Fictional History of Baseball - Page 2

Tiger Fan · 05-23-2015, 09:21 PM

MARCH 29, 1939
SCOUTING TRIP TO HAWAII

Went to Hawaii to watch the Islanders host the Dakota Loggers in Western Academy League action. The Islanders are first in the Pacific League with a 47-11 record while the Loggers are 18 games off the pace at 29-29, tied with Oregon for 3rd place. It is one of just two games on the Western Academy schedule today but the main reason I am here is to watch John Finley pitch. Finley is off to an 11-0 start this season and is making a case to be a first round draft pick in June. I will also get to see Sam Fuller, the Islanders slugging outfielder, in action as well.

Finley pitches 7 strong innings, leaving with a 4-1 lead and allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run. His command is good as 74 of his 104 pitches are strikes but he tops out in the high 80s so velocity might be a concern. He looks good at the plate as well, hitting 3 balls well including one for a second inning single to plate the game's first run. In the end he leaves with a no decision as Hawaii reliever Joe Moore gets lit up for 6 runs (5 earned) in an inning and two-thirds work and the Islanders fall 7-6.

Fuller has little opportunity to do much as the Loggers respect his power and pitch around him all day. He draws a pair of walks and hits two sharp ground ball outs.

Islanders first baseman Montrel Buenaventura catches my attention, ripping 3 hits including his 16th homerun of the season. Born in Italy, but grew up in California, he is draft eligible and might be a player to consider with a later pick. He is batting .330 with 16 homers and 67 rbi's but I have to remember this is a hitters park and he is likely seeing a lot more good pitches batting in front of Fuller than he might normally get on a different team.

For the Loggers, catcher Amos Forlines is a player to keep an eye on. He had 3 hits in the game and is third in the Pacific League in batting with a .354 average on the season. He is not strong defensively and a slow runner but does have some power potential.

MAJOR LEAGUE NEWS

From Florida I receive word the Athletics doubled the Red Sox 6-3 in spring action to improve their record to 6-5. Veteran George Flack started on the mound and pitched 4 solid innings, allowing just 1 run. Infielder Asa Garcia, a 27 year old who hit .253 in 111 games as a rookie with the A's last year, led the offense with 2 hits including a double and a pair of rbi's. We held Red Sox slugger Frank Thomas to a pair of fly ball outs and a walk in the game.

In other action
Cleveland hammered Washington 7-0
The Yankees dropped Detroit 10-1
St Louis Browns trimmed the White Sox 3-2
Cardinals beat the Cubs 6-2
Giants blasted the Boston Braves 10-1
Pittsburgh downed Brooklyn 5-3
and the Phillies pounded Cincinnati 9-1.

BRAVES KMIECIK MAY MISS START OF SEASON
Boston Braves star outfielder Dan Kmiecik hurt his shoulder in a 10-1 loss to the New York Giants and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. The 31 year old hit .325 with 7 homers and 88 rbi's for the Braves last year, his 10th season with the club. He won the National League MVP award in 1932 and again 2 years later.

ACADEMY LEAGUE NEWS

DRAFT PROSPECT O'BRIEN SIDELINED UNTIL JULY
Chick O'Brien expressed disappointment but also relief after finding out he would be out 4 months with torn ankle ligaments he suffered on 03/25/1939. Speaking to a reporter at the team's clubhouse, O'Brien, the Carolina King's center fielder said, "Based on how bad it hurt, I was worried I would be out a lot longer."

This season O'Brien is hitting .338 with 4 home runs. O'Brien was recently named the 5th best prospect available in the initial Draft Rankings.

NORTHEAST ACADEMY PITCHER SHINES

At Moles Ballpark today the Chatham Anglers blitzed the Falmouth Commodores 10-0 in Cape Cod League play thanks to a route-going gem by Hardy Hoffman. He blanked them on a 6-hitter and had 4 strikeouts in the contest. Despite still being just 15 years old Hoffman has posted a 10-4 mark in 16 starts this season and has a 2.83 ERA. The victory made Hoffman the league's first 10 game winner this season and moved the Anglers to within 1 game of idle Brewster atop the Cape Cod League standings.

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	NORTHEAST ACADEMY STANDINGS
CAPE COD LEAGUE		 W  L  GB	
Brewster Whitecaps	33 27   -
Yarmouth Red Sox	32 27  0.5
Chatham Anglers		32 28  1.0
Cotuit Kettlers		31 28  1.5
Bourne Braves		31 29  2.0
Harwich Mariners	28 32  5.0
Hyannis Harbor Hawks	26 33  6.5
Falmouth Commodores	25 34  7.5

METRO NY LEAGUE		 W  L  GB
Queens Monarchs		35 24   -
Brooklyn Bees		35 25   0.5
Long Island Ducks	31 29   4.5
Bronx Bombers		31 29   4.5
Staten Island Ports	30 29   5.0
Yonkers Bears		26 33   9.0
Manhattan Pigeons	25 34  10.0
Coney Island Tigers	25 35  10.5

Tiger Fan · 05-24-2015, 01:11 AM

MARCH 30, 1939
PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS PITCHING PREVIEW

Here is a closer look at the depth chart throughout the organization for my Philadelphia Athletics. The image below lists all of the pitchers under contract and where the players are presently assigned. Stats are shown for last year at the level the player currently is at. The AA Toronto Maple Leafs, for example, show no pitchers at this time because they are all presently either on the 40 man roster and at the big league camp or are listed as with AAA San Diego or Class A Houston at this time.

Our rotation is desperately awaiting the arrival of Tom Priest, the number one prospect in the organization. Priest split each of the past 2 seasons between short A Dubuque of the Midwest League and Class A Houston of the Texas League. He is 23 now and a veteran of 3 and a half minor league seasons so I expect he will quickly be promoted to Toronto and may be a September call-up to the big leagues.

Other than Priest the only other starting pitchers with potential are a pair of youngsters in Dubuque. 21 year old Masao Tanabe was 6-6 in the rookie league before moving to Dubuque late last season. Monte Beasley was a 7th round pick last year and made one start with the short-A Packers after going 3-3 in 12 starts in the rookie league. Neither are considered top of the rotation prospects and both are still about 3 years away.

40 MAN ROSTER
Jim Thayer would be the closest thing we have to an ace but the second round pick in 1932 is probably more suited to being a number 3 starter in the majors. Made his major league debut in 1936 going 2-1 with 3.68 era in 16 relief appearances. Started 1937 in AA Toronto but was promoted in June and pitched primarily out of the pen, finishing with an 8-10 record with 4 saves and a 3.22 era. Last year Thayer spent the entire season in the Athletics rotation, leading the team with 16 wins.

Bill Coon used to be the ace of the staff and was named the top pitcher in the American League in 1935 when he went 19-13 with a 2.92 era. He dipped to 11-21 5.13 era the following season before going 15-12 with a 4.81 era in 1937. He hurt his arm late in the 1937 season and missed his final 3 starts. Last year he lasted less than 3 innings as he blew out his shoulder in his first start and was done for the year. He has not yet recovered all of his velocity following the surgery and some question if he will ever be the same pitcher he was before the injury.

32 year old Emmett Pisano finally got his chance to pitch regularly in the majors last season after 5 years of spending most of his time in AAA. He was acquired from the Giants midway through the 1933 season. He worked on perfecting a knuckle-curve last season but his best pitch remains his forkball.

34 year old George Dill has spent the past 5 years in the A's rotation but is 93-129 as a starter. He lost 20 games each of the past 2 seasons. Bottom of the rotation guy at best.

36 year old George Flack once went 7-27 in a dismal season with the Detroit Tigers but has pitched for 4 different major league teams in the past 4 years. He was signed by the A's last April after being let go by Detroit for the second time and was 10-5 with a 4.62 era in 24 starts.

Cy Tinger will be given a shot to make the A's rotation based on his strong showing after being recalled from AAA San Diego in August. The 33 year old went 5-0 with a 3.30 era in 5 starts down the stretch. He was a 10th round pick in 1925 by the White Sox and has been released by more minor league teams than one would care to count. The Athletics signed him in June of 1934 and he worked his way up the system, even winning AAA Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year honours in 1938 when he went 17-11 with a 3.31 era for the Padres. He also won pitcher of the year in the Short-A Midwest League back in 1930 when he went 11-1 with a 2.87 era for the Burlington Bees (Boston Braves farm club)

As for the bullpen, the A's will have to rely on George Thurston, Tom Stern and lefthander Buck Parham.

Tiger Fan · 05-24-2015, 02:15 AM

MARCH 30, 1939
PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS POSITION PLAYER REVIEW

The Athletics have a great young shortstop and some outfield talent but there are some real needs everywhere else and little immediate help as the only prospects with real potential are at least a couple years away.

CATCHING: 21 year old prospect Paul Collins is the catcher of the future. He was drafted 5th overall in 1937 and won a gold glove at Short A Dubuque last year - his first full season as a pro. He has outstanding power potential and hit .327 in 10 games with Houston last year. Might start the year with the Class A Buffaloes but is still at least 2 years from the majors.

Until then the A's will have to rely on Marty Carey behind the plate. The 29 year old was MVP of the Class AA Eastern League with Toronto in 1934 and a PCL all-star with San Diego the following season. Made the majors for good in 1935 and has improved his batting average each of the past 3 seasons.

1ST BASE: Asa Garcia and Joe Wiederholt will likely platoon at the position again. Garcia has some power potential and has just 1 full season in the majors under his belt. The veteran Wiederholt played for the Cubs and Yankees before joining the A's in 1936. He is good enough defensively to play second base or even shortstop in a real pinch but lacks the batting skills to be an everyday player.

21 year old Lawrence Visser, a 3rd round pick in 1936 and a former Florida Academy League player of the year is a mid-level prospect.

2ND BASE: Hick Perks has played second base for the A's for the past 6 seasons and won a gold glove in 1934. No power, but he is a decent contact guy and has some speed. There are no real prospects worth mentioning at second base but young shortstop Leech Fritze could be moved to second since his path to the majors is blocked by Vince Craft.

3RD BASE: Wild Bill Gillen is still learning on the job but is a solid leadoff man and provides a decent glove at the hot corner. Still just 25 years old, he was drafted out of the San Francisco Miners Academy League program 3rd overall in 1933. Hit .254 in his first full season with the A's 2 years ago and improved all of his numbers last year.

Kitty Todd has played well at AAA San Diego but has not been given the chance to perform at the major league level, getting just 29 games with the A's over the past 3 seasons. However, he hit just .184 in the 76 at bats he was given so maybe you can't blame the A's brass. Dick Martin was added to the rookie league roster over the off-season. He has some potential but the former Ohio State Buckeye was released by Detroit the same season the Tigers drafted him.

SHORTSTOP: 1933 second round pick Vince Craft is the closest thing the A's have to a superstar. He breezed through the minors quite quickly for an Academy League player and made the A's early in the 1936 season. Has played 324 career games and has a career batting average of .315. He may be shifted to second base down the road to make room for the team's best infield prospect in 21 year old Leech Fritze. A first round pick from the Dakota Loggers, Fritze is very good defensively but the question is will he hit enough to be a high end major leaguer.

OUTFIELD: The A's have four solid outfielders in Deivi Alvarez, Bill Wodke, Francisco Martinez and Jim Strickland. Alvarez, who will turn 26 before opening day, is another player who learned the game in San Francisco Miners academy system before be selected 5th overall in 1932. He hit .336 with 18 homers in 1937, his first full season with the A's.

Wodke, a former Metro NY League player of the year with the Long Island Ducks, was taken fourth overall in 1934. He has spent 3 seasons with the A's despite still being just 24 years old. Last year he won a gold glove for his work in right field.

Martinez, the centerfielder, is a 1931 first round pick and has played 3 full seasons with the A's. He is out of the Florida Academy League where he played for the Jupiter Hammerheads.

At 29 years of age, Strickland is the veteran of the outfield. He spells the other 3 and provides a decent bat off the bench. Was a first round pick of Washington in 1929 before being dealt to the A's in 1932.

24 year old Jose Campos is presently at Houston but should make the jump to at least AA Toronto this year. He is the closest outfield prospect to the majors but the best is definitely 20 year old center fielder Jack Bew. Bew was a 3 time Metro NY League all-star with the Long Island Ducks before being taken with the first pick of the second round last year. He hit .349 in 23 games with the A's rookie league team and will begin this season with Dubuque. Last year's third round pick, 20 year old Jack Dillon is also a prospect to keep an eye on.

Here are the position players with their stats from last year for the level they are presently listed at.

Tiger Fan · 05-24-2015, 10:55 AM

MARCH 31, 1939
TIGNER LEADS A'S TO WIN

Cy Tigner allowed just 2 hits in pitching 4 shutout innings to help the Philadelphia Athletics past the Chicago White Sox 3-2. 30 year old George Ruhnke, who made the majors for the first time last season as the A's backup catcher after 8 years in the minors, went 2-for-3 with a 2-run homer to pace the offense.

Boston outfielder Frank Thomas hit his third roundtripper of the season to help the Red Sox trounce Cleveland 9-4. Francisco Bautista, a 34 year old carer minor leaguer fighting to travel north with the Yankees pitched 4 shutout innings for the second time this spring as the Yanks blanked the St Louis Browns 6-0. In the other American League game Detroit won for just the second time in 12 spring games, beating Washington 4-2

Today I am in Oxford, Mississippi to watch pitching prospect George Odom (7-5, 2.59 era) in action as the Rebels host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Neither team is doing well this season and both will certainly miss the College World Series playoffs. First baseman Francisco Salinas, who has 10 homers and is hitting .287 is another draft eligible player from Mississippi to watch.

It should also give me a chance to see Ole Miss catcher John Maly in action for the first time. Maly is not draft eligible until next year but is hitting .349 this season. He is a former Academy player with the Lakeland Pilots. Jimmy Powers, another former Florida Adademy League player, is the top Georgia Tech draft eligible player to watch. The outfielder, who played for the Port Charlotte Anglers, is hitting .327 this season.

GEORGIA TECH 6 MISSISSIPPI 3
I came to watch Mississippi pitcher George Odom but it was Yellow Jackets hurler David Cisneros who stole the show. The senior had a no-hitter for 7 and a third before Rebels outfielder Doug Bishop broke it up in the 8th. Cisneros was not on my draft radar at all as he was 5-8 with a 4.64 era in 17 starts this season but he is a player I will have to watch a little more closely.

As for the man I did come to see, Odom had a terrible game and did not survive the 5th inning after allowing 6 runs on 9 hits.

Other standout NCAA performances today include Notre Dame's John Griggs tossing a complete game 5-hit shutout as the Irish blanked Arizona State 2-0. Stanford junior Luis Ojeda allowed just 4 hits in going the distance as the Cardinals blanked UCLA 6-0.

Here are the NCAA standings as of the end of March. The 3 division winners and one wildcard in each league qualify for the playoffs.

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NCAA STANDINGS

NCAA EAST

ACC		 W  L    GB
Clemson		46 26	  -
Maryland	41 31    5.0
North Carolina	37 35    9.0
NC State	32 40   14.0
Virginia	29 43	17.0
Georgia Tech	26 46   20.0

SEC		 W  L    GB
Georgia		43 29     -
Alabama		41 31    2.0
Tennessee	37 35    6.0
Kentucky	31 41   12.0
Mississippi	28 44   15.0
LSU		28 44   15.0

IVY		 W  L    GB
Harvard		50 22     -
Yale		37 35	13.0
Columbia	37 35   13.0
Dartmouth	36 36   14.0
Brown		36 36   14.0
Princeton	33 39	17.0

NCAA WEST

BIG 6		 W  L    GB
Michigan St	44 28     -
Wisconsin	40 32	 4.0
Ohio State	39 33    5.0
Michigan	37 35    7.0
Minnesota	34 38   10.0
Notre Dame	27 45   17.0

SOUTHWEST	 W  L    GB
Texas Tech	44 28     -
Oklahoma	37 35    7.0
Arkansas	37 35    7.0
Texas		36 36    8.0
Nebraska	36 36    8.0
Arizona State	36 36    8.0

PAC 6		 W  L    GB
Washington St	45 27     -
UCLA		39 33    6.0
USC		32 40   13.0
Oregon State	32 40   13.0
California	28 44   17.0
Stanford	25 47   20.0

CLEMSON SWEEPS NCAA EAST MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS

Clemson Tigers claimed both the pitcher and hitter of the month awards for March. Senior pitcher Caleb Webber was named the NCAA East top pitcher for the month of March. The New York native, who missed all of his sophomore campaign with a shoulder injury, was 5-1 in 7 starts this past month. On the season he is 11-5 with a 2.96 era for the Tigers, who presently sit in first place in the ACC division.

Junior outfielder Tom Lewis was named the top batter after hitting .347 with 7 homeruns and 24 rbi's in March. For the season Lewis is batting .340 in 63 games with 12 homers and 44 rbi's. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, the 21 year old played for the Cape Cod League's Brewster Whitecaps prior to joining the Tigers.

Nebraska 19 year old freshman Jerry Caldwell was named the top pitcher for March in the West. He was 5-1 with a 1.83 era in 8 starts and on the season is 10-6 with a 3.13 era.

The NCAA West hitter award went to Ohio State senior Owen Beard, who posted a.375 batting average with 5 homeruns last month. For the season Beard is hitting .278 with 13 homeruns. The Carrboro, North Carolina native played for the Bradenton Mauraders of the Florida Academy Leagues prior to joining the Buckeyes.

Tiger Fan · 05-24-2015, 04:54 PM

MONDAY APRIL 3, 1939
We are now just 2 weeks away from Opening Day. The A's are coming off a 3-2 loss to Detroit yesterday and now sit at 8-7 for the spring. The rotation is a major concern as most of the staff is struggling, especially Bill Coon who's recovery from elbow surgery is not going well. Coon has made 3 starts, pitching 12 innings, and has an era of 8.25 as his velocity is just not there. Offensively, we are not in too bad shape as SS Vince Craft, 1B Asa Garcia, 3B Wild Bill Gillen and outfielder Deivi Alvaraz are all off to solid starts. Back-up catcher George Ruhnke has been a nice surprise, hitting .400 in the 9 games he has played in.

Around the league the defending pennant winning Yankees and Giants are where you would expect them to be. The Red Sox have struggled a bit but not superstar outfielder Frank Thomas, who has 4 homers and 10 rbi's to go with a .355 average in 13 games. His two likely competitors for the American League MVP and homerun titles have also had good starts to the spring. Yankees outfielder Elgie Vargas has yet to homer in 9 games but is still batting .550 on the spring in 20 at bats. Cleveland third baseman Charlie Mongan, who hit a record 60 homers last season, has 2 in 31 spring at bats so far. He is also batting .387 with 8 rbi's in 14 games.

The biggest surprise player comes from the other Boston team, where 31 year old Braves journeyman outfielder Rennie Avilez has 4 homers and is batting .346 in 26 spring at bats. Avilez has just 6 career homers in 149 major league games scattered over parts of 6 seasons.

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SPRING STANDINGS
AMERICAN 	 W  L		NATIONAL 	 W  L
Yankees		13  2		Braves		10  5  
White Sox	10  5		Giants		10  5
Athletics	 8  7		Pirates		 9  6
Browns		 7  8		Phillies	 8  7
Indians		 7  8		Cardinals	 8  7
Red Sox		 7  8		Reds		 7  8
Tigers		 4 11		Dodgers		 4 11
Senators	 4 11		Cubs		 4 11

NCAA RANKINGS
Washington State is the hottest team in the NCAA as the Cougars have won 7 straight and 9 of their last 10 and have opened up an 8 game lead on slumping UCLA in the Pac6 Division. The Big 6 is the hottest division right now as first place Michigan State is trying to hold off hard charging Wisconsin and Ohio State.

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NCAA WEEKLY TOP 10 RANKINGS (last week in brackets)

1- Washington State		(5)
2- Harvard 			(1)
3- Clemson			(2)
4- Michigan State		(3)
5- Wisconsin			(nr)
6- Ohio State			(nr)
7- Texas Tech			(4)
8- Georgia			(8)
9- North Carolina		(9)
10- Maryland			(6)

dropping out of top 10 were UCLA and Tennessee

TOP 5 BATTING
Andy Sieczka	California	.415
Jimmy Falbo	Yale		.408
Cowboy Ward	Mich St		.403
Art Kelly	Ariz St		.393
Dick Foster	Stanford	.392

TOP 3 HOMERUNS
Charlie Cochran	Texas Tech	14
Al Holland	Texas Tech	14
6 tied with			13

TOP 5 ERA LEADERS
Martin Haskins	  Maryland	1.53
Welcome Newhall	  Georgia	1.65
Charlie O'Reilly  Oklahoma	1.74
Jim Sanicki	  Harvard	1.76
Dave Kemmerer	  Alabama	2.00

TOP 5 WINS
Charlie Gardner	  Harvard	11-3
Abel Smith	  Dartmouth	11-3
Caleb Webber	  Clemson	11-5	
Dewey Sosa	  Clemson	11-5
7 tied with 10

STRIKEOUT LEADERS
Dave Kemmerer	  Alabama	115
George Odom	  Mississippi	106
Bill Andrews	  Wisconsin	 89
Angelo Arias	  Texas		 86
Frank Thompson	  Mississippi	 77

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ACADEMY LEAGUES POWER RANKINGS AND LEAGUE LEADERS
RK  TEAM		LG		Subleague	PTS
1  Hawaii Islanders	Western		Pacific		144.0
2  Palm Beach Cardinals	Florida		Atlantic	141.4
3  Washington DC Chiefs	MidAtlantic	 -		128.3
4  St Louis Arches	Midwest		 -		121.5
5  Fort Wayne Tincaps	Midwest		 -		119.7
6  Daytona Beach Cubs	Florida		Atlantic	113.9
7  Oklahoma Oilers	Western		Desert		111.1
8  Tallahassee Rebels	Florida		Gulf		109.9
9  Yarmouth Red Sox 	Northeast	Cape Cod	108.3
10 Brooklyn Bees	Northeast	Metro NY	108.1

TOP 5 BATTING
Fred Milne	Harwich Mariners	.412
John Engman 	WashingtonDC Chiefs	.408
Sam Fuller	Hawaii Islanders	.380
Nat Hoff	Ft Wayne Tincups	.368
Tommy Rogers	Milford Sandpipers	.363


TOP 3 HOMERUNS
Sam Fuller	Hawaii Islanders	29
M. Buenaventura Hawaii Islanders	16
Tacks Carey 	Palm Beach Cardinals	15
John Ebbing 	Pt Charlotte Anglers	14
Billy Anthony	Key West Conchs		14
John Spear	Austin Marshalls	14


TOP 5 ERA LEADERS
Herman Gober	Oregon Timbers		1.33
Michael Ryan	Fort Wayne Tincups	1.75
John Finley	Hawaii Islanders	1.78
Skyrocket Burke	Bradenton Mauraders	1.78
Pat Hall	Oklahoma Oilers		1.97

TOP 5 WINS
Bill Burns	Palm Beach Cardinals	13-4
John Finley	Hawaii Islanders	11-0
many tied with 10 wins

STRIKEOUT LEADERS
Fausto Perez	Brewster Whitecaps	84
John Beardsley	Falmouth Commodores	81
Michael Ryan	Fort Wayne Tincups	76
John Wood	Panama City Flamingos	75
Marty Pease	Oklahoma Oilers		72

Tiger Fan · 05-25-2015, 10:57 PM

Something weird I will need to adjust for next season. I never noticed it before but the minor league seasons are all starting on April 6th despite the fact that major league spring training does not end until April 11th.

APRIL 6, 1939
The minor league season gets underway today. In AAA there are 5 games including the A's San Diego Padres farm team travelling to Hollywood to play the Stars. The AA Eastern League's Toronto Maple Leafs are home to Syracuse. In Class A, the Texas League's Houston Buffaloes open their season tomorrow in Dallas.

The A's dropped their roster down to 25 players and made some interesting decisions with their top prospects. Pitcher Tom Priest will start the season at AA Toronto and will be the Maple Leafs opening day starter. 21 year old catcher Paul Collins is making the biggest jump after playing just 14 games in full season A ball he has been named the starting catcher for the AAA San Diego Padres. Meanwhile shortstop Leech Fritze moves up to full season A Ball after playing 1 game in Short A last year but the rest of the time was in the rookie league.

MINOR LEAGUE OPENING DAY RESULTS
Collins went 1 for 5 in his AAA debut as the Padres beat Hollywood 9-6. 23 year old outfielder Joe Munday and veteran shortstop Gersham Burns led the way with 3 hits and 2 rbi's each. 35 year old hurler Nate Casey, who has spent most of the last decade with the Padres had a strong start for the victory.

Our top pitching prospect, Tom Priest, did not fare well in his AA debut. Syracuse lit him up for 10 runs and 13 hits in 6 plus innings as the Maple Leafs were hammered 11-4 at home.

APRIL 10, 1939
Just 2 more games left in the spring schedule before teams pack and head north in antipcation of next week's season openers. Not good news for the Athletics, who have lost 8 in a row. At the other end of the spectrum are the St Louis Browns, winners of their last 8.

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	SPRING TRAINING STANDINGS
AMERICAN	W   L	NATIONAL	 W  L
Yankees		16  6	Phillies	14  8
Browns		14  8	Braves		13  9
White Sox	12 10	Giants		13  9
Red Sox		12 10	Pirates		13  9
Indians		10 12	Reds		10 12
Tigers		 9 13	Cardinals	10 12
Athletics	 8 14	Cubs		 9 13
Senators	 7 15	Dodgers		 6 16

There isn't a hotter player in baseball right now than Frank Thomas of the Red Sox. Thomas is batting .391 for the spring with 9 homeruns. No one else has hit more than 4.

The hottest hitter in the Academy Leagues continues to be Hawaii Islanders outfielder Sam Fuller. Fuller had 2 homeruns and 9 rbi's in back to back wins over the California Seals on the weekend. That leaves his season average at .372 with 31 roundtrippers and 86 rbi's...tops in the entire Western Academy Leagues in all 3 categories. The 31st homer tied Fuller with former Utah Star and now New York Giants farmhand Len Butler for the second most ever hit in a Western Academy season. The record is 51 held by Cleveland Indians slugger Charlie Mongan, who set the mark with the Austin Marshalls in 1932.

With 60 games left in the season Fuller has a good chance to catch Mongan for both the single season and career homerun records. Mongan hit 107 homers in his Western Academy career. Fuller presently has 90.

NCAA WEEKLY UPDATE
Georgia is on a 6 game winning streak which helped the Bulldogs move into number one in the weekly college power rankings. The Bulldogs are 4 games ahead of Alabama in the SEC Division. Elsewhere in the East, Clemson has a 6 game lead on Maryland atop the ACC while Harvard, despite winning just 4 of their last 10, still leads Yale in the Ivy Division by 12 games.

Out west, Washington State still enjoys a 6 game lead on UCLA in the PAC6 despite losing 4 of their last 5 and dropping out of the number one ranking. Michigan State is tops in the Big 6, 6 games up on Wisconsin while Texas Tech enjoys a 5 game lead on 3 teams in the Southwest.

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NCAA WEEKLY TOP 10 RANKINGS (last week in brackets)

1- Georgia			(8)
2- Harvard 			(2)
3- Washington State		(1)
4- Michigan State		(4)
5- Clemson			(3)
6- Alabama			(nr)
7- Texas Tech			(7)
8- Maryland			(10)
9- Wisconsin			(5)
10- UCLA			(nr)

dropping out of top 10 were Ohio State and North Carolina

TOP 5 BATTING
Andy Sieczka	California	.414
Jimmy Falbo	Yale		.393
Art Kelly	Ariz St		.393
Dick Foster	Stanford	.387
Cowboy Ward	Mich St		.379

TOP 3 HOMERUNS
Charlie Cochran	Texas Tech	16
Al Holland	Texas Tech	15
Tom Lewis	Clemson		15

TOP 5 ERA LEADERS
Welcome Newhall	  Georgia	1.57
Jim Sanicki	  Harvard	1.63
Charlie O'Reilly  Oklahoma	1.74
Dave Kemmerer	  Alabama	1.88
Willie Doucett	  Harvard	1.90


TOP 5 WINS
Caleb Webber	  Clemson	13-5	
Charlie Gardner	  Harvard	12-4
Abel Smith	  Dartmouth	12-4
Dewey Sosa	  Clemson	12-5
Dave Kemmerer	  Alabama	12-6
Jerry Caldwell	  Nebraska	12-6

STRIKEOUT LEADERS
Dave Kemmerer	  Alabama	126
George Odom	  Mississippi	114
Bill Andrews	  Wisconsin	100
Angelo Arias	  Texas		 88
John Griggs	  Notre Dame	 87

FRITZE PROMOTED TO AA TORONTO

Leech Fritze never got a chance to play a game for Class A Houston in the Texas League before being promoted to AA Toronto. Fritze received word before Friday's Texas League opener to catch a train to Toronto where he was in the lineup for the Maple Leafs as they completed a series with Syracuse. He had 3 hits including a pair of doubles in the opener and is 4-for-12 while playing flawless defense after 3 games.

23 year old pitcher Tom Priest is expected to make his second start against the Skeeters in Jersey City tomorrow.

At AAA San Diego the Athletics other top prospect, 21 year old catcher Paul Collins is struggling. He is 2-for-17 with 4 strikeouts through 4 games. Defensively he is 2-for-6 in caught stealing and has not yet made an error.

The number 4 prospect in the A's system is 23 year old pitcher Tomas Garza. He got shelled pitching for Class A Houston, giving up 10 hits and 4 runs in 5 innings of a 10-1 loss to Dallas.

Tiger Fan · 05-26-2015, 03:47 PM

APRIL 12, 1939
A'S LIMP NORTH WITH 10 GAME LOSING STREAK

Spring training did not finish well for the Philadelphia Athletics, who lost their last 10 games in a row and finish the spring tied with Washington for the worst record in the American League. The Grapefruit season ended with an 8-1 drubbing at the hands of the Senators. Only the struggling Brooklyn Dodgers at 6-18 finished with a worse mark.

It is pitching that is killing the club. Three of the 5 starters had era's over 6.00 and the two counted on to anchor the rotation were awful. Bill Coon was dreadful, allowing 17 earned runs and 25 hits in 20 innings work while George Dill was even worse, surrendering 35 hits and 19 earned runs in 23 innings of action.

Code:


	FINAL SPRING TRAINING STANDINGS
AMERICAN	W   L	NATIONAL	 W  L
Yankees		17  7	Phillies	15  9
Browns		15  9	Pirates		15  9
White Sox	13 11	Giants		14 10
Red Sox		13 11	Braves		14 10
Indians		12 12	Reds		11 13
Tigers		10 14	Cardinals	11 13
Athletics	 8 16	Cubs		10 14
Senators	 8 16	Dodgers		 6 18

PRIEST PITCHES MAPLE LEAFS TO WIN

Philadelphia Athletics top prospect Tom Priest had a much better second start in comparison to his Eastern League debut. Priest allowed just 5 hits and 2 runs over 8 and a third innings to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 6-2 victory over the Jersey City Skeeters in Class AA action. The 23 year old evened his record this season at 1-1. Priest was shelled for 13 hits and 10 runs in his Class AA debut last week. Last year he was 11-6 with a 4.59 era for Class A Houston after beginning the season with Dubuque of the Short-A Midwest League.

goroyals · 05-26-2015, 04:26 PM

Really enjoying this so far, and I agree with with EC said about your talents. Looking forward to seeing the big league club get underway.

Btw, thanks for including Kentucky in the SEC. So many of the other schools have more tradition IRL, here's to hoping for a few titles to justify your decision.

Tiger Fan · 05-26-2015, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goroyals

Really enjoying this so far, and I agree with with EC said about your talents. Looking forward to seeing the big league club get underway.

Btw, thanks for including Kentucky in the SEC. So many of the other schools have more tradition IRL, here's to hoping for a few titles to justify your decision.

Thank you.

It's been a couple of years since I first created this league but if I recall the reason for including Kentucky and some other schools was mainly due to the ease of finding uniforms and logos. I know I wanted to keep all of the Florida university teams out because I had an entire league in the high school ranks already set in Florida and I tried to mix things up to have a good cross-section.

As for Kentucky, no NCAA titles yet but they did make the playoffs 8 times including 3 straight seasons very recently from 1935-37. They have 7 SEC division titles and 1 wild card berth. There only appearance in the College World Series finals came in 1936 when they beat Virginia 2-games to 1 in the divisional round, blanked Brown 2-0 in the semi's only to fall in the maximum 5 games to USC in the championship.

A couple of notable alumni include:

Jocko Diblasi - now 29 years old Diblasi was 15-10 with a 4.47 era for the St Louis Browns last year. Browns selected him 16th overall in 1932 a year after he was named the NCAA East pitcher of the year.

Joe White- was 180-149 in a 14 year major league career primarily with the Cubs but also included late stops in Brooklyn and with the White Sox. Was 1913 NL rookie of the year and pitcher of the year the following season.

I am sure there are others but I don't believe there is an easy way to search my major league career leaders to find what college or academy team they started with unless I look at every player 1 by 1.

This season has been a rough one for the Wildcats as they presently sit 4th in the SEC, 10 games back of Georgia. There really are no high end draft picks that will come from Kentucky this June but there is a player to watch for the 1940 draft.

Joe Purdom is a 21 year old middle infielder from Chicago and is presently hitting .311 with 5 homers and 45 rbi's in his junior year. Last year he hit .372 and won the NCAA East batting title as well as being named league MVP.

Tiger Fan · 05-26-2015, 07:40 PM

APRIL 17, 1939
OPENING DAY

The major league season gets underway today with 1 game in each league. The defending American League champion New York Yankees will send reigning pitcher of the year Jay Moore (26-6, 2.63 last year) to the hill in the annual season starter in Washington against the Senators. The Senators will counter with 30 year old Elias Edmondson (12-17, 3.92).

The National League opener goes in Cincinnati where the Reds will entertain the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kitty Martin (15-11, 3.92) pitches for the Bucs against John Harrison (11-19, 4.66) of the Reds.

DODGERS HAVE TOP TWO PROSPECTS

The Brooklyn Dodgers may have been the worst team in baseball over the past 7 or 8 years but they have plenty of young talent coming through the pipeline thanks to high draft picks. The Annual ranking of baseball's top 10 prospects was released yesterday and the Dodgers own the top 2 players and 3 of the top 8.

Here is a look at the updated top 10:

1- BILL SCHMIDT: Brooklyn 2B - The 22 year old was selected 3rd overall in 1936 after a stellar academy league career with Falmouth of the Cape Cod League. He was batting .293 (12-for-41) with 2 homers in 10 games with AA Montreal of the Eastern League but the Dodgers just reassigned him to Class A Albuquerque.

2-WES KOKOLIS: Brooklyn SS - Taken 3rd overall last year from the Bradenton Mauraders of the Florida Gulf Academy League, Kokolis is just 20 years old and will begin the season with the Dodgers rookie league team when that season starts in June.

3- TOM PRIEST: Philadelphia A's P- The 23 year old was ranked the #2 prospect last year and is another former 3rd overall pick - this time in 1935. He is starting the season at AA Toronto and based on the Athletic's pitching woes could be in the big leagues by September.

4- KICK MCAVOY: St Louis Cardinals P- The 23 year old former college standout at Kentucky was selected 12th overall last year by the Cardinals. After pitching for AA Little Rock after the draft he was called up to the big leagues last September and earned 2 saves in relief for the Cardinals. He is starting the season in the St Louis bullpen but is just one injury away from claiming a spot in the rotation.

5- TOM PHILLIPS: Chicago Cubs P - The Cubs selected him 7th overall out of Ohio State last year and the 23 year old went 4-1 with a 2.55 era at Class A Fort Worth of the Texas League. He is back with the Cats again to start this season and his 3-0 with a 2.05 era and 13 k's in 26 innings of work.

6- RADHAMES CASADO: Philadelphia Phillies 2B - The 22 year old was the first overall pick of the 1936 draft after a winning player of the year with the Ohio Redcoats of the Midwest Academy League. Split last season between short A and full season A ball but after hitting .415 with the Phillies in spring training he earned a spot on the major league roster.

7- JACK HAUGHT: Washington Senators P - The 24 year old came to the Senators in part of the trade that sent homerun king Charlie Mongan to Cleveland. He went 10-12 in class A last year and is beginning this season once again in Class A with the Lubbock Ploughboys. Is 1-2 with a 5.23 era in 3 starts this season and is struggling with his control, walking 12 while only striking out 9.

8- SPENCER VACHA: Brooklyn Dodgers 1B: The third piece of the Dodgers infield of the future is 21 year old Vacha. Taken 2nd overall by the Dodgers from Port Charlotte of the Florida Academy Leagues, he missed much of last season with an injury so will at least begin the 1939 season once again at the Dodgers rookie league complex.

9- PACKY LANG: Cincinnati Reds 2B: The Reds top prospect is a 22 year old former star of the Daytona Beach academy program. A 5th overall pick in 1936, Lang played at 4 levels last year including 1 game with AA Chatanooga to end the season. He has started this season at Class A Mission of the Western League and is 12-for-41 with a homer and 8 rbi's through 10 games.

10- ELI STONE: St Louis Cardinals P: Stone won't turn 20 for another month but he is already getting a lot of attention from scouts. Taken 16th overall from the Salt Lake City academy program last year, he was 0-2 in 6 starts with the Cardinals rookie league squad before moving to short-A Crisfield to end the season. He will begin the 1939 season in Crisfield.

Here is the updated top minor league system report. The Ahtletics moved up one spot from 5th to 4th but actually dropped slightly in points. Our players in the top 100 are :

Code:

ATHLETICS PROSPECTS IN TOP 100[/b]
Pitcher Tom Priest  	  3rd    2nd last year
Catcher Paul Collins 	 20th	 16th last year
Outfielder Jack Bew  	 41st	 not ranked last year
Pitcher Tomas Garza   	 59th	 80th last year
Shortstop Leech Fritze	 64th	 55th last year

Code:


TOP MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS LAST YEAR   	TOP SYSTEMS THIS YEAR	  PTS	
1st Brooklyn Dodgers 		285 	1st Brookyln Dodgers	  312  
2nd Cincinnati Reds 		182 	2nd Washington Senators	  153  
3rd Washington Senators 	180 	3rd Cincinnati Reds	  152
4th Detroit Tigers 		161 	4th Philadelphia A's	  145  
5th Philadelphia Athletics 	152 	5th Philadelphia Phillies 145
6th Philadelphia Phillies 	139 	6th Detroit Tigers 	  134   
7th St Louis Browns 		107 	7th St Louis Cardinals    103  
8th Pittsburgh Pirates 		 99 	8th St Louis Browns  	   91  
9th New York Giants 		 92 	9th Chicago Cubs	   88   
10th Cleveland Indians 		 63 	10th Pittsburgh Pirates    80			  
11th Boston Braves 		 56 	11th Cleveland Indians     79  
12th Boston Red Sox 		 54 	12th Boston Braves	   51 
13th Chicago Cubs 		 38 	13th New York Giants       50			
14th New York Yankees 		 34 	14th Boston Red Sox        38			   
15th Chicago White Sox 		 22 	15th New York Yankees      30			  
16th St. Louis Cardinals 	 16 	16th Chicago White Sox     29

The St Louis Cardinals made the biggest jump thanks to having a pair of pitchers (Kick McAvoy and Eli Stone) ranked in the top 10. The Brooklyn Dodgers are just stacked with prospects but most are still a couple of years away from contributing.

It's Monday so before we play the opening day major league games let's see what is happening in the NCAA top 10 poll.

Code:


NCAA WEEKLY TOP 10 RANKINGS (last week in brackets)

1- Harvard 			(2)
2- Clemson			(5)
3- Washington State		(3)
4- Alabama			(6)
5- Tennessee			(nr)
6- UCLA				(10)
7- Georgia			(1)
8- Michigan State		(4)
9- Maryland			(8)
10- Wisconsin			(9)

dropping out of top 10 was Texas Tech

Getting down to about 35 games left in the NCAA season here is a look at how the divisions and wildcard races stack up.

NCAA EAST: Clemson has an 8 game lead on Maryland atop the ACC. Georgia leads Alabama by one game and charging Tennessee by 3 in the SEC. Harvard has the best record in the league and is enjoying a 13 game lead on Yale and Columbia atop the Ivy.

Alabama has won 3 in a row and are 2 games ahead of Tennessee (winners of 5 straight) and Maryland in the wildcard chase.

NCAA WEST: Pac6 leader Washington State has the best record in the west and leads second place UCLA by 6 games in the division. Texas Tech has dropped 6 of their last 10 but still have a 3 game lead on Oklahoma in the Southwest. It is the tightest division as just 6 games seperate first from last. In the Big 6 Michigan State is slumping, dropping 7 of 10 but the Spartans still lead Wisconsin by 3 games and Michigan by 5.

Wisconsin and UCLA are tied for the wildcard, 2 games up on Oklahoma and Michigan.

SAM FULLER WATCH

Since we last checked on Western Academy slugger Sam Fuller the Hawaii Islanders outfielder has hit 7 more home runs and now sits with 36 this season. He is chasing the Westerb Academy League record of 51 set by Charlie Mongan. Current New York Yankee John Hanson has the academy record from all 5 leagues as he hit 54 in 1934 while playing for the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida Academy League. Fuller has 43 games remaining in his season.

Tiger Fan · 05-26-2015, 07:45 PM

Here are the preseason predictions for the 1939 season.

If they are accurate this will be a long season for the Athletics. Meanwhile, Yankees slugger Elgie Vargas seems poised for a once in a lifetime season.

Watching the spring action I would suggest Frank Thomas of Boston may have something to say about Vargas and the Yankees.

Tiger Fan · 05-26-2015, 11:01 PM

APRIL 18, 1939

OPENING DAY
SENATORS RALLY TO BEAT YANKS IN 10

Washington Senators outfielder Al Graham sent the crowd home happy with a walk-off rbi single in the 10th inning to give the Sens a 6-5 victory over the defending American League champion New York Yankees in the 1939 season opener.

The 25 year old Graham lined a 2-1 pitch with 2 out off of Yankees reliver Sam Dignam to plate Bill Klingensmith, who had led off with a double, with the winning run. Graham was just the second batter Dignam faced after relieving Yankee starting pitcher Jay Moore. Moore took the loss, allowing 12 hits and 6 runs in 9 and a third innings.

The Senators got to Moore early scoring 2 runs in each of the opening two innings. Meanwhile Washington starter Elias Edmondson held the Yankees hitless until the fourth inning. Two Washington errors helped the Yankees get a run in the fourth, cutting the Senators lead to 4-1. It was the 8th inning where things went bad for Edmondson as after retiring the first two Yankee hitters in the inning, he allowed singles to Martin Robbins and John Hanson sandwiched around a walk to Dioner Gonzales.

That left the bases loaded for Yankee slugger Elgie Vargas. Edmondson was just a little too careful with the man who hit 54 homers last season and he walked Vargas to score New York's second run. Oscar Weidner followed with a run scoring single and Smith King reached on an error scoring another run and giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead.

Washington forced extra innings thanks to a 9th inning pinch-hit triple from Jhoulys Cota and an rbi single from Herm White.

With the ceremonial opening day game out of the way the Yankees return home to start a 3-game set with their biggest rival in the Boston Red Sox. The Senators travel to Philadelphia to face the Athletics for 3 games. The other American League games tomorrow have St Louis entertaining Cleveland while the Chicago White Sox are in Detroit to play the Tigers.

In the National League opener the Cincinnati Reds scored all 6 of their runs in the second inning en route to a 6-2 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shortstop Dan Paul and outfielder George Osgood paced the Cincinnati attack with 2 hits and 2 rbi's each. John Harrison went the distance, scattering 7 hits for the victory while Kitty Martin was saddled with the loss after allowing 9 hits and 5 walks.

ATHLETICS DEMOTE COLLINS TO TORONTO

The Philadelphia Athletics decided some time in AA would better suit 21 year old catcher Paul Collins. The squad's number 2 prospect started the season in AAA San Diego despite only have 14 games of A ball under his belt. He struggled early but was adjusting the past week and was now 11-for-41 in 9 games with the Padres before being sent to Toronto of the Eastern League. Collins made his debut in Toronto by going 1-for-4 with a double yesterday for the Maple Leafs in a 3-1 loss to Jersey City.

Tiger Fan · 05-27-2015, 11:30 PM

April 19, 1939

COON SUCCESSFUL IN RETURN AS A'S WIN OPENER

It was exactly one year to the day after tearing up his elbow that Philadelphia Athletics ace Bill Coon made his return to the mound at Shibe Park. Coon, who was the American Pitcher of the Year in 1935, looked like his old self as he went 8 1/3 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs as the Athletics beat visiting Washington 8-5. It was a huge turnaround from the terrible outings he had in spring training.

The A's pounded out 18 hits in the victory including 4 from outfielder Bill Wodke and 3 each from catcher Marty Carey, infielder Ed Clemmer and outfielder Deivi Alvarez. The only weak spot for the home side was their defense as they committed 4 errors which contributed directly to 3 Washington runs.

Elsewhere, in New York the visiting Boston Red Sox doubled the Yankees 6-3. Both of the big sluggers, Boston's Frank Thomas and the Yanks Elgie Vargas, went hitless in the game. The St Louis Browns pounded Cleveland 9-2 with reigning homerun king Charlie Mongan getting a pair of singles in a losing cause for the Tribe. The other American League game saw the Chicago White Sox beat the Tigers in Detroit by a 5-3 score.

In the National League Frank Myers pitched a complete game 7 hitter as Pittsburgh downed St Louis 6-1. Sam Schaumburg of the Braves went the distance leading his team to a 5-1 win over Boston. Richard Franco pitched 8 innings of 4 hit ball as the Cubs dropped Cincinnati 7-1.

The slugfest in the National League occurred in Brooklyn where the Giants outlasted the Dodgers by a 10-9 score. Shortstop John Wagoner had 3 hits including a pair of doubles and drove in 3 runs for the winners. Aurelo Ventura got the win for the Giants despite allowing 7 earned runs on 12 hits over 7 innings.

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES
John Malinowski pitched a 2 hit shutout as Milwaukee blanked Kansas City 3-0 in American Association action. The 38 year old righthander is making one last attempt to make the Boston Braves. He has played pro ball since 1920 but is major league career is limited to 11 games with the Braves in 1927.

The Columbus Redbirds are tearing up the American Association as they are off to a 12-0 start. Yesterday they scored 3 times in the top of the ninth inning to beat Toledo 5-2.

The San Diego Padres lost 5-3 to Sacramento and are now 6-6 in Pacific Coast League play. At 9-4 the Los Angeles Angels top the loop.

The Athletics AA club Toronto beat Jersey City 8-7 yesterday thanks in big part to a 2-hit, 2-rbi performance from outfielder Jim Arnold. At 7-6, the Maple Leafs are 2 games back of Syracuse in the Eastern League.

27 year old Pete Cianfrani threw his second straight complete game, tossing a 1-0 shutout for Nashville in a win over Mobile. The Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand is 3-0 with a 0.72 era on the season. He appeared in 2 games for the big club last September and should be back in the majors soon the way he is throwing the ball. Nashville is 7-5 on the season and sits third in the Southern Association behind New Orleans (9-3) and Little Rock (8-5).

In Class A, A's prospect Tomas Garza fell to 0-3 on the season after absorbing a 6-1 loss to Beaumont in Texas League play. The Houston Buffaloes hurler was outpitched by Tom Anton of the Explorers. Anton, a 26 year old Pittsburgh prospect, allowed just 4 Houston hits in improving his record to 3-0 with a 1.44 era.

NCAA
Bill Andrews pitched 10 innings of 2 hit shutout ball but failed to get a decision as it took the University of Wisconsin 11 innings to score a run and beat Minnesota 1-0. Andrews, who is a freshman, fanned a career best 12 Gophers hitters in the game. His 114 strikeouts on the season put him third in the entire NCAA. He is tied for fourth with a 1.80 era and owns a win/loss record of 10-4.

ACADEMY LEAGUE
Hawaii's John Finley saw his personal 13 game winning streak come to an end as he suffered his worst outing of his career in a 17-7 drubbing at home against the Los Angeles Chargers. Finley did not survive the second inning after allowing 8 hits and 11 earned runs.

Oklahoma Oiler second baseman Walsh Ross is starting to turn scouts heads. The 19 year old had a 5 hit game in a 14-2 victory over the North Texas Cubs. He had a 25 game hitting streak come to an end late last week but followed up the hitless game by going 10-for-18 in the past 5 contests. On the season he is batting .339 for the Oilers, who trail Austin by 1 game atop the Western Academy's Desert League.

Tiger Fan · 05-28-2015, 12:11 AM

April 20, 1939

ATHLETICS SPANK SENATORS 6-2

Deivi Alvarez had 3 hits and a pair of rbi's to lead the Philadelphia Athletics past the Washington Senators 6-2 in American League action. Alvarez hit an rbi single in the third to give the A's a 2-0 lead at the time and added another one in the 7th to make the score 6-1. Both base hits scored outfielder Bill Wodke who, like Alvarez, leads the club with 6 hits in 9 at bats through 2 games.

26 year old righthander Jim Thayer, who was 16-16 a year ago for the A's, went the distance allowing 5 Washington hits while fanning 5.

VARGAS BELTS TWO
Elgie Vargas hit his first two homeruns of the season and drove in 4 to lead the New York Yankees past Boston 10-6. Frank Thomas hit one of 3 Red Sox roundtrippers in the game.

The St Louis Browns took care of Cleveland for the second day in a row, beating the Tribe 5-1 despite 3 hits from Indians slugger Charlie Mongan. The 24 year old Mongan, who hit a record-tying 60 homeruns last year, was a longball away from hitting for the cycle in the game.

In Detroit, Dan Loughlin allowed just 6 hits and no earned runs in a 5-1 Tigers victory over the Chicago White Sox.

George Myers pitched a complete game 3 hit shutout to pace the Pittsburgh Pirates past the St Louis Cardinals 7-0 in National League action. In Chicago, veteran third baseman Bill Farley who was acquired by the Cubs from Detroit in the offseason, hit a grand slam and drove in 5 runs as the Cubs beat Cincinnati 8-7. The New York Giants doubled up on Brooklyn by a 10-5 while in Boston the hometown Braves outscored Philadelphia 5-3.

MINOR LEAGUES
Our AAA farm time San Diego was blasted 8-1 by Sacramento in Pacific Coast League play. The Padres fall to 6-7 on the season. Solons pitcher Mike Walton allowed just 4 San Diego hits. Walton is a 30 year old who has been in the Reds system for a decade after playing college ball at Harvard. He hasn't been in the majors since 1936 and is 6-5 lifetime in 28 appearances for Cincinnati.

In AA the Toronto Maple Leafs improved to 8-6 with a 10-2 drubbing of Jersey City. Catcher Paul Collins had a 3-hit game to raise his AA average to .417. The Leafs are second in the Eastern League, 2 games back of Syracuse after the Stars also won - blasting the Baltimore Orioles 10-3.

ACADEMY LEAGUE NEWS
The Midwest League is considered perhaps the weakest of the 5 Academy Leagues but Fort Wayne Tincups pitcher Jim Roark made the scouts take notice of his performance yesterday. Roark tossed a complete game 2-hit shutout in an 8-0 victory over the Ohio Redcoats. The 18 year old is 6-5 with a 2.81 era this season after going 18-4 last year.

While Hawaii is running away with the Pacific League, the Western Academy's Desert League is providing a great pennant race. The Austin Marshalls are in first place as they extended their winning streak to 7 games following a 2-1 victory over West Texas. Draft eligible pitcher Fred Adducci went the distance allowing just 4 hits in the victory, improving his season mark to 7-2 with a 3.31 era. The Oklahoma Oilers kept pace, remaining 1 game back of Austin, thanks to a 2-0 victory over North Texas. Pat Hall pitched 7 innings to earn the win for the Oilers, his 10th of the season to go along with 5 losses and lowered his era to 1.97.

In the Northeast Academy the Queen's Monarchs enjoy a 5 game lead on the Staten Island Ports in the Metro NY League. The Brewster Whitecaps increased their lead atop the Cape Cod League to 1.5 games on the Yarmouth Red Sox after they blasted the Sox 13-0 yesterday.

In Florida the Palm Beach Cardinals have won 8 of their last ten and are 5 games ahead of the second place Daytona Beach Cubs in Atlantic action. In the Gulf League the Sarasota Stone Crabs lead on Tallahassee is down to 2.5 games after the Rebels beat Port Charlotte 13-1 while the Stone Crabs lost a wild one in Lakeland 14-13.

Tiger Fan · 05-28-2015, 11:15 PM

APRIL 21, 1939

GARRETSON AND SENATORS BLANK ATHLETICS 5-0

The Washington Senators salvaged one game from their 3 game trip into Philadelphia to play the Athletics. Mike Garretson silenced the Athletics bats with a 4 hit shutout as Nats blanked the A's 5-0. For Garretson it was the 4th shutout of his major league career but his first since 1936. He also helped the Washington offense with a pair of hits.

Shortstop Hick Perks had two of the Athletics 4 hits. The A's had only one runner reach scoring position in the game, Francisco Martinez who lead off the second inning with a triple but was stranded on third. Emmett Pisano took the loss, pitching 8 innings and allowing 8 Senators hits while walking 4.

Washington begins a weekend series with the New York Yankees tomorrow while the Athletics travel to Boston for 3 games.

The Yankees took two of three from Boston thanks to a 5-4 victory in 10 innings over the Red Sox. Elgie Vargas hit his third homerun in 2 days - a 3 run shot that gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. James McBeth, who was subbed into the game after Vargas was pulled for a pinch-runner in the 9th, ended up being the hero as he hit a solo homerun to win the game with one out in the 10th. It was the 26 year old McBeth's first plate appearance of the season.

In other American League action Henry Young went 3-for-4 with a double and a homerun to help the St Louis Browns complete a 3 game sweep of Cleveland with a 6-3 victory. Charlie Mongan hit his first homerun of the season for the Tribe. In Detroit, Chicago outfielder John Babcock had 2 hits and a pair of rbi's to help the White Sox past Detroit 7-2.

Over in the National League the New York Giants scored 10 runs against Brooklyn for the third straight game - this one ending in a 10-3 final score. Louis McDonald's pinch-hit rbi single in the bottom of the 9th gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 victory over St Louis and allowed the Bucs to sweep their 3 game series. Dave Wilde pitched a complete game 8-hitter as Cincinnati downed the Chicago Cubs 3-1. Tom Murphy not only pitched a complete game but also delivered 2 hits and 3 rbi's to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 victory over the Boston Braves.

Code:


MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS
AMERICAN		NATIONAL
St Louis  	3 0	NY Giants	3 0
Philadelphia 	2 1	Pittsburgh	3 1
Chicago		2 1	Boston		3 1
Washington	2 2	Chicago		2 1
NY Yankees	2 2	Cincinnati	2 2
Detroit		1 2	Philadelphia	1 3
Boston		1 2	St Louis	0 3
Cleveland	0 3	Brooklyn	0 3

Tiger Fan · 05-29-2015, 12:25 AM

I am going to go to a weekly update for the time being but will interupt that schedule when important events occur.

MONDAY APRIL 24, 1939
After taking 2 of 3 from the Washington Senators to start the season the Philadelphia Athletics found the Boston Red Sox to be a much more difficult opponent as the A's dropped 3 straight tight games at Fenway. On Friday the A's rallied with 3 runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 7 only to see Red Sox slugger Frank Thomas hit a walk off homer in the bottom of the inning to give Boston an 8-7 victory. The Red Sox won again by an 8-7 score Saturday and completed the sweep with a 5-4 win yesterday.

The Yankees swept 3 from Washington as they shut out the Senators 3 games in a row with the final one being a 1-hit complete game 2-0 victory by George Barr.

Boston Red Sox first baseman Ned Knapp was named the American League player of the week. Knapp batted .591, going 13 for 22 with a homer and 3 rbi's. National League honours went to Cubs thirdbaseman Bill Farley. The 34 year old was 10 for 19 (.526) with 2 homers and 8 rbi's.

Code:


MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS

AMERICAN	W  L  GB	NATIONAL	W  L  GB
NY Yankees	5  2   -	Boston		5  2   - 
St Louis	4  2  0.5	Pittsburgh	4  2  0.5
Chicago		4  2  0.5	NY Giants	4  2  0.5
Boston		4  2  0.5	Cincinnati	3  3  1.5
Philadelphia	2  4  2.5	Chicago		3  3  1.5
Detroit		2  4  2.5	St Louis	2  4  2.5
Cleveland	2  4  2.5	Brooklyn	2  4  2.5
Washington	2  5  3.0	Philadelphia	2  5  3.0

		    BATTING LEADERS
AMERICAN		 AVG	NATIONAL		 AVG
Ned Knapp 	BOS	.591	Bill Farley	CHN	.526
Jose Martinez   CLE	.500	John Wagoner	NYG	.444
Ed Clemmer	PHA	.444	Tony Evans	BSN	.433

			HOME RUNS
AMERICAN		HR	NATIONAL		HR
Charlie Mongan	CLE	 3	Bill Farley	CHN	 2
Elgie Vargas	NYY	 3	Mike Hall	NYG	 2
Frank Thomas	BOS	 2	Linus Hoffman   BKN	 2
				Marty Wolf	BKN	 2

			RBI'S
AMERICAN		RBI	NATIONAL		RBI
Deivi Alvarez	PHA	  8	Marty Wolf	BKN	 11
Charlie Mongan	CLE	  8	Bill Farley	CHN	  8
J. Vandermeulen SLB	  8	Jack Gomez	NYG	  7
Elgie Vargas	NYY	  8

OTHER MLB NOTES:
Detroit first baseman Chris Wood got his 2000th career hit in loss to Cleveland on the weekend. The 33 year old has played 1697 career major league games and is a lifetime .302 hitter. He becomes the 33rd player to reach the 2000 hit milestone.

AMERICAN LEAGUE HOME RUN RACE
One of the highlights this season is sure to be the race between the big 3 power hitters of the American League. I will track their weekly and season long production.

As a quick background here is some brief info on the three of them.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Frank Thomas is 28 years old and now has 299 career homeruns in 909 major league games. He set a major league record with 59 in 1934 but it was broken by Vargas and later that mark was tied by Mongan. Last year Thomas had 50 homers and 150 rbi's while batting .377. He won the AL MVP last year for the fifth time in his young career. He also won the triple crown in 1935 and again in 1936.

Yankees outfielder Elgie Vargas beat out Thomas for the American League rookie of the year in 1933. The 28 year old hit a record 60 homeruns in 1937 and followed that up with 54 last season. He also drove in 154 runs while batting .373 a year ago. In 880 career games he has 251 homeruns.

24 year Charlie Mongan burst on to the scene in 1937 when he hit 46 homers in his first full major league season. Last year he was traded from the Washington Senators to Cleveland midway through the season and he ended up tying Vargas' major league record with 60 homeruns. He drove in 143 while batting .314 a year ago. In 326 career games he has 131 career homeruns. He is also outstanding defensively as he won back to back gold gloves at third base the past two seasons.

Code:

AMERICAN LEAGUE POWER RACE
	     	    	  SEASON	  LAST WEEK
TM  NAME		HR  RBI  AVG	HR RBI  AVG[/b]
CLE Charlie Mongan	 3    8 .391	 3  8  .391
NYY Elgie Vargas	 3    8 .350	 3  8  .350
BOS Frank Thomas	 2    7 .333     2  7  .333

AAA NEWS

The Columbus Redbirds are tearing up the American Association, starting the season with a 16-1 record and they already have a 5 game lead on the second place Indianapolis Indians. They are doing it with the best pitching in the league thanks in big part to veteran lefthanders Josh Wright (2-0, 2.08) and John Jarman (3-0, 2.14).

AA NEWS
Nashville Vols pitcher Pete Cianfrani continues to attract attention and accolades. The 27 year old Pittsburgh farmhand was named player of the week in the Southern Association after 2 more stellar starts. He is 4-0 with a 1.26 era in 4 starts this season. The Vols are 11-5 on the season, good for second place in the league behind the New Orleans Pelicans (12-4).

Syracuse continues to lead the Eastern League thanks to the bat of Julio Cortes. The 26 year old leads the league in batting average (.418) and rbis (19) through 18 games.

CLASS A NEWS
Tom Phillips is really starting to show why he was named the 5th best prospect in the game from the annual ranking issued a couple of weeks ago. The 24 year old Chicago Cubs pitching prospect is 4-0 with a 0.98 era in 4 starts with the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League. He was drafted 7th overall last year by the Cubs out of Ohio State and is a big reason the Cats are tied with the Beaumont Explorers atop the Texas League standings.

26 year old Marty Westlake may be a late bloomer but the Minneapolis native is finally starting to show signs of possessing some real power. In 16 games he leads the Western League with 5 homeruns and 23 rbis. The Cleveland prospect was drafted in 1935 after playing academy ball with the Chicagoland Bombers and then NCAA with the California Bears. His play has the Oklahoma City Indians at 10-7 and just a half game back of the Fresno Giants in the race for the Western League lead.

Next up will be the update on the college and academy leagues as they creep towards the 100 game point of their 120 game schedules.

Tiger Fan · 05-29-2015, 05:15 PM

APRIL 24, 1939 Part 2 (NCAA and ACADEMY UPDATES)

NCAA NEWS: OREGON STATE ON A ROLL

The hottest team in the NCAA right now is the Oregon State Beavers, who have won 7 in a row and 12 of their last 14 games. Unfortunately the streak is likely too late to help with a playoff berth as the Beavers are 46-47 on the season and sit 9 games back of Pac6 leading Washington State.

Oregon State junior outfielder George Hoffman was named the NCAA West's top performer last week. He had 12 hits in 19 at bats including a pair of home runs to help the Beavers win 7 in a row. The news was not all good for Oregon State however as it was learned that senior pitcher Billy Salter is done for the season following a back injury. Salter, who won 18 games a year ago and was 8-8 this season was injured while pitching on Saturday.

The hottest player in the league right now is Mississippi catcher John Maly, who hit .800 last week (12-15) with a homer and 3 rbi's and was named the NCAA East Player of the Week. On the season, Maly is hitting .378. The former Lakeland Pilot academy league player is in his junior season with the Rebels.

WILDCATS OUTFIELDER HASKALL HITS FOR CYCLE

"Some days everything falls in place and you have an almost perfect day." Those were the comments from Kentucky center fielder Curtis Haskell Friday as his 4-5 day included the cycle, a baseball rarity.

"He sure was a wrecking ball today," said one teammate after the Wildcats tamed the Crimson Tide 14-3 at Crimson Tide Ballpark. Curtis Haskell walked in the 1st, hit a solo-shot off Sam Kelley in the 3rd, singled in the 4th, flied out in the 6th, hit an RBI triple in the 7th and hit a three-run double in the 8th.

In his stats this season, Haskell has posted a batting average of .292 with 73 hits in 250 at-bats, 12 home runs and 35 RBIs. He has also scored 47 runs, walked 27 times and compiled a .366 OBP. The 19 year old Phoenix native is in his first season of college ball after playing 4 years for the Salt Lake City Gulls academy league club where he was a 3 time all star.

Code:


NCAA WEEKLY TOP 10 RANKINGS (last week in brackets)

1- Clemson			(2)
2- Harvard 			(1)
3- Michigan State		(8)
4- Tennessee			(5)
5- Georgia			(7)
6- Texas Tech			(nr)
7- Oregon State			(nr)
8- Alabama			(4)
9- Washington State		(3)
10- Wisconsin			(10)

dropping out of top 10 was UCLA and Maryland

NCAA STANDINGS

NCAA EAST

ACC		 W  L    GB[/b]
Clemson		60 33	  -
Maryland	51 42    9.0
North Carolina	48 45   12.0
NC State	44 49   16.0
Virginia	37 56   23.0
Georgia Tech	35 58   25.0

SEC		 W  L    GB
Georgia		55 38     -
Alabama		53 40    2.0
Tennessee	53 40    6.0
Kentucky	44 49   11.0
LSU		37 56   18.0
Mississippi	34 59   21.0

IVY		 W  L    GB
Harvard		61 32     -
Yale		48 45	13.0
Columbia	47 46   14.0
Dartmouth	46 47   15.0
Brown		42 51   19.0
Princeton	42 51   19.0


NCAA WEST

BIG 6		 W  L    GB
Michigan St	56 37     -
Wisconsin	52 41	 4.0
Ohio State	48 45    8.0
Michigan	48 45    8.0
Minnesota	47 46    9.0
Notre Dame	36 57   20.0

SOUTHWEST	 W  L    GB
Texas Tech	54 39     -
Oklahoma	47 46    7.0
Texas		47 46    7.0
Nebraska	47 46    7.0
Arizona State	46 47    8.0
Arkansas	45 48    9.0

PAC 6		 W  L    GB
Washington St	55 38     -
UCLA		51 42    4.0
Oregon State	46 47    9.0
USC		43 50   12.0
California	37 56   18.0
Stanford	32 61   23.0

       WILCARD LEADERS
  EAST			WEST
Tennessee    53 40	Wisconsin   52 41
Alabama	    53 40	UCLA	    51 42
Maryland    51 42       Ohio State  48 45
			Michigan    48 45

TOP 5 BATTING
Andy Sieczka	California	.415
Art Kelly	Ariz St		.393
Jimmy Falbo	Yale		.392
John Maly	Mississippi	.387
Cowboy Ward	Mich St		.374

TOP 4 HOMERUNS
Tom Lewis	Clemson		18
Charlie Cochran	Texas Tech	17
Joe Bell	Dartmouth	17
Al Holland	Texas Tech	16

TOP 4 RBI'S
Charlie Cochran	Texas Tech	72
S. Macareno	North Carolina	72
Tom Lewis	Clemson		63
Teo Tellier	Oregon State	62	


TOP 5 ERA LEADERS
Welcome Newhall	  Georgia	1.62
Jim Sanicki	  Harvard	1.63
Dave Kemmerer	  Alabama	1.78
Bill Andrews	  Wisconsin	1.80
Wellington French UCLA		1.83


TOP 5 WINS
Caleb Webber	  Clemson	16-5
Dewey Sosa	  Clemson	14-5
Dave Kemmerer	  Alabama	14-6
Jerry Caldwell	  Nebraska	14-6	
Pete Galloway	  Yale	      	14-7


STRIKEOUT LEADERS
Dave Kemmerer	  Alabama	143
George Odom	  Mississippi	129
Bill Andrews	  Wisconsin	114
Angelo Arias	  Texas		103
Frank Thompson	  Mississippi	100

ACADEMY LEAGUE NEWS

HAWAII ISLANDERS CHASING WINS RECORD

The Western Academy League's Hawaii Islanders are on pace to win more games than any other Academy League squad has recorded in the 39 year history of the youth leagues. The Islanders presently sport a 65-18 record and lead the second place Northern California Stars by 18 games in the Pacific League. Their .783 winning percentage has them on pace to win 94 games. The Western Academy record is 92 victories set by the 1925 Central Texas Comets of the Desert League. No other team in any of the 5 Academy Leagues has ever won more than 88 games in a season.

The Islanders have built a solid program the past decade as they have never finished lower than 4th and have 4 second place finishes in the past 7 years as well as Pacific League title earned last season. This season they are just destroying the competition as they have scored 688 runs so far - with the next highest team in the 16 team Western Association has only scored 495. Their pitching hasn't been bad either, despite playing in a hitter friendly part the Islanders staff ranks third best in runs against. They have allowed 371 and sit behind only Northern Cal (344) and Oklahoma (351).

Here is a look at the most powerful lineup in Academy ball and arguably the best team in Academy history.

1- Silver Cook 2B- (.336,5,57) 16 year old second baseman bats lead-off and is hitting .336 with 28 stolen bases in 80 games. Considered to be a future major league star.

2- Chippy Helbert 3B- (.337,14,70)- Another 16 year old rookie, the Glendale Arizona native has nice mixture of power and the ability to get on base and set the table.

3- Montrel Buenaventura 1B (.337,19,82)- A two time Western Academy all-star, the native of Italy is in his draft year and projects to be a mid-round pick. His numbers benefit quite a bit from hitting in front of Fuller.

4- Sam Fuller LF (.378,38,106)- leads the Western League in just about everything. May have a chance to be drafted first overall and has drawn comparisons to slugging major leaguers Elgie Vargas and Frank Thomas. Detractors say he benefits from a hitter friendly park but his road numbers (.379 with 16 homers in 38 games) compare well with what he has done at home (.377 with 22 homers in 42 games) this year. Was named Pacific League MVP each of the past two seasons.

5- Jim Flanagan RF (.307,18,74)- Has steadily improved each of his 4 seasons with the Islanders to the point where he should get drafted this year.

6- Frank Neal CF (.303,8,69)- A starter each of his 4 years with the Islanders, his average has dipped a bit from career best established last year but he is another player on this team who should get drafted in June.

7- Cowboy Browner SS (.341,8,64) - Good defensive skills, plus speed and a decent bat will get Browner drafted in June. Was one of 9 Islanders selected to play in the Western Academy all-star game.

8- Bill Dominguez C (.283,3,39) - 16 year old rookie is the only regular hitting under .300.

The efforts of the pitching staff is even more impressive when you consider that last year's ace Buster Carpenter (19-5, 2.95) was lost for the season after just 8 starts this year.

The rotation consists of:
John Finley: (14-1, 2.74). A possible first round pick in the June draft, the 19 year old has replaced the injured Carpenter as the team's ace.

Baby Zavala: (14-3, 3.62). Hard to believe he is just 16 years old and stands 6'9" tall.

Vito Mordasini: (11-5, 3.47) After two seasons in relief he is making the most of the opportunity to join the rotation in his draft year.

Tom Kern: (9-4, 4.23) 17 year old has outstanding potential. Scouts say he could be a major leaguer one day but really needs to work on his control.

Here is a comparison of the Comets totals with what Hawaii projects to accomplish at their current rate

Code:

		1925 Central Texas	   1939 Hawaii (projected)
W			92			94
L			28			26
PCT		      .767		      .783
lead on 2nd		28 games		26 games

Runs			804			994
batting avg	       .314		       .319
HR			67			178

Runs allowed		439			536
ERA			3.18		       3.48

1925: CENTRAL TEXAS COMETS 92 WIN SEASON

After breezing through the Desert League, the 1925 Central Texas Comets won the Western Academy series by sweeping Pacific League champion Hawaii in 3 games. The Comets are believed to be the only Academy team to ever have it's players selected 1-2 in the major league draft. Their 1925 team set off a mini-dynasty for the club as they won 3 Western Academy series titles in a span of 5 years including back to back in 1928-29 but none rivaled the 92 win season for the 1925 Comets.

The '25 Comets were built on pitching. The had the best young pitcher that no one has ever heard of in Al Bartlett. Just 16 at the time Bartlett dominated the Desert League, winning pitcher of the year as a rookie after going 21-4 in 30 starts. Unfortunately he would blow out his arm the following season and while he did get drafted by the New York Yankees, Bartlett never progressed past rookie ball and retired due to arm troubles at the age of 21.

The Comets had another 16 year old pitching phenom on their team by the name of Elias Edmondson. Now a solid major leaguer with the Washington Senators, Edmondson went 18-3 as a academy league rookie in 1925.

The other Comets starters were 19 year old Sam Brady (15-4), 19 year old Hiram Martinez (16-4) and 17 year old Frank Pressley (15-5). All three ended up being mid-round draft picks but none of the three progressed past Class A and all are now retired.

Offensively the big stars were Mike Henry, Henry Young and George Foskey. Henry and Young went 1-2 in the major league draft. Young led the Desert League in hitting with a .398 average and was selected 2nd overall by the St Louis Browns. He has been the Browns everyday shortstop for over a decade. Mike Henry was taken first overall by the Cubs after batting .387 with a league high 99 rbi's. A natural shortstop, Henry played second base that season but has played primarily shortstop as a pro. He has not had as productive a career as Young, but has still played over 800 major league games.

Foskey was a 16 year old rookie in 1925 but won the Desert League MVP award after batting .367 with a league high 25 homeruns. He would win 3 more Desert League MVP's and a second Western Academy title with the Comets before being drafted 4th overall by Detroit in 1928. He has played over 1100 games and in a pair of World Series with Detroit and now, at age 30, is a key piece in the Tigers lineup.

Catcher Dave Goostree was the team leader. A 19 year old who drove in 98 runs and hit .301 that season, he then went on to attend Notre Dame before signing with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1928. He played 354 major league games for the A's and Yankees from 1928-34 before retiring from baseball in 1937 at the age of 31.

Code:


ACADEMY LEAGUES POWER RANKINGS AND LEAGUE LEADERS
RK  TEAM		LG		Subleague	PTS
1  Hawaii Islanders	Western		Pacific		154.0
2  Austin Marshalls	Western		Desert		126.3
3  Palm Beach Cardinals	Florida		Atlantic	125.3
4  Daytona Beach Cubs	Florida		Atlantic	114.6
5  Sarasota Stone Cabs	Florida		Gulf		111.6
6  Philadelphia Quakers	MidAtlantic	 -		110.0
7  Carolina Kings	MidAtlantic	 -		108.0
8  Fort Wayne Tincaps	Midwest		 -		107.0
9 Brewster Whitecaps	Northeast	Cape Cod	104.9
10 Queens Monarchs	Northeast	Metro NY	103.1
10 Bradenton Mauraders	Florida		Gulf		103.1

	 	ACADEMY LEAGUE STANDINGS
		FLORIDA LEAGUES
ATLANTIC LG				GULF LG
		 W  L   GB			 W  L   GB
Palm Beach	58 26   -	Sarasota	51 32   -
Daytona Beach	53 31  5.0	Tallahassee	49 35  2.5
Jacksonville	45 38 12.5	Bradenton	48 35  3.0
Ft. Lauderdale	42 41 15.5	Pensacola	43 41  8.5
Key West	41 42 16.5	Port Charlotte	40 43 11.0
Orlando		36 48 22.0	Panama City	36 48 15.5
Jupiter		31 52 26.5	Lakeland	34 50 17.5
Miamia Beach	28 56 30.0	St Petersburg	33 50 18.0

		NORTHEAST LEAGUES
CAPE COD LG				METRO NY LG
		 W  L   GB			 W  L   GB	
Brewster	47 36    -	Queens		48 35    -
Yarmouth	47 37   0.5	Staten Island	45 39   3.5
Cotuit		45 39   2.5	Long Island	43 40   5.0
Harwich		42 41   5.0	Brooklyn	42 41   6.0
Bourne		42 42   5.5	Bronx		42 42   6.5
Chatham		40 44   7.5	Manhattan	39 45   9.5
Hyannis		36 47  11.0	Yonkers		38 45  10.0
Falmouth	35 48  12.0	Coney Island	37 47  11.5

		WESTERN LEAGUES
PACIFIC LG				DESERT LG
		 W  L   GB			 W  L   GB
Hawaii		65 18    -	Austin		49 34	 -
Northern Cal	47 36  18.0	Oklahoma	47 37   2.5
Dakota		44 40  21.5	Salt Lake City	43 40   6.0
Oregon		41 42  24.0	North Texas	42 41   7.0
San Francisco	39 44  26.0	West Texas	42 42   7.5
Arizona		36 48  29.5	Central Texas	41 42   8.0
Los Angeles	32 52  33.5	Utah		36 48  13.5
California	30 54  35.5	New Mexico	34 50  15.5
	
	
MID-ATLANTIC LG			  MIDWEST LG
		 W  L   GB			 W  L   GB
Washington DC	42 30    -	St Louis	42 30    -
Carolina	42 30    -	Fort Wayne	42 30    -
Philadelphia	40 32   2.0	Michigan	37 35   5.0
District	34 38	8.0	Pennsylvania	33 39	9.0
Milford		30 42  12.0	Chicagoland	33 39	9.0
Virginia Beach	28 44  14.0	Ohio		29 43  13.0



TOP 5 BATTING
Fred Milne	Harwich Mariners	.397
John Engman 	WashingtonDC Chiefs	.380
Sam Fuller	Hawaii Islanders	.378
Ed Elder	Chicagoland Bombers	.372
Henry Vela	District Capitals	.360


TOP 5 HOMERUNS
Sam Fuller	Hawaii Islanders	38
Billy Anthony	Key West Conchs		20
M. Buenaventura Hawaii Islanders	19
Tacks Carey 	Palm Beach Cardinals	18
Jim Flanagan	Hawaii Islanders	18

TOP 5 RBIS
Sam Fuller	Hawaii Islanders	106
M. Buenaventura Hawaii Islanders	 82
Bob Ramirez	Bourne Braves		 75
Tacks Carey 	Palm Beach Cardinals	 74
Jim Flanagan	Hawaii Islanders	 74


TOP 5 ERA LEADERS
Herman Gober	Oregon Timbers		1.33
Jack Warren	Jacksonville Whales	1.87
Cy Palmer 	Northern Cal Stars	1.91
Pat Hall	Oklahoma Oilers		1.97
Jon LeSueur	Bronx Bombers		2.01


TOP 5 WINS
John Finley	Hawaii Islanders	14-1
Baby Zavala	Hawaii Islanders	14-3
Fred Peters	Palm Beach Cardinals	14-3
Bill Burns	Palm Beach Cardinals	14-7
several tied with 13

STRIKEOUT LEADERS
Braulio Santos	Michigan Lakers	       106
Fausto Perez	Brewster Whitecaps     104
John Beardsley	Falmouth Commodores    103
Houston Rodriguez Ohio Redcoats		99
Marty Pease	Oklahoma Oilers		97

Tiger Fan · 05-29-2015, 05:56 PM

Just want to make a quick note for anyone who might be reading along. It is amazing when you start to look for story lines just how involved you can get in a fictional league.

As I mentioned in the first post or two, I started this league probably close to 2 years ago and had simmed to about 1930. A couple months back I fired up OOTP and just loaded this old league up to look around. I simmed forward a few years and messed with a few uniforms and team nicknames but really did not start to look closely until late in the 1937 season.

The obvious big story to follow is the battle for supremacy in the American League between the Yankees and Red Sox and how it really boils down to Elgie Vargas vs Frank Thomas.

Both are the same age and they are products of being created just as the longball started to become a factor in the player creation model. It has been great to watch them compete with each other- I first noticed when Vargas beat Thomas for the 1933 rookie of the year. Since then Thomas won a bunch of MVP awards, set a homerun record with 59 in 1934 and won a pair of pennants and a World Series.

Vargas seemed to play second fiddle until 1937 when he hit 60 homers (Thomas had 57 that year). However, Thomas still got the MVP and his Red Sox beat Vargas' Yankees for the pennant.

Last year it looked like Vargas would finally get his due as his Yankees won the pennant for the first time since 1924, but Thomas took the MVP and a newcomer named Charlie Mongan took the attention by tying Vargas' 60 homerun mark.

It has such a different feel from historical play and the possibilities are endless. I am dying to see how Thomas, Vargas and Mongan (and perhaps in the next couple of years young Sam Fuller from Hawaii) progress and what story lines develop.

I still can't believe the Senators would trade Mongan. (I have to remember to research past trades and see if I can find anything that looks to be such a franchise killer as I am expecting this could be for the Sens....but then again maybe one of the youngsters they got in return becomes the next superstar.

As I said I thought the 3 sluggers would be the big story for me to follow but the more I look around this universe the more I find.

The current Hawaii Islanders youth team is unbelievable. I also find myself wanting to see how the young Philadelphia Athletics prospects develop, especially pitcher Tom Priest and C Paul Collins. Plus the Dodgers have a huge collection of young talent as they have been so bad for the past decade.

There are some great college players to track as I look forward to running my first draft. I know I will take the high school slugger Fuller but I doubt he will be available when I pick so it would be great to get the A's an arm like Kemmerer of Alabama or George Odom from Mississippi...or do I take a chance on a high school age pitcher like Jack Warren from the Jacksonville Whales.

Tiger Fan · 05-29-2015, 06:23 PM

APRIL 29, 1939
300 HOME RUNS FOR THOMAS
Boston Red Sox right fielder Frank Thomas pounded a home run during the Red Sox 6-4 loss to the Athletics in Philadelphia today. Despite the defeat the long ball was a significant achievement and raised his career home run total to 300.

"Some hitters never live up to the hype," said his manager. "Frank has definitely lived up to his. He's hammered the heck out of the ball year after year."

In 915 career games Thomas has hit .367 with 1373 hits, 300 home runs, 959 RBIs and scored 850 runs.

The Red Sox star went 1 hit for 5 at-bats during the game, scoring 1 run and had 3 RBI. He hit his milestone homer off of A's starter Jim Thayer with 2 on and 2 out in the third inning. It put Boston up 3-1 at the time but the A's replied with 4 runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good. It was the 4th homerun Thomas has hit off of Thayer in his career.

Tiger Fan · 05-31-2015, 01:42 AM

MONDAY MAY 1, 1939
MONGAN TEARING INTO A.L. PITCHING

The big news this past week all centered around Cleveland Indians third baseman Charlie Mongan, after the 24 year old slugger belted 7 homeruns and had 20 rbi's in 7 games. After hitting a record tying 60 homeruns last season, Mongan seems to be well on his way towards shattering that mark as he already has 10 roundtrippers in just 13 games.

The highlight on Mongan's big week was Saturday when he had 3 hits, including a pair of three run homers, and drove in 8 as the Indians beat Detroit 12-8. It was his second 2 homer game of the week but despite Mongan's efforts the Indians only went 4-3 last week and sit in the middle of the pack in the American League.

The hottest team in the American League is the New York Yankees, who have won 4 games in a row and 11 of their last 12 games after starting the season 0-2. The Yankees lead the major leagues in runs scored with 2B Martin Robbins (.407,0,14), RF Elgie Vargas (.394,4,11) and CF John Hanson (.327,1,11) leading the way.

The Philadelphia Athletics are also on a roll. After opening the season with a pair of wins over Washington, the A's lost 6 straight but have rebounded nicely with a 5 game winning streak that included a pair of wins over Boston and 2 more over the Senators. Outfielders Bill Wodke (.460,0,5) and Deivi Alvarez (.400,0,14) are both off to a great start to the season. Starting pitcher Bill Coon is 2-1 with a 3.20 era in his bid to rebound from an injury that cost him all but one game of the 1938 season.

At the other end of the spectrum are Boston and Washington. The Red Sox have lost 5 straight and 6 of 7 while the Senators have dropped each of their last 4.

Code:


MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS

AMERICAN	 W  L  GB	NATIONAL	 W  L  GB
NY Yankees	11  3   -	Pittsburgh	10  3   -
Chicago		 9  4  1.5	NY Giants	 9  4   1.0
Philadelphia	 7  6  3.5	Boston		 9  5   1.5
St Louis	 6  7  4.5	Cincinnati	 7  5   2.5
Cleveland	 6  7  4.5	Brooklyn	 6  7   4.0
Detroit	  	 5  8  5.5	St Louis	 4  8   5.5
Boston		 5  8  5.5	Chicago	 	 4  9	6.0
Washington	 4 10  7.0	Philadelphia 	 3 11   7.5

		    BATTING LEADERS
AMERICAN		 AVG	NATIONAL		 AVG
Bill Wodke	PHA	.460	Alex Gamboa	CIN	.386
Ned Knapp	BOS	.455	Charlie Peacock	STL	.385
Abel Knight	SLB	.422	Daisy Wilkerson STL	.385

			HOME RUNS
AMERICAN		HR	NATIONAL		HR
Charlie Mongan	CLE	10	Linus Hoffman	BKN	4
Elgie Vargas	NYY	 4	several tied at		2
Frank Thomas	BOS	 3
John Babcock	CHA	 3 

			RBI'S
AMERICAN		RBI	NATIONAL		RBI
Charlie Mongan	CLE	28	John Wagoner	NYG	15
John Babcock	CHA	15	Marty Wolf	BKN	14
Deivi Alvarez	PHA	14	Linus Hoffman	BKN	13

PHILADELPHIA A'S GAME BY GAME RECAP

MONDAY APRIL 24: Lost 9-5 to the Yankees in New York despite a 3-run homer from SS Vince Craft. Jim Thayer gave up all 9 runs over 7 innings of work to even his record at 1-1.

TUESDAY APRIL 25: Losing streak reaches 6 games with a 6-2 loss to the Yankees. Catcher Marty Carey hit his first homer of the season to drive in both runs. Yankee starting pitcher Jake Banks held the A's to just 4 hits in the game. Emmett Pisano dropped to 0-2 on the season as he took the loss for Philly after pitching 7 inning, allowing 9 hits and 5 runs.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 26: A's salvage a game out of their trip to New York with a 3-2 victory. Pinch-hitter Al Eaton hits a solo shot off of Yankees starter Silver Gilpin to lead off the 9th inning to give the A's the win. Philly starter George Dill goes the distance allowing only 5 hits but he was pitching out of trouble all day after walking 9. Carey and Craft each have 2 hits while LF Bill Wodke goes 3-for-5.

THURSDAY APRIL 27: Off to Washington for 2 games and the A's start with a 10-7 victory in 11 innings. Deisi Alvarez has 3 hits and drives in 3 runs. Wodke, CF Francisco Martinez and 3B Wild Bill Gillen each deliver with 3 hits and a pair of runs scored. Tom Stern gets the win in relief of George Flack.

FRIDAY APRIL 28: Winning streak reaches 3 with a 4-3 win over the Senators. Wodke's sac fly in the 8th snaps a 3-3 tie and plates Gillen with the winning run. Wodke and Alvarez each have another 3-hit game...third in a row for Wodke and second straight for Alvarez. Bill Coon struggled early, allowing all 3 Washington runs in the first inning but settles down and goes the distance to improve to 2-1 on the season.

SATURDAY APRIL 29: Back home for a quick 2 game series with Boston before heading on the road for 10. A's get win #4 in a row with a 6-4 victory. Alvarez and 1B Ed Clemmer each lead the offense with 2 hits and an rbi. Wodke gets the day off. Frank Thomas leads the Boston offense with a 3-run homer (the 300th of his career) but Jim Thayer retires him in his other 4 plate appearances. Thayer pitches 8 innings allowing 7 hits to improve to 2-1 with help from Tom Stern, who earns his first save of the year after a scoreless nonth.

SUNDAY APRIL 30: A's rally with 3 in the bottom of the 9th to extend their winning streak to 5 with a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox. Second baseman Asa Garcia hits a bases-loaded single to score the tying and winning runs with 2 out in the ninth. Emmett Pisano allows 6 Boston hits and gets his first win of the season in going the distance. The Red Sox elect to rest slugger Frank Thomas in this game.

The week ahead: The A's have the day off today before playing 2 games in Chicago and then moving on to St Louis for 3 with the Browns. The week ends with a stop in Detroit for a 3 game set beginning Sunday.

OTHER NOTES: The Pittsburgh Pirates started the week with 6 straight victories before falling 7-2 to Cincinnati on Sunday. Pirates 24 year old catcher Asa Salvatierra was named National League player of the week after getting 12 hits in 16 at bats. He has been platooning with veteran John Garcia behind the plate for the Bucs but may see a lot more action as through 9 games he is batting .559.

AMERICAN LEAGUE HOME RUN RACE

One of the highlights this season is sure to be the race between the big 3 power hitters of the American League. I will track their weekly and season long production.

Mongan was player of the week and had an amazing run. Thomas struggled much of the week but did get his 300th career homerun. Vargas missed 3 games with a sore knee but still managed to put up some impressive numbers despite only playing 3 games.

Code:

AMERICAN LEAGUE POWER RACE
	     	    	  SEASON	  LAST WEEK
TM  NAME		HR  RBI  AVG	HR RBI  AVG[/b]
CLE Charlie Mongan	10   28 .392	 7 20  .393
NYY Elgie Vargas	 4   11 .394	 1  3  .462
BOS Frank Thomas	 3   11 .294     1  4  .259

AAA NEWS
The Columbus Redbirds cooled off a bit, going 3-3 last week but are still 5 games ahead of Indianapolis atop the American Association with a 19-4 record. The race in the Pacific Coast League is much tighter as Sacramento and Hollywood share first place with 13-10 records. The Los Angeles Angels are a half game back and the San Diego Padres are just a game off the pace.

The April awards were handed out and the most impressive winner has to be Minneapolis Millers pitcher Al Vasquez, who was named American Association pitcher of the month. Vasquez, a 28 year old prospect in the Giants system, pitched 29 innings without allowing an earned run. He was 3-0 and held opposing hitters to a .117 average. A Houston native who pitched for the Northern Cal academy league team before being selected by the Giants in the 5th round of the 1930 draft, Vasquez spent the 1937 season in the Giants bullpen but has never been given the opportunity in a major league rotation.

Mark Snyder of the Kansas City Blues (NYY) was named the player of the month in the American Association. The 29 year old outfielder hit .410 with 5 homers and 22 rbi's.

The top hitter for April in the PCL was Los Angeles Angels outfielder Giles Jennings. He hit .330 with 4 homers and 18 rbi's. Jennings has spent the better part of the last 6 seasons in AAA with the Angels, but has appeared in 56 major league games with the Cubs during that span.

Another veteran Cubs farmhand was named the PCL pitcher of the month. 35 year old Grant Garcia won all 6 of his starts in April and had a 2.09 era.

PLAYER PROFILE: AL VASQUEZ

Not sure if there is a way to find out as I don't think it is stored in the game anywhere but I have never noticed a pitcher with a longer scoreless inning streak than the current string of 38 consecutive that Minneapolis hurler Al Vasquez has going.

He started the season by blanking Cincinnati in spring training while in the Giants camp. Vasquez went all 9 innings in his only spring appearance and allowed just 4 Reds hits. In AAA, the Minneapolis Millers hurler blanked St Paul 6-0 on April 17, Toledo 5-0 on April 22 and on April 27 he pitched an 11 inning complete game against Indianapolis to earn a 1-0 win and give him 29 consecutive scoreless innings to start the AAA season.

His career nearly came to an end in his first year of Academy ball with the Northern California Stars. He was 8-15 as a 16 year old but late in the season suffered a fractured skull after being hit by a batted ball. He was sidelined for 4 months but took the mound again at the start of the following season. Returning to the Stars Vasquez went 13-14 in 1928 before suffering through a dreadful 1929 season with an awful team when he was 5-16 with a 5.01. He rebounded nicely the following season and helped the Stars to a second place finish in the Pacific League by going 15-5 with a 2.89 era.

It was good enough for the New York Giants to draft him in the 5th round (85th overall) of the 1930 draft. He spent the next four seasons bouncing back and forth from the Giants rookie team to short-A Clinton of the Midwest League and full season A ball Fresno of the Western League.

By 1934 Vasquez established himself at Fresno and was 10-8 with a 4.00 era before being promoted to AA Jersey City near the end of the season. He would spend much of 1935 in Jersey City and was 13-6 with a 4.52 era before moving to AAA Minneapolis for 1 start and getting a September call-up to New York where he pitched 2/3 of an inning for the Giants.

He spent 1936 in Jersey City, going 11-10 with a 4.76 era in 25 starts before again earning a September call-up to New York. The Giants gave him 6 appearances out of the pen and he got his first major league win along with 3 saves.

Vasquez spent all of 1937 on the Giants roster, going 8-5 with 8 saves and he did get 7 starts but was primarily used in relief.

Last year he was injured in training camp and ended up spending the entire year with the AAA Millers, going 11-14 with a 4.49 era. This year he found himself back in Minneapolis but has made the most of his time in AAA with 3 straight shutouts.

It will be interesting to see how long his scoreless innings streak continues and if Vasquez gets another shot with the Giants.

05-23-2015, 09:21 PM	#21
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	March 29, 1939 MARCH 29, 1939 SCOUTING TRIP TO HAWAII Went to Hawaii to watch the Islanders host the Dakota Loggers in Western Academy League action. The Islanders are first in the Pacific League with a 47-11 record while the Loggers are 18 games off the pace at 29-29, tied with Oregon for 3rd place. It is one of just two games on the Western Academy schedule today but the main reason I am here is to watch John Finley pitch. Finley is off to an 11-0 start this season and is making a case to be a first round draft pick in June. I will also get to see Sam Fuller, the Islanders slugging outfielder, in action as well. Finley pitches 7 strong innings, leaving with a 4-1 lead and allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run. His command is good as 74 of his 104 pitches are strikes but he tops out in the high 80s so velocity might be a concern. He looks good at the plate as well, hitting 3 balls well including one for a second inning single to plate the game's first run. In the end he leaves with a no decision as Hawaii reliever Joe Moore gets lit up for 6 runs (5 earned) in an inning and two-thirds work and the Islanders fall 7-6. Fuller has little opportunity to do much as the Loggers respect his power and pitch around him all day. He draws a pair of walks and hits two sharp ground ball outs. Islanders first baseman Montrel Buenaventura catches my attention, ripping 3 hits including his 16th homerun of the season. Born in Italy, but grew up in California, he is draft eligible and might be a player to consider with a later pick. He is batting .330 with 16 homers and 67 rbi's but I have to remember this is a hitters park and he is likely seeing a lot more good pitches batting in front of Fuller than he might normally get on a different team. For the Loggers, catcher Amos Forlines is a player to keep an eye on. He had 3 hits in the game and is third in the Pacific League in batting with a .354 average on the season. He is not strong defensively and a slow runner but does have some power potential. MAJOR LEAGUE NEWS From Florida I receive word the Athletics doubled the Red Sox 6-3 in spring action to improve their record to 6-5. Veteran George Flack started on the mound and pitched 4 solid innings, allowing just 1 run. Infielder Asa Garcia, a 27 year old who hit .253 in 111 games as a rookie with the A's last year, led the offense with 2 hits including a double and a pair of rbi's. We held Red Sox slugger Frank Thomas to a pair of fly ball outs and a walk in the game. In other action Cleveland hammered Washington 7-0 The Yankees dropped Detroit 10-1 St Louis Browns trimmed the White Sox 3-2 Cardinals beat the Cubs 6-2 Giants blasted the Boston Braves 10-1 Pittsburgh downed Brooklyn 5-3 and the Phillies pounded Cincinnati 9-1. BRAVES KMIECIK MAY MISS START OF SEASON Boston Braves star outfielder Dan Kmiecik hurt his shoulder in a 10-1 loss to the New York Giants and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. The 31 year old hit .325 with 7 homers and 88 rbi's for the Braves last year, his 10th season with the club. He won the National League MVP award in 1932 and again 2 years later. ACADEMY LEAGUE NEWS DRAFT PROSPECT O'BRIEN SIDELINED UNTIL JULY Chick O'Brien expressed disappointment but also relief after finding out he would be out 4 months with torn ankle ligaments he suffered on 03/25/1939. Speaking to a reporter at the team's clubhouse, O'Brien, the Carolina King's center fielder said, "Based on how bad it hurt, I was worried I would be out a lot longer." This season O'Brien is hitting .338 with 4 home runs. O'Brien was recently named the 5th best prospect available in the initial Draft Rankings. NORTHEAST ACADEMY PITCHER SHINES At Moles Ballpark today the Chatham Anglers blitzed the Falmouth Commodores 10-0 in Cape Cod League play thanks to a route-going gem by Hardy Hoffman. He blanked them on a 6-hitter and had 4 strikeouts in the contest. Despite still being just 15 years old Hoffman has posted a 10-4 mark in 16 starts this season and has a 2.83 ERA. The victory made Hoffman the league's first 10 game winner this season and moved the Anglers to within 1 game of idle Brewster atop the Cape Cod League standings. Code: NORTHEAST ACADEMY STANDINGS CAPE COD LEAGUE W L GB Brewster Whitecaps 33 27 - Yarmouth Red Sox 32 27 0.5 Chatham Anglers 32 28 1.0 Cotuit Kettlers 31 28 1.5 Bourne Braves 31 29 2.0 Harwich Mariners 28 32 5.0 Hyannis Harbor Hawks 26 33 6.5 Falmouth Commodores 25 34 7.5 METRO NY LEAGUE W L GB Queens Monarchs 35 24 - Brooklyn Bees 35 25 0.5 Long Island Ducks 31 29 4.5 Bronx Bombers 31 29 4.5 Staten Island Ports 30 29 5.0 Yonkers Bears 26 33 9.0 Manhattan Pigeons 25 34 10.0 Coney Island Tigers 25 35 10.5 Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 05-23-2015 at 09:26 PM.

05-24-2015, 01:11 AM	#22
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	March 30, 1939 MARCH 30, 1939 PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS PITCHING PREVIEW Here is a closer look at the depth chart throughout the organization for my Philadelphia Athletics. The image below lists all of the pitchers under contract and where the players are presently assigned. Stats are shown for last year at the level the player currently is at. The AA Toronto Maple Leafs, for example, show no pitchers at this time because they are all presently either on the 40 man roster and at the big league camp or are listed as with AAA San Diego or Class A Houston at this time. Our rotation is desperately awaiting the arrival of Tom Priest, the number one prospect in the organization. Priest split each of the past 2 seasons between short A Dubuque of the Midwest League and Class A Houston of the Texas League. He is 23 now and a veteran of 3 and a half minor league seasons so I expect he will quickly be promoted to Toronto and may be a September call-up to the big leagues. Other than Priest the only other starting pitchers with potential are a pair of youngsters in Dubuque. 21 year old Masao Tanabe was 6-6 in the rookie league before moving to Dubuque late last season. Monte Beasley was a 7th round pick last year and made one start with the short-A Packers after going 3-3 in 12 starts in the rookie league. Neither are considered top of the rotation prospects and both are still about 3 years away. 40 MAN ROSTER Jim Thayer would be the closest thing we have to an ace but the second round pick in 1932 is probably more suited to being a number 3 starter in the majors. Made his major league debut in 1936 going 2-1 with 3.68 era in 16 relief appearances. Started 1937 in AA Toronto but was promoted in June and pitched primarily out of the pen, finishing with an 8-10 record with 4 saves and a 3.22 era. Last year Thayer spent the entire season in the Athletics rotation, leading the team with 16 wins. Bill Coon used to be the ace of the staff and was named the top pitcher in the American League in 1935 when he went 19-13 with a 2.92 era. He dipped to 11-21 5.13 era the following season before going 15-12 with a 4.81 era in 1937. He hurt his arm late in the 1937 season and missed his final 3 starts. Last year he lasted less than 3 innings as he blew out his shoulder in his first start and was done for the year. He has not yet recovered all of his velocity following the surgery and some question if he will ever be the same pitcher he was before the injury. 32 year old Emmett Pisano finally got his chance to pitch regularly in the majors last season after 5 years of spending most of his time in AAA. He was acquired from the Giants midway through the 1933 season. He worked on perfecting a knuckle-curve last season but his best pitch remains his forkball. 34 year old George Dill has spent the past 5 years in the A's rotation but is 93-129 as a starter. He lost 20 games each of the past 2 seasons. Bottom of the rotation guy at best. 36 year old George Flack once went 7-27 in a dismal season with the Detroit Tigers but has pitched for 4 different major league teams in the past 4 years. He was signed by the A's last April after being let go by Detroit for the second time and was 10-5 with a 4.62 era in 24 starts. Cy Tinger will be given a shot to make the A's rotation based on his strong showing after being recalled from AAA San Diego in August. The 33 year old went 5-0 with a 3.30 era in 5 starts down the stretch. He was a 10th round pick in 1925 by the White Sox and has been released by more minor league teams than one would care to count. The Athletics signed him in June of 1934 and he worked his way up the system, even winning AAA Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year honours in 1938 when he went 17-11 with a 3.31 era for the Padres. He also won pitcher of the year in the Short-A Midwest League back in 1930 when he went 11-1 with a 2.87 era for the Burlington Bees (Boston Braves farm club) As for the bullpen, the A's will have to rely on George Thurston, Tom Stern and lefthander Buck Parham. Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-24-2015, 02:15 AM	#23
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	March 30, 1939 MARCH 30, 1939 PHILADELPHIA ATHLETICS POSITION PLAYER REVIEW The Athletics have a great young shortstop and some outfield talent but there are some real needs everywhere else and little immediate help as the only prospects with real potential are at least a couple years away. CATCHING: 21 year old prospect Paul Collins is the catcher of the future. He was drafted 5th overall in 1937 and won a gold glove at Short A Dubuque last year - his first full season as a pro. He has outstanding power potential and hit .327 in 10 games with Houston last year. Might start the year with the Class A Buffaloes but is still at least 2 years from the majors. Until then the A's will have to rely on Marty Carey behind the plate. The 29 year old was MVP of the Class AA Eastern League with Toronto in 1934 and a PCL all-star with San Diego the following season. Made the majors for good in 1935 and has improved his batting average each of the past 3 seasons. 1ST BASE: Asa Garcia and Joe Wiederholt will likely platoon at the position again. Garcia has some power potential and has just 1 full season in the majors under his belt. The veteran Wiederholt played for the Cubs and Yankees before joining the A's in 1936. He is good enough defensively to play second base or even shortstop in a real pinch but lacks the batting skills to be an everyday player. 21 year old Lawrence Visser, a 3rd round pick in 1936 and a former Florida Academy League player of the year is a mid-level prospect. 2ND BASE: Hick Perks has played second base for the A's for the past 6 seasons and won a gold glove in 1934. No power, but he is a decent contact guy and has some speed. There are no real prospects worth mentioning at second base but young shortstop Leech Fritze could be moved to second since his path to the majors is blocked by Vince Craft. 3RD BASE: Wild Bill Gillen is still learning on the job but is a solid leadoff man and provides a decent glove at the hot corner. Still just 25 years old, he was drafted out of the San Francisco Miners Academy League program 3rd overall in 1933. Hit .254 in his first full season with the A's 2 years ago and improved all of his numbers last year. Kitty Todd has played well at AAA San Diego but has not been given the chance to perform at the major league level, getting just 29 games with the A's over the past 3 seasons. However, he hit just .184 in the 76 at bats he was given so maybe you can't blame the A's brass. Dick Martin was added to the rookie league roster over the off-season. He has some potential but the former Ohio State Buckeye was released by Detroit the same season the Tigers drafted him. SHORTSTOP: 1933 second round pick Vince Craft is the closest thing the A's have to a superstar. He breezed through the minors quite quickly for an Academy League player and made the A's early in the 1936 season. Has played 324 career games and has a career batting average of .315. He may be shifted to second base down the road to make room for the team's best infield prospect in 21 year old Leech Fritze. A first round pick from the Dakota Loggers, Fritze is very good defensively but the question is will he hit enough to be a high end major leaguer. OUTFIELD: The A's have four solid outfielders in Deivi Alvarez, Bill Wodke, Francisco Martinez and Jim Strickland. Alvarez, who will turn 26 before opening day, is another player who learned the game in San Francisco Miners academy system before be selected 5th overall in 1932. He hit .336 with 18 homers in 1937, his first full season with the A's. Wodke, a former Metro NY League player of the year with the Long Island Ducks, was taken fourth overall in 1934. He has spent 3 seasons with the A's despite still being just 24 years old. Last year he won a gold glove for his work in right field. Martinez, the centerfielder, is a 1931 first round pick and has played 3 full seasons with the A's. He is out of the Florida Academy League where he played for the Jupiter Hammerheads. At 29 years of age, Strickland is the veteran of the outfield. He spells the other 3 and provides a decent bat off the bench. Was a first round pick of Washington in 1929 before being dealt to the A's in 1932. 24 year old Jose Campos is presently at Houston but should make the jump to at least AA Toronto this year. He is the closest outfield prospect to the majors but the best is definitely 20 year old center fielder Jack Bew. Bew was a 3 time Metro NY League all-star with the Long Island Ducks before being taken with the first pick of the second round last year. He hit .349 in 23 games with the A's rookie league team and will begin this season with Dubuque. Last year's third round pick, 20 year old Jack Dillon is also a prospect to keep an eye on. Here are the position players with their stats from last year for the level they are presently listed at. Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-24-2015, 10:55 AM	#24
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	March 31, 1939 MARCH 31, 1939 TIGNER LEADS A'S TO WIN Cy Tigner allowed just 2 hits in pitching 4 shutout innings to help the Philadelphia Athletics past the Chicago White Sox 3-2. 30 year old George Ruhnke, who made the majors for the first time last season as the A's backup catcher after 8 years in the minors, went 2-for-3 with a 2-run homer to pace the offense. Boston outfielder Frank Thomas hit his third roundtripper of the season to help the Red Sox trounce Cleveland 9-4. Francisco Bautista, a 34 year old carer minor leaguer fighting to travel north with the Yankees pitched 4 shutout innings for the second time this spring as the Yanks blanked the St Louis Browns 6-0. In the other American League game Detroit won for just the second time in 12 spring games, beating Washington 4-2 Today I am in Oxford, Mississippi to watch pitching prospect George Odom (7-5, 2.59 era) in action as the Rebels host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Neither team is doing well this season and both will certainly miss the College World Series playoffs. First baseman Francisco Salinas, who has 10 homers and is hitting .287 is another draft eligible player from Mississippi to watch. It should also give me a chance to see Ole Miss catcher John Maly in action for the first time. Maly is not draft eligible until next year but is hitting .349 this season. He is a former Academy player with the Lakeland Pilots. Jimmy Powers, another former Florida Adademy League player, is the top Georgia Tech draft eligible player to watch. The outfielder, who played for the Port Charlotte Anglers, is hitting .327 this season. GEORGIA TECH 6 MISSISSIPPI 3 I came to watch Mississippi pitcher George Odom but it was Yellow Jackets hurler David Cisneros who stole the show. The senior had a no-hitter for 7 and a third before Rebels outfielder Doug Bishop broke it up in the 8th. Cisneros was not on my draft radar at all as he was 5-8 with a 4.64 era in 17 starts this season but he is a player I will have to watch a little more closely. As for the man I did come to see, Odom had a terrible game and did not survive the 5th inning after allowing 6 runs on 9 hits. Other standout NCAA performances today include Notre Dame's John Griggs tossing a complete game 5-hit shutout as the Irish blanked Arizona State 2-0. Stanford junior Luis Ojeda allowed just 4 hits in going the distance as the Cardinals blanked UCLA 6-0. Here are the NCAA standings as of the end of March. The 3 division winners and one wildcard in each league qualify for the playoffs. Code: NCAA STANDINGS NCAA EAST ACC W L GB Clemson 46 26 - Maryland 41 31 5.0 North Carolina 37 35 9.0 NC State 32 40 14.0 Virginia 29 43 17.0 Georgia Tech 26 46 20.0 SEC W L GB Georgia 43 29 - Alabama 41 31 2.0 Tennessee 37 35 6.0 Kentucky 31 41 12.0 Mississippi 28 44 15.0 LSU 28 44 15.0 IVY W L GB Harvard 50 22 - Yale 37 35 13.0 Columbia 37 35 13.0 Dartmouth 36 36 14.0 Brown 36 36 14.0 Princeton 33 39 17.0 NCAA WEST BIG 6 W L GB Michigan St 44 28 - Wisconsin 40 32 4.0 Ohio State 39 33 5.0 Michigan 37 35 7.0 Minnesota 34 38 10.0 Notre Dame 27 45 17.0 SOUTHWEST W L GB Texas Tech 44 28 - Oklahoma 37 35 7.0 Arkansas 37 35 7.0 Texas 36 36 8.0 Nebraska 36 36 8.0 Arizona State 36 36 8.0 PAC 6 W L GB Washington St 45 27 - UCLA 39 33 6.0 USC 32 40 13.0 Oregon State 32 40 13.0 California 28 44 17.0 Stanford 25 47 20.0 CLEMSON SWEEPS NCAA EAST MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS Clemson Tigers claimed both the pitcher and hitter of the month awards for March. Senior pitcher Caleb Webber was named the NCAA East top pitcher for the month of March. The New York native, who missed all of his sophomore campaign with a shoulder injury, was 5-1 in 7 starts this past month. On the season he is 11-5 with a 2.96 era for the Tigers, who presently sit in first place in the ACC division. Junior outfielder Tom Lewis was named the top batter after hitting .347 with 7 homeruns and 24 rbi's in March. For the season Lewis is batting .340 in 63 games with 12 homers and 44 rbi's. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, the 21 year old played for the Cape Cod League's Brewster Whitecaps prior to joining the Tigers. Nebraska 19 year old freshman Jerry Caldwell was named the top pitcher for March in the West. He was 5-1 with a 1.83 era in 8 starts and on the season is 10-6 with a 3.13 era. The NCAA West hitter award went to Ohio State senior Owen Beard, who posted a.375 batting average with 5 homeruns last month. For the season Beard is hitting .278 with 13 homeruns. The Carrboro, North Carolina native played for the Bradenton Mauraders of the Florida Academy Leagues prior to joining the Buckeyes. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-25-2015, 10:57 PM	#26
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	Something weird I will need to adjust for next season. I never noticed it before but the minor league seasons are all starting on April 6th despite the fact that major league spring training does not end until April 11th. APRIL 6, 1939 The minor league season gets underway today. In AAA there are 5 games including the A's San Diego Padres farm team travelling to Hollywood to play the Stars. The AA Eastern League's Toronto Maple Leafs are home to Syracuse. In Class A, the Texas League's Houston Buffaloes open their season tomorrow in Dallas. The A's dropped their roster down to 25 players and made some interesting decisions with their top prospects. Pitcher Tom Priest will start the season at AA Toronto and will be the Maple Leafs opening day starter. 21 year old catcher Paul Collins is making the biggest jump after playing just 14 games in full season A ball he has been named the starting catcher for the AAA San Diego Padres. Meanwhile shortstop Leech Fritze moves up to full season A Ball after playing 1 game in Short A last year but the rest of the time was in the rookie league. MINOR LEAGUE OPENING DAY RESULTS Collins went 1 for 5 in his AAA debut as the Padres beat Hollywood 9-6. 23 year old outfielder Joe Munday and veteran shortstop Gersham Burns led the way with 3 hits and 2 rbi's each. 35 year old hurler Nate Casey, who has spent most of the last decade with the Padres had a strong start for the victory. Our top pitching prospect, Tom Priest, did not fare well in his AA debut. Syracuse lit him up for 10 runs and 13 hits in 6 plus innings as the Maple Leafs were hammered 11-4 at home. APRIL 10, 1939 Just 2 more games left in the spring schedule before teams pack and head north in antipcation of next week's season openers. Not good news for the Athletics, who have lost 8 in a row. At the other end of the spectrum are the St Louis Browns, winners of their last 8. Code: SPRING TRAINING STANDINGS AMERICAN W L NATIONAL W L Yankees 16 6 Phillies 14 8 Browns 14 8 Braves 13 9 White Sox 12 10 Giants 13 9 Red Sox 12 10 Pirates 13 9 Indians 10 12 Reds 10 12 Tigers 9 13 Cardinals 10 12 Athletics 8 14 Cubs 9 13 Senators 7 15 Dodgers 6 16 There isn't a hotter player in baseball right now than Frank Thomas of the Red Sox. Thomas is batting .391 for the spring with 9 homeruns. No one else has hit more than 4. The hottest hitter in the Academy Leagues continues to be Hawaii Islanders outfielder Sam Fuller. Fuller had 2 homeruns and 9 rbi's in back to back wins over the California Seals on the weekend. That leaves his season average at .372 with 31 roundtrippers and 86 rbi's...tops in the entire Western Academy Leagues in all 3 categories. The 31st homer tied Fuller with former Utah Star and now New York Giants farmhand Len Butler for the second most ever hit in a Western Academy season. The record is 51 held by Cleveland Indians slugger Charlie Mongan, who set the mark with the Austin Marshalls in 1932. With 60 games left in the season Fuller has a good chance to catch Mongan for both the single season and career homerun records. Mongan hit 107 homers in his Western Academy career. Fuller presently has 90. NCAA WEEKLY UPDATE Georgia is on a 6 game winning streak which helped the Bulldogs move into number one in the weekly college power rankings. The Bulldogs are 4 games ahead of Alabama in the SEC Division. Elsewhere in the East, Clemson has a 6 game lead on Maryland atop the ACC while Harvard, despite winning just 4 of their last 10, still leads Yale in the Ivy Division by 12 games. Out west, Washington State still enjoys a 6 game lead on UCLA in the PAC6 despite losing 4 of their last 5 and dropping out of the number one ranking. Michigan State is tops in the Big 6, 6 games up on Wisconsin while Texas Tech enjoys a 5 game lead on 3 teams in the Southwest. Code: NCAA WEEKLY TOP 10 RANKINGS (last week in brackets) 1- Georgia (8) 2- Harvard (2) 3- Washington State (1) 4- Michigan State (4) 5- Clemson (3) 6- Alabama (nr) 7- Texas Tech (7) 8- Maryland (10) 9- Wisconsin (5) 10- UCLA (nr) dropping out of top 10 were Ohio State and North Carolina TOP 5 BATTING Andy Sieczka California .414 Jimmy Falbo Yale .393 Art Kelly Ariz St .393 Dick Foster Stanford .387 Cowboy Ward Mich St .379 TOP 3 HOMERUNS Charlie Cochran Texas Tech 16 Al Holland Texas Tech 15 Tom Lewis Clemson 15 TOP 5 ERA LEADERS Welcome Newhall Georgia 1.57 Jim Sanicki Harvard 1.63 Charlie O'Reilly Oklahoma 1.74 Dave Kemmerer Alabama 1.88 Willie Doucett Harvard 1.90 TOP 5 WINS Caleb Webber Clemson 13-5 Charlie Gardner Harvard 12-4 Abel Smith Dartmouth 12-4 Dewey Sosa Clemson 12-5 Dave Kemmerer Alabama 12-6 Jerry Caldwell Nebraska 12-6 STRIKEOUT LEADERS Dave Kemmerer Alabama 126 George Odom Mississippi 114 Bill Andrews Wisconsin 100 Angelo Arias Texas 88 John Griggs Notre Dame 87 FRITZE PROMOTED TO AA TORONTO Leech Fritze never got a chance to play a game for Class A Houston in the Texas League before being promoted to AA Toronto. Fritze received word before Friday's Texas League opener to catch a train to Toronto where he was in the lineup for the Maple Leafs as they completed a series with Syracuse. He had 3 hits including a pair of doubles in the opener and is 4-for-12 while playing flawless defense after 3 games. 23 year old pitcher Tom Priest is expected to make his second start against the Skeeters in Jersey City tomorrow. At AAA San Diego the Athletics other top prospect, 21 year old catcher Paul Collins is struggling. He is 2-for-17 with 4 strikeouts through 4 games. Defensively he is 2-for-6 in caught stealing and has not yet made an error. The number 4 prospect in the A's system is 23 year old pitcher Tomas Garza. He got shelled pitching for Class A Houston, giving up 10 hits and 4 runs in 5 innings of a 10-1 loss to Dallas. Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-26-2015, 03:47 PM	#27
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	April 12, 1939 APRIL 12, 1939 A'S LIMP NORTH WITH 10 GAME LOSING STREAK Spring training did not finish well for the Philadelphia Athletics, who lost their last 10 games in a row and finish the spring tied with Washington for the worst record in the American League. The Grapefruit season ended with an 8-1 drubbing at the hands of the Senators. Only the struggling Brooklyn Dodgers at 6-18 finished with a worse mark. It is pitching that is killing the club. Three of the 5 starters had era's over 6.00 and the two counted on to anchor the rotation were awful. Bill Coon was dreadful, allowing 17 earned runs and 25 hits in 20 innings work while George Dill was even worse, surrendering 35 hits and 19 earned runs in 23 innings of action. Code: FINAL SPRING TRAINING STANDINGS AMERICAN W L NATIONAL W L Yankees 17 7 Phillies 15 9 Browns 15 9 Pirates 15 9 White Sox 13 11 Giants 14 10 Red Sox 13 11 Braves 14 10 Indians 12 12 Reds 11 13 Tigers 10 14 Cardinals 11 13 Athletics 8 16 Cubs 10 14 Senators 8 16 Dodgers 6 18 PRIEST PITCHES MAPLE LEAFS TO WIN Philadelphia Athletics top prospect Tom Priest had a much better second start in comparison to his Eastern League debut. Priest allowed just 5 hits and 2 runs over 8 and a third innings to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 6-2 victory over the Jersey City Skeeters in Class AA action. The 23 year old evened his record this season at 1-1. Priest was shelled for 13 hits and 10 runs in his Class AA debut last week. Last year he was 11-6 with a 4.59 era for Class A Houston after beginning the season with Dubuque of the Short-A Midwest League. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-26-2015, 04:26 PM	#28
goroyals All Star Reserve Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Kentucky Posts: 930	Really enjoying this so far, and I agree with with EC said about your talents. Looking forward to seeing the big league club get underway. Btw, thanks for including Kentucky in the SEC. So many of the other schools have more tradition IRL, here's to hoping for a few titles to justify your decision.

05-26-2015, 07:40 PM	#30
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	April 17, 1939 APRIL 17, 1939 OPENING DAY The major league season gets underway today with 1 game in each league. The defending American League champion New York Yankees will send reigning pitcher of the year Jay Moore (26-6, 2.63 last year) to the hill in the annual season starter in Washington against the Senators. The Senators will counter with 30 year old Elias Edmondson (12-17, 3.92). The National League opener goes in Cincinnati where the Reds will entertain the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kitty Martin (15-11, 3.92) pitches for the Bucs against John Harrison (11-19, 4.66) of the Reds. DODGERS HAVE TOP TWO PROSPECTS The Brooklyn Dodgers may have been the worst team in baseball over the past 7 or 8 years but they have plenty of young talent coming through the pipeline thanks to high draft picks. The Annual ranking of baseball's top 10 prospects was released yesterday and the Dodgers own the top 2 players and 3 of the top 8. Here is a look at the updated top 10: 1- BILL SCHMIDT: Brooklyn 2B - The 22 year old was selected 3rd overall in 1936 after a stellar academy league career with Falmouth of the Cape Cod League. He was batting .293 (12-for-41) with 2 homers in 10 games with AA Montreal of the Eastern League but the Dodgers just reassigned him to Class A Albuquerque. 2-WES KOKOLIS: Brooklyn SS - Taken 3rd overall last year from the Bradenton Mauraders of the Florida Gulf Academy League, Kokolis is just 20 years old and will begin the season with the Dodgers rookie league team when that season starts in June. 3- TOM PRIEST: Philadelphia A's P- The 23 year old was ranked the #2 prospect last year and is another former 3rd overall pick - this time in 1935. He is starting the season at AA Toronto and based on the Athletic's pitching woes could be in the big leagues by September. 4- KICK MCAVOY: St Louis Cardinals P- The 23 year old former college standout at Kentucky was selected 12th overall last year by the Cardinals. After pitching for AA Little Rock after the draft he was called up to the big leagues last September and earned 2 saves in relief for the Cardinals. He is starting the season in the St Louis bullpen but is just one injury away from claiming a spot in the rotation. 5- TOM PHILLIPS: Chicago Cubs P - The Cubs selected him 7th overall out of Ohio State last year and the 23 year old went 4-1 with a 2.55 era at Class A Fort Worth of the Texas League. He is back with the Cats again to start this season and his 3-0 with a 2.05 era and 13 k's in 26 innings of work. 6- RADHAMES CASADO: Philadelphia Phillies 2B - The 22 year old was the first overall pick of the 1936 draft after a winning player of the year with the Ohio Redcoats of the Midwest Academy League. Split last season between short A and full season A ball but after hitting .415 with the Phillies in spring training he earned a spot on the major league roster. 7- JACK HAUGHT: Washington Senators P - The 24 year old came to the Senators in part of the trade that sent homerun king Charlie Mongan to Cleveland. He went 10-12 in class A last year and is beginning this season once again in Class A with the Lubbock Ploughboys. Is 1-2 with a 5.23 era in 3 starts this season and is struggling with his control, walking 12 while only striking out 9. 8- SPENCER VACHA: Brooklyn Dodgers 1B: The third piece of the Dodgers infield of the future is 21 year old Vacha. Taken 2nd overall by the Dodgers from Port Charlotte of the Florida Academy Leagues, he missed much of last season with an injury so will at least begin the 1939 season once again at the Dodgers rookie league complex. 9- PACKY LANG: Cincinnati Reds 2B: The Reds top prospect is a 22 year old former star of the Daytona Beach academy program. A 5th overall pick in 1936, Lang played at 4 levels last year including 1 game with AA Chatanooga to end the season. He has started this season at Class A Mission of the Western League and is 12-for-41 with a homer and 8 rbi's through 10 games. 10- ELI STONE: St Louis Cardinals P: Stone won't turn 20 for another month but he is already getting a lot of attention from scouts. Taken 16th overall from the Salt Lake City academy program last year, he was 0-2 in 6 starts with the Cardinals rookie league squad before moving to short-A Crisfield to end the season. He will begin the 1939 season in Crisfield. Here is the updated top minor league system report. The Ahtletics moved up one spot from 5th to 4th but actually dropped slightly in points. Our players in the top 100 are : Code: ATHLETICS PROSPECTS IN TOP 100[/b] Pitcher Tom Priest 3rd 2nd last year Catcher Paul Collins 20th 16th last year Outfielder Jack Bew 41st not ranked last year Pitcher Tomas Garza 59th 80th last year Shortstop Leech Fritze 64th 55th last year Code: TOP MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS LAST YEAR TOP SYSTEMS THIS YEAR PTS 1st Brooklyn Dodgers 285 1st Brookyln Dodgers 312 2nd Cincinnati Reds 182 2nd Washington Senators 153 3rd Washington Senators 180 3rd Cincinnati Reds 152 4th Detroit Tigers 161 4th Philadelphia A's 145 5th Philadelphia Athletics 152 5th Philadelphia Phillies 145 6th Philadelphia Phillies 139 6th Detroit Tigers 134 7th St Louis Browns 107 7th St Louis Cardinals 103 8th Pittsburgh Pirates 99 8th St Louis Browns 91 9th New York Giants 92 9th Chicago Cubs 88 10th Cleveland Indians 63 10th Pittsburgh Pirates 80 11th Boston Braves 56 11th Cleveland Indians 79 12th Boston Red Sox 54 12th Boston Braves 51 13th Chicago Cubs 38 13th New York Giants 50 14th New York Yankees 34 14th Boston Red Sox 38 15th Chicago White Sox 22 15th New York Yankees 30 16th St. Louis Cardinals 16 16th Chicago White Sox 29 The St Louis Cardinals made the biggest jump thanks to having a pair of pitchers (Kick McAvoy and Eli Stone) ranked in the top 10. The Brooklyn Dodgers are just stacked with prospects but most are still a couple of years away from contributing. It's Monday so before we play the opening day major league games let's see what is happening in the NCAA top 10 poll. Code: NCAA WEEKLY TOP 10 RANKINGS (last week in brackets) 1- Harvard (2) 2- Clemson (5) 3- Washington State (3) 4- Alabama (6) 5- Tennessee (nr) 6- UCLA (10) 7- Georgia (1) 8- Michigan State (4) 9- Maryland (8) 10- Wisconsin (9) dropping out of top 10 was Texas Tech Getting down to about 35 games left in the NCAA season here is a look at how the divisions and wildcard races stack up. NCAA EAST: Clemson has an 8 game lead on Maryland atop the ACC. Georgia leads Alabama by one game and charging Tennessee by 3 in the SEC. Harvard has the best record in the league and is enjoying a 13 game lead on Yale and Columbia atop the Ivy. Alabama has won 3 in a row and are 2 games ahead of Tennessee (winners of 5 straight) and Maryland in the wildcard chase. NCAA WEST: Pac6 leader Washington State has the best record in the west and leads second place UCLA by 6 games in the division. Texas Tech has dropped 6 of their last 10 but still have a 3 game lead on Oklahoma in the Southwest. It is the tightest division as just 6 games seperate first from last. In the Big 6 Michigan State is slumping, dropping 7 of 10 but the Spartans still lead Wisconsin by 3 games and Michigan by 5. Wisconsin and UCLA are tied for the wildcard, 2 games up on Oklahoma and Michigan. SAM FULLER WATCH Since we last checked on Western Academy slugger Sam Fuller the Hawaii Islanders outfielder has hit 7 more home runs and now sits with 36 this season. He is chasing the Westerb Academy League record of 51 set by Charlie Mongan. Current New York Yankee John Hanson has the academy record from all 5 leagues as he hit 54 in 1934 while playing for the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida Academy League. Fuller has 43 games remaining in his season. Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-26-2015, 07:45 PM	#31
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	April 17, 1939 Here are the preseason predictions for the 1939 season. If they are accurate this will be a long season for the Athletics. Meanwhile, Yankees slugger Elgie Vargas seems poised for a once in a lifetime season. Watching the spring action I would suggest Frank Thomas of Boston may have something to say about Vargas and the Yankees. Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-26-2015, 11:01 PM	#32
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	April 18, 1939 APRIL 18, 1939 OPENING DAY SENATORS RALLY TO BEAT YANKS IN 10 Washington Senators outfielder Al Graham sent the crowd home happy with a walk-off rbi single in the 10th inning to give the Sens a 6-5 victory over the defending American League champion New York Yankees in the 1939 season opener. The 25 year old Graham lined a 2-1 pitch with 2 out off of Yankees reliver Sam Dignam to plate Bill Klingensmith, who had led off with a double, with the winning run. Graham was just the second batter Dignam faced after relieving Yankee starting pitcher Jay Moore. Moore took the loss, allowing 12 hits and 6 runs in 9 and a third innings. The Senators got to Moore early scoring 2 runs in each of the opening two innings. Meanwhile Washington starter Elias Edmondson held the Yankees hitless until the fourth inning. Two Washington errors helped the Yankees get a run in the fourth, cutting the Senators lead to 4-1. It was the 8th inning where things went bad for Edmondson as after retiring the first two Yankee hitters in the inning, he allowed singles to Martin Robbins and John Hanson sandwiched around a walk to Dioner Gonzales. That left the bases loaded for Yankee slugger Elgie Vargas. Edmondson was just a little too careful with the man who hit 54 homers last season and he walked Vargas to score New York's second run. Oscar Weidner followed with a run scoring single and Smith King reached on an error scoring another run and giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead. Washington forced extra innings thanks to a 9th inning pinch-hit triple from Jhoulys Cota and an rbi single from Herm White. With the ceremonial opening day game out of the way the Yankees return home to start a 3-game set with their biggest rival in the Boston Red Sox. The Senators travel to Philadelphia to face the Athletics for 3 games. The other American League games tomorrow have St Louis entertaining Cleveland while the Chicago White Sox are in Detroit to play the Tigers. In the National League opener the Cincinnati Reds scored all 6 of their runs in the second inning en route to a 6-2 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Shortstop Dan Paul and outfielder George Osgood paced the Cincinnati attack with 2 hits and 2 rbi's each. John Harrison went the distance, scattering 7 hits for the victory while Kitty Martin was saddled with the loss after allowing 9 hits and 5 walks. ATHLETICS DEMOTE COLLINS TO TORONTO The Philadelphia Athletics decided some time in AA would better suit 21 year old catcher Paul Collins. The squad's number 2 prospect started the season in AAA San Diego despite only have 14 games of A ball under his belt. He struggled early but was adjusting the past week and was now 11-for-41 in 9 games with the Padres before being sent to Toronto of the Eastern League. Collins made his debut in Toronto by going 1-for-4 with a double yesterday for the Maple Leafs in a 3-1 loss to Jersey City. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-27-2015, 11:30 PM	#33
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	April 19, 1939 April 19, 1939 COON SUCCESSFUL IN RETURN AS A'S WIN OPENER It was exactly one year to the day after tearing up his elbow that Philadelphia Athletics ace Bill Coon made his return to the mound at Shibe Park. Coon, who was the American Pitcher of the Year in 1935, looked like his old self as he went 8 1/3 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs as the Athletics beat visiting Washington 8-5. It was a huge turnaround from the terrible outings he had in spring training. The A's pounded out 18 hits in the victory including 4 from outfielder Bill Wodke and 3 each from catcher Marty Carey, infielder Ed Clemmer and outfielder Deivi Alvarez. The only weak spot for the home side was their defense as they committed 4 errors which contributed directly to 3 Washington runs. Elsewhere, in New York the visiting Boston Red Sox doubled the Yankees 6-3. Both of the big sluggers, Boston's Frank Thomas and the Yanks Elgie Vargas, went hitless in the game. The St Louis Browns pounded Cleveland 9-2 with reigning homerun king Charlie Mongan getting a pair of singles in a losing cause for the Tribe. The other American League game saw the Chicago White Sox beat the Tigers in Detroit by a 5-3 score. In the National League Frank Myers pitched a complete game 7 hitter as Pittsburgh downed St Louis 6-1. Sam Schaumburg of the Braves went the distance leading his team to a 5-1 win over Boston. Richard Franco pitched 8 innings of 4 hit ball as the Cubs dropped Cincinnati 7-1. The slugfest in the National League occurred in Brooklyn where the Giants outlasted the Dodgers by a 10-9 score. Shortstop John Wagoner had 3 hits including a pair of doubles and drove in 3 runs for the winners. Aurelo Ventura got the win for the Giants despite allowing 7 earned runs on 12 hits over 7 innings. MINOR LEAGUE NOTES John Malinowski pitched a 2 hit shutout as Milwaukee blanked Kansas City 3-0 in American Association action. The 38 year old righthander is making one last attempt to make the Boston Braves. He has played pro ball since 1920 but is major league career is limited to 11 games with the Braves in 1927. The Columbus Redbirds are tearing up the American Association as they are off to a 12-0 start. Yesterday they scored 3 times in the top of the ninth inning to beat Toledo 5-2. The San Diego Padres lost 5-3 to Sacramento and are now 6-6 in Pacific Coast League play. At 9-4 the Los Angeles Angels top the loop. The Athletics AA club Toronto beat Jersey City 8-7 yesterday thanks in big part to a 2-hit, 2-rbi performance from outfielder Jim Arnold. At 7-6, the Maple Leafs are 2 games back of Syracuse in the Eastern League. 27 year old Pete Cianfrani threw his second straight complete game, tossing a 1-0 shutout for Nashville in a win over Mobile. The Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand is 3-0 with a 0.72 era on the season. He appeared in 2 games for the big club last September and should be back in the majors soon the way he is throwing the ball. Nashville is 7-5 on the season and sits third in the Southern Association behind New Orleans (9-3) and Little Rock (8-5). In Class A, A's prospect Tomas Garza fell to 0-3 on the season after absorbing a 6-1 loss to Beaumont in Texas League play. The Houston Buffaloes hurler was outpitched by Tom Anton of the Explorers. Anton, a 26 year old Pittsburgh prospect, allowed just 4 Houston hits in improving his record to 3-0 with a 1.44 era. NCAA Bill Andrews pitched 10 innings of 2 hit shutout ball but failed to get a decision as it took the University of Wisconsin 11 innings to score a run and beat Minnesota 1-0. Andrews, who is a freshman, fanned a career best 12 Gophers hitters in the game. His 114 strikeouts on the season put him third in the entire NCAA. He is tied for fourth with a 1.80 era and owns a win/loss record of 10-4. ACADEMY LEAGUE Hawaii's John Finley saw his personal 13 game winning streak come to an end as he suffered his worst outing of his career in a 17-7 drubbing at home against the Los Angeles Chargers. Finley did not survive the second inning after allowing 8 hits and 11 earned runs. Oklahoma Oiler second baseman Walsh Ross is starting to turn scouts heads. The 19 year old had a 5 hit game in a 14-2 victory over the North Texas Cubs. He had a 25 game hitting streak come to an end late last week but followed up the hitless game by going 10-for-18 in the past 5 contests. On the season he is batting .339 for the Oilers, who trail Austin by 1 game atop the Western Academy's Desert League. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-28-2015, 12:11 AM	#34
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	April 20, 1939 April 20, 1939 ATHLETICS SPANK SENATORS 6-2 Deivi Alvarez had 3 hits and a pair of rbi's to lead the Philadelphia Athletics past the Washington Senators 6-2 in American League action. Alvarez hit an rbi single in the third to give the A's a 2-0 lead at the time and added another one in the 7th to make the score 6-1. Both base hits scored outfielder Bill Wodke who, like Alvarez, leads the club with 6 hits in 9 at bats through 2 games. 26 year old righthander Jim Thayer, who was 16-16 a year ago for the A's, went the distance allowing 5 Washington hits while fanning 5. VARGAS BELTS TWO Elgie Vargas hit his first two homeruns of the season and drove in 4 to lead the New York Yankees past Boston 10-6. Frank Thomas hit one of 3 Red Sox roundtrippers in the game. The St Louis Browns took care of Cleveland for the second day in a row, beating the Tribe 5-1 despite 3 hits from Indians slugger Charlie Mongan. The 24 year old Mongan, who hit a record-tying 60 homeruns last year, was a longball away from hitting for the cycle in the game. In Detroit, Dan Loughlin allowed just 6 hits and no earned runs in a 5-1 Tigers victory over the Chicago White Sox. George Myers pitched a complete game 3 hit shutout to pace the Pittsburgh Pirates past the St Louis Cardinals 7-0 in National League action. In Chicago, veteran third baseman Bill Farley who was acquired by the Cubs from Detroit in the offseason, hit a grand slam and drove in 5 runs as the Cubs beat Cincinnati 8-7. The New York Giants doubled up on Brooklyn by a 10-5 while in Boston the hometown Braves outscored Philadelphia 5-3. MINOR LEAGUES Our AAA farm time San Diego was blasted 8-1 by Sacramento in Pacific Coast League play. The Padres fall to 6-7 on the season. Solons pitcher Mike Walton allowed just 4 San Diego hits. Walton is a 30 year old who has been in the Reds system for a decade after playing college ball at Harvard. He hasn't been in the majors since 1936 and is 6-5 lifetime in 28 appearances for Cincinnati. In AA the Toronto Maple Leafs improved to 8-6 with a 10-2 drubbing of Jersey City. Catcher Paul Collins had a 3-hit game to raise his AA average to .417. The Leafs are second in the Eastern League, 2 games back of Syracuse after the Stars also won - blasting the Baltimore Orioles 10-3. ACADEMY LEAGUE NEWS The Midwest League is considered perhaps the weakest of the 5 Academy Leagues but Fort Wayne Tincups pitcher Jim Roark made the scouts take notice of his performance yesterday. Roark tossed a complete game 2-hit shutout in an 8-0 victory over the Ohio Redcoats. The 18 year old is 6-5 with a 2.81 era this season after going 18-4 last year. While Hawaii is running away with the Pacific League, the Western Academy's Desert League is providing a great pennant race. The Austin Marshalls are in first place as they extended their winning streak to 7 games following a 2-1 victory over West Texas. Draft eligible pitcher Fred Adducci went the distance allowing just 4 hits in the victory, improving his season mark to 7-2 with a 3.31 era. The Oklahoma Oilers kept pace, remaining 1 game back of Austin, thanks to a 2-0 victory over North Texas. Pat Hall pitched 7 innings to earn the win for the Oilers, his 10th of the season to go along with 5 losses and lowered his era to 1.97. In the Northeast Academy the Queen's Monarchs enjoy a 5 game lead on the Staten Island Ports in the Metro NY League. The Brewster Whitecaps increased their lead atop the Cape Cod League to 1.5 games on the Yarmouth Red Sox after they blasted the Sox 13-0 yesterday. In Florida the Palm Beach Cardinals have won 8 of their last ten and are 5 games ahead of the second place Daytona Beach Cubs in Atlantic action. In the Gulf League the Sarasota Stone Crabs lead on Tallahassee is down to 2.5 games after the Rebels beat Port Charlotte 13-1 while the Stone Crabs lost a wild one in Lakeland 14-13. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-28-2015, 11:15 PM	#35
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	April 21, 1939 APRIL 21, 1939 GARRETSON AND SENATORS BLANK ATHLETICS 5-0 The Washington Senators salvaged one game from their 3 game trip into Philadelphia to play the Athletics. Mike Garretson silenced the Athletics bats with a 4 hit shutout as Nats blanked the A's 5-0. For Garretson it was the 4th shutout of his major league career but his first since 1936. He also helped the Washington offense with a pair of hits. Shortstop Hick Perks had two of the Athletics 4 hits. The A's had only one runner reach scoring position in the game, Francisco Martinez who lead off the second inning with a triple but was stranded on third. Emmett Pisano took the loss, pitching 8 innings and allowing 8 Senators hits while walking 4. Washington begins a weekend series with the New York Yankees tomorrow while the Athletics travel to Boston for 3 games. The Yankees took two of three from Boston thanks to a 5-4 victory in 10 innings over the Red Sox. Elgie Vargas hit his third homerun in 2 days - a 3 run shot that gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. James McBeth, who was subbed into the game after Vargas was pulled for a pinch-runner in the 9th, ended up being the hero as he hit a solo homerun to win the game with one out in the 10th. It was the 26 year old McBeth's first plate appearance of the season. In other American League action Henry Young went 3-for-4 with a double and a homerun to help the St Louis Browns complete a 3 game sweep of Cleveland with a 6-3 victory. Charlie Mongan hit his first homerun of the season for the Tribe. In Detroit, Chicago outfielder John Babcock had 2 hits and a pair of rbi's to help the White Sox past Detroit 7-2. Over in the National League the New York Giants scored 10 runs against Brooklyn for the third straight game - this one ending in a 10-3 final score. Louis McDonald's pinch-hit rbi single in the bottom of the 9th gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-2 victory over St Louis and allowed the Bucs to sweep their 3 game series. Dave Wilde pitched a complete game 8-hitter as Cincinnati downed the Chicago Cubs 3-1. Tom Murphy not only pitched a complete game but also delivered 2 hits and 3 rbi's to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 victory over the Boston Braves. Code: MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS AMERICAN NATIONAL St Louis 3 0 NY Giants 3 0 Philadelphia 2 1 Pittsburgh 3 1 Chicago 2 1 Boston 3 1 Washington 2 2 Chicago 2 1 NY Yankees 2 2 Cincinnati 2 2 Detroit 1 2 Philadelphia 1 3 Boston 1 2 St Louis 0 3 Cleveland 0 3 Brooklyn 0 3 __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 05-28-2015 at 11:39 PM.

05-29-2015, 12:25 AM	#36
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	Monday april 24, 1939 I am going to go to a weekly update for the time being but will interupt that schedule when important events occur. MONDAY APRIL 24, 1939 After taking 2 of 3 from the Washington Senators to start the season the Philadelphia Athletics found the Boston Red Sox to be a much more difficult opponent as the A's dropped 3 straight tight games at Fenway. On Friday the A's rallied with 3 runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 7 only to see Red Sox slugger Frank Thomas hit a walk off homer in the bottom of the inning to give Boston an 8-7 victory. The Red Sox won again by an 8-7 score Saturday and completed the sweep with a 5-4 win yesterday. The Yankees swept 3 from Washington as they shut out the Senators 3 games in a row with the final one being a 1-hit complete game 2-0 victory by George Barr. Boston Red Sox first baseman Ned Knapp was named the American League player of the week. Knapp batted .591, going 13 for 22 with a homer and 3 rbi's. National League honours went to Cubs thirdbaseman Bill Farley. The 34 year old was 10 for 19 (.526) with 2 homers and 8 rbi's. Code: MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS AMERICAN W L GB NATIONAL W L GB NY Yankees 5 2 - Boston 5 2 - St Louis 4 2 0.5 Pittsburgh 4 2 0.5 Chicago 4 2 0.5 NY Giants 4 2 0.5 Boston 4 2 0.5 Cincinnati 3 3 1.5 Philadelphia 2 4 2.5 Chicago 3 3 1.5 Detroit 2 4 2.5 St Louis 2 4 2.5 Cleveland 2 4 2.5 Brooklyn 2 4 2.5 Washington 2 5 3.0 Philadelphia 2 5 3.0 BATTING LEADERS AMERICAN AVG NATIONAL AVG Ned Knapp BOS .591 Bill Farley CHN .526 Jose Martinez CLE .500 John Wagoner NYG .444 Ed Clemmer PHA .444 Tony Evans BSN .433 HOME RUNS AMERICAN HR NATIONAL HR Charlie Mongan CLE 3 Bill Farley CHN 2 Elgie Vargas NYY 3 Mike Hall NYG 2 Frank Thomas BOS 2 Linus Hoffman BKN 2 Marty Wolf BKN 2 RBI'S AMERICAN RBI NATIONAL RBI Deivi Alvarez PHA 8 Marty Wolf BKN 11 Charlie Mongan CLE 8 Bill Farley CHN 8 J. Vandermeulen SLB 8 Jack Gomez NYG 7 Elgie Vargas NYY 8 OTHER MLB NOTES: Detroit first baseman Chris Wood got his 2000th career hit in loss to Cleveland on the weekend. The 33 year old has played 1697 career major league games and is a lifetime .302 hitter. He becomes the 33rd player to reach the 2000 hit milestone. AMERICAN LEAGUE HOME RUN RACE One of the highlights this season is sure to be the race between the big 3 power hitters of the American League. I will track their weekly and season long production. As a quick background here is some brief info on the three of them. Boston Red Sox outfielder Frank Thomas is 28 years old and now has 299 career homeruns in 909 major league games. He set a major league record with 59 in 1934 but it was broken by Vargas and later that mark was tied by Mongan. Last year Thomas had 50 homers and 150 rbi's while batting .377. He won the AL MVP last year for the fifth time in his young career. He also won the triple crown in 1935 and again in 1936. Yankees outfielder Elgie Vargas beat out Thomas for the American League rookie of the year in 1933. The 28 year old hit a record 60 homeruns in 1937 and followed that up with 54 last season. He also drove in 154 runs while batting .373 a year ago. In 880 career games he has 251 homeruns. 24 year Charlie Mongan burst on to the scene in 1937 when he hit 46 homers in his first full major league season. Last year he was traded from the Washington Senators to Cleveland midway through the season and he ended up tying Vargas' major league record with 60 homeruns. He drove in 143 while batting .314 a year ago. In 326 career games he has 131 career homeruns. He is also outstanding defensively as he won back to back gold gloves at third base the past two seasons. Code: AMERICAN LEAGUE POWER RACE SEASON LAST WEEK TM NAME HR RBI AVG HR RBI AVG[/b] CLE Charlie Mongan 3 8 .391 3 8 .391 NYY Elgie Vargas 3 8 .350 3 8 .350 BOS Frank Thomas 2 7 .333 2 7 .333 AAA NEWS The Columbus Redbirds are tearing up the American Association, starting the season with a 16-1 record and they already have a 5 game lead on the second place Indianapolis Indians. They are doing it with the best pitching in the league thanks in big part to veteran lefthanders Josh Wright (2-0, 2.08) and John Jarman (3-0, 2.14). AA NEWS Nashville Vols pitcher Pete Cianfrani continues to attract attention and accolades. The 27 year old Pittsburgh farmhand was named player of the week in the Southern Association after 2 more stellar starts. He is 4-0 with a 1.26 era in 4 starts this season. The Vols are 11-5 on the season, good for second place in the league behind the New Orleans Pelicans (12-4). Syracuse continues to lead the Eastern League thanks to the bat of Julio Cortes. The 26 year old leads the league in batting average (.418) and rbis (19) through 18 games. CLASS A NEWS Tom Phillips is really starting to show why he was named the 5th best prospect in the game from the annual ranking issued a couple of weeks ago. The 24 year old Chicago Cubs pitching prospect is 4-0 with a 0.98 era in 4 starts with the Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League. He was drafted 7th overall last year by the Cubs out of Ohio State and is a big reason the Cats are tied with the Beaumont Explorers atop the Texas League standings. 26 year old Marty Westlake may be a late bloomer but the Minneapolis native is finally starting to show signs of possessing some real power. In 16 games he leads the Western League with 5 homeruns and 23 rbis. The Cleveland prospect was drafted in 1935 after playing academy ball with the Chicagoland Bombers and then NCAA with the California Bears. His play has the Oklahoma City Indians at 10-7 and just a half game back of the Fresno Giants in the race for the Western League lead. Next up will be the update on the college and academy leagues as they creep towards the 100 game point of their 120 game schedules. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-29-2015, 05:15 PM	#37
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	APRIL 24, 1939 Part 2 APRIL 24, 1939 Part 2 (NCAA and ACADEMY UPDATES) NCAA NEWS: OREGON STATE ON A ROLL The hottest team in the NCAA right now is the Oregon State Beavers, who have won 7 in a row and 12 of their last 14 games. Unfortunately the streak is likely too late to help with a playoff berth as the Beavers are 46-47 on the season and sit 9 games back of Pac6 leading Washington State. Oregon State junior outfielder George Hoffman was named the NCAA West's top performer last week. He had 12 hits in 19 at bats including a pair of home runs to help the Beavers win 7 in a row. The news was not all good for Oregon State however as it was learned that senior pitcher Billy Salter is done for the season following a back injury. Salter, who won 18 games a year ago and was 8-8 this season was injured while pitching on Saturday. The hottest player in the league right now is Mississippi catcher John Maly, who hit .800 last week (12-15) with a homer and 3 rbi's and was named the NCAA East Player of the Week. On the season, Maly is hitting .378. The former Lakeland Pilot academy league player is in his junior season with the Rebels. WILDCATS OUTFIELDER HASKALL HITS FOR CYCLE "Some days everything falls in place and you have an almost perfect day." Those were the comments from Kentucky center fielder Curtis Haskell Friday as his 4-5 day included the cycle, a baseball rarity. "He sure was a wrecking ball today," said one teammate after the Wildcats tamed the Crimson Tide 14-3 at Crimson Tide Ballpark. Curtis Haskell walked in the 1st, hit a solo-shot off Sam Kelley in the 3rd, singled in the 4th, flied out in the 6th, hit an RBI triple in the 7th and hit a three-run double in the 8th. In his stats this season, Haskell has posted a batting average of .292 with 73 hits in 250 at-bats, 12 home runs and 35 RBIs. He has also scored 47 runs, walked 27 times and compiled a .366 OBP. The 19 year old Phoenix native is in his first season of college ball after playing 4 years for the Salt Lake City Gulls academy league club where he was a 3 time all star. Code: NCAA WEEKLY TOP 10 RANKINGS (last week in brackets) 1- Clemson (2) 2- Harvard (1) 3- Michigan State (8) 4- Tennessee (5) 5- Georgia (7) 6- Texas Tech (nr) 7- Oregon State (nr) 8- Alabama (4) 9- Washington State (3) 10- Wisconsin (10) dropping out of top 10 was UCLA and Maryland NCAA STANDINGS NCAA EAST ACC W L GB[/b] Clemson 60 33 - Maryland 51 42 9.0 North Carolina 48 45 12.0 NC State 44 49 16.0 Virginia 37 56 23.0 Georgia Tech 35 58 25.0 SEC W L GB Georgia 55 38 - Alabama 53 40 2.0 Tennessee 53 40 6.0 Kentucky 44 49 11.0 LSU 37 56 18.0 Mississippi 34 59 21.0 IVY W L GB Harvard 61 32 - Yale 48 45 13.0 Columbia 47 46 14.0 Dartmouth 46 47 15.0 Brown 42 51 19.0 Princeton 42 51 19.0 NCAA WEST BIG 6 W L GB Michigan St 56 37 - Wisconsin 52 41 4.0 Ohio State 48 45 8.0 Michigan 48 45 8.0 Minnesota 47 46 9.0 Notre Dame 36 57 20.0 SOUTHWEST W L GB Texas Tech 54 39 - Oklahoma 47 46 7.0 Texas 47 46 7.0 Nebraska 47 46 7.0 Arizona State 46 47 8.0 Arkansas 45 48 9.0 PAC 6 W L GB Washington St 55 38 - UCLA 51 42 4.0 Oregon State 46 47 9.0 USC 43 50 12.0 California 37 56 18.0 Stanford 32 61 23.0 WILCARD LEADERS EAST WEST Tennessee 53 40 Wisconsin 52 41 Alabama 53 40 UCLA 51 42 Maryland 51 42 Ohio State 48 45 Michigan 48 45 TOP 5 BATTING Andy Sieczka California .415 Art Kelly Ariz St .393 Jimmy Falbo Yale .392 John Maly Mississippi .387 Cowboy Ward Mich St .374 TOP 4 HOMERUNS Tom Lewis Clemson 18 Charlie Cochran Texas Tech 17 Joe Bell Dartmouth 17 Al Holland Texas Tech 16 TOP 4 RBI'S Charlie Cochran Texas Tech 72 S. Macareno North Carolina 72 Tom Lewis Clemson 63 Teo Tellier Oregon State 62 TOP 5 ERA LEADERS Welcome Newhall Georgia 1.62 Jim Sanicki Harvard 1.63 Dave Kemmerer Alabama 1.78 Bill Andrews Wisconsin 1.80 Wellington French UCLA 1.83 TOP 5 WINS Caleb Webber Clemson 16-5 Dewey Sosa Clemson 14-5 Dave Kemmerer Alabama 14-6 Jerry Caldwell Nebraska 14-6 Pete Galloway Yale 14-7 STRIKEOUT LEADERS Dave Kemmerer Alabama 143 George Odom Mississippi 129 Bill Andrews Wisconsin 114 Angelo Arias Texas 103 Frank Thompson Mississippi 100 ACADEMY LEAGUE NEWS HAWAII ISLANDERS CHASING WINS RECORD The Western Academy League's Hawaii Islanders are on pace to win more games than any other Academy League squad has recorded in the 39 year history of the youth leagues. The Islanders presently sport a 65-18 record and lead the second place Northern California Stars by 18 games in the Pacific League. Their .783 winning percentage has them on pace to win 94 games. The Western Academy record is 92 victories set by the 1925 Central Texas Comets of the Desert League. No other team in any of the 5 Academy Leagues has ever won more than 88 games in a season. The Islanders have built a solid program the past decade as they have never finished lower than 4th and have 4 second place finishes in the past 7 years as well as Pacific League title earned last season. This season they are just destroying the competition as they have scored 688 runs so far - with the next highest team in the 16 team Western Association has only scored 495. Their pitching hasn't been bad either, despite playing in a hitter friendly part the Islanders staff ranks third best in runs against. They have allowed 371 and sit behind only Northern Cal (344) and Oklahoma (351). Here is a look at the most powerful lineup in Academy ball and arguably the best team in Academy history. 1- Silver Cook 2B- (.336,5,57) 16 year old second baseman bats lead-off and is hitting .336 with 28 stolen bases in 80 games. Considered to be a future major league star. 2- Chippy Helbert 3B- (.337,14,70)- Another 16 year old rookie, the Glendale Arizona native has nice mixture of power and the ability to get on base and set the table. 3- Montrel Buenaventura 1B (.337,19,82)- A two time Western Academy all-star, the native of Italy is in his draft year and projects to be a mid-round pick. His numbers benefit quite a bit from hitting in front of Fuller. 4- Sam Fuller LF (.378,38,106)- leads the Western League in just about everything. May have a chance to be drafted first overall and has drawn comparisons to slugging major leaguers Elgie Vargas and Frank Thomas. Detractors say he benefits from a hitter friendly park but his road numbers (.379 with 16 homers in 38 games) compare well with what he has done at home (.377 with 22 homers in 42 games) this year. Was named Pacific League MVP each of the past two seasons. 5- Jim Flanagan RF (.307,18,74)- Has steadily improved each of his 4 seasons with the Islanders to the point where he should get drafted this year. 6- Frank Neal CF (.303,8,69)- A starter each of his 4 years with the Islanders, his average has dipped a bit from career best established last year but he is another player on this team who should get drafted in June. 7- Cowboy Browner SS (.341,8,64) - Good defensive skills, plus speed and a decent bat will get Browner drafted in June. Was one of 9 Islanders selected to play in the Western Academy all-star game. 8- Bill Dominguez C (.283,3,39) - 16 year old rookie is the only regular hitting under .300. The efforts of the pitching staff is even more impressive when you consider that last year's ace Buster Carpenter (19-5, 2.95) was lost for the season after just 8 starts this year. The rotation consists of: John Finley: (14-1, 2.74). A possible first round pick in the June draft, the 19 year old has replaced the injured Carpenter as the team's ace. Baby Zavala: (14-3, 3.62). Hard to believe he is just 16 years old and stands 6'9" tall. Vito Mordasini: (11-5, 3.47) After two seasons in relief he is making the most of the opportunity to join the rotation in his draft year. Tom Kern: (9-4, 4.23) 17 year old has outstanding potential. Scouts say he could be a major leaguer one day but really needs to work on his control. Here is a comparison of the Comets totals with what Hawaii projects to accomplish at their current rate Code: 1925 Central Texas 1939 Hawaii (projected) W 92 94 L 28 26 PCT .767 .783 lead on 2nd 28 games 26 games Runs 804 994 batting avg .314 .319 HR 67 178 Runs allowed 439 536 ERA 3.18 3.48 1925: CENTRAL TEXAS COMETS 92 WIN SEASON After breezing through the Desert League, the 1925 Central Texas Comets won the Western Academy series by sweeping Pacific League champion Hawaii in 3 games. The Comets are believed to be the only Academy team to ever have it's players selected 1-2 in the major league draft. Their 1925 team set off a mini-dynasty for the club as they won 3 Western Academy series titles in a span of 5 years including back to back in 1928-29 but none rivaled the 92 win season for the 1925 Comets. The '25 Comets were built on pitching. The had the best young pitcher that no one has ever heard of in Al Bartlett. Just 16 at the time Bartlett dominated the Desert League, winning pitcher of the year as a rookie after going 21-4 in 30 starts. Unfortunately he would blow out his arm the following season and while he did get drafted by the New York Yankees, Bartlett never progressed past rookie ball and retired due to arm troubles at the age of 21. The Comets had another 16 year old pitching phenom on their team by the name of Elias Edmondson. Now a solid major leaguer with the Washington Senators, Edmondson went 18-3 as a academy league rookie in 1925. The other Comets starters were 19 year old Sam Brady (15-4), 19 year old Hiram Martinez (16-4) and 17 year old Frank Pressley (15-5). All three ended up being mid-round draft picks but none of the three progressed past Class A and all are now retired. Offensively the big stars were Mike Henry, Henry Young and George Foskey. Henry and Young went 1-2 in the major league draft. Young led the Desert League in hitting with a .398 average and was selected 2nd overall by the St Louis Browns. He has been the Browns everyday shortstop for over a decade. Mike Henry was taken first overall by the Cubs after batting .387 with a league high 99 rbi's. A natural shortstop, Henry played second base that season but has played primarily shortstop as a pro. He has not had as productive a career as Young, but has still played over 800 major league games. Foskey was a 16 year old rookie in 1925 but won the Desert League MVP award after batting .367 with a league high 25 homeruns. He would win 3 more Desert League MVP's and a second Western Academy title with the Comets before being drafted 4th overall by Detroit in 1928. He has played over 1100 games and in a pair of World Series with Detroit and now, at age 30, is a key piece in the Tigers lineup. Catcher Dave Goostree was the team leader. A 19 year old who drove in 98 runs and hit .301 that season, he then went on to attend Notre Dame before signing with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1928. He played 354 major league games for the A's and Yankees from 1928-34 before retiring from baseball in 1937 at the age of 31. Code: ACADEMY LEAGUES POWER RANKINGS AND LEAGUE LEADERS RK TEAM LG Subleague PTS 1 Hawaii Islanders Western Pacific 154.0 2 Austin Marshalls Western Desert 126.3 3 Palm Beach Cardinals Florida Atlantic 125.3 4 Daytona Beach Cubs Florida Atlantic 114.6 5 Sarasota Stone Cabs Florida Gulf 111.6 6 Philadelphia Quakers MidAtlantic - 110.0 7 Carolina Kings MidAtlantic - 108.0 8 Fort Wayne Tincaps Midwest - 107.0 9 Brewster Whitecaps Northeast Cape Cod 104.9 10 Queens Monarchs Northeast Metro NY 103.1 10 Bradenton Mauraders Florida Gulf 103.1 ACADEMY LEAGUE STANDINGS FLORIDA LEAGUES ATLANTIC LG GULF LG W L GB W L GB Palm Beach 58 26 - Sarasota 51 32 - Daytona Beach 53 31 5.0 Tallahassee 49 35 2.5 Jacksonville 45 38 12.5 Bradenton 48 35 3.0 Ft. Lauderdale 42 41 15.5 Pensacola 43 41 8.5 Key West 41 42 16.5 Port Charlotte 40 43 11.0 Orlando 36 48 22.0 Panama City 36 48 15.5 Jupiter 31 52 26.5 Lakeland 34 50 17.5 Miamia Beach 28 56 30.0 St Petersburg 33 50 18.0 NORTHEAST LEAGUES CAPE COD LG METRO NY LG W L GB W L GB Brewster 47 36 - Queens 48 35 - Yarmouth 47 37 0.5 Staten Island 45 39 3.5 Cotuit 45 39 2.5 Long Island 43 40 5.0 Harwich 42 41 5.0 Brooklyn 42 41 6.0 Bourne 42 42 5.5 Bronx 42 42 6.5 Chatham 40 44 7.5 Manhattan 39 45 9.5 Hyannis 36 47 11.0 Yonkers 38 45 10.0 Falmouth 35 48 12.0 Coney Island 37 47 11.5 WESTERN LEAGUES PACIFIC LG DESERT LG W L GB W L GB Hawaii 65 18 - Austin 49 34 - Northern Cal 47 36 18.0 Oklahoma 47 37 2.5 Dakota 44 40 21.5 Salt Lake City 43 40 6.0 Oregon 41 42 24.0 North Texas 42 41 7.0 San Francisco 39 44 26.0 West Texas 42 42 7.5 Arizona 36 48 29.5 Central Texas 41 42 8.0 Los Angeles 32 52 33.5 Utah 36 48 13.5 California 30 54 35.5 New Mexico 34 50 15.5 MID-ATLANTIC LG MIDWEST LG W L GB W L GB Washington DC 42 30 - St Louis 42 30 - Carolina 42 30 - Fort Wayne 42 30 - Philadelphia 40 32 2.0 Michigan 37 35 5.0 District 34 38 8.0 Pennsylvania 33 39 9.0 Milford 30 42 12.0 Chicagoland 33 39 9.0 Virginia Beach 28 44 14.0 Ohio 29 43 13.0 TOP 5 BATTING Fred Milne Harwich Mariners .397 John Engman WashingtonDC Chiefs .380 Sam Fuller Hawaii Islanders .378 Ed Elder Chicagoland Bombers .372 Henry Vela District Capitals .360 TOP 5 HOMERUNS Sam Fuller Hawaii Islanders 38 Billy Anthony Key West Conchs 20 M. Buenaventura Hawaii Islanders 19 Tacks Carey Palm Beach Cardinals 18 Jim Flanagan Hawaii Islanders 18 TOP 5 RBIS Sam Fuller Hawaii Islanders 106 M. Buenaventura Hawaii Islanders 82 Bob Ramirez Bourne Braves 75 Tacks Carey Palm Beach Cardinals 74 Jim Flanagan Hawaii Islanders 74 TOP 5 ERA LEADERS Herman Gober Oregon Timbers 1.33 Jack Warren Jacksonville Whales 1.87 Cy Palmer Northern Cal Stars 1.91 Pat Hall Oklahoma Oilers 1.97 Jon LeSueur Bronx Bombers 2.01 TOP 5 WINS John Finley Hawaii Islanders 14-1 Baby Zavala Hawaii Islanders 14-3 Fred Peters Palm Beach Cardinals 14-3 Bill Burns Palm Beach Cardinals 14-7 several tied with 13 STRIKEOUT LEADERS Braulio Santos Michigan Lakers 106 Fausto Perez Brewster Whitecaps 104 John Beardsley Falmouth Commodores 103 Houston Rodriguez Ohio Redcoats 99 Marty Pease Oklahoma Oilers 97 __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-29-2015, 05:56 PM	#38
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	Just want to make a quick note for anyone who might be reading along. It is amazing when you start to look for story lines just how involved you can get in a fictional league. As I mentioned in the first post or two, I started this league probably close to 2 years ago and had simmed to about 1930. A couple months back I fired up OOTP and just loaded this old league up to look around. I simmed forward a few years and messed with a few uniforms and team nicknames but really did not start to look closely until late in the 1937 season. The obvious big story to follow is the battle for supremacy in the American League between the Yankees and Red Sox and how it really boils down to Elgie Vargas vs Frank Thomas. Both are the same age and they are products of being created just as the longball started to become a factor in the player creation model. It has been great to watch them compete with each other- I first noticed when Vargas beat Thomas for the 1933 rookie of the year. Since then Thomas won a bunch of MVP awards, set a homerun record with 59 in 1934 and won a pair of pennants and a World Series. Vargas seemed to play second fiddle until 1937 when he hit 60 homers (Thomas had 57 that year). However, Thomas still got the MVP and his Red Sox beat Vargas' Yankees for the pennant. Last year it looked like Vargas would finally get his due as his Yankees won the pennant for the first time since 1924, but Thomas took the MVP and a newcomer named Charlie Mongan took the attention by tying Vargas' 60 homerun mark. It has such a different feel from historical play and the possibilities are endless. I am dying to see how Thomas, Vargas and Mongan (and perhaps in the next couple of years young Sam Fuller from Hawaii) progress and what story lines develop. I still can't believe the Senators would trade Mongan. (I have to remember to research past trades and see if I can find anything that looks to be such a franchise killer as I am expecting this could be for the Sens....but then again maybe one of the youngsters they got in return becomes the next superstar. As I said I thought the 3 sluggers would be the big story for me to follow but the more I look around this universe the more I find. The current Hawaii Islanders youth team is unbelievable. I also find myself wanting to see how the young Philadelphia Athletics prospects develop, especially pitcher Tom Priest and C Paul Collins. Plus the Dodgers have a huge collection of young talent as they have been so bad for the past decade. There are some great college players to track as I look forward to running my first draft. I know I will take the high school slugger Fuller but I doubt he will be available when I pick so it would be great to get the A's an arm like Kemmerer of Alabama or George Odom from Mississippi...or do I take a chance on a high school age pitcher like Jack Warren from the Jacksonville Whales. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-29-2015, 06:23 PM	#39
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	April 29, 1939 - Quick historical milestone APRIL 29, 1939 300 HOME RUNS FOR THOMAS Boston Red Sox right fielder Frank Thomas pounded a home run during the Red Sox 6-4 loss to the Athletics in Philadelphia today. Despite the defeat the long ball was a significant achievement and raised his career home run total to 300. "Some hitters never live up to the hype," said his manager. "Frank has definitely lived up to his. He's hammered the heck out of the ball year after year." In 915 career games Thomas has hit .367 with 1373 hits, 300 home runs, 959 RBIs and scored 850 runs. The Red Sox star went 1 hit for 5 at-bats during the game, scoring 1 run and had 3 RBI. He hit his milestone homer off of A's starter Jim Thayer with 2 on and 2 out in the third inning. It put Boston up 3-1 at the time but the A's replied with 4 runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead for good. It was the 4th homerun Thomas has hit off of Thayer in his career. Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles

05-31-2015, 01:42 AM	#40
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,759	Monday May 1, 1939 (MLB and AAA updates) MONDAY MAY 1, 1939 MONGAN TEARING INTO A.L. PITCHING The big news this past week all centered around Cleveland Indians third baseman Charlie Mongan, after the 24 year old slugger belted 7 homeruns and had 20 rbi's in 7 games. After hitting a record tying 60 homeruns last season, Mongan seems to be well on his way towards shattering that mark as he already has 10 roundtrippers in just 13 games. The highlight on Mongan's big week was Saturday when he had 3 hits, including a pair of three run homers, and drove in 8 as the Indians beat Detroit 12-8. It was his second 2 homer game of the week but despite Mongan's efforts the Indians only went 4-3 last week and sit in the middle of the pack in the American League. The hottest team in the American League is the New York Yankees, who have won 4 games in a row and 11 of their last 12 games after starting the season 0-2. The Yankees lead the major leagues in runs scored with 2B Martin Robbins (.407,0,14), RF Elgie Vargas (.394,4,11) and CF John Hanson (.327,1,11) leading the way. The Philadelphia Athletics are also on a roll. After opening the season with a pair of wins over Washington, the A's lost 6 straight but have rebounded nicely with a 5 game winning streak that included a pair of wins over Boston and 2 more over the Senators. Outfielders Bill Wodke (.460,0,5) and Deivi Alvarez (.400,0,14) are both off to a great start to the season. Starting pitcher Bill Coon is 2-1 with a 3.20 era in his bid to rebound from an injury that cost him all but one game of the 1938 season. At the other end of the spectrum are Boston and Washington. The Red Sox have lost 5 straight and 6 of 7 while the Senators have dropped each of their last 4. Code: MAJOR LEAGUE STANDINGS AMERICAN W L GB NATIONAL W L GB NY Yankees 11 3 - Pittsburgh 10 3 - Chicago 9 4 1.5 NY Giants 9 4 1.0 Philadelphia 7 6 3.5 Boston 9 5 1.5 St Louis 6 7 4.5 Cincinnati 7 5 2.5 Cleveland 6 7 4.5 Brooklyn 6 7 4.0 Detroit 5 8 5.5 St Louis 4 8 5.5 Boston 5 8 5.5 Chicago 4 9 6.0 Washington 4 10 7.0 Philadelphia 3 11 7.5 BATTING LEADERS AMERICAN AVG NATIONAL AVG Bill Wodke PHA .460 Alex Gamboa CIN .386 Ned Knapp BOS .455 Charlie Peacock STL .385 Abel Knight SLB .422 Daisy Wilkerson STL .385 HOME RUNS AMERICAN HR NATIONAL HR Charlie Mongan CLE 10 Linus Hoffman BKN 4 Elgie Vargas NYY 4 several tied at 2 Frank Thomas BOS 3 John Babcock CHA 3 RBI'S AMERICAN RBI NATIONAL RBI Charlie Mongan CLE 28 John Wagoner NYG 15 John Babcock CHA 15 Marty Wolf BKN 14 Deivi Alvarez PHA 14 Linus Hoffman BKN 13 PHILADELPHIA A'S GAME BY GAME RECAP MONDAY APRIL 24: Lost 9-5 to the Yankees in New York despite a 3-run homer from SS Vince Craft. Jim Thayer gave up all 9 runs over 7 innings of work to even his record at 1-1. TUESDAY APRIL 25: Losing streak reaches 6 games with a 6-2 loss to the Yankees. Catcher Marty Carey hit his first homer of the season to drive in both runs. Yankee starting pitcher Jake Banks held the A's to just 4 hits in the game. Emmett Pisano dropped to 0-2 on the season as he took the loss for Philly after pitching 7 inning, allowing 9 hits and 5 runs. WEDNESDAY APRIL 26: A's salvage a game out of their trip to New York with a 3-2 victory. Pinch-hitter Al Eaton hits a solo shot off of Yankees starter Silver Gilpin to lead off the 9th inning to give the A's the win. Philly starter George Dill goes the distance allowing only 5 hits but he was pitching out of trouble all day after walking 9. Carey and Craft each have 2 hits while LF Bill Wodke goes 3-for-5. THURSDAY APRIL 27: Off to Washington for 2 games and the A's start with a 10-7 victory in 11 innings. Deisi Alvarez has 3 hits and drives in 3 runs. Wodke, CF Francisco Martinez and 3B Wild Bill Gillen each deliver with 3 hits and a pair of runs scored. Tom Stern gets the win in relief of George Flack. FRIDAY APRIL 28: Winning streak reaches 3 with a 4-3 win over the Senators. Wodke's sac fly in the 8th snaps a 3-3 tie and plates Gillen with the winning run. Wodke and Alvarez each have another 3-hit game...third in a row for Wodke and second straight for Alvarez. Bill Coon struggled early, allowing all 3 Washington runs in the first inning but settles down and goes the distance to improve to 2-1 on the season. SATURDAY APRIL 29: Back home for a quick 2 game series with Boston before heading on the road for 10. A's get win #4 in a row with a 6-4 victory. Alvarez and 1B Ed Clemmer each lead the offense with 2 hits and an rbi. Wodke gets the day off. Frank Thomas leads the Boston offense with a 3-run homer (the 300th of his career) but Jim Thayer retires him in his other 4 plate appearances. Thayer pitches 8 innings allowing 7 hits to improve to 2-1 with help from Tom Stern, who earns his first save of the year after a scoreless nonth. SUNDAY APRIL 30: A's rally with 3 in the bottom of the 9th to extend their winning streak to 5 with a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox. Second baseman Asa Garcia hits a bases-loaded single to score the tying and winning runs with 2 out in the ninth. Emmett Pisano allows 6 Boston hits and gets his first win of the season in going the distance. The Red Sox elect to rest slugger Frank Thomas in this game. The week ahead: The A's have the day off today before playing 2 games in Chicago and then moving on to St Louis for 3 with the Browns. The week ends with a stop in Detroit for a 3 game set beginning Sunday. OTHER NOTES: The Pittsburgh Pirates started the week with 6 straight victories before falling 7-2 to Cincinnati on Sunday. Pirates 24 year old catcher Asa Salvatierra was named National League player of the week after getting 12 hits in 16 at bats. He has been platooning with veteran John Garcia behind the plate for the Bucs but may see a lot more action as through 9 games he is batting .559. AMERICAN LEAGUE HOME RUN RACE One of the highlights this season is sure to be the race between the big 3 power hitters of the American League. I will track their weekly and season long production. Mongan was player of the week and had an amazing run. Thomas struggled much of the week but did get his 300th career homerun. Vargas missed 3 games with a sore knee but still managed to put up some impressive numbers despite only playing 3 games. Code: AMERICAN LEAGUE POWER RACE SEASON LAST WEEK TM NAME HR RBI AVG HR RBI AVG[/b] CLE Charlie Mongan 10 28 .392 7 20 .393 NYY Elgie Vargas 4 11 .394 1 3 .462 BOS Frank Thomas 3 11 .294 1 4 .259 AAA NEWS The Columbus Redbirds cooled off a bit, going 3-3 last week but are still 5 games ahead of Indianapolis atop the American Association with a 19-4 record. The race in the Pacific Coast League is much tighter as Sacramento and Hollywood share first place with 13-10 records. The Los Angeles Angels are a half game back and the San Diego Padres are just a game off the pace. The April awards were handed out and the most impressive winner has to be Minneapolis Millers pitcher Al Vasquez, who was named American Association pitcher of the month. Vasquez, a 28 year old prospect in the Giants system, pitched 29 innings without allowing an earned run. He was 3-0 and held opposing hitters to a .117 average. A Houston native who pitched for the Northern Cal academy league team before being selected by the Giants in the 5th round of the 1930 draft, Vasquez spent the 1937 season in the Giants bullpen but has never been given the opportunity in a major league rotation. Mark Snyder of the Kansas City Blues (NYY) was named the player of the month in the American Association. The 29 year old outfielder hit .410 with 5 homers and 22 rbi's. The top hitter for April in the PCL was Los Angeles Angels outfielder Giles Jennings. He hit .330 with 4 homers and 18 rbi's. Jennings has spent the better part of the last 6 seasons in AAA with the Angels, but has appeared in 56 major league games with the Cubs during that span. Another veteran Cubs farmhand was named the PCL pitcher of the month. 35 year old Grant Garcia won all 6 of his starts in April and had a 2.09 era. PLAYER PROFILE: AL VASQUEZ Not sure if there is a way to find out as I don't think it is stored in the game anywhere but I have never noticed a pitcher with a longer scoreless inning streak than the current string of 38 consecutive that Minneapolis hurler Al Vasquez has going. He started the season by blanking Cincinnati in spring training while in the Giants camp. Vasquez went all 9 innings in his only spring appearance and allowed just 4 Reds hits. In AAA, the Minneapolis Millers hurler blanked St Paul 6-0 on April 17, Toledo 5-0 on April 22 and on April 27 he pitched an 11 inning complete game against Indianapolis to earn a 1-0 win and give him 29 consecutive scoreless innings to start the AAA season. His career nearly came to an end in his first year of Academy ball with the Northern California Stars. He was 8-15 as a 16 year old but late in the season suffered a fractured skull after being hit by a batted ball. He was sidelined for 4 months but took the mound again at the start of the following season. Returning to the Stars Vasquez went 13-14 in 1928 before suffering through a dreadful 1929 season with an awful team when he was 5-16 with a 5.01. He rebounded nicely the following season and helped the Stars to a second place finish in the Pacific League by going 15-5 with a 2.89 era. It was good enough for the New York Giants to draft him in the 5th round (85th overall) of the 1930 draft. He spent the next four seasons bouncing back and forth from the Giants rookie team to short-A Clinton of the Midwest League and full season A ball Fresno of the Western League. By 1934 Vasquez established himself at Fresno and was 10-8 with a 4.00 era before being promoted to AA Jersey City near the end of the season. He would spend much of 1935 in Jersey City and was 13-6 with a 4.52 era before moving to AAA Minneapolis for 1 start and getting a September call-up to New York where he pitched 2/3 of an inning for the Giants. He spent 1936 in Jersey City, going 11-10 with a 4.76 era in 25 starts before again earning a September call-up to New York. The Giants gave him 6 appearances out of the pen and he got his first major league win along with 3 saves. Vasquez spent all of 1937 on the Giants roster, going 8-5 with 8 saves and he did get 7 starts but was primarily used in relief. Last year he was injured in training camp and ended up spending the entire year with the AAA Millers, going 11-14 with a 4.49 era. This year he found himself back in Minneapolis but has made the most of his time in AAA with 3 straight shutouts. It will be interesting to see how long his scoreless innings streak continues and if Vasquez gets another shot with the Giants. Attached Images __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 05-31-2015 at 01:45 AM.