[Tiger Fan]

MAY 23, 1949

RED CAPS SWEEP FBL CHAMPIONSHIP IN STYLE

In a display of hardwood mastery, the Brooklyn Red Caps left no room for doubt, sweeping aside the Detroit Mustangs to claim the Federal Basketball League championship. The echoes of this triumph reverberate beyond the court, resonating with the league's transformation and the strained friendship between Red Caps owner Daniel Prescott and FBL founder Rollie Barrell.

The basketball landscape underwent seismic shifts when several ABC clubs, exercising a constitutional loophole, defected to the FBL and forcing the rest of their loop to join them or fold, uniting 16 teams under one league banner. Prescott's Red Caps, accustomed to clinching titles both on the court in the American Conference that he founded as well as on the baseball diamond with the Brooklyn Kings, now add an FBL championship to their illustrious history.

The Red Caps' journey to this historic triumph involves a narrative of dominance. Having faced the Washington Statesmen in six consecutive ABC finals and winning five, the Red Caps transitioned seamlessly to the FBL, overcoming an initial 2-game deficit against Washington in the semis to string together 8 consecutive victories and secure the title.

The championship series against Detroit was a masterclass, with the Red Caps outscoring the Mustangs 386-304 across four games. The opening salvo, a resounding 98-69 victory at Flatbush Gardens, set the tone. Even Detroit's spirited response in the second game, where the Red Caps secured a 100-88 win, couldn't halt the inevitable.

Shifting the battleground to Detroit for Game Three, the Red Caps, fueled by a visibly exuberant Prescott, surged to a 30-9 lead in the opening quarter, cruising to an 85-62 victory. The final game mirrored the earlier dominance, concluding with a 105-85 scoreline as Ivory Mitchell, a playoff legend, added another 25 points to secure his first FBL playoff MVP award to go with the six top playoff performer trophies he recived while playing in the American Conference.

The Red Caps victory, coupled with the dominant regular seasons Brooklyn and Washington had, illustrates just how far the original Federal League clubs have to go before they can be considered on par with the class of the old American Conference. Rollie Barrell and the Detroit Mustangs learned that firsthand over the past week and a half.

JUMP SHOTS

• Has there ever been a more consistent clutch playoff performer in any sport than Ivory Mitchell? He not only has 7 FBL/ABC playoff MVP awards but also won a collegiate national title as a freshman with Liberty College. Started all 35 games that year and scored a game high 17 points in the 51-36 win over St Ignatius in the title game. He did not win another title at Liberty College but was an All-American as a senior and helped the Bells reach the elite eight two times in his final three seasons. Mitchell still ranks 5th all-time in career AIAA assists.
• Mitchell finished with 2,403 career assists in the American Basketball Conference. Only one other ABC player reached the century mark and that was Michael Fricke, Mitchell's Brooklyn Red Cap teammate, whose 1,113 career ABC assists is less than half of what Mitchell accumulated.
• Despite playing just one season in the now 3-year-old Federal League, Mitchell is already 8th all-time in assists with 647.
• Mitchell is also the ABC career points leader, having amassed 4,727 in his career. He leads in career steals and triple doubles as well.

STALLINGS TOSSES FIRST NO-HITTER IN NEARLY THREE YEARS

Chiefs Young Star Blanks Boston

The Chicago Chiefs have been one of the early surprises of this baseball season and a big reason for that has been the emergence of John Stallings. Great things have been forecasted for the 23-year-old lefthander ever since he was drafted first overall by the Chiefs out of Piedmont University in 1946. Stallings made FABL history last week when he threw a no-hitter, blanking the Boston Minutemen 4-0 on Tuesday. It was the first no-hitter thrown in FABL since another college phenom by the name Eli Panneton tossed one for the New York Stars nearly three years ago. Stallings no-hitter is just the 14th since the dawn of the modern-era in 1926 and the first no-hitter by a Chiefs pitcher in nearly 60 years. You have to go back to 1891 when Jim Dixon tossed one for the Chiefs against the Philadelphia Keystones.

Stallings followed up his gem with a complete game shutout, blanking the Washington Eagles 9-0 on 6 hits. That gave the Chiefs hurler a winning record for the first time since the opening week of the season. Stallings is 4-3 with a 3.21 era on the season.

His performance against Boston was not without its flaws as control continues to be the one thing perhaps holding Stallings back from being considered one of the elite pitchers. He walked 9 Boston batters last Tuesday to run his season total to 30 and place him among the league leaders in that dubious category. Stallings did led the Federal Association in walks two years ago and allowed the second most last season but the control is coming -he did not allow a single free pass in the shutout of Washington yesterday.

When he figures out how to spot his pitches, Stallings could become one of the best pitchers in the Federal Association. It already looks like a terribly lobsided deal that brought him to the Windy City in a draft day trade but if Stallings reaches his full potential it could end up being one of the worst deals -or best, depending upon your perpective- the sport has ever seen. The Detroit Dynamos won the draft lottery and the right to select first overall in the '46 draft but traded down two spots allowing Chicago to select Stallings, who would go on to win the Christian Trophy as the top collegiate player before joining the Chiefs that summer. In return Chicago sent outfielder Dick Blaszak and the third pick, which turned out to be outfielder Tommy Allenby, to the Dynamos. Blaszak, a highly touted slugging outfielder, had suffered a shoulder injury when shot in the Pacific during the war. It appears he will never recover from that wound and now, at the age of 27, is struggling to hit at the AAA level. Allenby, a centerfielder, is 21 and still struggling to make contact a Class A and has fallen out of the OSA top 100 prospect list.

If the Chiefs are going to maintain the hot pace they have set this season, presently 19-13 and just a game and a half back of the New York Gothams for the Federal Association lead, they will rely heavily on Stallings continuing to lead the way.

STARS SLIP CAUSES CONGESTION IN CONTINENTAL

What a difference a week can make! Just seven days ago, the New York Stars were on top of the Continental Association, just like their counterpart Gothams in the Fed. But after dropping six of seven and nine of their last ten, the Stars have crashed down to a tie for fourth. The bats fell flat, with just Bill Barnett (4-18, HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB) producing a weekly WRC+ above 90 (121), while the great Bill Barrett was just 2-for-24 and is now hitting a slightly below average .241/.375/.367 (99 OPS+) since the calendar shifted to May.

This has created congestion in the Continental Association, as five teams are within three games of the first place Foresters, and only the defending pennant winning Sailors (8-25, 12 GB) are more then five out of the lead. Philly themselves snapped a six game losing streak with a double header sweep over the Stars, with Charlie Gordon's 3-hit shutout in the opener and a big showing from Marion Boismenu (3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, 2 2B, SB) in the finale helping the Sailors to secure their 7th and 8th wins of the season.

It won't get any easier for the Stars either, as they will start their week in Cleveland with two against the Foresters starting Tuesday. Off days will allow the teams to reset their rotation as desired, but 36-year-old veteran Jack Wood (4-3, 2.69, 29) is scheduled to face Forester ace Ducky Davis (4-2, 3.00, 23) in the opener, while former Forester Richie Hughes (3-2, 2.59, 24) will take on "The Mad Professor" Adrian Czerwinski (6-1, 3.68, 13) in a battle of pitchers born in the Windy City. Wins here will be important for Cleveland, as after the series they'll head to Cincinnati for four games in three days against the second place Cannons.

On the other side of the association, the Gothams remain atop the Federal Association ladder despite splitting their six games. At 21-12, the Gothams hold a game and a half lead over the Chiefs, who got to witness a 9-walk no-hitter and 6-hit, 0-walk, 8-strikeout shutout from former #1 pick John Stallings (4-3, 3.21, 31). These two have a big double header next Monday in New York, which could end up a nice battle for first. It's expected that the Gothams would be competing, but it's a breath of fresh air for Chiefs fans, who are coming off their first last place finish (61-93, 30 GB) since 1914.

The Chicago Cougars put together their first winning week, taking five of six on the road. The pitching continues to struggle, allowing five or more runs in five of the seven games, but the offense continues to heat up.

Skipper Schneider continues his breakout season at the plate, going 12-for-31 with 3 doubles, a triple, 2 homers, 10 RBIs, and 7 runs. His performance was recognized by the league, as the 10th year vet picked up his first Continental Association Player of the Week. Skipper is now hitting an impressive .315/.408/.465 (137 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 3 homers, and 20 RBIs with an impressive 19-to-6 walk-to-strikeout ratio. Skipper was assisted by his double play partners in the week, with Billy Hunter going 6-for-20 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, and 4 runs scored and driven in while the struggling Clark Car was 5-for-11 with a double, RBI, and 4 runs scored. The Cougars are now tied for 6th with the Wolves, both 4.5 games behind the leading Foresters.

Well a little over 1/5th of the season is in the books, and the Brooklyn Kings are keeping their heads above water. At 19-14 they sit technically in 3rd place just 1 game back of the surprising Cleveland Foresters.

How are the Kings pulling it off, solely based on having the not only the CA’s top offense, but also tops in the entire FABL. It’s been a very balanced attack which of course is led by RF “King” Ralph Johnson. King Ralph might only have 5 home runs so far this year, but he has scored an FABL leading 35 runs and is slashing 374/490/1116 with 24 RBI's. He has been on a hitting tear in his last 19 games hitting 444. His outfield mates of LF Pat Petty, last seasons rookie of the year (343/391/987 4-22) and resurgent CF John Moss (300/420/828 2-12) lead arguably one of the best outfields in baseball. Combined they have scored 82 runs this season. Amazing that 2 of these 3 guys were offered out during the off-season but it could happen again with the youngsters in the system.

With this balanced attack why are the Kings not running away with the CA so far? The answer is simple, pitching. The Kings are 7th in the CA in ERA (6th in runs allowed) and have only outscored their opponents by 10 runs. Which means they are fortunate to be 5 games over 500. #1 SP Bob Arman is only 3-4 with an ERA of 4.27. Not exactly the type of performance so far that you would expect from someone who finished 2nd in the Allen last year. P Rusty Petrick has been demoted to the bullpen after 24 innings of 6.29 ERA and was replaced by rookie P Larry Smith (1-0 2.08 ERA). In Smith's 2 starts he is 1-0 with a 3.00 in 15 IP. Smith will get another turn in the rotation this week and will likely be there for awhile.

Another curious case is that of the King's first rookie of the year, SP Leo Hayden. Hayden was 19-12 with a 2.95 ERA as a rookie in 1946. Since that time he is 26-30 with a 4.59 ERA, including 4-3 with a 4.61 ERA this season. At times he has looked truly sharp like his last outing against Philadelphia last week. He pitched a complete game 6 hitter giving up just 1 run on a home run to LF Harvey Brown (1st of the season). He has also looked completely overmatched like his April 29th drubbing against the Montreal Saints where he went 5.1 IP giving up 7 hits, 5 walks and 9 earned runs. But while everyone hoped that the Hayden we saw in 1947 was just a sophomore slump, it is now expected that this will be Leo Hayden. A roll of the dice back end starting pitcher who likely will never be the true #2 behind Arman the King's management was hoping for.

Finally we look at two rookies, SP Paul Byler and Joe Potts. Potts has been a dream come true for the Kings going 4-1 in 6 starts with a 2.90 ERA. Instead of 3B Ken Newman who is out injured for another week, it might be Potts as the front runner of Kings for what could be their 4th straight rookie of the year player. While Potts has been brilliant over, the same can't be said for fellow rookie Blyer (4-2 6.35 ERA). Blyer has been incredibly wild and is on pace for 191 walks in a season (last week it was 204 pace). If he does walk 200+ he will join only 1 other P in the "modern era", and that is former Boston hurler Dick Higgins who walked 207 in 1939. In taking a closer look at Byler, he is 2-0 in his 2 outings against the Chicago Cougars going 14.1 IP and giving up just an ERA 2.51. In his other outings he is 2-2 with an 8.61 ERA. Good thing there is a game against the Cougars this weekend!

Bottom line, can the King's contend this year? Well with 1st place belonging at current to the surprising Cleveland Foresters, anything can happen. Few people see the surprising Forester staying in the title hunt past the All-Star break, they just don't have the horses to do it. The CA appears wide open so if the Kings can find some stability in its rotation, then they have a strong chance to be a serious factor into September like they were in 1947. If not, then trying to keep their head above 500 might be a challenge.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Wolves Come Home, Go 4-3 Now Approaching .500 --Toronto returns to Dominion Stadium by starting hot with 3 victories, but they did not continue that was as the Wolves dropped 3 of the final 4 games during the week. Playing before a home crowd of 15297, slightly lower than expected, the first home game in May saw the team come out guns ablazin' on Tuesday afternoon as they blanked the New York Stars 11-0 with a 14 hit attack led by Fred McCormick's 4-4 including a double.

George Garrison picked his second win of the season on a 4-hit, 102 pitch complete game shutout. In his last two starts Garrison has lowered his ERA from nearly 6 to under 4. The next afternoon on a cool, clear day fans were given a much a closer game with New York's Vern Hubbard facing Joe Hancock on the mound. The game was tied at 1 heading into the seventh when Hancock ran into a little trouble giving up 2 hits, hitting Bob Riggins, and allowing 2 runs helped out by an errant throw by Chink Stickels trying to nail Newt Cooper at the plate. Hubbard pitched in and out of trouble until the 8th when 2 hits and a walk allowed the Wolves to close the gap to one at 3-2. After Hancock blanked the Stars in their turn at bat in 9, the Wolves came back when, with one out, Manager Barrell sent Frank Brunch to the plate to pinch-hit for light hitting Randy Hendrix.

Bunch responded with a two-base hit in the left center gap. Hal Wood was sent up to hit for Hancock but Hubbard got him on a comebacker to the mound. After walking Stickels, Hubbard was lifted for George Scruggs who immediately loaded the bases by walking Tom Frederick then while pitching with great care to McCormick he uncorked a wild pitch allowing Bunch to tie the game. That was all Toronto could muster as the Wolves left the sacks juiced.

George Waller entered the game to pitch for the Wolves and promptly found himself in trouble when he issued a free pass to Henry Brown followed by a seeing-eye double by Wally Graves. Facing runners on 2nd and 3rd with none out, Waller induced two pop ups to short left, neither deep enough to score Brown. The Wolves reliever then loaded the bases by intentionally walking Bill Barrett before getting Newt Cooper on a fly ball to center. John Perkins came on for the Stars in the 10th and promptly retired both Hank Giordano and John Fast before Charlie Artuso singled through the infield. That brought Hendrix's replacement, Walter Loera, to bat and he lined a single into right center that CF Bob Riggins' throw to try to catch Artuso at 3rd sailed into the Wolves dugout allowing Artuso to walk home with the winning run, 4-3 Toronto.

After the Stars departed the Wolves welcomed Chicago to town. The Wolves again won 4-3 in 10 although not quite in as dramatic fashion as the previous day's game. Hal Wood's double scored Dom Tripp to walk off the Cougars, who left Donnie Jones on the hill the entire game to a take a hard luck loss. In the middle game of the series the visitors got to Harry Stewart, taking Jerry York's spot in the rotation, early and often as they chased him in the fourth leading 6-1 at the time. Toronto attempted to rally, closing the gap to 6-5 with 4 in their half of the 4th highlighted by 3-run blast by Tom Fredrick off Duke Bybee. That was as close as the Wolves would get going down 7-5. The score the next day was the same except this time in 12 innings after the Wolves has tied the game at 5 with 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th. In a game that took 3:40 to play Skipper's Schneider's big fly off Sam Jordan sent fans home from the matinee well after the dinner hour.

The Montreal Saints arrived for a short two-game 1 day series on Sunday. George Garrison won his third straight going into the ninth while surrendering only one run in a 4-1 win. The night cap was entirely different as Manager Barrell elected to give Jerry York the start. That did not work out well as York was lifted after just 3 innings giving up 9 runs on 8 hits, 4 walks in a laugher, 12-3 Saints victory.

Brett learned that immediately after the game York was optioned to Buffalo with John Marsh called up to work out the bullpen. Team officials said that York needs to get right in the minors as staying in Toronto wasn't going to help him at this time. Fred Barrell said "He is struggling in too many areas at present, and needs a little time at AAA to straighten thing out. I would expect him back sometime in June. Johnny Franklin, Dick Dennis, and I all agree that he needs to face a little lower quality of hitter to regain his confidence and control, Buffalo is right place for him at this time."

PORTLAND MAKES A CHANGE IN GWL

Questions Answered by Green Sox GM Layton

Three weeks into the season, the Portland Green Sox made news as they fired their manager, Pedro Valenzuela. The club was coming off a disappointing season in 1948 and started the year 7-12. Some might say that this was a quick hook, while others might say it was long overdue. We will talk with Green Sox GM Pete Layton on why now did he make the change? Here is my interview with the Portland GM.

Farhat - Mr. Layton thank you for taking the time to join me today. It's been two weeks since you made a change at Manager, firing Pedro Valenzuela. Why now did you decide to make the decision?
Layton - Last season was very hard. Hard for the players, coaches, front office and the fans. The fans of this great franchise have seen a lot of good baseball over the years, and the expectation is that the Green Sox will be contenders every season. We have failed in that regard since winning the last GWL title in 1945. Our record was 237-244 and while not horrendous, the standard is higher here in Portland. We had a long off-season, and there was a lot of conversations about the club with team owner Mr. Crosby.

Farhat - So this subject had come up over the off-season on Valenzuela's status.
Layton - Yes and deep down I felt a change should be made. It wasn't the issue that I inherited Pedro, I was very interested in continuing on at the start. But this is a new era in the GWL and while I can take my share of the blame for our lackluster performance, the bottom line is the product on the field. I do not believe we were achieving to our fullest potential. I should have made the move in the off-season and my hesitation might have set us back some this season.

Farhat - So you didn't hesitate after the club's rough start. You promoted Oklahoma City manager Oscar Henderson. Why?
Layton - During the season it is tough to always find a manager, but that wasn't the case this season. While we made the decision to stick with Pedro to start the year, I had talked a lot this off-season with Oscar. We hit it off well, we see things similarly and he has done a tremendous job with the Chiefs (Oklahoma City) in his previous 8 seasons with the club. I had it in my mind that I would give the club a chance to start well and when it didn't I knew what I needed to do.

Farhat - So the club is 7-5 since the change. What are you initial thoughts?
Layton - The club is beginning to play better and is performing more how I would expect. While we are in 6th place on the season, we are still very much alive. We have a big 3-game series at home with the 1st place Houston Bulls and if we can play well and sweep them, then we are just 3 1/2 games back and at 500 on the season.

Farhat - Pitching seems to be the problem so far this year. What is the club doing about that?
Layton - Well we are looking for answers to help with that. We recently signed veteran FABL hurler Bob Walls to a deal and are actively looking at both players in our minor league system and also if there is anything on the open market. Walls will get 2 starts next week at Oklahoma City. We will look at all the options available to us to improve in that market, but with the FABL's stance on player movement with the GWL, that is not an easy task.
Farhat - Good luck the rest of the season Pete and thanks for taking the time on the phone with me today.

If the Green Sox are going to make it an interesting season they are going to have to hope that Henderson has some magic in his management that can turn this pitching staff into something more than it has been. The Green Sox have made changes and so far Roy Montgomery and Mickey Johnson have held their own in the rotation. Layton has to be hoping that Bob Walls has something left so he can replace Mike Lee who has been dreadful this year with a 1-3 7.84 tag line. Maybe young castoff Pete Brown will get a shot in the rotation, but he has never been able to show that he was a big league starter. Then again, some might argue that the GWL is not big league.

• The Philadelphia Keystones won as many games last week (6) as they did the first month of the season. But, Philadelphia is still in last, 8.5 games behind New York.
• John Brinker of the New York Daily Mirror points out that the "Season has been a bit strange so far. Results are all over the place and there's a lot of streakiness. I expect things will settle down, or at least I hope so."
• Clarence Keenan of the St Louis Star-Times on the Pioneers dismal 13-20 start. "It would appear that the Era of Good Feelings is over in St. Louis. This team cannot get out of its own way."
• One does have to wonder if Dee Rose's conviction has any impact on the two-time defending champions performance. No word on a new owner and there are rumours that buyers from outside of St Louis may be interested in moving the team should they purchase it.
• Buddy Long of the New York Gothams recorded career win number 150 this week. A 17-game winner last season, Long is 2-2 so far this year.
  No one is particularly hot in the Federal Association as New York retains its 1.5 game lead.

ROLLIE'S CAGE CREW SCHOOLED BY PRESCOTT FIVE

The dream season for the Detroit cage crew had a nightmare ending when the Ward Messer and the Mustangs were corralled by the Brooklyn Red Caps. Mustangs owner Rollie Barrell has said all along he harbors no hard feelings towards Daniel Prescott after the combative Brooklyn owner and American cage Conference founder lashed out at Rollie- declaring Barrell fully responsible for the demise of Prescott's loop.

Certainly Barrell played a role in that demise, but in the long run it may just prove to be the best thing for the sport as the Federal Basketball League enjoyed a tremendous season. So did the local outfit, at least until they ran into the Red Caps are were clearly outclassed in being swept in the finals. It was about as one-sided as a series can get, with Detroit by an average of more than 20 points per game.

Despite the humiliation of seeing Prescott parade triumphantly around the Thompson Palladium floor with the FBL trophy held high, this was a very successful season for the Mustangs. They had failed to make the playoffs each of the first two seasons in the league, but thanks to the arrival of Messer, the club looks like it may make postseason basketball a Detroit tradition.

Catching up to the Red Caps, and fellow East Division powerhouse Washington, might be another story altogether. But that is the next step for the Mustangs, who made a giant leap forward in the season just concluded.

CLINE ROARS BACK: KO VICTORY OVER COOLEY

Young Heavyweight Sets the Record Straight

In a redemptive display of fistic prowess, Tommy Cline, the once highly touted heavyweight hailing from Clarksville, emphatically reclaimed his status as a rising star in the division. The Tennessee native, fondly known as Tennessee Tommy, had faced a brief setback with consecutive defeats against seasoned opponents Roy Crawford and Mark Fountain. These losses, a stark contrast to his initial 13-fight winning streak, had temporarily diverted the young pugilist from his course toward a coveted title bout with the formidable Hector Sawyer.

The setback against Fountain stung even more as it was later revealed that Cline had soldiered through the bout with a broken thumb, an injury that played a part in keeping him out of the ring since September. The hiatus came to an end last Wednesday in Cleveland when he squared off against Boston Bob Cooley.

Cline, initially cautious about exposing his mended thumb to undue force, started the bout tentatively. However, as the rounds progressed, it became evident that Cline was not only fully recovered but driven by an unwavering determination. A near knockdown in the fourth hinted at the resurgence, and the fifth round would likely have witnessed Cooley tasting the canvas if time had been a bit more generous. The seventh round, however, marked the decisive turning point as Boston Bob found himself staring at the ceiling twice, sealing his fate with the second knockdown.

At 24 years old, Cline appears to have rekindled the flame that once burned so brightly in his early career. The victory over Cooley not only rectified his path but also bolstered his record to an impressive 14-2, with 11 knockout triumphs etched in his ledger. The young heavyweight seems to be steering back on course, once more eyeing a future shot at the title, an opportunity that had briefly slipped from his grasp.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Jun 4- Broad Street Park, Philadelphia: World Middleweight Champ Adrian Petrie (19-1-1) vs Edouard Desmarais (43-2)
• Jun 25- Gothams Stadium, New York: World Heavyweight Champ Hector Sawyer (60-3-1) vs Roy Crawford (29-3)
• Jul 30- Chesapeake Arena, Baltimore: World Welterweight Champ Mac Erickson (19-0) vs Danny Rutledge (17-0)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 5/22/1949

• Ford and the United Auto Workers resumed their peace negotiations -without any Federal mediators- in connection with the strike of 65,000 workers which is now 17-days old.
• General Lucius D. Clay came home this week and told Congress "the only hope for a peaceful world is to encourage the flame of democracy which has been kindled in Germany." Clay spent the last four years staring the cold war in the face as the head of the American section of Berlin.
• Eastern Germany dealt communism a severe blow in Soviet-controlled territory after one-third of the 12 million votes in the single-ballot election were marked "no" for the hand-picked single state candidate.
• American officials charge the Russia is seeking to reimpose a "subtle blockade" of Berlin after word came that some 150 West German trucks were held at Helmstedt on the Soviet zone frontier.
• Berlin dominated the weekend news as well after 12,000 striking railway workers clashed with young Communists, cast in the role of strikebreakers. Trains were set on fire and hundreds were injured in the fighting. Eastern Berlin police joined in and opened fire on the strikers, wounding several.
• Current economy drives in Congress reached out towards the annual Republican-Democratic baseball game, to held next month at Washington's Columbia Stadium. They are considering a proposal to shorten the contest to five innings from its standard of seven.