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Old 05-27-2005, 01:12 AM   #4562
Matt from TN
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: In a funk....
Posts: 3,413
1956 Offseason News

R.W. Jones stepped down as GM of the Athletics citing an inability to agree with other senior members of the team over what direction to take the roster. They promoted assistant GM Eric Andrews into the role, and Jones was quickly snatched up by the Braves. Jones is widely considered one of the premier GM's in the league after building the 1951 WS champions and maintaining a fine farm system. The A's futher cleaned house by firing Adam Phelphs and bringing home A's HOF'er Jerry "Slap" Hertzog, a year removed from managing the Pirates.

The Red Sox also made a managerial change, bringing in Arden Killbreath who was key in developing most of the current Tigers players into the 4-time champions they would become. After 7 seasons in Detroit, Killbreath left with the 3rd best winning percentage of all time (602-476, .558, 1 pennant). That percentage will certainly plummet in Boston.

In The News

December 5th: HOF'er David Wickersham was found dead at his home outside of Milwaukee. The 48-year-old former pitcher died from carbon monoxide poisoning after falling asleep inside a running car inside his garage. Wickersham finished his career with 376 wins and 3098 K's which today rank 4th and 3rd all-time.

Is carbon monoxide correct?

January 11: HOF pitcher Bowie Castellon died shortly after midnight in a Chicago hospital after suffering kidney failure. According to doctors, his kidneys had given him trouble for years and the problem had worsened over the past month. Castellon's 2.52 career ERA ranks 7th all-time. He was 77.

March 19: Continuing a sad offseason for baseball, yet another HOF pitcher passed away. Mark Krosser, the first great Phillies pitcher who played in the early 1900s with Dark Horse Allen, passed away in his sleep at his home outside of Washington DC. The cause of death was ruled to be heart failure. His career 2.50 ERA ranked just ahead of Castellon's at 6th all-time, and he too was 77.


Hall of Fame

Three players were elected to the HOF in 1956:


Frank Smith
, SP
Cap: Dodgers
Inducted: BBWAA 100.0%
Teams: Brooklyn N.L. 1928-1944, 1946-1950
Plaque: Smith had a long and successful career, playing 23 years and collecting a major league record 446 wins and 3407 K's. He went to 5 WS with Brooklyn, winning two of them. He also won an astounding 9 POY Awards, as well as the 1928 NL ROY Award. He led the NL in ERA 8 times and finished 2nd or 3rd an additional 8 times. Along with retiring at #1 all-time in wins and K's, he also finished with a 2.74 ERA (14th All-Time), 415 CG (17th All-Time) and 71 shutouts (4th All-Time).



David "Pops" McAuliffe
, 3B
Cap: Cubs
Inducted: BBWAA 85.0%
Teams: Chicago N.L. 1923-1945
Plaque: David was the 1923 NL ROY, and he went on to become one of the steadiest players in Cubs history. He won 3 GG's and helped bring the Cubs a WS title in 1938. He had one of the most quietly successful careers in memory, collecting 3525 hits (3rd Most All-Time), a .300 average, 596 doubles (7th All-Time), 177 homeruns, 1570 RBI (15th All-Time), 1522 runs (24th All-Time), 846 walks, 155 steals and a .769 OPS.



Jason Tedford
, 2B
Cap: Cubs
Inducted: VC
Teams: Chicago N.L. 1901-1910
Plaque: Tedford played just 10 seasons since he was 30 when the league started in 1901. He still made enough of an impression that the veteran's committee saw fit to enshrine him in Cooperstown. In those 10 seasons, Tedford won 2 BOY Awards and one batting title.He also retired with 1432 career hits (24th All-Time) and a .322 average (5th All-Time). He also won the 1905 World Series with the Cubs.
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