Tuesday, July 12, 1960
GRIN HILL NABS SECONDARY LEAGUE CROWN, HEADED TO THE SUPREME LEAGUE
They are smiling ear-to-ear in Grin Hill... the Smileys tore up the Cherrywood Stouts 16-5 in a sudden-death playoff for the 1960 South Island Secondary League championship and the promotion upwards to the South Island Supreme League next year... and righty so, Grin Hill was the most explosive offense in the Secondary League.
It all came together unexpectedly for the Grin Hill Smileys (11-4) this year... they were picked near the bottom in the preseason poll... the oldtimers that have had only one winning season in its history blossomed into a very potent offensive machine this season... none of the rookies played much this season... Grin Hill was 7-4 and finished in third place in the league inaugural season 1955... they've been bad every year since... however, not this season... the Smileys topped the Secondary League with a .341 team BA and led the league in scoring with 124 runs... that's 8.3 runs a game.
Offense is fine, but most of the teams in the Secondary League can put runs on the scoreboard, it's the pitchers that make the real difference, not the batters... southpaw Jim Smiley (10-2/4.15 ERA) wasn't overpowering and great, but he was solid and steady, posting a fairly good 4.15 ERA... Smiley was voted the 1960 Secondary League Most Valuable Player and deserved the honor... boy, what a lineup: 1B Nico Pocorello (.437 BA/16 RBI/15 R), LF Phil Juban (.413 BA/2 HR/16 RBI/13 R/6 SB), CF Slim Smiley (.347 BA/2 HR/9 RBI/17 R/7 SB), RF Cliff Lebreton (.355 BA/2 HR/17 RBI/15 R), 2B Jose Jimenez (.478 BA/1 HR/9 RBI/14 R/8 SB), C Lindsey Nelson (.340 BA/4 HR/13 RBI/10 R) and 3B Mark Wade (.327 BA/1 HR/8 RBI/10 R)... the only non-.300 hitter Rafael Ramos (.200 BA/4 HR/15 RBI/13 R/2 SB) didn't hit for average, but he was a very productive one... last year's Secondary League pennant winner Braxton (10-5) did not fare well in the Supreme League this year... they came in 6-8 and 6th in the standings... just didn't have the pitching in the new league... let's see how the Grin Hill Smileys do.
Cherrywood (10-5) came up one game shy of the pennant... in the preseason poll they were solid picks as pennant contenders and almost won it... the Stouts hit very well (.315 BA), scored well (102 runs) and had average pitching (5.15 ERA)... but Cyril Romero (8-3/4.73 ERA) and Hank Hodges (2-2/4.67 ERA) were not as effective as Jim Smiley... the batters were good, but not quite as good as Grin Hill... sparking the Stouts at the plate were SS Rick Fargnoli (.463 BA/1 HR/15 RBI/11 R/6 SB), 2B George Hayes (.369 BA/2 HR/14 RBI/14 R/5 SB), rookie 3B Charlie Loomis (.344 BA/6 HR/12 RBI/16 R), LF Merlin Haggard (.439 BA/1 HR/11 RBI/9 R)... CF Robert Wheeler (.250 BA/5 HR/13 RBI/10 R/7 SB) and 1B Tony Armstrong (.271 BA/5 HR/11 RBI/12 R) provided the longballs and RBIs... Cherrywood needs help in RF and catcher... and pitching, too... Hank Hodges was the only contributing rookie.
The Parkland Perfectos (7-7) were well-regarded going into the season and picked to contend with Joliet, the favorite, and Cherrywood, the second choice... they never really challenged the top teams, but they did come in tied for third place with Billings... so far, the Perfectos are just an average team in the Secondary League, always around the .500 mark in their 4 seasons... Parkland boasted average batters with a .288 team BA, scored well with 87 runs and had so-so pitching and no longball power (16 HR)... the Perfectos didn't have a batting order packed with hitters like the contenders... the best of the lot were RF Aaron Kettering (.358 BA/6 HR/14 RBI/17 R) and 2B Davey Lee (.333 BA/1 HR/14 RBI/5 R)... a pair of rookies CF Ballhawk Bannen (.274 BA/3 HR/9 R/9 RBI/13 SB) and 1B Harry Mixon (.333 BA/2 HR/5 RBI/12 R) did help out offensively... rookie Billy Hansen (2-2/4.01 ERA) pitched fairly well, but most of the work went to veterans Denny Lee (3-2/4.39 ERA) and Dunk Sanford (1-1/5.40 ERA)... rookie Angel Torrez (1-2/10.12 ERA) flopped badly... overall, Parkland just did not have the offense to beat out Grin Hill and Cherrywood.
The Billings Rams (7-7) were forecast to be just an average team in the Secondary League this season and they lived up to that prediction, winding up tied with Parkland for the third spot in the standings... the Rams were very bad their first two years in '55 and '56 with an overall 4-16 record... they have improved since, hovering mostly around the .500 mark... Billings is just a fair-to-middling team, just like 5 other clubs... they are all bunched together... the Rams don't have many threats in the lineup... LF Mitch Anderson (.368 BA/6 HR/15 RBI/15 R) and 3B Ralph Ziegler (.397 BA/1 HR/10 RBI/11 R) lead the way at the plate... 1B Roger McCullough (.345 BA/2 HR/5 RBI/11 R) also lends a bat occasionally... none of the rookies made much of an impact... however, Rusty Roniger (2-1/2.81 ERA) may be given a good shot at the starter position next season... Billings depended on veterans Clifton Chenier (3-3/4.42 ERA) and Mike Mitchell (2-2/5.90 ERA) this year.
The season was not very jolly for the Green Giants of Joliet (6-8)... favored to win the pennant, Joliet struggled badly and tied for 5th place... never challenged the contenders... just average hitting and poor pitching... historically Joliet was terrible the first two years in the Secondary League with an overall 4-19 mark in 1957 and 1958... the Green Giants jumped to 9-6 in 1959 and lost the pennant in a playoff game with champion Braxton... that's why the optimism coming into this season... but the stars of '59 flipped, flopped and fizzled in 1960... the only reliable bats belonged to 2B Ralph Varricchio (.385 BA/2 HR/10 RBI/8 R/7 SB) and 1B Alphonse Guidry (.278 BA/4 HR/13 RBI/12 R)... catcher Teebo Chargois (.357 BA/0 HR/2 RBI/8 R/4 SB) looks good stats-wise, but really didn't produce many runs... he got a lot of hits, but they were wasted... Sid Landry (2-6/3.57 ERA) proved to be the most effective hurler on the squad, but he didn't get much run support... the rest of the staff was poor and of little help.
The Littleville Supermen (6-8) tied for 5th place this season, but they were a pretty bad club... don't understand how they won 6 games with a .224 team batting average and just 64 runs... it had to be the pitching staff with a Secondary League-best 4.35 ERA... Billy Daniels (4-5/3.97 ERA) was the prime reason... he apparently kept them in many games, but suffered seriously for run support... you are in trouble when your top hitter is rookie RF Billy Pate (.261 BA/1 HR/10 RBI/5 R/4 SB)... rookie 3B Jay Danley led them with 5 homers, but he batted only .209... 'nuff said... yep, the Supermen are not very super on the diamond... Littleville is only 29-42 in its 6 seasons... '57 was their best at 6-6... '59 was their worst at 4-10.
St. Dominic is a lousy team, yet they came in with 6 wins and only 8 defeats... they have the worst ERA in the Secondary League at 6.32... they are 7th in batting with a lowly .260 BA... and the Saints scored the fewest runs in the league... the only bright spot on the team was Max Rommel (.391 BA/3 HR/10 RBI/8 R)... he also pitched, but suffered with a 5.67 ERA in his 5 starts... Danny Church had the best record with a 3-3 mark, but his ERA was atmospheric at 7.94... next season Church (.333 BA/2 HR/5 RBI/4 R) will be back at shortstop, his normal spot in the lineup... he is a solid fielder and decent bat... the Saints were desparate for pitching and they tried him, but the experiment failed big time.
Finally we come to the team at the bottom of the barrel in the South Island Secondary League - the Pelham Oaks (4-10)... the Oaks can hold their own with the lumber, but they come up way short on the hill... they batted .286 and scored 87 runs, but they allowed 101 runs with a lofty 5.72 ERA... thriving at the plate were catcher Doug Patterson (.375 BA/2 HR/12 RBI/9 R), 1B Bill Chapman (.302 BA/4 HR/10 RBI/12 R) and 2B Chad Worthington (.371 BA/2 HR/9 RBI/10 R)... rookie shortstop and pitcher Wiley Carmichael (.364 BA/1 HR/6 RBI/8 R) did his part with the bat, but he had a tough time on the mound with a 1-2 record in 5 starts and a 5.02 ERA... John Wright (1-2/4.41 ERA) had the best stats in his 3 starts... he pitched in 12 of the team's 14 games... Phil Jacobs (2-2/7.71 ERA) has the best won-lost mark and the worst ERA on the team... and can you believe it?... yep, the Pelham Oaks used to be in the South Island Supreme League... they came in tied for second place in 1955 with a 6-4 record... they lost the pennant by one game to the Jackson Jackalopes... in 1956 Pelham won the Supreme League crown with an 8-2 record... they fell apart in '57, dropped to 3-9 and got demoted to the Secondary League... overall the Oaks are 32-39, but they have not been very successful in the Secondary League... they were much better in the Supreme League... go figure?
