡0 (his team finished under .500), but led the league with a 2.¡0 ERA. Mike Tatum (Quad Cities) was ¡5–5 with a 2.77 ERA and was second in BR/9 ratio at ¡0.8. Myrle Calmus (Keokuk/Midwest) didn’t have as good an ERA as the others (3.22), but he did go ¡3–2 for an .867 winning percentage. (Myrle was Dick’s brother. Dick, you may recall, went 3–¡ with a 2.66 ERA as a nineteen year old for the ’63 Dodgers, and was 8–2 for Keokuk/Midwest, and, with ¡3¡ strike-outs in 90 innings, averaged a terrific ¡3.¡ Ks every nine innings. Oh, he also hit three home runs in only 36 atbats.). Ed Sukla (Quad Cities) was ¡0–8, 2.43, and led the league with a 9.5 BR/9 figure. And, if you will allow me, one more cognomination for inscribement on the Scroll of Memorable Appellation: I give you S. Antonio Paddyfoot (who apparently hailed from the Southwest of the Shire). The Dubuque pitcher was in three games, including one start, and pitched just as you would expect a Hobbit to: one inning, seven hits (two of them homers), two walks, no strike-outs, and a grand ERA of 63.00.

New York-Pennsylvania League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT SP SP SP SP

NAME Bob Guindon Hilario Rojas Thomas Schroeder Rigoberto Meña Brant Alyea Ted Uhlander Dick “Baby” Bazinet Jerry May Donald Bryant No selection made Malcom Warren Michæl Fedak Jim Merritt Robert Schmidt

TEAM Olean Jamestown Jamestown Jamestown Geneva Erie Auburn Batavia Jamestown

G 111 92 119 109 105 106 111 104 113

G 25 26 35 26

GS 22 23 26 23

Auburn Jamestown Erie Jamestown

AB 410 382 438 463 455 404 411 388 404 CG 18 13 16 17

H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 131 105 272 28 1 37 121 74 13 .320 .663 .426 103 76 156 21 1 10 41 46 28 .270 .408 .359 131 94 239 15 9 25 87 85 14 .299 .546 .419 154 76 209 21 8 6 84 24 2 .333 .451 .368 145 104 272 21 5 32 116 79 9 .319 .598 .423 138 98 217 25 15 8 85 60 14 .342 .537 .432 139 113 253 21 6 27 101 83 12 .338 .616 .452 110 70 196 21 1 21 89 44 2 .284 .505 .361 110 57 161 13 7 8 65 40 1 .272 .399 .338 SH 2 0 2 1

W 18 15 19 17

L 5 6 8 3

% .783 .714 .704 .850

IP 195 184 223 187

H 169 189 199 174

ER 76 70 91 56

SO 194 93 249 154

BB 71 66 96 82

ERA 3.51 3.42 3.67 2.70

BR/9 11.3 12.8 12.2 12.4

524

Minor League All-Star Teams

Auburn’s Dick Haymore seems to have been short-changed when the ballots were counted to determine who the league’s best second baseman was. He hit .3¡9 (49 points higher than Rojas), slugged .4¡2, and had an OB% of .4¡0, (5¡ points higher than Rojas). He scored 82 runs and drove in 6¡. No utility player was selected, but Gil Watts (Batavia) played second and outfield while hitting .33¡, slugging .599, and collecting an OB% of .450. He also hit 24 homers and had 70 RBIs.

Some asides: Alyea led the league with ¡42 strikeouts (he hit .35¡ when he made contact). Guindon hit six Grand Slams, and the league as a whole walloped the incredible total of 47 bases loaded blasts. I would add one pitcher to the sta›: Gerry Roggenburk of Erie. He went ¡3–4 with (if you’ve been paying attention, you know what’s coming) a league leading 2.07 ERA as well as a league-best ¡0.4 BR/9 ratio.

Western Carolina League (D) POS 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF C C UT

SP SP

NAME Charles Truesdale Mickey Campbell Jack Sargent John Pavlus J.C. Snead Carmen Iannaccone Steve Whitaker Dave Patrick Bob Weaver No selection made

George Bechtold Robert Kenny

TEAM Statesville Shelby Statesville Salisbury Statesville Salisbury Shelby Statesville Salisbury

Shelby Statesville

G 15 30

G 89 72 61 61 93 68 62 63 70

GS 11 12

AB H R TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SB BA SA OB% 323 111 59 162 21 3 8 61 27 4 .344 .502 .411 265 81 48 107 11 3 3 35 32 5 .306 .404 .383 212 69 36 92 11 3 2 38 15 6 .325 .434 .373 224 65 42 83 10 1 2 26 29 7 .290 .371 .381 283 90 75 138 9 6 9 51 72 27 .318 .488 .478 257 88 45 126 10 8 4 31 21 8 .342 .490 .396 222 52 39 88 3 3 9 30 17 2 .234 .396 .292 195 54 28 87 8 5 5 37 18 6 .277 .446 .344 190 48 45 69 8 2 3 41 45 5 .253 .363 .398

CG 7 11

SH 1 3

W 4 16

L 6 5

% .400 .762

IP 99 140

H 67 105

ER 33 33

SO 141 153

BB 73 54

ERA 3.00 2.12

BR/9 13.0 10.5

This was the last (mostly) Independent league we would see in many years, as three of the four teams were free from the bonds of Major-League a‡liation serfdom.

Whitaker, who was to be one of the “next Mantles,” was the only player in the league who reached the majors. Be that as it may, he doesn’t deserve a spot on the team. I mean, c’mon—a .296 OB%? How weak is that? Instead, I would have chosen NewtonConover manager Henry Nichols. Nichols hit .305 with a league-leading 66 RBIs. And, just in case you were wondering, yes, J.C. Snead is that J.C. Snead.

Bechtold averaged ¡2.8 Ks every nine innings. I would add Nick DeMatteis (Statesville) to the sta›. The Owl hurler was ¡2–6 with a fine 2.37 ERA and led the league with ¡6¡ strike-outs in ¡56 innings. The sta› as selected averaged ¡¡.¡ strike-outs every nine innings, with 294 Ks in 239 IP.

Bibliography Bauer, Caros, and Bob Hoie. The Coast League Cyclopedia. San Diego. San Marino: Baseball Press Books, 2003. Cisneros, Pedro. Enciclopedia del Beisbol Mexicano. Revistas Deportivas, ¡996. Foster, John, ed. Spalding’s O‡cial Baseball Guide. New York: A.G. Spalding & Brothers, ¡926–¡939. Foster, John, and A.C. Isaminger, eds. Spalding-Reach O‡cial Baseball Guide. New York: American Sports Publishing, ¡940–¡94¡. Johnson, W. Lloyd, ed. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, ¡993. Richter, Francis (¡926), Thomas Richter (¡927), and James Isaminger (¡928–¡939), eds. The Reach O‡cial American League Baseball Guide. Philadelphia: A.J. Reach, Wright and Ditson, ¡927–¡934; New York: American Sports Publishing, ¡935–¡939. Ruggles, William B. The History of the Texas League of Professional Baseball Clubs ¡888–¡95¡. Texas Baseball League, ¡95¡. The Sporting News O‡cial Baseball Guide. St. Louis: The Sporting News, ¡942–¡962.

525

Index Aaron, Henry “Hank” 355, 369 Aaron, Tommie Lee 503 Abbeville, LA 88, ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, 224, 273, 353 Abbit, R.H. ¡¡8 Abbott, Frank J. “Jake” 353 Abbott, Morrison H. “Morry” ¡29 Abdella, James 496 Aber, Albert Julius “Al” 267 Aber, Kenneth Galbraith 306 Aberdeen, SD 243, 274, 306, 330, 355, 377, 399, 42¡, 438, 469, 482, 495, 507–8, 5¡8–¡9 Abernathy, Charles 2¡6 Abernathy, Talmadge Lafayette “Ted” 2¡7 Abernathy, Theodore Wade “Ted” 359, 428, 5¡3 Abernathy, Woody 38, 63 Abilene, TX 30, ¡46, 200–¡, 22¡, 276, 333, 357, 379–80, 402, 4¡8, 450 Abingdon, VA 245 Abrams, Calvin Ross ¡97, 209, 429 Abrams, Lou 520 Abrams, Norman A. 405 Abramson, Dave 303 Abreu, Joseph Lawrence “Joe” 97, 206 Acker, Thos. James “Tom” 302 Ackeret, James H. ¡97, 209, 299 Ackley, Florian Frederick “Fritz” 426–27 Acosta-Lazaro, Teolindo 47¡, 483, 495, 504 Acton, James Reed ¡99, 2¡0–2¡¡ Ada, OK 230, 252, 292–93, 3¡6–¡7, 342, 364, 385, 407 Adair, Dick ¡04 Adair, James Audrey 2¡, 36 Adair, John L. 402 Adair, Kenneth Jerry (went by middle name) 488 Adair, Marion M. “Bill” ¡49, 237, 286 Adamewicz, Erwin “Ace” 309 Adams, Ace Townsend ¡04, ¡¡0 Adams, Budd 90 Adams, Charles Dwight “Red” 272–73, 408 Adams, Erwood Lee “Je› ” 420–2¡ Adams, John “Quincy” 93 Adams, Rbt. “Bob” 336, 456 Adams, Richard Leroy, “Dick” ¡72, 348 Adams, Thomas ¡¡5 Adcock, Robert 284, 306 Addis, Rbt. Gordon “Bob” 2¡2, 296

Adelheim, William 387 Aden, Dwight B. ¡29 Aderholt, Morris Woodrow “Morrie,” “Smut” 254, 294, 3¡9, 334 Adkins, Dewey 422 Adkins, Glen Heck ¡77, 2¡7– 2¡8 Adkins, Richard 304 Adkins, Rudolph ¡94 Adrian, Louis ¡23 Adubato, Rbt. William “Bob” 407 Adzick, Nick Z. 298 Aehle, John 467 Aeschilman, Danny 220 Afrano, Dan 2¡6 Afremow, Buddy 286–87 Agase, Herbert 352 Agganis, Harry “The Golden Greek” 366 Agnew, James A. 363 Agnew, Samuel Lester “Sam” 7 Agosta, Thos. S. “Tom” 4¡7, 476 Aguascalientes, AGU, MEX 427–28, 453, 497, 507, 5¡7–¡8 Aguirre, Henry John “Hank” 39¡ Aiello, Robert A. 3¡6 Aikens, Charles 52¡ Akard, Jim “Lefty” ¡93, ¡95 Akenhead, Robert “Bob,” “Oh My” 273 Akers, Lyman Leon (went by middle name) 384–85 Akers, William “Bill” ¡2 Akins, William 246 Akron, OH ¡7, 25, 86, 99, ¡¡4, ¡32, ¡53, ¡75 Ala, Aurelio 400, 454, 470, 483 Alabama-Florida 87, ¡00, ¡¡5, ¡34, 333, 357, 380, 402, 423, 439, 455, 46¡, 483, 485, 508, 520 Alabama State ¡54, ¡78, 22¡, 278 Alander, Larry 5¡¡ Alarid, Leo 375 Albany, GA ¡8, 79, 90, ¡04, ¡20, ¡39, ¡40, ¡59, ¡60, ¡83, ¡95, 226, 249, 284, 3¡2–¡3, 336–37, 360–6¡, 382, 404, 425, 44¡, 457–58, 472 Albany, NY 6, 25, 33, 55, 63, 94, ¡09, ¡26, ¡46, 209, 234, 260, 297, 346–47, 39¡, 432, 448, 465, 478 Albemarle, NC 25¡ Albers, Ralph 264 Albertson, Edward ¡48 Albertson, Je› (a.k.a. “Comic Book Guy”) 406

Albini, John Denning 276 Albosta, Edward John ¡69 Albrecht, Edward Arthur “Ed” 272 Albright, Gus ¡62, ¡85–86 Albuquerque, NM ¡0¡, ¡¡6, ¡35, ¡5¡, ¡72, 200, 22¡, 276, 308–9, 333, 357, 379–80, 40¡–2, 4¡8, 433, 449, 466, 498–99, 5¡¡, 5¡4–¡5 Alcarez, Luis 497, 5¡¡, 522 Aldrich, Gary 483–84, 5¡¡ Aleno, Chas. “Chuck” ¡04, 225, 263, 299, 359–60 Alexander, Dale ¡3, 63, 7¡, ¡39, ¡60 Alexander, Hugh 92, 99 Alexander, Rbt. Somerville “Bob” 296 Alexander, Walt 2¡, 40 Alexander City, AL 283, 302 Alexandria, LA 40, 78–79, 89, ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡58, ¡8¡, 224, 273, 353, 397, 420, 453–54 Alexson, Andrew “Andy,” “Doc” 229, 3¡6, 363 Alivojdovic, Nicholas 252 Allaire, Bob 94 Allegar, Edwin 279, 298 Allegue, Emanuel ¡94–95 Allen, Archie Patrick ¡09 Allen, Clarence ¡37 Allen, Edwin 405 Allen, Harold Andrew “Hank” 5¡9 Allen, John 228 Allen, John Thomas “Johnny” 27, 43 Allen, Marcial 474, 486, 5¡9 Allen, Rbt. “Bob” 489 Allen, Richard Anthony “Richie” 508, 5¡5 Allen, Roy 2¡2, 300 Allen, Wm. “Bill” 256, 295 Allentown, PA 25, 33, 72, 82, ¡3¡, ¡47, ¡68, 2¡¡, 236, 264, 300, 325–26, 35¡, 39¡, 4¡3, 432, 448, 465, 478, 49¡ Alley, Gene 279 Allie, Gair 4¡¡, 476 Allington, William Baird “Bill” ¡6, 5¡ Allum, Ken 68 Almada-Quiros, Baldomero Melo (known by middle name) 62 Almada-Quiros, Jose Luis “Lou” 56, 63 Almanares, Pedro 365, 378 Almendro, Jaime ¡94 Almli, Mark 6¡ Almonte, Paul ¡92, 200 Aloisi, Nicholas 439 Aloma, Luis 24¡ Alomar, Pedro 427

527

Alomar-Conde, Antonio 436 Alomar-Conte, Santos “Sandy” 5¡9 Alonzo, Andres 402 Alotta, Phil 220 Alou-Rojas, Feilpe 440, 448 Alou-Rojas, Jesus Maria 499, 505, 5¡4 Alou-Rojas, Mateo “Matty” 469 Alpine, TX 499, 5¡¡ Alsop, Charles Franklin 442 Alston, Thos. “Tom” 356 Alston, Walter Emmons “Walt” 86, ¡¡4, ¡27, ¡75 Altenburg, Emmett ¡66 Altenburg, Willis R. ¡67 Alto, Carl ¡40 Altobelli Jos. Salvadore “Joe” 335, 368, 488 Aluski, George Joseph 384, 449, 465, 477, 486–87, 500 Alvarado, Rodolfo “Mulo” 462 Alvarez, Alberto 454 Alvarez, Guillermo G. 4¡¡ Alvarez, Lucio, Jr. 397–98 Alvarez, Oswaldo “Ossie” 420–2¡ Alvarez, Rogelio 5¡3 Alvarez-Gonzalez, Oswaldo “Ossie” 376 Alvarez-Sanchez, Fidel “Gallego” 398 Alvarez-Suarez, Ultus 382, 4¡4, 477 Alves, Ray ¡¡6 Alvis, Roy Maxwell “Max” 483, 494, 5¡3–¡4 Alyea, Garrabrant Ryerson “Brant” 523–24 Alzano, Renaldo 423 Amaral, Edward Daniel “Danny” 90, ¡56, ¡85 Amarillo TX ¡45, ¡87–88, 200–¡, 22¡, 276–77, 309, 333, 357, 379–80, 40¡–2, 4¡8, 433–34, 449, 466, 477–78, 490, 503 Amaro, Ruben 475 Ambrose, Harry 289 Ambrose, Patrick ¡¡2 American Association ¡0, ¡2, 2¡, 30, 42, 49, 54, 62, 7¡, ¡90, ¡94, 207, 23¡, 256, 295, 320, 335, 366, 388, 408, 428, 445, 460, 474, 486, 500, 5¡2 Americus, GA 79, 90, ¡04, ¡20, ¡39, ¡59, 203, 226, 249, 284, 404 Ammon, Walter 79, ¡00 Amoros, Edmundo Isasi “Sandy” 367, 475 Amsterdam, NY ¡¡2, ¡30, ¡5¡, ¡73, 2¡6, 304, 328–29 Anaheim, CA ¡72, 220, 244

528 Ananias, Nicolas T. “Nick” 249, 33¡, 376, 397 Andalusia, AL 88, ¡34, ¡55, ¡78, 222, 278, 380–8¡, 402– 3, 520 Andercek, Clint ¡2¡, ¡40 Anderlik, Bob 323 Anderson, Alfred Walton “Alf ” ¡¡8, ¡27 Anderson, Andy 28¡ Anderson, Arnold 67, ¡¡7, ¡36 Anderson, Cy 26 Anderson, Dave (P) 402 Anderson, Don 2¡3 Anderson, Ernie 335 Anderson, Ferrell ¡69, 23¡, 256, 296, 320 Anderson, Frank M 90 Anderson, Gary D. 444 Anderson, George “Sparky” 375, 4¡2, 46¡, 488 Anderson, Harold 42–3, 53 Anderson, Harry ¡99 Anderson, Herbert 45¡ Anderson, Howard S. 32¡ Anderson, John 6¡ Anderson, John Charles, Jr. 373, 393, 435 Anderson, Kenneth 406 Anderson, Orinthal 370 Anderson, Rich. ”Dick” (C) 329 Anderson, Rich. “Dick” (OF) 522 Anderson, Richard (OF) 272, 306, 399 Anderson, Rufus 504 Anderson, Stanley R. “Stan” 34¡, 406, 423 Anderson, William 6 Anderson, SC ¡98, 2¡4, 238, 267, 302, 327, 374, 396 Anderton, Robert T. 379 Andrade, Candido 466 Andrade, Stephen ¡76 Andre, John Edward “Long John” 28¡, 350 Andress, Philip 5¡2 Andrew, Jos., Jr., “Joe” 369 Andrews, Clayton 293, 3¡8 Andrews, Edward C. 384 Andrews, Ivy Paul “Poison” 25 Andrews, Joe 3¡4 Andrews, John “Jack” ¡32 Andrews, Ken 246 Andrews, Neil 98 Andrews, Paul Andrews ¡7¡ Andrlik, Robert 230 Andrews (born Andruskewicz), Stanley Joseph ¡09, 2¡8, 263 Andrus, William “Bill” 38, 66 Angel, Jos. Robert Lee “Joe” 38¡ Angel, Rbt., “Bob” 52¡ Angeli, Joe 203 Angell, Pete 262 Angelone, John 307, 33¡, 360, 382 Angier, NC 205 Anglade, Julio 5¡0 Angle, John ¡27 Anjeski, Elmer 226 Ankenman, Frederick Norman “Pat” 72 Ankoviak, Wm. E. “Bill” 299, 37¡

Index Ankrum, Robert V. ¡86, 259 Anniston, AL 40, ¡28, ¡70, ¡97, 2¡2–¡3, 237, 266 Annunzio, Joseph John ¡0¡ Anstaett, Carroll 34¡ Anteus 387 Anthony, Omar Lee ¡¡5, 460 Anthony, Photios 467–68 Anthony, Socrates 226, 287 Antista, Anthony D. “Tony” 48 Antoine, Wendell T. 443 Antolick, Joseph “Joe” ¡3¡ Antone, George “San” 76, 77 Antonelli, John Lawrence 90, ¡04–5 Antonello, Wm. James “Bill” 346 Antonetz, Rudy 252 Aparicio, Luis Ernesto, Jr. 4¡¡ Appalachian ¡00, ¡¡6, ¡34, ¡55, ¡78, ¡92, ¡93, ¡95, 20¡, 222, 278, 339, 350, 403, 423, 456, 47¡, 483, 496, 509, 520 Applegren, H. 28 Appleton, Roy ¡8, 27, 38 Appleton, WI ¡68, ¡89, 23¡, 295, 3¡9, 344, 365, 387, 522; see also Fox Cities Appling, Lucius Benjamin “Luke” 33–4 Aragon, Angel Valdes, Jr. ¡23 Arakelian, Zaven 223 Arano-Bravo, Ramon 502, 5¡4 Archdeacon, Maurice 53 Archer, Francis W. “Frank” ¡77 Archer, Frederick Marvin ¡47 Archer, James “Jim” 449 Archie, George Albert 26¡–62 Archipoli, Andrew 22¡ Ardmore, OK 230, 292, 342–43, 385, 407, 443–44, 459–60, 503 Arendt, Rbt. Wilson “Bob” 425, 439 Arft, Henry Irven “Hank,” “Bow-Wow” ¡62, 2¡3 Argeros, James 236 Arias, Juan 453 Arico, Sam ¡35 Arizona-Texas 48, ¡0¡, ¡¡6, ¡35, ¡5¡, ¡7¡, 2¡5, 268, 374 Arkansas-Missouri 88, ¡0¡, ¡¡7, ¡36 Arkansas State 68, 77 Arkeketa, Woodrow 95 Arlett, Russell Loris “Buzz” 7, 8–9, 23, 32, 49–50, 55, 62, 72, 388 Arlitt, Adolph 88, ¡¡7, ¡36, ¡82–83, 204 Armstrong, J. 28 Armstrong, Paul ¡34, ¡70 Arnold, Wade 460 Arnovich, Morris “Morrie,” “Snooker” 6¡, 70 Arntzen, Orie “Old Folks” ¡02, 234, 260 Arnzen, Stan ¡05 A-Rod 375 Arrighi, Robert 494 Arrildt, William 222 Arroyo, Luis Enrique 475, 488 Arroyo, Pedro J. 373, 399 Arteaga-Diaz, Vergilio 308

Artesia, NM 330, 354, 376, 420, 498–99, 5¡¡–¡2 Arthur, Edmund ¡82 Arthur, Edward “Ed” 29¡, 333, 380 Asaro, Anth. A. “Tony” 437, 452, 463 Asbell, James Marion 83 Ash, Kenneth Lowther “Ken” ¡3 Ashburn, Don Richie (known by middle name) 209 Asheville, NC ¡7, 27, 38–39, 66, 74, 83, 95, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡48, ¡69, ¡98, 2¡4, 238, 267, 302, 326–27, 374, 396, 479, 504, 5¡6 Ashland, KY ¡6¡, ¡8–85 Ashland, WV ¡4¡ Ashley, Bill 28¡–82 Ashman, Chester R. “Chet” 3¡0 Ashworth, Harry ¡¡4, ¡96 Asmer, John “The Mesmerizer” 203 Aspromonte, Kenneth Joseph 444 Astroth, Joseph Henry 233 Atchley, James R. 26¡, 32¡ Atkins, Arnold T. “Al” 294, 4¡2 Atkins, James Curtis “Jim” 320, 447 Atkins, Ralph 2¡2 Atkins, William 279 Atlanta, GA ¡5, 34, 44–45, 56, 65, 73, 8¡, 209, 233, 258, 296, 32¡, 346, 368, 390–9¡, 4¡0–¡¡, 430–3¡, 447, 449, 463, 477, 489, 502, 5¡3 Attaway, Robert 249 Attyd, Leonard Francis “Len” 276–77, 4¡8 Atwater, Paul ¡84 Atwood, William Franklin “Bill” 75 Aubrey, William “Ken” 204, 227 Auburn, NY ¡¡2, 2¡5, 269, 303, 473, 508, 523–24 Auchon, Alvin 224 Augusta, GA ¡7, 37–38, 95, ¡¡0–¡¡, ¡27, ¡49, ¡9¡, ¡96, 2¡0, 234, 26¡, 298, 369, 4¡3–¡4, 433, 449, 465 Aulds, Les “Tex” ¡95 Auman, Howard Claude “Man” 206 Austin, Forrest E. ¡78 Austin, Robert Elwin “Bob” 233 Austin, TX 262, 324, 349–50, 37¡, 393–94, 4¡5–¡6, 447, 464, 478, 503, 5¡4 Autry, Jerry 5¡2 Autry, Martin Gordon”Chick” 73 Averette, Dowd ¡79 Averill, Earl Douglas 39¡, 445, 462 Averill, Howard Earl (went by middle name) 8, ¡4 Avery, “Tex” 255, 459 Avila-Gonzalez, Roberto “Bobby,” “Beto” 489 Aviotti, Peter 383, 444 Ayala, Humberto 507 Ayden, NC ¡02

Ayers, Bill (P) 24¡ Ayers, Bill (SS) 24 Ayers, Dolson H. 422 Ayers, Lonzo 226 Ayers, William, Oscar (2B-P) ¡22 Aylward, Paul F. 329 Babbit, Eugene 239 Babcock, Rex M. 378, 393 Babe, Loren R. 297, 389, 4¡0 Babich, John Charles 56 Bachman, Edward L. ¡97, 322 Backer, Leonard Henry “Lennie,” “Lonny” 55–6, 94 Baczewski, Frederic John “Fred” 224, 237, 475 Badgett, Paul ¡5¡, 254, 3¡8 Baecht, Edward Joseph 32 Baer, Ray 355, 379 Baer, Robert “Buddy” ¡0¡, ¡¡2 Bagby, James Charles Jacob, Jr. 94, 232 Bagrosky, Ray ¡¡3 Bagwell, Wm. J. “Bill” 30¡, 372, 394 Bailey, Braxton 509 Bailey, Clair Lynn 306 Bailey, James 45¡–52 Bailey, Rbt. Sherwood “Bob” 5¡3 Bailey, Russell ¡32 Baillargeon, Robert 486 Baird, Rbt. “Bob” 520 Baker, Al 508 Baker, Albert Jones 39 Baker, Allen 386 Baker, Bill (OF) ¡58 Baker, Charles 2¡6 Baker, Delmer David “Del” ¡2 Baker, Eugene Walter “Gene” 366 Baker, Floyd Wilson ¡2¡, ¡7¡ Baker, J.G. 40 Baker, Joe 265 Baker, Neil 86 Baker, Oren 208 Baker, Ray (OF) ¡77 Baker, Ray (P) 305 Baker, Thos. H., III, “Tom” 426 Baker, Ulmont ¡4¡, ¡6¡, ¡85 Baker, Wayne 362 Baker, William (2B) ¡66 Baker, William (P) ¡75 Baker, William Presly “Bill” (C) 64 Bakersfield, CA ¡72, ¡92, ¡98, 270, 328, 375, 397, 436, 469, 48¡, 494, 506, 5¡7 Bakkelund, Donald ¡84 Balash, Walter 269 Balassi, Charles 2¡9 Balcena, Rbt. Rudolph “Bobby” 244, 276, 298 Balco 367 Baldwin, Earl Phiip “Red” 7 Baldwin, Ellaire ¡59 Baldwin, Frank 222, 238, 260 Bales, Walt 496 Baliga, Jos. M. “Joe” 450 Ball, James 283 Balla, Mike “Mickey” ¡65, 206, 230 Ballard, Chas. “Charlie” 343, 364

Index Ballard, Fred 5¡9 Ballenger, H. Delmont ¡26 Baller, Richard “Base” 38¡ Ballester, Pedro 387 Ballinger, TX 30, 228, 250, 287, 3¡4 Ballou, Noble Winfield “Win” 44 Balogh, Charles A. “Look Out” 2¡7, 298, 322, 347 Balser, Leon ¡60 Baltimore, MD ¡3, 22, 3¡–32, 43, 48–49, 55, 63, 207–8, 257, 320, 346, 367 Bamberger, George “Bambi” ¡99, 2¡¡, 462 Banach, Edward 473 Banaszak, Danny J. 34¡ Bancroft, Billy 44–5 Bandreth, John 330 Bankhead, Daniel Robert 236, 257 Banks, George 472, 503 Banta, Arnold ¡48, 2¡¡–2¡2 Banta, John Kay “Jack” 232 Barath, Steve ¡26 Barbarito, Edward “Ed” 270, 304, 327, 373, 395, 4¡5, 432, 434 Barbee, David Monroe “Dave” 32, 44 Barbee, J. Allen, Jr. 423 Barber, Arlan F. 436 Barber, Stephen David “Steve” 460 Barberie, Edward 52¡ Barbieri, James Patrick “Jim” 496, 505 Barbisan, Reno 378 Barcelo, Claudio A. 342 Barclay, Donald 244 Barczewski, Dom 275 Bare, Burman ¡5¡ Bareford, William 35¡ Barfoot, Clyde Raymond 7, 5¡ Barkelew, Burton Brooks ¡34, 33¡, 378, 400 Barker, Cli›ord ¡76 Barker, George 326 Barker, Norbert ¡97 Barker, Raymond Herrell “Ray,” “Buddy” 422, 432, 449 Barker, Rbt. H. “Bob” 386 Barkley, Wm. “Bill” 364–65 Barley, George ¡09 Barmes, Bruce R. 3¡¡ Barna, Herbert “Babe” 258, 32¡ Barnacle, Rollin ¡23 Barnacle, Wm. “Bill” ¡23, ¡42 Barnes, Emile “Red” 59, 66, ¡74 Barnes, Frank Samuel 322, 445 Barnes, Jack ¡69–70, ¡9¡ Barnes, June Shoaf “Junie” 59, 66 Barnes, Leslie 243–44 Barnes, Sherwood ¡¡9 Barnett, Lowell ¡39 Barnhardt, James E. “Jim” 326, 352 Barnhardt, Robert ¡44, ¡87 Barnhart, Lowell M. 48¡, 494 Barnhart, Victor Dee ¡95 Baro, Alberto A. 328, 4¡0 Baro, Asdrubal 502 Barocco, Fred ¡8¡, 2¡4, 273, 353

Baron, Robert 364 Baron, Septine “Bayou” 350– 5¡ Baron, Victor 508 Barone, Rich. Anthony “Dick” 33¡, 4¡3 Baron(ovic), Charles 58, 76, 85, 98, 237, 305 Barrel, Luther 8¡, 82 Barrera, Elroy Bruno 29¡ Barrett, Charles Henry “Red” 99 Barrett, Francis “Frank” 96, ¡90 Barrett, Francis “Red” 362 Barrett, John ¡07, ¡09 Barrett, William J. 398 Barrow, George L., Jr. 335 Barry, George “Pepper” 60 Barry, Richard “Rich” 48¡, 503 Bartek, John A. 444 Bartelli, Arthur Robert 89 Barth, Albert “Bert” 507–8, 5¡6 Barth, Philip 496, 507, 5¡8 Bartholomew, Bob 229 Bartirome, Anthony Joseph “Tony” 432, 434 Bartlesville, OK 47, 53, 68, 76–77, 87, 99, ¡¡4–¡5, ¡56, 204, 227, 249, 286, 3¡3, 337 Bartola, L.J. ¡08 Bartolomei, Henry “Hank” 244, 276 Barton, Lawrence J. “Larry” 53, 95, 267 Barton, Rbt. Wilbur “Bob” 485, 505, 5¡5 Barton, Vincent David 3¡ Bartos, Tom 23¡ Bartosch, Dave ¡04 Bartowski, Stanley 2¡8, 24¡– 42 Bartunek, Clarence 472 Barty, Harley Warren 522 Bartz, Ted 229, 236 Bass, Edward, “Ed” 206, 2¡7, 343 Bass, John “Skip” 249 Bass, Leslie 482 Bass, Oliver ¡84 Bass, Richard 203 Bassett, Grady 40, 76 Bassler, John Landis “Johnny” ¡4, 32, 44, 50, 63, ¡¡9 Basso, Sebastian James (went by middle name) “Westy” 320 Bastien, Ed ¡03 Batavia, NY ¡43, ¡64, 206, 29¡, 3¡6, 384, 459, 474, 5¡¡, 523–24 Bateman, John 5¡7 Bates, Al 27 Bates, Charles 65 Bates, Claire 9¡–2 Bates, Hubert Edgar “Buddy” 59–60, 2¡6–¡7, 240 Bates, Raymond W. 2¡¡ Batesville, AR 92, ¡23, ¡62, ¡85–86 Batham, Oscar 358 Baton Rouge, LA 39–40, 48, 59, 60, 67, 224, 273, 397–98, 4¡9–20 Batson, Wayne 287 Batt, Johnny “Baseball” 229 Battey, Earl Jesse 395–96, 409

Batts, Matthew Daniel, Jr. ¡96 Baud, Andrew 326–27 Bauder, Charles 98, ¡09 Bauer, Carlos vii Bauer, Edward A. 202 Bauer, Henry “Hank” ¡97, 207 Bauer, Herman A. ¡62 Bauer, Rbt. H. “Bob” 436, 486 Baughman, Larry 5¡¡ Bauman, Joe Willis 200, 22¡, 354, 376, 420 Bauman, Walter 360 Baumann, Frank Matt “The Beau” 367 Baumer, James Sloan “Jim” 444–45, 475, 488, 500 Baumer, Jarrett J. “Jack” 230, 446–47, 463 Baumgartner, John E. “Jack” 324 Baumholtz, Frank Conrad, “Frankie” ¡76 Bawcom, Jim P. “Jimmy” 420–2¡ Bawek, Kenneth J. 399 Baxes, Dimitrios S. “Jim” 227, 258 Baxes, Michael “Mike” 268, 446 Baxley, GA 285, 3¡3, 360, 383, 405 Bayne, Milton R. 34¡ Bayne, William Lear “Billy,” “Beverly” 34 Bazan, Stan ¡42 Bazinet, Rich. “Dick,” “Baby” 523 Bazner, Henry 84 Beal, Bob 3¡8, 343–44 Beal, Floyd ¡69 Beall, Richard 469 Beals, Alfred Norman ¡40–4¡ Beamon, Charles Alonzo”Charlie” 4¡9 Beamon, J. Fenton ¡45 Beams, Bill 69 Bean, Beverick Benton “Belve” ¡8, 45, 49 Bean, Cornelius “Connie” 2¡8 Beane, Wm. D. “Billy” 439 Beard, Cramer Theodore “Ted” 232, 388, 445 Beard, Ralph William 326 Beard, William E. “Bill” ¡7¡ Bearden, John “Jack” 3¡2, 336 Beardon, Henry Eugene “Gene” ¡58, ¡82 Beardslee, Kenneth A. 395 Bearint, Paul 93 Beasley, Clarence ¡7 Beasley, Eldred Pat (went by middle name) ¡53 Beasley, John 278 Beaster, Harvey G. ¡36 Beatrice, NE 54, 6¡, 70, 80, 9¡, ¡06, ¡22 Beattie, Bob 460 Beatty, Merlin 42¡ Beaugez, Joe 222 Beaumont, TX 24, 35, 45, 5¡, 65, 73, 8¡, 259, 4¡2, 434, 450 Beaver Falls, PA ¡08, ¡24, ¡43, ¡64, ¡87 Beavers, Jim 360 Beavers, Vernon E. 9¡, ¡06 Bechtold, George 524 Beck, Ersell, Jr. 403

529 Beck, Theo. Arthur “Ted” 372 Beck, Walter William “Boom Boom” 50 Beck, Wm. “Bill” 455 Becka, George K. “Re” 306 Becker, Greg 28 Becker, Heinz Reinhard ¡3¡, ¡52, 207 Becker, Walter 68 Beckley, WV 68, 75, ¡05, ¡2¡ Beckman, Bill 47 Beckworth, D. 29 Beddington, M. ¡¡¡ Bednar, Andrew F. “Andy” 29, 35, 5¡ Bedner, David 472 Bedore, Fred 62 Bedrava, Bennie ¡23 Beeler, Jos. Sam “Jodie” ¡66, ¡72, 308–9, 4¡8 Beers, Clarence Scott ¡25 Beery, Wm. Joseph “Bill” 332 Beggs, Joseph Stanley 83 Behie, Bill ¡99 Behrends, John Albert ¡79 Beier, Rbt, John “Bob” 4¡6 Bejma, Aloysius Frank “Ollie” 57 Bejma, Louis 227 Bekeza, Louis “Buzz” 20¡, 222, 288, 3¡5, 356 Belanger, Lucien A. ¡96 Belanger, Mark 52¡ Belcastro, Jos., Jr., “Joe” 229, 39¡ Beleta, Joseph 290 Belford, Robert 272–73 Belforti, Joseph ¡87 Belinsky, Albert Fred (known by middle name) 304 Belinsky, Robert “Bo” 455, 469 Bell, Charles Gilbert 397, 434 Bell, Charles Ted 322 Bell, David “Gus” 240, 260 Bell, Fernando Jerome, “Fern” (born Fern Oran Bell) 68 Bell, Frederick C., Jr. 24¡, 324 Bell, Gary 447 Bell, James “Bubba” 333 Bell, Roy Chester “Beau” 65 Bell, Sam 205 Bella, John “Zeke” 4¡3, 46¡ Bellande, Marcel 60 Belleville, IL 226, 287–88 Bellingham, WA ¡¡2, ¡29 Bellino, Raymond “Ray” 474 Bello, Gustavo H. 332 Bello, James A. “Jim” 286, 305 Belmont, NC 5¡2 Belton, Donald F. ¡98, 2¡6 Beltron-Cercantos, Edwardo 292, 330 Beltz, Paul 40¡ Belz, James L. 3¡5 Bender, George ¡36 Bender, Sheldon 3¡2 Benedict, David E. 390 Benedict, Edwin “Eggs” ¡05 Bengel, John 28–29 Bengoechea, Adam ¡74–75 Benites, Frank 379 Benjamin, Alfred Stanley “Stan” ¡04, ¡20, 239 Bennetch, Dale William 427, 465 Bennett, Albert J., Jr., “Al” 300, 326, 395

530 Bennett, Charles 47¡ Bennett, Dennis 47¡ Bennett, Fred ¡0, ¡6, 24 Bennett, Walter Eugene 440 Bensmiller, Mervin ¡76 Benson, Dewey Ray 394 Benson, John 84, 97 Benson, Vernon A. 320, 438 Bentley, John Needles “Jack” 26 Bentley, Paul F. 365–66, 425– 26 Benton, Alton 366 Benton, Bill 260 Benton, Horace 247 Benton, John Clebon “Rube” 22 Benton, William 253 Bentonville, AR 69, 77–78, 88 Beran, Jos. William “Joe” 273, 378 Berardino, Rich. “Dick” 503 Berberet, Louis Joseph “Lou” 297, 390, 4¡0 Berbesia, Nicolas “Nick” 358, 38¡, 402 Berdella, John I. 347 Bergamo, August Samuel “Augie” ¡2¡, ¡27–28 Bergemann, August 364 Bergen, Bill 249 Berger, Frederick ¡24 Berger, Louis 65 Berger, Ronnie 28¡ Berger, Wally 204 Berger, Walter Antone “Wally” ¡2, 23 Bergey, Frank 456 Bergman, Clarence 67 Beringheli, Guy ¡¡6 Berley, John 32 Bernal, Rodolfo 356 Bernard, Norman 459 Bernard, Pablo M. 384, 400, 463, 476, 498 Bernier, Wm. J. “Bill” 3¡7 Bernier-Rodriguez, Carlos 263, 408, 462, 50¡, 5¡4 Berns, Raymond C. 348 Berra, “Yogi” 380 Berres, Raymond Frederick 57 Berringer, Carroll 224, 259, 478, 487 Berry, Allen Ken (went by middle name) 5¡0 Berry, George 79 Berry, John ¡04 Berry, Jonas Arthur “Jittery Joe” 48, 68, 233 Bertacini, Vando ¡¡8 Bertocci, Donn 28¡, 3¡6 Bertram, Raymond Frederick “Ray” 54, 6¡, 70 Bertrand, Roman 6¡ Bess, Frank 90 Bess, Krim ¡02, ¡20 Bessent, Fred Donald “Don” 3¡2, 326 Best, Bill 274 Best, Cameron 30 Bestudik (Bestudek), Joseph 90, ¡48, ¡90 Betancourt, Robert 337 Betcher, Ralph 360 Bethea, Bill 500 Bethea, James Joseph “Jim” 483

Index Bethel, Wm “Bill” 432 Bethman, Carl ¡39–40 Bettencourt, Lawrence Joseph “Larry” 35, 58, 85, ¡75–76 Bettendorf, IA 5¡0, 522–23 Betts, Walter “Huck” ¡3, 22, 4¡–42 Betz, Rbt. “Bob” 273, 323 Bevan, Harold Joseph “Hal” 390, 429, 445, 475, 488, 5¡4 Bevels, William 499 Bevens, Floyd Cli›ord “Bill” 327 Bevil (acqua), Louis Eugene “Lou” 248 Bevill, James “Jim” 290, 359 Bezdek, Joseph ¡4¡, ¡6¡ Biancalana, Joe 295 Biasetti, Henry Arcado “Hank” 209 Biebel, Donald F. 355 Biedermann, Robert 473 Biershenk, George 2¡8, 24¡ Big Spring, TX 30, ¡25, ¡45– 46, ¡67, ¡87–88, 228, 250, 287, 3¡4, 329–30, 354, 377, 42¡ Big State 26¡, 323, 349, 37¡, 393, 4¡5, 434, 450 Big Stone Gap, VA 289, 339 Bigelow, Elliott Allardice ¡5, 45 Biggers, Boyd 70 Biggersta›, George 38 Biggersta›, Jack 246 Biggs, C. Vernon ¡¡8 Biggs, Charles Alton “Charlie,” “Arky” 87, ¡9¡, 2¡5 Bildilli, Emil “Hillbilly” ¡¡¡ Bilgere, Joe 59–60, 68 Bilko, Stephen Thomas “Steve” 237, 257, 408, 427–28, 444, 475 Billings, John Augustus “Josh” 48 Billings, MT 243, 275, 307, 33¡, 355, 378, 400, 422, 439, 455, 470, 482, 495, 508, 5¡9–20 Billingsly, Albert 253 Billingsly, Ray 455 Bilo, Eugene 306 Binder, George 5¡, 57 Bingham, Ernest 9¡ Bingham, Joe 87 Binghamton, NY 26, 37, 46, 52, 56, 64, 82, 94, ¡09, ¡46, ¡46–47, ¡95, 209, 234, 260, 297, 347, 368–69, 39¡, 4¡3, 432, 448, 464–66, 49¡, 503, 5¡5 Binks, George Eugene ¡29 Birch, William ¡44 Birchfield, Bobby ¡58 Birko›er, Ralph, Joseph “Lefty” 5¡ Birmingham, AL ¡5, 33–34, 45, 65, 8¡, ¡90, ¡9¡, 209, 233, 258–59, 396, 32¡, 368, 390, 4¡¡, 430–3¡, 447, 463, 477, 489, 502 Birnel, Earl L. 355 Biron, Calvin 387 Birrer, Werner “Babe” 462 Bisbee, AZ 48, ¡0¡, ¡¡6, ¡35, ¡5¡, ¡72, 2¡5, 268–69, 332, 374–75 Biscan, Frank “Porky” ¡63, 32¡

Bishop, Ernest ¡32–33 Bishop, Harry 52¡ Bishop, James Morton ¡5 Bishop, Lewis 499, 52¡ Bishop, Rbt. “Bob” 52¡ Biskup, Frank Joseph 365, 448 Bi-State 69, 78, 88, ¡02, ¡¡7, ¡36, ¡65, ¡79 Bistro› (Bistrau›), Joe ¡02, ¡37 Bizzaro or Bizzaro World 282, 33¡, 358, 434 Black, Donald Paul ¡77 Black, Ed (OF) ¡37 Black, Edward (P) 247 Black, Harvey ¡4¡, ¡6¡–62 Black (real name Tauschenschleger), Karl T. 8 Black, Kennon (Kenan) ¡8¡ Black, Lowell F. 339 Black, William ¡¡9 Blackaby, Albert 253 Blackaby, Ethan 5¡6 Blackburn, Wayne 90, ¡27, ¡90, 338, 359, 387 Blackerby, George Franklin 24 Blackman, M. Kenneth “Ken” ¡0¡–2 Blacksher, Grover 380 Blackstock, Harold 225 Blackstone, VA 254 Blackwell, Verne 202 Blackwell, OK 40¡ Blaeholder, George Franklin 9–¡0 Blaemire, Rae Bertram 94 Blair, Clarence Vick “Footsie” ¡¡¡ Blair, George 254 Blair, Horace 93 Blair, Jim ¡99 Blair, Louis Nathan 83, 94 Blake, (first name unknown) 30 Blake, Cli›ord 2¡2 Blake, Edward James 367 Blake, Joe 373 Blakesley, James Tilton “Sunny Jim” 9, ¡5 Blakney, Oliver ¡73 Blanchard, Bruce 234 Blanchard, Don 96, ¡¡¡ Blanchard, Jerry ¡26 Blanchard, John Edward “Johnny” 357, 4¡3, 430, 445, 46¡ Blanchard, Robert ¡43 Blanco, Ernesto 356–57 Blanco, Osmaro 342 Bland, Benjamin P. 426 Blankenship, Joe 238 Blanton, Darrell Elijah “Cy” 58 Blanton, Hugh 353, 449, 466 Blash, George Edward “Crash” 385, 420 Blasingame, Don Lee 409 Blass, Stephen Robert “Steve” 5¡6 Blatnik, John Louis “Johnny” ¡62, 209 Blaylock, Harold “Hal” ¡9¡ Blaylock, Marvin (Listed as “Melvin” in the stats) “Marv” 230 Blaylock, Rbt. E. “Bob” 478 Bledsoe, Charles L. 337, 36¡ Blenkiron, Vernon Matthew ¡¡, ¡8

Blethen, Clarence Waldo (went by middle name) 95 Bliss, George ¡6, 99 Bloch, Henry ¡73 Block, Seymour “Cy” ¡23, ¡69, 208–9 Blomer, Jay 242 Bloodworth, James Henry 232 Bloomer, Joe 25 Bloomfield, Clyde Stalcup 5¡4–¡5 Bloomfield, Jack 4¡5 Bloomington, IN ¡¡, ¡8, 28, 74, ¡¡¡, ¡28 Bloxam, Dan E. 30 Bloxam, Loyal H. 376 Blue Cheer 356 Blue Ridge 20¡, 223, 245, 279 Bluefield, WV ¡05, ¡2¡, ¡4¡, ¡6¡, ¡84, 20¡, 222, 278–79, 403, 423–24, 456, 484, 496, 509, 520–2¡ Bluege, Otto Adam 29 Blunt, Arthur “May I Be” 483–84, 498, 5¡¡ Blytheville, AR ¡06, ¡23 Boak, Chester “Chet” 423, 489 Bobeck, Leonard ¡45 Bober, John 450 Bobo, Herschel 48, ¡23 Bobowski, Edward 3¡2 Bocek, Milton Frank “Milt” ¡64–65, ¡88, ¡96, 234 Bockman, Joseph Edward “Eddie” ¡77, 4¡8 Boden, Alex ¡52 Bodine, Jethro 282 Boehmer, Joe 333 Boehmer, Leonard J. “Len” 52¡ Boemler, William 239 Boerner, George 225 Boettcher, Francis E. “Mike” 29¡ Bogan, Charles 490 Bogard, Rich. “Dick” 505 Bogdano›, Steve ¡33, ¡73 Boggs, Jay 37 Boguskie, Harold 204 Boham, Harold ¡¡7 Bohannion, Milton 3¡9 Bohannon, Elmer ¡34 Bohl, Harold 47, 68, ¡08 Bohl, Richard ¡56 Bohl, Walter 85–86 Bohlender, William 293 Bohman, Art 238 Bohna, John 362 Boiko, Frank 329 Boiko, Fred 396 Boise, ID 20, ¡54, ¡76, 2¡9, 243, 275, 307, 400, 422, 439, 455, 470, 482–83, 495, 508, 5¡9–20 Boland, Bill ¡80–8¡ Bolding, Billy 484 Bolen, Stew 8, 3¡–32 Boles, Howard W. 306, 323, 37¡ Boles, Roy Lester ¡79 Bolger, James Cyril “Jim” 369, 428 Bolick, Milt 280 Bolin, Rbt. “Bob” 480 Bolinda, Henry A. 427 Bolla, Frank ¡07 Bolling, Frank Elmore 34¡ Bolling, John Edward “Jack” 95

Index Bolling, Milton Joseph “Milt” 265 Bollweg, Donald Raymond 209–¡0, 345 Bolton, Cecil Glenford “Glen,” ”Lefty” 67, 75, 3¡5–¡6 Bolton, Grady 7¡ Bolton, William Clifton “Cli› ” 50, 289–90, 3¡5, 340 Bond, Walter Franklin 5¡3–¡4 Bondurant, Dewey 20, 35–36 Bonebrake, Rbt. H.”Bob” 329 Bonem, Seymour 473 Bonet, Hector 364 Bonetti, Henry Raymond 97 Bongiovani, Anthony Thomas “Nino” ¡98 Boniar, Francis T. “Fran” 427, 452–53 Boniface, George ¡93 Bonikowski, Joe 485 Bonk, Anthony ¡25 Bonomi, Bert 2¡6 Bonomini, Don 458 Bonowitz, Joe John 25 Bonura, Henry John “Zeke” 57, 2¡0–¡¡, 235, 377 Booker, Richard Lee “Buddy” 5¡6 Booker, William ¡65, ¡77, 239 Bool, Albert J. 22 Boone, Isaac Morgan “Ike” 8, 23–24, 32, 43, 55, 63, 388 Boone, Raymond Otis “Ray,” “Ike” 233 Boozer, John 502 Border 2¡5, 269, 303 Borger, TX ¡46, ¡66–67, ¡87–88, 200, 22¡, 276–77, 309, 357, 379–80, 40¡–2 Borgmann, Bernard “Benny” 52, 54, 75 Borich, Joseph M. ¡94, 3¡¡, 328 Boring, Donald R. 323, 368 Bork, Frank 499, 5¡6 Borkowski, Rbt. Valerian “Bob” 258, 428 Borland, Thos. Bruce “Tom” 475 Bornhoeft, Herman 6 Bornholdt, B. ¡6 Bornholdt, Dick 292, 306 Boros, Stephen “Steve” 487 Bortz, George W. ¡79, 206 Borzick, Emil 222 Bosciak, Thaddeus Richard “Ted” ¡43 Bosenberry, Earl 292 Boss, Elmer Harley (went by middle name) 50 Bossard, Belasco 405 Bosse, Joe 95 Bosse, Shirley 6¡ Botelho, Henry Joseph “Rick” 397 Botz, Rbt. Allen “Bob” 436, 487 Bouchee, Edward Francis 4¡3, 429 Bouchoux, Joseph 224 Boudreau, Wm. “Bill” 30¡ Bouknight, “Dick” ¡34, ¡55, ¡98, 2¡4, 267, 326–27 Bourbeau, Felicien 400 Bourdet, Malcom Len 337 Bourdette, Myron 255

Bourg, Arthur S. 27 Bournot, Jean 202 Bouton, James Alan “Jim” 492 Boutwell, George 60, 67 Bouza, Mike 59–60 Bowden, Marion Lamar (went by middle name) 374 Bowen, Carl 338 Bowen, Jack 457, 467 Bowen, Rex 79, 90 Bowen, Ron 260, 32¡ Bowen, Toy W., Jr. ¡77 Bowens, Samuel Edward 496, 506 Bowers, Grover ¡97, 233 Bowers, Thos. E. ‘Tom” 447– 48 Bowers, William “Julie” 355 Bowes, Mason M. “Major” 298, 323 Bowland, Arthur J., Jr., “Art” 22¡, 333, 377, 402, 420 Bowles, Bill 343–44 Bowles, Charles James “Charley” ¡05 Bowlin, Weldon “Hoss” 496, 5¡9 Bowling Green, KY ¡40, ¡60, ¡83 Bowman, Bob 279 (possibly the same player as Rbt. Bowman below) Bowman, Elmari Wilhelm “Elmer” 6 Bowman, Faber “Duke” 27¡ Bowman, Robert James “Bob” 20¡ Bowman, Roger Clinton 388 Bowsfield,Edward Oliver “Ted” 46¡ Boyce, William J., Jr. 236 Boyd, Bobby Ray 420 Boyd, Laramie E. 386, 402 Boyd, Lincoln E. 402, 4¡8 Boyd, Rbt. H., Jr., “Bob” 458 Boyd, Rbt. Richard “Bob,” “The Rope” (¡B) 4¡2, 420 Boyd, Vernon ¡28 Boyer, Cletus Leroy “Clete” 46¡ Boyer, Cloyd Victor 233 Boyer, Rbt. “Bob” 472 Boyes, Arthur ¡55 Boyette, Billy D. 425 Boyle, Ralph 33 Brace, Ken 504 Brackin, Steve 520 Bradbury, Art 30 Bradey, Donald Eugene 477, 489 Bradford, Claude 80 Bradford, Henry ¡9¡ Bradford, PA ¡43, ¡64, ¡87, 206, 229, 29¡, 3¡6, 34¡, 363, 384, 406–7, 427 Bradley, Fred, Jr. 207 Bradley, Leroy M. 45¡ Bradshaw, George T. 205, 290, 3¡6, 344, 396 Brady, Bob ¡94 Brady, Cli›ord Francis” Cli› ” 27–28 Braga, Art 6¡ Bragan, James “Jimmy” 4¡3 Bragan, Robert “Bobby” ¡00, ¡¡¡, ¡28, 233 Bragg, Gordon P. 28¡

Brainard-Little Falls, MN 6¡, 70 Brake, Robert 239 Braley, Brown 38 Brancato, Albert “Al” ¡26 Branch, Harvey Alfred 473 Brand, Ronald George 506 Brande, Ralph G. ¡53 Brandon, Ralph 6¡, 70, ¡05–6 Brandt, John George “Jackie” 385, 4¡0 Braner, Bob ¡3¡ Brannan, Otis Owen ¡0 Branom, Edgar Dudley “Dud” ¡2, 2¡–22, 3¡ Branson, Donald 47¡, 485, 508 Brantley, Ollie 452 Braseke, Kenneth 359 Brauchle, (first name unknown) 20 Braun, Ralph 84 Braxton, Edgar Garland (went by middle name) 62, 7¡–72 Bray, Clarence “Hee-Haw” ¡20, ¡50 Bray, Julian 9¡ Braziel, Dennis 248 Brazill, Frank Leo 7–8, 34, 67, 85 Brdar, Milan G. 354 Breakfield, L. 37 Bream, Jess 75 Brecheen, Harry “The Cat” 95, ¡90 Brechin, John L., Jr. 430–3¡ Breclich, Michael 20¡ Breece, Delbert 69 Breeden, H. Scott 473 Breeding, Harold ¡93 Breeding, Marvin Eugene “Marv” 425, 433 Breese, Eldon 49, 53 Breidenbach, Donald 287 Breidt, Joe 332 Breisinger, Thos. George “Tom” 327–28 Brelich, Michael “Mike” 245, 280 Brem, Bailey 468 Bremer, Herbert Frederick “Herb” 95 Bremer, Walter 226, 36¡ Bremerton, WA 2¡4–¡5, 238, 267 Brennan, James Donald “Don” 49, ¡99 Brennan, John ¡65 Brenner, Wm. W. “Bill” 348, 393 Breno, Joe ¡08 Bresachini, Wes J. 3¡3 Bressoud, Edward Francis “Eddie” 445 Breuer, Marvin Howard 69 (mispelled as “Brewer) 76–77 Brewer, Forrest ¡20 Brewer, Henry 38 Brewer, James Thomas “Jim” 48¡, 487 Brewer, Orbie ¡93 Brewer, Sam 23¡ Brewster, Chas. “Charlie” ¡59–60, 249, 3¡¡, 359 Brewton, AL ¡54, ¡78, 222, 276 Briareus 380 Brice, Jim 26

531 Brich, John ¡24 Brickell, Fritz Darrell “Fritzie” 40¡, 445 Brickner, Ralph Harold 32¡ Brickner, Walter H. ¡83 Brideweser, James Ehrenfeld “Jim” 297 Bridgeport, CT 6, 26, 33, 44, ¡68, 2¡¡, 263 Bridges, Lamar “Rocky” 257 Bridges, Marshall “Sherrif ” 4¡8, 433, 462 Bridges, Thomas Je›erson Davis “Tommy” 39 Bridwell, Clovis ¡46 Bridwell, Lynn 509 Briggs, Alton 95 Briggs, Charlie ¡¡¡ Briggs, Howard 89 Briggs, Jonathan 393 Brigham, Robert 290 Bright, Harry James 285–86, 308, 332, 365, 368, 408, 488 Brill, Stanley 284 Brimbeloe, Charles ¡38 Brinegar, Earl ¡2¡ Brinegar, Paul ¡2¡ Briner, Danny 457, 479 Briner, Rudolph, Jr., “Rudy” ¡36, 354, 42¡ Bringle, Lester “The Tingler” 290 Brinkopf, Leon 250 Brinsky,Emil (also appeared as Amil,) ¡44, ¡68 Briscoe, Hap ¡7, 37 Briskey, Richard 267 Brissie, Leland Victor “Lou” 2¡0 Brister, Jimmy ¡3¡ Bristol, David 440, 48¡, 496– 97 Bristol, CT 263 Bristol, VA ¡78, ¡92, ¡93, ¡94, ¡95, ¡95, 20¡, 232, 263, 279, 350, 403 Britt, Robert “Zennie” 237 Brittin, John 264 Brock, Louis Clark 508 Brock, Paul 225 Brockhoeft, Edward 88 Brockville, ONT, CAN 84 Brockwell, Charles R., Jr. 404, 439 Brockwell, John 343 Brodowski, Rich. Stanley “Dick” 340–4¡ Brodsky, Sheldon 443, 479 Broglio, Ernest “Ernie” 4¡9, 448 Brookey, Melvin “Mel” 220, 266 Brookhouse, R.E. 70, 86 Brooklyn 232, 282 Brooklyn, Ed T. 3¡¡ Brooks, Bearl 405 Brooks, Warren P. 203 Broome, Henry 228 Broome, Robert 300 Broome, Roy Wilson ¡77 Brophy, Claude 440–4¡ Broskie, Sigmund Theodore “Sig,” “Chops” ¡47, ¡7¡ Brosnan, James Patrick “Jim,” “The Professor” 222 Broughton, Willie 497

532 Brovia, Joseph John “Joe,” Ox” ¡5¡, 437 Brower, Francis Willard “Frank” 7 Brower, Louis Lester ¡0, 35– 36, 73 Brown, Abe ¡00, ¡0¡ Brown, Alvin 362 Brown, Art 442 Brown, Ben 79 Brown, Bob (SS) 228 Brown, Carl 3¡9 Brown, Daniel R. 426 Brown, Donald M. “Don” (OF) 454 Brown, Donald Martin 26, 37 Brown, Earl 25, 27 Brown, George ¡97 Brown, Hector Harold “Hal,” “Skinny” ¡99 Brown, Henry 279 Brown, Hoskett 6¡, 80 Brown, James (OF) 54 Brown, James Dale (P) 33¡ Brown, James E. (2B) 328, 370 Brown, James Roberson “Jimmy” (SS) 59 Brown, John Lindsey (went by middle name) 74 Brown, John M. 357 Brown, Joseph Henry 9, ¡3, 22, 3¡, 43 Brown, Larry Leslie 483, 49¡ Brown, Louie 457 Brown, Marshall ¡88, 2¡8, 242 Brown, Norman 53, ¡69, 233, 370 Brown, R. (Richard?) 39 Brown, Ralph “Country” 2¡0, 4¡0–¡¡ Brown, Rbt. Edward “Bobby” (OF) 3¡8, 375 Brown, Rbt. Lee “Bobby Lee” 433 Brown, Rich. Ernest “Dick” 430 Brown, Robert (SS) 379 Brown, Robert John (P) 376 Brown, Russell (real name Erastus Gregg) ¡00 Brown, Stahley ¡6¡ Brown, Thos. Michael “Tommy,” “Buckshot” 430 Brown, Thos. William “Tom” 470 Brown, Virgil ¡46 Brown, Walter George “Jumbo” 35, 43, 78 Brown, Walter Irving ¡00, ¡78 Brown, William (OF) 262 Brown, William Francis (C) 427 Brown, Wm. James “Gates” 494, 504 Browne, Earl James 73, 204, 227 Browne, Prentice Almont “Pidge” 392, 4¡2, 43¡ Browning, Leland E. 426 Browning, Ted 225 Browning, Wade H. 326, 389 Brownsville, TX ¡25, 29¡–92, 307, 325, 35¡, 372 Brozovich, Peter 23¡, 274 Brozovitch, Frank ¡7 Brubaker, Raymond K. 33 Brubaker, Bruce 498

Index Bruce, Preston 472 Bruce, Spencer 69 Bruckbauer, Frederick John 480 Brucker, Earle Francis, Sr. 58 Bruder, Henry J. 3¡¡ Bruhn, Gil ¡2¡ Brumley, Mich. “Mike” 502, 5¡3 Brummer, Bob 3¡5 Brummitt, Hobart ¡0¡ Brunacki, Jos. C., Jr., “Joe” 397 Brundis, Glennon ¡94 Brunet, George Stuart 447 Brunner, Jack 266 Bruno, Paul ¡03, ¡¡3, 224 Brunswick, GA 36¡, 382, 404, 425, 44¡, 457, 472, 522 Brunswick, NY 235 Brusa, Sam “The” 269 Brush, David 69 Bruton, Wm. Haron “Bill” 306, 323, 345 Bruzga, John J. 379 Bryan, James 36, 66, 83 Bryan, Wm. Ronald “Billy” 505, 5¡5 Bryant, Donald 523 Bryant, James T., Jr. ¡94, 323 Bryden, Ewen 205, 29¡ Bryja, Walter A. 338 Brzenk, Thaddeus 459 Bucci, George 2¡8 Buccola, Victor Vincent “Vic,” “Riccola” 238, 348, 369–70 Bucha, John George “Johnny” ¡94, 2¡0, 257, 320, 428 Buchanan, William 358 Bucher, James Quinter “Jim” 59 Buck, Richard 2¡9 Buck, Shaw ¡03, ¡04 Buck, William 249 Buckley, Claude 335 Bucklin, Luke 54, 6¡ Buckner, Kerry 482 Buckwalter, Hal R. 304 Bucy, Jesse Gene 365 Budd, Charles ¡3¡ Buddin, Donald thomas 372, 409 Bueschen, Roy ¡60, ¡74 Bu›alo, NY ¡3, 22, 3¡–32, 43, 48–49, 55, 63, 232, 257, 320, 367, 4¡0, 429, 445–46, 475, 487, 500, 5¡3 Buford, Donald 493, 5¡5–¡6 Bugg, Mason ¡¡9 Buheller, Clarence “Chuck” 404, 450, 465 Buhl, Rbt. Ray “Bob 227 Buickel, George 205 Bujaci, Chester 6¡ Bulkley, John 220 Bulkly, Richard 204 Bulla, Larry “Fulla” 473 Bullard, George D. 394 Bumgarner, John E. “Jack” 204, 350, 406 Bumsted, H. Edward “Dagwood” 2¡¡ Bunch, Jake ¡04, ¡20 Bunch, Wm. A., Jr., “Junior” 287, 324 Bunker, Richard 432

Bunning, James Paul David “Jim” 428 Burbrink, Nelson Edward “Nels” ¡85, 229, 447 Burch, Al 26¡ (This may be Eldred Burch) Burcham, Thos., Jr., “Tom” 382 Burdette, Freddie Thomason 5¡5 Burdette, Selva Lewis “Lew” 237 Burford, Lamar 382 Burgamy, Ralph R. 285 Burge, Lester K. ¡¡8 Burgess, Charles A. ¡27 Burgess, Forrest Harrill “Smokey” 2¡4, 233 Burgess, Thos. Roland “Tom” 2¡¡, 347, 367, 445 Burgett, Richard K. 234 Burgo, Wm. Ross ““Bill ¡86 Burich, Wm. “Bill” ¡64, ¡68 Burke, Bill 2¡2 Burke, Leo Patrick 465, 5¡3 Burkhart, Cli› ¡84–85 Burkhart, Ken ¡48 Burleson, George (Gus?) 85 Burleson, Gus (George?) 48 Burleson, John 98, ¡¡6 Burlingame, Calvin 239 Burlington, IA 28, 4¡, 53, 2¡7, 27¡, 352, 396, 4¡7, 468, 480–8¡, 493, 506, 5¡6, 522 Burlington, NC ¡94, ¡99, 2¡7, 240, 262, 299, 350, 372, 394–95, 467, 479, 492, 504 Burlington, VT 422 Burman, John “Jack” ¡46, ¡69 Burmeister, Gerald ¡53, ¡9¡ Burnett, Arthur D.L. 406, 427, 470 Burnett, John ¡9 Burnett, Ora ¡33, 335, 368 Burnette, Herbert 499 Burnette, James “Jim” 499 Burnette, Tom ¡79 Burns, George 43, 50, 56 Burns, Glen Charles 79, 333, 376, 42¡ Burns, Irving “Jack” ¡6, 35 Burns, James (P) 204 Burns, James “Jim” (OF) 360, 382, 402 Burns, James “Jim”(2B) 2¡7 Burns, Raymond 252 Burns, Russell ¡65, 2¡0, 233, 259 Burnside, Peter Willits “Pete” 4¡2, 445 Burpo, George H. ¡72 Burris, Charles 426 Burris, J.J. 342 Burris, Joe 6¡ Burris, Paul R. 2¡3 Burroughs, Eugene 472 Burrows, Carroll 48 Burrows, John 69 Burt, W. Floyd 47 Burton, Ellis Narrington 439, 45¡, 464, 5¡3 Burton, James M. “Jim” 444 Burton, John 492 Burwell, Bill 22, 30, 42 Busby, James Franklin “Jim” 266

Busby, Steve (David in the BB Guide) 5¡0 Busch, Edgar J. ¡38 Bush, Anderson P. ¡69, 325, 392 Bush, David 77, 78 Bush, Harold ¡24, ¡5 Bush, Louis 74 Bush, Wallace 473–74 Bussman, Gene 27¡ Bustamentes, Jose 354–55 Bustle, Wm. “Bill,” “Hustle” ¡93, ¡94–95, 3¡2, 324 Butcher, Albert Maxwell “Max” 73 Butcher, Ned ¡79 Butchko, Steve “Da Butcher” 356 Butland, Wilburn Rue “Bill” ¡23 Butler, Carl 3¡9 Butler, Cecil 472 Butler, Charles (?) 39 Butler, Claude ¡2 Butler, John 5¡0 Butler, Ralph L. 3¡6, 327 Butler, William Russell 355 Butler, PA 80, 93, ¡08, ¡24, ¡43, ¡64, ¡86–87, ¡99, 242, 273, 306, 330 Butsko, Joe ¡30 Butterfield, Rbt. “Bob” 473 Butts, Clovis G. 403 Buzhardt, John William 439 Byard, Lafe ¡9, 28 Byerly, Eldred William “Bud” 409 Byers, Jack C. 330 Byfuss, Harold “Hal” 440, 454 Byrd, Samuel Dewey “Sammy” ¡5 Byrne, Johnny ¡9 Byrne, Thos. “Tommy” 388 Bysco, Steve “Nab” ¡54–55 Caballero, Ralph Joseph “Putsy” 209 Caballero-Gonzalez, Ramiro 453, 5¡7–¡8 Cabble, Kenneth 80 Cabral Melvin G. ¡33 Cabrara, Luis 263 Cabrera, Emilio 24¡ Caccavo, Dan 305 Cachot, “Dave” 425 Cade, Jerry 435, 449 Cade, Jesse H., Jr., ”Jack” 359–60, 38¡ Cadore, Leon 465 Caesar, Albert 47¡ Cafego, Thomas “Tom” ¡49 Ca›ery, Rbt. “Bob” 389–90 Ca›ey, Ira Sturkey ¡2 Ca‡e, Jos. Cli›ord “Joe” 355, 446 Caheux, Arturo 5¡4 Cahill, John ¡30 Cain, Bob “Sugar” ¡93 Cairo, IL 204, 227, 286–87 Caithamer, George Theodore 42 Calaya, GUA, MEX 497, 507 Calderone, Samuel Francis “Sammy” 233, 427–28 Caldwell, Bobby 294 Caldwell, Bruce 25, 33, 44

Index Caldwell, Earl Welton 34, 73, 259, 297, 325, 35¡, 393 Caldwell, Neil 64 Caldwell, Ralph 246 Caldwell, Ralph F. 350 Caldwell, Raymond Benjamin 45 Caldwell, Rbt. E. “Bobby” 254, 372 Caldwell, Wilbur R. 3¡3, 360 Caldwell, Wm. “Bill” 52 Calero, Jose 5¡¡ Calgary, ALB, CAN 370 California ¡72, ¡92, ¡98, 2¡6, 239, 270, 303, 328, 353, 375, 396, 4¡9, 436, 452, 469, 48¡, 493, 506, 5¡7 Caligiuri, Fred ¡56–57, ¡68 Caliteaux, Alfred ¡05 Callaghan, Martin Francis “Marty” 22 Callahan, James 70, 263 Callahan, Joseph Thomas ¡29 Callan, Robert 2¡4 Callison, John Wesley “Johnny” 453, 46¡ Calloway, Clell 364 Calmus, Myrle 523 Calmus, Rich. Lee “Dick” 523 Calo, Frank J. 4¡5 Caloia, George 250, 275 Calvey, Jack N. 6¡ Calvo, Jorge 507 Camacho, Jos. G., Jr. “Joe” 303, 377 Camacho-Duran, Ronaldo 397 Camacho-Muniz, Moises 374, 432, 463, 476, 502 Cambridge, MD ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡57, ¡80–8¡, 202, 223–24, 247, 28¡ Cameron, Clinton 268 Cameron, Donald 400 Cameron, Jim 42 Camilli, Adolf Lewis “Dolph” ¡2, 20 Camilli, Douglas Joseph “Doug” 470, 489 Camp, Norman 49¡ Campanella, Roy ¡96, 208 Campaneris, Dagoberto “Bert” 52¡ Campau, William ¡86, 206 Campbell, Archer Stewart “Archie” ¡¡, 22 Campbell, Clarence “Soup” ¡¡8 Campbell, Duncan 504 Campbell, Fred 2¡6, 26¡–62 Campbell, James “Jim” 482 Campbell, John “Whitey” 64 Campbell, Jos. V. “Joe” 336 Campbell, Mickey 524 Campbell, Paul McLaughlin 89, 207, 346–47 Campbell, Ray ¡29 Campbell, Richard L. 309 Campbell, Roland 5¡6 Campbell, Ronald Thomas 507–8 Campbell, Thomas 293 Campbell, Vernon R. 33¡ Campbell, William Gilthorpe “Gilly” 34, 64 Campo, Milt 458 Campos-Lopez, Francisco Jose 327 Canadian-American 84, 97,

¡¡2, ¡30, ¡5¡, ¡73, 2¡6, 239, 270, 304, 328 Canales, Roberto 33¡ Canales, Victor “Pingua” 268, 33¡–3¡, 374 Canavan, Thom. J. “Tom” ¡76 Candini, Mario Guistino “Milo” ¡0¡, 388, 428 Canfield, Wallace George “Wally” ¡2 Cannizzo, Anthony A., Jr., “Tony” 422, 444, 455, 470, 480–8¡, 495 Cannon, Edward 484 Cannon, Wiley Joe 335 Cannon, William ¡93 Canton, OH 25–26, 36, 86, 99, ¡¡4, ¡32, ¡53–54, ¡75 Cantrell, Ben Howard “Rosie” ¡¡6, ¡74, 272, 305 Cantrell, Dewey Guy (went by middle name) 22 Cantrell, Don 309, 374 Cantrell, Jimmie H. 380, 423 Cantrell, Joe 39 Cantu, Art vii Canuso, Joseph A. 425 Capedeville, Harold “Coup d’Ville” 90 Capes, Adelbert “Del” 6 Caplinger, William, Jr., “Bill,” “Wild Bill” ¡54 Capps, Claude ¡37 Capps, Wm. Thomas “Billy” ¡45, 233, 309, 323–24 Capri, Patrick Nicholas “Pat” ¡6¡ Caputo, John 28¡ Caputo, Louis T. 439, 455, 494 Caradonna, Frank 520 Carballeira, Isidoro 305 Carbondale, PA 289 Card, Morris 230 Carden, Winfred Lloyd (went by middle name) 395 Cardenal, Jose 5¡¡–¡2 Cardenas, Hector 5¡0 Cardenas, Leonardo Lazaro 465 Cardenas, Marion H. 420 Cardenas, Oscar 365 Cardey, Jack N. 353–54 Cardinal, Pedro 438 Cardinale, Phillip 205 Cardwell, Donald Eugene 403, 429 Carenbauer, John ¡94 Carey, Jerry 484 Carey, Scott 203 Carey, Thomas Franklin Aloysius “Tom,” “Scoops” 62– 63 Carey, Wyman 477 Carillo, Pedro 438 Carleton, James Otto “Tex” 22, 45–46 Carlini, Emil/Emile 29¡, 34¡ Carlsbad, NM 376–77, 420, 499 Carlson, Ray 202, 2¡0 Carman, Chas. “Charley” ¡84 Carmel, Leon James “Duke” 455, 478 Carmichael, John G. 302, 393 Carmichael, William Bryce 400 Carnahan, Earl ¡56, ¡79–80

Carnavale, Daniel J. “Danny” 30¡ Carnegie, Ollie 47, 49–50, 55, 63 Carnett, Edwin Elliott “Eddie,” “Lefty” 76–77, 309, 400 Carnevale, Daniel J. “Danny” 97, 29¡ Carney, James 286 Caro, William Jack (went by middle name) 337 Carolan, Joe 36¡ Carolina ¡94, ¡99, 2¡6, 240, 262, 299, 324, 350, 372, 394, 4¡6, 434, 450, 467, 479, 492, 504, 5¡6 Carpace, Frank “Scarface” 305 Carpenter, Fred 492 Carpenter, Lewis ¡9¡ Carpenter, Paul Nagle 96 Carpenter, Wm. “Bill” 482 Carpin, Frank 479 Carr, Anthony ¡¡6 Carr, Cecil Rex (known as C. Rex) ¡95, 329 Carr, Ed 84 Carr, William Clarence 282 Carrasquel, Alfonso Colon “Chico” 259 Carrasquel, Domingo 508 Carreon-Garcia, Camilo 474, 488 Carrier, Webster ¡4¡ Carrier, William ¡06, ¡6¡, ¡85 Carrillo, Pedro 466 Carrola, Marcus ¡60 Carroll, Clay “Hawk” 520 Carroll, Erby, Jr. ¡82 Carroll, Terrance V. 356 Carrolton, GA 40, 225, 283, 3¡2 Carson, Walter Lloyd 58 Carswell, Frank ¡87, 262, 345 Carswell, G. Harrold 42 Carter, Donald W. 427 Carter, John 485 Carter, Leon 3¡2, 326, 352, 4¡¡ Carter, Otis “Blackie” 78 Carter, Ross 440, 466 Carter, Steve ¡25, ¡30 Carthage, MO ¡¡7, ¡36, ¡77–78, 204, 227, 249, 286, 3¡4, 337–38 Cartwright, Earl ¡08 Carty, Rico Adolfo Jacobo “The Beeg Boy” 507, 5¡6 Caruthersville, MO 9¡, ¡06–7, ¡42, ¡62 Casablanca, Luis M. 453 Casadei, Aldo 235 Casagrande, Thos. “Tom” 325–26, 369 Casale, Jerry Joseph 409 Casanova, Bruno 29¡ Casanova, William 328, 352 Casbier, Noel ¡56, ¡77, 20¡, 223, 245, 294 Cascarella, Joseph Thomas “Joe” ¡5 Case, Bobby 49¡–92 Case, George Washington 94 Casey, John 94 Casey, Leo 9 Casey, William 88 Cash, Norman Dalton “Norm” 436

533 Cash, Thad “Hard” ¡2¡, ¡4¡, ¡78 Cashion, Otis S. “Cy” ¡¡, 76 Cashion, Webb ¡8 Cassini, Jack Dempsey ¡63, 232, 295, 320, 345, 367 Cassville, AR 77, 88 Castano, Antonio ¡¡0 Castanon, Mike 482 Casteen, Daniel 47¡, 485 Castellanos, Silvanio 489 Castiglione, Gene 286 Castiglione, Peter Paul “Pete” ¡83, ¡97, 232 Castillo, Carlos 452 Castillo-Tello, Enrique 5¡8 Castino, Vincent Charles ¡42 Castoldi, John ¡64 Castro, Alejandro 495 Castro, Dominic Frank ¡¡5 Castro, Felix 330 Castro, Sammy 239 Catchings, Ben 68, 76–77, 222 Cater, Danny Anderson 47¡, 503 Cater, James G. “Jim” 327, 382 Cato, Fred 47 Cato, Leon 22¡ Caton, Virgil ¡00–¡ Cattaneo, Raymond 286 Catto, Paul 509–¡0 Catton, Robert 47¡ Caudle, James R.”Pete” 383 Causion, William N. 404, 422, 429 Cauvel, Lawrence 2¡¡ Cave, Floyd “Bat” 202 Cave, Paul W. “Bat” 4¡3 Caveny, James Christopher “Ike,” “Jimmy” 8–9 Cavosie, Joe ¡97, 278 Cayavec, Wm. J., Jr., “Bill” 340, 395 Cearly, Wilbur “Bud” 236, 29¡–92, 3¡4, 329 Ceccarelli, Arthur Edward “Art” 284 Cecil, Rex Holston ¡92, 375 Cedar Rapids, IA 28–29, 4¡, 53, 66, 82–83, 94, ¡29, ¡50, ¡7¡, 27¡, 30¡, 327, 352, 396, 4¡7, 436, 468, 480, 493, 506, 522 Cedartown, GA 40 Cena, Don 220 Cendan, Jose 228 Centaro, Tomas 364–65 Centelles, Orlando 522–23 Central ¡6, 25, 36, 240, 259, 297, 32¡ Central Association 2¡7, 27¡ Central Mexican 437, 453 Centralia, IL 226, 287–88, 3¡5, 338–39 Centreville, MD ¡03, ¡38, ¡57, ¡80–8¡, 202 Cepeda, Orlando Manuel “The Baby Bull” 426, 438 Cereghino, Edward J. “Eddie” 345, 369 Cerv, Rbt. Henry “Bob” 320 Cesar, Joe 504 Chacon-Rodriguez, Elio 433, 46¡ Chadwick, Doyle 342, 363 Chadwick, Jake 47 Chadwick, Walter R. 403

534 Chafin, Loran 285, 3¡¡ Chain, Charles “Charlie” 206 Chakales, Rbt. Edward “Bob” 297 Chalk, Preston 29 Chambers, Bill 286 Chambers, Cli›ord Ray “Cli› ” 208 Chambers, Joe 225 Chambers, John Monroe 38, 59 Chance, Rbt. “Bob,” “Fat” 5¡¡ Chance, Wilmer Dean (went by middle name) 483 Chandler, Glenn 204 Chandler, Harold 2¡ Chaney, Thos. Edgar “Tom” 428–29 Channel Cities (Santa Barbara-Ventura), CA 396 Chanute, KS 204, 227, 249, 286 Chapel, John William 376 Chaplin, James Bailey “Tiny” 57 Chapman, Calvin Lewis 56– 57 Chapman, Frederick “Freddie” 289–90, 340 Chapman, Joel 283 Chapman, William Benjamin “Ben” ¡7, 22 Chappell, Marvin 283, 336 Chappell, Wilmer Lee 334 Charleroi, PA ¡9, 7¡, 80, 93 Charles, Edwin Douglas “The Glider” 4¡5, 448–49, 50¡ Charles, Herman 407–8 Charles, Hugh L. 408 Charles, James 378 Charleston, SC ¡48–49, ¡69, ¡9¡, ¡96, 2¡0, 224, 323, 347, 369, 465, 479, 49¡–92, 504 Charleston, WV 60, 67, 86, 99, ¡¡4, ¡32, ¡53, 259, 297, 322, 409, 428, 429, 445, 460–6¡, 474, 487, 50¡, 5¡5 Charlotte, NC 37, 52, 59, 66, 74, 95, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡48, ¡69, ¡98, 2¡4, 302, 327, 374, 39¡, 433, 449, 465, 479, 49¡–92, 504, 5¡6 Charlton, K. Byron 393 Charnofsky, Harold 465, 48¡ Charnofsky, Stanley 465 Charouhas, Desmond 294 Chartak, Michael George “Mike” 89, 94 Charvat, John J. “Jake” 394 Chatham, Charles “Buster” 56, 8¡ Chattanooga, TN 34, 44–45, 50–5¡, 56, 73, 8¡, ¡9¡, 209, 233, 296, 336, 346, 363, 390–9¡, 4¡¡, 430, 446–47, 463, 477, 489, 502 Chavarria-Quijano, Osvaldo “Ossie” 505 Chavis, Grady 424 Checkley, Edward ¡36 Cheek, Herbert 97 Cheeves, David M. 30, 47, 68 Chell, Clyde 80 Chenard, Gonzalo 363 Cheney, Thos. Edgar “Tom” 428–29, 445 Chenger, Paul 485–86 Chepkauskas, Daniel 378

Index Cherek, Bob 226 Chervinko, Paul ¡68 Cheshire, John 253 Cheshire, Lewis 230 Chesnes, Robert Vincent “Bob” 208 Cheso, Italo Vincent 327 Cheso, Reno A. 243, 303 Chestnut, (first name unknown) ¡7 Cheyenne, WY ¡88–89 Chianese, Carl 403 Chickasha, OK 253, 292–93, 3¡7, 363 Chihuahua, CHH, MEX 437–38, 453 Childs, Delton M. 284, 372–73 Chiola, Dominick 272, 3¡4 Chipman, Duwaine “Bud” 325 Chipman, Robert ¡49 Chipple, Walter 330 Chiti, Harry 309, 323, 446, 5¡2–¡3 Chittum, Nelson Boyd 437 Chitwood, K.E. 40 Chmiel, Herb 2¡0 Choate, Donald 455 Cholcher, Herman 29, 4¡ Cholcher, Otto 29 Choukalos, Ernest W. “Ernie” 3744¡8 Chozen, Harry 98 Chozen, Meyer 95–96, ¡28 Chrisley, Barbra O’Neil “Niel” 5¡3 Christante, Leo 300 Christey, Pete 329 Christian, Carl 8 Christian, Jos. L. “Joe,” Jr. 35¡, 434, 502 Christman, Marquette Joseph “Mark” 76, ¡90 Christo›, Ernest “Ernie” 470 Christo›, Michael Warren “Mike” 83 Christopher, Anthony “Tony” 458, 473 Christopher, Harry ¡37 Christopher, Lloyd Eugene ¡29 Christopher, Russell Ormand, “Russ” ¡35 Chuka, Joe 266 Chumley, Fred R. ¡8¡ Church, Emory “Bubba” 22¡, 257 Churchill, Rbt. “Bob” ¡96, 2¡0, 238, 267, 302 Churn, Clarence Nottingham “Chuck” 430 Chute, William E. “Para” ¡82 Cia, Mario “Buddy” 5¡2 Cia›one, Lawrence 236, 264 Cianfione, Peter 509 Ciani, Nick 223 Cibrowski, Marion P. ¡42, ¡83 Ciccone, Louis J. “Lou” 330 Cicero, Joseph Francis “Joe” 25, ¡48 Cicero, Vin ¡43 Cichosz, Chet 92, ¡62, ¡76 Cicotte, Alva Warren “Al” 300, 488 Ciesielki, Lawrence 2¡6, 32¡ Cieslak, Thaddeus “Ted” 299

Cimoli, Gino Nicholas 4¡0 Cincotta, Tony 279 Cindric, John F. 80, ¡63, ¡86 Cintron, Joseph 426 Ciola, Louis 237, 26¡, 323, 348, 392 Ciolek, Euene 202 Cipala, Louis ¡44–45 Cipriani, Frank 496 Cisar, George “Little” 96 Cisco, Galen 485 Ciudad Juarez, MEX 268, 33¡–32, 374, 437 Clabaugh, John “Moose” ¡2, ¡8, 39, 50–5¡, 55 Clancy, John W. “Bud,” “Monte” ¡52, ¡72, ¡92 Clapp, Roger 480 Clardy, Walter 356 Clark, Bobby 278 Clark, Ernesto 40¡ Clark, George 270–7¡ Clark, Gilberto 484 Clark, Glenn 52¡ Clark, Grey 95 Clark (born Petrosky), James 348, 393 Clark, John Carrol “Cap” 74, ¡57 Clark, Philip James “Phil” 337, 448 Clark, Richard 250 Clark, Robert Eugene 426 Clark, Roy James ¡75 Clarke, Doug 20¡ Clarke, Horace 484, 494, 503 Clarke, Michael John “Mike” ¡87, 26¡ Clarksburg, WV ¡9 Clarksdale, MS 67, 75, 98, ¡30, ¡52, ¡74 Clarkson, Reggie 2¡0 Clarksville, TN 227, 286 Clary, Ellis ¡04, 296, 346–47 Claset, Gowell ¡9, 50 Clasit (Claset), John L. 404 Clausen, William ¡93 Clawitter, Teddy A.G. “Ted” 97, ¡¡2, 200, 309 Clay, Dain Elmer ¡50 Clay, John ¡7¡ Claycomb, Gerald 352 Claypool, James 246 Clayton, Douglas 508 Clayton, Thomas 253–54 Clear, Elwood “Bob” 483, 494–95 Cleary, Albert C. 350 Clegg, Hoyt 294, 3¡7 Clemens, Chester Spurgeon “Chet” ¡20, ¡7¡ Clement, John “Zeke” 92–93, ¡¡5 Clements, Harry Miller “Uncle Remus” ¡5¡, ¡72, 2¡6, 270, 352–53 Clements, Ralph 283 Clendenon, Donn 482–83, 49¡, 500–¡ Cleveland, (first name unknown) ¡¡ Cleveland, William P. 308 Cleveland, MS 75 Clevenger, Truman Eugene “Tex” 375–76 Cleverly, James A. 347, 368 Cli›ord, Neal ¡29

Clifton, H. Bass ¡73 Clifton, Harry “Jack” ¡79, 334 Cline, Wm. “Bill” 484 Clinton, Lucien Louis “Lu” 423, 474, 50¡ Clinton, IA ¡7, 96, ¡29, ¡50, ¡7¡, 2¡7, 240, 27¡, 396, 426–27, 442, 473, 485, 498, 5¡0, 522–23 Clinton, NC 206, 230, 253, 293, 3¡7 Clio, Muse of History 333, 483 Cloninger, Tony 483 Clonts, George Ray (Roy?) ¡2¡, ¡40 Close, William Edward 440 Closs, Charles Henry 3¡0–¡¡ Cloud-Cuckoo Land 340 Cloude, Bill 220 Clough, Gene 287 Clovis, NM ¡26, ¡46, ¡87–88, 200, 22¡, 308, 333, 357, 379–80, 40¡–2, 4¡8 Clowers, Bill ¡8 Clowsen, Alex 93 Coan, Gilbert Fitzgerald “Gil” ¡93, 209 Coastal Plain ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡37, ¡56, ¡79, 202, 223, 246, 280, 3¡0, 334, 358 Coates, James Alton “Jim” 4¡3, 446 Coats, Robert Lee “Bob” 447 Cobb, Bernard 74 Cobb, Darwin 87 Cobb (born Serafin), Joseph Stanley “Joe” 26 Cobb, Neal 278, 402–3 Coble, David Lamar ¡74 Cochrane, Eddie 356 Cockrell, Glen 440 Cockrell, P. Andrew 456 Cockrell, Wallace “Wally” 509 Cocoa, FL ¡8¡–82, 38¡, 424, 440, 457, 472 Codinachs, Rafael 339 Coe, Harry L., III 457, 472 Coen, Michael H. 433 Co‡e, Boyd 485 Co›man, Harland 249 Co›man, Robin 467 Coggin, Cli›ord 305 Coggins, G.E. 40 Cohen, Albert “Alta” 44 Cohen, Andrew Howard “Andy” 43 Cohen, Arnold N. 97 Cohen, Bob 223 Cohen, Hyman “Hy” 392, 447 Cohen, Sydney Harry “Syd” 2¡5 Coimbre, Francisco 472 Coker, Don 248 Coker, Jimmie Goodwin 426, 435, 447, 475 Colasinski, Frank 302 Colavito, Rocco Domenico “Rocky” 335, 368, 389, 409 Cole, Albert George “Bert,” “King” 9, 24 Cole, Herman 79 Cole, Jesse ¡44 Coleman, Clarence “Choo’Choo” 380, 484 Coleman, Elliott 438 Coleman, Frank 66 Coleman, Gordon Calvin

Index “Gordy” 396, 4¡7, 430, 477 Coleman, Guy 235 Coleman, Parke Edward “Ed” 20, 44 Coleman, Raymond L. ¡84 Coleman, Rbt. “Bob” (OF) 327 Coleman, Rbt. “Bob” (P) ¡99–200 Coleman, Robert G. “Bob” (P) 27–28 Coleman, Sam 30 Coleman, Sidney 79 Coleman, Sol 2¡2 Coleman, TX 30 Coles, Chas. “Chuck” 3¡3, 326, 346, 449, 463 Coletti, Gene 93, 99 Collenberger, Harry 27 Collett, C. Robert ¡75 Colley, Jim 333–34 Collier, Orlin Edward 92 Collins, Clarence C. ¡36, ¡62, ¡74 Collins, Eugene 462 Collins, Fred (P/UT) ¡09 Collins, Frederick (¡B) 255– 56 Collins, Jack 285 Collins, James Anthony “Ripper” ¡9, 22, 3¡ Collins, John 88, ¡00, ¡63 Collins (born Kollonige), Jos. Edward “Joe” 256–57 Collins, Melvin T. 394, 4¡6 Collins, Richard 339 Collins, Robert 59 Collins, Steve 223, 246 Collins, Walter 358 Collins, Warren ¡3 Collum, Jack Dean “Jackie” 245, 32¡ Colman, Frank Lloyd ¡47 Colo, Victor Joseph 397–98 Colombo, Lou 2¡2, 260 Colone, Richard R. 450 Colonial 2¡0, 235, 263 Colonial Heights, VA 343, 395 Colorado Springs, CO ¡89, 298, 348, 370, 392, 4¡5, 449, 466 Coltrin, Marion ¡0¡ Columbia, SC ¡7, 84, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡49, ¡69, ¡9¡, ¡96, 234, 260– 6¡, 298, 347, 369, 39¡–92, 4¡3–¡4, 433, 49¡–92, 504 Columbo, Angelo “Rocky” 480 Columbo, Michael “Mike” 300 Columbus, GA 27, 38, 66, 84, 95, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡48–49, ¡69–70, ¡96, 209–¡0, 234, 260–6¡, 298, 323, 347, 369, 4¡4, 432–33, 47¡, 479 Columbus, MS 75 Columbus, OH ¡3, 22, 42–43, 48–49, 54–55, 62, 7¡–72, ¡90, ¡94, 207, 23¡–32, 256, 296, 320, 345, 367, 389, 4¡0, 446, 46¡, 475, 488, 50¡, 5¡3 Comellas, Jorge, “George” ¡02, ¡57 Cominsky, Frank ¡68, ¡89 Comitti, Elmo 203–204 Command, James “Jim” 327 Comolli, Victor, Jr., “Holy” 284, 434 Comorosky, Adam ¡0, ¡3

Compton, Henry 7¡ Conant, John Joseph “The Barbarian” 2¡5, 239, 303, 370 Concannon, Joe 69 Concord, NC ¡4¡, ¡6¡–62, ¡85, 205, 228, 25¡ Conde, Ramon Luis 4¡5, 432, 448, 478 Condit, Clarence 293 Condrick, George 324 Condru, Philip W. “Phil” 425 Conger, Richard “Dick” 258 Conklin, Howell 38 Conlan, James ¡¡9, ¡30 Conley, Donald Eugene “Gene” 322, 367 Conley, Eddie ¡9 Conley, Rbt. Burns “Bob” 432 Connally, Mervin Thomas “Bud” 48–49, 8¡ Connatser, Broadus Milburn “Bruce” 39, 44–45 Connell, Herbert 358 Connell, Richard ¡78 Connelly, (first name unknown) ”Lefty” 20 Conners, Charles 4¡ Connolly, Robert 22¡ Connor, Earl ¡06 Connors, Kevin “Chuck” 232, 257 Connors, Mervyn 76, 86, 98, ¡74, 2¡8, 272, 333, 357 Conovan, Tillman Mitchell “Mike” 362, 372 Conquy, Eugene B. 426 Conrad, George 5¡2 Conroy, Michael “Mike” ¡82, 2¡0, 263, 299 Conroy, Ray 2¡5 Conroy, William 355 Constable, Jimmy Lee 5¡3 Contini, Harold “Hal” 363 Contreras, Jesus “El Camaron” 507, 5¡7 Contreras, Rogue “Ray” 35¡ Convey, Bert 362 Conway, John ¡30 Conway, Stan 6¡ Conyers, Herbert 2¡¡, 259 Cook, Butler ¡06 Cook, Frank 67 Cook, George 285 Cook, Maurice ¡92 Cook, Raymond Cli›ord “Cli› ” 479, 500 Cooke, Allen Lindsey “Dusty” ¡7, 22 Cooke, Jay 476–77 Cookson, James ¡42, ¡60 Cookson, Walter 42 Cooleemee, NC ¡4¡, ¡62, ¡85 Coombs, Raymond 377 Coombs, Woodrow ¡00 Cooney, James ¡44 Cooney, John P. “Jack” 3¡0, 332 Cooney, John Walter “Johnny” 6, 49, 7¡–72 Cooper, Carl “Bill” ¡2¡ Cooper, Earl 3¡2 Cooper, Ned 250 Cooper, Nelvin E. 327 Cooper, Orge Patterson “Pat” 2¡6 Cooper, Richard 20¡

Cooper, William Walker (went by middle name) 77 Cop, Milan 383 Cope, Wm. E. “Bill” 245, 30¡ Coppola, Michael 424, 439 Corbett, Eugene Lewis “Gene” 28, 6¡ Corbett, Stanley R. 86 Corbett, Tom 70, ¡04 Corbitt, Claude Elliott ¡¡0, 208 Corbitt, J.R. ¡03, ¡38 Cordele, GA 90, ¡04, ¡20, ¡83, 203–4, 249, 284, 3¡3, 360–6¡, 404, 425 Cordell, Rich. L. “Dick” 307 Cordiero, Ramon 5¡0 Corej, Frank 5¡7 Corella, Donald J. 4¡9 Corella-Espinoza, Jaime 5¡4 Corgan, George 8 Corley, Ken 203 Cornelius, Francis “Con” 2¡9 Cornell, William 452 Corning, NY 406–7, 427, 443, 459, 486, 498 Cornish, Thomas ¡58 Cornitus, Bernard 78 Cornsilk, Billy Jack 376 Cornwall, ONT, CAN ¡¡2–¡3 Corpus Christi, TX ¡25, 29¡– 92, 3¡6–¡7, 325, 350–5¡, 393, 4¡5–¡6, 434, 450, 464, 478 Corr (sometimes spelled Coor), Lud 48 Corrales, Pat 497, 506 Corrigan, Will “Crash” 460 Corsicana, TX 2¡ Corso, Gene E. 340 Cortazzo, John “Shine” ¡9, 45, ¡¡7 Cortes, Herminio 4¡5, 463 Cortinas, Manuel ¡25 Corwin, Elmer 244 Coscarart, Joseph Marvin 63 Coscarart, Steve 64 Cosgrove, Joe 6 Cosmidis, Alex N. 305, 326, 447 Costa, Alberto 260, 288 Costa, Anthony 23¡ Costa, Frank 40, 48 Costello, Al ¡3¡ Costello, Rbt. “Bob” ¡33, 2¡4 Cote, Ray “Sheep” 78, 89 Cotelle, Cosmo Como “Tony” 94, ¡75 Cott, Orval ¡43, 206, 229, 29¡ Cottier, Charles Keith “Chuck” ¡25, 449–50, 463 Cotton States 39, 48, 85, 98, ¡¡3, ¡30, ¡52, ¡73, 27¡, 304, 329, 376, 4¡9 Couch, James 5¡9 Coughlan, James ¡96 Coughtry, James Marlan (went by middle name) 4¡9, 49¡ Coughtry, Wayne 458 Couling, Stanley J. “Engine” 202 Courtney, Clinton Dawson “Clint,” “Scrap Iron” 2¡5, 5¡6 Cousis, Ed “Kissin” 288 Couto, Ramon ¡¡8 Coutts, Erwin 244, 276 Coveleski, Joseph P. ¡86

535 Covington, Bob 307 Covington, Chester “Chesty” ¡58, ¡82, 2¡3, 2¡8, 264, 283, 299, 3¡7 Covington, John Wesley “Wes” 355, 4¡4 Cowan, Gary 499 Cowan, Wm. “Billy” 5¡7 Cowsar, Bob 228 Cowser, Morris 250 Cox, Barry 339 Cox, Carl Benson ¡95 Cox, Franklin Peter 44, 64 Cox, Harold E. 325–26 Cox, James H. ¡34, ¡70 Cox, Kenneth I. 384 Cox, Rbt. “Bobby” 493 Cox, Ronnie 5¡6 Cox, Walter “Wally” 243 Cox, Wesley ¡64 Cox, William Richard “Billy” ¡47, ¡68 Crabtree, Estel Crayton ¡6, 22 Craddock, Walter Anderson “Walt” 446 Craft, Edward 2¡4 Craft, Harry 80 Crago, William E. 285, 3¡3 Crain, Paul ¡45 Crain, Rbt. L. “Bob” 327 Crandall, Delmar Wesley “Del” 245 Crandall, James Otis “Doc” 9 Crane, Robert 353 Crassus, Marcus Lacinius 380 Crater, Marvin G. “Judge” 384, 405 Craumer, Ernest W. 38¡, 436 Crawford, Cli›ord Rankin “Pat” 43, 49 Crawford, Ed 522 Crawford, Glenn Martin ¡76, 298 Crawford, James 439 Crawford, Paul 3¡8, 343 Crawford, Rufus “Rufe,” “Jake” 330, 347 Cray, Vernon L. 333, 395 Creager, Bill ¡¡6 Creech, (first name unknown) 2¡ Creech, Bill 325 Creed, Jackie 458 Creedon, Cornelius Stephen “Connie” 2¡¡ Creekmore, Jerrell 253, 292 Creel, Denford 354 Creel, Jack Dalton ¡25, ¡59 Creger, Bernard ¡93 Crespi, Frank Angelo Joseph “Creepy” ¡06, ¡¡5 Crespo, Segundo 356 Cress, Walker ¡96 Crestview, FL 402–3, 423, 439–40 Crider, Orin ¡88 Crider, Russell J. ¡97 Crimian, John M. 345, 390, 4¡0 Crippen, Stephen 7¡ Cristante, Leo Dante 400 Cristello, Jos. L. “Joe” 4¡6 Crittendon, William 60 Crompton, Herbert Bryan “Herb,” “Workhorse” 70, ¡49, 234 Crone, Ed 369

536 Crone, Raymond Haynes “Ray” 286 Cronic, Guinn 203 Cronin, Charles “Chuck” ¡2 Cronin, James 32¡ Cronin, James John ¡2 Cronin, Pete 498 Cronin, Thos. E. “Tom” 406 Crookston, MN 6¡, 70, ¡23, ¡42–43, ¡62, ¡76 Crosby, Jerry L. ¡77, 347, 369, 4¡9 Crosetti, Frank Peter Joseph 23, 32, 44 Cross, Allen 224 Cross, Bill 2¡7 Cross, Don ¡34–35, 20¡ Cross, James 44¡, 457 Cross, Jo›re James “Je› ” ¡28 Cross, John 54 Cross, Len 340 Cross, Robert 386 Cross, Ward 62 Crossley, Clarence ¡8, 39, 57–58, 62, 66 Crosswhite, Jack 78, ¡02, 20¡ Crotts, Harold A. “Hal” 383 Crouch, Jack Albert 20, 35 Crouch, Lester A. 404–5 Croucher, Frank Donald 74, 8¡ Crowder, Joe 286, 326, 368 Crowe, George Daniel 264 64, 297, 320, 389 Crowley, Jerome ¡89 Crowley, LA 305, 353, 398, 420, 453–54 Crues, Rbt. Fulton “Bob” 200, 22¡, 287 Crum, Claire ¡63 Crumpton, Bennie 438 Cruz, Eduardo 374 Cruze, Rbt. D. “Bob “ 32¡, 394, 457, 472 Cuccinello Anthony Francis “Tony” ¡9, 22 Cudd, Charles 25¡ Cuellar, Charles “Charlie” ¡79 Cuellar-Santana, Miguel “Mike” 446 Cuesta, John, Jr. 424 Cueto, Manuel Melo 38 Cuevas, Alejandrino 507 Cuitti, Arthur Edward “Art” 308, 433, 466 Culbreth, E. 38 Cullen, Andrew 206 Culler, Richard Broadus “Dick” ¡37 Cullinane, James 27¡ Cullins, Robert Carleton 242 Cullop, Henry, “Nick,” “Tomato Face” ¡5, 3¡, 55, 72 Cumberland, MD ¡9 Cumby, Tom 294 Cummings, J.T., Jr. 68 Cummings, Robert “Bob” ¡¡3, ¡93 Cunningham, Jos. Robert “Joe” 324 Cunningham, Lee ¡7, 39 Cunningham, Maurice “Moe,” “Mighty” 235, 264 Cuozzo, Al ¡83 Cupp, Charles ¡00 Cupp, James 226

Index Curl, Kedy Austin 458 Curnan, Ronald R. “Mike” 300, 326, 347 Currie, Wm. Cleveland “Bill” 390 Currin, Perry 274 Curry, Basil 494 Curry, Don 60, 66 Curry, George Anthony “Tony” 457, 467, 478 Curtain, Jos. “Joe,” “Iron” 484, 494 Curtain, Roy ¡7 Curtis, Duard “Dan” 87 Curtis, Elwood R. ¡5¡ Curtis, Jack Patrick 460, 480, 490 Curtis, Nick 52¡ Curtwright, Guy Paxton 98, ¡¡4 Cusick, Joseph James ¡¡0 Cutler, Lawrence 426, 458 Cutwright, Larry 503 Cvengros, Michael John “Mike” 58 Cyrulewski, Arthur Richard ¡55–56 Cyrus, David H., Jr., “Dave,” “King” 304 Czekaj, Richard Joseph 424, 432 Dacus, Glen 29, ¡2¡ D’Addario, George 235–36 Daglia, Peter George ¡2 D’Agrosa, Raymond J. 400 Dahlberg, Clinton E. ¡96 Dahlgren, Ellsworth Tenney “Babe” 63 Dahlke, Jerome A. “Jay” 4¡2 Dailey, Sam 58 Dailey, Wm. Garland “Bill” 4¡7, 430 Dale, Jerry Parker “Chip and” 4¡8–¡9 Daley, Gilbert James 337, 347 Daley, Leavitt Leo “Buddy” 352, 408, 429 Daley, Peter Harvey “Pete” 265, 389 Dalkowski, Steve ¡73, 295, 456–57, 466–67, 470, 472, 482–83, 494, 505, 5¡5 DallaBetta, Roger 3¡5 Dallas, Bobby 328 Dallas, TX 24, 5¡, 57, 65, 73, 8¡, 259, 4¡2, 43¡, 447–48, 464, 474–75, 487, 500, 5¡3 Dalrymple, Clayton Errol “Clay” 449 Dalrymple, Jimmy 60, 98 DaLuga, Frank ¡¡7 Daly, Jerry 303 Damaska, Jack Lloyd 503 Damato, Jos. D., “Joe” 200, 297 Dandridge, Raymond Emmett “Ray” 296 Daney, Lee 28 Danforth, David Charles “Dave” ¡5 Danforth, Larry 505 Daniel, Chas. “Charlie” 523 Daniel, Gene 23¡ Daniels, Bennie 433, 46¡ Daniels, Fred 3¡5 Daniels, Harold Jack (went by

middle name) “Sour Mash” 430 Daniels, Lawrence “Larry” 484, 5¡7 Danielson, Harold 2¡9, 243– 44 Danna, Charles 225 Danna, Jess 225 Danneker, Frank ¡62, ¡94 Danos, Blaise 2¡4 Dantic, O. “Ped” ¡04–5 Dantoni, Donald 442, 455 D’Antoni, Lewis ¡2¡, ¡4¡ Dantonio, John James “Fats” ¡42 Danville, IL ¡¡, 28, 38, ¡76, ¡97–98, 2¡3, 238, 266, 30¡, 339, 363, 406 Danville, VA 69, 78, 89, ¡02, ¡¡7, ¡37, ¡56, ¡94, 240, 262, 299, 324, 350, 372, 394, 4¡6, 435, 45¡, 467 Danyo, John ¡82 Dapper, Cli›ord Roland “Cli› ” 209, 355, 4¡6 Darden, Billy 222 Dargie(wiez), Theodore 42¡ Dark, Alvin 207 Darnell, Rbt. Jack “Bob” 389 Darrah, Clarence T., Jr., “Darrow” 302 Darrow, George ¡6, 57 Dashiell, John Wallace “Wally” ¡8, 44, 85–86 Dashner, Billy Joe 493 Daskalakis, Matthew 448 Daugherty, Ellis 335, 378 Daughtry, Harry 27 Davalillo, Pompeyo Antonio “Yo-Yo” 374 Davalillo, Victor Jose 484–85, 5¡3 Davenport, Don G. 3¡7 Davenport, James Houston “Jim” 420 Davenport, John J. 220, 36¡– 62 Davenport, IA 28–29, 4¡, 53, 58–59, 66, 83, 94, ¡97, 266, 327, 452, 468, 498, 5¡0, 522–23 Daviault, Raymond Joseph Robert 490 David, Samuel B. 3¡9 Davids, “Bob” vii 387 Davidson, Crawford L. 247, 300, 352, 477 Davidson, Douglas A. 385 Davidson, Teddy 496 Davidson, Wm. F. “Billie” 407, 452 Davie, Gerald L. “Jerry” 363, 46¡ Davis, Alfred 403 Davis, Bill (¡B) ¡59 Davis, Bill (OF) ¡¡7 Davis, Bill (P) ¡66 Davis, Bobby 364 Davis, Cecil Austin “Stormy” 48, 62 Davis, Cecil McK. 402 Davis, Charles 305 Davis, Curtis Benton “Curt” 50 Davis, Dave (SS) 453 Davis, Donald “Don” 247, 28¡ Davis, Edward 79

Davis, Eugene (P) ¡¡3, ¡30, ¡5¡ Davis, Eugene E. (3B) 382 Davis, Gene (¡B) 492 Davis, George (OF) 43 Davis, George C. (P) 29¡ Davis, Gerald L. (P) 447 Davis, Greyson ¡55 Davis, Hargrove ¡78, 293 Davis, Harry 62, 88, ¡¡4 Davis, Herman Thomas “Tommie” 458, 475 Davis, Ivan 497, 505 Davis, Jack (OF) ¡08–9 Davis, Jacke Sylvesta 454 Davis, Jackie 467 Davis, James (P) ¡49 Davis, Joe (INF) ¡05 Davis, John (P) 252 Davis, John Humphrey “Red” 307 Davis, John Wilbur “Bud,” “Country” 8, ¡8, 62, 77 Davis, Joseph M. (P) 7¡, 80, ¡¡9, ¡32, ¡63 Davis, Lawrence C. “Crash” ¡96, 2¡2, 240, 350 Davis, Lewis 205, 236, 298, 369 Davis, Lorenzo “Piper” 428 Davis, Marcus 222 Davis, Oran P. 37¡, 393 Davis, Otto 54, 6¡ Davis, Ralph 222, 265 Davis, Robert Brandon “Brandy” 337, 47¡ Davis, Ronald Everette “Ronnie” 5¡6 Davis, Roy 65 Davis, Russell T., Jr., “Russ” 338, 362 Davis, Spencer (Brit Rocker) 278 Davis, Spencer P. 278, 38¡, 402, 423 Davis, Thomas 237 Davis, Thurmond 404 Davis, Van 360, 382, 405 Davis, Wayne M. 425 Davis, Wendell 336 Davis, Willie Henry 48¡, 488 Davis, Woodrow Wilson 90, ¡34 Davison, Jean ¡97 Daviu, (first name unknown, possibly “Lee”?) ¡9 Dawson, Gerthen Luke (went by middle name) 350 Dawson, Hubert Lloyd “Bud” ¡92, 220, 276 Dawson, Jack ¡42 Dawson, NM ¡89 Day, Clyde Henry “Pea Ridge” 22 Day, Donovan F. 36¡ Day, John A. ¡09 Day, Worthington ¡6¡ Dayo, James 370 Dayton, OH ¡7, 25–26, 36–37, 60, 67, 75, 86, 99, ¡¡4, ¡32, ¡53, ¡75, 205, 229, 259–60, 297, 322 Daytona Beach, FL ¡04, ¡20, ¡39, ¡59, ¡82, 202–3, 225, 248, 283, 3¡¡, 335, 359, 38¡, 424–25, 440, 457, 472, 474, 496, 529, 52¡

Index Deakin, Rbt. John “Bob” 448 Deal, Kenneth E. 2¡7, 266, 435 de Alejandro, Marte 437 Dean, Douglas 69, 78 Dean, Ellsworth M. 289, 378 Dean, J.H. ¡39 Dean, Jay Hanna “Dizzy” 35– 36, 45 Dean, John R. “Jack” 332, 378 Dean, Labe 299 Dean, Paul Dee, Jr. 460 Dean, Paul Dee, Sr. 47, 54 DeAngelis, Gene 2¡7 DeBenedetti, Reno G. 392 Debus, Ronald 473 DeBusschere, Dave 5¡5 DeCamp, Max 309 DeCandido, Joe 497–98 DeCarlo, Wm. “Bill” ¡87, 335, 356 Decatur, IL ¡¡, ¡9, 27–28, 39, 74, 96, ¡¡¡, ¡50, ¡7¡, 2¡3, 238, 363, 406, 426, 442, 458, 473, 485, 498, 5¡0, 522 Decker, Rbt. “Bob,” “Double” ¡25, ¡45, ¡64, ¡76 Deem, Peter J. ¡99 Deery, James, Jr. 327, 455 Dees, Chas. Henry “Charlie” 5¡4 Deese, Robert 25¡, 290, 3¡5 DeForge, Bernard, “Barney” ¡24, ¡48, 224 Deforrest, Russell 94 DeFrietas, Walter ¡3¡ DeGennaro, Tony 458 DeGeorge, Salvatore J. “Sal” 327 DeGerick, Mich. Arthur “Mike” 509 DeGraaf, William 457 Degroote, Dan “Dangerous Dan” 454–55 DeHogues, Eduardo 25¡ Deiler, Roman ¡¡7 Deim, Arnie ¡24 Deininger, William J. ¡89 Dejan, Michael Dan “Mike” ¡9¡ DeJarnette, Don 498 DeJohn, John T. ¡60 DeJonghe, Emil 76, 85–86, 98–99 de la Cruz, Tomas “Tommy” ¡47 de la Hoz, Miguel Angel “Mike” 469, 478 Delahanty, “Big Ed” 380 Delancey, William Pinkney “Bill” 53–54 Deland, FL ¡03, ¡04, ¡39, ¡59, ¡82, 203, 225, 248, 283, 3¡¡–¡2, 335–36, 359–60, 38¡ Delaney, John ¡02 de la Torre, Julian “Julio” 330, 376 Delay, Henry “Rain” 222 DeLeon, Felix 5¡9 DeLeon, Luis 459 Delfino, George M. 452 Delgado, Jesus 5¡8 Delgado, Ricardo 507 Del Greco, Rbt. George “Bobby” 408, 475 del Guerico, Thaddeus J. “Teddy” 236, 260, 369, 392 Delis, Juan 489, 502, 5¡4

Delis, Luis 52¡ Delker, Edward Alberts 20, 43 Della Betta, Roger 287 Della Rocca, Dominic 289, 302 Dellasega, John 88, 99–¡00 Deller, Roman ¡36 DelMargo, Lawrence “Larry” 473 Del Monte, Gaspar 424 Delock, Ivan “Ike” 322, 389 DeLong, Rich. “Dick” 520 Del Rio, TX 250, 29¡–92, 307 DelToro, Gaspar “Ferdinand” 228, 337 DeLuca, Al 223–224 DeLuca, Nick ¡87 DeMaestri, Jos. Paul “Joe” 2¡5, 239, 27¡ Demanicor, Frank “Manticore” 86 Demaree, Jos. Franklin “Frank” 64 DeMars, Harold 460 DeMartini, Howard ¡85 DeMartino, Joe 229 DeMasi, Joe 286 Dematteis, Nick 524 DeMatties, Salvatore “Sal” 405 Demby, Daniel 342 Demery, Artis 397 Demeter, Donald Lee “Don” 43¡, 445 Demeter, Stephen “Steve” 394, 4¡0, 463, 474 Demoe, Henry 6, ¡¡ DeMont, Paul K. 360–6¡, 425 Demoran, Al 90 Demoran, Jos. Lewis “Joe” 237 Dempsey, Gary 509, 520 Dempsey, Mike 28 Denison, Jack M. 337, 36¡ Denison, TX 262, 324, 384– 85 Denning, Granville M. “Shamrock” 230, 293, 3¡7, 334 Denning, Otto George 59, 94, ¡94, 274 Dennis, Dave ¡84, 204 Dennis, Gale 498 Dennis, Paige ¡06, ¡22, ¡56 Denniston, Shaun ¡35 Denny, Horace 48¡ Denson, Robert A. “Al” 327 Denver, CO 8, 9, ¡0, ¡3, 35–36, 46, 5¡, ¡89, 225, 26¡, 298, 323, 337, 347–48, 36¡, 370, 392, 409, 428, 445, 46¡, 474, 486–87, 500–¡, 5¡3 DePalo, James W. “Jim” 428 DePhillips, Anthony Andrew “Tony” ¡09 Depperschmidt, Eugene A. “Gene” 325 DePrima, Frank 235 Derenne, Alf 93 Dernback, Allen ¡70 Derr, Carl 485 Derrick, J. Michael 5¡9 Derringer, Paul 3¡ Derrington, Charles James “Jim” 466 Derry, Alva Russell “Russ” ¡27, 257 Derucki, Walter A. 264, 297 DeSilva, Dale Edward 442 Des Moines, IA 8, 9, ¡0, ¡6,

35, 46, 5¡, 58, 83, 94, 2¡0, 235, 26¡, 298, 323, 370, 392, 4¡5, 433, 449, 466, 480, 493, 506 DeSousa, Freddy 3¡2, 353 DeSouza, Carlos 263, 299 DeStefano, Joe 205 DeToia, Jos. “Joe” 235, 304 Detore, George 28, 49, 54 Detweiler, Rbt. “Bob,” “Ducky” 223–24, 247, 28¡, 3¡7 Deutsch, Melvin Elliott ¡69 DeVault, Dan/Don ¡40, ¡60 DeVelis, Tony 344 DeVincenzi, Jack ¡40 DeVito, Vito 2¡0–¡¡ Devlin, Martin P. III 4¡3, 484 Dewald, John W. 426, 469, 505 DeWeese, Malcom ¡34 DeWeese, Norman Beverly ¡49 DeWitt, Clyde E., Jr. 3¡0, 378 DeWitt, Maynard 205, 237–38, 26¡ Dews, Frank ¡90 Dews, Rbt. R. “Bobby,” “Baseball” 2¡2 Dial, Carroll P. “Red” 227, 357, 379–80, 40¡–2, 4¡8, 452–53 Dial, Wm. H. “Bill” 452 Diaz, Amado 245, 363 Diaz, Antonio “Tony” 443 Diaz, Jose 455–56 Diaz, Mario 4¡0–¡¡, 486 Diaz-Pedrosa, Fernandez 4¡¡ Dick, David 265 Dick, Edward 405, 420, 448 Dickens, Guilford L. 430 Dickens, Irvin ¡79, 202, 280 Dickens, Ken 3¡5 Dickerson, Nathaniel 479 Dickey, James 298, 322, 39¡– 92 Dickey, Lloyd 303 Dickey, William Malcolm “Bill” ¡5 Dickinson, John ¡¡3 Dickshot, John Oscar “Johnny” 66 Dickson, Ed Graham 342 Dicochea, Antonio 453 DiCrosta, Wm. “Bill” 470 Didrickson, Art “Babe” ¡03 Diedrick, Robert 290 Die›enbach, Wally ¡52 Diehl, Cleo “Raw” ¡30 Diehl, George Krause ¡7¡ Dieppa, Raul 437 Diester, William M. “Bill” 20 Dietz, Rich. Allen “Dick” 5¡¡– ¡2 Difani, Clarence 2¡0 DiGraziano, Jack ¡92 DiJohnson, Henry A. 306, 330 Dilbeck, Rex O. ¡66–67 Dillard, David Donald “Don” 440, 463 Dillinger, Robert Bernard “Bob” ¡45, ¡58, ¡90, 366 Dillon, John ¡58 Dillon, Stephen Edward “Steve” 52¡ DiLorenzo, Vincent J. “Vince” 323 Dimaggio, Bartolo 35¡ DiMaggio, Jos. Paul “Joe” 55

537 DiMaggio, Vincent Paul 239, 282, 3¡0 Dimaggio, Vincent S. 282 DiMartino, Joseph 245 DiMenna, Sil 294 Dimitriadis, Jim 206 Dineen, Bill 332 Dinges, Vance, Jr. ¡44, ¡65 Dinkle, Gahlen E. 342 DiNubilo, Tony ¡48 Dionisotis, James S. 342 DiPietro, Rbt. Louis Paul “Bob” 2¡6, 234, 260, 322 Di Pippo, Lawrence F. “Larry” 32¡ DiPrima, Frank J. 30¡, 347, 4¡¡ Dittmer, John Douglas “Jack” 32¡, 462 Ditusa, Domenick (Richard?) “Dick” 4¡5, 434 DiVincenzi, Jack ¡20 Dixie 59 Dixon, Cletus Loton 28–29 Dixon, John Craig “Sonny” ¡98, 346 Dixon, Ralph 294 Dixon, Sherwin C. 39¡ Dixon, Walter 358, 426, 439, 453 Dixon, William (C) 382 Dixon, Willie 402 Dixon, Wm. “Bill” 5¡0 Dobbins, Howard 80 Dobbs, Gilbert ¡22 Dobereiner, Gary 485 Dobryzkowski, Walter 520 Dobson, Joseph Gordon “Joe,” “Burrhead” ¡00 Dockins, George Woodrow ¡43, 70 Dodgin, J. Nathaniel “Junior” 255, 3¡9, 364 Dodson, Lee 220 Dogherty, James 452 Dolan, Robert P. “Jack” 337 Doljack, Frank Joseph 50–5¡ Doll, Loren A. 3¡4 Domenichelli, Don R. 450, 465 Dommer, Charles 203 Domzalski, Gene 498, 504 Donabedian, Harry 2¡2 Donaghy, William 3¡7 Donahue, John 6 Donahue, Matthew M. 37 Donald, Richard Atley (known by middle name) 82 Donaldson, Gordon Lancer ¡38 Donaldson, Lance ¡09, ¡26 Donalsonville, GA 423, 439– 40 Donato, Carmine 397–98 Dondero, Leonard Peter ¡6 Donna, TX 292 Donnelly, Edward J. 378–79 Donnelly, Edward Vincent 454, 474–75 Donnelly, Sylvester Urban “Blix” ¡20, ¡39, ¡77 Donner, Bernard 222 Donohue, James Thomas “Jim” 465 Donoso, Lino 388, 446 Donovan, Lawrence 366 Donovan, Rich. Edward “Dick” 39¡ Donovan, Ted 25, 36

538 Donovan, Tom 456 Dooley, Cli›ord Mike 309 Dooley, Joseph ¡48 Doolittle, Marland 2¡2–¡3 Dopperschmidt, Eugene 284 Dore, Carlos 469, 508 Dorin, Henry J. “Hank” ¡79 Dorman, Charles “Bus” ¡07, ¡45 Dorman, Charles William “Charlie” 2¡ Dorman, Frederick “Dutch” 46, ¡23, ¡42, ¡68 Dorney, Dan/Don ¡¡6, ¡3¡ Dorton, M. Lamar “Larry” 242, 4¡6 Doss, Wendell 407, 422 Dosser, Barry C. 3¡5 Dossey, William L. 398 Dothan, AL 88, ¡00, ¡¡5, ¡34, ¡54, ¡78, 222, 278, 334, 358, 380–8¡, 402–3, 423, 439–40, 47¡, 483, 496, 520 Dotlich, Joe 96, ¡¡¡, 228 Dotterer, Henry John “Dutch” 352, 447 Dotterer, Thos. “Tom” 469 Dougan, William Howard 4¡6 Douglas, Charles William “Whammy” 404 Douglas, Leon 5¡¡ Douglas, Wayne 2¡5 Douglas, AZ 267–68, 332, 374–75 Douglas, GA 3¡3, 360, 405 Douthat, Robert Paul “Dick,” “I” ¡34 Dove, Pat ¡39, ¡59, ¡70, 203 Dover, DE ¡¡8–¡9, ¡38, ¡57, 202, 223, 247 Dowdy, Herman “Apple Pan” 343 Dowie, “Red” (first name unknown) 78 Dowling, William 3¡6, 34¡ Downer, Ernest 97 Downing, Alphonso Erwin “Al” 504 Downs, Benjamin E. 353, 4¡¡ Downs, Vincent 364 Downs, Wilburn ¡78 Doxtator, Melvin “The Intoxicator” 3¡8 Doyle, Bill 250 Drake, Ben C., Jr. ¡77 Drake, Jay W. 378 Drake, Samuel Harrison “Sammy” 443–44 Drake, Solomon Louis “Solly” 332, 444, 46¡ Drakos, Ted 230 Drapcho, Edward “Ed” 465 Drapp, David Lee “Dave” 424 Drees, George 347 Drefs, Herman H. ¡65 Dreisewerd, Clement John “Clem” 75, ¡53, 207 Dressen, Bill 33 Dressen, Charles Walter “Chuck” 56–57 Dressen, Lawrence M. “Larry” 435 Dresser, Richard 2¡¡ Drew, Daniel T. ¡78 Drews, Frank John ¡20 Drews, Roy 336 Driggers, Rbt. “Bobby” 404–5

Index Drilling, Rbt. Francis “Bob” 2¡9 Driskill, Alexander 267 Dropo, Walter “Moose” 233 Drost, John 54 Drugmond, Joe ¡9 Drummer, Donald 469 Drummond, Wm. “Bill,” “Bulldog” 4¡9 Drummondville, QUE 400–¡ Drury, Richard 286 Dry, Mel ¡6¡ Drysdale, Don 5¡2 Drysdale, John 5¡2 Duarte, Alfred (Albert?) 22¡ Dublin, GA 3¡3, 360, 404–5, 472, 52¡–22 Dubuque, IA 28–29, 4¡, 53, 406, 426–27, 442, 458, 473, 498, 5¡0, 522–23 Duby, Robert ¡66 Duckworth, James “Jim” 456 Ducote, Layton 480, 490 Duda, Walter “Zippidy” ¡73 Dudas, Albert ¡66 Dudas, Allen ¡88 Dudick, John 7¡ Dudley, Elzie Clyse ¡5 Duex, William ¡67 Du›, Gordon ¡4¡ Du›alo, James Francis “Jim” 478, 49¡ Du›y, Eugene 508 Du›y, Marucis 28 DuFour, William 463 Dugas, Augustin Joseph “Gus” 35–36, ¡9¡ Duke, Willie Eleanor 73, 206, 2¡6–¡7 Duluth, MN 7¡, 92, ¡07, ¡23, ¡42, ¡62–63, ¡76, 243, 274, 306, 33¡, 354–55, 377, 399, 438, 454, 469, 482, 494, 508, 5¡9 Dunbar, Ralph 84 Duncan, Chandler ¡23, ¡62 Duncan, Higgins “Scotty” 3¡3 Duncan, James 342 Duncan, LaMonte ¡52 Duncan, OK 253 Dunkovich, Walter J. 3¡5, 339 Dunlap, Frank ¡96, 234 Dunlap, Jim 497 Dunlap, Paul 82 Dunlop, Harry 493 Dunn, Bernard ¡43 Dunn, Cecil “Dynamite” 78, 89 Dunn, J.C. 289, 38¡, 406, 425, 443, 459, 47¡ Dunn, James William (went by middle name) 422 Dunn, John 45¡–52 Dunn, Robert 273 Dunn, Robert 440 Dunn-Erwin, NC 206, 230, 253, 293 Dunne, Raymond G. “Ray” 283, 3¡¡, 335, 359 Dupon, Barton 423, 44¡, 469, 479 Duran, Jess M. 422 Duran, Julio 485 Durango, DUR, MEX 437, 453 Duren, Rinold George “Ryne” 295, 305, 322, 50¡

Duretto, Robert J. “Bob” 4¡6– ¡7, 45¡–52 Durham, Joe Vann 373 Durham, Robert 66 Durham, NC ¡2, 52, 59, 83, 95, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡69, ¡99, 2¡7, 240, 262, 324, 350, 372, 394, 4¡6, 450–5¡, 467, 479, 492, 504, 5¡6, 525 Durika, Andrew F. 3¡7, 385 Durkin, James 3¡2 Durock, Michael, “Mike” 304 Durrett, Elmer, Jr. ¡86–87 Durst, Cedric Montgomery 64 Durst, Stephen F. 405 Dusak, Ervin Frank “Four Sack” ¡¡7, ¡59 Dustal, Rbt. Andrew “Bob” 44¡, 479 Dutt, Marvin 5¡2 Dvorak, Herman/Henry ¡23, ¡64–65 Dwyer, Arthur 238 Dwyer, Billy 226 Dwyer, Don 2¡¡ Dwyer, Joe “Double” 46, 56, 72, 8¡ Dyck, James Robert “Jim” 200, 409 Dye, Benjamin A. 420 Dyer, Vaughn 382–83 Dyke, Paul ¡7¡–72 Dykes, Charles 2¡6 Dziadek, Barton 480–8¡ Dzingelowski, Mike 335 Dzurira, John ¡07 Eaddy, Donald Johnson 49¡, 5¡4 Eads, Walter 2¡9 Eakin, Oliver Kay (went by middle name) ¡77 Eames, Paul E. 36¡ Early, Jacob Willard “Jake” ¡¡0 Earp, Howard ¡02, ¡¡8 Eason, Roger 444 Eason, Ron 444 East, Carlton W. 40 East Dixie 67, 75, 98 East Grand Forks, MN 6¡ East Texas 85, ¡3¡, ¡52, 272 Easter, Luscious Luke (went by middle name) 257, 409, 429, 446, 46¡ Easterbrook, Tom ¡00 Easterling, Paul ¡¡, 65, 8¡–82 Eastern 6, ¡4, 25, 33, 44, ¡09, ¡26, ¡46, ¡95, 209, 234, 260, 297, 322, 346, 368, 39¡, 4¡3, 432, 448, 464, 478, 49¡, 503, 5¡5 Eastern Shore ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡38, ¡57, ¡80, 202, 223, 247, 28¡ Eastham, Leo 235, 263, 329, 354 Eastman, GA 285, 3¡3, 360, 383 Easton, John 465 Easton, MD ¡80, 202, 247, 28¡ Eastwood, Harry 269 Eaton, Howard ¡05–6 Eaton, Joe 202–3 Eaton, Sam ¡58 Eau Claire, WI 6¡, 70, 92, ¡07, ¡¡3, ¡23–24, ¡42, ¡76, 243, 274, 306, 330, 355, 399, 42¡,

438, 454, 469–70, 494, 507, 5¡9 Eaves, Vallie Ennis ¡¡4, 35¡, 372–73 Ebnet, Ambrose 92 Ebranyl, William ¡07 Echevarria, Orlando 330 Echeverria, Jose “El Pacitos” 489 Echeverria, Manuel 244, 276, 308 Eck, Ken ¡¡6 Eckersley, Dennis 32¡ Eckert, Albert 28–29 Eckhardt, Oscar “Ox” 34–35, 50, 56, 63, 388 Eckland (Ecklund), Wm. R. “Bill” 3¡5, 344–45 Economides, Floyd A. 305 Edens, John 3¡7 Edenton, NC 343, 358 Edgley, Joseph 459 Edinger, Arthur “Art” 305 Edmonton, ALB, CAN 370 Edwards, Arthur George 25¡ Edmunds, Arthur J., Jr., “Art” 3¡6 Edwards, Delmar T. 379 Edwards, Earl 225 Edwards, Henry ¡7¡ Edwards, Howard “Doc” 483, 50¡ Edwards, Jenning B.(Bryan?) “Jimmy” 240, 350, 372 Edwards, John Alban “Johnny” 48¡, 489 Edwards, Richard 494 Edwards, Wayne 52¡ Edy, Roswell ¡29 Egan, Rich. “Dick” 483, 5¡3 Eggert, William 23¡, 236 Egnatic, Joe ¡54, ¡76 Ehlers, Ed 2¡3 Ehlers, Omer D. 302 Ehlman, Charles F. 30¡ Eichrodt, Fred 34 Eikenberg, George 306 Eiland, (first name unknown) “No Man Is An” 73 Eilers, Dave 495 Eisenmann, Charles 233 Eisenstadt, Harry 75, 82 Eisiminger, Robert A. ¡86 Eisle, Albert 504 Eissler, William 42 El Centro, CA 2¡9–20, 244, 276, 308, 33¡–32, 356 El Dorado, AR 39–40, 48, 60, 67, 75, 85, 98, ¡30, ¡52, ¡74, 27¡–72, 329, 376, 4¡9–20 El Paso, TX 48, ¡0¡, ¡¡6, ¡35, ¡5¡, ¡7¡–72, 2¡5, 268–69, 332, 374–75, 4¡8, 5¡¡, 5¡4–¡5 Eldred, Ross C. “Brick” 8–9, 388 Eldridge, James Winfield 356–57, 379–80, 40¡ Elendil, son of Amandil 278 Elia, Lee 486, 502 Elizabeth City, NC 3¡8, 343 Elizabethton, TN ¡00–¡, ¡¡6, ¡34–35, ¡55–56, ¡78–79, ¡92, 20¡, 222, 279 Elkin, NC 279–80, 340 Elko, Andrew C. 30¡ Elko, Peter “Pete” 27¡

Index Ellen, John 496 Ellington, Paul ¡94–95 Elliott, Dave 3¡3 Elliott, Eugene “Gene” 454, 467 Elliott, Glenn 207, 23¡ Elliott, Harry Lewis 388 Elliott, James Thomas “Jumbo” 9 Elliott, Lawrence Lee “Larry” 473, 479 Elliott, Owen ¡02 Elliott, Rbt. Irving “Bob” ¡¡0 Elliott, Willard 200 Ellis, G. 27 Ellis, Ralph ¡60, ¡70 Ellis, S. “Sonny” 20 Ellis, Ted 442 Ellison, Herbert Spencer “Babe” 7, 388 Elmira, NY 37, 47, 52, 56, 64, 72, 82, 94, ¡09, ¡26, ¡46–47, 209, 322, 346, 368, 39¡, 4¡3, 459, 474, 486, 5¡¡, 5¡5 Elmore, Vertis N. 400 Elson, Charles 45¡ Elston, Donald Ray “Don” 295, 355 Elston, Richard 82–83 Emaar, Duane 456 Emaar, Juane 458 Emery, Calvin, Wayne 480, 502 Emmer, Frank William ¡0, 2¡ Emporia, VA 254, 294, 3¡8, 343 Endicott, William F. “Bill” ¡20, ¡49 Engel, Oscar 242 Engel, Ray G. 44¡ Engle, Charles August “Charlie 57, 63, 65 Engle, Rbt. H. “Bob” 222 Englebright, Curtis 337 Engleman, James E. 368 English, Charles Dewie 53, 65, 73, ¡9¡ English, Gilbert Raymond “Gil” ¡94 Enid, OK 309 Ennis, Robert 205 Enos, William Edward “Willie” ¡76, 2¡6, 28¡, 3¡¡ Ensenada, CA 356 Enterprise, AL 87, 222, 278, 334 Epperly, Albert Paul “Al” 232 Epperson, Marshall E. 329, 376, 397, 420 Epps, Aubry Lee ¡¡¡ Erath, George S. 3¡¡ Erautt, Jos. Michael “Joe” ¡52, 233, 345 Ereno, Joe ¡2¡ Erickson, Donald 464 Erickson, Edwin 383 Erickson, Harold James “Hal” 270, 304 Erickson, Henry 45 Erickson, J. Stuart 303 Erickson, John 508–9 Erie, PA ¡7, 25–26, 36–37, ¡32, ¡75, ¡99, 242–43, 273– 74, 306, 330, 427, 443, 459, 474, 486, 498, 5¡¡, 523–24 Ermer, Calvin Coolidge 2¡4, 260, 3¡¡ Ermisch, Howard 24¡

Ernaga, Frank John 397 Erps, Rbt. “Bob” 326–27, 352 Erskine, Carl Daniel 259 Ertle, Louis “Turtle” 506 Ertman, Henry 260 Ervin, Donald F. 362 Ervin, Rick “Meester Reeek” vii Erwin, Ralph 298 Erwin, Roderick 70 Erwin, TN ¡55, ¡93, ¡94, 230 Escalante, Earl Peter 270, 397 Escalante, Eduardo 437, 5¡8 Escalara, Saturnino 322 Escarra, John 353 Escobar, Dan 78, 98, ¡50 Eshoo, Joseph 252 Espericueta, Aurelio 438 Espino, Hector 497, 5¡4 Espinola, James R. 422 Espiricueta, Aurelio 276 Esquivas-Mata, Ruben 5¡4 Esry, Dick 4¡ Essegian, Chas. Abraham “Chuck” 396, 435, 448 Essic, Frank 245 Estalella-Ventoza, Roberto “Bobby” 72, 95, ¡¡0 Estell, Tom 99 Esterbrook, Tom ¡¡6 Estevis, Camilo 5¡6 Estrada, James ¡72, ¡92 Estrella, Antonio 24¡ Etchison, Clarence Hampton “Buck” ¡6¡, 305–6 Ethier, Pierre Leo 3¡7, 448–49 Etten, A.P. 6 Etten, Nicholas Raymond Thomas “Nick” 84, 95, ¡¡0, 296 Eufaula, AL 358 Eugene, OR 335, 365, 4¡6–¡7, 45¡–52, 468, 480, 492, 505, 5¡7 Eury, Glen 336–37 Evangeline 69, 78, 89, ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡58, ¡8¡, 224, 272, 354, 397, 420, 453 Evanik, James 34¡ Evans, Allen 363 Evans, Arnold ¡0¡, ¡43 Evans, Art 84, 95 Evans, Bill 299 Evans, D.T. ¡20 Evans, Earl 206 Evans, Ernest 455 Evans, Gordon 2¡9 Evans, Hilliary “Moe” 358 Evans, Russell Earl “Red” 73 Evans, William 52¡ Evans, Wm. J. “Bill” 394 Evans, Wm. Lawrence “Bill” 200 Evansville, IN ¡9, 28, 39, ¡¡¡–¡2, ¡28–29, ¡50, ¡7¡, ¡97–98, 2¡3, 238, 266, 30¡, 327, 352, 373–74, 395, 4¡7, 436, 452 Everett, A.B. 230 Evergreen, AL ¡¡5 Ewaniak, John 225 Ewin, Donley “Don” 472 Ewing, Forrest “Buck” 54, 70 Eyrich, George 236 Fabela (Favela) Martinez, Jaime 507

Faber, Joe 35–36 Faberlle, Hector R. 360 Facchini, Alfred P. 4¡3 Face, ElRoy Leon 3¡6, 323, 348, 430 Fackler, Earl S., Jr. 425 Fahr, Gerald W. 228, 250 Fair, Woodrow “Woody” 88, ¡38, ¡58, ¡8¡, ¡99, 240, 262, 299, 36¡ Fairbury, NE 29, 42, ¡06 Fairly, Carl 75, ¡¡0, ¡27–28 Fairly, Ronald Ray 488 Fairman, Edward D. “Dave” 29¡ Fairmont, WV ¡9 Falconi, Frank ¡¡6 Falk, Ray N. 9 Falk, Robert R. 220, 277 Fall River, MA ¡96 Fallon, George 94, ¡26 Falls, Jack Craig 374, 393, 499 Faloppino, Guido Ernest 308 Fandozzi, Michael “Mike” J. 40¡, 422, 458–59 Fanok, Harry “Flamethrower” 503 Fanovich, Frank 232 Fantuzzi, Al 456 Far West 28¡, 3¡0, 334 Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN 70, 92, ¡07, ¡23, ¡42–43, ¡62, 274, 330–3¡, 355, 377, 397, 42¡, 454, 469–70, 482, 494 Farless, Samuel 404 Farley, Rbt. Jacob “Bob” 469 Farmer, Jack 70 Farmer, James K. 385 Farrar, Charles ¡59 Farrar, William 380 Farrell, L. Francis ¡5, 25, 47 Farrell, Paul T. 34¡ Farrick, Bob 279 Farrington, Albert “Duke” 97, ¡¡2 Farson, George 52¡ Fash, Herb ¡25, ¡64 Fassler, Leonard 3¡7 Faszholz, Eugene R. “Gene” 26¡, 303–4, 395 Faszholz, John E. 389 Faucett, John T. 4¡5 Faugher, Allen “Collie” 378 Faulkner, Kenny 496 Fausett, Rbt. Shaw “Buck,” “Leaky” 57, 22¡ Faust, Floyd H. 404 Fayetteville, AR 69, 77, 88, ¡0¡, ¡¡7, ¡36, 202, 2¡4, 238, 299, 324, 370, 394–95, 4¡6, 435 Fear, Luverne 298 Feathers, Beattie 90, ¡92 Featherstone, Lee 508 Featherstone, Robert F. 254–55, 3¡9, 344, 379 Fedak, Julius Eugene “AckAck” 385, 399 Fedak, Michael 523 Federalsburg, MD ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡57, ¡80, 202, 224, 247, 28¡ Federo›, Alfred “Al” 229, 388 Fedoris, Charles 2¡7 Fehrenbacher, Hal ¡34 Feinberg, Edward ¡02–3 Felber, Oscar ¡7

539 Felderman, Marvin ¡07, ¡44 Feldhaus, Allen 52¡ Feldman, Harry ¡23, ¡34 Felix, Cal 220 Feller, Jack L. 423, 45¡, 465 Feller, Robert “Bob” ¡73 Fenelon, Edward “Ed” 295, 3¡9 Fenn, Harry 459 Fenner, Robert 42, 49, ¡66 Feraco, Ray 2¡¡ Ferell, Beverley 79 Ferens, Stanley ¡60, ¡69 Feret, Leo V. ¡67–68 Fergunson-Martinez (also appeared as Ferguson) Leonardo 459, 469, 52¡ Ferguson, Dooley 2¡ Ferguson, Price ¡65 Ferguson, Vincent 522 Feriancek, Len 339 Fernandez, Bernardo ¡79, 2¡8, 24¡, 263, 299 Fernandez, Blas 364, 377 Fernandez, Froilan “Nanny” 23¡, 256 Fernandez, Lorenzo 473 Fernandez, Manuel 2¡8 Fernandez, Miguel “Becerril” 489 Fernandez, Roberto 260, 276, 299, 379, 40¡, 4¡8 Fernandez-Perez, Humberto “Chico” 33¡, 389–90, 4¡0 Ferrara, Alfred John “The Bull” 494, 502 Ferrara, Salvatore 480 Ferrarese, Donald Hugh “Don” 276, 303, 4¡2 Ferrell, Beverly “Red” 90 Ferrell, George 66, 74, 83, ¡27, ¡48, ¡79 Ferrell, Hugh 48 Ferrell, Major Kirby ¡¡3 Ferrell, Richard Benjamin “Rick” ¡3 Ferrell, Tom 37 Ferrell, Virgil 289 Ferrell, Wesley Cheek “Wes” ¡9, ¡79, 254–55 Ferriss, David Meadow “Boo” 296 Ferro, Amacio 363 Fesh, John ¡44–45 Fessette, Lester H. 396 Fessler, John ¡80 Fest, Justin ¡24 Fette, Louis Henry William ¡6 Fiala, Walter A. 205 Fiallo, Fabio 48¡–82 Fiarito, Andrea “Tony” 22¡ Fiarito, Henry T. 53–54, 60, 67 Fichter, Charles ¡42 Fieldale, VA 69, 78, 89 Fields, Charles 457 Fields, Stroud 87 Fields, W.C. 206 Figard, Gordon L. 378 Figueroa, William 375, 399 Filchok, Frank ¡40 Filicchia, Anth. “Tony” 486 Filipowicz, Steve 2¡¡ Filkins, Les 300 Filo, Edward Paul ¡42 Fincher, William 457 Finck, Lloyd ¡52

540 Finders, Wendell ¡45, 2¡8 Findlay, OH ¡24, ¡63, ¡86 Fine, Thomas Morgan “Tom” ¡73, ¡95, 368 Finger, Thomas H. “Tom,” “Flinger” ¡25, ¡8¡ Finigan, James Leroy “Jim” 249, 277, 368 Fink, Bob “Mike” 269 Finlator, Buck 38 Finn, James E. “Mickey” 289, 374 Finnegan, Frank 2¡5 Finney, Louis Klopsche 46, 50 Fiocchi, Robert G. 338 Fiora, William ¡75 Fiore, Carl ¡74 Fiore, Emil 470, 482 Firpo, Anthony “Tony,” “Wild Bull” ¡50 Fiscalini, John 298 Fischer, Arnold 255–56 Fischer, Charles William “Carl” 22, 2¡3 Fischer, Henry “Hank” 493 Fishburn, Walter J. 40¡ Fishe, Eddie Gene 488 Fisher, Albert Ben 64 Fisher, George 22 Fisher, James 78 Fisher, Ken 456 Fisher, Lawrence “Babe” 26, 52 Fisher, Lloyd C. ¡86 Fisher, Mel 267 Fisher, Reuben ¡22 Fister, Rogers A. 378 Fitch, Jorge 502 Fitchburg, MA 6 Fitterer, Leo Simon 97 Fitz Gerald, Edw. Raymond “Ed” 208, 296 Fitzgerald, Howard Chumney 35 Fitzgerald, Hubert (?) “Hubie” 72 Fitzgerald, John R. 377, 4¡6 Fitzgerald, Lou 342, 398 Fitzgerald, Ray 33 Fitzgerald, Thomas 439–40 Fitzgerald, William 25 Fitzgerald, GA 285, 3¡3, 360, 382, 404, 457–58 Fitzpatrick, Don ¡93 Fitzpatrick, John 35 Flagler, Walt ¡64 Flair, Alert Dell ¡46, 209 Flanagan, Chris ¡¡9 Flanigan, Edward 303, 357 Flanigan, Pat 54 Flaskamper, Raymond Harold “Roy” 45 Flaughter, Louie 392 Fleischmann (Sometimes as “Fleishman”), Oscar ¡¡4, ¡30 Fleitas, Abelardo 357 Fleitas, Andy 296 Fleitas-Husta, Angel Felix 298 Fleming, Doug L. 404 Fleming, Leslie Fletchard “Bill” ¡¡2 Fleming, Leslie Harvey “Les” 89, 232, 320 Fleming/Flemming, Frederick G. 39¡ Flender, Ron 5¡6

Index Flesland, Arthur ¡80 Fletcher, Glen ¡24 Fletcher, Raymond “Ray” 204, 264 Fletcher, Robert ¡97 Flick, Lewis “Lew” ¡¡6, ¡55, ¡78, ¡92, ¡94, 288, 339 Flint, MI ¡53, ¡74–75, 259, 297 Flipowicz, Stephen Charles “Flip” 236 Flippen, Conrad 79, ¡58 Flood, Curtis Charles “Curt” 435, 449, 476 Flood, Raymond Edward 94 Flora, William ¡02 Florence, Paul 43 Florence, SC 238, 267, 302 Flores, Aaron 5¡4 Flores, Adolfo 497, 507 Flores, Alejandro 507 Flores, Baldemar 5¡8 Flores, Jesus Sandoval “Jesse” ¡¡6, 258 Flores, Mario 453 Florida East Coast ¡58, ¡8¡, ¡89 Florida International 2¡7, 24¡, 263, 299 Florida State ¡03, ¡20, ¡39, ¡59, ¡82, 202, 225, 248, 282, 3¡¡, 335, 359, 38¡, 424, 440, 457, 462, 484, 496, 498, 509, 52¡ Flowers, Bennett J. “Ben” 4¡0 Flowers, Julian 30 Flowers, Okey 280 Floyd, Cli› 360 Floyd, Leslie ¡¡3, ¡49 Flynn, Roland 37 Fodge, Eugene Arlan “Gene,” “Suds” ¡8¡, 4¡5 Fogg, Floyd 204, 238 Fogleman, Cecil 359 Foiles, Henry Lee “Hank” 389 Foley, Pat 508 Folkes, Fred 229, 236 Fond du Lac, WI ¡67–68, ¡89, 23¡, 256, 295, 3¡9, 344, 365, 387 Fondy, Dee Virgil 2¡2 Fontana, William 485 Forbes, William 362 Ford, Dewey 39 Ford, Donnie L. 362 Ford, Edwin “Whitey” 236, 260 Ford, John 340 Ford, Willard S., Jr. 356 Ford, Wm. J. “Billy” (3B) 252, 275 Ford, Wm. James “Billy Joe” (2B) 4¡6, 435, 45¡ Foreman, Charles 74 Forest City, NC 255, 386, 499 Forgay, William 386 Forline, Michael T. “Mike” 262, 324, 350 Fornieles-Torres, Jose Miguel “Mike” 330 Forrest, Biily Joe 338 Forsyth, Cannie Theo 279, 330 Forsythe, Norman 504 Fort Lauderdale, FL ¡58, ¡82, 24¡, 263, 299, 52¡ Fort Pierce, FL ¡58, ¡82 Fort Smith, AR 20, 47, ¡¡5, ¡33–34, ¡77, 200, 277, 357

Fort Walton Beach, FL 380–8¡, 402, 423, 439–40, 455, 47¡, 483, 496, 509, 520 Fort Wayne, IN ¡7, 25, 36, 57, 74 Fort Worth, TX 24, 35, 45, 73, 8¡, 233, 259, 298, 4¡2, 43¡, 464, 474–75, 487, 5¡3 Forte, Charles “Fabian” 499 Fortin, Jos. Leo “Joe” 309, 357, 4¡8 Fortune, Garrett Reese “Gary” 6 Forwood, Walter ¡80 Foster, Duell 382 Foster, Jim 335 Foster, Lloyd 27¡ Foster, Ronald 383 Fostoria, OH 92–93, ¡07–8, ¡24, ¡63, ¡86 Foth, Gordon P. 96, ¡68 Fought, Rich. “Dick” 286, 3¡9 Foust, J. Louis 3¡8 Fouts, Paul 205 Fowler, C. Edward “Ed” 229, 239 Fowler, Dave 334 Fowler, Grover 202, 223, 246 Fowler, John Arthur “Art” ¡94, 296, 368, 487 Fowler, Joseph Chester “Chet,” “Boob” 34–35 Fox, Charles Francis “Charlie” 222, 274, 399 Fox, Ervin “Pete” 5¡ Fox, Jacob Nelson “Nellie” 235 Fox, Lewis 205 Fox, Pete 297 Fox, Ralph ¡44 Fox, Willard 469 Fox, William Louis 249, 407 Fox Cities, WI 468, 480, 494, 505–6; see also Appleton Foy, Ceferino 473 Foytack, Paul Eugene 306 Fracchia, Donald A. “Dan” 302 Frailey, Donald 45¡–52 Fralick, Warren 77 France, Lawrence, “Vive La” 76 Franchi, Frank “Frenchy” 470, 498 Francis, William D. 400 Franck, Ralph 30¡ Francoline, James 3¡7 Francona, John Patsy”Tito” 377 Frank, Morris 284 Franklin, Murray ¡2¡ Franklin, VA 254, 294, 3¡8 Franks, Herman Louis 76 Franks, Louis Dean (went by middle name) 329, 37¡, 42¡ Franks, William 243 Franson, Carl 283–84 Frantz, Arthur F. ¡99 Frantz, Karl 498 Frantz, Vernon E. 303 Frasier, Victor Patrick 24–25 Frayde, Guillermo 5¡8 Frazier, Foy Francis 20 Frazier, Joe ¡95 Frazier, Keith F. ¡72 Frazier, Sheppard “Shep” 463 Frederick, John Henry ¡5 Fredericks, Harry 295

Freehan, Wm. “Bill” 5¡3 Freels, James 322 Freels, Robert 226 Freeman, Harold ¡24 Freeman, Herbert ¡38 Freeman, Lee 460 Freese, Eugene Lewis “Gene” 382, 390 Freese, George Walter 323, 390, 427, 462, 475 Freese, Wm. C. “Bill” 245, 297 Fregosi, James Louis “Jim” 500 Freitas, Antonio “Tony” 33, 44, 304, 328, 353, 375–76 Fremont, OH 93, ¡08, ¡24, ¡63, ¡86 French, Donald 74 French, Luther ¡5¡ French, Raymond Edward 8, 50 French, Walter Edward 45, 57, 65 Fresh, Leonard “Lemony” ¡43 Fresnillo, ZAC, MEX 437, 453, 5¡8 Fresno, CA ¡72, ¡92, ¡98, 2¡6, 239, 270, 304, 328, 353, 375, 397, 4¡9, 436–37, 453, 469, 48¡, 494, 506, 5¡7 Frey, Charles 265 Frey, Charles H. 326 Frey, James G. “Jim” 3¡5, 327, 39¡, 447 Frey, Linus 56–57 Friar, Delbert G. 30¡ Fricano, Marion 265, 345, 475 Frick, Phil 263 Fridley, James Riley “Jim” 267, 428, 463, 474 Friend, Owen 2¡3, 389 Frierson, Lou 67, 98 Frierson, Robert Lawrence “Buck” 98–99, 349 Fries, Bill 443 Fries, Clayton ¡22 Fries, Thos. “Tom” 5¡¡ Frisina, John 252 Frisinger, Jack 226 Fritsch, Lyle G. ¡88 Fronduto, Andy 288–89 Fruman, Zelig ¡93 Frye, Walter T. “Teapot” ¡79, 2¡7, 240, 262, 350 Fryer, Joseph A. ¡3¡–¡32 Fuchs, William “Bill” 93, ¡53, 202–3 Fuentes-Peat, Rigoberto “Tito” 52¡ Fugerson, Max ¡38 Fugit, Paul “Tempus” ¡0¡, ¡28, ¡49 Fuhr, Oscar Lawrence 5¡ Fullenwider, Emmett ¡46, ¡67 Fuller, John 420 Fuller, Jos. E. “Joe” 374, 39¡–92 Fuller, Milo 495 Fullerton, Curtis Hooper 8¡ Fulton, Robert “Steamboat” 284 Fulton, KY ¡05, ¡2¡, ¡40, ¡60, ¡86, 204, 227, 286, 3¡4, 338, 362, 383, 405, 426 Fultz, Charles George (went by middle name) 225, 283, 3¡2 Fundora, Raoul V. 38¡

Index Funge, Rbt. “Bob” 495 Funk, Arthur ¡30, ¡73 Funk, Charles 2¡7 Funk, Elias Calvin “Liz” 9–¡0, 23 Funk, Ernest G. “Ernie” 249, 260, 297 Funk, Franklin Ray “Frank” 42¡, 488 Funk, Harold 45 Funk, Jerry 5¡9 Fuqua, Roger 40 Fuquay Springs, NC 206 Furlong, William Donald 29¡ Fusselman, Lester LeRoy 2¡0 Futch, Ike 485, 493–94 Gabler, Glen James 47 Gabler, John 29 Gabler, John Richard 46¡ Gabler, Wm. Louis “Bill” 328, 352, 464 Gabor, Don “Zsa-Zsa” 334 Gabrielson, Leonard “Len” 49¡ Gadaska, George 242 Gaddis, Walley 283 Gadsden, AL ¡¡¡, ¡70, ¡97, 2¡3, 237, 266, 30¡ Ga›ney, George 48¡ Gagliano, Philip 5¡3 Gagne, Greg 50¡ Gaines, Arnesta Joe (went by middle name) 479 Gaines, Jonas G. 40¡ Gainesville, FL ¡04, ¡20, ¡39, ¡59, ¡82, 202–3, 225, 248, 282–83, 3¡¡–¡2, 360, 424, 440, 472 Gainesville, TX 324, 385, 407 Gaiser, Carl ¡83–84 Galasso, Ed ¡65 Galata, D. Raul C. 4¡0 Galavan, Phil 38 Galax, VA 20¡, 223, 246–47, 279–80 Galen, Arthur ¡48 Galeria, A.F. “Chick” 67, ¡¡3 Gales, Bob “Stormy” 224, 273 Galey, Bob 226 Galios, George ¡72 Galioto, Joe 230 Galipeau, Oscar ¡62 Gallagher, Douglas 502 Gallagher, Joseph Emmett “Muscles” 83 Gallardo, Francisco 24¡, 326 Galle (Galaszewski), Stanley John ¡28, ¡50 Gallivan, Phillip 2¡, 44 Galveston, TX 5¡, 57, 65, 73, 8¡–82, 305, 350–5¡, 372–73, 393–94 Gamble, Lee Jesse 84 Gann, Clarence ¡53 Gann, William Clarence 250 Gannon, John J. 385 Gannon, Walter 54, 6¡ Ganoe, Garfield ¡2¡ Ganus, J. Don 5¡0 Ganzel, Foster Pirie “Babe” 49 Garbark, Michael “Mike” 7¡– 72 Garbe, Wm. Carl, Jr., “Bill” 270, 375 Garber, Rbt. Mitchell “Bob” 392 Garbowski, Alexander 234

Garchar, Andrew ¡05, ¡2¡ Garcia, David 295, 3¡9, 345, 365, 38¡, 425 Garcia, Edward Miguel “Mike” ¡98, 209, 233 Garcia, Humberto 287 Garcia, Jose 397–98, 420, 476 Garcia, Leandro 244 Garcia, Luis “Camaleon” 355, 463, 476, 489, 502, 5¡4 Garcia, Reinold 52¡ Garcia, William 458 Garcia-Cruz, Diego Mario “Venado” 438 Garcia-Mauricio, Nicolas Garcia-Uzcanga, Vinicio 268, 409, 489, 502, 5¡4 Gardella, Alfred Stephan ¡30 Gardner, Bob 273 Gardner, Bruce 506 Gardner, Glen 330 Gardner, Jerry Wickham ¡92 Gardner, Larry ¡53 Gardner, Miles ¡44 Gardner, Nelson 520 Gardner, Raymond Vincent ¡5 Gardner, Robert ¡99 Gardner, William Frederick “Billy” ¡95, 298, 409 Garguilo, Alex J. 440 Garibaldi, Arthur Edward 56 Garland, Louis Lyman 64 Garland, Maurice 363 Garland, Wm. C. “Bill” 200 Garmendia, Oscar 2¡7–¡8, 238 Garmon, Charles E. 379 Garms, Debs 8¡, 82 Garnell, Leonard Plinth ¡80 Garner, Ben ¡05 Garner, Horace 330, 352, 369, 4¡3–¡4, 436, 452, 468, 480 Garner, Marvin Edward ¡05 Garretson, Robert ““Bob 97, ¡29 Garrett, Bob “Pat” 380 Garrido, Gil 499 Garriott, Cecil Virgil “Rabbit” ¡70, 208, 348 Garrison, George 337 Garrison, John 248, 294, 3¡8, 334 Gartell, Hal 80 Garthwaite, William 343 Garvey, Steve 372 Gary, Edmond “Ed” 473 Garza-Trevino, Gilberto “Gil,” “Borrao” 292 Gaspar, Miguel “Pilo” 308, 325, 4¡4–¡5, 476, 489, 502, 5¡4 Gassaway, Charlie ¡¡¡ Gast, Mike 202 Gaston, Alexander Nathaniel ¡0 Gastonia, NC ¡22, ¡44, ¡65, 479, 499 Gates, Bob 269 Gatta, Dan N. 434, 450 Gatto, George “El,” ”Little Cat” 240–4¡, 287 Gauci, Joseph James 358–59 Gaulin, Paul ¡57 Gautreau, Walter Paul “Doc” ¡5, 3¡, 43, 49 Gautreaux, Sidney Allen “Pudge” 70, 78, 224, 273

Gaviglio, Glen 220 Gay, Delbert G. 337 Gay, John P. 386 Gayeski, Matthew 5¡7 Gayle, Gipson 272 Gaylord, William ¡08 Gearhart, Earl T. 404 Gearron, R. Dennis ¡2 Geary, Eugene Francis “Huck” ¡39, ¡90 Geary, Henry 337 Gebhard, John 365, 430 Gedzius, Jos. J. “Joe” ¡25, ¡7¡ Gehrman, Paul Arthur 95 Geier, Bill 339 Geiger, Gary Merle 427 Geis, Harry 284 Gelbert, Chas. Magnus “Charlie” ¡3 Genesta, V. Nicolas 355 Geneva, AL 222, 278 Geneva, NY 205, 269–70, 303, 474, 486, 498, 5¡0–¡¡, 523 Genevrino, Michael 2¡6 Genovese, Frank “Chick” ¡32, ¡73, ¡94, 235 Gensauer, Thos. “Tom” 473 Gentile, James Edward “Jim” 370, 43¡, 474 Gentile, Samuel Christopher ¡37 Gentry, Harvey W. 302, 368 Gentry, W.E. 40 Gentzkow, Rich 22¡ George, Alex Thomas 470 George, Andrew 435 George, Thomas Edward “Lefty” 26 George, Wm. Joseph “Bill” 322, 4¡¡, 456 Georgia-Alabama 40, 225, 283, 3¡2, 336 Georgia-Florida 79, 90, ¡04, ¡20, ¡39, ¡59, ¡82, 203, 226, 248, 284, 3¡2, 336, 360, 382, 404, 425, 44¡, 457, 462, 52¡ Georgia State 285, 3¡3, 360, 382, 404 Gephardt, Don 2¡5 Gerald, Reginald 40¡ Geresy, Donald 36¡ Gerhauser, Albert ¡29 Gerken, Fred “Pickles” ¡86, 2¡5 Gerkin, Stephen Paul, “Steve” 207 Gerl, Bernard F. 377 Gerlach, Albert ¡86 Gernert, Rich. Edward “Dick” 322, 409, 5¡3 Getgen, Arthur H. 328–29 Gettell, Allen J. 366 Getter, Dick 286 Getz, Larry 6¡ Geygan, Jim “Chappie” 92, ¡08, ¡24 Ghelfi, Richard 426–27 Gholson, Carroll G. “Tex” 420, 442 Giallombardo, Rbt. Paul “Bob” 452–53 Giammarco, Ettore “Yogi” 322 Giannecchini, Leo L. 440 Gibb, Eddie ¡22 Gibbon, Jos. Charles “Joe” 449, 475

541 Gibbons, Rbt. Edward “Bob” 3¡8 Gibbs, Frank 224 Gibbs, Joe W. 82 Gibson, George 77 Gibson, Joel 508 Gibson, John “Jack” 340 Gibson, Samuel 245 Gibson, Samuel Braxton 44, 63 Gibson, Thomas 477 Giebel, Gordon 3¡8 Giebell, Floyd ¡¡¡ Gierek, John 344 Gi›ord, Richard “Dick” 20 Gi›ord, Ronald R. 302, 350, 372 Giggie, Rbt. Thomas “Bob” 35¡ Gigon, Norman 502 Gil, Gustavo 5¡5 Gilbert, Al 29¡ Gilbert, Andrew “Andy” ¡07–8, ¡¡7, ¡30, 207, 340–4¡, 356–57 Gilbert, Charles J. 60 Gilbert, Chas. Mader “Charlie” 233 Gilbert, Drew Edward “Buddy” 405, 422, 449, 463, 476 Gilbert, Harold “Tookie” 235, 258, 386, 476–77 Gilbert, Harry 394 Gilbert, James “Jim” 22¡–222, 305, 329 Gilbert, John 29¡, 304 Gilbert, Larry, Jr. 96 Gilbert, Lewis M. 436 Gilbert, Marshall 420 Gilbert, Phillip 360, 405 Gilbert, Walter ¡63 Gilbo, Walter 3¡9 Gilchrest, Verdun 200, 22¡, 276 Gilchrist, Larry ¡66–67, ¡86, 200 Gile, Donald Loren 465, 487 Giles, Troy 5¡9 Gilhousen, Ross “Rosey” ¡34 Gill, Bill ¡¡7 Gill, Dale ¡35 Gill, John Wesley “Johnnie” 25, 43, 50, 7¡, 227 Gillespie, Charles 80, 99 Gillette, Doug 54 Gilliam, James William “Junior” 320, 346 Gillick, Lawrence “Pat” 493 Gilliland, Virgil 39–40 Gillis, Grant 59 Gillispie, Charles ¡43 Gilmore, William 444, 452 Gilvary, Bill 94 Gimple, Harry ¡30 Ginglardi, Henry Thomas “Harry” 9 Ginn, Harold 75 Ginsberg, Myron Nathan “Moe” 234, 408 Ginzlinger, Darrel “Gunslinger” 70 Gionfriddo, Albert Francis “Al” 396, 4¡9, 437 Giordano, Alphonse D. 337 Giordano, Thos. Arthur “Tommy” 369 Girard, Earl, “Jug” 256, 295

542 Githerz, Fred 23¡ Giuliano, Thos. “Tom” 395 Given, James R. “Jim,” “That’s A” 338 Gladd, James Walter “I’m So” ¡85 Gladding, Fred Earl 457 Gladewater, TX 76, 85, 242, 272 Gladney, Bertrand 484 Gladstone, Granville A. 370 Gladu, Roland Edouard ¡73 Glamp, Francis J. 422 Glaser, Guy 2¡3 Glasgow, Ronald 423–24 Glass, Clyde 39, 68 Glaze, Hugh B. “Honey” 376 Glazner, Charles Franklin “Whitey” ¡5, 24, 34 Gleason, Dennis ¡38 Gleeson, James Joseph 73, 23¡–32 Glendenning, George William 363 Glenn, John 432–33 Glenn, Jos. Charles “Joe” 26, 54, 63 Glessner, Wm. “Bill” 3¡2 Globe-Miami, AZ 2¡5, 268–69 Glock, Charles F. 99, ¡¡0 Glombicki, Henry ¡86 Gloversville, NY 97, ¡30, ¡¡2–¡3, ¡5¡–52, ¡73, 206, 239, 270–7¡, 328 Glynn, Vallery G. 20 Glynn, Wm. Vincent “Bill” 203, 234 Goddard, Eddie ¡¡6 Godfry, Paul 2¡9 Godzilla 32¡, 438 Godzooky 438 Goeckel, Gus 36 Goemer, Milton 243 Goetz, Art “Nanny” ¡¡5 Go›, Bill 277–78 Go›, Robert E. Lee “Bobby” 2¡, 44, 67–68, 76, ¡03 Go›, Russell ¡82 Gohl, Vincent “Van” 280–8¡ Gohn, Kenneth E. 363 Goicoecha, Leo 24¡, 296 Gold, Harold ¡43 Goldberg, Richard “Dick” 5¡, 87 Golden, James “Jim” 487 Goldfader, Sidney 443 Goldsberry, Gordon 200 Goldsboro, NC ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡37, ¡57, ¡79–80, 202, 223, 246–47, 280, 3¡0, 334, 358–59 Goldsmith, Max 2¡¡, 235 Goldstein, Leslie Elmer “Lonnie” ¡69, ¡90, 26¡, 324, 349 Goldsworthy, Larry 6¡ Goldy, Purnel 49¡ Goletz, Stanley 242, 325, 372 Goliat, Mike Mitchell 235, 367, 429, 446, 462 Golich, John 306 Golick, Bob 497 Golob, Frank G. 408 Gomez, Jorge Aguiles 485 Gomez, Lazaro “Habichuela” 505, 5¡4 Gomez, Rafael 508, 5¡6

Index Gomez-Martinez, Pedro “Preston” 2¡¡ Gonder, Jesse Lamar 438, 488, 5¡3 Gongola, Peter “Gor” 467 Gontkosky, Rbt. “Bob” 469 Gonzales, Jesus 397–98, 4¡9–20 Gonzales, Jose “Joe” 88 Gonzales, Ramon 6 Gonzales-O’Reilly, Wenceslao “Vince” 332, 374 Gonzalez, Catayo 2¡8 Gonzalez, Lupo 250 Gonzalez, Orlando 424 Gonzalez, Pedro 472, 49¡ Gonzalez, Servando 5¡8 Gooch, John Beverley 45 Good, Wilbur, Jr. 202–3, 225 Goodell, Gordon ¡34, ¡54–55, ¡74 Goodman, David “Dave” 83, 97, ¡¡2 Goodman, Ival 53 Goodwin, Bill 336 Goodwin, Charles 278 Goody, Samuel 360, 378 Goolsby, Raymond “Ox” ¡59 Goorabian, Harry Edward ¡33–34, ¡98 Gorbould, Robert Clarence “Bobby” ¡64, ¡72 Gorbous, Glen Edward 28¡– 82, 370 Gordey, Alexander “Alex” 425 Gordon, Donald 458 Gordon, Melvin “Mel” ¡62, ¡83 Gordon, Sidney ¡¡9, ¡28 Gorecki, Stan 295 Gorin, Chas. Perry “Charlie,” “Bridgemaster” 389, 478 Gorman, Bill ¡34 Gorman, Herbert Allen “Herb” 2¡4, 235 Gorman, Howard ¡¡5 Gorman, Thos. David “Tom” ¡23 Gornicki, Henry Frank “Hank” ¡¡0, ¡27 Gorrie, David “Doctor” 443, 453 Gorrondona, Donald 454 Goryl, John Albert 399 Gosger, James Charles “Jim” 5¡6 Goss (also “Coss” in stats), Copeland ¡65 Goss, Howard Wayne “Howie” 4¡9, 50¡ Gosselin, Norm 303 Gostlin, Douglas H. 34¡ Gotay-Sanchez, Julio 469, 478, 50¡ Gotovac, Robert J. 427 Gott, Thos. L. “Tom” 395 Gottleber, George ¡0 Gould, Albert Frank 9, ¡4 Gould, William “Bill” 38 Governor, Antone “Tony” 57 Gowan, Reid ¡85, ¡93 Gowett, Charles F. 308 Goza, Charles Wayland 38¡ Graber, Rodney Blaine “Rod” 295, 3¡9 Grabowski, Alfons Francis “Al” ¡9, 28

Grabowski, Rich. J. “Dick” 365–66 Grace, Joseph LaVerne 79 Grace, LaVerne L. “Vern” 344 Grace, Mark ¡73 Graceville, FL 358, 38¡, 40¡–2, 423, 439–40, 448, 455, 47¡ Graf, Kinner, George 82, 96, ¡28 Gra›, Emil ¡¡2 Gra›, Milton Edward “Milrt” 4¡3, 430 Gragg, Russell William 444 Graham, Art 64 Graham, Charles 399 Graham, Edward J., Jr., “Ed” 268–69 Graham, Hamilton 263, 30¡, 326 Graham, Harold 2¡8, 24¡ Graham, Hugh 29 Graham, John Bernard “Jack” ¡¡0, ¡26, ¡47, 207 Graham, Tom 272 Graham, Walter O. “Walt” 307 Graham, Wayne 502, 5¡3 Grammas, Alexander Peter “Alex,” “Pete” 298, 367 Granby, QUE ¡48 Grand Forks, ND 70, ¡42, ¡62–63, ¡76, 243, 274, 306, 330–3¡, 377, 438, 494, 508, 5¡9 Grand Island, NE 29, 4¡, 54, ¡22, 442, 458–59, 473, 485–86 Grand Rapids, MI ¡53, ¡74, 259–60, 322 Grandcolas, Alan C. 353, 432, 489 Graney, John 27¡ Grangard, Art ¡05, ¡2¡ Granger, G. 40 Granite Falls, NC 344 Granneman, James R. 338 Grant, Charles H. 423, 439 Grant, (Duncan?) “Spot” 28 Grant, George Addison ¡¡, 47 Grant, Harold 52, 98 Grant, James Charles “Jimmy” ¡76 Grant, James Timothy “Mudcat” 399, 4¡7, 470 Grant, Julius “Swampfire” 470, 478, 49¡ Grantham, Jack ¡06, ¡52 Grasso, Sebastian “Sonny” 227 Grate, Donald “Don,” “Buckeye” 39¡, 4¡¡–¡2 Graves, Charlie ¡84 Graves, Frank ¡08, ¡22 Graves, John R. “Doc” 69, 77, ¡¡4–¡5 Gravino, Frank, John 355, 377, 399 Gray, Claude 228 Gray, Edward 76, 77 Gray, Elmer 204 Gray, John Leonard 429 Gray, Lester ¡2¡ Gray, Milton ¡26 Gray, Rbt. Stanley “Bob” 276 Gray, Rich. Benjamin “Dick” 3¡9, 337, 43¡, 445 Gray, Ronald C. 404 Gray, Truman 3¡7 Graystone, E.D. “Lord” 79,

90, ¡04 Grba, Eli 386, 407, 4¡9 Greble, Steve ¡36, ¡64 Greco, Jos. “Joe” 252–53, 303 Greco, Rich. Anthony “Dick” 239, 268, 302, 323, 347, 393, 422, 436–37, 454 Green, Alan 230, 338 Green, Arnold 356–57 Green, Bill (P) 405 Green, Charlie 497 Green, Elijah Jerry “Pumpsie” 393, 4¡9, 432, 474 Green, Fred Allen 36¡, 37¡ Green, Gene Leroy 407, 4¡7 Green, Guy 57 Green, Jerry 460–6¡ Green, Leonard Charles “Lenny” 433, 434, 444 Green, Rich. Larry “Dick” 505 Green, William (2B) 330 Green Bay, WI ¡67–68, ¡89, 23¡, 256, 295, 3¡9, 344, 365–66, 387, 468, 480, 493 Greenberg, Henry “Hank” 5¡ Greenberg, Joseph 86 Greene, Arnold ¡47 Greene, Bob 329 Greene, George 246 Greene, Herman Carlock 434 Greene, James E. 404 Greene, June 37 Greeneville, TN ¡¡6, ¡34–35, ¡55, ¡78, ¡9¡ Greengrass, James Raymond “Jim” 297, 322 Greensboro, NC 52, 59, ¡69, ¡99, 2¡7, 240, 262, 299, 324, 350, 372, 394, 4¡6, 435, 45¡, 467, 479, 392, 504, 5¡6 Greensburg, PA 7¡, 93, ¡08, ¡24, ¡43 Greenville, AL ¡54, ¡78, 22¡–22, 278 Greenville, MS 67, 85, 98, ¡¡3, ¡30, ¡52, ¡74, 27¡, 304, 329, 376, 420 Greenville, NC ¡02, ¡37, ¡56, ¡80, 202, 223, 280, 3¡0 Greenville, SC 26, 37, 38, 75, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡49, ¡96, 2¡0, 234–35, 260–6¡, 298, 396, 504, 5¡6 Greenville, TX 37¡, 460 Greenwald, Elmer 6¡ Greenwald, John F. ¡80, 2¡6 Greenwood, Horace 377 Greenwood, Robert 348 Greenwood, MS 67, 85, 98, ¡¡3, ¡30, ¡52, 272, 305, 329 Greer, Edward R. “Beartracks” ¡0–¡¡, 46, 5¡, 57 Greer, Hayden “Stubby” ¡87–¡88, ¡92, 200, 22¡, 276, 354, 42¡ Grefe, Albert 2¡5 Gregg, Benjamin 2¡6 Gregg, Erastus (played as Russell Brown) ¡00 Gregg, Robert N. 376 Gregory, August C. “Gus” ¡89, 298, 323 Gregory, Ben 279 Gregory, Bert 4¡–42 Gregory, Nicholas E. ¡52

Index Gregory, Rbt. “Bob” 277–78 Greisheimer, Raymond 474 Grey, Sam ¡4¡ Gridaitis, Tony 97, ¡¡3 Griewe, Bruce 495 Gri›eth, Leon 236 Gri‡n, Clarence ¡0, ¡5 Gri‡n, Fred “Pug” 8–9 Gri‡n, Ivy 44, 78 Gri‡n, GA 283, 3¡2, 336 Gri‡th, Charles H. 340 Gri‡th, Derrell 5¡9 Gri‡th, Jerry 5¡5 Gri‡th, Paul, Jr., “Junior” 4¡5 Gri‡th, Richard 459 Gri‡ths, John “Bunny” 56, 64, 72 Grigg, Erastus ¡¡6 Grigg, James 250 Griggs, Benjamin 486 Griggs, Harold Lloyd “Hal” 364–65, 4¡¡, 447 Grigsby, Denver ¡3 Grilk, James McDowell “Jim” 95 Grilli, John 4¡, 80, ¡¡2–¡3 Grimes, Burley B. ¡06 Grimes, Charles R. “Buddy” 376 Grimes, Glen ¡2¡ Grimes, Oscar Ray, Jr. 80, 86, 208 Grimes, Oscar Ray, Sr. ¡6 Grimm, Bert ¡7, 46 Grimsley, Ross Albert 204, 220, 409 Griswold, Harry 95–96, ¡40 Gritts, Joy 496 Groat, Clarence ¡59, ¡82 Grob, Conrad George “Connie” 365–66, 5¡3 Groft, Pete 9–¡0 Groh, Henry Knight “Heinie” 46 Gromek, Stephen Joseph “Steve” ¡74–¡75 Grose, Deo “Dee” 2¡2–¡3, 237 Grose, Robert 250 Gross, Donald (UT) 248–49 Gross, Donald John “Don” (P) 33¡, 4¡¡ Gross, Lloyd ¡40 Grosskopf, Lowell “Bighead” 256, 3¡9 Grossman, Everett 96 Grossman, Harley E. “Hal” 286 Grossman, Jack 82, 96, ¡09 Grossman, Stanford “Stan” 344 Grote, Harold “Hal” 284, 430 Groth, John Thomas “Johnny” 209, 232 Groth, Phil 458 Grubb, Ken 339 Grube, Franklin Thomas 3¡, ¡42 Gruber, Harold “Hal” ¡06– ¡07, ¡80, ¡92 Gruenwald, Gerald 66 Gruner, Harold R. 406–7 Grunwald, Alfred Henry “Al” 266, 430 Gruzdis, Jim 67, 84, 95, ¡37, ¡56, 25¡ Gryska, Sigmund Stanley 8¡ Grzenda, Jos. Charles “Joe” 463

Guanajuato,GUA, MEX 497, 507, 5¡7–¡8 Gudaitis, Anthony 2¡5 Gudat, Marvin ¡7, 63 Guerra, Fermin Romero “Mike” ¡03, ¡27, ¡9¡ Guerra, Gilberto “Guarao” 354, 376, 446 Guerra, Julio 457 Guerrero, Humberto 489 Guerrero, Jose 446, 502 Guettler, Kenneth ¡95, 225, 237, 326, 352, 373, 43¡ Guice, Bill 380 Guindon, Rbt. Joseph “Bob” 523–24 Guinn, James 90, ¡44, 230, 293, 333 Guinther, Edison “Tesla” ¡05, ¡4¡, ¡84 Guintini, Ben John “Bennie” 259 Guise, Witt Orison “Dis” ¡44, ¡49 Guisti, Odero ¡0¡ Gula, Pete 285 Guldborg, John B. 304 Gulf Coast 305, 325, 350, 372 Gulledge, Joe ¡7¡ Gulley, Napoleon 352–53, 4¡7 Gullic, Tedd Jasper 7¡ Gunkle, Frank ¡53 Gunn, Joe 84 Gunn, Richard 458 Gunnells, Luther “Lute” ¡78 Gunning, Francis ¡8¡ Gurri, Anibal 383, 440 Gustafson, Hugh ¡07, ¡23, ¡42 Guthrie, William 307 Gutierrez, Ceasr 507 Gutierrez, Eloy 497 Gutierrez, Joaquin “Jack” 277 Gutierrez, Miguel Angel 5¡8 Gutierrez, Rene 375, 397 Gutilla, Robert 328 Gutteridge, Donald 6¡ Guyman, James ¡06, ¡23 Guyness, Edward “Your” ¡08, ¡67 Guzak, Tony ¡24, ¡75 Guzman, Amador “Bule” 308, 356 Guzman, Blas “Mascara” 308, 437 Guzman, Juan 443, 454, 479 Guzy, Pete 70 Gwaltney, Efird 340, 365, 386 Gwinn, Stanley H. 3¡4 Gyselman, Richard Renald “Dick” 48 Haag, Charles W. “Charlie,” “The” 347 Haake, Tom 497–98 Haapala, Elder H. 326 Haas, Berthold John “Bert” 9¡, 96, 296 Haas, Elmer ¡2¡, ¡60 Haas, George Edwin “Eddie” 407, 433 Haas, Robert J. ¡43 Haas, Ted ¡05, ¡06, ¡24, ¡63 Haas, Wm. “Bill” 5¡7 Habel, Walter E. “Wally” 332 Hack (Hackbarth), Clarence A. “Clary” 75, 85, ¡52 Hack, John P. 378

Hack, Stanley Camfield 44, 55 Hackett, L. Dale 200 Hackett, Lester ¡66 Hackett, Thomas 25¡ Hackney, Frank 89, ¡¡3 Haddican, Harold J. “Hal” 203, 349 Haddican, Wm. “Wid Bill” ¡89 Haddix, Benjamin 290 Haddix, Harvey 2¡7, 232, 256, 296 Hadley, Kent 449 Haefner, Milton Arnold “Mickey” ¡20, ¡39, ¡90 Hafenecker, Mike 262 Hafey, Thomas Francis “The Arm” 83 Hafey, Wilbert James “Will” 328 Hagan, Daniel Y. “Dan 509 Hagen, Rich. “Dick” 522 Hagerstown, MD ¡68–69, 2¡¡, 236, 264, 300, 325, 35¡, 373, 395 Haggerty, Patrick “Pat” 296 Hagler, Ronald 426–27 Hagy, Charles 343 Hahn, Fred A., Jr. 270, 30¡ Hahn, Kenneth 227 Hahn, Merle ¡43 Hahn, Richard Frederick “Dick” ¡48, ¡69 Haid, Harold Augustine “Hal” 8 Hain, Wm. “Bill” 399, 477–78 Haines, Donn Leroy 249 Haines, Henry Luther “Hinkey” ¡4 Hairston, Samuel 348, 370, 4¡4–¡5, 433, 479 Halabuk, Rudy 27¡ Hale, Arvel Odell (known by middle name) 49 Hale, Jack 422 Hale, Lawrence ¡0¡ Hale, Sammy ¡66–¡67 Haley, Jess 7¡, 75, 86 Haley, John 7¡, 86 Haley, Ray 249 Hall, Alan 503 Hall, Daniel 66 Hall, Ermal “Ed” 59, 94, ¡¡3, ¡¡4 Hall, Everett G. 338–39, 349, 37¡ Hall, Frank 94 Hall, Harvey 92 Hall, Herbert S. 9 Hall, Irving 274 Hall, James Ray “Jack” 338, 362, 397 Hall, Jimmie Randolph 442 Hall, John 20¡ Hall, R. David 5¡0 Hall, Rbt. Lewis “Bob” 209 Hall, Rich. “Dick” ( Not The Dick Hall) 247 Hall, Rich. Wallace ““Dick” (The Dick Hall) 475 Hall, Wm. Lemuel “Bill” 248, 309, 444 Haller, Thos, Frank “Tom” 478, 488 Hallett, Tom 504 Hallford, Lewis 3¡3 Hallgren, Arnold R. 422, 467–68

543 Hallon, Bill 230 Halstead, William 250, 339 Halter, Paul C. 277, 4¡8 Halter, William 498 Hamblin, James A. ¡23 Hamby, Sanford 28 39, 53 Hamel, Clarence Charles”Peck” 50–5¡, 56, 65, 73 Hamill (Hammil), Thomas ¡64, ¡74 Hamill, Willard 486 Hamilton, Arvid G. “Red” 340 Hamilton, Jack Edwin 456 Hamilton, Luther 2¡3 Hamilton, Reginald, “Reggie” 468 Hamilton, Robert ¡47 Hamilton, “Sliding Billy” 380 Hamilton, Thorpe 27 Hamilton, Thos. Ball “Tom” 347, 484 Hamilton, Wm. “Bill” 468 Hamilton, ONT, CAN ¡43–44, ¡64, ¡87, 229, 29¡, 3¡6, 34¡, 363, 384, 407, 427 Hamlin, Luke “Hot Potato” 39, 5¡, 207 Hammack, Sterling 20 Hammond, LA 224, 273 Hammurabbi 490 Hamner, Granville Wilbur “Granny” 209, 5¡5 Hamner, Wesley Garvin (went by middle name) 352 Hampshire, Larry “New” 382 Hampton, Gray 340 Hampton, Henry 25¡ Hampton, Robert ¡¡7 Hamric, Odbert H. “Bert” 326, 389 Hancks, Warren “Sonny” 338–39 Hancock, Fred James 208, 232 Hancock, Sam (3B) ¡52 Hancock, Sam (OF) 250–5¡ Hand, Harvey 20 Handley, Eugene Lewis “Gene” 88, 258 Handley, Lee 442, 468, 478 Handrahan, James Vernon “Vern” 5¡9–20 Handy, George 263 Hanebrink, Harry Aloysius 243, 266, 322, 428 Haney, Clayton 406 Haney, Fred Girard ¡3, 32, 63, 7¡–72 Haney, James L. ¡88 Hankins (real last name Rush), Elmer ¡05 Hankins, Jay 490 Hankins, William 79 Hanley, John 246 Hanlon, James 2¡¡ Hanlon, Roger 72 Hannah, James Harrison “Truck” 9 Hannahoe, Gerald 82, ¡26 Hannan, James John 5¡¡ Hannibal, MO 2¡7, 240, 363, 406, 426 Hanning, Loy Vernon ¡0¡ Hansch, Winfred ¡42–43 Hansen, Douglas William “Doug” 264, 297 Hansen, Herbert 4¡–42

544 Hansen, Jim 227 Hansen, Ronald “Ron” 476 Hanson, Elmer 45 Harbaugh, Marvin Dale (went by middle name) 364 Hardaway, Curtis O. 28¡, 40¡, 4¡8, 434–35 Hardaway, Henry 36–37 Harden, James W. 285 Harder, Theodore ¡98 Hardin, Wm. Edgar “Bud” 2¡2 Hardisky, Edward 253 Hardison, James A. 434, 504 Hardouin, Alfred ¡8¡ Hardwick, Shannon 20¡ Hardy, Francis 400 Hardy, Oliver C. 420–2¡ Hardy, Walter 422 Hare, Wm. Ray “Bill” 386 Hargrave, Eugene Franklin “Bubbles” 22 Hargrave, Rbt. “Bob” ¡7¡ Hargrave, William McKinley “Pinky” 62 Hargreaves, Chas. Russell “Charlie” 6, 43 Hargrove, Chester Frank (went by middle name) ¡87–¡88 Hargrove, W. “Woody” ¡6, ¡20 Harig, Chuck 273, 330 Harkins, Bob 3¡7 Harkins, Howard 362 Harkness, Thos. William “Tim” 458, 489 Harlan, KY 250, 288–89, 339, 509, 52¡ Harlingen, TX ¡25, 307, 35¡, 372, 394, 4¡5, 503 (see also Rio Grande Valley) Harmon, Charles Byron “Chuck” 3¡6, 34¡, 352 Harmon, Hugh 37 Harmon, John 5¡9 Harmon, Rbt. “Bob” 2¡5, 330 Harnick, William J. ¡99 Haroldson, Bruce 482 Harp, James 360, 383 Harper, Bill ¡¡8 Harper, Cecil 224 Harper, Charles 305 Harper, Edward ¡82 Harper, Floyd ¡56 Harper, Foy W. “Doodle” 85, 98, ¡¡3 Harper, George Washington 67, 75 Harper, Tommy 506, 5¡3–¡4 Harrell, Rich. “Dick” 36, 58 Harrell, Robert L. 407 Harrell, Wm. “Bill” 369, 389, 409, 428, 488, 5¡4 Harrelson, Kenneth “Ken,” “Hawk” 497, 506, 5¡5 Harrigan, Harold “Hal” ¡57, ¡80–8¡, ¡85, 205, 228, 25¡, 267 Harrington, Andrew Matthew 24 Harrington, Charles Fred 4¡6, 45¡ Harrington, Hayes “Rutherford” 79 Harrington, Jodie 203 Harrington, John Brooks 25¡, 386 Harrington, Julian ¡65

Index Harrington, Roland Vann ¡22, 290 Harrington, Walter 203 Harrington, Wm. “Bill” 299, 463 Harris, Boyd Gail (went by middle name) 388 Harris, Bryan 42 Harris, Charles 2¡0 Harris, Clarence ¡06 Harris, Eli 67 Harris, Grant ¡36 Harris, Harold 343 Harris, Lee ¡45 Harris, Maurice Charles “Mickey” ¡26, ¡47 Harris, Mercer ¡92 Harris, Reece ¡00–¡0¡ Harris, Rich. A. “Dick” (C) 45¡, 49¡ Harris, Robert Ned 2¡8 Harris, Russell 358 Harris, Spencer ¡3, 2¡, 42, 49, 54 Harris, William M. ¡7 Harris, Wm. Thomas “Bill” 337, 390 Harris, Wm. Woodrow “Bill” ¡50–5¡ Harrisburg, PA 37, 46, 52, 56, 72, ¡47, ¡68–69, 2¡¡, 236, 264, 325, 35¡ Harrison, Charles 336 Harrison, Robert Edward “Eddie” ¡92 Harrison, Robert L. “Bob” (P) 376 Harrison, Robert Lee (P) 293, 4¡5 Harrison, Ron 33¡ Harrisonburg, VA ¡44–45, ¡65, ¡87 Harrist, Earl ¡30 Harshaney, Samuel “Sam” 308 Harshman, John Elvin “Jack” 2¡4, 256–57, 368 Hart, Jim Ray 506, 5¡5 Hart, Richard 52¡ Hart, Wm. Woodrow “Bill” ¡26–27, ¡9¡, 286, 303 Hartford, CT 6, ¡4, 25, 44, 66, ¡09, ¡46, ¡95, 260, 297, 322, 347 Hartig, Robert E. 279, 307 Hartman, J.C. 490, 500 Hartman, Larry ¡64 Hartman, Rbt. “Bob” 463 Hartness, Edgar Cli›ord ¡39, ¡9¡, 234, 285, 3¡3, 404 Hartsell, John 300 Hartsfield, Roy Thomas 256, 409, 428 Hartung, Clinton Clarence “Floppy,” “The Hondo Hurricane” 345 Harvatin, Albert ¡0¡ Harvey, Douglas Norman “Doug” 269 Haschak, Bill 204 Hasenmayer, Donald Irvin “Don” 306 Hash, Joe 294 Hassell, Gene 358, 394 Hassett, John Aloysius “Buddy” 60, 66 Hassler, Bernard “Bernie,” “Benny” 96, ¡70

Hasson, Charles Eugene “Gene” 94, 239, 27¡ Hasten, Jack R. 3¡9 Hastings, NE 458, 485 Hasty, Rbt. Keller “Bob” 45 Hatch, Harry Gregory ¡36 Hatcher, Kenneth “Ken” 3¡8, 337 Hatcher, Marvin L. 337, 376 Hatchett, Jack ¡76 Hatfield, Fred J. 236, 258, 296 Hatfield, James 456, 472 Hathaway, Kent 473 Hathaway, Ray Wilson 2¡6, 252 Hathaway, Rbt. B. “Bob” 339 Hatridge, Gilbert Donald 3¡¡ Hatten, Joseph Hillarian “Joe” ¡42–43 Hatter, Clyde Melno”Mad” 36–37 Haughy, Chris 22¡ Haugstad, Philip Donald “Phil” 207, 257, 296 Haugue, Lucio 45¡ Hauser, Joseph John “Unser Choe” ¡0, 3¡, 54, 62 Hausman, Clemens Raymond “Clem” ¡46 Hausmann, George John ¡25, ¡29 Havana, Cuba 2¡7–¡8, 24¡, 263–64, 399, 4¡0, 429, 446, 46¡–62, 475, 488 Haviland, Rich. “Dick” 263 Hawke, T.A. ¡86 Hawkins, John “Jack” ¡¡6, ¡35, ¡76 Hawkins, Wynn Firth 477 Hawley, Chuck ¡27, 287 Hawley, Darrell ¡08 Hawley, Russell 230 Haworth, Howard Homer “Howie” 8 Hay, James 455, 482 Hay, Orby W. “Red” ¡09, ¡46 Hay, Seaborn 383 Hayden, Gayle 4¡7 Hayden, Sam ¡4¡ Hayes, Allen “Shorty” 9¡ Hayes, Dan ¡24 Haygood, Charles 522 Hayling, Danny 340, 499 Haymore, Rich. “Dick” 524 Haynes, Wm. A. “Bill” 255, 294, 3¡9 Haywood, Clifton 245 Hayworth, Myron Claude “Red” ¡¡0 Hazard, KY 250, 288, 339–40 Hazel (also in stats as “Easel”), Aubry 89 Hazle, Albert J. ¡¡2 Hazle, Rbt. S. “Bob,” “Hurricane” 298, 4¡¡ Hazlehurst, GA 285, 3¡3, 360, 383, 405 Hazleton, Don 286 Hazleton, PA 26, 37, 46–47, 52, 72, 82, 94, ¡09, ¡3¡, ¡47 Head, Al 32, 57 Head, Edward Marvin ¡38 Head, Lee ¡3, 65 Head, Ralph 6 Head, Woody ¡03 Headland, AL 333–34, 358 Healey, Francis Xavier “Fran” 84

Heap, Edwin “Uriah” 279 Heard, Jehosie 348 Hearn, Barney ¡¡2, ¡5¡, 2¡5 Hearn, Richard ¡59 Heath, Fletcher ¡85 Heath, John Geo›rey “Je› ” 86 Heath, Lester ¡07 Heath, Minor Wilson “Mickey” 23, 62 Heath, Rodney T. 359 Heath, Thos. George “Tom” 58, 65, ¡90 Heath, W.C. “Jack” 2¡ Heavern, Bob 265 Hecker, Francis 273 Hecklinger, Frank ¡98 Heddington (Hedington), Robert Lahman 2¡4, 325, 372 Hedrick, Bruce 230, 253 He›elfinger, Clarence ¡¡6 He›elfinger, William Walter “Pudge” ¡¡6 He›ner, Donald Henry “Jeep” 55 He›ner, John ¡55–56 He›ner, Rbt. “Bob,” He› ” 49¡, 5¡5 Heft, Arnold A. ¡83–84 Hegan, Mich, “Mike” 52¡ Hegenrader, Richard “Yogi” 459 Heim, Millard “Mel” 387, 392 Heim, Val Raymond “Halla” ¡86 Heimach, Fred Amos ¡3 Heinberger, Lou 256 Heintzelman, Kenneth 93 Heise, Clarence 52, 54 Heist, Alfred Michael “Al” 282, 393 Heitzman, Sylvester ¡¡ Helbig, Anthony J. 353 Helbig, Duane 4¡7 Held, Herschel ¡98, 260 Held, Melvin N. 4¡2 Held, Woodson George “Woodie” 373, 428 Helena, AR 75, 85, 98, ¡¡3, ¡30, ¡52, ¡74, 27¡–72 Helgeth, Bernard 25 Helixon, Ray 6¡, 70, ¡07 Heller, Franklin ¡87, 269, 303 Heller, George 242 Hellmer, Rbt. “Bob” 47¡ Helmas, Larry 457 Helmer, Henry 246 Helmick, William 60 Helms, Borden ¡4¡, ¡75 Helms, Larry 467 Helms, Tommy 497, 5¡6 Helper, Robert 358 Helser, Royal “Roy” ¡7¡, 258 Hemmerly, Henry 452, 480 Hemphill, Kenisaw 342 Hemus, Solomon Joseph “Solly” 233, 259, 296 Hendee, Ed 29, 59 Hendee, John 4¡ Hendershot, Harry 255 Henderson, Carmin ¡08–9 Henderson, Charles H. ¡82 Henderson, Wm. “Bill” 43 Henderson, TX 60, 76, 85–86, 98–99, ¡¡4, ¡3¡, ¡52, 2¡8, 242, 272

Index Hendersonville, NC 254–55, 294 Hendley, Charles Robert “Bob” 468 Hendrickson, Don ¡¡0 Hendrix, Luther “Luke” 69, ¡56 Hendrix, Ralph ¡97 Hendry, Hugh 48¡ Henencheck, Alvin 240 Hengveld, Fred 386 Henke (Henkle), Howard M. 248–49, 324, 386 Henley, Gail Curtice 388, 4¡¡ Henley, Merv ¡68 Henline, Walter “Butch” 3¡ Hennessey, George 96, ¡3¡, ¡47 Henningsen, Ray 2¡0 Henrich, Thomas “Tommy” 7¡, 75 Henriksen, Arthur “Swede” 472 Henry, Clark 297 Henry, Francis ¡36 Henry, Fred “Snake” ¡6, 42, 66 Henry, Ronald Baxter “Ron” 450, 466 Henry, William 242 Henshaw, Roy Knikelbine 64 Henson, Charles ¡76 Henson, Ronald 5¡2 Herbel, Ron “Hit Man” 490, 50¡ Herbert, Gene 234 Herbert, William John ¡72 Herbik, John 226 Herbison, James 245, 270 Heredia, Gabriel 507 Hergenrader, Richard “Yogi” 459, 467, 479 Herich, Charles ¡68 Herlihey, James G. “John” 424 Herman, Floyd Caves “Babe” 7 Herman, John D. 373–74 Hermann, Albert Bartell ¡4 Hermann, Leroy 63 Hermanski, Eugene Debs “Gene” ¡87 Hermon, Howard Duane 439 Hernandez, Abundio 497 Hernandez, Enzo 358, 396 Hernandez, Felipe 4¡0–¡¡ Hernandez, Gordon 33¡, 355 Hernandez, Juan 437, 453 Hernandez, Keith ¡89 Hernandez, Luis 497, 507 Hernandez, Peter 327, 370, 436, 452, 469 Hernandez, Rudolph Albert “Rudy” 40¡ Hernandez, Salvador Jose ¡¡¡ Hernandez, Samuel 383 Hernandez-Lopez, Evilio 432 Herndon, Roy 9¡ Herr, John ¡84 Herrera, Jose 356 Herrera, Juan Francisco “Pancho” 432, 475, 5¡3 Herrera, Luis 406 Herrera, Raymond 383 Herriage, William Troy (went by middle name) 4¡4 Herring, William Arthur “Bill” ¡¡8, ¡37, ¡80, 202, 223, 247 Herrington, John 228

Herrman, Lavere 335 Herrnstein, John 49¡, 502 Herrscher, Rich. Franklin “Rick” 464 Herschner, Stephen 459 Hersh, Earl Walter 4¡0 Hershberger, Willard McKee 48, 56 Hershey, Robert ¡2¡, ¡50 Herstek, Edward 426 Hertel, Rbt. Lloyd “Bob” 364 Hertweck, Neal Charles 284, 299, 4¡3 Herzberger, Charles 520 Herzog, Dorrel, Norman Elvert “Whitey” 3¡7, 333 Heslet, Harry Reuben “Bud” ¡66, ¡77, 209, 436–37 Hess, Gary 498 Hesse, Theo. H. “Ted” 28¡ Hester, Lewis 200, 240 Hetherly, Clarence “Fat” 35 Hetki, John Edward “Johnny” ¡72, 32¡ Heusman, John 283 Heusser, Edward ¡9¡, 208 Heving, Joseph William “Joe” ¡8 Heximer, “Buddy” 2¡5 Heyman, Lewis William 300, 327, 35¡, 373 Hiatt, Jack E. 5¡2 Hibbs, Norman 84, ¡47 Hickernell, Ray A. 238 Hickerson, Rich. “Dick” 509 Hickey, Nat 28, 60, ¡05 Hickey, Nicholas 67 Hickman, James Lucius “Jim” 44¡, 457, 490 Hickory, NC ¡44, ¡64–65, 205, 228, 25¡, 290, 3¡5–¡6, 340, 364–65, 386, 499–500 Hicks, Clarence Walter “Buddy” 2¡4, 256, 367 Hicks, James Edward “Jim” 485, 5¡5 Hicks, Melvin “Mel” ¡77 Hicks, Richard C. 402 Hicks, William Joseph “Joe” 383, 466 Hidalgo, Manuel 2¡7, 299 Hidalgo, Richard 443 Higbe, Walter Kirby (went by middle name) 96 Higdon, Bill 259, 296 Higgenbotham/Higgenbottom, D.D. “Dean” 423 Higgins, Michael Franklin “Pinky” 50 Higgins, Tom 3¡8 High Point, NC ¡3, 52, 25¡, 289–90, 340, 386, 395, 4¡6, 45¡ Hiland, James L. “Jimmie” 405 Hilgendorf, Thos. “Tom” 5¡9 Hill, (first name unknown) ¡7 Hill, Carmen “Specs” 43 Hill, Dewey 25 Hill, Everett ¡97 Hill, Fred 459 Hill, James “Jim” 225 (This may be James Donald Hill) Hill, Jesse Terrill 63 Hill, Kenneth ¡30 Hill, Leonard 96 Hill, Robert (¡B) 242 Hill, Robert (OF-C) ¡74

Hill, Robert (P) ¡83 Hill, Van 404 Hiller, Charles Joseph “Chuck” 457, 480, 490, 50¡ Hiller, Frank Walter 207 Hillian, Willard ¡03 Hillin, Harold Ashley “Ash” 65 Hillis, Malcom David “Mack” ¡7 Hillman, Darius Dutton “Dave” 327, 428 Hilyer, Kenneth R. 382, 434 Himsl, Avitus Vedi (known by middle name) ¡¡9 Hinchman, Lorenzo Joseph “Joe” 334, 357, 379 Hinckle, Les ¡38 Hinojosa, Bolivar 497 Hinrichs, Gene ¡25 Hinrichs, Paul Edwin 22¡ Hinson, Carl 36 Hinson, William Bryan “Free Silver” 404–5 Hinton, Chas. Edward “Chuck” 482, 494 Hipps, Robert 26–27, 37–38 Hirsch, James F. 406–7, 427, 442 Hirst, Arthur 45¡ Hitchcock, William Clyde “Billy” 60 Hittle, Lloyd Eldon 2¡6, 238 Hoag, Myril 32, 202–3, 225, 248, 283, 3¡2 Hobbs, John 227 Hobbs, NM ¡25–26, 420, 498–99, 5¡¡ Hoberg, Eugene 3¡8 Hobson, “Butch” 354 Hobson, Walt ¡99 Hoch, Rbt. H. “Bob” ¡99, 35¡ Hochstatter, Earl L. 308, 333 Hock, Edward “Eddie” 9, 45 Hock, LeRoy 496 Hockenbury, Bill ¡99, 209–¡0 Hoderlein, Melvin Anthony “Mel” 296, 320 Hodge, Edward Burton “Bert” ¡00, ¡¡6, ¡34, ¡52 Hodge, Jack 224 Hodges, Berlyn 4¡6 Hodgin, Elmer Ralph (known by middle name) 78, ¡¡¡ Hodgins, William ¡¡5, ¡54 Hodkey, Al ¡32 Hoeksama, Richard B. 327 Hoerner, Jos. Walter, “Joe” 454, 492 Hoerst, Francis Joseph “Frank” ¡49 Ho›, James R. 90, ¡55 Ho›erth, Stewart Edward 90, ¡32, ¡83, 247 Ho›man, Edward “Eddie” ¡59–¡60 Ho›man, Robert R. 337, 439– 40 Ho›man, Stephan ¡09 Hofmeister, Wm. Bill” 47¡ Hogan, (first name unknown) ¡26 Hogan, James “Jim” ¡30, 305 Hogan, Kenneth Sylvester “Kenny” 26 Hogdon, Warren 479 Hogg, John 494, 506 Hogg, Ronald “Whole” 482

545 Hogsett, Elon “Chief ” 22 Hoie, “Bob” vii Holbert, Bill 366 Holbrook, James “Jim” 522 Holbrook, James Marbury “Sammy” ¡38 Holcombe, Kenneth Edward “Ken” 258 Holdeen, Dan ¡98 Holden, Daniel 435, 45¡–52, 468 Holdener, Louis 502 Holder, George 438, 452, 477 Holder, Richard Brooks (went by middle name) 208 Holdrege, NE 442, 458–59, 485 Holiday, Lewis Hughey “Hugh” 99 Holke, Walter Henry “Union Man” 27–28 Holland, Harold Joseph “Hal” 4¡6, 432 Holland, Ralph 2¡4 Holland, Robert Clyde “Dutch,” “Bob” ¡9 Holland, Vernon 3¡8 Holleman, Marvin R. 398 Hollerson, George ¡2 Hollingsworth, Albert 58 Hollis, Jackson ¡95 Holloman, Lee 203 Hollywood, CA ¡4, 23, 32, 44, 50, 56, 63–64, 208, 258, 366, 388, 408, 444, 449 Hollywood, FL ¡58 Holman, Ernest “Ernie” 24, 34, 5¡, 57, 65, 73 Holman, William “Bill” 25 Holmes, Oliver ¡80–8¡ Holmes, Thomas Francis 95, ¡09 Holmes, Wm. “Bill” 506 Holodick, Michael 508, 520 Holsclaw, Harry 26, 46 Holshauser, Adolph “Ad” 37, 59 Holt, Hardy 205 Holt, Harold 255 Holt, Jasper 246, 279 Holzhouser, Herman Alexander 8 Homan, William “Bill” 69, 87, ¡¡2, ¡47 Hommel, Herbert Kenneth “Ken” 400 Homokay, Julius “Didjaget” 240 Honan, Dave 2¡¡ Honea, Elmer 88 Honeycutt, Thomas 78 Honor, Rbt. G. “Bob,” “On My” 372 Hood, Charles K. 242, 265, 325 Hood, Robert ¡09 Hooker, Bill 495 Hooks, Alexander Marcus 27, 65, 73, 8¡ Hooks, William ¡58 Hooper, Rbt. Nelson “Bob” 234 Hoover, Lawrence “Larry” 392 Hoover, Richard ¡93 Hope, Edward ¡26 Hope, Eulice 278 Hopewell, VA 294, 3¡8

546 Hopke, Fred L. 44¡, 455, 478 Hopkins, Charley 253 Hopkins, Ed 2¡ Hopkins, Lloyd ¡77 Hopkins, Meredith “Marty” 3¡, 42 Hopkinsville, KY 79, 99, ¡05, ¡2¡, ¡40, ¡83–84, 204, 227, 286, 3¡4, 362, 383, 405 Hopp, Cotney 9¡ Hopper, Clay 93 Hopper, James 25¡ Horan, Robert 280, 334 Hord, Art 56 Horn, John Claude 442, 454 Horn, Leslie 67, 75, 85 Horn, Robert A. “Trader” 439 Horn, Vernon ¡39 Horne, Archie ¡32 Horne, Berlyn Dale “Trader” ¡4 Horne, Ernest “Ernie” 40, ¡26 Horne, William 254, 306 Hornell, NY 29¡, 3¡6, 34¡, 363, 384, 407, 427, 443, 459 Hornsby, William Kenneth 226 Horsford, James “Jim” 472, 5¡9–20 Horton, Burl ¡7¡–72 Horton, Denny (Danny?) ¡63 Horton, Thos. H. “Tom” 373 Horton, William Huron Trenton “Tank” 5¡ Horvath, J. “Hunky” ¡3¡ Hoscheit, Vernon ¡88, 253, 292, 3¡6–¡7 Hoskins David Taylor 464 Hosler, Carl 252 Host, Eugene Earl “Twinkles” 358 Hostetler, Charles “Chuck” 25, 65 Hostetter, Carroll 385 Hot Springs, AR ¡30, ¡52, ¡73–74, 27¡–72, 305, 329, 376, 420 Hough, Percy L. “Tex” 306 Houk, Ralph George “The Major” ¡36, 232 Houma, LA 224, 272, 353 House (first name unknown), “Lefty” 20 House, Rbt. “Bob” 509 House, Roy 93 Houseknecht, Edward J. 424 Houska, Frank ¡03 Housley, Norm 496 Houston, Gordon Enloe ¡¡3 Houston, TX 25, 35, 5¡, 57, 73, 8¡, ¡¡2–¡3, 233, 259, 4¡2, 43¡, 447–48, 464, 474, 487, 500 Houtz, William E. 297 Howard, Bobby Ross 347 Howard, Elston Gene 389 Howard, Frank 68, ¡¡¡ Howard, Frank Oliver 468 Howard, Jack ¡82 Howard, James 28¡ Howard, James F. (?) “Goldie” 83 Howard, Ken 245–46 Howard, Milford 2¡8 Howard, Pete 230 Howard, Robert “Bob” 20 Howard, Robert R. “Conan” 375

Index Howard, Thomas Crawford (usually referred to by middle name) ¡65, 226, 248–49, 308–9, 333 Howard, William 338 Howe, Calvin Earl “Cal” 240, 39¡–92 Howe, Warren 2¡5 Howell, Bryan A. 263 Howell, Homer Elliott “Dixie” ¡5¡ Howell, Millard Fillmore “Dixie” 296, 346, 39¡ Howell, Murray “Porky” 26, 37–38, ¡9¡ Hower, Karl ¡45 Howerton, Carl 243 Howerton, Wm. Ray “Bill,” “Hopalong” 256, 366 Howser, Rich. Dalton “Dick” 480, 490, 493 Hoy, Marc “A” 500 Hoyinski, Stanley ¡32 Hoyle, Dick ¡79–80 Hoyt, Dewey 252 Hrbascek, Edward 263, 348 Hresko, Emory 262 Hrncir, Guss 354 Hrniak, Walter 5¡6 Hrovatic, Carl D. 407 Hruska, Roman 42 Hubacek, Douglas E. 435 Hubbard, C.E. ¡86 Hubbard, James G. “Jim” 443 Hubbell, Carl Owen 8 Hubbell, Merritt 60 Hubbs, Kenneth Douglass “Ken” 505 Huck, Nick 277 Hudacsek, William G. 242, 34¡ Huddleston, Robert 252, 273, 306 Hudgens, James “Jim” 26, 38 Hudson, Frank ¡39 Hudson, Sidney Charles ¡20, ¡39 Hudson, William Burt 283 Huesman, John P. 299, 4¡3 Hu›, Joe 28–29 Hu›, Ken 89 Hu›man, Benjamin Franklin ¡2 Hu›man, Carl 7¡, 80 Hu›man, Donald G. 385 Hu›man, Warren ¡45, ¡65 Hu›stetler, Wm. H. “Bill,” “Bus” ¡65, 254, 294, 343 Hu›t, Irvin “Fuzzy” 23, 32 Hughes, Edward ¡42 Hughes, Gabriel “Pete” ¡04, ¡32–33, ¡54, ¡7¡, 2¡5, 276, 308, 33¡–32, 356 Hughes, George T. 278, 3¡2, 336, 38¡ Hughes, Harry (¡B) ¡8¡–82 Hughes, Harry (OF) 6, 77, 83 Hughes, John 37 Hughes, Merle Stanley (sometimes as Stanley Merle) “Scooter” 249, 3¡4, 329, 376 Hughes, Thos. Edward “Tom” 4¡9, 43¡ Hughes, Thos. Owen “Tom” ¡38 Hughes, William “Bill” 7, 34, 65

Hughson, Cecil Carlton “Tex” ¡¡4 Hulik, Joe 2¡6 Hull, Thos. G. “Tommy” 439 Hulu, Lou 286 Hulvey, James Hensel “Hank” 7, 45 Humber, Thos. H. “Tom” 426–27, 442, 452–53, 469 Hume, Redmond 48 Humphrey, Ken 206 Humphreys, Calvin Stringer “Cal” 375 Humphries, Oscar ¡85 Hundley, Floyd ¡0¡ Hundley, Randy 496 Hungling, Bernard Herman “Bernie” 45 Hunnefield, William Fenton “Wild Bill” 65 Hunphrey, Ken 234 Hunsinger, Earl, Jr. 435 Hunt, Al Joe 324 Hunt, Allen 75, 85, 95, ¡¡0 Hunt, Arthur Leland “Ben” 63 Hunt, Forrest ¡24 Hunt, Kenneth Lawrence “Ken L.” 363, 476–77 Hunt, Kenneth Raymond “Ken R.” 49¡ Hunt, Robert Edwin 44¡ Hunter, Donald E. 3¡4, 370 Hunter, Eddie 4¡ Hunter, Gordon “Billy” 264– 65 Hunter, Mike A. ¡07 Hunter, Miles 33 Hunter, Willard 500 Huntington, WV 68, 75, 86, ¡2¡, ¡4¡, ¡60–6¡, ¡84 Hunton, John H. 352 Hurd, Thos. “Tom” 46¡ Hurley, Edward ¡¡8 Hurn, Harold L. 3¡9 Hurst, Lyle 2¡4 Hurst, Robt. “Bob” 24 Hussey, Jack W. “Brazen” 246, 372, 394 Hutcheson, Joseph Johnson “Joe” 34, 65 Hutcheson, Ralph 87 Hutchings, John ¡¡¡, ¡28 Hutchinson, Ira Kendall 23¡, 207 Hutchinson, KS 53, 68, 76, 87, 99, ¡¡5, ¡33, 200, 220, 277–78, 309, 357, 378–79, 40¡ Huthmaker, Fred 383 Hutson, Cecil “Rubber Arm” ¡05, 254, 336, 360, 383 Hutson, Donald M. 85 Hutson, Eulas 322, 389 Hutton, Ernest “Ernie” ¡2 Hutton, Major B. ¡05 Huwer, Charles 255–56, 270 Huyke, Elwood “Woody” 485 Hyatt, Robert Carl 253, 26¡, 347, 369 Hyde, Tommy 225 Hyder, John ¡24 Hyder, Ralph ¡59 Hyman, Donald 467 Hyman, Lee 5¡2 Hyman, Samuel “Sam” 33 Iannaccone, Carmine 524

Iasillio, Caspar 3¡6 Ibanez, Alfredo 355 Ibanez, Amado 347–48 Ibarra, Alfonso 497, 507, 5¡8 Idaho Falls, ID ¡2, ¡54, ¡76, 2¡9, 243–44, 275, 307, 33¡, 355, 378, 399–400, 439, 455, 470–7¡, 482–83, 495, 508, 5¡9 Idol, Weldon 226, 240 I›t, Ralph C. ¡64 Illinois-Iowa-Indiana (Three I) ¡¡, ¡8, 27, 39, 74, 96, ¡¡¡, ¡28, ¡40, ¡70, ¡97, 2¡3, 237, 266, 30¡, 326, 352, 373, 395, 4¡7, 436, 452, 468, 480, 493, 505 Illinois State 226 Imbra, John 23¡ Imbriani, Michael 499 Independence, MO 20, 47, 53, 249, 286 Indianapolis, IN ¡0, ¡3, 22, 30, 42, 48–49, 54, 62, 7¡, ¡90, ¡94, 207, 232, 256–57, 296, 345, 367, 389, 409, 428, 445, 46¡, 474, 500, 5¡3 Inge, Horace 343 Ingram, Clarence 457 Ingram, Horace 480 Intelkofer, John W. ¡49 International ¡3, 22, 3¡, 43, 49, 55, 62, 207, 232, 257, 300, 320, 345, 367, 389, 4¡0, 429, 445, 46¡, 475, 487, 500, 5¡3 Interstate ¡3¡, ¡47, ¡68, 2¡¡, 235, 264, 325, 35¡ Iola, KS 204, 237, 249, 286, 3¡4, 36¡ Iott, Clarence “Hooks” ¡42, ¡85 Ippolito, Rocco “Rocky” 249, 26¡, 392 Irby, Dave “Red” 454 Irons, Edward “Eddie” 477 Ironside, Robert T. (Wheelchair-bound Television Detective) 394 Irvine, Rodger 499 Irwin, Leon 249 Isaac, John 499 Isekite, Floyd G. ¡¡2, ¡29, ¡50 Isenhart, John 40¡–2 Isert, Frank (Fred?) ¡04 Isert, Fred (Frank?) ¡¡4 Israel, Elbert Willis 35¡, 39¡ Ivanicki, Ivan ¡03 Ivey, Wiley 248 Ivy, Harold “Poison” 3¡2 Izquierdo-Valdez, Enrique Roberto “Hank” 4¡7 Izzolo, Fred 486 Jablonski, Raymond Leo “Ray,” “Jabbo” 247, 300, 324, 345, 487 Jaciak, Stanley “Jack” 52¡ Jaciuk, Frank 485 Jackson, Alvin Neal “Al” 4¡5, 466, 475, 50¡ Jackson, Bill ¡46–¡47 Jackson, George Christopher “Hickory” 2¡ Jackson, Harold “Hal” ¡95, 292, 307 Jackson, Lawrence Curtis “Larry” 353 Jackson, Leonard C. 387, 407

Index Jackson, Louis Clarence “Lou” 478 Jackson, Michael 36 Jackson, Ransom “Handsome” 235 Jackson, Ronald A. “Ron” 3¡6, 435 Jackson, Ronald Harris “Ron” 445 Jackson, MS 48, 60, 68, 85, 96, ¡¡¡, ¡28, ¡49, 2¡3, 265–66 Jackson, TN 79, 90, ¡04, ¡2¡, ¡40, ¡60, ¡83, 3¡4 Jacksonville Beach, FL 359, 38¡ Jacksonville, FL ¡8, 27, 38, 84, 95, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡69–70, ¡9¡, ¡96, 2¡0, 234, 260, 298, 323, 369, 39¡–92, 4¡3–¡4, 432– 33, 449, 465, 479, 49¡, 5¡2–¡3 Jacksonville, TX 68, 76, 85–86, 98, ¡¡3–¡4, 2¡8, 305 Jacobs, Anthony Robert, “Tony” 200, 235, 32¡, 368, 390 Jacobs, Arthur “Art,” “Bucky” 254, 299, 350, 4¡6 Jacobs, Arthur Evan 46, 56 Jacobs, Forrest Vandergrift “Spook” 238, 296, 32¡, 346, 4¡0 Jacobs, Joe L. 4¡7 Jacobs, Lamar 49¡–92 Jacobs, Maurice ¡46–¡47 Jacobs, Newton ¡26 Jacobs, Otis Lehman 337 Jacobs, Raymond Frederick 24 Jacobs, William Elmer (went by middle name) 9, ¡4 Jacobus, Steve 52¡–22 Jacoby, Robert 455 Jacome, Ed 250, 330 Jaderlund (Jaderland), Bob 220, 26¡, 35¡ Jaeger, Norman ¡57, ¡7¡ Jahn, Arthur Charles “Art” 8– 9 Jahn, George 53 Jaime, Clarence 220 Jakes, Harvel/Harvill 228, 27¡–72 Jakowcyzk, Wally 2¡3 Jakubowski, Alfred 455 James, Byrne 5¡ James, Chas. Wesley “Charlie” 475 James, Cleo 520–2¡ James, Ed 352 James, George 246 James, Lacy 205, 238 James, Norman 96, ¡44 James, Owen 439 James, Teofilo 5¡¡, 5¡9 James, Walter 498, 5¡0 James, William 9¡ Jameson, Donald 244 Jamestown, ND 92, ¡07 Jamestown, NY ¡43, ¡87, 206, 229, 29¡, 3¡6, 34¡, 363, 384, 407, 427, 443, 5¡¡, 523 Jamin, Charlie ¡43 Jancse, John F. 428–29 Janeski, Robert J. ¡24 Janeski, Sigmund “Ziggy” 242 Janesville, WI ¡89, 23¡, 256, 295, 3¡9, 365, 387 Janet, Joe ¡89

Jankowski, Steve Joseph 399, 465 Jankowski, William 264 Jannazzo, Phil ¡3¡ Jansce, John 345–46, 428–29 Jansco, George ¡28 Jansen, Andrew ¡93 Jantze, Phil 444 Japery, Al ¡29 Jarlett, Alfred “Alf ” 252, 3¡5– ¡6 Jarrett, Bill 33 Jarvis, Cleveland 69 Jarvis, Elbert 36¡ Jasinski, Arthur 5¡¡ Jasinski, Sigmund “Ziggy” 267 Jasinski, Walter T. 336 Jaska, David H. “Dave” 297, 368 Jaust (real name Grzech), J.E. ¡57 Jaynes, Leland (Lelon) 255, 294 Jeandron, Jean (John) 308 Jeanerette, LA 69, 78–79, 89, ¡03 Jeanes, Ernest Lee “Tex” 34, 86 Jeanes, John 460 Jeanette, PA 93–94 Je›coat, George Edward ¡5 Je›coat, Harold Bentley “Hal” 209 Je›ries, Irving 24–25, 48 Jelincich, Frank Anthony, Jr., “Jelly” ¡73 Jenkins, Ernest “Lefty” 78, 89, ¡08, ¡24 Jenkins, George ¡08, ¡64 Jenkins, Harry E., Jr. ¡80 Jenkins, Thomas Gri‡th “Tom” 30 Jenkins, Wilburn R. 3¡9, 4¡4, 428 Jenkins, KY 250–5¡, 288–89 Jenney, Lloyd Percy 374 Jennings, Charles 472 Jennings, James T. “Jim” 426 Jennings, Michael Thoedore “Ted” 87, 267 Jennings, Richard V. 426 Jennings, Wm. Lee “Bill” 2¡¡ Jensen, Forrest “Woody” 20, 35, ¡54 Jensen, Lauritz 238 Jent, Dennis 277 Jerkins, George 93 Jernigan, Peter 5¡0 Jersey City, NJ ¡3–¡4, 22, 43, 49, 55, 207–8, 232, 257, 488 Jessee, Daniel Edward “Dan” ¡2 Jessen, Svend “Red,” “Swede” 275, 307, 33¡, 355, 399 Jessup, GA 3¡3, 360, 382–83 Jester, Virgil M. 298 Jeter, Elmer 230 Jethroe, Samuel “Sam,” “Jet” 257, 367, 389, 429 Jewell, Jim ¡35 Jimenez, Elvio 484, 494 Jimenez, Manuel Emelio “Manny” 469, 479 Jimenez, Rogelio 497, 5¡8 Jiminez, Alfredo 292, 42¡ Jiminez, Dario 3¡3, 334 Jiminez, David 406, 479 Joerndt, Ashley H. “Ash” 80

Johann, Bruce 23¡ Johannes, Ivan 260–6¡ John, Bill 30¡ John, George 353 Johnson, (first name unknown) “Red” 38 Johnson, Alexander 52¡ Johnson, Benjamin Franklin “Ben” 475 Johnson, Bill (2B) 2¡3, 322 Johnson, Bob (¡B) 344 Johnson, Chester “Chet” ¡72 Johnson, Cli›ord “Connie” 348 Johnson, Darrell Dean 409, 428 Johnson, Deron Roger 442, 448, 46¡–62, 487 Johnson, Donald Roy 367 Johnson, Douglass 225 Johnson, Earl ¡5, 25, 56 Johnson, Emmitt ¡37, ¡56 Johnson, Ernest Thorwald “Ernie” 26¡, 3¡5, 320 Johnson, Fred Edward 45, 57 Johnson, Gary 5¡6 Johnson, Harry ¡05 Johnson, Harvey ¡¡5, ¡68 Johnson, James ¡38 Johnson, Julian 6¡ Johnson, Kenneth Carstensen “Ken” 476 Johnson, Lawrence ¡68 Johnson, Lorne 486, 493, 5¡9 Johnson, Louis Brown “Sweet Lou” 473, 500 Johnson, Marion ¡78 Johnson, Milo Edward 32¡ Johnson, Monte 77 Johnson, Morris 334 Johnson, Peter Karl 423 Johnson, Richard “Rich” 485 Johnson, Robert (OF) 280 Johnson, Robert “Crossroads”(P) 256 Johnson, Robert Lee “Bob,” “Indian Bob” 33, 50 Johnson, Robert W. (3B) 423, 439, 476–77, 50¡ Johnson, Ronald D. “Rube” 308 Johnson, Roy 332 Johnson, Roy Cleveland ¡4 Johnson, Silas 22 Johnson, Stanley Lucius 430, 466, 488 Johnson, Thos. J. “Tom” 469 Johnson, Tony 80 Johnson, Vernon “Sock” 65 Johnson, W. “Windy” (P) 97 Johnson, W. Lloyd vii Johnson, Wilbur 448, 478 Johnson, William 440 Johnson, William (C) ¡87 Johnson, William (OF) ¡27–28, ¡7¡ Johnson, William (OF) ¡7¡ Johnson, William Russell “Bull” (3B) ¡49 Johnson, Winlow 200 Johnson, Wm. E. “Bill” 322 Johnson City, TN ¡00–¡, ¡34, ¡55–56, ¡78, ¡92 ¡93, ¡94, ¡95, 222, 403, 424, 456, 47¡, 496 Johnston, Everett ¡64 Johnston, G. ¡8

547 Johnston, Homer 204 Johnston, James Harle “Jimmy” ¡5 Johnston, James “Jim” 467 Johnston, Leonard Edward “Len” 369 Johnston, Manly 482 Johnstown, NY ¡¡2–¡3, ¡5¡–52, ¡73, 2¡6, 239, 270–7¡, 304, 328 Johnstown, PA ¡9, 60, 67, 75, 86, 99, ¡43, ¡64, ¡87, ¡99, 242, 273, 306, 432, 503–4 Jok, Stanley Edward “Stan” 23¡, 236, 26¡, 367, 4¡0 Jolley, Smead Powell ¡4, 23, 63, ¡50, ¡7¡, 388 Jones, Allen 475 Jones, Butler D. 386 Jones, Carl “Buddy” 353 Jones, Charleston ¡34 Jones, Coburn Dyas “Cobe” ¡5 Jones, Dalton 5¡5 Jones, Delbert E. ¡07, ¡29, ¡7¡ Jones, Delos 69 Jones, Dick 284 Jones, Don 96 Jones, Earl Leslie “Lefty” ¡43 Jones, Edward T. (OF) 426 Jones, Gordon “Gordie” 429 Jones, Grover William “Deacon” 4¡7, 442, 504, 5¡6 Jones, Harold “Hal” 474, 482, 49¡, 50¡ Jones, Harvey 492 Jones, Indiana 33¡ Jones, Jean 29 Jones, Jerry W. 360 Jones, Jim 283 Jones, John (possibly John Paul Jones) 35 Jones, John (possibly John William Jones) 66 Jones, John Paul (¡B) 328, 4¡3–¡4 Jones, Kenneth J. 329, 4¡5 Jones, Lee Roy 324, 394, 4¡6 Jones, Leroy Lucien “Cowboy” ¡2, 36, 59 Jones, Louis 278 Jones, Marvin C. 34¡ Jones, Morris E. 2¡9 Jones, Murrell ¡30 Jones, Paul E. “Cooter” 448, 465 Jones, Rbt. “Bobby” ¡¡5, ¡63, ¡75 Jones, Richard ¡74 Jones, Rudy 47 Jones, Ruether M. 2¡8, 242 Jones, Sam 60 Jones, Samuel “Toothpick Sam” 389 Jones, Sheldon “Available” ¡96 Jones, Sherman “Roadblock” 488 Jones, Stanley 486 Jones, Ted 294 Jones, Vernal “Nippy” 207, 462 Jones, William “Lefty” 22¡ Jones, Willie Edward “Puddin’ Head” 2¡3, 232 Jones, Wm. “Bill” (P) 498, 505 Jones, Wm. C. “Bill” (¡B) 329 Jonesboro, AR 9¡–92, ¡06–7, ¡23, ¡42, ¡62, ¡86 Jongwaard, Roger 42¡, 436

548 Jonnard, Clarence James “Bubber” ¡3, 57 Jonnard, Claude Alfred ¡0 Joplin, MO 20, 47, 58, 68, 76, 87, ¡¡4, ¡33–34, ¡77, ¡99–200, 220, 245, 277, 309, 332–33, 356–57 Joratz, Rbt. E. “Bob” ¡20, ¡35, ¡5¡, ¡54 Jordan, Baxter Byerly “Bud” 43, 49 Jordan, Charles “Charlie” ¡40, ¡6¡ Jordan, David 436 Jordan, Ford 266 Jordan, James William “Jimmy” ¡7 Jordan, Jerry ¡88–¡89 Jordan, Jimmy “Jumpin’ Jimmy” ¡33–34 Jordan, Niles Chapman 28¡–82, 30¡, 325 Jordan, Thos. Je›erson “Tom” ¡52, 3¡4, 323–24, 349, 380, 420 Jorgens, Arndt Ludwig “Art” ¡6 Jorgensen, Carl “Pinky” 99 Jorgensen, John Donald “Spider” ¡72, 388 Jorgenson, Charles R. 400 Joselane, Eugene P. ¡89 Joseph, Ricardo 494 Joshua, Jos. “Joe” 374, 437 Joslin, John 205 Joyce, John ¡85 Joyner, A. “Monk” ¡02 Joyner, Everett 288, 369, 43¡ Joyner, Julian T. 3¡3, 36¡ Juarez, MEX see Ciudad Juarez Juckno, Chester 273 Judah, Durwood 38¡ Judd, Ralph Wesley ¡¡, 72 Judnich, Walter Franklin 83 Judson, Howard Kolls “Howie” 2¡3 Judy, Lyle Leroy “Punch” 77, ¡20, ¡39, ¡47, 202–3, 225, 282–83, 3¡¡, 335 Juelke, Conrad 259 Jumonville, George Benedict ¡5¡ June, Mitchell E. 4¡7, 492 Jungman, Maurice ¡02, ¡28 Juntenan, Ensio 70 Jurwiak, Felix ¡54 Just (Juszczak), Joseph Erwin ¡05 Justice, William M. “Bill” ¡35 Kaat, James “Jim” 470–7¡ Kabbes, Ronald W. “Ron” 467 Kadis, George ¡37, ¡96, 2¡2 Kaess, Richard 2¡0 Kahdot, Issac Leonard “Ike” 68 Kahle, Robert Wayne 85 Kahn, “Buddy” 9¡ Kahn, Louis, Jr. ¡3¡, ¡53, 323 Kahny, Len (Lee?) “Un” 78, 96, ¡09 Kaiser, Al 305, 325 Kaiser, Alvin ¡80 Kaiser, Clyde Donald “Tiger” 487 Kaiser, Jos. “Joe” 483–93

Index Kakaloris, Theodore “Ted” ¡22, ¡45 Kakuske, “Bill,” “Triple K” 456 Kalal, Richard ¡79, 20¡ Kalin, Frank Bruno “Fats” ¡24, ¡49 Kalkowski, Ray 228 Kallas, T., William, Jr. 374 Kallina, Edward James 29–30 Kalmes, William 495–96 Kambour, Edward “Ted” 468 Kanagy, Warren 224, 276 Kanavage, Chester B. 285 Kane, Charles ¡82 Kane, John 53 Kane, Leo “Brick” 6 Kane, Tom ¡34 Kanehl, Roderick Edwin “Rod,” “Hot Rod” 408, 452, 464, 502–3 Kannapolis, NC ¡6¡–62, ¡85 Kansas City, MO ¡0, ¡3, 2¡–22, 62, 7¡–72, ¡90, ¡94, 207, 232, 256–57, 296, 320, 345, 367, 389 Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri (KOM) 204, 227, 249, 285, 3¡3, 337, 36¡ Kappelman, Francis “Frank” ¡72 Kapura, George ¡02 Kapuscinski, Thaddeus 229 Karan, Albert 375–76 Karas, Steve 3¡5 Karasek, Robert 403 Kardash, Mike ¡57 Kardow, Paul 2¡9 Karl, Rich. A. “Dick” 328–29 Karlik, Emil J. 34¡, 350 Karlon, William John “Bill” 33 Karpel, Herbert ¡90 Karpinski, John Edward 279, 306, 353, 398 Karpinski, Stanley P. “Stan” 225, 283, 298 Karpuk, Peter 269, 303 Kase, Harold F. ¡6¡ Kash, Leslie “Les” 35¡ Kash (Kaiserski), Mike ¡23, ¡50, 2¡¡ Kasko, Edward Michael “Eddie” 429 Kassabian, Michael “Mike” 335 Kast, Delbert Lee 304 Kating, thomas 3¡6 Katt, Raymond Frederick “Ray” 243, 298, 320, 345, 367 Kaufman, Anthony Charles “Tony” 35 Kavenaugh, Eugene H. ¡86 Kay, Artie 475 Kay, Bill 3¡7 Kazak (Tkaczuk), Edward “Eddie” ¡59, ¡83, ¡96, 2¡0, 232 Kazanski, Theo. Stanley “Ted” 346–47, 500 Keane, John Joseph “Jihnny” 47–48, 53 Keane, Robert 206, 253 Keane, Thos. Edward “Tom” 427 Kearney, NE 442–43, 478–79, 473, 485 Kearns, William 302

Keating, James Joseph 243, 397 Kedzierski, Leo A. 3¡4 Keefe, Tim 495 Keegan, Rbt. Charles “Bob” 346 Keeler, Bob 2¡5 Keene, Katy 458 Keeney, Scott R. 338 Keenoy, Justin 80, 9¡, 94 Keesey, James Ward “Jim” 23, 43–44, 8¡ Keeter, Carl ¡85 Kegley, Mark ¡00–¡ Kehoe, Robert 300 Keister, Harry William 424 Keith, Daniel E. 300, 395, 424 Keithly, Newt 204 Kell, Everett 3¡2–¡3, 322–23, 39¡ Kell, George ¡85 Kelleher, Francis Eugene “Frank” 86, 208 Kelleher, Thos. “Tom” 47¡ Keller, Charles Ernest III 484 Keller, Donald 484 Keller, Gerald 460 Keller, Harold Kefauver “Hal” 390 Keller, Jim 287 Keller, John 45¡ Kelley, Harry Leroy 65, 73 Kelley, John ¡06 Kelley, Richard 506 Kelley, Wm. “Bill” 24 Kellman, Edrick O. “Leon” 4¡¡, 429–30, 446 Kellogg, Robert ¡97 Kelly, David E. ¡3¡ Kelly, Elwood 69 Kelly, George 40 Kelly, H. (OF) 46 Kelly, Harry 286 Kelly, Harry (P) ¡5, 34 Kelly, John J. “Jack” 224 Kelly, John Thomas 327 Kelly, Rbt. Edward “Bob” (P) 447 Kelly, William Oliver 233 Kelso, Bill 496 Keltner, Kenneth “Ken” 89 Kemner, Herman John “Dutch” ¡5 Kemp, Milan 306 Kempa, Frank J. 379 Kempe, Lawrence ¡45 Kendall, George W. 337 Kenders, Albert Daniel George “AL” 455, 480 Kendrig, Lawrence J. 44¡ Kenna, Edward Aloysius, “Ed” ¡0, 34 Kennedy, Forrest “Frosty” 276, 379–80, 40¡–2 Kennedy, John Edward 509 Kennedy, John Irvin 450 Kennedy, LeRoy, “Roy” ¡56, 223 Kennedy, William Aulton “Bill” ¡59, ¡9¡, 202, 209, 408, 445 Kennewick, WA 302, 328, 348, 360, 4¡7, 435, 45¡, 492–93, 505, 5¡6 Kennington, Robert 203 Kenny, Robert 524 Kensecke, John L. “Len” ¡95 Kentling, Carl 53, 68, 76–77

Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee (Kitty) 79, 90, ¡04, ¡2¡, ¡40, ¡60, ¡83, 204, 227, 286, 3¡4, 338, 362, 373, 405, 425 Kenworthy, Rich. Lee “Dick” 5¡0 Keokuk, IA 28–29, 4¡, 53, 58, 2¡7, 240–4¡, 27¡, 352, 373–74, 395, 4¡7, 436, 452, 473, 485, 498, 522–23 Keough, Richard Martin “Marty” 375, 389, 409 Kerestes, Melvin J. “Mel” 282–83, 3¡¡, 334, 396 Keriazakos, Constantine Nicholas “Gus” 4¡4 Kerksieck, Waymon William “Bill” 99 Kern, Dan 522 Kern, Frank 52, 56 Kern, Wm. “Bill” 478, 502 Kernoski, John ¡43 Kerns, Russ 209, 265 Kerr, Franklin W. 397 Kerr, James ¡47 (possibly J. MacDonald Kerr) Kerr, John Francis ¡4, ¡¡2, ¡88–89 Kerr, Tom 267 Kerr, Wm. Gene “Bill” 279, 327, 368 Kerrigan, Robert F. 302 Kestler, Edward “Ed” 273, 305–65 Ketcher, Jim 225 Kewanee, IL 240, 27¡ Keyes, Stanley C. ¡7, 26–27, 35, 46, 50 Khedarian, Oscar 2¡3, 259, 322 Khoury, Raymond P. 3¡4 Kiel, Herman 202, 242, 273 Kiely, Leo Patrick 444 Kiersey, Harlan ¡63 Kiger, Joel 498 Kildoo, Donald K. 382, 393 Kildu›, Peter, John 7 Kiley, David E. 400–¡ Kilgore, TX 99, ¡¡3–¡4, ¡3¡, ¡52, 2¡8, 24¡–42, 272 Killebrew, Harmon Clayton 432, 447 Killian, Don 499 Killinger, Glen 26, 37 Killinger, William G., Jr. 325 Kilpatrick, Art 52 Kilpatrick, Wm. “Bob” 522–23 Kilpela, Harvey Vincent (went by middle name) 444 Kimball, Kenneth R. 355 Kimball, Leighton ¡68, ¡94 Kimball, Newell W. “Newt” 68 Kimbrell, Casey ¡39 Kimmick, Walter Lyons “Wally” 25 Kimsey, Chad ¡6 Kinaman, Charles R. “Dick” 297 Kindall, Gerlad Donald “Jerry” 464 Kinder, Ellis Raymond ¡60, ¡84 Kindsfather, Jacob Vernon (went by middle name) 435, 452, 468 King, Bob 292 King, Charles L. 48

Index King, Chas. Gilbert “Charlie,” “Chick” 350 King, Don ¡¡8, ¡37 King, Eddie ¡35 King, Francis 330 King, Frank 236 King, Hal 62 King, James (P) 486 King, James Hubert “Jim” 27¡, 30¡, 328, 392, 488 King, John 30 King, Lynn Paul 73 King, Nelson Joseph “Nellie” 264, 370, 39¡ King, Robert E. 422, 438–39 Kingdon, Wescott “Wes” 50 Kingman, Charles 335 Kingman, Dave 359 Kingsport, TN ¡¡6, ¡34, ¡55, ¡79, ¡92, ¡93, ¡94, ¡95, 20¡, 222, 279, 423–24, 456, 496, 509 Kingston, NY 235, 263 Kingston, ONT, CAN 2¡5, 293 Kinnamon, Robert E. ¡5¡, ¡7¡, 404 Kinnard, Guilford A. “Buster” ¡82, 343 Kinston, NC ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡37, ¡56–57, ¡79–80, 223, 246, 280, 3¡0, 334, 358–59, 435, 5¡6 Kintana, Leo J. 56 Kinzer, Larry 68, 85, 98, ¡26, ¡69 Kipp, Fred Leo 374, 429, 488 Kipper, Alfred N. 40¡ Kipper, Thornton J. 452, 468 Kirby, James H. 349, 37¡, 4¡5, 434 Kircho›, Elmer ¡06–7, ¡23, ¡42 Kircho›, Raymond 306 Kirk, William “Lefty” 403 Kirke, Judson, Jr., “Jay” 79, 98, ¡32 Kirke, Judson, Sr., “Jay” 79 Kirkland, Fauline ¡82 Kirkland, Joe Ed 266 Kirkland, Willie Charles 399, 4¡5, 428 Kirrene, Jos. John “Joe” 392 Kissell, George 2¡¡–¡2 Kister, Tom ¡64 Kitsos, Christopher Anestos 242, 477 Kittle, Hubert Milton “Hub” ¡¡4, ¡30, 2¡5, 3¡¡, 33¡, 356 Kitts, Orville A. 339 Kivett, Bill 269 Klaerner, Hugo Emil “Dutch” 67, 76, ¡03 Klamath Falls, OR 28¡, 3¡0–¡¡, 335 Klann, Frederick ¡24 Klaus, Rbt. Francis “Bobby” 504 Klaus, Rich. “Dick” ¡96, 265, 335, 385 Klaus, Wm. Joseph “Billy” 226, 240, 320, 389 Kleckley, James 2¡4 Klein, Charles “Chuck” ¡7 Klein, Ernesto 342 Klein, Louis Frank “Lou” ¡59, 4¡9–20 Kleinhans, Theodore Otto “Ted” 57

Kleinke, Norbert George “Nub” 53 Kleir, Alfred 88 Klimchok, Louis Stephen “Lou” 470, 477 Klimczak, Walter ¡47 Kline, John Robert “Bobby” 390 Kline, Robert 36 Kline, Ronald Lee “Ron,” Moose 337 Klinkert, Ray ¡¡2 Klippstein, John Calvin “Johnny” 259 Klopp, Stanley “Klip” 96 Kloza, Jack 27, 35, 62 Kluk, Paul ¡83 Klumpp, Elmer Edward 28–29, 82, ¡64 Klunder, Rich. “Dick,” “Thunder” 504 Kluttz, Clyde Franklin 82 Kluzewski, Theodore Bernard “Ted,” Klu” ¡96 Klyczek, Eugene 458 Knapp, Edward 387 Knerr, James 442 Kneupper, Ben ¡50 Knickerbocker, Austin ¡63, ¡73 Knight, Chas. “Charley” 228, 25¡, 290 Knight, Elmer Russell “Jack”46 Knight, John Wesley “Jack,” Schoolboy” 8 Knight, Robert 267 Knisely, Gordon 254 Knoblauch, Edward A. ¡3¡, ¡48–49, ¡69, 4¡2 Knoblauch, Raymond M. “Ray” 3¡5 Knoop, Rbt. “Bobby” 459–60, 468 Knothe, George Bertram ¡6 Knowles, Darold Duane 507–8, 5¡7 Knowles, Ivan 48¡ Knowles, Ray ¡78 Knowles, Worlise ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡80 Knox, Cli›ord Hiram “Bud” 38, 74, ¡¡7 Knox, John 20¡ Knox, William 404 Knoxville, TN ¡7, 26, 45, 57, 65, 8¡, ¡9¡, ¡98, 2¡4, 238, 267, 302, 396, 433, 449, 465, 479, 49¡–92, 504, 5¡6 Kobesky, Ed, “Round Ed” ¡57, 235, 29¡ Koch, Alan Goodman 502 Koch, Gus 70 Koczwara, Robert L. 382 Koecher, Richard Finlay “Dick” 209, 234 Koehl, Robert 483 Koehler, Arthur R. “Art” 9 Koehler, Horace Levering “Pip” 83, ¡¡3, ¡32, ¡53–54 Koenecke, Leonard “Len” 42, 55 Koenig, Anthony “Tony” 9¡, ¡66 Koenig, Fred Carl 39¡, 465 Koenig, Marcus 275 Koerner, Simon 275 Koewing, Wilson ¡43

Kohlbecker, Frank Anthony 33 Kohler, C. Vernon ¡53 Kohlman, Joseph James “Joe” ¡03 Kohlmeyer, Cornell ¡34 Kohout, Rbt. “Bob,” “K.O.” ¡97 Kokomo, IN 426, 442, 458, 473, 485, 498, 5¡0 Kokos, Richard Jerome “Dick” 206, 209 Kolberg, Irving ¡38, ¡¡9 Kollar, Harold 2¡4, 277, 309 Kolleval, Olav “Kalivalla” 303 Kolstad, Harold Everette “Hal” 473 Komanecky, Ray 246 Komisar, Tony “Alles Klar” 523 Kommy, Ray ¡¡7 Kone›, John ¡34 Koney, Chuck 207 Koney (Konieczny), Norman “Norm” 238, 258 Konyar, Peter P. 329 Koopman (Keepman), Harold ¡23 Kopacz, Edward 42¡ Kopko, John 70 Koplitz, Howard Dean “Howie” 502 Kopp, Ron 520 Kopp, Walter ¡25 Koppe (born Kopchia), Jos. “Joe” 307–8, 325, 4¡2 Koppe, Lawrence 420 Koppenhaver, Robert “Whitey 247, 284 Koproski, Joe 2¡0, 263 Koranda, James B. “Jim” 452, 489, 5¡3 Korba, John 93 Korchek, Mike 3¡3 Korczowski, Thos M. “Tom” 300, 368 Kordenbrock, Walter J. ¡42 Korte, Rich. J. “Dick” ¡¡9 Kortum, Kenneth J. 420 Kosan, Ed 265–66 Kosco, Andrew “Andy” 492 Kosel, Joe 77 Koshorek, Charles 206 Koshorek, Clement John “Clem” 259–60, 297, 32¡ Kosis, Robert E. 384 Koslo, Dave ¡60 Kosloski, Victor 80 Kostner, Richard 383 Kostro, Frank Jerry 443, 45¡, 5¡2–¡3 Koszarek, Wm. “Bill” 206, 267 Kotrany, Jos. “Joe” 464 Kott, Carroll “Carl” 48, 60, ¡58 Koufax, Sandy 88, 3¡2 Kousagan, Peter “Pete” 269, 303, 377 Kovacs (Kovach), Joseph ¡52–53 Kovak (Kovach) George 87, 88, ¡00 Koval (Kovalauskas), Thos. “Tommy” ¡80–8¡ Kovalchik (Kowalcyk), John 358 Kovalcik, Joe 288 Kovalcik, Louis “Lou” 3¡5 Kowalchyk, Peter, Jr. 235

549 Kowalik, Fabian Lorenz 57 Kowalowski, Thos. “Tom” 5¡9 Kowalski, Walter 239, 330 Koy, Ernest Anys “Ernie” 59, 64 Kozak, Ray ¡63 Kozar, Albert Kenneth “Al” ¡95, 209 Kracher, Joseph Peter “Jug” ¡20, ¡28, 2¡8, 242, 272, 35¡ Krage, Edw. William “Ed” 200, 260, 297, 322 Kraley, Steve Charles 368 Kralick, Jack Francis 438 Kramer, John P. ¡3¡ Kratzer, Duane 77, 90 Kratzer, Joseph 240 Kraus, John William “Jack,” “Tex” ¡03, ¡30–3¡ Kraus, Peter L. ¡24, ¡32 Krause, Melvin A. 4¡7, 45¡–52, 480 Krauss, Adolph “Ad” 60, ¡89 Krausse, Lewis Bernard, Sr. ¡09 Kravitz, Daniel “Danny,” “Dusty,” “Beak” 278, 3¡3, 4¡¡, 50¡–2, 5¡2 Kraynak, Ken 459 Kreevich, John A. ¡22 Kreevich, Michael Andreas “Mike” 4¡, 46, 7¡–72 Krehmeyer, Walter 28 Kreiger, Kurt Ferdinand “Dutch” 296 Kreshka, Emil ¡34 Kress, Chas. Steven “Charlie,” “Chuck” 233 Kress, Milton L. “Milt” 290, 306 Kress, Ralph “Red” ¡¡, ¡90 Kretlow, Louis Henry “Lou” 234 Kreuter, John Del 442 Kreutzer, Frank 5¡3 Krider, John 44 Krings, David E. 3¡2 Krist, Howard Wilbur “Howie” 84 Krole, Frank 85, ¡30 Kroll, Gary Melvin 494, 5¡5 Kromko, Stephen 206 Kroner, John 46 Kropf, John 274 Krotz, Rich. “Dick” 5¡0 Krsnich, Michael “Mike” 3¡5, 339, 449–50 Krsnich, Rocco Peter “Rocky” 236, 259, 296–97 Kruckman, John 20¡ Krueger, (first name unknown) ¡¡ Krueger, Hans ¡45 Krueger, Otto ¡9 Krueger, Wm. L. “Bill” 3¡6–¡7 Krug, Everett “Chris” 508 Krug, Martin 244 Kryhoski, Richard “Dick” 206 Krynzel, Deedum ¡2¡ Kubek, Anthony Christopher “Tony” 405, 4¡7, 428 Kubiak, Theo. “Ted” 509 Kubicek, Robert ¡65, ¡99 Kubski, Albert 2¡8–2¡9, 242, 272, 333, 40¡–2 Kucab, John Albert “Johnny” ¡98, 273, 368, 389, 409 Kucharski, Jerome J. 403

550 Kucher, Robert 459 Kucinski, Mike ¡¡9 Kucks, John Charles “Johnny” 352 Kudron, Roger 494 Kudrycki, Edward ¡24 Kuehl, Karl 45¡, 5¡0–¡¡ Kuester, Ivan G. 204, 3¡3–¡4 Kuhel, Joseph Anthony ¡3, 2¡ Kuk, Stephen “Steve” ¡¡0 Kukulka, Edmond 230 Kumerow, Ernest 522 Kunci, Jos. R. “Joe” 392 Kunert, Bernard “Barney” 473 Kunis, Peter ¡80 Kunkel, Wm. “Bill” 482 Kuper, Earl L. 2¡4 Kurowski, George “Whitey” ¡06, ¡¡4 Kurtz, Robert 256 Kushner, Jerry 506 Kushta, William 24¡ Kutyna, Marion John “Marty” 384, 407 Kuzava, Rbt. “Bob” ¡95, 208 Kvasnak, Alex ¡98 Kwak, Karol 374 Kwiatkowski, Joseph 249 Laabs, Chester “Chet” 74, 232 LaCarter, Ray 327 Lackey, William/Wilfred 425 La Crosse, WI ¡68, ¡89 Lacy (Lacey), George B. 99, ¡90 Lacy, Osceola Guy, Jr. ¡37 Lacy, Osceola Guy, Sr. (went by middle name) 33, ¡37 Ladera, Julian “Julio” 430 Lafayette, IN 427, 442 Lafayette, LA 69, 78, ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡58, ¡8¡, 273, 353, 397–98, 420, 453–54 LaForest, Byron ¡94 LaFrance, Bill 225 LaFrance, Roger 263 Lagan, John 3¡7 Lageman, Ralph 3¡3 LaGrange, GA 336 Laguna, Theo. “Ted” 373 Laguna, CHH, MEX 453 Lahman, Calvin Edward 48, 92, 94 Lake, Bernard ¡82, 248, 3¡2 Lake, “Buddy” (George?) ¡59, 203 Lake, Edward Erving ¡¡¡, 436–37 Lake Charles, LA 39–40, 78, ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡58, ¡8¡, 305, 35¡, 373, 454 Lakeland, FL 2¡7–¡8, 24¡, 263, 299, 38¡, 52¡ Laliberte, Gaetan “John” 397 LaMacchia, Alf. Anthony “Al” 350 Lamanna, Frank 2¡¡, 232 Lamanskie, Frank James 66 LaMaster, Noble Wayne (went by middle name) 67 Lamb, Riley 206 Lamb, Ron 76 Lambert, Clayton ¡76 Lambert, Eugene ¡37 Lambert, Sanford 229 Lamendola, Charlie ¡43 Lamesa, TX ¡46, ¡66–67, ¡88,

Index 200, 22¡, 276–77, 309, 333, 357 Lamey, Walter 78–79 Lammers, Walter William John “Wally” 328 LaMonica, Jos. B. “Peppy” 34¡ Lampros, Deon “Neon” 222 Lancaster, PA ¡47, 2¡¡, 236, 264, 325, 35¡, 395, 465, 478, 49¡, 503 Lance, Walter 237, 352, 403 Lance, William ¡99 Land, Harry 2¡2, 236 Landenberger, Kenneth Henry “Ken” 295, 306, 348, 390, 4¡5, 433 Landini, Louis 305 Landis, James Henry “Jim” 365, 370 Landis, NC ¡06, ¡42, ¡6¡, ¡85, 205, 228, 290, 3¡5–¡6, 340 Landrum, Donald LeRoy “Don” 427, 432, 445–46, 488 Landrum, Jesse Glenn 242 Landrum, Jos. Butler “Joe” 238, 259 Landry, Malcom A. 40¡ Landthrip(e), William “Bill” 69 Lane, John 259 Lane, Timothy “Tim” 482 Lane, Wilmer “Red” 25¡ Lang, Donald Charles 99, 207 Lang, Lloyd 220 Lang, William Richard “Dick” ¡0¡, ¡33 Langford, Elton Samuel “Sam” 8, ¡0 Langston, E.B. ¡¡5 Langston, Sidney ¡95, 245 Lanier, Harold 5¡7 Lanifero, Fred 234 Lannett, AL (represented as “Valley”) 225–26, 283, 3¡2, 336 Lansing, MI ¡53, ¡74–75 Lanzetti, Frank 205 LaPalme, Paul 20¡ Lapan, Peter Nelson 24 Lapham, Hugh 244 LaPiana, Joseph ¡35 Lapiner, Vic 432 LaPointe, George ¡27 LaPorta, John J. 3¡4 Lara, Hector Leon 324 Laredo, TX 29¡–92, 307–8, 325, 35¡, 372 Larker, Norman Howard John “Norm” 326–27, 346, 409 Larkin, Stephen Patrick “Steve” 60 Larkin, Wm. “Bill” 52¡ Larner, Rich. B., Jr., “Dick” 275 LaRocca, Joseph John “Jack” 56 Larrieu, John ¡33 Larson, Charles 70, 93 Lary, Alfred 453, 487 Lary, Frank 453 Lary, Lynford Hobart “Lynn” ¡4 Lary, Yale 453 Las Vegas, NV 2¡9–20, 244, 275–76, 308, 332, 356 Lasher, Fred 5¡9

Lasko, Rbt. “Bob” 494 Laskowski, Robert 387 Laskowski, Rudy ¡¡¡ LaSorda, Thos. Charles “Tommy” 367, 46¡ Lass, Eddie 29 Lassale, Lawrence “Larry” 369 Latbourne, Dale ¡54 Latman, Arnold Barry (known by middle name) 4¡7, 46¡ Latshaw, Bob 279 Lau, Chas. Richard “Charlie” 363, 4¡6 Lauman/Laumann, Andrew 226, 272 Lavalliere, Guy 49¡ Lavelle (Lavell), John ¡22, ¡82, 203 Lavene, Charles 34¡ Laveque, Francis A. “Frank” 74 Lavery, Haig 354 Lavigne, Doug 280 Law, Eugene 374 Lawing, Cecil 25¡–52 Lawing, Garland Fred 270–7¡, 304 Lawrence, Allen ¡7¡–72, 203, 262 Lawrence, James ¡¡9 Lawrence, Joey L. 443 Lawrence, Ma ¡96, 2¡2 Lawrence, Ray ¡¡7 Lawrwnce, Rbt. “Bob” 486, 5¡0 Lawrenceville, VA 294 Lawson, Alfred Voyle “Roxie” 72 Lawson, Ellwood ¡59 Lawson, Thomas 384 Lawton, OK 230, 253, 292–93, 3¡7, 342, 364, 385, 407, 444, 460 Layana, Frank H. 405 Layman, Paul ¡00 Layne, Ivoria Hillis (went by middle name) ¡20, 208, 4¡6, 435, 45¡, 467–68 Lazicky, Richard 336 Lazor, John Paul “Johnny” ¡04, ¡32, ¡46 Lazzeri, Anthony “Tony” 7, 282 Leach, Russell ¡60, ¡83 Leadville, CO ¡89 Leaksville-Spray-Draper (TriCities), NC 69, 78, 89, ¡¡7, ¡36, ¡56, ¡79, ¡94, ¡99, 2¡7, 245–46 Leary, Herb 88 Leary, William 289 Leatherwood, Gilbert ¡00, ¡54, ¡78 Leavenworth, KS 200, 277–78 Lebanon, PA 289 LeBarron, Stuart ¡09 Lebedz, George 2¡7, 262 LeBlanc, Paul 69 LeBlanc, Remy 398 LeBlanc, Roland Charles ¡83, 244, 303–4, 352–53, 375, 395, 4¡9, 453 LeBourveau, DeWitt Wiley “Bevo” ¡0, 3¡, 42 LeBrun, Charles F. 352 Ledbetter, Homer 7¡ Ledbetter, Ralph Overton “Razor” 40

Lee, Con 7¡ Lee, Donald Edward 474–75 Lee, Ernest Dudley “Dud” ¡4, 23 Lee, Hal Burnam ¡¡2 Lee, Maurice ¡82 Lee, Quinn 89 Lee, Reginald J. “Reggie” 433, 45¡ Lee, Ronnie 265 Lee, Roy Edwin, Jr. ¡84 Lee, Stan ¡58 Lee, Wm. “Bill” 54 Leech, Allen D. “Archie,” Jr. 328–29 Leesburg, FL ¡04, ¡20, ¡59, ¡82, 203, 225, 248, 282, 335, 38¡, 440, 497, 509 Leesville, LA 305 Lefebvre, James “Jim” 5¡7 Lefevre, Roy 278 Legates, George Harvey ¡03, ¡¡9 Leggett, Louis ¡3 Leghorn, Foghorn ¡9, 408 Legursky, Carl J. 339 Lehan, Joe ¡60 Lehew, James Anthony “Jim” 47¡ Lehman, Al ¡¡2 Lehman, Kenneth Earl “Ken” 243, 26¡, 389, 4¡0 Lehmann, Charles 454 Leiber, Henry Edward “Hank” 52 Leibhardt, Glenn 332 Leidle, James 79 Leip, Edgar ¡¡8–¡9, ¡27, 228 Leipelt, Gottleib ¡45 Leiter, Louis ¡42 Leitz, Albert ¡39, ¡59, ¡64, ¡82–83 Leja, Frank John 448 LeJohn, Donald Everett “Don” 407, 422, 434, 489 Lembo, Stephen Neal 2¡2 Lembo, Tony 444 Lemen, Sam 20 Lemmer, Clarence ¡63 Lemon, James Robert “Jim” 263, 4¡¡ Lenhardt, Donald Eugene 204, 238, 259 Lenn, Dale Robert ¡97 Lenn, Ed 2¡6 Lennon, Rbt. Albert “Bob” 390–9¡, 409, 46¡–62 Lennox, Robert 27 Lenoir, NC ¡44, ¡64–65, 20¡, 223, 255, 294, 3¡8–¡9, 344 Lentz, Walter “Lantz” 294 Leon, GUA, MEX 497, 507, 5¡8 Leonard, Chas. “Charlie” 47¡ Leonard, Emil “Dutch” 8¡ Leonard, Fred 228 Leonard, Harry ¡22 Leonard, Thomas 53, 74 Leonard, Thomas V. “Jack” 358, 38¡ Leonardo, John 74 Leonardson, Doug ¡24–25 Leonetti, Pete 23¡ Lepine, Lou ¡48 Leppert, Don Eugene “Tiger” 3¡6–¡7, 390–9¡ Lerchen, George 206

Index Lerner, Maurice 468 Leroux, Orlando 446, 462–63 Leslie, Ernest C. 337 Leslie, Paul 465 Letchas, Charlie ¡04 Letlow, Louis (in stats as Lewis) 358 Lettau, Neil 274 Lettieri, Arthur William 4¡9 Levan, Jesse “The Horse” 236, 300, 392, 430, 446 Levan(dowski), Clarence ¡07, ¡29 Leveille, Rollie “On The” 222 LeVeque, Frank 68 Levey, James J. 35, 63–64 Levy, Edward Clarence W. “Ed” ¡09, 202, 3¡¡, 335, 359, 38¡ Levy, Jake 95 Lewandoski, Ted 275 Lewandowski, Daniel William “Dan” 29¡, 325, 39¡ Lewandowski, Phil 288 Lewey, James E. 324 Lewinski, Edmund B. 263 Lewis, Bernard 40 Lewis, Carl 86 Lewis, Donald A. 3¡3 Lewis, Edward “Pee Wee”(?) (OF) ¡9 Lewis, F. “Pee Wee” (3B) 9 Lewis, George Douglas “Doug” 309, 379, 40¡, 443 Lewis, Herman 332, 4¡7, 435, 45¡–52, 480 Lewis, J. (John Thomas, Jr.?) 30 Lewis, Jack (John Frederick?) 357 Lewis, Jerry 86 Lewis, John Kelly “Buddy” 63 Lewis, Johnny 494, 503 Lewis, Kermit 88, 98, ¡09, ¡46 Lewis, Marsden “Pete” 233 Lewis, William E. “Bill,” Jr. 266, 376 Lewiston, ID 97, ¡32–33, 348–49, 37¡, 393, 4¡6–¡7, 435, 45¡–52, 468, 480, 493, 505, 5¡6 Lewright, Cleophus 40¡, 435 Lexington, KY 79, 90, ¡05 Lexington, NC ¡06, ¡22, ¡6¡, 228, 252, 290, 340, 386, 499 Lexington, NE 442, 458–59, 473 Ley, William 370 Leyrer, George E., Jr. 2¡9 Lhasa, Tibet 466 Liberto, Vince 273, 372 Liberto, William Joseph 426 Lichtenstein, Alvin E. “The Grand Duchy Of ” 353 Liddell, James “Bull” 90 Liddle, Donald Eugene 226–27, 265, 345 Liddy, George 304 Lieber, Charles Edwin “Dutch” 64 Lien, Ken 229 Lierman, Glen 220 Lightner, Melvin 365, 378 Lightner, Orland ¡29 Lillard, Rbt. Eugene “Gene” 55, 63, 208, 269, 303–4, 353

Lillis, Rbt. Perry “Bob” 373, 460–6¡, 475–76 Lilly, Arthur Mason “Art” 2¡4, 236, 33¡–32, 375 Lima, OH ¡63–64, ¡86, 205, 229, 252, 290, 34¡ Limmer, Louis “Lou” 26¡, 296 Linares, Julio 498 Lincoln, NE 8, ¡0, 29, 42, 54, 6¡, 70, 80, ¡22, ¡45, 2¡0, 235, 26¡, 298, 323, 348, 370, 4¡5, 433–34, 449–50, 466, 480, 493, 506 Lincolnton, NC 254–55, 294, 3¡8–¡9, 343–44, 364–65, 386 Lind, Otto “Swede” ¡8 Lind, Thomas H., Jr. 325 Lindale, GA 40 Lindbeck, Emerit “Em” 477 Lindell, John Harlan 87 Linden, Walter V. 237, 26¡ Linderman, William ¡97–98 Lindermuth, Glenn R. 3¡2–¡3 Lindimore, Howard S. 36 Lindquist, Charles W. 376 Lindquist, Raymond C. 373 Lindsay, Ray ¡22, ¡4¡–42, ¡6¡, 255, 294 Lindsey, Emory ¡54, 222 Lindsey, James 25 Lindsley, Lee 3¡2 Lindstrom, Axel “Swede” 25 Lindstrom, Chas. William “Chuck” 468 Lines, Rich. “Dick” 458, 466, 5¡5 Lingua, Albert ¡7¡ Linhart, Carl James 262 Linke, Edward Karl 53 Links, Carmen 29¡ Linn, Joseph 286 Linn, Owen Ray “Pike” 25¡–52, 289–90, 3¡5, 340 Linsky, Joe 263 Lint, Royce ¡55, 366 Linton, Claude C. “Bob” ¡9, 52, 73 Linz, Philip Francis “Phil” 458–59, 48¡, 492, 503 Lipka, Stan 2¡¡ Lipon, John ¡74 Lipscomb, Emmett 89 Lipscomb, Gerard “Nig” ¡30, ¡52, ¡99 Liptak, John 266 Lis, Gerald 459 Lisiecki, Richard M. 363 Lisk, John 252 Liska, Adolph James “Ad” ¡3 Litchfield, Rbt. “Bob” 522–23 Little, Dave 279 Little, James “Jim” 5¡¡–¡2 Little, Keith 270, 297, 393, 4¡5, 447 Little Anthony (Anthony Gourdine) 33¡ Little Falls, MN 70 Little Rock, AR ¡5, 34, 44–45, 57, 73, ¡9¡, 208, 233, 258, 296, 32¡, 4¡¡, 446–47, 463, 489, 502 Littledave, Cli›ord 279 Littlefield, Richard Bernard “Dick” 229, 296, 32¡ Littlejohn, Charles Carlisle (went by middle name) 23

Littrell, Jack Napier 427–38 Litwhiler, Daniel Webster “Danny” ¡¡9, ¡46, 369, 355, 399 Litzenfelner, Jack 286 Litzinger, Norman F. ¡83 Lively, Everett Adrian “Bud” 233, 324 Livesey, James “Jim” 509, 5¡9 Livingood, Wesley Amos ¡¡7– ¡8 Livingston, Alfred ¡78, ¡96 Livingston, Ike 78–79, ¡04, ¡39 Livingston, Thompson Orville “Mickey” ¡46, 2¡0 Livingstone, Hal 223 Lizondro, Jose 495, 5¡7 Lloyd, Dick “W” 354–55 Lloyd, Jack W. 3¡¡ Lloyd, Thos. Lee “Truck,” “Tom” 2¡9–20, 332 Loafman, Russell ¡07 Lobitz, Daniel R., Jr. 422 Lobrovich, Mitchell 244 Lock, Don Wilson 479, 49¡, 500 Locke, Eddie 379–80, 402, 42¡, 446, 462, 476 Locke, Jim 80 Locke, Lawrence Donald “Bobby,” “Larry” 400, 432 Locker, Rbt. “Bob” 506 Locklin, Stuart 259 Lockport, NY 229, 29¡, 330 Lodigiani, Dario Joseph 208, 348 Loepp, George Herbert ¡4–¡5, 22 Loesekam, Frederick 485, 495 Loeser, Richard “I’m A” 288 Loewer, C.D. 48 Loftin, Rbt. “Bob” 509 Loftin, Ronald T., Jr. 406 Logan, Eddie M. 442 Logan, John “Johnny” 2¡3, 256 Logan, Rbt. Dean “Bob,” “Lefty” 62 Logan, UT ¡2, ¡6¡ Logan, WV ¡05, ¡2¡, ¡4¡, ¡84– 85 Logue, Francis “Frank” ¡02, ¡¡8, 297 Loman, Henry ¡65, 245 Lombardi, Ernesto Natali “Ernie,” “Schnozz” ¡4, 24, 32 Lombardi, Richard F. 406, 438, 454, 468 Lombardi, Victor ¡87 London, ONT, CAN ¡64, ¡87 Lone Star 2¡, 2¡8, 24¡ Lonergan, William “Lefty” 22¡ Long, Carl Russell 435 Long, George E. 344 Long, Harold, Jr. 364 Long, Henry 6 Long, Horace 48 Long, James “Jim” ¡6 Long, Richard Dale (went by middle name) 236, 366 Long, William ¡3¡ Longacre, Edmund (Edgar?) T. 76–77 Longhorn 228, 250, 287, 3¡4, 329, 354, 376, 420

551 Longnecker, Joe ¡8, 38 Longview, TX 59, 76, 85–86, 98, ¡3¡, ¡52–53, 2¡8–¡9, 242, 272, 37¡ Lonnett, Jos. Paul “Joe” 273, 302 Lont, Royce 257 Lopat (born Lopatynski), Edmund Walter “Ed” ¡3¡, 429 Lopata, Stanley Edward 209 Lopez, Alphonse “Al” ¡7 Lopez, Art 52¡ Lopez, Don 375 Lopez, Jorge 325, 35¡, 372 Lopez, Marcelino 497, 503 Lopez, Miguel 373 Lopez, Vincente 299, 4¡¡ Lopez-Alvarez, Lorenzo 507 Lorbeer, Ernest F. “Ernie,” “Dutch” 39 Lore, “Bill” “Forgotten” 45¡ Lorenz, Clyde ¡89 Lorenz, John 2¡6 Lorenz, Marvin ¡6¡, 254, 293, 3¡7 Lorenzen, Elden ¡54 Lorenzo, Antonio 2¡8, 24¡ Lorenzo, Patricio S. “Pat” 356–57, 379 Lorino, Ben 348 Los Angeles, CA 7–9, 23, 32–33, 43, 44, 50, 55, 56, 63–64, 208, 258, 366, 408, 428, 444 Loschen, Ralph 256 Lotz, Ted 274 Loudenback, Dennis 443 Loughary, Harold 3¡5 Loughridge, Rich. “Dick” 5¡2 Louis, Robert Joseph 325 Louisville, KY ¡2–¡3, 2¡, 3¡, 54, ¡90, ¡94, 207, 256, 296, 320, 366–67, 389, 409, 428, 46¡, 474, 487, 500, 5¡2–¡3 Love, Edward Haughton “Slim” 39 Love, N.P. ¡¡9 Lovelace, Raymond 36 Lovely, Bandy 88 Lovenguth, Lynn Richard 240, 4¡0, 429 Lowe, Lloyd 209 Lowe, Louis ¡57 Lowe, Robert D. 40¡ Lowe, Walter Allanson, Jr., “Walt” ¡54, 2¡9 Lowell, MA 66, 2¡2 Lowery, Harry “Peanuts” ¡33 Lowman, Cal ¡¡3 Lown, Omar “Turk” 235, 3¡8, 408 Lowrey, Cy ¡59–60 Lowrey, John P. 44¡ Lowrey, Milt ¡42 Lowry, Curtis 253 Loyko, Roman Joseph. 354 Lubanski, Edward 256 Lubbock, TX ¡25, ¡45–46, ¡66–67, 22¡, 276, 309, 333, 379, 40¡–2, 4¡8 Luber, Joe ¡¡5 Luberto, Santo 249, 377 Lubinski, Rich. J. “Dick” 425, 444 Luby, Hugh 53–4, 65–66, 83, 348 Luby, Steve ¡¡7

552 Lucadello, John “Johnny” ¡06, 257, 37¡, 406, 4¡5 Lucas, Charles “Red” 7 Lucas, Ernest 222 Lucas, Frank Dimple 357 Lucas, James W. “Jim” ¡74, ¡97 Lucas, John A. ¡66 Lucas, John Charles “Buster” 42 Lucas, Lewis “Lou” ¡20, ¡39 Lucas, Ralph 290 Lucas, Raymond ¡87–¡88 Lucas, Wm. “Bill” 495 Lucchesi, Frank Joseph 334– 35, 36¡ Luce, Arthur “Claire Booth” 78, ¡¡¡ Lucier, Lou ¡75 Luckey, Richard “Dick” 40, 66, 83 Ludolph, William Francis “Wee Willie” 50 Ludsick, (first name unknown) 4¡ Ludwick, Rbt. H. “Bob” 32¡, 346 Ludwig, Robert 88, ¡03, ¡38, ¡8¡ Luebbe, Roy J. ¡7 Lufkin, TX 67, 2¡8–¡9, 242, 305 Lujac, Stanley ¡¡6 Lukasiuk (-iak), Louis Paul “Lou” ¡00, ¡55 Lukon, Edward Paul “Eddie” ¡39 Lumadue, James W. 427 Lumberton, NC 230, 253, 293, 3¡7 Lumenti, Ralph 479 Lumpe, Jerry Dean 356, 4¡¡ Luna-Romero, Guillermo “Memo” 2¡8, 332, 366 Lundberg, Donald 45¡ Lundeen, Phil 88 Lundgren, Charles M. 374, 4¡6 Lundquist, Jackie Lee 439 Lunn, Kelly 288 Lupien, Ulysses John “Tony” ¡26, 208, 363 Lupo, Don ¡07–8 Lupow, Al 50¡ Lurk, Ronald Francis “Ron” 305 Lusk, Rbt. “Bob,” “Gabby” 85–86, ¡¡4 Lutes, Billy 260–6¡ Luttrell, Lyle Kenneth 335, 39¡–92, 430 Lutz, John 505 Lutz, Mich. “Mike” 240–4¡, 297, 347, 447, 464 Lutz, Rollin Joseph “Joe” 2¡7 Luzansky, Wm. M. “Bill” ¡03, ¡68–69 Lybeck, Charles 45¡–52 Lybrand, Craig 225 Lybrand, John William 25¡–52, 3¡5, 340 Lyle, James “Jim” 26, 52 Lyman, William ¡¡2 Lynch, Dale B. 297, 32¡ Lynch, Dan 300 Lynch, Gerald Thomas “Jerry” 373 Lynchburg, VA ¡44–45, ¡65,

Index ¡77, 2¡2, 237, 265, 300, 326, 352, 373, 395, 5¡5 Lynk, Daniel 466 Lynk, Edward 2¡2 Lynn, James O. “Jimmy” 426, 480 Lynn, Japhet Monroe “Red” 98 Lynn, Jerome “Jerry” ¡03 Lynn, MA ¡96–97, 2¡¡–¡2, 236 Lynn, Wm. H. “Bill” 353, 397–98, 420 Lyons, Edward Hoyt “Eddie” 427, 436–37 Lyons, Herschel Englebert ¡27 Lyons, James 52–53, 56 Lyons, Robert D. “Bob” 284, 352, 394 Lyons, GA 285, 3¡3 Maas, Duane “Duke” 39¡ Mabe, Rbt. Lee “Bob” 43¡, 46¡ Mabrey (Mabry), Frank 78, 99, ¡77 Mabry, Don 99 MacConnell, Robert S. 438 MacDonald, J. 28 MacDonald, Wm. Paul “Bill” 258 Macedo, Joe ¡¡0 Mack, Joseph John “Joe” 80, 94 Mack, Morris M. 337 Mack, Raymond James “Ray” ¡23 MacKay, Jerald (Gerald) R. 377 Mackenzie, Henry 454 MacKenzie, Kenneth Purvis “Ken” 447 Mackey, Roy ¡¡9 Mackie, Vernon R. 67, ¡77 Mackintubee, Orville 293 Macko, Jos. John “Joe” 27¡, 323, 4¡2, 464 MacLeod, Wm. “Bill” 504 Macon, GA ¡7, 26, 37–38, 84, 95, ¡¡0–¡¡, ¡27–28, ¡49, ¡69–70, ¡9¡, ¡96, 209–¡0, 234, 260–6¡, 298, 322–23, 347, 39¡–92, 4¡3, 433, 449, 465–66, 479, 49¡, 502, 5¡5–¡6 Macon, Max Cullen 74, 270, 339 Madalone, Andrew 478 Madan, Vernon ¡0¡ Maddern, Clarence James ¡5¡, ¡7¡–72, 258 Maddox, Sam 238 Maddux, Greg 306 Madelone, Andrew “Andy” 403 Madigan, Alfred 485 Madis, William Close 3¡4 Madison, Bob ¡78 Madison, WI ¡50, 204, 27, 286, 3¡4, 338, 362, 383, 405 Madisonville, KY 204, 227, 286, 3¡4, 338, 362, 383, 405 Madrigal, Everisto 507 Madura, Frank 75 Maestri, Hector 492 Magallon, Manuel 374 Maggert, Harl Warren 83, 95 Maggio, John 384 Magic Valley (Twin Falls), ID 400, 422, 439, 470, 508, 5¡9

Maguire, Fred ¡0 Mahacek, Frank ¡05 Maha›ey, Lee Roy ”Popeye” ¡7, 23–24 Mahan, Arthur Leo ¡09 Mahanoy City, PA 289 Mahoney, James Thomas 403 Mahoney, Robert P. 298 Mahoney, Walter ¡80 Mahrt, James R. “Ron,” “K” 399 Maibauer, Richard G. 420 Maier, Robert “Bobby” ¡38, ¡57 Main, Forrest H. “Woody” 296 Mainini, Marco Carlo 448, 465 Mainzer, Rbt. P. “Bob” 349 Maisano, Dominick 405 Maisano, Tony “Paisano” ¡¡8, ¡37 Maisch, Jack 229 Majercik, Jerry 227 Majeski, Henry “Hank” 93, 96 Majesky, Stanley 509 Major, Eugene 264 Major, Frank 252 Makosky, Frank 63 Makosky, Harry “Duke” 224 Makowsky, Joe 60 Malangone, John 467 Malattia, Murphy ¡68, ¡83–84 Maldonado, Felix 492, 5¡4–¡5 Malfara, Nick 202 Malgarini, John 356 Malkmus, Rbt. Edward “Bobby” 395–96 Mallette, Malcolm Francis “Mal,” “The Hammer” 32¡, 346 Mallon, Leslie Clyde 25, 34– 35 Malloy, Robert 232 Malmberg, Harry William “Swede” 264, 388–89 Malone, Audie 354, 377 Malone, Perce Leigh “Pat” 9– ¡0 Maloney, Carlson 306 Maloney, Charles ¡96 Maloney, Geo› 52¡ Malsam, Joe 23¡ Maltzberger, Gordon ¡49 Malzone, Frank 247, 270–7¡, 409 Manchester, NH 66, ¡96, 2¡2, 236 Mancini, Lawrence ¡64 Mancuso, Frank Octavius ¡06–7, ¡77 Manczak, John 279 Mandish, George R. ¡0¡ Maness, Rbt. E. “Bob” 420 Manfredi, Ralph 365 Mangini, Joe 253–54 Manier, Lawrence S. 330 Mann, Ben Garth ¡49 Mann, David Frederick 395, 448, 465, 478 Mann, Gordon F. ¡07 Mann, John 44 Mannarino, Sal “Man Oh” 20¡ Mannheim, Francis ¡78 Manning, Ken ¡0¡ Manning, Norman 455 Mannion, Clyde 42

Manno, Donald D. ¡50, ¡95, 234 Manns, Louis Dean 286, 3¡4 Mansfield, Art 36 Mansfield, OH ¡07–8, ¡63, ¡86 Mantilla, Felix Lamela 369 Mantle, Maxie 408 Mantle, Mickey Charles 309 Mantle, Ray Dean 408 Mantle, Roy D. 408, 4¡9–20 Mapes, Cli› Franklin 207 Maranda, Georges Henri 399, 474 Maranville, Walter James Vincent “Rabbit” 82 Marasco, Vic 26¡ Marberry, Fred “Firpo” 8¡ Marchio, Frank J. 243, 30¡ Marco, Joseph ¡62 Marcucci, Lilio Robert “Mark” 2¡6, 275, 307 Marcum, John 37, 54 Marek, Jodie ¡46 Margoneri, Jos. Emanuel “Joe” 3¡9, 325, 409 Marichal, Juan 473, 478 Maricich, Eli 383 Marina, Joe ¡20 Marinette, Frank 97 Marinko, Michael G. “Mike” 440 Marino, Frank ¡69 Marino, Thomas M. “Tom” 253, 3¡9, 327, 396 Marion, John Wyeth “Red” 90, ¡¡0, ¡79 Marion, Leo ¡¡¡ Marion, Roy ¡74, 234 Marion, IL 226 Marion, NC 255, 294, 3¡9, 344, 364, 386 Marion, OH ¡07, 205, 229, 252, 290, 340, 34¡ Marion, VA 423 Maris (Maras), Roger 395, 4¡3 Markell (born Makowski), Harry Duquesne “Duke” 240, 28¡ Markert, Dale 2¡9, 289 Markland, Cleneth Eugene “Gene,” Mousey” 257 Marko, Steve 2293 Marks, Richard “Rich” 484 Marlowe, Melvin ¡33 Marnie, Harry Sylvester “Hal” ¡5¡ Marockie, Henry 455 Marolewski, Fred Daniel 300 Maropis, Pete 309 Marquardt, Dennis 5¡7 Marquardt, Roland ¡89 Marquez, Luis Angel 428, 474 Marquis, Rbt. Rudolph “Bob” 2¡8, 238 Marrero-Ramos, Conrado Euginio “Connie” 2¡8, 24¡, 263–64 Marsalla, Charles 93 Marsh, Fred Francis “Freddie” ¡98, 2¡7, 233 Marshall, Donald 202, 223 Marshall, Edward Herbert “Doc,” “Eddie” 25, 7¡–72 Marshall, Herbert 225, 334 Marshall, Jim Rufe 346, 388, 430

Index Marshall, John Delmer 267, 302 Marshall, Ralph ¡25–26 Marshall, William 67 Marshall, TX 85, 98, ¡¡3, ¡3¡, ¡52, ¡53, ¡74, 2¡8–¡9, 272 Marti, Humberto 37¡ Martin, Alfred Manuel “Billy” 2¡5 Martin, Barnes Robertson “Barney” 347 Martin, Bill (OF) 2¡2–¡3 Martin, Boris Michael “Babe” ¡85–¡86 Martin, C.B. ¡04 Martin, Clyde 79 Martin, Earl ¡05, ¡2¡ Martin, Ed (C) 93 Martin, Ed 235 Martin, Edwin “Ed” (OF) ¡04, ¡44, ¡48 Martin, Frank L. (P) 2¡9, 43¡ Martin, Fred Turner “Freddie” 464 Martin, Harold L. ¡78, 343, 376 Martin, Herschel Ray “Hersh” 74, 276, 309 Martin, Howard O. 253 Martin, James P. ¡9¡, 302 Martin, John (C) 202 Martin, John (OF) ¡23 Martin, John Leonard Roosevelt “Pepper” 3¡ Martin, Jos. “Joe” 59, 469–70 Martin, Joseph Clifton “J. C.” 5¡6 Martin, Milton Henry “Milt” 28¡–82, 370 Martin, Morris Webster “Morrie” ¡76, 444 Martin, Olin 277 Martin, Oscar ¡54 Martin, Paul G. ¡48 Martin, Quentin 246, 280, 3¡0 Martin, Robert 329, 354 Martin, Stuart 223 Martin, Wade 358 Martin, Wm. Joseph “Joe” 73 Martinek (Martineck), Michael “Mike” 37, 46, 75 Martinez, Antonio “Tony” 503, 5¡3 Martinez, Hector 498–99 Martinez, Henry ¡50, ¡7¡ Martinez, Jose 508 Martinez, M. Antulio 5¡0 Martinez, Natividad 506 Martinez, Orlando 504 Martinez, Pedro 98, 509–¡0 Martinez, Tino ¡73 Martinez-Ulloa, Rogelio “Limonar” 264 Martinsville, VA 69, ¡02, ¡¡7–¡8, ¡56, ¡79, ¡94, ¡99, 2¡6, 240 Martyn, Rbt. Gordon “Bob” 4¡¡, 428 Martynik, Michael J. “Mike” 85 Martz, Richard 287 Martz, Tommie 5¡¡–¡2 Marx, Elmer 230 Marx, Elzer 240 Marysville,CA 28¡ Masi, Philip ¡07 Masinick, Bob 279

Masip, Rene 405 Mason, Gerald 480 Mason, Grimm 5¡7 Mason, John 497–98 Mason, Robert ¡62 Masque of the Red Death 408 Massa, Gordon Richard “Moose” 468 Massar, James 205 Massefski, Walter William 407–8 Masser, Rbt. “Bob” 224, 277 Masserelli, David 499, 507–8 Masserini, A. Sam ¡86–87 Masters, Norman 6¡, 70 Masters, Walter Thomas 84 Masterson, Paul Nikalis ¡52 Masucci, Anthony Frank “Tony” 77 Masuga, John 27¡ Matarazzo, Leonard “Len” 350 Matarazzo, Tony ¡93 Matchik, John Thomas “Tom” 522 Mateosky, Bernard B. “Bernie” 387, 400, 449 Matheson, William 76–77, 82 Mathews, Dan 252 Mathews, Edwin Lee “Eddie” 296 Mathews, Nelson 5¡6 Mathias, Carl 477 Mathieson, Mich. “Mike” 503 Mathis, Willie Ed 32¡ Matney, Homer L. ¡87–¡88 Matthews, James Walter “Jim” 357, 379–80 Matthews, Walter 454, 464– 65 Matthewson, Dale Wesley 233, 266 Mattingly, Earl 44 Mattis, Joseph 287 Mattoon, IL 226, 287–88, 3¡5, 339, 406, 4¡6, 442 Mattson, Sulo ¡37 Matulis, Adolph “The Baltic Blazer” 3¡9 Matzer, Ralph 2¡7 Mauch, Gene William 427–28 Mauldin, Marshall 76, 8¡ Mauney, George ¡06 Mauney, Samuel J. 439 Mauney, Willard 205, 223, 280 Maupin, William 377, 455, 474 Maupin, Willis P. “Jack” 237, 265–66, 30¡ Maurer, Raymond 364 Mauriello, Ralph “Tami” 396, 4¡¡ Mauro, Carmen Louis 2¡0, 346 Maus, Jimmy “Mickey” ¡06, ¡22, ¡6¡ Maverick, Bart 224 Mavis, Rbt. Henry “Bob” 233, 399–400 Maxa, Donald 247 Maxfield, M. Kelton ¡30 Maxheimer, Dwight 229, 240 Maxie, Larry 503 Maxwell, Charles Richard “Charlie,” “Smokey,” “PawPaw” 229, 237, 265, 367 Maxwell, Herbert 95 May, David 52¡

May, Herbert (OF) 3¡7 May, Herbert (P) 58 May, Jerry 523 May, Merrill “Pinky” 59, 209 May, Ronald Lee 4¡9 May, Russell ¡07 Maycock, Dale E. 243, 302 Maye, Arthur Lee 436, 449, 474, 487 Mayer, Edwin D. 375 Mayer, Hector “Chero” 332, 430, 446, 476 Mayer, Joseph 264–65 Mayer, LaVerne 283, 3¡¡, 344 Mayer, William 509 Mayes, Joe ¡6 Mayfield,KY 9¡, ¡04–5, ¡2¡, ¡40, ¡60, ¡83–84, 204, 227, 3¡3–34, 338, 362, 383, 405–6, 425–26 Maynard, James Walter “Buster” ¡¡8, ¡48 Maynard, Jim “Buster” 299 Mayo, Edward Joseph “Eddie” 67 Mayodan, NC 69, 78, 88, ¡02, ¡¡7–¡8, ¡36–37, ¡56 Mayor-Marcano, Agapito ¡49, 262 Maypearl, TX 86 Mays, Brenton 250–5¡, 289 Mays, Robert 239 Mays, Russell R. 3¡5 Mays, Thomas ¡25 Mays, Willie 300 Mazer, Al (Alphonse J., Jr.?) ¡32 Mazeroski, Wm. Stanley “Bill,” “Maz” 279, 4¡3 Mazgay, Stanley J. ¡63, ¡86 Mazurek, Andy 23¡ Mazurek, Anthony ¡96 Mazzamorra, Mike 444 Mazzei, Amerigo 293 Mazzera, Melvin Leonard “Mel” 59–60 Mazzola, James ““The Corn Oil Kid” 377, 432 McAdams, Ralph ¡78 McAfee, Alton 283 McAlester, OK 230, 253, 274, 292, 3¡7, 342–43, 364, 407–8 McAlexander, Frank E. 29¡ McAllen, TX ¡25, 29¡–92 McAllister, Clyde 222 McAllister, Fred 274 McAnany, James “Jim” 452, 466 McAnulty, John 364 McArthur, Frank 243 McAuli›e, Rich. John “Dick” 472, 479, 49¡–92, 500 McBride, Estes 202 McBride, Horace “Red” 37, 46, 64, 82 McBride, Kenneth Faye “Ken” 403 McBride, Thos.”Tom” 86, ¡49, ¡9¡ McBryde, Garrett ¡48–49 McCabe, Bob 35, 45 McCabe, Jos. “Joe” 504 McCall, John William “Windy” 2¡2 McCall, Rbt. Leonard “Dutch” 32¡

553 McCall, Tom 228 McCann, William ¡77 McCardell, Roger Morton 449–50, 465 McCarnes, James 203, 242 McCarron, Robert ¡0¡ McCarthy, James ¡68 McCarthy, John ¡90 McCarthy, John Joseph 46, 68, 72 McCarthy, Rich. “Dick” 4¡6 McCarthy, T. 37 McCarty, Albert 262, 384 McCarver, Timothy “Tim” 485 McCaskey, Arden ¡95, 250 McCaskill, Norm ¡56–¡57 McCawley, Bill 2¡3 McClain, James 458 McClain, Jesse “Jake” 228, 250, 307 McClaren, William Lafayette “Bill” ¡25 McClellan, Luther Earl (went by middle name) 345 McCleney/McClenney, Richard 358, 384 McCleod, Ramon 205 McCloskey, Edmund 3¡8 McCloskey, William 35¡ McCloy, Merritt 7¡ McClung, Cecil 262, 323 McClung, Gene 60 McClure, James 3¡5 McClure, James “Lefty” 90 McClure, Oscar ¡78, ¡92–¡93 McCluskey, Francis 272 McColl, Alexander Boyd “Alex,” “Red” ¡7, 50, 73, ¡20 McComas, Jim 334 McConnell, “Bob” vii McConnell, Laney ¡32 McConnell, Sheldon L. ¡0¡ McConvrey, Frank 265 McCook, NE 29, 4¡–42, 54, 442, 473, 485 McCord, Clinton H. 338–39, 363 McCormack, Levi W. “Chief ” ¡50, ¡7¡ McCormick, Charles 288–89 McCormick, Frank 83 McCormick, Mike 80 McCormick, Wallace “Wally” ¡82 McCosky, Barney 86 McCovey, Willie Lee “Stretch” 435, 447, 462, 475–76 McCoy, Benjamin Jenison “Benny” 67 McCrabb, Lester ¡06 McCracken, O. ¡¡ McCraw, Thos. Lee “Tommy” 5¡3 McCray, Everett D. 3¡4 McCree, Plaskie 252, 290, 340 McCrone, Bob ¡7, 52 McCrone, Clarence “Stu›Y” ¡64–65 McCue, Frank Aloysius ¡7 McCue, George 459 McCue, Wayne ¡¡2 McDaniel, Floyd S. ¡45 McDaniel, Heron 397 McDaniel, James Ray “Jim” 353, 449–50, 462, 487, 500

554 McDaniel, Joel 472, 485 McDaniels, L.F. 67 McDaniel, “Lindy” 484–85 McDaniel, Max Von (went by middle name) 484 McDaniels, (?) “Skeets” 80 McDermott, C. 48 McDermott, Ernest ¡55 McDermott, Maurice “Mickey” 209 McDonald, Alex ¡¡2 McDonald, Gordon 293 McDonald, Rex 60 McDonald, Thos. M. “Tom” 363, 480 McDonald, Wayne 498 McDougal, Arthur 94 McDougald, Gilbert “Gil” 243, 267 McDougald, Julius 357–58, 380 McDowell, Chet 226 McDowell, Clyde 85 McDowell, James 9 McDowell, William Banks (went by middle name) 237, 323, 4¡9–20 McDu‡e, James ¡56, ¡80 McDu‡e, Ralph ¡55 McElreath, Marion Allen (went by middle name) 76, 98 McElroy, Francis Joseph “Joe” 453–54 McElroy, Frank 384 McElroy, Royce 397–98 McElyea, Frank ¡60, ¡97 McEneny, Milt 338 McEvoy, Richard 253 McFadden, John 230, 253–54, 284 McFarland, Howard 58, 65 McFarlane, Jesus Orlando 47¡, 504 McGah, Edward ¡73 McGahey, Howard 362 McGaughey, H. Eugene 486 McGee, Bobby 404 McGee, Charles 250 McGee, Kenneth M. 3¡¡ McGee, Wm. Henry “Fiddler Bill “ 40, 68 McGhee, Ed 266 McGhee, Wm. Mac “Bill” ¡97 McGhee, Wm. R. “Bill “(OF) 360 McGimsey, Roger “Boger” 254–55, 3¡8, 365 McGloin, James 99 McGlothlin, James “Jim” 522 McGowan, Frank 32, 66 McGowan, John 9¡–92, ¡44 McGowin, Earl ¡83 McGraw, John J. 278, 355 McGregor, Donald 385 McGuckin, Wm. “Bill” 469, 480 McGuire, Fred 66 McGwire, Mark 4¡4 McHenry, Arthur “Cowboy” 37, 72, 82, ¡27, ¡56–¡56, ¡80 McHenry, Austin Bush 26 McHugh, James Joseph “Jim” 3¡4, 36¡ McHugh, Walter P. ¡63 McIntosh, Bruce 468 McIntyre, Milt 75

Index McIrvin, Cal 2¡0 McIsaac, Gerlad Eugene “Angus” 46, 48, 66 McKain, Harold ¡9, 46 McKee, Robert C. 4¡5 McKee, Rogers Hornsby 254–55, 397–98 McKeesport, PA 7¡, 93, 94, ¡24, ¡25, ¡43, ¡64 McKenna, James T. ¡43–44 McKenney, Wm. “Billy” 294, 364 McKenzie, Sherwood ¡60 McKeon, Donald 3¡4 McKeon, John “Jack” 278 McKinney, Haeford 382 McKinnon, Gordon ¡8¡ McKintyre, Dick 3¡4 McKnight, James Arthur 440, 460, 477–78 McKnight, Maurice ¡88 McLanahan, Pete 2¡ McLaughlin, Dick 499 McLaughlin, Jim ¡4 McLaughlin, William ¡38 McLawhorne, Sam 223 McLeland, Ronald 240 McLeod, Gus 283 McLeod, Herbert 3¡¡ McMahan, John W. “Jack” 395 McMahon, Donald John “Don” 3¡4 McManus, Joe 336 McMenemy, Robert ¡3 McMillan, Ed 30 McMillan, Rich 283 McMillan, Roy 228, 242 McMillan, William 328 McMullen, Kenneth 506 McMullin, Walter “Whitey” ¡04, ¡20, ¡39 McNabb, Carl ¡¡3 McNair, Eric 27 McNair, Gerald 26¡–62 McNalley, Glenn 8–9 McNamara, John 468, 480, 505, 5¡6 McNamara, Timothy 33 McNamee, Joel ¡32 McNeal, Clyde 436 McNeely, Albert Leo 65 McNeill, Bob 289 McNertney, Gerald 495 McNiell, Wm. N. “Bill” 44¡ McNulty, Marvin A. ¡30, ¡6¡ McPartland, John C. ¡88 McPhail, George D. 28¡, 328 McPhaul, Thomas D. 78 McPherson, John 334 McQuillan, Carl 230 McQuillan, Glenn ¡26 McQuillien, Jack W. 309–¡0, 362–63 McQuinn, George 46, 56 McRae, Art 26–27, 37–38 McShane, Donald R. 69–70 McVay, Francis M. ¡83 McWeeney, Douglas Lawrence “Buzz” 7 McWhorter, H. Pierce 298 McWhorter, Mack O. 237 McWilliams, Miles 497, 505 McWilliams, Stan 328 Meachini, Peter L. “Eeenie Meanie” 3¡8 Mead, Charles R. 2¡4, 303, 370 Meadows, Lee 86

Meadows, Rufus Rivers 46, 98 Mealy, M.F. “Jack” 35 Mecklenburg, Marvin 5¡5–¡6 Medak, Pete J. ¡52 Medeghini, Ray ¡0¡ Medford, OR 28¡, 3¡0–¡¡, 335 Medley, Carl 382–83 Medlin, Claude 222 Medlinger, Irving 2¡6 Medrano, Carlos 509 Medwick, Joseph “Ducky” 45, 5¡ Meekin, W.J. 27 Meekins, Dennis J. 405 Meeks, Samuel Mack “Sammy” ¡98, 2¡4, 464 Meers, Russell Harlan ¡4¡ Mefia, Rigoberto 523 Mehringer, Orville E. 339 Meiscnher, Otto 520 Mejias-Gomez, Roman 384, 393, 50¡ Mele, Albert Ernest “Dutch 87, 99, 208 Mele, Jack ¡98 Mele, Sabath Anthony “Sam” ¡95 Melendez, Jose 269 Melendez, Willie 479 Melignano, Carmine 259 Mellano, Joe 24 Mellendick, Joe 235 Melms, Dale 289 Melton, Frank 93 Melton, James R. “Jim” 292, 333 Melton, Marvin 448 Melton, Marvin D. 432, 448 Melvin, “Truck” ¡82 Memphis, TN ¡5, 34, 44, 50, 56–57, 64–65, 73, ¡9¡, 208, 232–33, 259, 296, 32¡, 346, 368, 390–9¡, 4¡¡–¡2, 430–3¡, 447, 463, 476 Menard, George 300 Mendez, Hugh 473 Mendoza, Ramon 268, 437 Mendoza-Aizpuru, Christobal Rigoberto “Minnie” 482–83, 49¡ Mene, John Joseph 77, 99 Menendez, Danny ¡58 Menke, Dennis 493, 50¡ Menke, Walter 94 Menking, Paul 274 Menley, John ¡62 Menze, Ted ¡¡ Meola, Emile Michael “Mike” 64 Merced, CA ¡72–73 Meridian, MS 96, ¡¡¡, ¡28, ¡70, 2¡3, 237, 266, 30¡, 376, 420 Meriwether, Conklyn Wells 305, 353 Merkle, Mervin ¡84 Merklin, H. Glen 470 Merrick, Vern 496 Merriman, Lloyd 234 Merritt, James Joseph 523 Merritt, Lloyd 373 Merson, John Warren “Jack” 236 Mervar, John ¡2¡ Merville, L.A. 26 Mesner, Stephan Mathias “Steve” 68, 355

Messner, Glenn 44 Messuri, Augustine, “Augie,” “Mighty” ¡93, 222 Mestnick, Henry ¡75 Metha, Frank Joseph “Scat” 85 Metheny, Arthur Beauregard “Bud,” “Art” ¡¡0, 265 Metkovich, George Michael “Catfish” 408 Metro, Chas. “Charlie” 244, 30¡ Mettler, Victor H. 89 Metzig, Wm. “Bill” 2¡5, 269, 303 Mexicali, BC, MEX 244, 275–76, 308, 356, 374–75 Mexican 4¡0, 429, 446, 46¡, 476, 489, 502, 5¡4 Mexican Center 497, 507, 5¡7 Mexican Jumping Bean(s) 96, 43¡ Mexico City Diablos Rojos, DF, MEX 4¡¡, 430, 446, 463, 489, 502, 5¡4 Mexico City Tigres, DF, Mex 4¡¡, 429–30, 446, 489, 5¡4 Meyer, George 58 Meyer, Henry 92, 96, ¡53 Meyer, John Robert “Jack” 390 Meyer, Kenneth L. 362 Meyer, Lambert D. “Dutch” 272 Meyers, Frank B. 9 Meyers, Gerald 39 Meyers, John 222 Meyers, Richard ¡94–¡95 Meza, Silvio 437–38, 453 Miami Beach, FL ¡58, ¡82, 2¡8, 24¡, 263, 299 Miami, FL ¡58, ¡82, 2¡7–¡8, 24¡, 263, 299, 429, 446, 46¡–62, 475, 488, 52¡ Miami, OK ¡82, 204, 2¡7–¡8, 249, 285, 3¡3–¡4, 337, 36¡–62 Miastowski, John E. 329 Micciche, Jos. “Joe” 292–93, 300 Micelotta, Robert Peter “Mickey” 489–90 Michael, Eugene “Stick” 5¡¡ Michael, Rbt. “Bob” 509 Michaels, John Joseph 33 Michal (Michel), Harold ¡20, ¡78 Michels, Lou 249 Michigan City, IN 442, 448, 473, 485 Michigan State ¡53, ¡74 Mick, Malcom F. “Bunny” 2¡6, 288, 407 Mickelson, Edward 243, 30¡ Mickelson, Noel 452 Mickens, Glenn Roger 4¡0 Middle Atlantic ¡9, 60, 67, 75, 86, 99, ¡¡4, ¡32, ¡53, ¡75, ¡99, 242, 273, 305, 330 Middlesboro, KY 509, 52¡ Middletown OH 205 Midki›, Richard James 307 Midland, TX 29–30, ¡08–9, ¡25–26, ¡45, ¡66, 228, 250, 287, 3¡4, 329–30, 354, 376–77, 420–2¡ Midwest 442, 458, 473, 485, 497, 5¡0, 522

Index Mieres, Alberto H. 355 Miesle, Henry ¡86 Miggins, John J., Jr. 235 Miggins, Lawrence “Larry” 235 Mihalic, John Michael, Jr. 56, 73, 8¡, ¡90 Mihalic, Peter ¡6¡ Mikesell, Maurice 229 Milani, Frank ¡¡2 Milazzo, Basil “Monk” 69– 70 Milecevich, Ed 3¡4 Miles, Donald 442, 450, 464 Miley, Sam 475 Milford, DE ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡57, ¡80–8¡, 202, 2¡8, 224, 247 Milhorn, Charles ¡0¡ Millard, John M. 283, 353 Miller, Alton B. 363 Miller, C.C. ¡04 Miller, Carl Alvin ¡98, 294, 304, 386 Miller, D.C., “Pud” ¡98, 276, 3¡5–¡6, 340, 386 Miller, Edward Robert “Eddie” 67 Miller, George 495–96 Miller, Gibbs ¡82 Miller, Glenn Edward 44¡ Miller, Grover ¡25, ¡52 Miller, Guy S. ¡70 Miller, H.H. 29 Miller, Henry (3B) 293 Miller, Henry (OF) 344 Miller, James (OF) 454 Miller, James “Hack” ¡25, ¡45, ¡65, 228 Miller, John (C) ¡45 Miller, John (P) 37 Miller, Ken ¡75 Miller, Lawrence (B.?) 252 Miller, Lou ¡42, ¡62 Miller, Oscar 97, ¡¡2 Miller, Otis Louis “Otto” 49 Miller, Rbt. John “Bob” 266 Miller, Richard D. 408 Miller, Rolland ¡98 Miller, Stanley A. 360, 378 Miller, Stuart Leonard 345, 409 Miller, W. “Bing” ¡25 Miller, Walt 42 Miller, Walter S. 4¡6 Miller, William (P) 25¡–52 Miller, William (SS) ¡82 Milles, Jim 290 Milley, Allen 467 Millies, Walter 60, 73, ¡¡8–¡9 Milligan, John 52 Milligan, Wm. “Bill” 293, 3¡6–¡7 Mills, Doyle ¡43 Mills, George 67 Mills, Howard Robertson “Lefty” 8¡ Mills, Royce 309 Mills, Tom 359 Milnar, Albert Joseph “Happy” 60, 65, 73 Milne, William James “Pete” 2¡4 Milner, Holt “Cat” 60, 67, ¡34, ¡54, ¡78 Milner, James 205 Milo, Rbt. C. “Bob,” “Venus D” 443, 489

Milosevich, Michael “Mike” 87, 3¡7 Milstead, George ¡88–89 Milwaukee, WI ¡0, ¡3, 22, 30, 42–43, 48–49, 62, 7¡, ¡90, ¡94, 207, 23¡–32, 256, 296, 320, 345 Minarcin, John R. 328 Minarcin, Rudy Anthony 320 Mincher, Donald 468 Mincy, Russell Thomas “Red” ¡45, 20¡, 285, 3¡8–¡9, 364–65, 386 Mineo, Robert 220 Miner, Dave 87 Miner, George 50 Mink, Ray 224, 272 Minneapolis, MN ¡0, ¡3, 2¡, 3¡, 42, 49, 54, 62, 7¡, ¡90, ¡94, 207, 256, 296, 320, 345, 367, 388–89, 409, 428, 445, 46¡, 474–75, 486–87 Minner, Paul Edison ¡92 Minnick, Donald Athey 4¡3, 447 Minnis, Verle 2¡3, 302, 362–63 Minogue, James Joseph 36, 67 Minor, Harry M. 27¡, 369, 486 Minot, ND 469, 48¡–82, 494 Minsarik, Steve ¡53 Mirabito, John ¡37 Mirielli, Frank E. 402–3 Miro, Arturo 442 Mische, Rbt. B. “Bob” 407 Mish, Pete 2¡7 Mishkin, Solomon H. “Solly” 56, 64 Miskulin, John 305 Mission Club of San Fransisco, CA 8, 9, ¡4, 23, 24, 32, 43, 44, 50, 56, 63 Mississippi-Ohio Valley (MOV) 287, 3¡5, 338, 362, 406, 426 Mississippi Valley 28, 4¡, 53, 58 Missoula, MT 454–55, 470, 482, 495 Mitchell, Clarence Elmer 63 Mitchell, Floyd 4¡ Mitchell, Joe Bob ¡83 Mitchell, John 288, 372 Mitchell, Johnny 8–9 Mitchell, Lawson 509 Mitchell, Pablo 498 Mitchell, Raymond 407 Mitchell, Robert 242 Mitchell, Troy J. 393 Mitchell, SD 9¡, ¡06, ¡45 Mitro, George “Nitro” 237 Mitterman, William ¡62 Mitzel, Gene 28¡ Mize, John “Johnny” 52, 59 Mize, Ray 223 Mizell, Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” 284–85, 299 Mizeur, William “Bill” ¡¡, 28, 53, 58 Mobile, AL ¡5, 34, 45, 96, ¡¡¡, ¡28, ¡49, ¡70, 209, 233, 258–59, 296, 32¡, 346, 368, 390, 4¡¡, 430–3¡, 447, 463, 477, 489, 502 Mock, Leonard 78 Modesto, CA ¡98, 2¡6, 270,

293–94, 328, 353, 375, 397, 4¡9, 436–37, 452, 469, 48¡, 494, 5¡7 Modica, Peter 346 Moeller, Jos. “Joe” 506 Mo›ett, Ray 99 Moford, Herbert 247 Mohr, Leon Leonard “Lee” ¡99, 2¡4 Mohr, Paul 4¡8 Moir, Sam 223 Moitoza, Donald P. 4¡9 Molesworth Carlyon (Jr.?) 5¡ Molina, Jos. F. “Joe” ¡78 Molinari, Stephen 3¡7, 329 Moline, IL 4¡, 53, 96, ¡¡¡, ¡29, ¡50, ¡70–7¡, 2¡7, 240, 5¡0, 522 Monaco, Blas ¡07, 207 Monahan, Patrick W. 3¡0–¡¡ Monahan, Pete ¡22, ¡45 Monahans, TX ¡08–9 Monbouquette, Wm. Charles “Bill” 443 Monchak, Alex ¡¡9, ¡38, 287, 3¡4, 329 Monessen, PA 7¡, 80, 93, ¡08 Monette, Jacques 37¡ Mongiello, Wm. “Bill” ¡54, ¡75 Monnett, MO 88, ¡36 Monroe, Jim 32 Monroe, John 8–9, 44, 56 Monroe, LA 40, 48, ¡¡3, ¡30, ¡52, ¡73–74, 304–5, 329, 376, 420 Montag, Bill 264–65, 430–3¡ Montag, Rbt. E. “Bob” 264–65, 390, 430–3¡ Montalvo, Ishmael E. 292 Montalvo, Joseph 449 Monteagudo, Rene ¡09 Monteagudo-Cintra, Aurelio Fautino 5¡¡ Monteil, Paul 288 Montelbano, Gus 283 Montelongo, Roberto 446 Montemayor-Roel, Felipe Angel 308, 429–30, 446 Monterrey, NLE, MEX 430, 446, 462–63, 476, 489, 502, 5¡4 Montgomery, Alvin Atlas ¡35, ¡50 Montgomery, Frank 493 Montgomery, William Don (went by middle name) 434–435 Montgomery, AL ¡8, 27, 38, 95–96, ¡49, ¡70, ¡97, 203, 237, 30¡, 322–23, 347, 39¡–92, 4¡3–¡4, 455, 47¡, 483, 520 Montiero, Joseph 373 Montreal, QUE, CAN ¡4, 22, 3¡–32, 43, 49–50, 55, 62–63, 208, 232, 257, 320–2¡, 345–46, 367, 389, 4¡0, 429, 46¡–62, 475, 488 Monzant, Ramon 365, 372 Moody, Joe 203 Moon, Leo 9, 34, 65, ¡49 Mooney, Bernard ¡¡8 Mooney, James Irving “Jim” 37, 44, 96, ¡78–79, 22 Moore, Albert James ¡3 Moore, Anselm Winn “Anse” ¡38, ¡58

555 Moore, Art 54 Moore, Charles (P) 3¡6 Moore, Charles (UT) ¡74–¡75 Moore, Clarence 35¡, 4¡5 Moore, “Cobby”(First name unknown) 80 Moore, Cyril ¡78 Moore, D.C. “Dee” 76–77, 84, ¡70, 257–58 Moore, Donald D. 22¡, 259 Moore, E. Collins 95 Moore, Edward W. “Eddie” 307, 446, 463, 492 Moore, Elwood 262 Moore, Eugene, Jr., “Gene” 30, 57 Moore, Herb 203 Moore, Herbert S. “Herbie” 74 Moore, Homer 222 Moore, Howard 6¡ Moore, J.G. “Jake” 358 Moore, Jackie 492 Moore, James Edward “Ed” 24 Moore, James Robert 353, 398, 420 Moore, James William “Jim” 24 Moore, John (OF) 273 Moore, John (P) 245, 280 Moore, John Francis “Johnny” ¡3, 32 Moore, John L. “Johnnie” (OF) 332 Moore, Kenneth ¡45 Moore, Lamar 378 Moore, Lloyd M. 85, ¡73 Moore, Paul ¡58 Moore, Randolph Edward “Randy” 24 Moore, Udell ¡87 Moore, William Wilcy (known by middle name) 3, 7, ¡¡, 72 Mooresville, NC ¡06, ¡22, ¡4¡–42, ¡6¡, ¡85, 205, 228, 25¡–52, 290, 3¡5–¡6, 386 Morales, Luis 350 Morales, Manuel 269, 332 Moran, Cyril “Butch” ¡¡7, ¡33 Moran, Joseph P. 405 Moran, Richard Alan “Al” 503 Morant, Chas. “Pete” 340 Moreci, Vincent 435, 45¡–52 Morehead, Seth Marvin 373–74 Morehouse, Frank L. 70 Morejon, Daniel Terres 4¡6 Moreland, Nate 220, 375 Morem, Robert ¡98, 2¡7 Moreno, Alejando “El Canitas” 429–30 Moreno, Helidoro 440 Moreno, Henry F. “Jack” 335, 42¡ Moreno, Julio 307, 463, 502 Moreno, Orlando 228 Moreno, Roberto 497 Moreno-Gonzalez, Julio 2¡8, 299 Morgan, Barry 506 Morgan, Bill (Billie S.?) ¡04 Morgan, Chester “Chet” 65, ¡90 Morgan, Cyril Arlon “Cy” 6 Morgan, Ed 295 Morgan, Edward Carre 7¡ Morgan, Edwin Willis “Pep-

556 per” 74, 20¡, 223, 240, 273 Morgan, George 439 Morgan, Jim 272 Morgan, Jos. Michael “Joe” 222, 433, 446–47, 487 Morgan, Kenneth Irvin “Ken” 277 Morgan, Malvern ¡54, ¡78, 225, 283–84 Morgan, Rbt. Morris “Bobby” 2¡4, 232, 257, 320, 475 Morgan, Rich. “Dick” (P) 403 Morgan, Richard (C) 275 Morgan, Roger 494 Morgan, Thos. “Tom” (2B) 480 Morgan, Tom Stephen “Plowboy” 297 Morgan, Vernon Thomas “Vern” 447 Morgan, William ¡45 Morgan, Willie 79 Morganton, NC 255, 294, 3¡8–¡9, 343–44, 364–65 Morhardt, Meredith Goodwin “Moe” 505 Morilla, Ernesto 299 Morjoseph, Joseph Eli “Joe” ¡40, ¡75 Mormino, Frank 287, 307 Morongiello, Mike 332 Morris, Albert R. 423, 457 Morris, Doyt “Phil” ¡79–80 Morris, Frank ¡5¡ Morris, Harold 253 Morris, Harry ¡¡0 Morris, James (OF) ¡25 Morris, James Frederick (P) ¡¡4 Morris, John 5¡¡ Morris, Phillip (¡B) ¡56 Morris, Phillip (OF) ¡¡8 Morrison, Leonard (OF) 255, 304, 323, 347 Morrison, Leonard E. (C) ¡5¡ Morrison, William R. ¡80 Morrissey, Joseph Anselm “JoJo” 39, 42 Morristown, TN 250–5¡, 288, 339–40, 483–84, 496, 509 Morrow, Ross 205, 228, 25¡ Morrow, Royce 35 Morse, John A. 377 Morton, Guy, Jr., “Moose” 394, 4¡4, 447 Morton, James Lewis “Lew” 2¡8, 272 Morton, Norman 346 Morton, William 472 Morton, Wycli›e Nathaniel “Bubba” 450–5¡, 486 Mortrude, Arve 92 Moryn, Walter Joseph “Moose” 256, 266, 32¡ Moscowitz, Emil 263 Mosier, Russell 69 Moskus, John P. 378, 438, 484 Mosolf, James Frederick “Jim” 8¡–82 Moss, Howard “Howie,” “Howitzer” ¡77, 208 Mosser, Earl D. 206, 300 Mosser, Wandell B. “Lefty, “Magic”” ¡69, 2¡4 Mosser, William 239, 302 Mostak, John 280

Index Mostransky, Wm. “Bill” 335, 359 Mota, Manuel Rafael “Manny” 458, 467, 490 Moton, George 45¡, 49¡ Motsinger, Earl 339 Mott, Elisha Matthew “Bitsy” 2¡8 Mottley, Frank ¡76 Motto, George ¡4¡, ¡65, 2¡4 Motton, Curtell Howard “Curt” 5¡9 Moulton, Pat 27 Moultrie, GA ¡04, ¡20, ¡39– 40, ¡82–83, 203, 226, 248–59, 3¡2, 337, 36¡, 425, 522 Mount Airy, NC 78, 88–89, ¡02, ¡¡7–¡8, ¡37, ¡56, ¡79, 20¡, 223, 279 Mount Vernon, IL 226, 287–88, 338–39, 363, 406 Mountain, Ralph ¡¡2 Mountain State ¡05, ¡2¡, ¡40, ¡60, ¡84 Mountain States 250, 288, 339 Mounts, Lawrence ¡85 Mounts, Tennis ¡6¡, ¡84–85 Mounts, Willis ¡85 Mowry, Joseph Aloysius “Joe” 49, ¡42, ¡62–63, ¡70–7¡ Moyer, Rbt. Raymond “Bob” 325, 349 Mozo, Emilio W. 305 Mozzali, Maurice “Mo” ¡96, 366–67, 439, 409, 472 Mrdjenovich, Melvin 384 Mrozinski, Ronald Frank “Ron” 477 Mudd, John D. 338 Mueller, Art (?) ¡9, 4¡ Mueller, Charlie ¡58 Mueller, Don 2¡0 Mueller, Emmett 68 Mueller, Gordon 234 Mueller, John 286, 3¡4 Mueller, Joseph 453–54 Mueller, Ted ¡4¡, ¡70 Mueller, William L. ¡86 Muench, Albert 494 Mu›et, Billy Arnold 329, 448 Mu‡ck, Richard 460 Muhr, Maxie ¡68 Mulcahy, Hugh Noyes 82 Mulcahy, Lester 276–77, 333, 357, 376–77 Mulleavy, Gregory Thomas “Greg” 28, 55, 62–63, ¡87 Mullen, Ford Parker “Moon” ¡52 Mullen, Vincent Joseph “Moon” ¡04, ¡40, ¡60, ¡83–84, 203 Muller, Frederick William 50 Mulligan, Edward Joseph “Eddie” 7 Mulligan, Richard “Rich,” Dick” ¡57, ¡68–69 Mullin, Patrick Joseph ¡03 Mullinax, Glenn ¡02 Muncie, IN 229, 252, 290 Muncrief, Robert Cleveland “Bob” 76, 320, 366 Munday, Charles 202 Munger, George David “Red” ¡03, ¡90, 388, 408

Mungo, Van Lingle 44 Munn, Robert ¡5, 25 Munoz, Luis 385 Munsinger, Michael 240 Munson, Joseph Martin Napoleon “Joe” ¡¡, ¡6 Murdeski, Howard ¡87 Mur›, Joe ¡82 Mur›, John Robert “Red” 325, 350, 4¡2, 46¡ Murillo, Jose Maria 5¡8 Murphy, Edward “Eddie” (OF) 2¡4, 327–28, 348, 36¡, 393 Murphy, Edward Joseph “Eddie” (¡B) ¡20, ¡32, ¡68 Murphy, George 287, 3¡5 Murphy, Jack Charles ¡32–33 Murphy, Perry Lamar (also entered as Lamar Perry) 2¡8, 24¡ Murphy, Ray (Raymond A.?) ¡57 Murphy, Robert (OF) 36¡ Murphy, Robert (SS) 2¡9 Murphy, Ronald 228 Murphy, Thos. F. “Tom” 344 Murphy, Walter 4¡ Murphy, William John 336 Murray, Frank E. 333, 349, 449 Murray, George King 5¡ Murray, Glen Dale 79, ¡8¡ Murray, Glynn 224 Murray, Joe 263–64, 299 Murray, John 78, 88 Murray, Raymond Lee 259, 4¡2, 464, 477–78 Murray, Robert 44 Murray, Tommy 5¡2 Murtaugh, Daniel Edward “Danny” 207 Musial, Ed 202 Musial, Stanley ¡59, ¡73, ¡77 Muskegon, MI ¡53, ¡74–75, 259, 297, 32¡–22 Muskogee, OK 20, 47, 53, 68, 76–77, 87, 99–¡00, ¡¡5, ¡33, ¡77, ¡99–200, 220, 277, 309, 332, 357, 378, 40¡, 459–60 Muslin, Mark 339 Musselman, Harry 222 Mustaikis, Alexander Dominick 207 Musto, Donald William 397 Mutraugh, Daniel Edward “Danny” ¡¡9 Mutryn, Edmund J. ¡86 Myatt, George Edward ¡90 Myer, Myron 87 Myers, David 252 Myers, Frank 58–59 Myers, John Paul ¡58, 292 Myers, Ken 2¡9 Myers, Lynn 7¡ Myers, Mack ¡06 Myers, Orval 47 Myers, Richard 252 Myers, Robert 295, 300 Myers, Roy ¡35 Myers, Wm. “Bill” ¡7, 62 Myrland, Dale R. 349 Nadel, Ray 202, 269 Nafie, Eugene “Gene” ¡22, ¡87 Nagel, Alfred “Al” 478

Nagle, Wm. Taylor “Bill” 2¡7 Nahasapimapetalon, Apu 457 Najar, Nicholas 249 Najo-Alanis, Leo ¡25 Nakamura, Jose 344, 365, 386 Nance, Isaac Hilliard ¡99, 340 Nance, Lewis Eugene “Gene” ¡70, ¡94 Nansteel, John 304 Napier, James “Jim” 473, 482 Napioli, Michael”Mike” 466 Napoleon, Edward “Eddie” 439, 493, 5¡6 Napoles, Danny 369 Narbut, Frank 89 Nardella, Angelio 265 Nardello, Sal 286 Narleski, Theo. R. “Ted” 436 Narron, Milton 3¡8–¡9 Narron, Sam 69, 79, 95 Nash, Tom 38 Nashua, NH ¡96–97, 2¡¡–¡2, 236, 264 Nashville, TN 33–34, 50, 57, 65, 73, 8¡, ¡90–9¡, 208–9, 232–33, 258, 296–97, 32¡, 346, 368, 390, 4¡0–¡¡, 430, 446–47, 463, 476–77, 489, 502 Nassif, Ameal 286 Nasternak, Hank S. 327 Natchez, MS 224, 272, 304–5, 329 Natisin, Michael ¡44 Naton, Peter A. 394 Naudin Gage 520 Navarro, Henry F. 324 Navarro-Ventura, Julio 440 Navie, Walter ¡38 Navrocki, Costic ¡07 Naylor, Earl ¡¡7, ¡30 Neal, Albert 327 Neal, Chas. Lenard “Charlie” 325, 373, 388 Neal, Leonard 388388 Neal, Richard 435 Nebel, George 30 Nebraska State 29, 4¡, 53, 6¡, 70, 80, 9¡, ¡05, ¡22, 442, 458, 473, 485 Necciai, Ronald Andrew 340, 350 Nee, Melvin 2¡8 Neeman, Calvin Amadeus “Cal” 277, 4¡¡ Ne›, Ben 94 Ne›, Ron 295 Negray, Ronald Alvin “Ron” 285, 50¡ Nehem, Sam 96 Nehring, Merlin W. 3¡9, 332 Neibergall, C.A. ¡5 Neidson, Joe ¡75 Neighbors, Harold 286 Neighbors, Robert Otis “Bob” 88, ¡28–29 Neil, Albert R. “Al” 243, 302, 37¡, 396 Neill, Tom 296 Neilser, Frank ¡85 Neimiller, Fred ¡00 Nell, Gordon “Gordie” ¡45–46, ¡66, ¡87–88, 200, 22¡ Nelms, Jesse 287 Nelson, Earl 75 Nelson, Emmett 64

Index Nelson, Ernie 228, 3¡4 Nelson, Frank 238 Nelson, Glenn “Rocky” 200, 2¡2, 232, 367, 389, 4¡0, 46¡ Nelson, Lynn Bernard “Line Drive” 22 Nelson, Melvin Frederick 4¡9 Nelson, Merton Adam ¡2 Nelson, Paul ¡0¡ Nelson, Walter ¡02 Nemec, Ray ¡24, ¡86 Nemeth, Stephen “Steve” 202, 269 Nemitz, Gerald S. “Jerry” ¡62 Nen, Rich. “Dick” 506 Neosho, MO ¡0¡–2, ¡¡7, ¡36 Nerad, Thos. J. “Tom,” Neriad” 420 Nesselrode, Orville ¡56, 206, 230, 253 Nettles, Hardie W. 35¡, 393 Neufeldt, James Henry 277 Neuman, Gilbert ¡89 Neun, John Henry “Johnny” 55 Nevel, Ernie Wyre 238 Neville, Daniel 509–¡0 Neville, Eddie 223, 247, 262, 350, 372 New Bedford, MA 66 New Bern, NC ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡37, ¡56, ¡79–80, 202, 223, 280–8¡, 3¡0, 334, 358–59 New Castle, PA 273–74, 306, 330 New England ¡96, 2¡¡, 236, 264 New Haven, CT 6, ¡5, 25, 44 New Iberia, LA 69, 78, ¡03, ¡38, ¡58, ¡8¡, 224, 272–73, 353, 397–98, 420 New London, CT 2¡¡ New Orleans, LA ¡5, 34, 44–45, 50, 57, 65, 73, 8¡, ¡9¡, 209, 258, 32¡, 346, 368, 390–9¡, 4¡¡, 430, 463, 476–77 New Philadelphia, OH 92–93 New River, VA 20¡, 222, 279 New York-Pennsylvania (NYP) 26, 37, 46, 52, 56, 64, 72, 82, 94, 459, 474, 486, 498, 5¡0, 523 Newark, NJ 22–23, 32, 43, 49–50, 55, 63, 207–8, 229, 232, 252–53 Newark, OH 229, 252–53, 290 Newberry, Richard A. 354 Newbill, Charlie ¡2 Newcombe, Donald 2¡2, 232 Newcomer, Jack 522 Newkirk, William 399–400 Newlin, Maurice ¡34 Newman, Fred 5¡7 Newman, Jesse 98 Newman, John ¡40, ¡87 Newnan, GA 225–26, 283–84, 3¡2 Newport, AR 9¡–92, ¡06–7, ¡23, ¡42, ¡85–86 Newport, TN ¡00, ¡55, ¡78–79, 250, 288 Newport News, VA 2¡2, 236–37, 265, 300, 326, 352, 373 Newsom, Norman Louis “Bobo,” “Buck” 56, 32¡

Newsome, Lamar Ashby “Skeeter” 65, 265, 300 Newsome, Ray L. 379 Newton, Fred 4¡, 53 Newton, Thos. N. “Tom” 5¡0 Newton-Conover, NC ¡44, ¡65, 254–55, 294, 3¡9, 344, 499, 524 Niagara Falls, NY ¡43–44, ¡99, 306, 330 Niarhos, Constantine Gregory “Gus” ¡75, 207 Nicely, Ron 208 Nicholas, Donald Leigh “Don” 247, 447 Nicholas, Jos. Cabrial “Joe” 37¡ Nichols, Charles 245 Nichols, Chester Raymond, Jr.”Chet” 488 Nichols, Don 223–24, 452 Nichols, Henry 524 Nichols, Lance 509 Nichols, Roy 306 Nichols, William ¡99 Nicholson, David Lawrence “Dave,” “Swish” 48¡–82 Nicholson, James ¡0¡ Nichting, Raymond 350 Nicolis, Peter Louis 3¡¡–¡2 Nicolls, Keith 354, 443, 459 Nicolosi, Christopher 450 Nicotera, Anthony 456 Nidds, James “Jim” 456 Niedson, Joe ¡20, ¡39 Niedziela, Steve ¡66–67 Niehaus, Herman 290 Niekro, Philip 486, 503 Nielson, George 48 Nielson, Milton Robert “Milt” 259 Nieman, Elmer LeRoy “Butch” ¡53, ¡75, 220, 245, 277, 309, 333 Nieman, John ¡23 Nieman, Rbt. Charles “Bob” 252 Niemann, James “Jim” 472 Niggeling, John Arnold “Johnny” 29, 39, 64 Niklas, Gus 456 Nipp, Carriel 287 Nischwitz, Ronald Lee 489 Nisewonger, James B. 382, 454 Nitcholas, Otho 242, 357 Nixon, Richard 42, 288 Nixon, Roy Lee 428, 435 Nixon, Russell Eugene “Russ” 4¡7, 428 Nixon, Willard Lee 296 Noble, Rafael 445, 462 Nodar, Joaquin “Joe” 292, 342, 397–98 Nodarse, Rene 440 Noga, George S. 3¡2, 326 Nogales, SON, MEX 48 Nolan, Harry 69 Nolan, James 84, 97 Nolan, Matthew ¡96 Nolden, Edward ¡62 Nook, John ¡09 Noon, Wallace “High” ¡83–84 Noonan, Michael 60, 75 Nordell, Morrie 28¡ Nordgren, Allen H. 304 Norek, John 30

Noren, Irving Arnold “Irv” ¡98, 233, 258 Noren, Leonard Eugene “Len” 332, 370 Norfolk, NE 53–54, 6¡, 66, 70, 80, 9¡, ¡05–6, ¡22, ¡45, ¡66 Norfolk, VA 44, 74, 83, 95, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡48, ¡88, 2¡2, 236, 275, 300–¡, 326, 352, 373, 395 Norman, Jennins 295 Norman, Willis ¡90 Norris, Maynard I. 338 North, Lamar 432, 448, 463 North Atlantic 289 North Carolina State ¡06, ¡22, ¡4¡, ¡6¡, ¡85, 205, 228, 25¡, 290, 3¡5, 340 North Platte, NE 29, 42, 54, 458, 473 North Wilkesboro, NC 245, 279 Northeast Arkansas 9¡, ¡06, ¡23, ¡42, ¡62, ¡85 Northeastern 66 Northern 6¡, 70, 92, ¡07, ¡23, ¡42, ¡62, ¡75, 243, 274, 306, 330, 354, 377, 399, 42¡, 438, 454, 469, 48¡, 494, 507, 5¡8 Northey, Ronald James “Ron” ¡38 Northrup, James Thomas “Jim” 5¡8 Northwest 4¡6, 435, 45¡, 467, 480, 492, 505, 5¡6 Norton, KS 29, 4¡, 42 Norwood, Bill 265 Noto, Phillip “Mr. Moto” 333–34 Nottebart, Donald Edward “Don” 436 Nottle, Edward 5¡6–¡7 Novak, Larry G. 395 Novak, Leonard J. “Len” ¡60 Novak, Rudy ¡68 Novak, Walter 46, 52 Novcik, Walter ¡8¡, 2¡¡ Noviko›, Louie Alexander “The Mad Russian” 99, ¡¡¡ Novosel, John E. ¡7¡, 238, 266 Novotny (Novotney), Ralph Joseph “Rube” ¡98, 346, 368 Nowak, Henry (Harry) ¡94 Nowlin, Walter 89 Nuevo Laredo, TAM, MEX 4¡0–¡¡, 429–30, 463, 476 Nufer, Walter 9 Nugent, G.M. “Tex” 40 Nunes, Melvin E. 329 Nunn, Howard Ralph “Howie” 424, 437, 487 Nunnally, Doyle 222 Nuxhall, Jos. Henry “Joe” 259, 297 Nydahl, Mel 5¡ Oakland, CA 7, 9, ¡4, 23–24, 32–33, 50, 56, 64, 208, 258, 366, 388, 408 Oana, Henry Kawaihoa”Prince” 33, 43, ¡¡¡, ¡28 Oates, George “Quaker” 386 O’Brien, Mickey 26 O’Brien, Ray 9

557 O’Brien, Robert ¡23 O’Brien, Thomas J. 233 Ocala, FL ¡59, ¡82 Oceak, Frank ¡¡9, ¡36, ¡64 Och, John ¡99 Ochoa, Jaime 453 O’Connell, Daniel Francis “Danny” 234 O’Connell, Eddie ¡05, ¡40 O’Connell, John 26 O’Connell, Joseph 263 O’Connor, L. Ray 335 O’Dea, James Kenneth “Ken,” “Jimmy” 53, 57 O’Dea, Paul ¡32 Odessa, TX ¡09, ¡67, 228, 250, 287, 3¡4–¡5, 329–30, 354, 377, 499 Odom, Dave ¡79 O’Donnell, George Dana 324, 366 O’Donnell, John J., Jr. 270, 298, 392, 434 O’Doul, Francis Joseph “Lefty” 7 Oertel, Charles “DuckY” 344 Oeschger, “Joe” 465 Oetting, A. “Fritz” 93 Ogden, John Mahlon “Jack” ¡3 Ogden, UT ¡2, 20, ¡32–33, ¡54, ¡76, 2¡9, 275, 307, 33¡, 355, 378, 400, 422 Ogdensburg, NY 84, 97, ¡¡2–¡3, ¡5¡–52, 2¡5, 269, 303 Oglesby, James Dorn “Jim” 35, 46, 5¡, 63 Ogorek, Leo 58 O’Grady, Vince 229 Ograin, Cli› 68 Ogrodowski, Ambrose Francis “Bruce” 7¡ O’Hara, Faber ¡¡–¡2 Ohio-Indiana 252, 290, 340 Ohio State 92, ¡07, ¡24, ¡63, ¡86, 205, 229 Ohlinger, Bruce 223 Oil City, PA ¡64, ¡87, 242, 273, 306, 330 O’Keefe, Daniel Patrick (went by middle name) 376 O’Keefe, John Joseph 375, 4¡7 Oklahoma City, OK 8–¡0, ¡6, 35, 46, 5¡, 73, 8¡, 233, 259, 448, 5¡3 Okmulgee, OK 62 Okrie, Leonard Joseph 2¡4 Olczak, John L., Jr. 387 Oldenburg, George 9¡, ¡23, ¡34 Oldis Rbt. Carl “Bob” 430, 445, 474, 50¡ Olean, NY ¡43–44, ¡64, ¡87, 206, 229, 3¡6, 34¡, 363, 384, 406, 427, 443, 459, 5¡¡, 523 Olevsen, Ken Ole 240 Olexio, Don 306 Oliva, Angel 477 Oliva, Antonio Pedro “Tony” 509, 5¡5–¡6 Olivares, Edward Balzac 492 Olivares, Jose 3¡ Oliver, Art 222 Oliver, Eugene George “Gene” 444, 45¡, 50¡ Oliver, Nathaniel “Nate” 5¡3 Oliver, Reinaldo 47¡, 5¡9

558 Olivo, Diomedes Antonio 430, 476, 488, 50¡ Olivo, Frederico Emilio “Chi Chi” 466, 500, 5¡2 Olmo-Rodriguez, Luis Francisco ¡37, ¡69 Olsen, Albert 259 Olsen, Bernard ¡29 Olsen, Elmer ¡5¡ Olsen, Peter 452 Olsen, Walter K. “Ole” 239 Olson, Ernie 92 Olson, Karl 296 Olson, Kenneth “Ken” 2¡3, 233 Olson, Robert ¡06 Olson (Olsen?), Walter ¡92 Olt, Harold S. “Hal” ¡57, 245, 378 Olvera, Jesus “Pompa” 437 Omaha, NE 8–9, ¡¡, ¡6, 35, 46, 5¡, 58, 66, 83, 2¡0, 235, 26¡, 298, 323, 348, 370, 392, 409, 428–29, 445m 46¡, 474, 500, 523 O’Malley, Paul 52 Ondani, Julio 270 O’Neal, Robert 297 O’Neil, George Michael “Mickey” 85 O’Neil, Walter 480, 493 O’Neill, Daniel Claude “Doc” ¡62 O’Neill, John ¡87 O’Neill, Joseph Henry “Harry” ¡2 Oneonta, NY ¡5¡, ¡73, 2¡6, 239–40, 270–7¡, 304, 328– 29 Onis, Manuel Dominguez “Curly” ¡20, ¡59 Onkotz, Paul ¡34 Ontario, CA 220 Onuska, William A. 4¡3 Oody, Arthur Lee “Howdy D” 423 Opalousas, LA 69, 78, 89–90, ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡58, ¡8¡ Opelika,AL 283, 3¡2, 336 Opich (Opik), Edward 379 Oplinger, Willard 509, 5¡9 Opp, AL 40¡–3 Opperman, Donald ¡89 Opplinger, Russ 233 Oquendo, Noel 360, 37¡ Orange, Nick ¡64 Oravetz, Ernest Eugene “Ernie,” “Gene” 335, 489–90 O’Reilly, James M. 395–96 Orengo, Joseph Charles “Joe” 84 Orlac, Hands of 387 Orlando, FL ¡04, ¡59, 203, 225, 248, 282–83, 3¡¡, 335, 359, 38¡, 424–25, 440, 484, 497, 509 Orndor›, Vern 5¡9 O’Rourke, James “Jim” 503 O’Rourke, Tommy ¡58 Orphan, Hugh ¡76 Orr, George 30 Orrell, Forrest 356 Orsatti, Ernest Ralph “Ernie” ¡3 Orsburn, Dayton 495, 506 Orsino, John Joseph “Horse” 458, 469, 490

Index Ortega, Evelio 354 Ortega, Rolando 424 Orteig, Raymond Joseph “Ray” ¡50, ¡7¡, 366, 388 Ortiz, Louis P. 367, 389 Ortiz-Nunez, Roberto Gonzales ¡69 Ortiz-Uzcanga, Alfredo 5¡8 Ortman, Frederick William “Lefty” ¡0 Orwiler, Donald D. “¡984” 436, 470 Orwoll, Oswald Christian “Ossie” ¡0, 58, 66 Osborn, Donald Edwin “Wizard of Oz” ¡7¡, 234 Osborn, Frank Robert 8 Osborn, Jack G. 4¡9 Osborne, James 226 Osborne, John 470 Osborne, Lawrence Sidney “Larry,” “Bo,” ”Bobo” 432–33, 487 Osborne, Tom ¡7 Osceola, AR 9¡, ¡06 Oser, Hugh 242, 302 Oshkosh, WI 23¡, 256, 295, 3¡9, 344, 365, 387 Osinski (O’Sinski), Daniel “Dan” 395, 482, 493, 504, 5¡4 Osofsky, Aaron 254 Osorio, Alberto 348 Osorio, Elias 376, 420 Ossola, Joseph P. 3¡6 Ostby, Burton A. 34¡, 377 Osteen, Claude 468, 500 Ostermueller, Frederick “Fritz” 52–53 Ostrowski, John ¡54, 208, 258 Ostrowski, Joseph Thaddeus “Joe” ¡8¡ Osuna-Montano, Elpidio 5¡8 Oswald, Ed 264 Oswego, NY ¡06–7, ¡30, ¡5¡ Otero-Gomez, Regino Joseph “Reggie” 236–37, 265, 300, 326 Otey, Redic 200 O’Toole, James Jerome “Jim” 463 Ott, Ed 205 Ottawa, ONT, CAN 84, 97, ¡¡2, ¡30, ¡5¡–52, 2¡5, 269, 303, 345, 367, 389 Otten, Donald J. 300 Otteson, Robert 337 Outen, William “Chick” 27, 47, 49 Outlaw, James Paulus “Jimmy” 74 Ouzts, Kenneth ¡27 Overby, Dennis 485–86 Overman, Earl W. 69 Overmire, Frank “Stubby” ¡75 Overton, Jesse ¡¡8, ¡37 Owen, Allison 480 Owen, Ansel ¡36 Owen, H.P. “Spud” 54 Owen, Marvin James “Marv” 33, 49–50 Owens, (first name unknown) 29, 42 Owens, Broughton “Brick” ¡00, ¡¡5 Owens, Glenn A. 443 Owens, Guy 88

Owens, James Philip “Jim” 36¡, 373, 390 Owens, Pat 508 Owens, Paul 34¡, 350, 427, 443, 459 Owens, Thomas 38 Owensboro, KY 90–9¡, ¡05, ¡2¡, ¡40, ¡60, ¡83, 204–5, 227, 286–87, 3¡4, 338, 362, 384, 405, 426 Oyler, Ray 490 Ozark, Danny 200, 434 Ozark, Norwood 206 Ozark, AL 88, 22¡–22, 278, 333–34, 357–58 Pacific Coast 7, 8, ¡4, 23, 32, 43, 50, 55, 63, 208, 257, 366, 387, 408, 427, 444, 462, 475, 487, 50¡, 5¡3 Pack, George Ken “Six” 339 Packard, Frank 59 Packard, Loren 227 Paddock, Thomas Edward 426, 458 Paddyfoot, S. Antonio 523 Padgett, Don 258, 326–27 Padgett, Elbert ¡04 Padgett, Willard ¡2¡ Padgett, William D. 280–28¡, 299 Paducah, KY 79, 90–9¡, ¡2¡, ¡60, ¡84, 287, 3¡5, 338, 362, 383–84, 426 Paepke, John “Jack” 346, 382 Pafko, Andrew “Andy” ¡9¡ Pagan, Jose Antonio 420, 465 Page, Kenneth 48¡ Page, Vance Linwood 72 Pagel, Vic 496 Pahr, Joseph Fred 432–33 Paiement, Dom “Joe,” “Down” 99 Paige, LeRoy “Satchell” 429, 446, 462 Pain, George K. 308 Paine, Phillip 297 Painter, Ralph 250–5¡, 288 Palafox, Alberto “Beto” 502 Palamara, Sam A. 3¡9 Palatka, FL ¡04, ¡39, 203, 225, 248, 283, 3¡¡, 335–36, 359–60, 38¡, 457, 472, 484, 496–97, 509–¡0 Palazinni, Julio 40¡, 434 Palazzini, Tom 27¡ Palestine, TX 2¡, 68, 76, 86, 98–99, ¡3¡, ¡52 Palica, Ambrose 266, 30¡, 376, 397 Palica, Ervin Martin “Erv” ¡98, 488 Pallagrini, Edward Charles ¡¡7 Palm, Richard “Mike” 233 Palmer, David, Jr. 426 Palmer, Isaac Benjamin “Ike” 200, 357, 379–80, 40¡–2, 4¡8 Palmer, Leslie 3¡5 Palmer, Pete 339 Palmiero, Rafael 4¡5 Palmisano, Joseph “Joe” ¡8, 65, 73 Palmisiano, Louis 239, 304 Palumbo, Vincent (C) 422 Palumbo, Vincent (P) ¡45 Palumbo, Wm. Joseph “Bill” 248, 273, 300, 326, 396

Palys, Stanley Francis 370, 39¡, 447, 489–90, 50¡–2, 5¡3 Pampa, TX ¡45, ¡66–67, ¡87–88, 200, 276, 308–9, 333, 379, 40¡, 4¡8 Panama City, FL 79, 87–88, ¡00, ¡¡5, ¡34, 334, 358, 380–8¡, 403, 423, 455–56, 47¡, 495–96, 509 Panaro, Harry 486 Pancoe, Joseph 350 Pane, Andrew 342, 4¡5 Panek, John “Don’t” ¡24 Panero, Harry 473–74 Panko, Emil 384, 4¡3, 430 Pannella, Louis 5¡¡ Paolisso, William E., Jr. 306, 330 Paolo, James J. 363 Papai, Alfred Thomas “Al” 4¡2, 430–3¡ Paragould, AR 92, ¡06–7, ¡23, ¡42, ¡62, ¡85–86 Pardue, Bernard H. 29¡ Pardue, Othur 272, 38¡ Pare, John ¡4¡ Parenti, Frank 25, 52, 56, 64, 72 Parham, Sr., Robert 44 Parino, John 24¡–42 Paris, France 28¡ Paris, IL 3¡5, 338–39, 363, 406, 426, 442, 458, 473, 485 Paris, TX 2¡, 68, 272, 349, 444, 460 Parker, Arthur 20 Parker, Clarence “Ace” 2¡2 Parker, Ernest 46, 5¡ Parker, Francis “Salty” ¡45, ¡52 Parker, Hank 28¡ Parker, James W. “Jimmie” 30 Parker, Riley 4¡, 59 Parker, Robert L. 387, 396, 480 Parker, Roy 276–77, 309, 324, 380, 394 Parker, William 343 Parker, William Newton “Newt” ¡84 Parkes, Chant 37, 47, 52 Parkin, Clair “No” 375 Parks, Harry ¡72 Parks, Jack W. “Mungo” 346, 477 Parks, Wm. Joseph “Jack” 267 Parmelee, Leroy Earl “Roy,” “Tarzan” 49 Parnell, Fred D. 255, 365 Parnell, Melvin Lloyd “Mel” ¡96 Parnham, Bob 38 Parra, Danny 2¡8, 325, 35¡ Parris, Clyde 39¡, 429, 46¡, 475 Parrott, Ray ¡58 Parsons, Charles Wilson (went by middle name) 373 Parsons, Rudy ¡¡6, ¡35 Partain, M. “Frenchy” 286–87, 3¡3–¡4 Partee, Roy Robert ¡¡6, ¡54, 345 Partenheimer, Stanwood Wendell “Stan” 2¡3 Parton, James 234 Partridge, James Bugg “Jay” 33 Pascal, Robert M. “Bob,”

Index “Blaise” 3¡9, 330, 4¡8, 438–39, 449 Paschal, Alfred “Al” 465 Paschal, Kenneth W. 365 Paschal, Walt 86 Pasciak, Leo 230 Pasco, WA 302, 328, 348, 360, 4¡7, 435, 45¡, 492–93, 505, 5¡6 Pascual, Camilo 3¡5 Pascual, Carlos Luis “Little Potato” 287, 3¡4–¡5, 468, 496, 520 Pasek, John Paul 33, 72 Pass, William H. 405 Passila, James 459 Passineau, Ross T. 324 Passaro, Roland 467 Paszek, John 290 Patanelli, Joe 243 Patchett, Harold Robert 53 Patchin, Arthur 84 Pate, Ralph 242 Patino, Aureliano “Arley” 363 Patras, Steve ¡07 Patrick, Dave 524 Patrick, Hisel D. 43¡ Patrick, Robert ¡¡9, ¡38 Patterson, Floyd “Pat” ¡9, 28, 58, 66, 99 Patterson, Joe 494, 5¡4–¡5 Patterson, John ¡4¡ Patterson, Lloyd ¡66–67 Patterson, Olney 33¡, 378 Patterson, Warren 236, 299 Patton, Charlie 70 Patton, Dallas 53, 58 Patton, Richard K. “Dick” 365, 426 Patton, Thos. A. “Tommy” 402–3 Patula, John S. 394 Paul, Erwin B. “Babe” ¡2¡ Paul, Laddie 20¡ Paula, Carlos Conill 363 Paulasky, Robert B. 3¡3 Paulin, Frank, Jr. ¡99 Pauls Valley, OK 253, 292, 3¡7, 342–43, 364, 385 Paulson, Guilford Paul ¡¡ Pavich, Peter ¡06 Pavletich, Donald Stephen 500 Pavlick, Bill 235 Pavlick, Pete 257 Pavlovic, Dan 67, 89 Pavlus, John 524 Pawalek, Frank James 2¡7 Pawli, Paul 309 Pawloski, Stanley 289, 327, 347 Pawtucket, RI ¡96, 2¡¡–¡2, 264–65 Payne, George Washington 24, 35, 45, 58, 77 Payne, James Cecil (known by middle name) “Zip” 78, ¡02, ¡¡7, ¡36–37, ¡79 Payne, Leo 8 Payne, Virgil 253–54 Payte, George C. 309 Payton, Armand F. “Bus” 94 Peabody, Mister 288 Peace, Clarence 250, 339 Peacock, Ken 250, 308 Pearce, Franklin Thomas 37–38 Pearce, James Madison “Jim” 390

Pearl, Minnie 403 Pearman, Tom ¡00 Pearson, Albert Gregory “Albie” 375, 39¡, 4¡3–¡4 Pearson, Charles A. 440 Pearson, Lloyd 29¡, 307 Pearson, Ronald 472 Peatros, Maurice 355 Peck, Harold Arthur ¡2¡, ¡90 Pecora, Alexander ¡50, ¡9¡ Peden, Leslie Earl “Les” 2¡0, 238, 26¡, 392, 43¡, 446, 463, 476–77, 489 Pedrozo-Diaz, Fernando “Bicho” 430, 446 Peekskil, NY 289 Peel, Homer 35, 45, 5¡ Peele, Sanford ¡37, ¡57 Peeler, Roy ¡56 Peeples, Nathaniel “Nate” 352–53, 374, 450 Peery, George Allen, Jr., “Red” 9, 25 Peery, Lester ¡0 Peery, Roy Clyde “Ray” 406 Peete, Chas. “Charlie,” “Mule” 395, 428 Pekich, Pete “Pick a Peck of Pickled” 495–96 Pellagrini, Edward Charles “Eddie” ¡3¡, ¡46 Pelton, Marvin 80, 9¡ Pember, Herb 29 Pemberton, Cli›ord ¡86, 357 Pena, Orlando Gregory 425, 435 Pena, Roberto 506 Penczak, Joe 289 Pendleton, James Edward “Jim” 296, 346, 46¡, 488 Pendleton, Joseph 254 Penner, Kenneth William “Ken” 8, 43 Pennington, Art “Superman” 352, 395–96, 472 Pennington, Joseph Frank ¡84–85, 336, 359–60 Pennington Gap, VA ¡00–¡, ¡¡6, ¡34, 250, 288, 339 Pennsylvania-Ohio-New York (PONY) ¡43, ¡64, ¡87, 206, 229, 29¡, 3¡6, 34¡, 363, 384, 406, 427, 443 Pennsylvania State Association 7¡, 80, 93, ¡08, ¡24, ¡43, ¡64, ¡86 Pensacola, FL ¡8, 27, 38, 95–96, ¡¡¡, ¡28, ¡49, ¡70, ¡97, 2¡3, 237, 265–66, 30¡, 455, 47¡, 483, 495, 509, 520 Peoplis, Matthew 40¡ Peoria, IL ¡¡, ¡9, 28, 39, 58, 96, 373, 395–96, 4¡7, 436, 452 Pepio, Charles 20¡ Pepitone, Jos. “Joe” 503 Peploski, Henry Stephen 52, 56, 72, 82 Pepper, Hugh 500 Perchak, Charlie 3¡2 Percy (born Pierwsza), Louis 27¡ Pereda, Orestes 285 Peregud, Nicholas “Nick” 269, 303 Perez, Cli› ¡96 Perez, Conrado 348

Perez, D. Juan 307–8 Perez, Eusibio “Silverio” 273 Perez, Fransisco 250 Perez, Joaquin 459 Perez, Jose R. 227, 353, 375, 397 Perez, Manuel (2B) 372 Perez, Manuel (P) 497 Perez, Manuel Ruiz “Manny” ¡72 Perez, Mario 225 Perez, Rbt. “Bob” 497 Perez, Rogelio 344 Perez, Thomas 270 Perez-Rigal, Anastasio “Tony 5¡¡, 5¡6 Perini, Peter 325 Perkins, Charles Sullivan “Charlie” 26 Perkins, Vachel D. 329 Perkovich, John Joseph 2¡3, 233 Perkowski, Frank 84 Perkowski, Harry 233, 464 Perlmutter, Dan/Don 2¡¡, 263 Perost, Joe 4¡ Perry, Alonso/Alonzo T. “El Espiriton” 4¡¡, 430, 446, 463, 5¡4 Perry, Boyd Glenn 89 Perry, Clyde W. 250, 272, 357, 370 Perry, DeWitt 52 Perry, Gaylord 470, 490, 5¡4 Perry, James Evan “Jim” 465 Perry, John S. 359 Perry, Melvin Gray “Bob” 45¡ Perry, Parker ¡8, 27, 52 Perry, Paul 247–48 Perry, Raymond Lawrence “Little Bu›alo,” “Moose” ¡54, ¡7¡, 282, 286, 3¡0–¡¡, 334–35, 375, 396–97, 437, 452–53 Perry, Robert 206 Perry, Tom ¡00, ¡¡3, ¡52 Perryman, Floyd 79, ¡¡4–¡5 Perryman, Lou ¡2¡ Persons, James ¡54 Perth, ONT, CAN 84 Perth-Cornwall, ONT, CAN 97 Pescitelli, Pasquale 279–80 Pescod, Charles ¡74 Pesky, Johnny ¡48 Petain, Henri ¡28 Peterkin, Al 522 Peterman, William ¡76 Peters, Darrell 5¡7 Peters, Elmer 4¡–42 Peters, Emil 246 Peters, Ernest ¡6¡ Peters, Floyd ¡87 Peters, Gary Charles 442–43 Peters, John William 7 Peters (born Petrzelka), Ray J. 30¡ Peters, Robert 344 Petersburg, VA ¡77, 254, 294, 3¡8, 343, 395 Peterson, Carl F. “Buddy” 302–3, 327–28, 408, 444 Peterson, Carroll 227 Peterson, Charles 97, ¡¡2, ¡29 Peterson, Charles Andrew “Cap” 5¡4 Peterson, Harding 323, 479

559 Peterson, James T., Jr. 385 Peterson, Lee Crandall 262, 350, 384 Peterson, Max 222, 234 Peterson, Norman 98, ¡¡¡, ¡53 Peterson, Robert ¡62–63, ¡97, 2¡7, 324 Peterson, Roy H. 260 Peterson, Wayne J. 3¡0 Petit, James 3¡7 Petosky, Frank 74, 83 Petranovich, Roland 5¡7 Petrich, Joe ¡05 Petrocelli, Americo “Rico” 5¡6 Petrosky, Art 84 Petrosky (Petroskey), Paul 403 Petschow, Donald G. “Purina” 202, 292 Pettit, Earl ¡5¡ Pettit, George William Paul (went by third name) 397, 4¡¡, 444 Pezullo, John “Pretzels” 66 Pfeifer, Cyril ¡99, 32¡–22 Pfei›er, Allan 246 Pfei›er, Hal 349 Pfei›er, Hosea 230 Pfei›er, John F. 394, 435 Pfiefer, Fred ¡53 Pfister, George J. 279, 403 Pflasterer, Kent P. 286, 35¡ Phalen, Daniel H. “Dan” 27¡, 305, 330, 355, 373 Phelps, (first name unknown)(P) 48 Phelps, Don 2¡5 Phelps, Joe R. 59, 67–68 Phelps, Raymond Cli›ord 27, 62 Philley, David Earl “Dave” ¡74 Phillips, A.C. ¡70 Phillips, Adolfo Emilio 5¡9 Phillips, Al 70 Phillips, Bill ¡¡9 Phillips, Clarence “Red” 65 Phillips, Damon, Roswell “Dee” ¡3¡, 23¡–32, 452 Phillips, Howard Edward “Ed” 239, 265, 43¡ Phillips, Jack Dorn 366, 388 Phillips, James 333 Phillips, John J. 284, 297 Phillips, Randall ¡57 Phillips, Reuben L. 402 Phillips, Richard E. “Dick” 42¡, 433, 463 Phillips, Robert 358, 380 Phillips, William Taylor (went by middle name) 36¡ Phipps, Jodie 262, 324, 350, 37¡, 394, 42¡ Phoenix, AZ 48, 2¡5, 268–69, 332, 374–75, 462, 475 Picchiotti, John 220 Picciuto, Nicholas Thomas “Nick” ¡95 Piche, Ronald Jaques 438, 50¡ Pick, Edgar Everett “Eddie” ¡3, 22 Picker, Edwin 458 Pickering, Urbane ¡9, 33 Pickett, Malcom 4¡, 53, 58, 65 Picone, Mario 348 Piedmont ¡48, ¡69, 2¡2, 236, 265, 300, 326, 352, 373, 395 Piedra, Juan 463

560 Pierce, Rex 228 Piercy, William Benton 7 Pierro, Wm. “Bill,” Wild Bill” 249, 262 Piersall, James Anthony “Jimmy” 234, 32¡ Piet, Anthony Francis “Tony” 46 Piet, Frankie (Anthony Francis “Tony”?) 23¡ Piet, Joseph ¡45–¡46 Piet(zak), Frank 94, ¡¡¡ Pietrewicz, Alex 522 Pignatano, Jos. Benjamin “Joe” 3¡2, 374, 39¡ Pike, Jess Willard “Jesse” ¡9¡, 270, 303 Piktuzis, George Richard 322 Pilarski, Harry 303 Pilgram, Arvie V. 44¡ Pillette, Herman Polycarp 24, 63 Pinckard, Wm. P. “Bill” 307, 348, 495 Pinder, Claude 483 Pine Blu› AR 39, 48, 60, 67, 75, 85, 98, 272, 305, 329, 376 Piniella, Lou 208 Pinkston, Alfred “Al” 39¡, 449–50, 466, 476, 489, 502, 5¡4 Pinkston, J. Roy ¡06, ¡22 Pinkston, Lester ¡6¡ Pinkston, Roy ¡97 Pinner, Ted 223 Pinson, Vada Edward 452–53, 46¡ Pintar, John “Pine Tar” ¡29 Pioneer 3, ¡32, ¡54, ¡76, 2¡9, 243, 274, 307, 33¡, 355, 378, 399, 422, 454, 470, 482, 495, 508, 5¡9 Pipgras, Edward John “Ed” 34 Pipgras, Fred 69, 78 Pipher, Charles 23¡ Pirtle, Al (Vernon?) 283 Pirtle, Vernon (Al?) 248, 3¡¡, 335 Pisarski, Gene 3¡5 Piscopo, Emil 344 Pisoni, James Pete “Jim” 3¡4, 4¡2 Pitko, Alexander ¡03, ¡48 Pittaro, Francis 496 Pittman, Bob ¡04, ¡20 Pittman, Charles ¡85 Pittman, Claude 88 Pittman, Fred 334 Pittsburg, CA 28¡–82, 3¡0–¡¡ Pittsburg, KS 204, 227, 249, 295–96, 3¡4, 337 Pittsfield, MA 6, ¡5, 25, ¡73, 2¡6, 239, 270–7¡, 328–29 Pitula, Stanley 395, 428–29 Pixley, Gordon ¡58 Pizarro, Felix 456, 522 Pizarro, German 440, 472 Pizarro-Cordova, Juan 433, 46¡ Plaskett, Elmo Alexander 494, 5¡5–¡6 Plate, William 236 Platek, Stanley ¡08, ¡24, ¡36–¡37, ¡48, ¡74 Plath, Thomas “Sylvia” 442 Player, George “Baseball” 384

Index Pless, Rance 243, 323, 346, 367, 389, 409 Pletersek, Harry ¡¡8 Plews, Herbert Eugene 390 Ploetz, Ronald 306 Pluchino, John 205, 235 Plummer, Irv ¡48 Plummer, Jake 52 Plummer, Jesse ¡02, ¡99 Poat, Raymond Willis ¡37, ¡7¡ Pocatello, ID ¡2, 20, ¡32–33, ¡54, ¡76, 2¡9, 243–44, 274–75, 307, 33¡, 355, 400, 422, 439, 454–55, 470, 482–83, 495, 5¡9–20 Pocekay, Walter 348 Pociask, Mike 54, 6¡, 70 Pocomoke City, MD ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡57 Podgjny, John Sigmund “Johnny” ¡52 Podoly, Joseph “Holy” 373 Podres, John Joseph “Johnny” 340 Po›enberger, Clarence “Boots” 86 Poholsky, Thomas George 2¡0 Poindexter, Buster ¡6¡ Poindexter, Chester Jennings (known by middle name) “Jinx” 76 Point, Albert D. 35¡ Pointer, Aaron 5¡2 Pokel, James “Jim” 229, 236, 394, 4¡6, 449–50 Polanco, Arturo 485 Polcha, Joe ¡60 Pole, Nick “Foul” 202 Polich, Joe 244 Polivka, Kenneth ¡76, 425 Pollet, Thos. “Tom,” III 376, 4¡8 Pollett, Howard Joseph “Howie” ¡38 Polli, Louis Americo, “Lou” 42 Pollock, Joseph S. 204 Polly, Nicholas Joseph 83, 99, ¡69 Polo, Gregorio 497 Polonczyk, Stanislaus 272 Polubiatka, William 243 Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) 380 Pompilia, Eugene (Emmett) 376 Ponca City, OK 68, 76–77, 87, 99, ¡¡4–¡5, 227, 249, 286, 3¡4, 337, 36¡, 400–¡, 443–44, 460 Ponce, Anthony “Tony” 269, 332 Poncero›, James “Jim” 5¡8 Pond, Arthur 25 Poole, James “Jim” ¡5, 34, 43, ¡06, ¡¡7 Poole, Ralph 297, 386 Poole, Raymond H. 30¡ Poole, Wm. M. “Bill” 340 Pope, David “Dave” 322, 345, 462 Pope, James 279 Popovich, Charles 338 Poquette, Ed 344 Port Arthur, TX ¡58, ¡8¡, 305, 325, 35¡, 372, 498, 4¡5, 434, 450 Port Chester, NY 2¡¡, 235

Portageville, MO 79, 90 Porter, Carl Joe 4¡7 Porter, J.W. “Jay” 327, 500 Porter, Ned Swindell 44 Porter, Richard Twilley “Dick,” “Wiggles,” “Twitchy” ¡3 Porterfield, Erwin Coolidge “Bob” 2¡2, 232 Porterfield, Lee ¡72 Porterville, CA 308, 356 Portland, ME ¡96, 2¡2, 236, 264–65 Portland, OR 7, 9, 23, 33, 44, 50, 56, 64, 258, 366, 408, 428, 444, 462, 475, 50¡, 5¡4 Portner, Mike ¡66, ¡75 Portsmouth, OH 99, ¡¡4, ¡32, ¡53–54, 252, 290–9¡ Portsmouth, VA 2, 74–75, 83, 95, ¡27, ¡48, ¡69, 2¡2, 236–37, 265, 300, 326, 352, 373, 395, 5¡6 Posada, Leopoldo Jesus “Leo” 477, 489–90 Posipanka, Ray H. 307, 376, 40¡ Post, Carlton O. 330 Post, Ed 229 Post, Jim 227, 243 Post, Walter Charles “Wally” 229, 320, 367 Postolese, Fred 260–6¡ Postolese, Norman 264–65 Potter, Maryland Dykes 59, 67, 94 Potter, Nelson 70, ¡90 Potts, Harry ¡6¡, ¡85 Potts, Joe Wilson 378 Poughkeepsie, NY 2¡¡, 235 Pounds, Leroy B. “Roy” 3¡3 Powell, Alvin Jacob “Jake” 60, 63 Powell, Hollis R. 407 Powell, John “Boog” 484, 500–¡ Powell, Lawrence ¡0¡, ¡¡2 Power, Victor Pellot 32¡, 345, 367 Powers, Ellis Foree “Mike” ¡60, ¡73 Powers, John Calvin “Johnny” 430, 446 Powers, Marty 289 Powers, Orace 68, 76, ¡¡3 Powley, William ¡¡2 Poza Rica, VER, MEX 463, 476, 489, 502, 5¡4 Pramesa, John Steven “Johnny” ¡93, 2¡2 Prather, Don Walter ¡37 Prather, Murl Argus “Dutch” 52, 83, ¡66, ¡89 Pratt, Robert Nathan 424 Pregenzer, John Arthur 47¡ Prentice, Robert F. 30¡ Prerost, Joe E. 73 Prescott, George Bertrand “Bobby” 357, 392, 462, 50¡ Pressley, Julian 287 Preston, Arthur William 4¡7 Price, Andy 40 Price, Charles ¡80–8¡ Price, James 372 Price, Jimmie William 496, 5¡9 Price, John 522

Price, Leslie 294 Priddy, Gerald Edward “Jerry” ¡0¡, ¡¡0 Pries, Donald F. 348 Priest, Jesse J., Jr. 333, 357 Prieto, Alfonso ¡98 Prince, James T. “Jim” 228, 250, 276, 3¡4 Prince, Ralph B. 358 Prince, William 4¡, 59 Pringle, F. Gale (went by middle name) 349, 37¡, 393, 4¡6, 466, 478 Pritchard, Bill ¡9 Pritchett, Jerry 52¡ Pritts, Harry 27¡ Privette, Edsell 354 Probitsky, Burke N. 364 Probst, James E. “Jim” 267, 479 Prohovich, Don 466 Proost, George 6¡, 70 Prosk, Hyman 228 Prothro, James Thompson “Doc” 9, ¡5 Prouix, Bob 227 Prout, Len ¡48 Prout, William “Bill” 77, 84, ¡¡0 Providence, RI ¡5, 25, 33, ¡96, 2¡2, 236 Provincial 3, 400, 422 Prowell, Dean 293 Prucha, Joseph 287 Pruett, Hubert Shelby “Shucks” 23 Pruett, James ¡9¡ Pruett, Lester ¡86 Pruett, William Thomas “Tom” 42¡ Pruitt, Charles 470 Pruitt, Guy ¡30, ¡73–74 Psutka, Harry 29¡ Puccinelli, George 28, 49–50 Puck, Edward ¡8¡ Pueblo, CO ¡6, 36, 46, 5¡, ¡88, 2¡0, 235, 26¡, 323, 348, 370, 4¡5, 433, 466, 489, 502, 5¡4 Puente, Genaro “Tito” 497, 507 Pugatch, Robert I. 373 Pugh, Gordon 40 Pukas, Leon F. 84 Pulaski, VA 20¡, 222, 278–79, 403, 423, 456 Pulcini, John 252 Pulford, Donald ¡¡9 Purcey, Walter 80 Purchia, Nicholas “Nick,” “Gutta” 293, 3¡7, 326 Purdy, Everett Virgil “Pid” 57 Pyle, Tom L. “Judge” ¡8, 27, 38, 68 Pytlak, Frank 36 Quad Cities (represented Bettendorf-Davenport, IA and Moline-Rock Isand, IL) 5¡0, 522–23 Qualben, Philip 374 Quebec Provincial ¡48 Quebec, QUE, CAN ¡48, ¡73, 270, 304, 40¡, 422 Queen, Billy 349, 367 Queen, Jackson (Jesse) 455, 470, 504, 5¡3 Queen, Melvin Jopseh 256

Index Queen, William (SS) 226 Quellich, George 22 Query, Wray Hu‡nes 48 Quick, Harold James “Hal” ¡27, ¡46–47, 208–9, 232–33 Quimby, Charles ¡¡9, ¡70, 2¡0–¡¡, 235, 333–34, 36, 380–8¡ Quimby, Ray ¡54–¡55 Quimby, Walter 222 Quincy, IL ¡¡, 28, 39, 58, ¡97, 2¡3, 237–38, 266, 30¡–2, 326–27, 339, 352, 373, 395, 4¡7, 436, 497–98, 5¡0 Quinn, Bob 403 Quinn, Don George 383 Quinn, Wellington Hunt “Wimpy” ¡29, ¡50, 302 Quintana, Patricio Witremundo 354, 374 Ra, Natale V., Jr. 4¡9 Ra, Phillip J. 4¡9 Rabbitt, Joseph Patrick “Joe” ¡¡ Rabe, Bill ¡39 Rabe, Chas. Henry “Charlie” 364, 4¡3, 49¡, 502 Rabe, Neal 30 Rac, Russell 284, 299, 323, 370 Raczka, John A. ¡86 Radakovich, Dan ¡¡7 Radatz, Dick “The Monster” 50¡ Radbourn “Hoss” 490 Radcli›e, Ray “Rip” 2¡, 38, 45, 54 Radebach, Marshall D. 403 Radell, Pete ¡5¡ Rader, Jack ¡00 Rader, James Joseph 406 Radford, VA 20¡, 223, 245, 279–80 Radivich, Robert 5¡9 Radler, Frank ¡56, 289, 336 Radney, Joe ¡39 Radovich, Robert 495 Radtke, Jack ¡76, 2¡9 Radulovich, Wm. John “Bill” 35¡, 372 Radzevich, Edwin 455 Ra›ensberger, Ken ¡03 Rager, John Andrew ¡¡4 Raimondi, Wm. Louis “Bill” 64, 257–58 Raines, Bob ¡5¡ Raines, John 343, 358–59 Rainey, Melvin 362 Raleigh, NC ¡¡–¡2, 52, ¡94–95, 2¡7, 240, 262, 324, 350, 372, 467, 479, 492 Ralsh, Pat ¡67 Ralston, Edward 290 Ramazotti, Rbt. Lewis “Bob” ¡64, ¡69 Rambert, Elmer “Pep” 224 Rambin, Peyton “Ray” 264 Ramer, Daniel 327, 352 Ramirez, Francisco “Panchillo” 430 Ramirez, Pedro “Charrascas” 437, 453 Ramirez, Victor 5¡9 Ramirez-Muro, Carlos 442, 498 Ramm, Jack 295, 305 Ramos, Julio 287

Rampy, Paul ¡22 Ramsdell, James Willard “Willie,” “Willie the Knuck” ¡67, ¡88, 258 Ramsey, (first name unknown, possibly B.T.) “Tiny” Ramsey ¡86 Rand, Rich. Hilton “Dick” 324 Rand, Robert E. 362, 382, 396 Randant, Bob 3¡5 Randolph, Vance Scrivner ¡¡3–¡4, ¡3¡ Ranew, Merritt 474, 493 Rantz, James “Jim” 505 Rapado, Jorge 483 Raper, Clinton 88 Rapp, Earl 366, 388, 408 Rase, Ivan 46 Rasmussen, Walter ¡95 Raso, Joe 2¡3 Ratli›, Bill ¡66–67 Ratli›, Carlos ¡05 Ratli›, W.D. “40” ¡26 Raton, NM ¡89 Ratteree, William Leonard ¡58, 206 Ratto, Leonard Bernard “Len” ¡35 Rauber, Robert H. 384 Rauch, Norman ¡7 Raucher, Carl 252 Raulerson, Harry E. 337 Rawlins, Robert 30, 75 Ray, Cleston ¡44 Ray (also spelled Rey), Emil 226, 285 Ray, Jack 3¡7 Ray, Stanley 224 Ray, Tom ¡2 Rayle, Jose 356 Raymond, Joseph Claude Mark (went by Claude) 449 Rayne, LA 69–70, 89–90, ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡58, ¡8¡ Rea, William 66 Reading, PA ¡3, 22, 56, 64, ¡47, ¡68, 347, 368–69, 39¡, 398, 4¡3, 432, 448, 465, 478, 49¡, 503 Ready, Charles “Ru› N” 489 Reagan, Dan 2¡9–20 Reardon, Joe ¡98 Reasonover, Rbt. A. “Bob” 436–37 Rebel, Arthur Anthony “Art” ¡49, ¡94, 263 Rechichar (Reichichar?), Adrian L. 403 Rechlitz, Erwin ¡2¡ Red, Socrates 402 Red Springs, NC 253, 293, 3¡7 Reddell, LeRoy Edward “Corky” 374 Redding, CA 28¡–82, 3¡0–¡¡, 334–35 Reder, John, Anthony 64, 72 Redfern, George Howard “Buck” 33 Redifer, Cy ¡2¡ Redmond, Henry ¡43–44, ¡64 Redmond, Jackson McKittrick “Jack” 58 Reece, Bobby 26 Reed, David 45¡ Reed, Eddie 482, 508 Reed, John Burwell “Jack” 463

Reed, Raymond C. 34¡, 407, 452, 495, 508 Reed, Wallace “Wally” 243, 306 Reed, Wm. Joseph “Bill” 260, 320 Reeder, Dennis 25¡, 324, 347 Reedy, Fleming, Jr., “Junior” 433, 509 Reese, Andrew Jackson “Andy” 56, 64, 73 Reese (born Soloman), James Hymie” Jimmy” 23, 63 Reese, Joe ¡83 Reese, “Pee Wee” 283 Reese, William ¡50, ¡7¡ Reeser, Wilbur ¡22 Refugio, TX ¡25 Regan, Phil 487 Regelsky, Adolph J. “Rudy” 376 Rego, Antone “Tony” 5¡ Rehm, Alfred 246, 280 Rehm, Bethel ¡5¡ Rehm, Norman V. 4¡7 Reiber, Frank Bernard 5¡ Reichelt, George ¡23 Reid, Hershel N. “Jackie” 48, 76, 8¡ Reid, Robert E. 323 Reidell, Chas. “Chuck” 504 Reider, John E. ¡7, 25, 36 Reidle, Don 230 Reidsville, NC 88–89, ¡¡7–¡8, ¡37, ¡56, 2¡4, 240, 262, 299, 324, 350, 394–95 Reimer, Gerald D. “Gerry” 483, 493, 502 Reinert, Clyde 3¡8 Reinhardt, Norman 344, 364 Reinhardt, Walter ¡09 Reinhart, Fred ¡94 Reis, Rbt. “Whitey” 439 Reis, Robert Joseph Thomas, “Bobby” 44, 62 Reiser, Harold Patrick “Pete” ¡47 Reisgo, Arnold 2¡6 Reisinger, George ¡¡9 Reiss, Albert Allen 72, 82 Reist, Mel ¡09 Reitz, Al 26 Reitz, Harold 93, ¡¡0 Reitz, Robert Joseph 364 Rellick, Andrew “Andy” 4¡3, 432, 434 Remes-Garza, Fernando “Pulpo” 507 Remsa, Arthur F. 407 Renault, Captain 6¡ Rende, Forrest 290 Rendler, Frank 6¡ Rendon, Ruben “Jarocho” 453 Reni›, Harold “Hal” 48¡ Reninger, James David “Jim” 85 Renna, Wm. Beneditto “Bill” 275, 327, 345, 444 Reno, NV 220–2¡, 244, 275, 3¡0–¡¡, 335, 4¡9, 436–37, 452, 469, 48¡, 494, 506, 5¡7 Rensa, Tony George “Pug” 8¡ Repulski, Eldon “Rip” 226, 239, 298 Rescigno, Xavier Frederick “Mr. X” 98, ¡36

561 Reser, Mike ¡32–33, ¡54 Reside, Wayne 205 Resinger, Grover ¡28, ¡49, ¡97 Restaino, Emil 284 Restau, Melvin ¡54 Retton, Ronnie 504 Retzer, Kenneth Leo 404, 42¡, 50¡ Reyes, William “Willie” ¡¡6, ¡35 Reynolds (first name unknown) 2¡ Reynolds, Daniel ¡79, 344 Reynolds, Frank ¡02 Reynolds, James 384 Reynolds, William 397–98 Rezotko, Joe 70, ¡¡3 Rhaese, Charles 25¡ Rhawn, Robert John “Rocky” 207 Rhea, Buford ¡¡3 Rheingans, Wilfred 250 Rhiel, William Joseph “Billy” ¡5, 43–44 Rhinehardt, George 37–38 Rhode, George 70 Rhodes, Cecil ¡48–49 Rhodes, Herman 243, 266 Rhodes, J.J. 385 Rhodes, James “Dusty” 264, 327, 346 Rhyne, Harold J. “Hal” 7 Rhyne, Kenneth 203, 226, 248, 3¡5 Ribant, Dennis 5¡0 Ricco, Francis J. “Frank” 407 Rice, Frank 357, 369, 4¡5 Rice, James “Jim” 464, 478 Rice, Lloyd Joseph ¡57 Rice, Ray ¡64–65 Rice, Wm. “Billy” 307 Rich, Ben C. “Bennie” 44¡ Rich, Woodrow Earl “Woody” 2¡3, 237, 299, 346, 386, 4¡6 Richard, John B. 353, 397 Richards, Charles ¡78 Richards, Fred 366 Richards, John 293 Richards, Paul Rapier 20, 37, 44, 8¡ Richards, Robert W. 90–9¡, ¡27 Richards, Thos. “Tom” (OF) 5¡0 Richards, Thos. “Tom” (P) 42¡ Richardson, Al 330 Richardson, Clarence L. 3¡3 Richardson, Edward 38¡ Richardson, Gordon Clark “Gordie” 5¡4–¡5 Richardson, James ¡¡ Richardson, Joe 227 Richardson, John J. 3¡5 Richardson, Kenneth Franklin “Ken” ¡26, 328 Richardson, Lewis 273 Richardson, Martin 522 Richardson, Murray 273 Richardson, Rbt. Clinton “Bobby” 39¡, 428 Richardson, Virgil 308 Richardville, Paul 230 Richbourg, Lancelot Clayton 57, 65 Richert, Dale 485 Richert, Peter 480, 489 Richland, WA 302, 328, 348,

562 360, 4¡7, 435, 45¡, 492–93, 505, 5¡6 Richmond, Beryl Justice 8¡ Richmond, Donald Lester ¡64, 346, 367 Richmond, Proctor 87 Richmond, OH 205, 229, 34¡ Richmond, VA 44, 59, 66, 74, 83, ¡¡0, ¡26–27, ¡48, ¡69, ¡89, 205, 2¡2, 229, 236, 265, 326, 34¡, 352, 373, 389, 4¡0, 4¡9, 446, 46¡, 475, 487–88, 50¡, 5¡2 Richter, Allen Gordon 320 Rick, Frederick 469, 493 Rickert, Marvin August 23¡–32, 320 Ricketson, Donald L. 285 Riconda, Harry Paul “Harry” ¡0 Riddle, Charles L. “Chase” 334, 357–58, 380–8¡, 390–9¡, 423, 44¡, 457–58 Riddle, Clarence 35¡, 39¡, 430 Riddle, John (C) 207 Riddle, John (OF) 52¡ Rider, Elwyn 278 Ridgeway, Charles 3¡3, 360 Ries, Robert 274, 370 Riesener, “Rbt. “Bob” 454 Riesgo, Arnold 360 Riga, Emidio “Bob” 2¡3, 350 Rigby, Lloyd ¡33 Rigdon, Billy ¡58, 3¡2 Rigdon, John ¡8¡ Riggs, Lewis Sidney 55 Rikard, Denver 337, 36¡ Rikard, Rbt. L. “Bob” 438, 492, 5¡7 Riley, John (3B) 458 Riley, John (OF) ¡6, 36, 5¡, 77 Riley, Leon ¡05–6, ¡22, ¡5¡, ¡73 Riley, Pat ¡20, ¡83 Rimsey, Marvin 9¡ Riney, Jos. W. “Joe” 435 Ringler, John 2¡5 Rinker, Bob 283–84 Rinks, Tommy 499 Rio Grande Valley 29¡, 307 Rio Grande Valley (Harlingen), TX 490, 503 Rios, Felix 88, ¡27 Ripkin, Calvin Edwin, Sr. 493 Ripkin, Wm. “Bill” 223, 264 Ripplemeyer, Ray Roy 396, 477, 488 Risenhoover, Rbt, “Bob” 473–74 Risk, Steve ¡20 Risley, George V. 4¡¡, 427–28 Riss, Joe ¡66 Ristau, Melvin L. “Mel” 282 Ritchey, John Franklin 327–28, 348, 408 Ritchie, Harold 473 Ritchie, Jay 467, 478 Ritter, Russ 230 Rivas, Rafael 323, 394, 430 Rivenbark, Albert William 403 Rivera, Manuel Joseph “Jungle Jim” 283, 30¡ Rivera, Mariano 72 Rivera, Miguel 247 Rivera, Pablo 384 Rivers, Joe ¡78

Index Riverside, CA 220, 244, 276, 308, 356 Rizzo, John Costa “Johnny” 53, 233 Rizzuto, Philip Francis ¡02, ¡¡0 Roanoke Rapids, NC 223, 280, 3¡0, 334, 359 Roanoke, VA ¡45, ¡65, ¡77, 2¡2, 236, 265, 300 Roarke, Mich. Thomas “Mike” 39¡, 433, 487 Robb, Walter ¡56 Robbins, Dean 504 Robbins, Gerald Spencer (went by middle name) 304, 4¡3, 448 Robello, Thomas Vardasco “Tony,” “Tom” 58, 85, ¡¡3–¡4, ¡3¡–32, ¡54 Roberge, Albert 207 Roberge, Joseph Albert Armand “Skippy” ¡50 Roberson, M. Joseph “Joe” 407 Roberson, Richard 393 Roberson, Thos. S. “Tommie” 422 Roberts, Charles 225 Roberts, Curtis Benjamin 347, 370, 408, 445, 475 Roberts, David Leonard “Dave” 399, 5¡3 Roberts, Edwin 332, 375 Roberts, Elmer 294 Roberts, Frisco 253 Roberts, Howard 77, ¡07 Roberts, Kelvin 404 Roberts, L. Perry ¡93, 22¡, 359–60, 37¡ Roberts, Paul 499 Roberts, Rbt. “Robbie” 349 Roberts, Robin 236 Roberts, V.L. “Red” ¡26 Robertson, Alfred James 322 Robertson, Donald 236 Robertson, Gene ¡0 Robertson, Humberto 374 Robertson, Jim 347 Robertson, Terry 450 Robertson, Wm. J. “Bill” (C) 392, 4¡3–¡4, 433 Robertson, WM. T. “Bill (3B) 425 Robertson, Wm. W. “Bill” (OF) 422 Robinett, Kenneth 360 Robinson, Aaron ¡02, ¡32 Robinson, Don M. (P) 420 Robinson, Ev “Sheri› ” ¡74–75, 259 Robinson, Floyd 384–85 Robinson, Frank 378, 39¡ Robinson, Henry F. 292, 372, 394 Robinson, Humberto Valentino 39¡, 409, 445 Robinson, Jack 406 Robinson, Jackie 283, 457 Robinson, James (Patrick?) 239 Robinson, Jerry 5¡4 Robinson, Joe 20 Robinson, John Edward “Jack” ¡73 Robinson, L. Lanier 499–500 Robinson, Onnie ¡¡¡ Robinson, Paul 465

Robinson, Richard ¡4¡, ¡85 Robinson, Rogers 482, 492 Robinson, Warren G. ¡64 Robstown, TX 292 Rocco, Michael Dominick “Mickey” ¡28 Roche, John Joseph “Red” 20 Rochelli, Louis Joseph “Lou” ¡55, 2¡6, 248 Rochester, MN 468 Rochester, NY ¡3, 22–23, 3¡–32, 43, 48, 49, 55, 63, 207–8, 232, 257, 320–2¡, 345–46, 367–68, 389–90, 4¡0, 429, 445, 475, 488, 50¡, 5¡2–¡3 Rock Hill, SC 238, 267, 302, 327, 374, 396 Rock Island, IL 4¡, 53, 58–59, 66, 83, 5¡0, 522 Rockford, IL 2¡7, 240, 27¡ Rocky Mount, NC ¡¡–¡2, 83, ¡¡0, ¡48, ¡88–89, 202, 223, 246, 280, 3¡0, 334, 358–59, 5¡6 Rocky Mountain ¡89 Rodan 32¡ Rodda, William T. “Bill” 50, 65, 73 Roddenberry, Warren 472 Roddin, Joe 279 Rodgers, Frank 83 Rodgers, Robert 459 Rodin, Eric Chapman 390, 447, 464 Rodriguez, Al 47¡ Rodriguez, Antonio Hector (went by middle name) 320, 367, 4¡0 Rodriguez, Arias 383 Rodriguez, Charles 3¡¡ Rodriguez, Ernest “Ernie” 49¡ Rodriguez, Fernando Pedro “Freddy,” “The Count” 396, 43¡, 445 Rodriguez, Inocencio “Chencho” 424, 438, 450–5¡ Rodriguez, Jesus 5¡8 Rodriguez, Jose 6 Rodriguez, Juan 437 Rodriguez, Oscar (C) 476, 489, 5¡4 Rodriguez, Oscar (INF) 33 Rodriguez, Rafael 497 Rodriguez, Ramon “Lotario” 462–63, 476 Rodriguez, Silverio 356 Rodriguez-Briones, Leonardo 4¡¡, 430 Roebuck, Edward Jack “Ed” 300, 345 Roede, Lou ¡83 Roenspie, Gene 370 Roesler, Kenneth 498 Roettger, Oscar ¡0, 2¡, 42–43, 55 Rogala, Anthony 93 Rogaleski, Jos. Anthony “Joe” 92 Rogalla, Stan ¡87 Rogan, Pat 5¡7 Rogell, Wm. George “Billy” 22 Roger, Ramon A. 305 Rogers, Emanuel 403 Rogers, Frank 59 Rogers, Harold ¡8¡ Rogers, Jesse J. 399

Rogers, Kenneth Andre Ian (went by second name) 42¡, 43¡, 462 Rogers, Kenny 88 Rogers, Lionel 494 Rogers, Orlin 72, ¡¡¡ Rogers, Rbt. “Buck” 470, 479, 500 Rogers, Richard 468, 482 Rogers, Stanley Frank “Packy” 94, 2¡6 Rogers, Walter 203, 2¡2 Rogers, Wm. T. “Bill” 30¡ Rogers, AR 69, 77, ¡0¡, ¡02, ¡¡7 Roggenburk, Gerry 524 Rogino, Lou ¡20 Rohde, Dale 5¡7 Roig, Anton Ambrose “Tony” 3¡2, 462 Rojas, Hilario 5¡0, 523–24 Rojas, Minervino “Minnie” 499 Rojas-Rivas, Octavio “Cookie” 440, 465–66 Rojek, Stanley Andrews ¡43, ¡69 Roland, Frank 47¡ Roland, James “Jimmy” 5¡6 Roland, William Charles 344, 4¡7 Rolandson, Russell B. 306 Rolfe, Robert Abiel “Red” 49, 55 Rollings, Russell 5¡ Rollins, James ¡88 Roman, Eugenio 483 Roman, Wm. “Bill” 504 Romano, Bill 324 Romano, John Anthony “Johnny,” “Honey” 4¡7, 46¡ Romberger, Allen Isaiah “Dutch” 290 Rome, Richard ¡76 Rome, GA 3¡2, 336 Rome, NY ¡30, ¡73, 2¡6, 239–40, 270 Romello, A. “Mike” 203, 299 Romeo, Tony 269, 279 Ronovsky, Richard ¡89 Root, Charles Henry “Charlie” 7, ¡94 Rosa, August 263 Rosar, Warren “Buddy” 74, 82 Rosario, Santiago 496 Rosburg, Russell C. “Russ” 3¡0, 4¡9 Rose, Edward “Eddie” 34, 65, ¡27–28 Rose, Floyd 20 Rose, George 364–65, 386 Rose, Hubert 3¡2 Rose, Peter Edward “Pete” 509, 5¡6 Rose, Russell 238, 258–59 Roseberry, Joe 205, 293 Roseboro, John H. “Johnny” 378 Roseboro, Stanley 334–35, 447 Rosell, Martin L. 438 Roselli, Rbt. Edward “Bob” 438, 462 Rosen, Albert Leonard “Flip” 232 Rosenbaum, Ed ¡35 Rosenbaum, Glen 427, 436

Index Rosenfeld, Max ¡58 Rosengarten, Ralph 200 Rosenkranz, Ramon “Gildenstern” 248 Rosenlund, Chester ¡32–33 Rosenstein, Milton “Milt” ¡82 Rosenthal, Simon “Si” 6, 34, 58 Rosenzweig, Stan 395 Roser, John ¡4, ¡¡3 Rosette, John 6¡ Rosner, Milt ¡99 Rospond, Walter 90 Ross, Chester James “Chet” ¡28 Ross, Cil›ord 39¡ Ross, Donald Raymond 65 Ross, Maxlee R. 34¡ Ross, Robert 2¡8 Rossamundo, Americo ¡¡8 Rossi, Jos. Anthony “Joe” 239, 302, 435 Rossi, Michael 285 Rossi, Ronald 457 Rossman, Bernard “Bernie” 350, 372 Rossman, Herbert 347 Rosson, Eulis 200 Roswell, NM ¡09, 287, 3¡4–¡5, 329, 354, 376–77, 420–2¡ Rotblatt, Marvin Joseph “Marv” 238, 296 Roth, Benny ¡¡8 Roth, John 492 Rothenhausler, John “Jack” 289, 362 Rothrock, John Huston “Jack” 54 Rotoni, Roger ¡25 Rotzell, Charles W. 263, 299 Rouse, William H. 442, 458, 468 Rovner, Jos. D. “Joe” 372 Rowe, John B. “Johnnie” ¡20, ¡30 Rowe, Lynwood “Schoolboy” 5¡ Rowe, Ralph 238, 302 Rowell, Carvel “Bama” 38¡ Rowell, Jos. W. “Joe” 297 Rowher, Ray 7 Rowland, (Charles Leland?) 38 Rowland, Danny 2¡8 Roy, Luther Franklin ¡5 Rozich, William 460 Rozman, Ronald J. 34¡, 449’ Ruark, J.B. ¡79 Ruark, Parnell 285, 3¡3, 36¡, 383 Rubeling, Albert William 80, 95 Rubensteing, Dario 457 Rubert, Octavio/Octavius 2¡8, 24¡, 298 Ruble, William Arthur “Art” 49 Rucidlo, Joseph T. ¡06 Rucker, John Joel ¡¡0 Rucker, John R. 344–45 Rucker, Paul 9¡ Rucker, Robert W. 248, 336, 359–60 Ruddock, Charles E. 328 Ruddy, Joseph 2¡7 Rudisill, Ray 20¡, 222 Rudnicki, Michael ¡67

Rudolph, Donald Frederick 430, 488, 500 Ruehl, Louis 290 Ruether, Walter Henry “Dutch” ¡4, 23–24 Ruiz, Idelfonso 497 Ruiz-Sablon, Hilario “Chico” 48¡, 49¡ Rullo, Joe ¡77, 26¡–62 Rumfield, Lynford ¡08, ¡23 Rummans, Elmer ¡59 Rumsey, Marvin ¡06 Rundus, Rudolph R. “Rudy” ¡8¡ Runnels, James Edward “Pete” 292 Rush, David R. 330 Rush, Elmer (played as Elmer Hankins) ¡05 Rush, Jess Howard “Andy” 25 Rush, Larry 306 Rushing, Gary 504 Rushing, Herb 85 Rushing, Parker 69 Rushing, Vanity 523 Russell, Billy 3¡4 Russell, Clarence “Rip” ¡98, 2¡4 Russell, Delmar 3¡9 Russell, Don Edward 433–34 Russell, Edward G. 426 Russell, James (OF) ¡70 Russell, James (P) 33¡ Russell, Norman L. ¡44, ¡70 Russello, Vincent ¡62, ¡85 Russian, John “Johnny” ¡08, 2¡5, 303 Russo, Eli 330 Russo, John 334 Russo, Manuel 222 Ruth, “Babe” 457 Ruth, George 363 Rutherford, John William 320 Rutherford, Ralph 227 Rutherford County (Spindale), NC 294, 3¡9, 344, 365–66, 386, 499 Rutner, Milton “Mickey” 209, 233 Ruttkay, Gary 235 Ruyle, Leonard 376–77, 402 Ruzina, George 305 Ryan, Cornelius Joseph “Connie” ¡48 Ryan, Fred 3¡3 Ryan, John 498 Ryan, Mike 272 Ryan, Nolan 325 Ryan, Richard B. 285 Ryan, Wilfred Patrick Dolan “Rosy” 49 Ryan, William 508 Ryba, Dominic Joseph “Mike” 47, 58, 68, 72 Ryckman, William T. 44¡ Rzendzian, Edward “Eddie” 307 Sabalasky, John 422 Saban, Matt L. 449 Sabathia, C.C. ¡73 Sabulsky, Arthur 362 Sack, Edward L. “Sad” 36¡, 40¡ Sacka, Frank 302, 390 Sacramento, CA 7, 8–9, ¡4, 32–33, 44, 50, 56, 208, 2¡9, 257–58, 408, 428, 462

Sada, Edward 49¡ Sadowski, Edward Roman 34¡, 372, 46¡ Sadowski, Rbt. F. “Bob” (P) 48¡ Sadowski, Rbt. Frank “Bob” (3B) 454–55, 482 Sadusky, Ben 23¡ Sa›ell, Thos. Judson “Tom” 2¡3, 296, 388 Sagers, Robert M. 4¡7, 468 Saginaw, MI ¡53, ¡74, 259–60, 297, 322 Sahlberg, Alfred C. 3¡0 Saia, Frank 485 Sain, John Franklin “Johnny” ¡23, ¡42 Saint Augustine, FL ¡20, ¡39, ¡59, ¡82, 203, 225, 248, 282–83, 3¡¡ St. Claire, Edward Joseph “Ebba” 296, 463 St. Claire, Jose Luis 463 Saint Cloud, MN 243, 274, 306, 330, 377, 399, 42¡, 438, 454, 469–70, 482, 494, 508, 5¡9 Saint Hyacinthe, QUE, CAN ¡48 Saint Jean, QUE, CAN 422 St. John, Thos. J. “Tom” 449 Saint Joseph, MI ¡53, ¡74–75 Saint Joseph, MO 8, 9, 35, 58, 66, ¡33, ¡77–78, 200, 220, 245, 277, 309, 378, 40¡ Saint Paul, MN ¡0, ¡3, 2¡, 22, 3¡, 42, 43, 48, 50, 54, 62, 7¡, ¡90, ¡94, 207 Saint Petersburg, FL 24¡, 424, 440, 457, 472, 484, 497, 509–¡0 St. Pierre, Howard 343 Salamanca, GUA, MEX 497, 507, 5¡8 Salata, Stephen 2¡6, 239, 270 Salazar, Enrique 404 Salem, OR ¡50, ¡7¡, 2¡4, 267, 327–28, 370–7¡, 393, 4¡7, 435, 45¡–52, 468, 480, 496, 505, 5¡6–¡7 Salem-Roanoke, VA ¡45, ¡65, ¡77 Salem, VA ¡45, ¡65, ¡77, 20¡, 423–24, 456, 47¡, 484, 509, 52¡ Salem, VA/Lenoir, NC 20¡ Salgado-Diaz, Ramon 325, 37¡, 422, 434 Salina, KS ¡¡5, ¡33, ¡78, 220–2¡, 277, 309, 332–33, 357 Salinas, CA 397, 4¡9, 436, 452 Salinas-Lopez, Juan Manuel 5¡8 Salisbury, MD ¡02, ¡03, ¡¡9, ¡38, ¡57, ¡80, 247–48, 28¡, 300, 35¡ Salisbury, NC ¡2, ¡22, ¡4¡, ¡6¡, ¡85, 205, 228, 25¡–52, 290, 3¡5, 340, 386, 499, 5¡2, 524 Salkeld, William Franklin “Bill” ¡35 Salmon, Rutherford “Chico” 495, 504 Salstrom, Phil ¡92 Salt Lake City, UT 7, ¡2, 20, ¡32–33, ¡54, ¡76, 2¡9, 243,

563 275, 307, 33¡, 355–56, 378, 400, 422, 438–39, 454–55, 462, 475, 488, 50¡, 5¡3 Saltillo, COA, MEX 437–38, 453 Saltzgaver, Otto Hamlin “Jack” ¡6, 3¡, 42, 55 Salvatierra, Manuel “Popeye” 268–69, 307, 325 Salvent, Aldo 446, 476, 489 Salverson, Bob ¡¡3 Sama, Humberto 5¡¡ Samaklis, Charles ¡3 Samco›, Edward William “Eddie” ¡98, 2¡6, 238, 298 Samford, Ronald Edward 302, 323, 460 Samhammer, Ralph Edward ¡50, 2¡6 Sample, Ralph ¡64 Sams, Ted ¡22 Sams, Tony ¡0¡, ¡53 Samson, Charles 245 Samson, William 302 Samuel, Amado 486 Samuel, Manuel 522 San Angelo, TX 30, 250, 3¡5, 329, 354, 376, 420–2¡ San Antonio, TX 57, 65, 73, 8¡, 233, 259, 4¡2, 447, 478, 490, 5¡4–¡5 San Bernadino, CA ¡72, 244, 298 San Diego, CA 208, 257–58, 366, 388, 408, 428, 444–45, 462, 475, 488, 50¡, 5¡3 San Francisco, CA 7, ¡4, 23–24, 32, 44, 50, 56, 63, 208, 366, 408, 428, 444 San Jose, CA ¡92, 2¡6, 239, 270, 304, 328, 375–76, 397, 4¡9 436–37, 452, 5¡7 San Juan, PR 50¡ San Luis Potosi, SLP, MEX 497, 507, 5¡8 Sanborn, Bob 2¡5 Sanchez, David 498 Sanchez, Roberto 393, 482, 5¡¡ Sancimino, Gustave F. “Gus” 443, 473 Sand, John Henry “Heinie” 3¡, 43 Sandel, Warren Harry ¡73, 270, 304 Sanders, Battle “Bones” 339 Sanders, Bobby 508, 5¡5 Sanders, Dee Wilma 342 Sanders, Harold 235–36 Sanders, James “Jimmie” 69, ¡03–4 Sanders, Kenneth George 496 Sanders, Malone “Bones” ¡45–46 Sanders, Raymond Floyd “Ray” ¡3¡, ¡49 Sanders, Richard 432, 434 Sandersville, GA 404 Sandford, George J. ¡43 Sandusky, OH 92, ¡07 Saner, Donald 477, 502 SanFilippo, Vito 29, 42 Sanford, Taylor 69, 78 Sanford, FL ¡04, ¡20, ¡39, ¡59, ¡92, 202–3, 248, 293, 3¡¡–¡2, 335, 38¡, 424, 484–85, 496–97

564 Sanford, NC ¡79, 206, 230, 253–54, 293, 327–28, 383 Sangalli, U. Frank 343 Sanicki, Edward Robert 2¡¡ Sanner, Roy Dale “Tex” 349, 37¡, 398, 434, 450 Sansoti, Frank ¡04 Santa Barbara, CA ¡72, ¡92, ¡98, 2¡6, 239, 270, 303, 328, 353, 365, 396, 5¡7 Santa Rosa, CA 282 Santana, Cecilio 356 Santa’s Little Helper 485 Santiago, Carlos 263 Santiago, Jose 498, 5¡5 Santiago, Jose Guillermo 260, 322 Santiago, Pedro R. 333 Santo, Ronald Edward “Ron” 478 Santo, Stanley “Stan” 337 Santoli, Carmen 459 Santomauro, Joseph 245 Santomauro, Maurice A.D. 349, 394 Santora, Frank 309 Sanudo, Hector 5¡7–¡8 Sarasota, FL 509, 52¡ Sardinas, Oscar 378, 446 Sargent, Jack 524 Sarkassian, Aram 3¡6 Sarmiento, Antonio 36¡ Sarna, Thos. A. “Tom” 400, 4¡3–¡4 Sarni, Wm. F. “Bill” 296, 367 Sarver, Bill ¡36 Sarver, David ¡8¡ Sass, John, Jr. 365 Satler, Walter 247 Saucier, Francis Field “Frank” 262 Sauer, George “Horn” ¡05 Sauer, Henry “Hank” ¡24, 208 Saul, James “Jim” 484 Saula, Neil C. 208 Saurbrun, Kip 79, 85, ¡83 Savage, Cli›ord 42¡ Savage, Dexter “Doc” 80, 9¡, ¡52 Savage, Leroy 96 Savage, Theo. E. “Ted” 49¡, 50¡ Savannah, GA ¡8, 84, 95, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡48–49, ¡9¡, 209–¡0, 260–6¡, 298, 323, 347, 369, 39¡–92, 4¡3–¡4, 433, 448–49, 465–66, 479, 49¡, 5¡5–¡6 Saverine, Charles 29¡, 368 Saverine, Rbt. “Bob” 484, 493 Savino, George ¡94 Savinon, Napoleon 473 Savransky, Morris “Moe” 298 Sawatski, Carl Ernest “Swats” 235, 258 296, 409, 429 Sawyer, Edwin Milbie “Eddie” ¡30, ¡5¡ Sawyer, Roger 378 Sayles, William ¡98, 2¡4 Scala, Gerard Michael “Jerry” ¡99, 2¡3 Scaling, Sam 47 Scally, William 229, 269 Scalzi, Frank Joseph “Skeeter” 99, 227 Scantlebury, Patricio Athelstan 37¡, 4¡0

Index Scantling, Ray ¡¡7 Scarborough, Ray Wilson ¡70 Scarliarini, Americo ¡36–37 Scarmaglia, John 469 Scarpace, Frank 305, 322 Scarritt, Russell Mallory ¡0 Scarsella, Leslie George “Lee” 74 Scercy, Leroy 442, 499 Schaak, Ed ¡58 Schaal, Paul 522–23 Schachle, George 29¡ Schacht, Sidney 2¡¡, 235 Schacker, Harold 24¡ Schadt, Harold ¡89 Schae›er, Glen ¡86–87 Schafer, Walter L. 99 Scha›er, Harold A. 66 Scha›er, Harry 236 Scha›er, Jimmie Ronald 442, 469, 478 Scha›ernoth, Charles 387, 40¡ Scha›ernoth, Jos. Arthur “Joe” 442, 5¡3 Schaive, John 486–87 Schalk, LeRoy Archibald 29, 4¡–42 Schalk, Ray 5¡ Schalk, Roy ¡90–¡9¡ Schambon, Clarence W. 226, 240 Schang, Robert ¡52, ¡98 Schardt, Carl 255 Schartzer, Philip 404, 446–47 Schattinger, Dick 220 Schaufele, Louis J. 376 Scheel, Rolf 444 Scheele, Bill 79 Sche›, Ralph ¡66 Sche›el, Cecil 229 Sche‡ng, Robert “Bob” 90, ¡43 Sche‡er, Herbert ¡69 Scheibel, Ed ¡58 Schell, Clyde Daniel “Danny” 300, 322, 368, 428 Schemer, Michael “Mike,” “Lefty” ¡6¡, ¡77 Schenectady, NY 2¡6, 249–40, 304, 322, 347, 368–69, 39¡, 4¡3, 432, 448 Schenk, Johnnie F. “Fred” ¡66 Schenz, Harry ¡56 Schenz, Henry Leonard “Hank” ¡45, 257 Scherboth, Bob 2¡2 Scherer, Leon ¡03, ¡¡9 Scherger, George ¡97, 337 Scherting, Harry 287 Schessler (Schlesler), Charles “Dutch” 26 Schibi, Robert ¡65 Schifner, Paul ¡¡6 Schiller, Eugene 42¡ Schilling, Chas, “Chuck” 486 Schilling, James 86, ¡90–9¡ Schimenz, John 23¡ Schinkle, Adolph “Ad” 25 Schino, Stanley 5¡ Schinski, John ¡2, 29, ¡22 Schluter, Edgar ¡¡9 Schluter, Henry ¡38 Schmandt, Raymond Henry ¡8 Schmandt, Roger 473 Schmees, George 446 Schmid, George 47¡

Schmidt, Charles F. 333, 350, 372 Schmidt, Frederick Albert “Freddy” ¡40, 333 Schmidt, George 454 Schmidt, Joe (¡B) 406 Schmidt, Joe (2B) 3¡2 Schmidt, John ¡53 Schmidt, Robert (2B) ¡42–43, 2¡2, 283–84 Schmidt, Robert (C) 43¡, 445 Schmidt, Robert (P) 523 Schmidt, Willard Raymond 29¡, 323 Schmidt, Wm. “Bill” (C, OF, ¡B) 442 Schmiel, Howard ¡06, ¡¡5 Schmitt, Jacob 30¡ Schnellbaecher, Wm. “Bill” 47¡ Schoenberger, John 509 Schoendienst, Elmer 226, 243 Schoendienst, Paul V. ¡87–¡88, ¡94 Schoettle, Jake ¡6¡ Scho›ner, Milburn 22 Scholz, Bill 66 Schoof, Carl 46 Schoolfield, VA ¡37, ¡56, ¡79 Schott, Arthur Eugene “Gene” 63 Schrank, James “The Closet” 384 Schreiber, Theo. Henry “Ted” 49¡ Schremser (also appeared as Schirmer and Schrimser), Bob 87–88 Schrock, Paul ¡87 Schroeder, John ¡68 Schroeder, Thomas 523 Schroeder, Warren Fred 325, 35¡, 372 Schroeder, Wilmer 6¡ Schroer, Gene 27¡ Schroll, Albert Bringhurst “Al” 39¡ Schubel, William “Bill” ¡33 Schuerbaum, Walter E. 96, ¡¡0, ¡48, 2¡0 Schuerman, Ernest 307, 33¡ Schuermann, Leonard G. “Len” 400 Schuessler, Zack 75, 85, ¡¡3, ¡28 Schulmerich, Wesley 32, 97, ¡¡2 Schulte, Arthur W. “Art” 236, 297 Schulte, Lee 69–70, ¡93 Schulte, Leonard Wiliam “Len” 3¡6 Schulte, Robert 244–45 Schulter, Henry ¡03 Schultz, Andy 28¡ Schultz, Don 394 Schultz, Gerald 357 Schultz, Rbt. Du›y “Bob” 204–5, 296, 390 Schultz, Richard 455 Schultz, Stanley 485 Schulz, Franklin ¡75 Schumacher, Edwin ¡05 Schumacher, Howard ¡40 Schumm, William 243 Schummell, Frank 78 Schupp, Irvin 202 Schuster, Serge 20¡

Schuster, William Charles “Bill” 208 Schweda, Edwin ¡66 Schwegman, Harry 305 Schymanski, James 256 Schypinski, Gerald A. 36¡ Scire, Mike 220 Scoey, Joey 324 Sco‡c, Louis “Lou,” “Weaser” ¡50, ¡92 Scopetone, Wm. “Bill” 200, 288 Score, Herbert Jude “Herb” 389 Scott, Chauncey B. ¡40 Scott, George, Jr. 457, 480 Scott, James H. 403 Scott, Legrant, Jr. 483, 502 Scott, Marshall ¡09, ¡25 Scott, Mike ¡44 Scott, Raymond E. ¡87 Scott, Rbt. E. “Bob” 4¡8 Scott, Rich. Lewis “Dick” 44¡ Scott, Siebert 457 Scott, William ¡40 Scranton, David W. 425, 44¡ Scranton, PA 26, 37, 46–47, 52, 56, 64, 72, ¡26, ¡46–47, ¡95–96, 209, 234, 260, 297, 322, 347 Screws, Bill 358 Scribner, Ira W. ¡29 Scrobola, Andrew 230, 253 Scroggs, John R. 44¡ Scull, Angel 34¡ Sczesny, Matthew 4¡3–¡4 Seaford, DE 202, 224, 28¡ Seal/Seale, Wm. A., Jr., “Billy” ¡¡7, 2¡3, 237, 283–84, 30¡ Seale, Johnny Ray “Johnnie” 492 Seaone, Isaac 352 Sears, Kenneth Eugene “Ken” ¡27, ¡90, 276 Seastrand, Frank 29¡ Seats, Thomas “Tom” 70, 77 Seattle, WA 7, 9, 32–33, 44, 50, 56, 63, 208, 366, 388, 408, 428, 444–45, 462, 475, 488, 50¡, 5¡4 Seawright, Hal 204, 27¡, 338 Sebastian, John 248 Sebastian, Marty 229 Sebera, William 522 Secrest, Chas. J. “Charlie” 450 Sedlak 425, 468 Sedor, Chas. William “Charlie” 280, 424 Sedwick, Bob ¡35 See, William 246 Seegar, Alvin “Have A” 420 Seeley, C.E. 48 Seeley, Ned 39 Seelinger, Richard 459 Seelman, Washington 29, 4¡ Seeman, David 509 Seerey, James Patrick “Pat” ¡89, 298 Sefcik, Ray 3¡4 Segale, Charles 273 Seger, Scot 498 Segovia, Laurence 435 Segrest, Joseph 362 Segrist, Kal Hill 389, 4¡2, 444, 490 Segui, Phil 82, ¡¡¡ Seguso, Arthur H. 242, 30¡

Index Sehrt, John 2¡2, 300 Seibold, Harry “Socks” ¡3 Seidel, Raymond 249 Seif, Ibsen W. 424 Seif, Raymond 377 Seifert, Art 522 Seinsoth, Wm. “Bill” ¡9¡, 298 Seitz, Grover 47, ¡45–46, ¡66– 67 Self, John 494 Sells, William Joseph 383 Selma, AL 27, 38, 96, ¡¡¡, ¡28, ¡49, ¡70, ¡97, 2¡3, 237, 266, 30¡, 455, 47¡, 483, 496, 509, 520 Selph, Carey Isom 45, 57 Seminick, Andrew Wasil “Andy” ¡78–79, ¡92 Seminole, OK 230, 253, 292–93, 342–43, 407, 443–44, 460 Semler, Joe 56, 64 Semzcak, Harry ¡42 Sensoth, Bill ¡28 Senties, Juan 35¡, 372 Sepkowski (born Sczepkowski), Theo. Walter “Ted” 347, 384, 406–7 Sereduk, Paul 439 Serefini, Melvin E. “Seraphim” ¡08, ¡¡5, ¡72 Serena, Wm. Robert “Bill” 22¡, 259 Sergiacomi, Armand ¡24 Serling, Rod 255 Serpa, Sempert Joe ¡32–¡33 Serrano, Edward A. 460 Serrano, Manuel 2¡9–20, 244, 308 Serre, Chris 4¡ Serrell, Barney “Grillo” 4¡0, 430 Serzen, Russell 426 Sessi, Walter Anthony ¡2¡, ¡4¡, 35¡ Settle, Charles Samuel 223 Settlemire, Edgar Merle (known by middle name) ¡64 Setzer, Giles G. 386 Severeid, Henry “Hank” 23 Severi, Ado ¡52 Seward, Walter J., Jr. 365, 73– 74 Sewell, Garland A. ¡24 Seyfried, Gordon Clay 500 Seymour, Charles 364 Shabid, Wadere 354 Sha›er, Donald 36¡ Sha›er, Rbt. “Bob” 422 Shamsky, Art 498 Shandor, Theo. J. “Ted,” “The Magnificent Shandor” 256, 4¡8 Shaner, Walt “Wally,” “Bud” 8, ¡8 Shannon, Thomas Michael “Mike” 472 Shannon, Walter 360–6¡ Shantz, Robert Clayton “Bobby” 235 Shantz, Wilmer Ebert 240–4¡ Sharp, Harold ¡6¡ Shatzer, Guy 97 Shaute, Joseph Benjamin “Joe” 64, 72 Shaw, Cli›ord 39–40

Shawnee, OK 3¡7, 342, 364, 385, 407–8, 444, 459–60 Shawver, Carl P. ¡77 Shawver, Robert L. 395 Shay, Walter “One Horse Open” 6 Shea, David J. 40¡ Shea, Mervin David John 7 Shealy, Darr ¡22 Shearer, Ray Solomon 3¡9, 368, 43¡, 445 Sheboygan, WI ¡68, ¡89, 23¡, 256, 295, 3¡9, 344–45, 365, 387 Shedis, Bruno S. ¡48 Sheehan, Gerald 365 Sheehan, James Thomas “Jim” ¡33 Sheehan, John Thomas “Jack” 33–34 Sheehan, Leslie M. “Les” 7 Sheehan, Thos. Clancy “Tom” ¡0 Sheehan, William ¡24 Sheely, Earl Homer ¡4, 32 Sheely, Hollis Kimball “Bud” 268 Sheets, Gene “Clean” 449–50 Sheetz, Owen ¡46, ¡94 Sheetz, Roland E. 394 She‡c, Walt ¡43 Shelby, NC ¡06, ¡22, ¡44, ¡98, 255, 3¡9, 343–44, 364–65, 386, 499, 5¡2, 524 Sheldon, Roland “Rollie” 498 Sheley, Dorr ¡06 Shellenback, Frank ¡4, 23–24, 32, 44, 50 Shepard, (first name unknown) ¡5 Shepard, Bill 495 Shepard, Jack 370 Shepard, Kenneth 44¡ Shepard, Lawrence William “Larry” 275, 307, 33¡, 369 Shepler, Rich. “Dick” 456 Sheppard, Joe 365 Sherbrooke, QUE ¡48, 40¡ Sherer, Alfred 95 Sheridan, Eugene Anthony “Red” ¡5 Sheridan, Julius 38¡ Sheridan, Neill 208 Sheridan, William J. ¡45 Sherkel, Fred C. 332 Sherman, TX 364 (See also Sherman-Denison) Sherman-Denison, TX 262, 324, 384–85 Sherrill, Lee W. 99, ¡78 Sherwood, Robert 2¡¡ Shetler, Vernon “Moose” 202, 2¡2, 254, 270 Shewey, William “Bill” 90–9¡, ¡4¡, ¡6¡, ¡69 Shiell, Vic 58 Shiflett, Garland Jessie 427 Shill, Norman 470 Shimer, Darrol 80 Shimko, Michael ¡3¡ Shinn, Allan 387, 405 Shinn, James 508 Shinn, Walter ¡34 Shipley, Jack 40 Shipley, Jos. Clark “Joe,” “Moses” 426 Shipman, Fred 224

Shires, Charles Arthur “Art,” “The Great” 43 Shirk, Gilbert 34¡ Shirley, Ernest Raeford “Ernie,” “Mule” ¡5 Shirley, Jack (John H.?) 323 Shiver, Ivey Merwin “Chick” 28 Shoaf, Henry 27 Shoals, Leo Cleveland “Muscle” ¡08, ¡¡6, ¡34, 20¡, 222, 262, 423–24 Shoap, Arthur “Art” 68, 87 Shockley, Costen 508 Shoemake, Claude 225, 336 Shoemaker, Roy 95 Sho›, Dick ¡53 Sho›ner, Milburn James “Milt” 64 Sho›ner, Phalti 206 Shofner, John 3¡6 Shokes, Edward Christopher “Eddie” 320 Shollenberger, Barry 522 Shone, Frank Estes ¡65, 276 Shope, Norm 2¡2 Shore, Raymond Everett “Ray” 32¡, 368, 390 Shore, Rbt. E. “Bob” 308 Shores, W. Doug 245, 279 Short, Christopher Joseph “Chris” 466 Short, Wm. Bill” 475 Shotwell, Sam ¡85 Shoun, Clyde Mitchell 8¡ Shoup, George “Tomato” 242 Shovlin, John Joseph 26 Showfety, Emil 2¡7, 240, 262 Shreveport, LA 24, 34, 45, 60, 67, 76, 259, 402, 43¡, 447, 476–77, 489–90, 502 Shriver, Floyd 457 Shuba, George Thomas “Shotgun” 258, 320 Shuey, Norman 509 Shuman, Harry ¡69 Shupe, Galen ¡43 Shupe, Hayden ¡43 Shupe, Vincent ¡86–87 Shurman, Peter 205, 2¡2 Shutt, Robert G. “Open And” 34¡ Sicking, Edward Joseph “Eddie” ¡3, 58 Sidaris, Chris William 2¡8 Sidlo, Elmer M. ¡53 Siebern, Norman Leroy 357, 368, 445 Siegert, Don 262 Sierotko, Walter 224, 237 Sierra, Andrew A. “Andy” ¡04, 3¡0 Sierra, Ernesto 239, 235 Sierra, Oscar P. 3¡6, 396 Sievers, Roy Edward 2¡7 Si›t, George 250 Sigafoos, Francis “Frank” 32, 54 Sigman, Wesley Tripp (known by middle name) 25 Signaigo, Sidney ¡02 Signor, Les 33 Sikes, (first name unknown) 79 Silber, Edward James 99 Silcott, Stanley 450

565 Siloam Springs, AR 68, 77, 88, ¡0¡ Silvanic, Frank ¡¡4 Silvera, Aaron 454 Silverstein, Sandy 26¡ Silverthorn, Edward Earl (went by middle name) 2¡9, 243–44 Silvestri, Kenneth Joseph “Ken” 89, ¡03, 232 Silvey, George 70, 92–93, ¡22, ¡72 Sima, Albert 346 Simicich, John 472 Simmons, Curtis Thomas “Curt” 2¡¡ Simmons, Horace 85, 86 Simmons, Malcom 4¡6 Simms, Norris ¡28 Simon, Jerome C. “Simple” 398 Simon, Mike ¡¡6 Simon, Sylvester Adam “Syl” 25, 36 Simonds, Dwight L. ¡94 Simononas/Simmons, Al ¡40, ¡64, 2¡4 Simons, Melbern Ellis “Mel” 30–3¡ Simontacci, John ¡3¡ Simpson, Blair 28¡ Simpson, Halbert Miller “Hal” ¡¡3, 258, 32¡ Simpson, Harry Leon “Suitcase” 260 Simpson, Homer 282 Simpson, Rich. “Dick” 460, 5¡7 Simpson, Robert W. 330 Simpson, Walter 6 Sims, Duane “Duke” 496, 504, 5¡5 Sinay, Andy 88 Singer, Hubert ¡0¡ Singer, Walt 283 Singleton, Bert Elmer (went by middle name) 408, 428 Singleton, James L. “Jim” 4¡3 Singleton, John 39 Singleton, Larry 204 Singleton, Raleigh ¡05 Sington, Fred 63, 8¡ Sinnerud, Michael 505 Sinnott, John ¡92–93 Sinovic, Jim 305 Sinovic, Rich. John “Dick” 238, 267, 328, 346, 368, 447 Sinquefield, Edgar B. “Bennie” 382, 400 Sinquefield, Roy 380–8¡ Sinram, Wm. “Bill” ¡73, 304 Sioux City, IA 65–66, 80, 82–83, 94, ¡22, ¡45, ¡88–89, 2¡0, 235, 26¡, 298, 348, 370, 377, 392, 4¡4–¡5, 433, 449–50, 466, 480, 493 Sioux Falls, SD 6¡, 70, 80, 9¡, ¡05–6, ¡45, ¡66, ¡89, 243, 274, 306–7, 355, 377, 4¡5 Sipek, Richard, “Dickie” ¡92, 262, 324 Siple, Claude B. 327 Sipple, Charles A. 259–60 Sisiloak, Francis J. 44¡ Sisk, Pat 497 Sisler, Rich. Allan “Dick” 446–47

566 Sisti, Sebastian Daniel “Sibby” 434 Sixon, Sherwin 348 Ska›, Frank ¡30 Ska›, Tufeck ¡65 Skaggs, Earl 200 Skeen, Archie 498, 503 Skeen, Wilmer ¡39, ¡59 Skeeters, Neal “Mos” 457 Skelley, William E. “Bill” ¡29 Skidgel, Leon ¡¡7 Skidmore, Kenneth 253 Skidmore, Leo ¡9 Skinner, Kane “Mule” 35¡ Skinner, Rbt. Ralph “Bob” 338, 364, 4¡0–¡¡ Skinner, William ¡44 Skinner, Zane 24¡ Skizas, Louis Peter “Lou,” “The Nervous Greek” 286 Sko‡c, Lou 74 Skorupski, John 38¡ Skowron, Wm.Joseph “Bill,” “Moose” 326, 345 Skurski, Andrew A. “Andy” ¡00, ¡97 Slack, Eugene 39¡ Slack, Wm. Henry “Bill” 448, 463 Slaughter, Enos 84 Slawski, Ronald 385 Slaybaugh, Rbt. “Bobby” 334 Sleeper, Charles T. 385 Slick, Grace 86 Slick, Tom 86 Slider, Rachel “Rac” 397–98 Sloan, Rbt. “Bob” 496 Sloat, Dwain ¡62 Sloboda, Steve ¡45, 279–80 Small, James “Jim” 5¡4 Small, Norman ¡06, ¡6¡, ¡85, 205, 228, 252, 300, 3¡5, 340, 386 Smalley, Charles 3¡3 Smalley, Roy 2¡ Smathers, Al ¡39 Smawley, Belus 255 Smerek, Ray 305 Smiley, Guy “America’s Favorite Game Show Host” 362 Smith, Al (P) 52 Smith, Al “Smitty” (2B) 97 Smith, Alphonse Eugene “Al,” “Fuzzy” 367 Smith, Andy “Handy” 288 Smith, Bill (OF) 346–47 Smith, Billy F. (¡B) 325, 452, 470, 482 Smith, Billy Reid 364 Smith, Bobby Gene 4¡9, 46¡, 485 Smith, Bruce 2¡¡ Smith, Bryce 52¡ Smith, Carr E. 44 Smith, Charles (3B) ¡03 Smith, Charles (P) 442 Smith, Chas. “Charlie” (SS) 488 Smith, Clay Jamieson 92 Smith, David 95, ¡¡¡ Smith, DeMorris 483 Smith, Donald O. ¡84 Smith, Douglas B. ¡7¡–72 Smith, Douglas H. 444 Smith, Earl C. 304 Smith, Earl Leonard ¡0, 2¡

Index Smith, Edgar 82 Smith, Elmer John 8 Smith, Elwood “Mike” 69 Smith, Emanuel Carr (known by middle name) 69 Smith, Ernest Henry “Ernie” 49 Smith, Forest E. 230, 446, 46¡, 475 Smith, Frank Thomas 234, 25¡–52, 290 Smith, Fred 2¡9 Smith, Harold Raymond “Hal R.” 389 Smith, Harold Wayne “Hal W.” 368 Smith, Henry 97 Smith, Howard ¡4¡ Smith, Ira Delos 73, 8¡ Smith, Jack Hatfield 502, 5¡3 Smith, James 3¡3 Smith, Joe ¡64 Smith, John (SS) 397 Smith, John Ivory 425 Smith, Larry H. (C) 426 Smith, Leo 47¡, 49¡ Smith, LeRoy 270 Smith, Lester ¡6¡ Smith, Lonnie 206 Smith, Merrill 359 Smith, Milton 348, 408 Smith, Morris 9¡ Smith, Neilan 299–9¡ Smith, Norm 499 Smith, “Ozzie” 385 Smith, Paul ¡40 Smith, Paul Leslie 3¡3, 346 Smith, Quincy 339, 363 Smith, R.C. 8 Smith, Rbt. “Bob” 52 Smith, Rbt. “Steamboat” 488 Smith, Regis 66 Smith, Rich. Allen “Dick” (OF) 355 Smith, Rich. Harrison “Dick” (3B/SS) 278, 3¡3, 322–23, 368, 388 Smith, Ron V. 375 Smith, Roy (3B) 69 Smith, Roy Lee “Red” (C) 273, 4¡9–20 Smith, Sherrod Malone “Sherry” 40 Smith, Tom ¡¡ Smith, Walt 277 Smith, Wilbur Lee 268 Smith, William (P) 399 Smith, Wm. “Bill” (¡B) 436 Smith, Wm. “Bill” (P) 2¡2, 237 Smithfield-Selma, NC 206, 230, 253–54, 293, 3¡7 Smithson, John ¡0 Smolko, Joe ¡87 Smotherman, G. Cromer 253, 274 Smrekar, Edward E. 357 Smyly, Cecil ¡09, ¡25 Smyth, Bennet “Harumph” 4¡3 Smythe, William Henry “Harry” ¡¡–¡2, ¡7, 27, 55 Snead, J.C. 524 Snell, Dan ¡00 Snider, Floyd 225 Snider, Walter 227 Snovich, Jim 305

Snow Hill, NC ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡37, ¡56 Snyder, Gene Walter 332–33, 467 Snyder, Gerald 238 Snyder, Glen 342 Snyder, Harry 37, 52 Snyder, John ¡62, ¡85 Snyder, Maynard 35¡ Snyder, Morgan 29, 66 Snyder, Norman ¡53, ¡74–75 Snyder, Paul 506, 5¡4 Snyder, Rbt. Adney, Jr., “Bob” 328 Snyder, Russell Henry “Russ” 385 Sobczak, Edward F. 328, 375 Sobek, Richard 364 Socha, George 402 Sockalexis, Louis 458 Sockman, Ronald 457–58 Sodd, William “Billy” 86, 94 Sokol, Frank ¡¡4, ¡¡5 Solenberger, Albert 227, 249, 337 Solis, Marcelino 374–75, 437–38, 453, 464 Soloman, Nicholas ¡8¡ Solomini, Ron 504 Solorzano, Oscar 339 Solt, James Eugene (went by middle name) 3¡2, 325, 390 Solter, Desmond 225 Solters (born Soletesz), Julius Joseph ”Moose” 55 Solters, Thos. “Tom” 52¡ Soltis, Carmen ¡¡4 Sommers, Wm. “Bill” 233 Sommerstad, Alfred 508–9 Somonte, Armin 3¡7, 342–43 Sonnier, Stanley ¡69–70, 224 Sooner State 230, 253, 292, 3¡6, 342, 363, 384, 407, 443, 459 Sophomore 498, 5¡¡ Sopko, George 27¡ Soraci, Charles R. 407, 465 Sorber, Duane 330 Sorcey, Joe ¡99 Sorenson, Craig 49¡ Sorenson, Einar ¡¡¡, 20¡ Sorenson, Rich. “Dick” 520– 2¡ Soriano, Dewey 268 Sorrell, Bill 496 Sorrell, Victor Garland ¡2¡, ¡4¡ Sosa, Antonio P. 397 Sosa, Jose Jesus 332, 354, 437–38 Sosebee, James H. 383 Sosh, John F.P. 203, 303 Sosnouski, Joe ¡23 Soufas, Harry ¡02, ¡37, 223, 3¡0 Sousley, Jay 220 Souter, George 299 South, Lynn Adair 87, ¡¡5 South Atlantic (Sally) ¡7, 26, 37, 84, 95, ¡¡0, ¡27, ¡48, ¡69, ¡9¡, ¡96, 209, 234, 260, 298, 322, 347, 369, 39¡, 4¡3, 432, 448, 464, 479, 49¡, 504, 5¡5 South Boston, VA ¡02, ¡37, ¡56 South Dakota ¡ Southard, Delma ¡¡8 Southard, Norman 20¡

Southeastern ¡8, 27, 38, 95, ¡¡¡, ¡28, ¡49, ¡70, ¡97, 2¡2, 237, 265, 30¡ Southern Association ¡5, 33, 44, 50, 56, 64, 73, 8¡, ¡90, 208, 232, 258, 296, 32¡, 346, 368, 390, 4¡¡, 430, 446, 463, 476, 489, 502 Southwest International 33¡, 356 Southworth, Lynn 290 Southworth, William Harrison, Jr., “Billy” ¡30 Southworth, William Harrison, Sr., “Billy” ¡3 Sovde, Richard 454 Sowens, Raymond 244 Spadafore, Joseph J. 82–83 Spagnoli, Fred 88, ¡00 Spahn, Warren ¡7¡ Spanger, Purvis ¡25 Spangler, Alber Donald “Al” 4¡3–¡4 Spangler, Bill 29¡ Spanswick, Wm. Henry “Bill” 473, 479 Sparta, GA 285 Spartachino, John ¡07 Spartanburg, SC ¡7, ¡¡¡, ¡48–49, 2¡4, 267, 302, 327, 374, 396 Spatafore, Peter D. 2¡3 Spaziano, Alfred 299 Speake, Rbt. Charles “Bob,” “Spook” 286, 428 Speaks, Willard ¡99 Spear, James 387 Spearman, Alvin 436–37, 469 Spears, George Jasper 237, 299 Spears, Tom 273 Spears, Wm. Jasper (went by middle name) ¡8¡, 326, 396, 409 Speas, Kriesler 384 Speck, Gerald 352 Speece, Byron Franklin 43, 65, 8¡ Speer, Floyd Vernie ¡52, 32¡ Spence, Arnold 27¡, 328 Spence, Marion ¡08 Spence, Stanley Orvil 83 Spencer, Daryl Dean 292, 298, 345, 438 Spencer, Don G. 326 Spencer, George Elwell 389, 475 Spencer, Jim 293 Spencer, Leverette 353, 399, 434, 448 Spencer, Paul 75 Spencer, NC ¡2 Speraw, Paul Bachman 29 Sperenza, Alfred 239 Sperrick, Mike 84 Sperry, Robert ¡96 Sperry, Stanley Kenneth 6¡, 70 Spicer, Robert Oberton “Bob” 230 Spindale, NC 294, 3¡9, 344, 365–66, 386, 499 Spinner, Larry G. 404 Spock, Mr. (first name unknown) ¡65 Spokane, WA 97, ¡¡2, ¡29, ¡50–5¡, ¡7¡, 2¡4, 238–39, 267, 302–3, 328, 348–49,

Index 370, 393, 4¡7, 435, 462, 475, 488, 5¡3 Spooner, Karl Benjamin 369– 70 Sprentall, Robert 222 Spresser, Robert “Ex” 274 Spring, Jack Russell 370, 474, 500 Springborn, James 498 Springer, Clarence ¡¡5 Springfield, IL ¡¡, ¡7, ¡8–¡9, 25, 28, 39, 58, 74, ¡¡¡, ¡28–29, ¡50, ¡7¡, ¡97, 2¡3, 238, 266 Springfield, MA 6, ¡4–¡5, 25, 33, 44, ¡26, ¡46–47, 264, 32¡, 367–68, 448, 465, 478, 49¡, 503, 5¡5 Springfield, MO 20–2¡, 47, 53, 58, 68, 77, 87, 99–¡00, ¡¡4–¡5, ¡33–34, ¡77, 309 Springfield, OH 25, 36, 60, 67, 99, ¡¡4, ¡42, ¡75, 205, 229, 252, 290–9¡, 34¡ Sprinz, Joseph, Conrad “Joe” ¡0, 22 Sprout, Rbt. Samuel “Bob” 497–98 Spruill, J.W. 3¡3 Spurlock, John ¡¡5 Squires, Glenmore 89–90 Staab, Larry 5¡6 Stabelfield, Elvin 248 Stabiner, Martin 443 Stablefield, Glen 4¡9 Stack, Jerome 452, 48¡ Stadnicki, John 449 Staehle, Marvin 523 Sta›ord, Dean 262, 324, 349, 37¡, 393–94, 4¡5 Sta›ord, Donald 254, 302, 343–44, 386 Sta›ord, Wm. “Bill” 465 Staker, Bill 274 Staley, Gerald Lee”Gerry” ¡76 Stallcup, Thomas Virgil (known by middle name) 208 Staller, George ¡¡4, ¡26, 252 Stamford, CT 2¡0–¡¡, 235, 263 Stammen, Paul 426 Stamper, John Wilburn ¡29, ¡50 Stancet, Frank ¡0¡ Stanceu, Charles “Charley” 207 Stange, Albert Lee (went by middle name) 492 Stangel, Rbt. “Bob” 443 Staniec, Daniel 444 Staniland, Charles 439, 458, 466 Stanka, Joe Donald 337, 374 Stankey, Edward Raymond “Eddie” ¡28, ¡49, ¡69, ¡90 Stanley, Mitchell Jack “Mickey” 5¡8–¡9 Stanton, George 45 Stanton, Hillory 358 Stanton, Richard 403 Stanton, Robert R. ¡42 Stanton, William 24¡ Staples, Ronald 473, 5¡0 Stapleton, Frank 77 Starasta, Charles 406

Stargell, Wilver Dornel “Willie” 504, 5¡2 Starr, Fay W. ¡5¡ Starr, Raymond Francis 43 Starr, Richard ¡96 Starrette, Herman Paul 395, 5¡5 Stasey, Frank Hershel “Pat” ¡45–46, 228, 250, 287, 3¡4, 329 Stasiatis, James G. ¡86 Stasko, Julius 248, 362 Stassen, Harold 399 Statesboro, GA 382–83 Statesville, NC ¡44, ¡65, 228, 25¡, 290, 3¡5–¡6, 340, 386, 499, 5¡2 Stathos, Tony 353 Statz, Arnold “Jigger” 7–8, 23–24, 33, 44, 50, 56, 64 Staub, Daniel Joseph “Rusty” 5¡6 Staub, Raymond 522 Staucet, Frank P. 234, 260, 346, 4¡3 Stauder, Norm ¡43 Staunton, VA ¡45, ¡65 Staylor, Claude 66, 74 Stebbens, Lee 29–30 Stebe, Cli› ¡36 Steele, Albert L. ¡54 Steele, Bernard ¡88 Stefani, Ernest ¡39, ¡62 Stefurak, Louis ¡¡5 Steggeman, Ted 295 Stein, Ed 52¡ Stein, Herbert ¡55 Steinbeck, Larry ¡05 Steinecke, William Robert “Bill” 46, 82, ¡69, 202–3 Steiner, James Harry “Jim” 77, 96, ¡29 Steinhauer, Dick 268 Steinman, Martin W. ¡38 Stell, Sam 358 Stellern, Richard “Inter” 3¡¡, 396 Stemig, Adolph “Ad” 7¡, 92 Stempkowski, Adam 305 Stencel, Stanley Joseph ¡40 Stendel, Marvin 34¡ Stenhouse, David 466 Stephens, Donald 249 Stephens, George ¡92 Stephens, Glen Eugene “Gene” 340 Stephens, Otis 25¡ Stephens, Robert S. 40¡ Stephens, Vernon Decatur “Junior” ¡40 Stephenson, Harry ¡86 Stephenson, James L. 382 Stephenson, Joseph Chester “Joe” ¡94, 2¡3 Stephenson, Walter McQueen 69 Sterger, Edward W. “Ted” 295, 306 Sterling, Lloyd 6¡ Sterling, William (Willard?) 353 Stetter, Glenn S. 2¡4–¡5, 303 Stevens, Chas. Augustus “Chuck” 257–58 Stevens, Edward Lee “Ed” 208, 346 Stevens, Jimmy 202

Stevens, Malcom ¡25 Stevens, Morris “Morrie” 485 Stevens, R.C. 394, 488 Stevens, Robert L. 66, 304 Stevens, Wm. “Bill” 485 Stevenson, Fred 359 Stevenson, Jim 84 Stewart, Cecil 24 Stewart, Don H. 36¡ Stewart, Edward L. ¡02, ¡29 Stewart, Edward Perry “Bud” 207 Stewart, Gene (¡B) 334 Stewart, Glen Weldon (3B) 98, ¡¡5 Stewart, Glenn (C) 3¡3–¡4 Stewart, Glenn “Gabby” 338 Stewart, John Franklin “Stu›y” ¡5 Stewart, Lem ¡60 Stewart, O. Wayne 223 Stewart, Ralph ¡8 Stewart, Rbt. “Bob” (3B) 26¡ Stewart, Robert (SS) 404 Stewart, Veston “Bucky” 334 Stewart, Walter Nesbit “Neb” ¡¡6, ¡56 Stewart, William Mack ¡¡¡, ¡9¡ Stickle, Ned ¡50 Stieglitz, Harrell Albert “Al” 385–86, 464 Stigman, Rich. Lewis “Dick” 463 Stilley, Levi 359 Stine, Lee Elbert 7¡, 72 Stinson, Frank H. 244, 275–76 Stirewalt, Felix 205 Stirn, Jacob 250 Stirnweiss, George “Snu›y” ¡48 Stites, Bill 332 Stock, Edwin 28–29, 4¡ Stockton, Edward R. 395 Stockton, Richard 245–46 Stockton, CA ¡72–73, ¡98, 2¡6, 239, 270, 304, 328, 353, 375, 397, 4¡9, 436, 469, 48¡, 494, 506, 5¡7 Stockwell, Walter 2¡2 Stoddard, Dwight 400 Stoeber, Harry ¡¡4 Stoecker, Emil ¡95, 20¡ Stogosky, Edward 442 Stohs, Rueben 355 Stokes, D. Ray ¡93 Stokes, James Donald “Don” 333, 357, 379, 40¡, 4¡8 Stokoe, John 493 Stone, Boyce 255 Stone, Burton 30¡ Stone, Darrah Dean (went by middle name) 330, 474–75 Stone, John 2¡8–¡9, 24¡–42, 272 Stone, Tommy 334 Stone, William 230 Stonebreaker, John ¡¡2 Stoneham, John Andrew 29, 5¡, 57 Stoner, Robert P. ¡8¡ Stoner, Ulysses Simpson Grant “Lil” 35 Stopchuck, Michael 457, 472 Storck, Fred 240 Storey, Harvey Andrew 97, 369–70, 393

567 Storie, Burl B. 386 Storie, Howard Edward 66 Storme, Ken 29 Storti, George P. 4¡7 Storti, Lindo Ivan 34, 62 Story, Veo ¡98 Stottlemyre, Melvin Leon “Mel” 509, 5¡6 Stout, Allyn McClelland 35 Stoutenborough, Y.C. 40 Stoutland, Jerome “Jerry” 30¡ Stover, Dewey ¡9, 36, ¡08, ¡20 Stover, Neal 67 Stowe, Harold “Hal” 503 Stowe, Johnny 336 Stoyakovich, Emil L. 387 Stoyle, Donald 225 Stoyle, James D. 285, 3¡2 Stoysky, Rbt. “Bob” 503 Strachan, Merl C. ¡98, 234 Strada, Charles D. “Charlie” ¡72 Strader, Robert L. 308 Strahs, Rich. Bernard “Dick” 368 Strain, Otis C., Jr., “Odie” ¡¡, 26–27, ¡75 Stramm, Rbt. “Bob” 223, 247 Strange, Alan 56 Strange, Billy Zeke 377 Strange, Chas. “Charlie” 455, 47¡, 48¡, 503 Stratton, John W. 42¡, 468 Stratton, Monty Franklin Pierce 7¡–72 Stratton, William 300 Streeter, Gerald 466 Streza, John ¡4¡, ¡70, ¡99, 267, 3¡7, 402–3, 423 Strickland, Donald M. 406 Strickland, H. “Mickey” 509 Strickland, Norris 249 Striker, Wilbur Scott “Jake” 365, 463, 475 Stringer, Louis Bernard ¡¡5, 422, 439 Stringfellow, Joe E. 298 Stringfellow, Sidney Charles ¡¡8, ¡37, ¡56–57 Stroble, Frederick Ernest “Fred,” “Goathead” 96, ¡28, ¡70 Strohm, Harry ¡0, 34, ¡58, 224 Stromme, Floyd Marvin ¡07 Stroner, James Melvin “Jim” ¡6, 3¡, 8¡ Stroner, Milton 75, 85, ¡68 Strong, Ken 37 Strother, Eugene 53–54 Strott/Strutt, Arthur 87, ¡43 Stroudsburg, PA 289 Struss, Clarence Herbert “Steamboat” 58–59 Stryker, Sterling Alpa “Dutch” 6 Stryska, Victor 253 Stuart, Byron “Tex” ¡6¡ Stuart, James A. “Jimmy” 398 Stuart, Luke (Luther Lane?) 8 Stuart, Rich. Lee “Dick” 355, 422, 433–34, 449, 462 Stuart, William E. “Pete” ¡79 Studstill, Paul Fred 426, 438, 5¡7 Stuif bergen, William 40¡ Stuka, Stanley E. ¡56

568 Stumbog, Charles 249 Stump, James Gilbert “Jim” 34¡, 39¡ Stumpf, George Frederick 56, 7¡–72 Stumpus, William 335 Stupak, Jos. A. “Joe” 370 Sturdivant, George ¡3¡, 22¡ Sturdy, Guy R. 9–¡0, 56–57, 74 Sturgeon, Robert Harwood “Bobby” ¡0¡, ¡¡6 Sturgill, Ronald 402 Sturm, John Peter Joseph “Johnny” 245 Stutsman, Ed 397 Stuvengen, C.L. 8 Suarez, Arnaldo 482, 502 Subb, Frank 245 Suder, Peter “Pecky” 95, ¡09, ¡46 Sudol, Ed 27¡–72 Sueme, Harold J. “So” 67, 75, ¡7¡ Suess, Kenneth “Doctor” 338 Su›olk, VA 254, 294, 3¡8, 343 Suhr, August Richard “Gus” ¡4, 23 Sukeforth, Clyde 88, 89 Sukla, Edward Anthony 523 Sullivan, Bob 23¡ Sullivan, Carl Mancel “Jackie” 22¡, 276–77, 308–9 Sullivan, Hal 37–38 Sullivan, Harry 2¡7 Sullivan, Haywood Cooper 409, 428 Sullivan, Henry 263 Sullivan, Joe 48, 63, 2¡5 Sullivan, John (C) 486, 492, 502, 5¡6 Sullivan, John (SS) ¡83 Sullivan, R. ¡2 Sullivan, Russell 240, 297, 320, 4¡0 Sullivan, William Joseph, Jr., “Bill” 62 Summerhill, Steve ¡00, ¡¡5, ¡83 Summerlin, Gene 358 Summers, Harold 234, 266 Summers, Lloyd ¡00, ¡67 Summers, Lonnie 393 Sumont, (first name unknown) 48 Sumter, SC 302 Sumwalt, Max 322 Sunbury, PA ¡3¡, 2¡¡, 235–36, 325 Sundstrom, Bob 270 Sunseri, Nicholas J. “Nick” 2¡5, 268 Sunset 2¡9, 244, 275, 308 Superior, NE 442, 458–59 Superior, WI 6¡, 70, 92, ¡23–24, ¡42, ¡76, 243, 274, 306–7, 330, 355, 309, 42¡, 438, 454, 469, 482, 494, 508, 5¡9 Suplizio, Sam V. 4¡3 Surgent, Michael G. “In” ¡34 Surkont, Matthew Constantine “Max” ¡50 Susce, George 389 Susko, Peter John ¡8, 39 Suss, Alexander ¡96 Sutherland, Ralph 92

Index Sutherlin, Curt 85, ¡¡3 Sutton, Joseph 252 Suydan (also appeared as Suydam), Jack 93, ¡03 Suytar, Charles Ellsworth “Jake” ¡25 Suzuki, Ichiro 247 Swaboda (Swoboda?), Paul ¡57 Swain, Harry ¡37, ¡57 Swan, Dennis 495–96 Swan, Robert “Bobby” 9¡, ¡06 Swank, John 90 Swansboro, Wilbur 36 Swanson, Donald A. 4¡7 Swanson, Ernest Evar (known by middle name) ¡4, 49 Swanson, Robert J. 264, 42¡ Swaringen, Ben 423, 434 Sweazy, John 442 Sweetwater, TX 228, 250, 3¡4, 354 Swensson, Conrad M. 286, 3¡4 Swetonic, Stephen Albert “Steve” ¡3 Swift, Kelly Jack 386 Swift, Milton 522 Swift, Tony ¡25 Swift, Wm. Vincent “Bill” 39 Swigert, Oadis Vaughn 94 Swiggert, Claude 2¡7, 240, 299 Swindells, Fred, Jr. ¡82 Swinger, Bill 54, 70, 80 Swinger, Eugene 35¡ Swope, Gordon 90 Syracuse, NY 26, 207–8, 232, 320–2¡, 346, 367, 390, 4¡0 Szekely, Jos. “Joe” 324 Szpond, Richard 227 Szuch, Joseph H. ¡36 Szyczewski, “Ed” 438 Tabacchi, Ray 493 Taborn, Earl “Piel Roja” 429–30, 446, 463 Tacoma, WA 97, ¡¡2, ¡29, ¡50, ¡7¡, 2¡4, 239, 268, 3¡2–¡3, 488, 50¡, 4¡5 Tagliarino, Joe 245–46, 279–80 Taitt, Douglas John “Poco” 73 Talas, Eftimio 3¡3 Talavera, Jorge 472 Talbot, Fred 495 Talbot, Rbt. “Bob” 237 Tallahassee, FL 79, 90, ¡20, ¡39, ¡59, 203, 226, 248–49, 3¡3, 334 Tallassee, AL ¡34, ¡54–55, ¡78, 226, 283–84 Talley, Joe ¡56 Talley, Sidham 86 Talton, Marion “Tim” 482, 49¡, 503, 5¡4 Tamone, Lou 2¡9, 268 Tampa, FL 27, 38, 2¡8, 24¡, 263–64, 299, 457, 472, 484–85, 497, 509, 52¡ Tamulis, Vitautis Casimirus “The Flinging Finn” 52, 63, ¡9¡ Tanana, Frank 373 Tangeman, Dick 27 Tangeman, J.J. 39 Tanner, Chas. William “Chuck” 390, 474 Tanner, John B. “Jack” 24¡, 27¡, 299, 35¡

Tanner, Rudy 372, 423, 432–33 Tanselli, Gene 370, 4¡7 Tansey, John F. ¡6¡ Taormina, Salvador Frank “Sal” ¡92, 328 Tappe, Elvin Walter 272, 427–28 Tappe, Melvin E. 272 Tar Heel ¡44, ¡64, 385 Tarboro, NC ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡56, 223, 246–47, 280, 3¡0, 358–59 Tarlecki, A. 97 Tarlton, Don 492 Tarr, Roy 29 Tarrant, Claude ¡0¡–2 Tarrantino, “Tom” 452 Tart, Robert ¡97 Tartabull-Milages, Jose 485, 493, 503 Tarys, Richard 34¡ Tasby, Willie 355, 395, 434, 449, 46¡ Tashian (Kuntashian), Harry (in stats as “Ken”) ¡30 Tate, Henry Bennett “Bennie” 55 Tate, Joe 8 Tate, John Haskell ¡03 Tate, Richard, “Dick” ¡65, ¡77 Tatum, Mellon 40 Tatum, Mich. “Mike” 523 Tatum, Thomas “Tommy” 233 Tauby, Frederick Joseph, Jr., “Fred” 5¡, 73, 8¡–82 Tauschenschleger, Karl T. see Black, Karl T. Tauscher, Walter Edward 62, 7¡ Taussig, Donald Franklin “Don” 447 Taylor, Ben 234 Taylor, Byron C. “Jack” 4¡6, 467, 504 Taylor, Charles 274 Taylor, Dan ¡68–69 Taylor, Edward 25, 29, 42, 64–65 Taylor, Furman E. 228 Taylor, Gale 356 Taylor, Jack 435 Taylor, Joseph Cephus “Bill” 298, 444, 475, 488 Taylor, K. “Ed” 44–45 Taylor, Larry J. 430 Taylor, Lee ¡23 Taylor, Leon 349 Taylor, Q.P.”Hugh” 262 Taylor, Ray ¡38, 363–64 Taylor, Rbt. Dale “Bob,” Hawk” 487 Taylor, Robert 384 Taylor, Ronald Wesley 5¡2–¡3 Taylor, Samuel Douglas “Sammy” 447 Taylor, Tommy 34, 44 Taylor, William Michael “Joe,” “Moose” 368, 389 Taylor, Willie ¡04 Tayoan, John B. 265–66, 329, 354 Teague, Clyde W. ¡4¡ Teague, Jack ¡¡–¡2 Teague, Jos. “Joe” 473, 492 Tebbetts, George “Birdie” 8¡

Tedeschi, Pete 2¡4 Tedesco, Charles S. 3¡2 Tedesco, Joseph G. “Rocky” 242, 324, 35¡, 450 Tedesco, Nick 455 Teed, Richard Leroy “Dick” 228, 346 Te›t, Albert 254 Telleria, Emiliano 5¡6 Tellinger, Emil 266 Temes, Manuel 342 Temple, John Ellis “Johnny” 275, 298 Temple, TX 324, 349, 393, 450 Templeton, Archie ¡35 Templeton, Charles Sherman “Chuck” 405–6 Templeton, Webster ¡4¡ Ten, Isreal 354 Tench, Gordon 335 Tennant, Alvin 87 Tepedino, Frank 223, 334, 360, 402, 424 Tepedino, John 280 Terhune, Leonard 84 Terre Haute, IN ¡¡, ¡9, 39, ¡97, 2¡3, 238, 266, 30¡–2, 327, 352, 373, 395 Terrell, Thurman L. 424 Terry, Lazaro 378, 422, 450, 479 Terry, Ralph Willard 428–29 Terwilliger, Wayne 46¡ Tesauro, Jos. J. “Joe” 237–38, 264, 325, 432 Tesnow, Howard 359 Teter, Andy 292 Tettelbach, Richard Morley “Dick” 332, 352, 390 Texarkana, TX 2¡, 98–99, ¡¡3–¡4, ¡52, ¡74, 26¡–62, 324, 349–50, 37¡ Texas 24, 34, 45, 5¡, 57, 65, 73, 8¡, 233, 259, 4¡2, 43¡, 447, 464, 477, 490, 503, 5¡4 Texas City, TX 325, 35¡, 372, 397, 4¡5, 434 Texas Valley ¡25 Theard, Wilfred Paul, Jr. 224 Theis, Jos. M. “Joe” 423–24, 442, 467, 479 Theobald, John 225 Theriault, Clytis 270 Thetford Mines, QUE, CAN 4¡0, 422 Thibodaux, LA 224, 397, 454 Thiel, Maynard Bert (went by middle name) 237, 43¡ Thies, Vernon Arthur “Jake” 370 Thomas, Allen Eugene 302 Thomas, Andrew ¡44 Thomas, Carl 474 Thomas, Claude Alfred 8 Thomas, Eugene 256 Thomas, Fay Wesly “Scow” 64 Thomas, Frank Joseph 249, 32¡, 346 Thomas, Gerald (OF) 334, 432 Thomas, Gerald (P) 503 Thomas, Herbert Mark ¡3, 22, 32, ¡58 Thomas, James “Jim” 228, 268–69

Index Thomas, James Leroy “Lee” 464, 490 Thomas, John “Bud” 322 Thomas, Keith “Kite” 237 Thomas, Leo Raymond “Tommy” 200, 238, 366 Thomas, Luther 8¡ Thomas, Max Marion ¡6, 22, 65 Thomas, Raymond Joseph 94 Thomas, Robert ¡59 Thomas, Robert H. (OF) 426 Thomas, Roy ¡75, 28¡ Thomas, Sam 60, 67, 75 Thomas, Terry 330 Thomas, Valmy 422 Thomas, Wm. C. “Bill” ¡9, 64 Thomasello, Theron ¡58 Thomassie, Pershing ¡59 Thomasville, GA 79, 90, ¡04, ¡20, ¡39, ¡59–60, ¡83, 203, 226, 249, 284, 3¡3, 36¡, 382, 404, 425, 44¡, 457, 47¡, 522 Thomasville, NC ¡06, ¡22, ¡4¡, ¡6¡, ¡85, 205, 228, 25¡, 289–90, 3¡5, 340, 386, 395, 4¡6, 435, 45¡, 467 Thompson, Adrian D. ¡76 Thompson, Arthur 483 Thompson, Averette 90 Thompson, “Big Sam” 380 Thompson, Bobby 2¡9 Thompson, C. ¡2 Thompson, Charles Lemoine “Tim” 224, 346, 367, 46¡ Thompson, Don 223–24 Thompson, Eugene Earl “Junior” 9¡, ¡¡0 Thompson, Frank 89 Thompson, Gene 302 Thompson, George Robert 3¡0 Thompson, Glenn 238 Thompson, John Samuel “Jocko” ¡57, 257 Thompson, Lafayette Fresco (went by middle name) 55, 63 Thompson, Lyle ¡07, ¡23, ¡80 Thompson, M. ¡9 Thompson, Ray ¡¡ Thompson, Robert 279, 353 Thompson, Ronald 5¡¡ Thompson, Rupert “Tommy” ¡98 Thompson, Sam 497 Thompson, Wm. C. (C) 425 Thompson, Wm. K. “Bill” (¡B) 4¡4, 465 Thomson, Bob (SS) 270 Thormahlen Herbert Ehler “Hank” 5¡ Thorpe, Benjamin Robert “Bob” 225, 320, 463, 489–90 Thorpe, Rbt. Joseph “Bob” 397 Thorsland, Arne 483 Thrasher, Cli›ord 240 Throneberry, Marvin Eugene “Marv” 352, 374, 409, 428, 445 Thurston, Hollis “Sloppy” ¡4, 24 Thurston, Vance 244 Tiant, Luis, Jr. 489 Tibbetts, Ed 84, 97 Tice, George 72 Tichacek, Francis ¡88–89

Tidwell, John B., Jr. 3¡3, 337 Tiefenauer, Bobby Gene 284, 299, 368, 429, 446, 462 Tiemann, Jerry ¡82 Tierney, James “Cat” 20 Tierney, John J. 303 Tiesiera, Wilbert “Will” 436 Ti‡n, OH 93, ¡07, ¡24, ¡63, ¡86 Tifton, GA 337, 36¡, 382, 404, 44¡ Tighe, Jack “Ned” 99, ¡22, ¡33–34, ¡53, ¡74–75 Tijuana, BC, MEX 308, 33¡–32, 356 Tillitson, Thaddeus “Thad” 494 Tillman, John Lawrence “Johnny” 26 Tillman, John Robert “Bob” 467, 478, 487 Timberlake, Wm. “Bill” 520 Timm, Charles ¡94 Timm, Ordie ¡89 Timmerman, Thos. “Tom” 507–8 Tincup, Austin Ben (known by middle name) ¡3, 3¡ Tindall, Richard 420 Tinning, Lyle Forrest “Bud” 35, 46 Tioga, Leon ¡84 Tipton, Bailey 27 Tipton, Eric ¡90, 207, 232, 256, 295 Tipton, Joe Hicks 209, 4¡¡ Tisdale, Thomas ¡¡4 Tobacco State 206, 23¡, 253, 293, 3¡7 Tobin, John (SS) 67 Tobin, John Patrick “Jackie” (OF) 366 Toboso, Elio 467–68 Todd, Hugh ¡27–28, ¡70, ¡9¡ Todd, Stanley ¡74 Toepfer, George 4¡3 Toft, Martin “Bo” 485 Toledo, OH ¡0, ¡3, 3¡, 49, 54, 62–63, 7¡, ¡90, ¡94, 320, 367, 389, 409 Tolkien, J.R.R. 403 Tolson, Omer 226, 243, 369, 396 Toma, Daniel 342, 378 Tomanek, Rich. Carl “Dick,” “Bones” 367 Tomasic, Andrew John “Andy” 2¡¡ Tomkins, Ben 373 Tomkinson, Phil 267 Tomkonson, Pat 226 Tonco›, John ¡¡4–¡5, ¡29, ¡9¡, 225 Tone, Rudy “Woody,” “Two” 88, ¡¡3 Tonnsen, Mel 88 Toothman, Kenneth E. 433–34 Topeka, KS 20, 46, 58, 66, ¡33–34, ¡77, 200, 220, 245, 277, 309, 332–33, 357, 378–79, 40¡, 433–34, 449, 466, 480, 493, 505–6 Torchia, Anth. “Tony” 522– 23 Tornay, Frank 239 Toronto, ONT, CAN ¡3, 22,

43, 49, 55, 207–8, 232, 257, 320–2¡, 346, 367, 389–90, 4¡0, 4¡9, 445–46, 46¡–62, 488, 500, 5¡3 Torpey, Joe 26¡ Torporcer, George “Specs” 22, 3¡ Torre, Frank Joseph 390, 409 Torre, Jesus 472 Torre, Joseph Paul 494 Torres, Felix 50¡ Torres, George ¡55 Torres, Gilberto 95, ¡27, ¡48, 24¡, 263, 299 Torres, Rafael L. “Raphael” 339 Totaro, Frank F., Jr. ¡5¡ Toth, Elmer 4¡5, 438 Touchstone, Clayland Ma‡tt 25, 34, 57, 73 Tourangeau, Arthur ¡76 Tovar, Cesar Leonardo 495, 5¡¡, 5¡6 Townsend, Charles 456 Trabucco, Peter 40¡ Tracewski, Rich. Joseph “Dick” 380, 404, 489 Traill, Francis 47¡ Trakan, Vince V. 384 Tralecki, A. ¡¡2–¡3 Tramback (Trambach), Stephen J. “Steve” ¡33, ¡50 Tran, Leonard Allen “Len” 267, 370 Tran, William Ray (went by middle name) ¡72, 267, 370 Trapani, Mike A., Jr. 363 Traspuesto, Armando 228 Trava, Ray 252 Travis, Cecil 50, 56 Travis, John ¡54 Travis, Paul V. 3¡¡ Traweek, Terrell 86 Traxler, Arnold Cahall “Arnie” ¡69–70 Traylor, R. Woodrow “Woody” ¡64, ¡85 Treadway, Charles 89 Treadway, Thadford Leon “Red” 34, ¡80, 235, 300, 359, 38¡, 404 Treadwell, George “Red” 4¡, 70, 92 Treece, Eurice “Pete” 223, 245–46, 279–80, 344, 364–65, 396 Treinen, Harold 395 Tremark, Nicholas Joseph 82 Trenary, Joseph 506 Trench, Jack G. 29¡, 325 Trenton, NJ 94, ¡3¡–32, ¡47, ¡68, 2¡¡, 235–36, 264, 300 Treschock, Frank ¡03 Tresh, Michael “Mike” 60 Tresh, Thos. Michael “Tom” 472, 50¡ Trew, James 2¡6 Trexler, Frank ¡27 Trexler, James ¡9¡ Triandos, George 282, 3¡0, 33¡, 403 Triandos, Gus 275, 304, 368, 389 Trice, Rbt. Lee “Bob” 367 Tri-City (Kennewick-PascoRichmond), WA 302, 328,

569 348, 407, 435, 45¡, 468, 49¡–92, 505, 5¡6 Trinceri, John 483 Triner, Thomas Augustus “Tom” ¡6¡, ¡84 Triplett, Hooper 79, ¡44, ¡49 Triplett, Jack 344, 364 Tripp, Robert 249 Trippi, Chas. “Charlie” 208–209 Tri-State ¡98, 2¡4, 238, 267, 302, 327, 374, 396 Trivette, Claude ¡34–35 Trois Rivieres, QUE, CAN ¡48, 2¡6, 239–40, 270, 40¡, 422 Trojanowski, Edward 284 Troupe, Jack ¡82 Trowbridge, Rbt. “Bob” 392, 409 Trower, Donald “Jeep” 268, 330 Troxell, Clair 36¡ Troy, Herbert “Butch” 522 Troy, AL 87–88, ¡00, ¡¡5, ¡34, ¡54, ¡78, 222 Troyer, Robert 353 Trucks, Virgil ¡¡5 Truesdale, Charles 524 Truss, Robert 335 Tschannen, Ronald 337 Tschudin, Beverly Fred (went by middle name) 285, 3¡3, 337 Tsitouris, John Philip 433, 5¡3 Tubb, Julian B. “Bubba” ¡¡¡ Tucker, Leonard W. “Len” 396, 492–93, 5¡7 Tucker, Oliver Dinwiddie “Ollie” 22, 55 Tucker, Robert ¡5¡ Tucker, Thurman Lowell ¡52 Tuckey, Clarence 376 Tucson, AZ 48, ¡0¡, ¡¡6, ¡35, ¡5¡, ¡7¡, ¡72, 2¡5, 268–69, 374–75 Tufteland, Joseph 249 Tugerson, James “Jim” 464 Tuite, James L., Jr. 3¡6 Tulacz, John 84, ¡¡2 Tulner, Charles 423 Tulsa, OK 8, ¡¡, ¡6, 5¡, 57, 65, 73, 233, 259, 43¡, 447, 464, 478, 490, 503, 5¡4 Tuminelli, Joseph 387 Tumlinson, Carl 329 Tunnison, Lee 339 Tupper, John 482 Turck, Donald ¡62, ¡76 Turgeon, Eugene Joseph “Pete” 24 Turk, Alois “The Mad” 305, 349 Turk, John J. 384, 400 Turley, Robert Lee “Bullett Bob” 274 Turner, Ben 77, ¡06, ¡07 Turner, Earl 23¡–32 Turner, Gilbert ¡3¡, ¡70 Turner, James Riley “Jim,” “Milkman” 32 Turner, McDonald 222 Turner, Thomas ¡07 Turner, “Tuck” 380 Turney, Jack 499 Turpin, Harold 33, 83 Turturro, Michael 304

570 Tuskegee, AL ¡78 Tutaj, Stanley Ben 4¡, 58, 84, 96 Twardy, Hal ¡¡¡ Twardy, Leo B. ¡27, 233 Twarkins, Adam 262 Twin Falls, ID ¡2, 20, ¡32–33, ¡54, ¡76, 2¡9, 243–44, 274–75, 307, 33¡; as Magic Valley 400, 422, 439, 470, 508, 5¡9 Tyack, James Frederick ¡¡2 Tyler, Goldsboro 202 Tyler, Harold “Hal” 88, ¡¡2 Tyler, John Anthony “Ty Ty” 72 Tyler, TX 2¡, 68, 76, 85, 98, ¡¡3, ¡52, 2¡8, 242, 349–50, 37¡, 393, 4¡5–¡6 Tyriver, David Burton 440– 4¡, 454 Tyson, Cecil “Turkey” ¡39, 2¡7, 293 Uber, John ¡99 Uecker, Rbt. “Bob” 470, 500 Uhalt, Bernard Bartholomew “Frenchy” 56 Uhaze, George M. 328, 347 Uhlander, Theo. “Ted” 523 Uhle, George “Little Bull” 26¡ Umbricht, James “Jim” 476 Umfleet, Rbt. E. “Bob” 363 Umphlett, Thos. Mullen “Tom” 340 Underwood, Paul 47¡ Uniak, Ray ¡95–¡96 Union City TN 90–9¡, ¡04–5, ¡2¡, ¡40, ¡60, ¡84, 204, 227, 286, 3¡4, 362, 405, 426 Union Springs, AL 88, ¡00, ¡¡5 Uniontown, PA 242, 274 Unser, Albert Bernard 76, 85–86, 96, ¡¡¡, ¡44, ¡48, 233, 320, 520 Unzicker, Emerson S. 373, 458 Upchurch, Bill ¡79–80 Upchurch, James 272 Upham, John 506 Upright, Roy T. “Dixie” 227, 32¡, 466 Upton, Rbt. C. “Bob” 305, 324, 4¡4 Urban, Edward ¡08, ¡60 Urban, Jack Elmer 3¡7, 327 Urban, Karl ¡¡ Urban, Raymond 3¡8 Urbanski, William Michael “Bill” 22, 3¡ Urbon, Eddie ¡83 Urcho, Lou 297 Uriah, Norwood “Heep” ¡37 Urias, Romualdo 356 Urias-Sepulveda, Eladio 507 Urick, Steve ¡6¡ Urizzola, Mike 5¡7 Urso, Joe “The Bear” 3¡4 Usher, Rbt. Royce “Bob” 366, 428 Ussat, William August “Dutch” 36 Utah-Idaho ¡2, 20 Utica, NY ¡30, ¡5¡, ¡73, ¡95, 209, 234, 297 Utt, Otto 42 Utz, Ernie ¡44–45 Uzelatz, Max “Useless” 383

Index Valci, Charles 9¡ Valdavielso-Lopez, Jose 379– 80 Valdespino, Hilario “Sandy” 479 Valdez, Manuel (3B) 423 Valdez, Manuel (SS) 406 Valdez-Gutierrez, Rene 397, 428 Valdosta, GA ¡39–40, ¡59, ¡83, 203, 226, 248–49, 284–85, 3¡3, 336–37, 360–6¡, 382, 404, 44¡, 457, 472 Valejo, CA 28¡ Valentin, Gilberto 40¡, 4¡8, 450, 465, 478 Valentine, Eugene C. “Be My” 3¡¡ Valentine, Fred 467 Valentine, Harold Lewis “Corky” 430–3¡ Valenzuela-Beltran, Benjamin “Benny” 4¡9, 43¡, 447, 46¡ Valine, George 239 Valla, Eugene Charles “Gene” 239 Valle, Hector 498, 506, 508 Valley, AL (represented Lannett) 225–26, 283, 3¡2, 336 Valloni, Eugene “Gene” 364 Valmas, John J. 424 Valo, Elmer ¡47, ¡68–69 Van Atta, Russell 49 Van Burkleo, Franklin 382 Van Camp, Albert Joseph ¡0 Vance, Joseph Albert 65 Vancouver, BC, CAN 97, ¡¡2, ¡29, ¡50, ¡7¡, 2¡4, 238, 267–68, 303, 327–28, 393, 444, 462, 475, 488, 50¡ Van Cuyk, Christian Gerald “Chris” 224, 320 Vandegrift, E. Thomas ¡39 Vandehey, Lynn, Jr. 4¡5 Vandenberg, Willard “Bill” 9¡–92, ¡¡3, ¡74 Vanderber, Herman ¡44 Vandergrift, Edwin ¡¡8 Vandergrift, PA 242–43, 273 Vander Meer, Johnny 83 Vander Wyst, Roger 387 VandeWettering, James 436 Van Dusen, Fred 45¡ Vanek, Ollie ¡24 Van Eman, Rbt. “Bob” 307 Van Fleet, Dwight 94 Van Heuit, Wm. “Bill” 33¡ Van Hooreweghe, Joe 237–38 Vanni, Edo Joe 267–68, 327 Van Orsdol, Jack ¡¡3 Van Pelt, Floyd ¡8 Vanremmen, Thomas 407 Van Robays, Maurice Rene 97 Van Sickle, Cli› ¡¡7 Van Wey, James ¡77 Van Wey, John ¡62 Varga, Andrew “Andy” 36¡ Vargas, Andrew J. “Andy” 46 Vargas, Ramon 332 Vargas, Roberto 347, 365, 376, 465, 476 Vargas, Rogelio 453, 5¡8 Vargo, Steve 93, ¡04, ¡20 Varhely, Edward 289 Varnado, Jack 357 Varner, Paul ¡82, 254, 294, 3¡8

Varney, Harry 280 Vasquez, Ramiro 287 Vassie, Lou 443, 455, 503 Vaughan, Glenn 5¡6 Vaughan, Joseph Floyd “Arky” 4¡, 46 Vaughn, Donald “Don” 405 Vaughn, Fred 262, 299 Vaughn, Frederick “Freddie,” “Muscles” 99, ¡00 Vaughn, Glenn ¡85 Vaughn, Tom 30 Vazquez, Ricardo 5¡8 Veach, Alvis Lindel 79 Veach, Robert Hayes “Bobby” ¡0, ¡3 Veal, Orville Inman “Coot” 4¡4 Veale, Rbt. Andrew “Bob” 479, 50¡ Veazy, Norm 222 Vega, Guillermo 248 Vega, Rene 277, 398, 4¡6 Velazquez, Nestor 504 Veltman, Arthur Patrick “Art” ¡9, 33, 56 Venable, John J “Jack,” “Black Jack” 277, 380, 402 Venn, Thomas G. “Tommy” 274, 334 Vento, Guillermo 430 Vento, Loevel 498 Ventura, CA 2¡6, 239, 270, 304, 353, 375, 396 Venzon, Tony ¡43 Veracruz, VER, MEX 4¡0–¡¡, 429, 446, 476, 489, 502, 5¡4 Verban, Emil ¡08, ¡69 Verbeck, George ¡75 Verbel, Eugene ¡95, 296, 448–49 Verderbar, Dan 204–5 Verdi, Frank “Chili” 236, 347 Vereault, George 3¡7 Vergez, Jean Louis “Johnny” 20, 23, 32 Vergnani, Milt ¡38 Vernon, CA 7 Vernon, TX 228, 250, 287–88, 3¡4, 329–30, 354 Verrier, Robert 229 Versailles, Zoilo 474, 480, 487 Vesek, Steve ¡07 Vesley, Arney 9¡ Vettoriel, Donald ¡49 Vezlich, Louis M. “Lou” 2¡6, 24¡, 28¡–82 Viau, Leon “Lee” 38 Vicente, Julian 497 Vicital, Arthur 330 Vickery, James A. 38¡ Vickery, Lou 495 Vicksburg, MS 39–40, 48, ¡97, 2¡3, 237, 30¡, 420 Victoria, BC, CAN 2¡4, 238, 267, 302, 348, 370 Victoria, TX 450, 464, 478, 490, 503 Vidal, Jose 498 Vidalia, GA 285, 3¡3, 360, 382, 405 Viers, Ray 220 Vigare, Felix 46 Vilk, Jos. A., Jr., ”Joe” 36¡ Villa-R., Antonio “Tony” 308 Villalobos-Felix, Gonzalo 5¡8 Villar, Jose 496

Villarrea, Gilberto “Gilillo” 437 Villarreal, Gilbert 453 Villegas, Saul 497 Villipigue, Ace 88 Vincennes, IN 325, 339 Vincent, Al 59 Vincent, Chester “Chet” 387, 465 Vines, Clauson 79 Vines, Tom 3¡4 Viotta, Alfred “Al” 385, 4¡6 Virdon, Wm. Charles “Bill” 389 Virga, Tasi 395 Virgil, Osvaldo Jose “Ossie” 4¡2, 474 Virginia ¡44, ¡65, ¡77, 254, 294, 3¡8, 343 Virksits, John 306 Visalia, CA ¡98, 2¡6, 270, 303, 353, 375–76, 397, 4¡9, 436, 452, 469, 48¡, 506, 5¡7 Visiteur, Juan “Mysterious” 396, 492 Vitale, Pete, Jr. 356 Vitelli, Antonio Joseph “Joe” 94 Vitter, James 393–94 Vitter, Joseph A. 75 Vogeler, Vern “V-Man” 9 Vogeltanz, Robert 243 Vogt, Bernard 328 Voigt, Donald C. 4¡7 Voiselle, Claude 280 Voiselle, Wm. Symmes “Bill,” “Big Bill,” “Ninety Six” 372, 4¡0 Vold, Nansen 362, 400 Volk, Fred 36¡ Vollmer, Clyde ¡56, 232 Volpi, Frank 97 Vonder Haar, Dick 292 Vorho›, Jimmy 36 Voshell, Leslie ¡59 Vosmik, Joseph Franklin “Joe” 39, ¡90 Voss, Cletus 69 Vossen, John 36¡ Vowels, Charles S. 402–3 Vukmire, Mylon 2¡¡–¡2 Waco, TX 24, 60, 262, 323–24, 349, 37¡, 393–94, 404, 4¡5, 434 Waddey, Frank Orum 57 Waddle, Bordie 343–44 Wade, Benjamin Styron ¡97, 233 Wade, Charles ¡9, 59 Wade, Dick ¡¡ Wade, Galeard “Gale” 346 Wade, Larry ¡02 Wadkins, James Robert “Je› ” 423 Wagner, Donald T. 287, 308 Wagner, Doyle 5¡0 Wagner, Frank 80, 9¡, ¡06, ¡66, ¡89, 274, 306 Wagner, Leon Lamar “Daddy Wags,” “Cheeky” 406, 42¡, 435 Wagner, Sebastian 68, 74 Wagner, Tom ¡46 Wahl, Kermit 257 Waite, Ralph ¡32 Waites, Frank 79, 90

Index Waitkus, Eddie ¡29 Waitman, Gerlad 244 Walczak, Edward 25¡ Waldron, George ¡¡5 Waldrop, Ned 255, 286, 3¡4, 338, 362, 383, 405 Walker, Albert Bluford “Rube” ¡97, 209 Walker, Charles Frank 26–27 Walker, Clarence William “Tilly” ¡8 Walker, Earl ¡0¡ Walker, Ewart “Dixie” ¡0 Walker, Fred 49, ¡2¡ Walker, George 37¡ Walker, Gerald Holmes “Gee” 39 Walker, Harry William “The Hat” ¡07–8, 320, 345–46 Walker, Harvey Willos “Hub” 39 Walker, Hillman ¡08 Walker, Jerry Allen 465 Walker, John 27 Walker, Joseph ¡¡ Walker, Thomas Royal “Roy,” “Goat” 84, 95, ¡¡0–¡¡, ¡49 Walkup, James Elton “Jimmy” 45 Wall, Dean 256 Wall, John Joseph 340 Wall, Murray Wesley 320, 448 Wallace, Edward 20¡ Wallace, Elmer 284 Wallace, Harry 468 Wallace, James Harold “Lefty” ¡94, 297 Wallace, Wayne 329, 373 Wallaesa, John “Jack” 367 Wallis, Lloyd 354 Walls, Ray Lee (went by middle name) 328 Walsh, Bob 74 Walsh, Charles ¡3 Walsh, Frank ¡38 Walsh, James 85, ¡48 Walsh, Joe 95 Walsh, John J.D. 304 Walsh, Lee ¡7 Walsh, Rbt. D. “Bob” 403, 427 Walsh, Walter 89, 99 Walski, Peter 483 Walterman, Oscar 204 Walters, Ferdinand “The Bull” 506, 5¡9 Walters, Fred 208–209 Walters, Harry 509 Walters, Ignatius “Iggy” 86 Walters, (first name John?) “Johnny” “Junk” 20 Walters, Kenneth Rogers “Ken” 384 Walters, William 46 Waltman, John 286 Walz, Howie 249 Waner, Glee Paul (known by middle name) 7 Wanninger, Paul Louis, “Pee Wee” 95 Ward, James “Jim” 508 Ward, John Francis “Jay” 442, 476, 5¡2–¡3 Ward, Peter 493, 5¡3 Ward, Preston Meyer 2¡0 Ware (Warzycki), Al 3¡4 Ware (Worznak), Frank 74, ¡02, ¡¡8

Warfield, Donald 343 Wargo, Paul ¡87, 235, 328–29 Warner, Burton ¡35 Warner, Harry 289, 353, 393, 465 Warner, James Albert “Jim” 267, 302, 328 Warner, John Ralph “Jack” 7¡ Warrell, Howard 383 Warren, Bennie Lewis 46, 54, 70, 80, 3¡7, 342, 363–64 Warren, Cecil 246 Warren, Charlie ¡30 Warren, Frank ¡¡7, ¡37 Warren, Jack Carl ¡96, 238–39, 370 Warren, James 3¡3, 360, 405 Warren, Malcom 523 Warren, Rich. “Dick” 493 Warren, Thos. Gentry “Tom” 337 Warren, PA ¡87 Warsaw, NC 253 Warwick, Carl Wayne 466, 478, 487 Warzyniak, Raymond 383 Wasconis, George 382 Wasdell, James Charles “Jimmy” 75 Wasem, James 458 Washburn, Ray Clark 50¡ Washington, Anthony “Tony” 438, 450 Washington, Frank 422 Washington, Sloan Vernon (went by middle name) 57, 272 Washington, PA 7¡, 80, ¡43, ¡64, ¡86 Wasiak, Stanley 336 Wasko, Robert 508 Wasley, Melvin Charles “Mel” ¡23, ¡34, 244, 327, 348 Waterbury, CT 6, 2¡0–¡¡, 235, 263 Watercutter, LaVerne L. 3¡¡ Waterloo, IA 28–29, 4¡, 94, ¡¡¡, ¡7¡, ¡97, 2¡3, 237–38, 266, 30¡–2, 327, 352–53, 373, 395, 4¡7, 436, 473, 485, 498, 5¡0, 522–23 Waters, Billy Joe 349 Waters, Drexel 270 Waters, Fred Warren 4¡¡–¡2, 495, 509, 520 Waters, G.T. 305 Waters, John “Jack” 500 Waters, Melvin 4¡2 Watertown, NY 84, 2¡5, 269, 303 Watkins, Byron ¡99–200 Watkins, George Archibald 22 Watkins, Linville 78 Watson, James D. “Jim” 30¡, 327 Watson, Julius William “J.W.” ¡7 Watson, Royce ¡65, ¡77, 304 Wattercutter, Laverne L. 424 Watts, George 479 Watts, Gil 524 Watts, Marvin ¡85 Watwood, John Cli›ord 8¡ Waugh, Robert ¡32 Wausau, WI 92, ¡07, ¡23–24, ¡62–63, ¡76, 23¡, 256, 295, 3¡9, 344, 365, 387, 438, 454

Waycross, GA ¡59–60, ¡83, 203, 226, 249, 284, 337, 36¡, 382, 425, 44¡, 458, 472 Wayne, Edward J. “Eddie” 20¡, 24¡, 299 Wayton, Henry “I’ma” ¡04, ¡39, ¡59 Waytula, Ed 277 Weakley, Harry 278 Wear, Wendell 497 Weatherly, Cyril Roy “Stormy” (went by middle name) 69 Weatherly, Roy “Stormy” 346 Weatherspoon, Chas. “Chuck” 423–24, 455, 470, 480–8¡, 504–5 Weaver, Claude ¡94, 254 Weaver, Clinton 3¡7, 369–70 Weaver, Earl 347–48, 392, 458 Weaver, James Dement “Big Jim” 25, 32, 55 Weaver, Montgomery Morton “Monte” 43 Weaver, Rbt. “Bob” 524 Webb, Arthur 330 Webb, Charles 336–37 Webb, James Laverne “Skeeter” 83 Webb, Jess 90, ¡84 Webb, John M. “Monk” ¡80, 333 Webb, Sam 2¡0 Webb, William 225 Webb, William Earl (went by middle name) 23 Webber, Lester Elmer “Les” 97 Weber, Charles 286, 325, 354 Webster, Raymond George “Ray” 449–50 Wecheck, Frank ¡08, ¡24 Wedding, Adolph ¡8¡ Weekly, Johnny 460 Weeks, Howard F. “Howie” 230, 253, 303, 338, 362, 383 Weeks, Paul H. 36¡–62 Weeks, Ralph ¡63, 226 Wegerek, David “Dave” 427, 436 Weghorn, John “Foghorn” 508 Weglarz, Eugene 395 Wehmeyer, George 334 Wehner, frank 467 Weidenhammer, Ron 423 Weik, Norbert ¡¡6 Weinbach, Sidney 223 Weinert, Phillip Walter, “Lefty” 3¡, 65 Weintraub, Philip “Mickey” 65 Weis, Albert “Al” 493, 504, 5¡3 Weisler, Frank/Fred 75, 85 Weiss, Arthur John “Butch” 34, 45, 73 Weiss, Dennis 457 Weiss, Victor ¡57 Weiting, Henry ¡44 Welch, Frank Tiguer 26 Welch, Herb 48 Welch, Melvin C. 23¡ Welch, “Mickey” 495 Welch, Milton ¡99 Welch, Paul ¡42, ¡62 Welch, Ronald 44¡ Welch, WV ¡05, ¡4¡, ¡6¡, ¡84,

571 20¡, 222, 278–79, 403, 423, 44¡ Welker, Richard 234 Wellman, Rbt. Joseph “Bob” 235, 370, 393, 44¡, 448, 455 Wells, Carl 378 Wells, Edwin Lee “Ed,” “Satchelfoot” ¡5 Wells, Phil ¡8¡ Wellsville, NY 206, 229, 29¡, 34¡, 384, 407, 427, 443, 459, 473–74, 486, 498, 5¡¡ Welp, Bill 203 Welteroth, Richard John “Dick” 2¡0–¡¡ Welzer, Anton Frank “Tony” ¡5 Wenatchee, WA 97, ¡¡2, ¡29, ¡5¡, 238, 267–68, 328, 348, 393, 4¡6–¡7, 435, 45¡, 467–68, 480, 505, 5¡6 Wenclewicz, Walter 250 Wenitski, Bernard 384 Wenning, Elmer ¡05 Wenslo›, Charles William “Butch” ¡33, ¡90 Wentzel, Stanley ¡94, 394 Werber, William Murray “Billy” 33 Werley, George 472 Werner, John 236 Wernett, Ed ¡22, ¡45 Wert, Lawrence James “Jimmy” 328 Wesche, Joe 79 Wescott, Tom 264 Wessing, John “Joe” ¡30, ¡53 West, Bob 329 West, Fred 54 West, Larry 494 West, Max Edward 208 West, Richard Thomas “Dick” 90, ¡04, ¡¡9 West, Stanley ¡33, ¡70 West, Thomas William “Tommie” (sometimes spelled “Tommy”) ¡00, ¡39 West, Tony 229 West, Weldon ¡39 West Dixie 67, 76 West Frankfort, IL 226–27, 288, 3¡5 West Palm Beach, FL ¡58, 2¡8, ¡8¡–82, 24¡, 263, 299, 440 West Plains, MO 9¡ West Texas 29 West Texas-New Mexico ¡08, ¡25, ¡45, ¡66, ¡87, 200, 22¡, 276, 308, 333, 357, 379, 40¡, 4¡8 Westcott, Tom 247 Westerkamp, Robert 2¡7 Western 3, 8, 9, ¡0, ¡6, 35, 46, 5¡, 58, 65, 82, 94, ¡45, ¡66, ¡88, 2¡0, 235, 26¡, 298, 323, 347, 369, 392, 4¡4, 433, 449, 466 Western Association 20, 47, 53, 76, 86, 99, ¡¡4, ¡33, ¡77, ¡99, 220, 245, 277, 309, 332, 356, 378, 400 Western Carolina 2, 254, 294, 3¡8, 343, 364, 499, 5¡2, 524 Western International 97, ¡¡2, ¡29, ¡40, ¡7¡, 2¡4, 238, 267, 302, 327, 348, 370, 392, 393 Westfall, Elmer 3¡6, 35¡

572 Westfall, Rbt. “Bob” 223–24, 28¡, 40¡ Westlake, James Patrick “Jim” 303 Westley, Jack ¡58 Weston, Eddie 69, ¡¡7 Weston, Jack ¡34 Westphall, Ray V. 93 Westrum, Wesley Noreen “Wes” ¡76, 207, 257 Wetherell, Delano 4¡ Wetzel, Don 306 Wetzel, Franklin Burton “Dutch” 8 Wetzel, Stanley ¡6¡ Weygandt, J. Allen 433–34 Weymann, Charles 306 Whalen, Fred ¡66 Whaley, Cecil A. “Cy” ¡55, 250, 288 Whaley, William F. ¡73 Whatling, William ¡78 Wheat, Leroy William “Lee” 260 Wheaton, Elwood Pierce “Woody” ¡3¡ Wheeler, Burbon 48¡ Wheeler, Donald Dennis 2¡0 Wheeler, Doug ¡02 Wheeler, Edward Raymond “Ed” ¡72–¡73, 308 Wheeler, Joe 373 Wheeler, John 444 Wheeling, WV ¡9, 60 Whelan, Augustine Paul “Gus” 24 Whelchel, Charles T. ¡88 Whigham, Byrd 439 Whisenant, Thomas Peter “Pete” 298, 390 Whitaker, Charles ¡06 Whitaker, Steve 524 Whitcomb, Donald 44¡, 454 White, Adell “Bob” 48, ¡70 White, Albert Eugene “Fuzz” ¡33, ¡53, 257 White, Archie 5¡7 White, Barry 362 White, Bill 2¡4 White, Bob ¡22 White, Clovis ¡¡6 White, Curtis 360 White, Donald ¡35 White, Doug 77, ¡06 White, Duane 420–2¡ White, Edward P. 4¡¡ White, Frank E. 328 White, Harold George ¡73 White, Herbert ¡¡4 White, J.W. 69 White, Jack ¡22 White, James ¡62, ¡85 White, Jesse 505 White, John A. 3¡9 White, Joyner Cliford “Jo-Jo” 45 White, Mich. “Mike” 479 White, Ray ¡¡0 White, Rbt. E. “Bob” 239, 4¡7, 457 White, Samuel Charles “Sammy” 322 White, Vernon, Jr. 426 White, Wm. DeKova “Bill” 392 Whitehead, Burgess Urquhart “Whitey” 42–43, 5¡, 207–8

Index Whitehead, John Henderson “Silent John” 65, 262 Whitehead, Lewis 59 Whitekiller, Robert 457 Whiteko, William W. 403, 426 Whitener, Clyde 280 Whiteville, NC 3¡7 Whitfield, Fred 473, 479, 490 Whithouse, Harry ¡¡¡ Whitman, Dick Corwin 436– 37 Whitman, Hobart ¡3 Whitmore, Ken 499 Whitner, Clyde 246 Whitney, Rodney E. 44 Whitworth, Richard O. “Dick” 35 Wholey, Walter 294, 3¡8 Wichita Falls, TX 24, 34–35, 45, ¡87–88, 262, 349–50, 37¡, 434 Wichita, KS 8, ¡0, ¡6, 35–36, 46, 5¡, 298, 323, 347, 392, 4¡5, 428, 445, 46¡ Wickel, Harrison 9¡–92, ¡07, ¡40–4¡, ¡6¡, ¡84 Wicker, Kemp Caswell 60, 64, ¡96 Wickersham, David Cli›ord “Dave” 450, 490 Widholm, Wallace 420 Widmar, Albert Joseph “Al” 257 Wieand, Franklin Delano Roosevelt 475 Wieczorek, Chester 92, ¡07, ¡¡4 Wiesler, Rbt. George “Bob” 286, 309–¡0 Wietelman, William Frederick “Whitey” 37¡ Wight, John ¡4 Wight, Wm. Robert “Bill” 388 Wigle, William “Worm” 36¡ Wigley, John E. “Piggly” 399 Wigman, Oscar 23¡ Wigton, Pete ¡44 Wilborn, Claude Edward ¡4¡ Wilbur, Delbert Quentin ¡24 Wilburn, Chet 64, ¡83–¡84 Wilcox, Charlie ¡79 Wilcox, Elwayne “Eny” 420–2¡, 435 Wilcox, Lloyd 280 Wild, Gerald 5¡9 Wild, Ken 227 Wilder, Fred J. 8 Wiley, Ronald 48¡ Wilgus, Wm. E. “Billy” 426 Wilhelm, Bill 383 Wilhelm, Charles 273 Wilhelm, James Hoyt (known by middle name) 72, 205, 238, 362 Wilhite, Bill 379 Wilhite, Jon Nicholas “Nick” 504, 5¡3 Wililams, Donald Q. 404 Wilkes, Jack 203, 225 Wilkes, Teddy “Ted” ¡90 Wilkes-Barre, PA ¡4, 26, 37, 46, 52, 56, 64, 72, 94, ¡09, ¡26, ¡46, ¡95, 209, 260, 297, 322, 368–69, 39¡, 4¡3 Wilkins, Dewey 326, 352 Wilkins, Edson 4¡

Wilkins, Robert 234 Wilkinson, John “Jack” 300, 393, 4¡5 Will, Rbt. Lee “Bob” 400, 4¡7, 464, 474 Willett, Dick ¡53 Willett, Hal 95 Willey, Carlton Francis “Carl” 445 Williamette Valley, OR 365 Williams, Archie 9¡, ¡2¡ Williams, Billy Leo 460, 487 Williams, Charles 4¡¡ Williams, Clarence 289–90 Williams, Clarence, III 290 Williams, David Carlous “Davey” 226, 237, 258–59 Williams, Deward 450 Williams, Donald E. 473, 506 Williams, Donald Fred 434, 450, 462 Williams, Doug 424 Williams, Edwin (P) 3¡6, 34¡ Williams, Edwin Dibrell “Dib” ¡70–¡7¡ Williams, Fred (P) 338 Williams, Fred “Pap” 75, 246, 280, 393 Williams, Galen 425, 458 Williams, George 47¡, 493 Williams, J. Keith 473 Williams, J.C. ¡82 Williams, James (Jim?) 23¡ Williams, Jim (James?) 26¡ Williams, John (2B) 97 Williams, John (P) 363 Williams, Keith 483, 503 Williams, Kenneth ¡23 Williams, Lawson 227 Williams, Leonard 373, 439, 449 Williams, Marvin (2B) 393, 4¡4, 43¡, 464, 476 Williams, Marvin (P) 348 Williams, Myron ¡30 Williams, Norlden 42¡, 453 Williams, Ralph 80, ¡55, 294 Williams, Ray 30¡ Williams, Rich. Hershfeld “Dick” 249, 4¡2 Williams, Richard ¡84 Williams, Royce ¡07 Williams, Samuel “Sam” 379–80, 437 Williams, Stanley Wilson “Stan” 445 Williams, Stewart ¡87 Williams, Stuart “Stu” 250, 287, 3¡4 Williams, Theodore “Ted” ¡73 Williams, Waldon 399 Williams, Warren ¡72 Williams, Wiley 369, 4¡4 Williams, Wm. “Bill” (OF) 469, 49¡ Williams, Wm. “Will” (P) 334 Williams, Woodrow Wilson “Woody” 78, ¡¡4 Williamson, Don 342, 364, 385 Williamson, Elmer “Spec” ¡5¡, ¡7¡–¡72 Williamson, Gordon L. ¡33 Williamson, Verne E. ¡74 Williamson, Wm. L. “Bill” 40¡ Williamson, WV ¡05, ¡2¡–22, ¡4¡, ¡6¡, ¡84

Williamsport, PA 26, 37, 46, 47, 52, 64, 72, 82, ¡09, ¡26, 209, 234, 297, 347, 4¡3, 432, 465, 478, 49¡, 503, 5¡5 Williamston, NC ¡02, ¡¡8, ¡37, ¡57, ¡79–80 Williford, Ed 53 Willingham, Hugh ¡87 Willis, Dale 502 Willis, Earle H. 344 Willis, Lester “Wimpy” 75, 85, 98 Willis, Ted 20 Willis, Thomas R. 352 Willison, Gary 469 Willows, CA 28¡ Wills, Morris (sic) Maurice Morning “Maury” 34¡, 363, 433 Wills, Theo. Carl “Ted” 4¡9 Wilmington, DE ¡47, ¡68, 2¡¡, 236, 264, 300, 325, 35¡ Wilmington, NC 52, 59, 66, 74, 206, 230, 253, 293, 3¡7 Wilski, Steven ¡52 Wilson, (first name unknown) 37 Wilson, Archie Clifton 238, 320, 4¡0, 429, 445 Wilson, Arthur Lee “Artie” 258, 366, 388 Wilson, Bill (P) 47 Wilson, Bob (C) 30¡ Wilson, Carl 227 Wilson, Charles J. “Duke” 424 Wilson, Earl Lawrence 474 Wilson, Ed (P) 3¡4 Wilson, Edward Francis “Eddie” 52 Wilson, Frank 260, 288–89, 339 Wilson, George Washington 2¡2, 32¡, 388, 409, 445, 499 Wilson, Grady Herbert 202, 2¡¡ Wilson, Harry (P) 300 Wilson, Harry (P) 304 Wilson, Harry (P) 35¡ Wilson, Harry M. (P) 328 Wilson, Herbert ¡62 Wilson, Homer Ray 380–8¡, 402, 457, 484 Wilson, James A. 230, 254 Wilson, Joe 467, 480 Wilson, John Hugh 344 Wilson, Lawrence 245 Wilson, Leslie 77, 78 Wilson, Max ¡27, ¡48, ¡69, 223 Wilson, Nesbit “Neb” ¡97, 265, 30¡, 373–74, 392, 423, 439, 457, 47¡ Wilson, Norman 203, 36¡ Wilson, Rbt. “Bob” (2B) ¡95, 207 Wilson, Rbt. “Bob” (3B) 322, 345 Wilson, Rbt. “Bob” (OF) 429, 46¡ Wilson, Rich. Clyde “Dick” 244, 270, 304, 328, 375, 436–37, 470, 480 Wilson, Sammy O’Neil 460, 469 Wilson, Warren J. 425 Wilson, William (C) 76, 83 Wilson, Wm. Donald “Bill” (OF) 296, 368

Index Wilson, NC ¡37, ¡56–57, ¡79–80, 202, 223, 246, 280, 3¡0, 334, 368, 434, 467, 479, 492, 504–5 Wiltse, Harold James “Hal” 35 Wiltse, Robert F. 329 Wiltsee, Edward 2¡7 Winceniak, Edward J. 392 Windhorn, Gordon Ray “Gordie” 365, 374, 46¡ Windle, G. Richard 436 Windsor, George ¡50 Wine, Robert Paul “Bobby” 456, 469, 487 Winegarner, Ralph Lee 40 Winfield, Joe ¡8¡ Winford (Windford), James Head “Jim,” “Cowboy” ¡86 Wing, Wm. H. “Billy” 424 Wingard, Ernest ¡3, 87, ¡¡5 Wingo, John R. 4¡¡, 430–3¡ Wingo, Kelly 292 Wingo, Russell T. 420 Wink, TX ¡08–9, ¡25–26 Winkelpecht, Bob 279–80 Winkles, Rbt. B. “Bobby” 447 Winnipeg, MB, CAN 6¡, 92, ¡07, ¡23, ¡42–43, ¡62, 399, 42¡, 438, 454, 469, 482, 494–95, 508, 5¡9 Winseck, Mike ¡65, ¡76 Winsett, John Thomas “Tom” 49 Winston-Salem, NC ¡¡–¡2, 52, ¡¡0, ¡48, ¡94, ¡99, 2¡7, 240, 262, 299, 324, 350, 372, 395, 435, 45¡, 467, 479, 492, 504, 5¡6 Winters, Alan 300 Winters, Robert ¡27–28, ¡49 Wisconsin Rapids, WI ¡68, ¡89, 23¡, 255–56, 295, 3¡9, 344–45, 365, 387–88 Wisconsin State ¡67, ¡89, 23¡, 256, 295, 3¡9, 344, 365, 386 Wise, Harry G. 333 Wise, Howard R. 38¡ Wise, Hugh 90 Wise, Kendall “Casey” 427 Wisniewski, Joe 292 Wisniewski, John M. 454 Wisrock, M.M. “Buster” 39, 83 Wissman, David Alvin 509, ¡8–¡9 Wissman, Edward ¡00, ¡28 Witek, Nicholas “Mickey” 78, 95 Witherspoon, Lester 356 Withrow, Raymond Wallace “Corky” 459, 474, 48¡, 5¡4 Witt, George Adrian “Red” 444 Witt, Porter ¡9¡, ¡98, 250, 288, 340 Witte, Jerome “Jerry” ¡05, ¡38, ¡53, 259 Wittingham, Paul 2¡7 Witucki, Ronald 407 Wlodarczyk, Henry 249 Wnetzak, Stanley 2¡7 Woeber, Ed J. “Moose” 4¡ Wojcik, Florian ¡56 Wojey (Wojciechowski), Josef ¡53

Woldt, Richard 200 Woldt, Roy J. 308, 379 Wolf, Jewett ¡7¡ Wolf, Wallace “Wally” 5¡6 Wolfe, Harry ¡22 Wolfe, John 202 Wolfe, Tom 52 Wolfenbarger, Burgess 289 Wol›, Roger ¡29 Wolfsberger, Karl ¡63 Wolgast, Carl 247, 278 Wollard, Maurice 68 Wollet, Wm. E. “Will” 359 Wollitz, Herman 27¡ Wolters, Lee 243 Wolverton, Marv ¡¡7 Womack, Dallas “Fort Worth” 298 Womack, Hollis 266 Womack, Horace “Dooley” 5¡5 Womack, Lawrence ¡98 Wood, Charles 240 Wood, Charles Spencer “Doc” 35 Wood, George 2¡ Wood, Harold 290 Wood, Jacob “Jake” 486 Wood, James 3¡9 Wood, Kenneth Lanier “Ken” 209, 257, 433 Woodall, Charles 2¡7, 237 Woodall, Charles Lawrence “Larry” 63–64 Woodard, Rich 293 Wooden, Daniel 492 Woodeschik, Harold Joseph “Hal” 428 Woodling, Eugene “Gene” ¡63, ¡75 Woodrow, Rudolph 69, 77 Woodru›, Thos. “Tommy” ¡25, ¡53 Woods, Ernest 229, 239 Woods, Harold 494 Woods, James 478 Woods, Ronald 493 Woods, Rudy 90 Woodward, Frank Russell 6 Woolford, Ralph 248 Woolpert, Fred 298 Wooster, Howard “Bertie” 230 Wopinek, Eddie 27¡ Wopinek, George 248 Worcester, MA 66 Workman, Chas. Thomas “Chuck” ¡¡4, ¡50, 233, 256– 57 Workman, Henry Kilgari› “Hank” 296 Worley, Kenneth 368, 396, 433 Worth, Arthur 370 Worthington, Allan Fulton 409, 5¡2 Worthington, Rbt. “Bob” 5¡2 Worthington, Robert Lee “Red” 3¡ Worthington, NE ¡66 Wotjkowiak, Conrad ¡5¡ Wrenn, Milton Elsworth 226 Wrenn, Woodrow 358 Wright, Albert Owen “Ab” 47, 57, 62, ¡90 Wright, Carroll 364 Wright, George 228, 240, 260 Wright, Jack 47

Wright, John 46 Wright, Melvin James “Mel” 3¡7, 333, 347, 367, 487 Wright, Owen ¡04 Wright, Pat 36 Wright, Roger ¡97, 322, 347, 4¡5, 433 Wright, Suvern 267 Wright, Taft Shedron “Ta›y” 59, 296, 320, 4¡8 Wright, Thomas 440 Wright, Thos. Everett “Tom” ¡99, 209, 256–57 Wright, Wayne 9 Wright, Wm. Burnis “Wild Bill” 437–38 Wrobel, Adolph 53 Wry, Charley ¡32–¡33 Wrye, John T. 406, 422 Wuethrich, Merle “Woody” 286 Wyatt, John 439 Wyatt, John Whitlow (went by middle name) ¡9, 28, 45 Wyatt, Wm. “Bill” 424, 474, 48¡ Wyberanec, Theodore 229 Wynn, Early 82, 274 Wynn, James Sherman “Jimmy” 52¡ Wyrostek, John ¡¡8 Wyse, Henry Washington “Hank” 259 Wytheville, VA 245–46, 279–80, 403, 423–24, 456, 47¡, 483–84, 496, 509, 52¡ Yaeger, Edward 2¡2 Yakima, WA 97, ¡¡2, ¡29, ¡50, ¡7¡, 2¡4, 267–68, 303, 348, 370, 393, 4¡7, 435, 45¡, 467–68, 480, 492–93, 505, 5¡6–¡7 Yaklich, Al 2¡0 Yandoli, Rudy 295, 3¡9 Yanen, George 242, 272 Yaomans, Wastine 38¡ Yarmul, Edwin “Yarmulke” ¡¡8 Yaryan, Clarence Everett “Yam” ¡5 Yastrzemski, Carl 479, 486 Yaylian, Albert Sooren “Avak” 393 Yazell, Fred 98 Yde, Emil Ogden ¡3 Yearick, H. Allen 245–46 Yebernetsky, George 249 Yencha, Rich. “Dick” 505–6 Yeomans, Ainsworth 460 Yochum, Leonard Joseph 368 Yocke, Willis “Bill” 7¡, 83, ¡¡0, ¡48 Yoder, Robert K. 407 Yoder, Wayne 29¡ Yohn, Charles 226 Yoke, Kenneth D. 4¡8, 449 Yonamine, Wally Kaname 307 Yordy, Harold 25 York, Anth. Batton “Tony” 397–98 York, Earl ¡93, 238, 260 York, Richard 334 York, Rudolph Preston “Rudy” 73, 330 York, NE 29, 4¡ York, PA 26, 37, 46, 52, 56,

573 2¡¡, 236, 300, 35¡, 373, 465, 5¡5 Yorke, George 274, 30¡, 352 Yoter, Elmer Ellsworth 64, ¡¡3 Young, George Joseph 28–29, 4¡ Young, Glenn 383 Young, Harry R. 420 Young, Lemuel Floyd “Pep” 46 Young, Morris 76–77, 87 Young, Norman R. ¡¡0 Young, Paul ¡02 Young, Rich. Ennis “Dick” 300, 322 Young, Richard 20 Young, Richard L. 435 Young, Thos. “Tom” 509 Youngdahl, Raynor “Ray,” “Ragnorok” 505, 5¡5 Younghans, Halold J. ¡97 Youngstown, OH ¡32, ¡53, ¡75, ¡99, 243, 273, 305–6 Younker, Roy D. ¡50 Yount, Charlie 253 Yount, Floyd, Edwin “Eddie” ¡27, 254–55, 3¡8 Yount, Kenneth L. 330 Yourkovich, Joe ¡¡9, ¡58 Yow, Forest Ray 255 Yowell, Walter 344 Yucatan (represents the city of Merida), YUC, MEX 430, 446, 462–63 Yuma, AZ 308, 332, 356 Yuna, Ed ¡¡ Yurger, Don 458 Yvars, Salvador Anthony “Sal” 232 Zabala, Adrian ¡70, ¡9¡, 345, 4¡4 Zabek, Edward 265 Zaby, Paul 220 Zaccarelli, Dick 335 Zachary, Albert ¡2¡, ¡5¡–52 Zacher, Sylvester 36¡ Zachritz, Charles R. ¡74 Zack, Richard F. 329 Zaepfel, John ¡6, 35 Zagami, Joe ¡08 Zager, John ¡86 Zahn, John 52¡ Zaimis, Vincent 454 Zajac, Harry 98 Zak, Emil ¡02 Zak, Frank Thomas “Frankie” ¡94 Zambrano, Mario 484 Zande, Veito ¡75 Zander, Edmund 493 Zander, Joe 248 Zander, Ronald 456 Zanesville, OH 60, 67, 75, 86, ¡75, 205, 229, 252 Zanolli, Joe ¡44 Zapor, John ¡¡9, ¡3¡ Zapp, Jim 363, 42¡ Zardon, Antonio 24¡, 263 Zarilla, Allen Lee “Al,” “Zeke” ¡23 Zauchin, Norbert Henry “Norm” 247, 270, 296 Zavitka, James 2¡9 Zayas, Luis 489 Zbiciak, Raymond 3¡8 Zebro, Edward ¡92 Zeibig, Len 293

574 Zeiger, Forrest W. ¡65, ¡92– 93 Zeiser, Clarence 369 Zelinsky, Matt 2¡7 Zender, Bernie 2¡3 Zeng, Howard 9¡ Zentara, Joseph ¡37 Zerblis, Jack ¡02, ¡¡4 Zernia, Harry Elmer “Harvey” 264, 298 Zernial, Gus Edward ¡99 Zick, Robert 370 Ziegler, Dale 469 Zielinski, Florian ¡¡7

Index Zientara, Benedict Joseph “Bennie” ¡¡7 Zikmund, Thomas 20¡ Zimmer, Donald William “Don” 3¡6, 320, 346 Zimmerman, George ¡87 Zimmerman, Glenn 378, 433 Zimmerman, Raymond H. “Ray” ¡42 Zimmerman, Roy Franklin 96, ¡9¡ Zinker, (first name unknown) ¡¡ Zinker, Ed 369

Zinn, James Edward “Jimmy” ¡0, ¡3, 32 Zinser, William Frederick “Bill” ¡57 Zipay, John 9 Zipfel, Marion “Bud” 473, 49¡, 500 Zollieco›er, Heartsell 285, 333 Zomlefer, Sid 267 Zontini, John ¡03, 254, 294 Zorko, Matt ¡46, ¡62 Zubak, Paul Peter 204 Zuber, William “Bill,” “Goober” 7¡, ¡25

Zubik, Frank 204 Zubris, Joseph ¡5 Zuccarini, Rbt. “Bob” 383, 455 Zukowski, Alex “Z-Man” ¡98 Zulberti, John ¡¡2 Zunk, Fladgit 222, 333, 354 Zunno, Salvatore “Zip” ¡95, 223 Zupancic, Ed ¡9 Zupo, Frank “Noodles” 494 Zych, Alexander 334 Zydowski, Edward Michael ¡52