June 16, 1946: Chicago, IL:
Harry Barrell was frustrated. It was uncharacteristic of him, as he had always been relaxed and laid-back. His "real" return to the FABL (he refused to count his brief appearance at the end of 1945 after being discharged from the Army) hadn't gone as planned. By his standards, he had gotten off to a terrible start. Bobby had been shot in the arm, and somehow that had made him even better. Meanwhile, Harry, who had spent years playing baseball in the Army, felt like he wasn't getting the opportunities he deserved.
Sitting in the visitor's clubhouse at Whitney Park, Harry clutched his bat tightly, hoping for that one hit that would bring him to his milestone of 2,000 hits. Harry believed his teammates weren't aware of his current count, at least until Buddy Schneider told him, "Don't press, Harry. It'll come." It wasn't like he was in a slump; he just felt like he wasn't given the chance to prove himself. Being part of a three-way shortstop platoon with Lew McClendon and Buddy was infuriating. If he were his brother Tom, he would have stormed into manager Bill Boshart's office long ago, demanding to start every day and maybe even throwing things around. But that wasn't Harry's style.
With a heavy sigh, Harry stood up and walked over to the wall, examining the lineup. A smile crossed his face when he saw his name written in Boshart's neat scrawl, "Barrell, SS," in the number eight spot. The eighth spot stung a bit, but Harry was a realist. He knew he needed to regain the confidence of his skipper.
Al Miller was starting on the mound for the Chiefs, and Harry wasn't particularly fond of facing pitchers like him. Miller was tall, fast, and had great movement on his pitches. Fortunately for Harry, Miller threw right-handed, and Harry, a left-handed hitter like his brother Bobby, had that slight advantage. Nevertheless, he knew it would be a tough battle.
Harry got his first chance against Miller in the top of the second inning. The Minutemen had taken a 1-0 lead thanks to a sacrifice fly by Buddy Schneider. Miller had struck out Bill Burkett to start the inning, and Jiggs Jackson had reached base on an error. Harry stepped into the batter's box, and Miller delivered a fastball on the outer half. Eager as he was, Harry made contact, but it resulted in a routine fly ball to center field that was easily caught by Bill May, his former teammate in Brooklyn. 0-for-1.
It took a while before Harry had his next at-bat. Both teams had exchanged 1-2-3 innings, and then the Chiefs launched a relentless attack on Boston pitcher Johnny Harry. Seven consecutive batters reached base, and the Chiefs scored six runs in the inning. Finally, Bill May grounded out to Buddy, allowing the Minutemen to record an out, but the damage was done. Two more singles followed, and the score was 7-2 in favor of the Chiefs before Johnny Harry was replaced on the mound. Tom Martin entered the game, and Bob Martin hit a ground ball to Harry, who made a routine play, flipping the ball to Buddy at second base for the final out of the inning.
In the top of the fifth inning, with the Minutemen trailing 7-2, Harry stepped up to the plate again. He swung at the first pitch, fouling it off as his timing was slightly off. He took two balls from Miller, reminding himself to stay patient and wait for a good pitch to hit. With a 2-1 count, Miller threw a change-up, resulting in a weak ground ball to first baseman Ron Rattigan, who made the play unassisted. 0-for-2. The Minutemen managed to score a run in the inning, cutting the Chiefs' lead to 7-3.
In the top of the sixth inning, Harry had another opportunity as the Minutemen attempted to stage a rally. After Buddy grounded out, Billy Dalton hit a double, and Burkett grounded out, advancing Dalton to third. Then Tom Martin, the pitcher, surprised everyone with a double of his own, driving in Dalton and making the score 8-4. With two outs and a runner in scoring position, Harry faced Miller for the third time. Fueled by frustration, Miller struck out Harry on four pitches. 0-for-3.
It wasn't until the ninth inning that Harry would have another chance. By then, the Chiefs held a commanding 12-4 lead, and Miller was in line for the win. Burkett led off the inning with a single against Dick Higgins, and Joe Watson pinch-hit for Tom Martin and also singled. With no outs and runners on first and second, Harry stepped up to the plate. Higgins, a former teammate of Harry's, delivered the first pitch, which was a ball. Harry remained patient and took another ball, widening the count to 2-0. Higgins managed to paint the corner with his next pitch, making it 2-1. Another ball followed, bringing the count to 3-1. Harry hadn't swung his bat yet. He knew Higgins had to throw a strike, and he did. Harry fouled the pitch back into the screen, filling the count at 3-2. On the next pitch, Harry made contact, hitting a ground ball that was slowly making its way toward center field. Freddie Jones, the Chiefs' second baseman, fielded the ball, stopped, and made an off-balance but accurate throw. Harry, giving it his all, beat the throw. Bases loaded, no outs, and hit number 2,000 for Harry. First base coach Hank Dishman slapped Harry on the back, congratulated him, and quickly refocused on the game. Harry understood. Despite the Minutemen's effort to score five runs in the inning, it wasn't enough, and they ultimately lost 12-9 in a wild contest.
With the loss, the Minutemen fell to 35-25, remaining one and a half games behind the first-place Keystones, who had also lost. Bobby, struggling in his own right, had gone 0-for-4, lowering his average to .191 with only eight home runs halfway through the season. Harry almost felt sorry for his brother, but Bobby and his Keystone teammates were chasing a third straight pennant, and the Minutemen were determined to put an end to their streak.
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Harry Barrell, Boston Minutemen, 1946
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