March-April, 1946
* * *
The next few months til' baseball season blazed by. The newspapers were full of stories about the black teenagers and when they were going to get to the majors. I saw them both play in spring training and in my opinion they were at least two years off. I wondered, though, if either team would wait that long if the press coverage continued non-stop as it currently had.
Before I took over our owner had managed to snag Cliff Waldron to be our new manager. Cliff, who had spent eight seasons in the majors as a player, had been fired in the offseason by the Pittsburgh Rebels after a contract dispute. Cliff was something of a dinosaur in today's baseball world; he was an advocate of the running game due to his days as a deadball era first baseman. The problem was pretty much every team was just trying to put men on and swat home runs these days. The stolen base was seen as a trick play, much like the hit and run, and not something to rely on as part of an offensive attack. Still I figured Cliff would be a decent fit, since he'd won the Columbia Series before, and if not managers are pretty damn easily replaceable.
He managed a respectable spring training. Our team put up a 12-12 record which, while it didn't mean much, was a promising sign for things to come. Nonetheless the papers remained less than impressed, picking us to finish seventh of eight. Baseball Monthly, the one media publication worth a damn when it comes to baseball, had its picks as follows:
Federal League
1. Philadelphia White Sox
2. New York Metros
3. Cincinnati Redbirds
4. Boston Indians
5. Chicago Colts
6. Brooklyn Atlantics
7.
Baltimore Bombers
8. Detroit Robins
United League
1. Cleveland Green Sox
2. Pittsburgh Rebels
3. Chicago Packers
4. St. Louis Brewers
5. Boston Trolleys
6. Philadelphia Keystones
7. Washington Wasps
8. New York Knights
It seems the poor Keystones can never catch a break from the media or the fans.
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Our 1946 Opening Day Rosters (stats are from previous season)!
CF Pierre Caron was injured on the last day of spring training and will miss a month and a half of playing time. It sucks to lose him, but it gives both Washington and Tegliacci a chance to prove themselves against big league pitching.