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JANUARY 25, 1954 . . . The following players have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame:
SP Dizzy Dean 69.9 (1st year)
C Bill Dickey 67.6 (1st year)
SS Arky Vaughan 55.5 (1st year)
SP Tommy Bridges 42.5 (1st year)
SP Guy Bush 33.8 (1st year)
CL Johnny Murphy 32.1 (1st year)
C Rick Ferrell 29.4 (1st year)
SP Johnny Allen 26.4 (1st year)
CF Wally Berger 23.1 (1st year)
1B Frank McCormick 22.1 (1st year)
SP Larry French 19.1 (1st year)
SP Claude Passeau 15.7 (1st year)
SP Bump Hadley 15.1 (1st year)
C Frankie Hayes 11.4 (1st year)
SP Thornton Lee 10.4 (1st year)
SP Bill Lee 10.0 (1st year)
CF Doc Cramer 8.7 (1st year)
RP Clint Brown 8.7 (1st year)
SP Curt Davis 8.4 (1st year)
1B Rudy York 7.7 (1st year)
FEBRUARY 15, 1954 . . . Baseball’s so close I can smell the popcorn and pine tar! Our owner is very heppy with the direction I’ve taken the team in the offseason, and he’s boosted our budget to $1.8 million and he’s recommended we put more money into our draft budget for next year, which after the Aparicio fiasco I can understand. I still don’t think he was worth giving away a ton of money over, but I’ll be glad to have a more solid budget in place for next year’s draft.
Meanwhile, our schedule for the upcoming season is now official, and we know we’ll be opening the season with a game at St. Louis on April 13, followed by a game against Cincy here at home on April 15. Fans are already snapping up tickets for the July 4th double-header against St. Louis here at Wrigley, and I’m told that fan interest in our upcoming season is particularly high with season ticket sales projected to be up nearly 28 percent over last year!
APRIL 12, 1954 . . . We’ve made it through Spring Training, and it’s been two months of finally getting to see how our roster is shaping up after all the changes I’ve made since taking over as General Manager. Russ Snyder has arrived as a prospect well above early expectations, easily one of the top ten prospects in the league ... he performed well enough during the March and early April training games that he’ll be starting out at AA Cedar Rapids, with potential to move up quickly if he performs well.
Here’s our pitching rotation as we get things started:
SP - Warren Hacker
SP - Johnny Klippstein
SP - Herb Score
SP - Saul Rogovin
SP - Karl Drews
Long/Spot - Robert Diehl
Middle - Steve Nagy
Setup - Frank Smith
CL - Sandy Consuegra
Our starting lineup heading into Opening Day looks like this:
1 - Dee Fondy (1B)
2 - Frank Baumholtz (LF)
3 - Wilie Mays (CF)
4 - Ernie Banks (SS)
5 - Hank Sauer (RF)
6 - Elston Howard (C) -- last year at AAA: .311/.369/.520, 28 doubles 9 triples 19 homers 74 RBIs
7 - Gene Baker (2B) -- last year at AAA: .287/.364/.449, 16 doubles 4 triples 8 homers 30 RBIs
8 - Woody Smith (3B) -- last year at AAA: .302/.350/.477, 14 doubles 5 triples 5 homers 34 RBIs
Cavarretta’s contact and eye have improved markedly, but his defensive ability has taken a hit as he’s aged, and I no longer feel comfortable having him as an everyday player. He’ll make a magnificent pinch-hitter, and if that role doesn’t suit him we may consider using him in a trade package. Starting three new young players will be good for their development and the fans are going to love seeing the faces of the future. And Clyde McCullough will still get opportunities to start as catcher even at 37, though cerainly far less frequently. He’s starting to wear down physically which makes pinch-hitting a better fit for him as well as filling in as a starter only on occasion. Kenneth Chapman will be our backup second baseman, with 26-year old Robert Ludwig as a backup option at shortstop and third base. Jack Graham is an aging option as a backup to Baumholtz, but I consider it more likely that Russ Snyder may come up later in the season periodically to fill that role when needed ... I’d rather give the young player some opportunities to see major league pitching if it can speed his development. Carmen Mauro, Ron Northey and Earl Rapp will also be available as part of our 26-man roster off the bench.
Expect me to be more hands-on in deciding on potential call-ups than our previous GM, as I still expect to maintain my job as a full-time manager as well.
Who’s ready for opening day?
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