Time Warp Baseball

[Carlton]

^
Is his nickname the Mailman?

[jdw]

> Wolter "Boeken" Tjeenk-Willink, LF
> Washington Senators 1928-42
>
> He won 2 World Series with the Senators
> and retired with a .340 average (11th All-Time),
> 1732 hits, 332 doubles, 834 RBI, 740 runs and
> 435 walks. He left for WWII after the 1942 season.

Wolter was born in September 1910. He was just 33, and would be 35 when coming back. He led the Senators to the World Title in his last full season... you'd have to think they would have a spot for him when he came back.



> Otto "Kaiser" Kahle, SP
> Cleveland Indians 1924-1930
> Boston Braves 1930-1941
> St. Louis Cardinals 1941-1943
>
> The Kaiser won one World Series with the
> Braves in 1931. He retired with a 363-236
> record (3rd Most Wins All-Time), 3.43 ERA,
> 1388 walks, 2392 K's (5th All-Time), 397 CG
> (20th All-Time), 45 SHO (20th All-Time)
> and 1.18 WHIP.

HOLY CRUD!!!! He was 37! 17-11 with a 3.20 ERA last year. He and Jethro are chasing Allen's record _and_ the 400 win mark. With the war going on and the talent base shrinking, he walked away? WTHeck?


John

[jdw]

metsgeek wrote:

> Shucks, I had hoped Uncle Otto would
> make a run at 400. He certainly still
> had the talent.

Pretty stunning. Lord knows you have enough ancestors going to the HOF, Mets. But Kaiser got the shaft.



John

[rogmax11]

I am surprised Otto went away; I was pretty certain that my ancestor was going to have a big chase to catch up, and even at 37 years of age, lets face it:

....the Kaiser was on a roll!

[fhomess]

Originally Posted by Matt from TN

Key Retirees:
Wolter "Boeken" Tjeenk-Willink, LF
Washington Senators 1928-42

He won 2 World Series with the Senators and retired with a .340 average (11th All-Time), 1732 hits, 332 doubles, 834 RBI, 740 runs and 435 walks. He left for WWII after the 1942 season.

I have to say I find this quite a disappointment, but oh well.

Wolter Tjeenk-Willink was one of the first professional baseball players to voluntarily enlist in military service during the current great war. Little is known at this time about his actions while in the service. In fact, news of his retirement came via Private Joost Overender who served with Tjeenk-Willink in the Netherlands during the past two years. Overender returned to the United States after sustaining major injuries to both his legs in a battle near Hofddorp.

"He talked a lot about his time with the Washington Senators," Overender reported. "Especially his two World Series titles and teammate Carl Kahle. He said he liked Kahle as a teammate, but now isn't so sure he can return to the team. 'Maybe it's best I retire' he would say. 'This war's shown me one thing, that baseball doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. I don't think there's much chance I'll return unless something big changes my mind.' I recall reading in the papers how Wolter would refer to Kahle as 'Dutch' since that was his nickname around baseball, but he never called him that during my time with him in the war, and I'm pretty sure it was intentional. As far as I know, he doesn't know that Kahle never enlisted. Wolter would go on to talk about how he's got quite a bit of money saved up and that he might start a publishing business. Books were the other thing he'd always talk about when we had a few moments. He said he was hoping the publishing business would allow him to collect dutch manuscripts from the 14th and 15th century."

Tjeenk-Willink was never the premier hitter on the Senators but was one of the top 2-3 since earning the right to be a regular. He was selected to the American League All-Star team 6 times and routinely finished among the league leaders in batting average, doubles, and slugging percentage. He won 3 AL Batter of the Month awards and helped the Senators to titles in 1937 and 1941.



EDITOR'S NOTE: For those of you who are curious, Wolter, who is based off of my grandfather, never did live in the United States, spending his whole life in the Netherlands. He was a part of the Dutch resistance to the German occupation, and as long as he lived, never forgave the Germans for what they did during the war. So in that sense, I don't mean to offend anyone with the way he reacts to Carl Kahle in the above story, but that's probably how he would've felt. It's definitely not a view I hold personally. Wolter owned a publishing company and when he passed away in 1994, his extensive collection of Dutch literature was sold at auction, per his wish. I'm very disappointed some of those manuscripts didn't stay in the family, but that's the way those things go.

FYI-If you do a search on Wolter's full name, you'll get a lot of hits for my cousin who runs a web company to help websites increase their ranking for search engines like Google called Traffic Builders (www.traffic-builders.com - sorry, the site's in Dutch, but they do speak English if you're looking to increase your website hits).

[metsgeek]

Originally Posted by fhomess

"He talked a lot about his time with the Washington Senators," Overender reported. "Especially his two World Series titles and teammate Carl Kahle. He said he liked Kahle as a teammate, but now isn't so sure he can return to the team. 'Maybe it's best I retire' he would say. 'This war's shown me one thing, that baseball doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. I don't think there's much chance I'll return unless something big changes my mind.' I recall reading in the papers how Wolter would refer to Kahle as 'Dutch' since that was his nickname around baseball, but he never called him that during my time with him in the war, and I'm pretty sure it was intentional. As far as I know, he doesn't know that Kahle never enlisted. Wolter would go on to talk about how he's got quite a bit of money saved up and that he might start a publishing business. Books were the other thing he'd always talk about when we had a few moments. He said he was hoping the publishing business would allow him to collect dutch manuscripts from the 14th and 15th century."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For those of you who are curious, Wolter, who is based off of my grandfather, never did live in the United States, spending his whole life in the Netherlands. He was a part of the Dutch resistance to the German occupation, and as long as he lived, never forgave the Germans for what they did during the war. So in that sense, I don't mean to offend anyone with the way he reacts to Carl Kahle in the above story, but that's probably how he would've felt. It's definitely not a view I hold personally. Wolter owned a publishing company and when he passed away in 1994, his extensive collection of Dutch literature was sold at auction, per his wish. I'm very disappointed some of those manuscripts didn't stay in the family, but that's the way those things go.

No offense taken. It's a realistic response. There actually was a bit of a backlash against anyone with a German surname left in the States, whether or not they sympathized with the Nazis (which he most certainly did not. According to my father, he cursed Hitler every day for ruining Germany). Grandpa Carl was called "Dutch" because of his blond hair and blue eyes (like many others nicknamed Dutch in that era), but he didn't have any Dutch lineage in him.

[Vris]

As it gets closer and closer to 1946, Matt, and because of the failed Catobase experiment, why not run Catobase from 1946 on? Just run it for the online portion of the league. Sure it might seem incomplete, but then you have a fantastic statistical record of the Online TWB and it will be great to compare owners as the league expands and turnover increases.

[fhomess]

Originally Posted by metsgeek

No offense taken. It's a realistic response. There actually was a bit of a backlash against anyone with a German surname left in the States, whether or not they sympathized with the Nazis (which he most certainly did not. According to my father, he cursed Hitler every day for ruining Germany). Grandpa Carl was called "Dutch" because of his blond hair and blue eyes (like many others nicknamed Dutch in that era), but he didn't have any Dutch lineage in him.

Yeah, I made a point of trying to leave Carl's actual opinion out of my post since there's no way Wolter would've known what it was.

Another reason a lot of Germans were called "Dutch" is because the word for German in German, "Deutsch", is so similar.

[Carlton]

Not every ancestor can be a Miller ya know...

Some may see our grandfathers bust...as is the case with Perneiro Rossi

[jdw]

Carlton wrote:

> Not every ancestor can be a Miller ya know...

I know. It's half as much fun to ---> as it is to root on a run to 3,000 hits.


> Some may see our grandfathers bust...
> as is the case with Perneiro Rossi

Yep. And scprideandms was great having funny with Jr. during his career.


John

[Carlton]

Originally Posted by jdw

Carlton wrote:

> Not every ancestor can be a Miller ya know...

I know. It's half as much fun to ---> as it is to root on a run to 3,000 hits.


> Some may see our grandfathers bust...
> as is the case with Perneiro Rossi

Yep. And scprideandms was great having funny with Jr. during his career.


John

Just as long as I come in as the greates catcher since Harry Cohan (Whiskey Allen..whose that?) in 1993...I'll be fine

[metsgeek]

Originally Posted by rogmax11

I am surprised Otto went away; I was pretty certain that my ancestor was going to have a big chase to catch up, and even at 37 years of age, lets face it:

....the Kaiser was on a roll!

[ducks for cover as hailstorm of flying objects are hurled in my direction]

TWITCH

[Matt from TN]

Originally Posted by Vris

As it gets closer and closer to 1946, Matt, and because of the failed Catobase experiment, why not run Catobase from 1946 on? Just run it for the online portion of the league. Sure it might seem incomplete, but then you have a fantastic statistical record of the Online TWB and it will be great to compare owners as the league expands and turnover increases.

Yes, I'm considering doing this, as much as it would irk (sp?) me to have incorrect historical leaders... I'm pretty anal about stats, so I don't know...

FYI, next update should be Sunday evening.

[Matt from TN]

WEB PAGES UPDATED... INCLUDING PLAYER PAGES


1944 Season Preview

With so many players off at war, I'm doing a brief season preview.

American League

1. Senators (86-68, 2nd) - The Senators were favored to win the pennant for the second season in a row and disappointed yet again. Jethro Lee, Bill Finley and Micky Guyton form the top staff in the AL by far. Veterans Carl Kahle, John Shears and Sugar McDonald lead a solid offense. The loss of Blake Crocitto hurts.

2. Red Sox (88-66, 1st) - The defending AL champs look to have the first back-to-back winning seasons in the team's 44 year history. Their pitching is still a question, but their offense is lethal.

3. Browns (84-70, 3rd) - They have some impressive pitchers in Cotton Simson, Mark Ponfick and Mitch Haynam. If their offense comes around, they could once again be a huge factor in the race.

4. White Sox (75-79, 5th) - Bob Bussmann and Herb Lineberry are a strong 1-2 pitching duo. They have some key veteran hitters, but overall there is little punch.

5. Indians (82-72, 4th) - Outside of Zolly Schoeter, they have no proven pitchers. The offense will need to carry them if they have any chance.

6. Tigers (64-90, 8th) - Even in a war-ravaged league, the Tigers cannot hold their own. Pitchers Bob Guilderson and Alex Footwangler should improve. Some young hitters need to step up.

7. Athletics (68-86, 7th) - Jeronimo Arsenault is their ace. That should say it all. They have some good hitters, but not enough to overcome their inept pitching.

8. Yankees (69-85, 6th) - It is obvious that no team was hit harder by WWII than the once-dominant Yankees. Their pitching staff is a mess and their offense has only a few aging vets worth mentioning.


National League

1. Dodgers (94-60, 1st) - They still have Frank Smith, Remmy Paul, Max Baxter and Steve Dzurik. That rotation should carry them to another pennant. Oscar Vancini needs to carry this inconsistent offense while younger players find their way.

2. Giants (78-76, 5th) - Randall Bray and George Cone are one of the better pitching duos left in the NL. With Guy Muir back from the war and a steady Kyle Stevens, New York should be a major contender. The offense still boasts the likes of Dale Lamberty, Bobby Martin and Lloyd Johnson.

3. Reds (79-75, T-3rd) - Pitchers Schoolboy Emberling and Roy Mills are underrated. Add in Ace Shipley returning from war and they have a potentially strong rotation. They have some quality veteran hitters and a lot of guys with averages over .300 last season despite the less-than-lively ball.

4. Cardinals (85-69, 2nd) - They could wind up much higher on this list, but their offense could pose a lot of problems. They have some solid pitchers which should help.

5. Pirates (79-75, T-3rd) - Pittsburgh has potentially one of the best offenses in the NL. If their pitching staff can hold their own, they will move up the chart. Otherwise, it could be an unfullfilling season.

6. Phillies (77-77, 6th) - Tom Mierhofer leads a questionable but improving rotation while the offense is stronger and boasts NL MVP Maurice Misisca. Despite the presence of all-star 1B William Suggs, they plan to give plenty of work to much-improved young 1B Lonny Arrendale.

7. Cubs (58-96, 8th) - This team is in utter disrepair after WWII losses. Their only saving grace is the presence of veterans David Wickersham, Alex Winterhalter and Dewey Mickelsen.

8. Braves (66-88, 7th) - The loss of incredible pitcher Scottie Allen to the military dooms their season before it even starts.

[Matt from TN]

April 1944

The Senators won 8 of their final 10 games this month and moved into first place ahead of a strong Red Sox team. Team ace Jethro Lee had an incredible first month, going 6-0 with a 1.02 ERA. He now has 384 career wins, putting him 7 shy of a new all-time record. The Red Sox had to be pleased to see their pitching staff post a 3.45 team ERA, which ranks 5th best in the majors. The Tigers are surprising the league by being in 2nd place. Their success can be largely attributed to a 3.39 team ERA which ranks 4th best in the majors. Their offense also leads the majors in homeruns.

The rival Dodgers and Giants finished the month tied for first place. However, Brooklyn has been sharper lately, and pitcher Remmy Paul has been incredible, going 5-0 with a 0.51 ERA including 3 shutouts. Brooklyn must also be ecstatic to see its questionable offense ranked 2nd in the majors with a .284 team average and 1st in runs scored.

In The News

Senators pitcher Jethro Lee joined his former teammate Sam Kass in promoting war bonds to help the war effort. He is the first current major leaguer to help in this cause, but many others are rumored to follow.

On April 1st, Gerald Juzek pitched 3 innings for Los Angeles in a PCL exhibition game less than 2 years after suffering a severe leg wound while fighting in Guadalcanal. This after Juzek had been told he would never walk again.


American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Jethro "Dodge" Lee (WSH)!
He had a record of 6-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.02 and 1 shutouts.

American League-Batter of the Month:
Daniel Lutzke (CLE)!
He batted .337 in 86 AB, with 5 homers and 17 RBI.

National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Remmy Paul (BKN)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.51 and 3 shutouts.

National League-Batter of the Month:
James Lewis (PHI)!
He batted .419 in 86 AB, with 2 homers and 14 RBI.

American League Standings 
  
Washington       15  7 .682 -
Boston (A)       13  8 .619 1.5
Detroit          12  9 .571 2.5
Philadelphia (A) 11 10 .524 3.5
St. Louis (A)    11 10 .524 3.5
New York (A)      9 12 .429 5.5
Cleveland         8 14 .364 7.0
Chicago (A)       6 15 .286 8.5 
 
National League Standings 
 
Brooklyn         15  7 .682 - 
New York (N)     15  7 .682 -
Cincinnati       11 10 .524 3.5 
Boston (N)       10 11 .476 4.5  
Chicago (N)      10 11 .476 4.5
Philadelphia (N)  9 12 .429 5.5
Pittsburgh        8 13 .381 6.5 
St. Louis (N)     7 14 .333 7.5

AL AVG
.389 Fred Storey, CLE
.380 Lester Walk, SLA
.377 Tim Frevele, SLA

NL AVG
.419 James Lewis, PHI
.387 Lonny Arrendale, PHI
.386 Artie Albrecht, CIN

AL HOMERUNS
5 Daniel Lutzke, CLE
5 Carl Kahle, WSH
5 John Storback, DET

NL HOMERUNS
3 Mike Fellner, BKN
3 Maurice Misisca, PHI
3 Steve Skinner, STL

AL RBI
17 Daniel Lutzke, CLE
16 Stu Cripps, CHA
15 Leonard Davie, CHA

NL RBI
19 Lloyd Johnson, NYG
19 Artie Albrecht, CIN
18 Jonny Perly, BKN

AL STEALS
5 Hershel Cooley, PHA
5 Al Arsenault, BOS
5 Leroy Davis, DET

NL STEALS
9 Jonny Perly, BKN
7 Bud Breckenridge, PIT
7 Fuzz Allen, BSN

AL ERA
1.02 Jethro Lee, WSH
1.58 Bob Bussmann, CHA
1.59 Cotton Simson, SLA

NL ERA
0.51 Remmy Paul, BKN
2.22 Frank Smith, BKN
2.58 Kevin Vannatter, PHI

AL WINS
6 Jethro Lee, WSH
4 Mark Ponfick, SLA
4 Bill Finley, WSH

NL WINS
5 Chester Hester, PIT
5 Frank Smith, BKN
5 Remmy Paul, BKN

AL STRIKEOUTS
34 Micky Guyton, WSH
31 Cotton Simson, SLA
30 Bob Guilderson, DET

NL STRIKEOUTS
36 Vic Gorin, STL
31 Gerald Saxton, STL
29 Frank Smith, BKN

[haggis007]

Originally Posted by Matt from TN

WEB PAGES UPDATED... INCLUDING PLAYER PAGES


1935 Season Preview

8. Yankees (69-85, 6th) - It is obvious that no team was hit harder by WWII that the once-dominant Yankees.

Ain't that the truth; ought to make those early years of live play a little discouraging, given the state of the Yankees farm system before the war.

[DamnYankees]

Query Matt,

I noticed that many people on the Braves, including my Uncle Joe, are out with 152 weeks of recovery time. This is almost three years. I thought almost all players came back in 1046. These people wll have to wait for 1947? Just wondering they whats and whys behind this.

[Ankhiel]

dont wanna sound like a party pooper, but lee leaving with so little game left to be a 1st all-time is a little odd no?

[metsgeek]

Originally Posted by Ankhiel

dont wanna sound like a party pooper, but lee leaving with so little game left to be a 1st all-time is a little odd no?

You must have read it wrong. He didn't leave. He's only promoting War Bonds.....kinda like a modern athlete promoting a product on TV (except much more altruistic)

[jdw]

Ankhiel wrote:

> dont wanna sound like a party pooper,
> but lee leaving with so little game left
> to be a 1st all-time is a little odd no?

The one who left was the even *younger* "Kaiser" Kahle, and it was beyond odd. See the prior page in the thread.


John