THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL
APRIL 12, 1937 SPRING TRAINING
We are down to just a week remaining of spring action before the games count for real and there may be some small cause for concern for last season's pennant winners as both the World Champion Chicago Chiefs and Continental Association pennant winning Brooklyn Kings have seen a shortage of offense in preseason action. Could it be a post-season hangover?
The bats in Brooklyn actually went into a deep freeze long ago, as the club went into a funk last September and by all indications this spring the Brooklyn bats have still not thawed out as we hit the final week of spring training. Starting catcher Fred Barrell is hitting .050 in camp, his brother 4-time all star shortstop Harry Barrell just .205, and veteran third baseman Frank Vance is batting .243, The three backup infielders (Jake Shadoan, Walt Layton and Jud Hall) are batting a combined .181 while outfielders Frank Lightbody and Joe Perret are both having a rough camp. Doug Lightbody has been the one positive at the plate for Brooklyn as the Kings have given him plenty of at bats to determine if the 33 year old can bounce back from another injury plagued season. Doug has looked very good, hitting .350 in camp and evoking memories of his 1934-35 seasons when he won one batting title and finished second the other season. Another positive in Brooklyn has been the pitching as 7 of the 8 pitchers expected to break camp have looked very good with the lone exception being Del Lyons, who has been inconsistent this spring.
The Champion Chiefs are in a similar state. Their pitching has been solid, but the bats have been quite cold this spring: Third baseman Bob Martin is hitting just .171, veteran outfielder Jim Hampton .196, First baseman Ron Rattigan who was such a key piece last season is struggling with a .224 spring average while 37 year old Pete Layton, who's addition along with pitcher Rabbit Day sent the Chiefs on their incredible run last season, is batting just .231 so far this spring. It is a small sample and it is early so I expect both teams to come around once the games start to mean something.
DRAKE IS OFF TO SLOW SPRING START
Leon Drake is struggling in Detroit, hitting just .214 but does have a pair of homers. Drake will certainly by on Max Morris' lineup card come Opening Day but the outfield might be crowded for the Dynamos with Buck Waldrop, Irv Brady and the rookie Sal Pestilli all hitting well in Florida. The first 2 are out of options as is Ray Cochran, who is having a rough spring. And you still have to find space for Serna and Henry Jones, but they each have an option remaining as does Pete Thomas who looked good in a brief audition last season after coming over from the Gothams.
New Detroit skipper and Hall of Famer Max Morris says he is sure Drake will come around. "I'm not worried about Drake as the minor league field in Lakeland is not a great hitters park. Cochran who had a surprisingly solid season last year, is headed for DFA country. Serena will go down to AAA to play everyday if Pestilli makes the opening day roster. If he does the Opening Day outfield will have Brady, Pestilli and Drake starting with Henry Jones and Sid Williams on the bench. Thomas, Serna and Wayne Morgan make a nice OF for Newark."
Of course the big question for Morris on everyone's mind is how much will he play. Might Max has yet to homer, or even have an extra base hit in the spring but he is batting .364 in 22 at bats so looks like he can still contribute. It remains to be seen how often Morris will put his own name on the lineup card as the only current player/manager in FABL. Sources in Detroit expect Morris to be playing 4-5 games a week, at least to start the season.
ANOTHER SETBACK FOR ROBINSON
A couple of his former teams weighed on Earle Robinson after the 21 year old righthander suffered yet another serious injury last week. Robinson was recently acquired by Cleveland in the deal that sent Leon Drake and Max Morris to Detroit. The former first round pick has been plagued by injuries and it's feared this time it might be one that firmly ends his status as a future ace.
Detroit assistant General Manager Ben Hathaway wonders what could have been. "When we got him in the Wheeler/Vance deal, I really thought he’d be a keeper and long term eventual solution. Then 2 seasons of injuries that significantly limited his action made the Dynamos decide to try and deal him. Now that he’s moved on I see he is out 4 months once again. What would his career have been if he wasn’t “wrecked” injury wise at 21?"
Brooklyn Manager Powell Slocum had similar thoughts on their former prospect: "Unfortunately, he is another Bill Dengler or Johnny Jacob. Kings just seem to attract these types of pitchers - super potential but careers get derailed by injuries. Robinson was a 5th overall pick who suffered a 3 month back injury 1 month into his career that bothered him that entire season. Traded to Detroit and throws a no-hitter (to go with a HS perfect game) in his Dynamo minor league debut against our Tampa farm team. A month later the back problems flare up and he is shut down for the year but does rise to #21 on the prospect list entering the next season (1936). Two months into the '36 he fractures his elbow ending another season for him. Now in camp with the Foresters after being part of the Morris/Drake deal and he gets hurt in camp -elbow again - which means he will miss most of the season once again and is no longer listed as a top 100 prospect. I hope the kid can come back from this latest setback but it does not look promising."
QUICK HITS
Lew Seals is making nice progress this spring, the top 20 prospect has hit well in Pittsburgh camp and Miners’ manager Dan Andrew thinks he should break camp as the starting center fielder, but before this spring, Seals had never played in any level higher than the Class A Heartland league.
Gus Goulding is human after all. The Baltimore Cannons young phenom went 8-0 in his first 8 big league starts and then won his spring debut followed up by a decent showing but no decision in a win the next start. Well he finally lost - twice in a row but it was more due to run support as the Cannons scored just 1 run in each of the two defeats.
KINGS ADD GOOD LUCK CHARM
Did the Brooklyn Kings just discover a good luck charm that will trump the Curse of Ferdinand Hawkins? The Kings - the only FABL club never to win a World Championship Series - just added a backup catcher who has won 3 World Titles with 3 different teams. Those victories for Jim Kyle came as a 22 year old rookie with the Philadelphia Sailors in 1928, with the Chicago Cougars in 1931 and with the Cleveland Foresters in 1934. So if the pattern holds Kyle will win his fourth championship with four different Continental Association clubs this October.
I don't think you will ever find a backup catcher who has had a more interesting career than Kyle. He has 2 more World Championship rings than he has Series plate appearances.
Kyle was dealt to Brooklyn after a year and a half in Detroit along with minor league catcher Eddie Miller in exchange for Bill Smith and Ray Pierce. Miller is the key piece for the Kings as the 22 year old, who was a fourth round pick out of Northern Mississippi in 1935. He will likely be assigned to Class A Springfield after spending his rookie pro season primarily in Class C for the Dynamos. Kyle will replace Smith as the backup to Fred Barrell in Brooklyn. The Kings dealt Smith to give the 33 year old an opportunity to play everyday, something he has not had in Brooklyn as the caddy to first Mike Taylor and later Fred Barrell.
Smith was a long-time favourite of Kings General Manager Tiger Fan as he was part of the GM's first draft class back in 1935. Here is what the Kings had to say about the deal.
Quote:
BROOKLYN KINGS PRESS RELEASE ON TRADING BILL SMITH
The Brooklyn Kings have mixed emotions at the decision to send catcher Bill Smith the Detroit. The 33 year old has done everything asked of him and more over his 8 seasons with the Kings. Always a backup, first behind Mike Taylor and later Fred Barrell, Smith was one of my original draft picks as he was taken in the 5th round of the 1925 draft out of Grafton. He appeared in just 309 games in the big leagues but hit .325 and always with a positive attitude. The organization felt he deserved the opportunity to prove he was more than capable of being a starting catcher in the big leagues. Being 33 and 2 years older than Fred Barrell and with 26 year old Bill Johnson nipping on his heels it was clear Smith would have to go elsewhere to get that opportunity so the deal was made with Detroit.
The Kings have long been a catcher factory as our previous draft picks to achieve success elsewhere include Mike Taylor, Jim Pool, Tom Aiello and Dave Armstrong so I expect Smith's name will be added to that list and he can follow in Armstrong's footsteps with some strong seasons in Detroit.
We are excited to get Jim Kyle back in return and he will serve as our backup although may be pressed for that role by Johnson. Kyle is a 'good luck charm' who has played for 3 different World Championship teams (in 1928,1931 and 1934 so I am hoping for the pattern to continue) and we hope his playoff success will rub off on the team. He has a .263 career FABL average in 437 games over 10 seasons but is 3 years younger than Smith. We are also adding an intriguing prospect in 22 year old Eddie Miller, a 1935 fourth round pick out of Northern Mississippi, who spent most of his first pro year in Class C. The hope is Miller and fellow 22 year old Jack D Davis, our 11th round pick in 1935 out of Maryland State, will give us a pair of decent prospects behind the plate as the Kings look to build for the future without tearing down any of the core pieces that make up our present.
Smith will be missed but the hope is he hits over .300 and plays 100 plus games for Detroit this season.
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TREASE FAMILY LEGACY SET TO CONTINUE
The 1938 draft is still well over a year away but there seems to be a number of top prospects with ties to famous names in FABL that will possibly be selected early in the selection process. You know it has to be a good draft when you see the names Slocum, Trease and York among the class. They are not Hall of Famer Powell Slcoum, nor are they Woody Trease or Dick York but they are the sons of those three.
York, a long-time Detroit catcher and now a manager in the Dynamos system, actually has a son eligible in each of the next two drafts. Joe, a shortstop, is entering his senior season at Terre Haute (IN) High School and is possibly a 5th-10th round prospect in the upcoming June draft. 17 year old Rick is a junior and like his father, a catcher. Rick was an honourable mention on the 1936 High School All-American team as a sophomore and, while it is still early, he is considered a potential first round pick in the 1938 draft.
Powell Slocum, who was recently named to the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame and is baseball's all-time hit leader, also has a son eligible for the 1938 draft. Well a step-son actually as Powell adopted the grandson of Rufus Barrell after marrying the boy's mother. 17 year old James is a junior outfielder at Brooklyn's Xaverian High School and like Rick York, is drawing some early attention as a possible first round selection.
One player can go even further tracing his baseball roots as pitcher Lynwood Trease III is actual a third generation prospect. His grandfather Lynwood was a catcher from 1876-1904 and had 2,262 career hits and won 3 Championships while his father Woody won 325 games for Boston and Detroit between 1901-1912, all before his 32nd birthday. After having his career cut short due to arm troubles, Woody went into coaching and has been the manager of the Philadelphia Sailors AAA affiliate in San Francisco the past four seasons, leading the Hawks to three Great Western League pennants during that time. Woody's son Lynn is a 17 year old righthander for St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco and has posted a 21-2 record over two seasons with the Wildcats. Young Lynn. now a high school junior, will have quite the legacy to live up to as both his father and grandfather appear to be likely candidates to at some point be enshrined in the newly created Hall of Fame. In addition to stellar playing careers the Trease's also spent time in the coaching ranks and Lynwood holds the distinction of likely being the oldest player to ever suit up for a big league game and also the only one to appear on the field in a contest with his son. It happened in 1904 when Lynwood, now 53 years old and retired for over a decade, was a coach with the Boston Minutemen. He came out of retirement to catch a pair of July games including one in which his son Woody, then a 23 year old Minutemen hurler, was pitching. The pair would team up to win the World Championship Series that year. It would be Lynwood's only coaching stint in the big leagues as he moved on to the Eastern Association as a manager. Woody would perhaps be known as the winningest pitcher in baseball history had he not been forced to retire at the age of 32 and move in to coaching. Even with the tragic early end to his pitching career, Woody is still considered one of the greatest pitchers in FABL history.
