OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The National Pastime: The United States Baseball Federation rises

KCRoyals15 · 12-12-2024, 04:46 PM

1952

In part due to the disastrous Danny Quinones trade that preceded a seventh-place finish in 1951, Sacramento and Skipper Jr. elected to mutually separate after four seasons, with his 392-408 mark in the California capital being the first stop out of the seven in the Skipper family to result in a losing record or without a league championship.

Humbled for the first time in the family's managing history, Skipper Jr. moved across the mountains to the Denver Bears, trying to breathe life into a franchise in thin air and thin on success.

Two upstarts ruled the Southern Conference with their best seasons as big-league teams. Atlanta won the Eastern League with 100 wins, while Minneapolis took the Western League for the second year in a row, winning a franchise-record 95 games. While Baltimore took the second EL playoff spot with little drama, St. Louis had to hold off hard-charging Kansas City (one game back), and New Orleans (two games) for the second playoff bid.

Meanwhile, the Northern Conference saw an excellent three-team race in the New England League as Manhattan and the Philadelphia A's tied for the pennant, while longtime doormat Boston finished one game shy of their first playoff spot in nearly three decades. Fourth-place New York was even just four games out. The Midwest Association's big story was north of the border, where in just their fourth season in Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs won the pennant, the franchise's first playoff spot in 23 years. Detroit snagged the second MWA berth.

The Maple Leafs' run did not last long, as they met a six-game demise at the hands of Manhattan, as did Philadelphia at the hands of Detroit. Meanwhile, Minneapolis was brushed aside by Baltimore in five games, while Atlanta needed seven games to squeeze by St. Louis.

In the Conference Championships, Manhattan downed Detroit in six games, sending the Yankees on to face the Terrapins, who crushed the Crackers' hopes with a seven-game triumph. Manhattan, though, was too dominant for Baltimore in four-game sweep for the Eastern Baseball Federation title.

For the second year in a row, Hollywood cruised to the Pacific Coast League pennant, setting a franchise record with 128 wins to easily outpace second-place Sacramento. San Francisco finished third(though with only a .500 record), while Portland squeezed into the playoffs in fourth. Spanning two iterations, it was the first time a Portland team had won or made the PCL playoffs since winning the very first PCL pennant in 1900.

The Beavers, though, would not stay too long, as the Stars shined brighter in a six-game semifinal win, while San Francisco pulled a five-game upset over Sacramento. The Twinks then tamed the Seals in the PCL Championship to earn a date for all the marbles.

In a matchup of two of the most successful teams of the past decade, the series lived up to the hype, going the distance. In the end, the Hollywood Stars defeat the Manhattan Yankees, 4-3 as the Stars staked claim to their second National Championship.

28-year-old Philadelphia A's rookie Larry Meyer was instrumental in getting his squad to the postseason, taking home Rookie of the Year and MVP with a strong debut season. Meyer slashed .328/.411/.568 with 175 hits, 102 runs, 23 doubles, 21 triples, 21 homers, 97 RBI, and 21 stolen bases in an excellent all-round season.

Detroit right-hander Steve Moskal had been mostly solid since being acquired from New York in 1949, but the 32-year-old—who would be out of the majors just a year later—saved his best for last, going 19-9 with a North-leading 2.38 ERA over 249.1 innings.

In the South, outfielder Matt Chagnon had a generally solid, if unspectacular 18-year run in Newark. However, he put it all together, slasging .320/.414/.589 with 197 hits, a Conference-leading 39 home runs and 105 RBI (all career bests), and 104 runs scored, taking home MVP honors.

It could be argued that Baltimore right-hander Jose Gonzales had a better season the year prior when he won 21 games as a rookie, but in his second year, the 26-year-old went 17-12 with a conference-leading 2.55 ERA, logging 289.1 innings and striking out 167 over a Pitcher of the Year-winning campaign.

Since his arrival in 1946, first baseman Kirby Minthorn had been a consistent cog in the Hollywood machine, but enjoyed some of his finest seasons in the early 50's. Minthorn slashed .341/.422/.480 with a league-leading 252 hits, 132 runs, 36 doubles, 20 homers, and 117 RBI and win what turned out to be the only MVP award of an outstanding 21-year career.

A tragic story reached its apex for Oakland lefty Ryan Gillespie, who in just his second full season as a 22-year-old, went 23-15 with a 2.51 ERA, leading the PCL in innings (344.2) and strikeouts (227), complete games (27), and shutouts (5) to earn Pitcher of the Year. The following June, all those innings caught up to him as his elbow gave out, abruptly ending his career at just 23 years old.

Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Nashville Vols, 94-60, defeats Jackson
Colonial League: Worcester Tornadoes, 83-57, defeats Binghamton (5th straight)
Texas League: Phoenix Firebirds, 84-72, defeats San Antonio
River Valley League: Evansville Bees, 106-34, defeats St. Joseph
Rocky Mountain League: Cheyenne Bulls, 68-58, defeats Ft. Collins
Coastal League: Charleston (SC) Cannons, 92-62 defeat Macon (3rd straight)
Northern League: Sioux City Cornhuskers, 85-55, defeats Cedar Rapids
Great Lakes League: Youngstown Steelers, 81-59, defeats Akron (2nd straight)
Southwest League: San Jose Gulls, 88-66, defeats Santa Barbara
Southern Association: Biloxi Pilots, 90-50, defeats Springfield
Northwest League: Vancouver Mounties, 84-56, defeats Spokane (2nd straight)
Can-Am League: London Braves, 82-44, defeats Utica (2nd straight)
Mid-Atlantic League: Altoona Engineers, 80-60, defeats Asheville
Lone Star League: Laredo Vaqueros, 76-64, defeats Midland-Odessa

12-12-2024, 04:46 PM	#62
KCRoyals15 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: A lot of them Posts: 123	Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars 1952 In part due to the disastrous Danny Quinones trade that preceded a seventh-place finish in 1951, Sacramento and Skipper Jr. elected to mutually separate after four seasons, with his 392-408 mark in the California capital being the first stop out of the seven in the Skipper family to result in a losing record or without a league championship. Humbled for the first time in the family's managing history, Skipper Jr. moved across the mountains to the Denver Bears, trying to breathe life into a franchise in thin air and thin on success. Two upstarts ruled the Southern Conference with their best seasons as big-league teams. Atlanta won the Eastern League with 100 wins, while Minneapolis took the Western League for the second year in a row, winning a franchise-record 95 games. While Baltimore took the second EL playoff spot with little drama, St. Louis had to hold off hard-charging Kansas City (one game back), and New Orleans (two games) for the second playoff bid. Meanwhile, the Northern Conference saw an excellent three-team race in the New England League as Manhattan and the Philadelphia A's tied for the pennant, while longtime doormat Boston finished one game shy of their first playoff spot in nearly three decades. Fourth-place New York was even just four games out. The Midwest Association's big story was north of the border, where in just their fourth season in Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs won the pennant, the franchise's first playoff spot in 23 years. Detroit snagged the second MWA berth. The Maple Leafs' run did not last long, as they met a six-game demise at the hands of Manhattan, as did Philadelphia at the hands of Detroit. Meanwhile, Minneapolis was brushed aside by Baltimore in five games, while Atlanta needed seven games to squeeze by St. Louis. In the Conference Championships, Manhattan downed Detroit in six games, sending the Yankees on to face the Terrapins, who crushed the Crackers' hopes with a seven-game triumph. Manhattan, though, was too dominant for Baltimore in four-game sweep for the Eastern Baseball Federation title. For the second year in a row, Hollywood cruised to the Pacific Coast League pennant, setting a franchise record with 128 wins to easily outpace second-place Sacramento. San Francisco finished third(though with only a .500 record), while Portland squeezed into the playoffs in fourth. Spanning two iterations, it was the first time a Portland team had won or made the PCL playoffs since winning the very first PCL pennant in 1900. The Beavers, though, would not stay too long, as the Stars shined brighter in a six-game semifinal win, while San Francisco pulled a five-game upset over Sacramento. The Twinks then tamed the Seals in the PCL Championship to earn a date for all the marbles. In a matchup of two of the most successful teams of the past decade, the series lived up to the hype, going the distance. In the end, the *Hollywood Stars defeat the Manhattan Yankees, 4-3* as the Stars staked claim to their second National Championship. 28-year-old Philadelphia A's rookie Larry Meyer was instrumental in getting his squad to the postseason, taking home Rookie of the Year and MVP with a strong debut season. Meyer slashed .328/.411/.568 with 175 hits, 102 runs, 23 doubles, 21 triples, 21 homers, 97 RBI, and 21 stolen bases in an excellent all-round season. Detroit right-hander Steve Moskal had been mostly solid since being acquired from New York in 1949, but the 32-year-old—who would be out of the majors just a year later—saved his best for last, going 19-9 with a North-leading 2.38 ERA over 249.1 innings. In the South, outfielder Matt Chagnon had a generally solid, if unspectacular 18-year run in Newark. However, he put it all together, slasging .320/.414/.589 with 197 hits, a Conference-leading 39 home runs and 105 RBI (all career bests), and 104 runs scored, taking home MVP honors. It could be argued that Baltimore right-hander Jose Gonzales had a better season the year prior when he won 21 games as a rookie, but in his second year, the 26-year-old went 17-12 with a conference-leading 2.55 ERA, logging 289.1 innings and striking out 167 over a Pitcher of the Year-winning campaign. Since his arrival in 1946, first baseman Kirby Minthorn had been a consistent cog in the Hollywood machine, but enjoyed some of his finest seasons in the early 50's. Minthorn slashed .341/.422/.480 with a league-leading 252 hits, 132 runs, 36 doubles, 20 homers, and 117 RBI and win what turned out to be the only MVP award of an outstanding 21-year career. A tragic story reached its apex for Oakland lefty Ryan Gillespie, who in just his second full season as a 22-year-old, went 23-15 with a 2.51 ERA, leading the PCL in innings (344.2) and strikeouts (227), complete games (27), and shutouts (5) to earn Pitcher of the Year. The following June, all those innings caught up to him as his elbow gave out, abruptly ending his career at just 23 years old. Minor League Champions Southeastern League: Nashville Vols, 94-60, defeats Jackson Colonial League: Worcester Tornadoes, 83-57, defeats Binghamton (5th straight) Texas League: Phoenix Firebirds, 84-72, defeats San Antonio River Valley League: Evansville Bees, 106-34, defeats St. Joseph Rocky Mountain League: Cheyenne Bulls, 68-58, defeats Ft. Collins Coastal League: Charleston (SC) Cannons, 92-62 defeat Macon (3rd straight) Northern League: Sioux City Cornhuskers, 85-55, defeats Cedar Rapids Great Lakes League: Youngstown Steelers, 81-59, defeats Akron (2nd straight) Southwest League: San Jose Gulls, 88-66, defeats Santa Barbara Southern Association: Biloxi Pilots, 90-50, defeats Springfield Northwest League: Vancouver Mounties, 84-56, defeats Spokane (2nd straight) Can-Am League: London Braves, 82-44, defeats Utica (2nd straight) Mid-Atlantic League: Altoona Engineers, 80-60, defeats Asheville Lone Star League: Laredo Vaqueros, 76-64, defeats Midland-Odessa Last edited by KCRoyals15; 12-12-2024 at 04:48 PM.