Time Warp Baseball

[Matt from TN]

WEB PAGES UPDATED... INCLUDING PLAYER PAGES


July 1953

After the All-Star break, Detroit ran the AL gauntlet, playing the Red Sox, A's and Yankees in 13 straight games. When the dust had settled, the Tigers went 6-7 through that stretch. That record is deceiving, because they went 5-2 against an A's club left reeling with some major injuries. The key series was a 3-game sweep by New York at Yankee Stadium. When the month was over, the Yanks sat just 4.5 games back. New York also acquired catcher Cecil Marziani and RF Stu Cripps from the White Sox in a mid-month trade. The Tigers and Yankees play each other 6 times in August and 3 times in September.

Like the Tigers, Pittsburgh went 15-11 in July and saw their lead shrink a little more. Where Detroit struggled against the surging Yanks, Pittsburgh found most of their troubles with the slumping Braves and pesky Reds. The Cubs are proving they are for real, going 17-10 and pulling to within 2 games of first (but they are 3 back in the loss column). In need of a boost, the Cardinals acquired pitcher Garland Sisk and outfielder Johnny Champagne from the Giants.

As mentioned above, the A's suffered a rash of serious injuries that have all but derailed their pennant hopes this season. The biggest injury of all was the loss of ace Bob Stevens, who doctors claim will never pitch again. With a 89-68 record and 3.64 ERA over his career, many believed the 27-year-old Stevens was on his way to a HOF career. Then on July 29th, Philly lost their #2 starter, Ellis Weeks, for 5 weeks with a torn bicep muscle.


American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Eric Williams (NYA)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.76.

American League-Batter of the Month:
Ray Kress (DET)!
He batted .429 in 84 AB, with 7 homers and 27 RBI.

National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Joe Helton (BKN)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.32.

National League-Batter of the Month:
Herm Vardaman (PIT)!
He batted .482 in 85 AB, with 4 homers and 15 RBI.

American League Standings 
  
Detroit          70 33 .680 -
New York (A)     65 37 .637 4.5
Philadelphia (A) 60 43 .583 10.0
Cleveland        55 48 .534 15.0
Boston           53 51 .510 17.5
Chicago (A)      43 59 .422 26.5 
St. Louis (A)    35 68 .340 35.0 
Washington       30 72 .294 39.5
 
National League Standings 
 
Pittsburgh       64 38 .627 - 
Chicago (N)      63 41 .606 2.0
St. Louis (N)    58 46 .558 7.0
Cincinnati       51 52 .495 13.5
Philadelphia (N) 49 53 .480 15.0
Brooklyn         48 54 .471 16.0 
Milwaukee        40 64 .385 25.0  
New York (N)     40 65 .381 25.5

AL AVG
.372 Morris Lutske, BOS
.369 Ray Kress, DET
.362 Dale Thompson, SLA

NL AVG
.355 Ben Giordano, PIT
.348 Herm Vardaman, PIT
.347 Mark Silcox, BKN

AL HOMERUNS
29 Matt Perly, DET
28 Arnie Stewart, NYA
27 Ray Kress, DET

NL HOMERUNS
28 Joe Rodabaugh, NYG
24 Ted McMurray, CIN
24 Ben Giordano, PIT
24 Ken Chaucer, MLN

AL RBI
91 Ray Kress, DET
91 Matt Perly, DET
83 Arnie Stewart, NYA

NL RBI
97 Ben Giordano, PIT
80 Joe Rodabaugh, NYG
77 Herman Dunkel, STL

AL STEALS
20 Hans Habermehl, PHA
19 Edwin Keesaer, WSH
18 John Young, NYA

NL STEALS
51 Ben Cook, STL
36 Cognac Allen, MLN
18 Branimir Gljivica, PHI

AL ERA
2.46 Corky Stell, DET
2.47 Bob Stevens, PHA
2.50 Bourbon Allen Jr., CHA

NL ERA
2.42 Martin Gwaltney, PIT
2.94 Grady Ingram, STL
3.03 Randy Liebermann, CHN

AL WINS
17 Corky Stell, DET
15 Maury Baum, NYA
14 Bud Ulrich, DET
14 Hal Andrew, DET
14 Joe Homic, NYA

NL WINS
17 Randy Liebermann, CHN
17 Cotton Simson, PIT
17 Martin Gwaltney, PIT

AL STRIKEOUTS
140 Hal Andrew, DET
135 Don Allen, SLA
133 Bob Stevens, PHA
133 Carpenter Erickson, NYA

NL STRIKEOUTS
167 Randy Liebermann, CHN
156 Martin Gwaltney, PIT
145 Grady Ingram, STL

AL SAVES
16 Oscar Villalpando, NYA
15 Billy Hyberg, BOS
15 Ray Seidel, SLA

NL SAVES
20 Johnny Gundich, CHN
16 James Bajofer, CIN
13 Loren Cost, STL

[ifspuds]

Originally Posted by Matt from TN

National League-Batter of the Month:
Herm Vardaman (PIT)!
He batted .482 in 85 AB, with 4 homers and 15 RBI.

Way to go Herm!

Originally Posted by Matt from TN

National League Standings

Pittsburgh 64 38 .627 -
Chicago (N) 63 41 .606 2.0

Well, it's better than the 1 game lead we had midway through the month. Maybe the Cubs will cool off a bit now. I'm just happy that we were able to hold our lead at all, the way Chicago was playing.

[Ankhiel]

i cant remmeber thet last time one of brooklyn's pitcher was named POTM

[canadiancreed]

Pittsburgh found most of their troubles with the slumping Braves and pesky Reds.

Why cant we be pesky agaisnt teh rest of the **** league?

[jdw]

> American League-Batter of the Month:
> Ray Kress (DET)!

Matt Perly has back-to-back had a pair of the best months of his career.

And his teammate Kress has been better to pip him.

Kress is back in the Triple Crown hunt, as is Giordano in the NL. I think Morris Lutske didn't mind going toe-to-toe with Praks since he thought the kid might have trouble with the pressure. But The Boss is probably the last player Moe wanted to see three points back.

No, not because Moe is a "wimp". Just because Kress seemed to have a mojo on Moe in the 1950-51 races.

Of course if Moe can keep the lead and win it with Kress in his rearview mirror, you've got to think that will have extra meaning to him.


"Anytime you open the paper and
see your name next to Lutske's
among the batting leaders, you
know you're hitting the ball well."
-Ray Kress



John

[ifspuds]

Every time I see Ray Kress's picture, I wonder who it's really a picture of.

I always expect Ray Kress, given the punishment he inflicts on baseballs, to look a lot more like an escaped convict from a maximum security prison. He's such a babyface.

[metsgeek]

Originally Posted by jdw

"Anytime you open the paper and
see your name next to Lutske's
among the batting leaders, you
know you're hitting the ball well."
-Ray Kress

I've always known that The Boss was a class act. I just wish he was on my team.

[Matt from TN]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

Every time I see Ray Kress's picture, I wonder who it's really a picture of.

I always expect Ray Kress, given the punishment he inflicts on baseballs, to look a lot more like an escaped convict from a maximum security prison. He's such a babyface.

Kind of Mickey Mantle-esque... I'll find out who he is later. Will be easy.

[jdw]

I love Kress' picture. I see him as a classy, babyface leader. Someone always willing to talk to the press, "honest" as one could be back in the 40s and 50s, not one to give bulletin board material for the other team by talking trash or even "read between the lines" about other teams, protective of his teammates as the Tigers' "leader", but willing to personally shoulder the heat and pressure long aimed at the Tigers.

Not really as happy go lucky as Mickey Mantle. More a Stan Musial type. High on the "most admired" and "most respected" list among the players around the game because he's a magical player but isn't aloof from players on other teams, doesn't trash talk, and like the quote above goes out of his way to say good things about other players.

I saw Dodge Lee that way as well.


John

[DamnYankees]

Originally Posted by jdw

I love Kress' picture. I see him as a classy, babyface leader. Someone always willing to talk to the press, "honest" as one could be back in the 40s and 50s, not one to give bulletin board material for the other team by talking trash or even "read between the lines" about other teams, protective of his teammates as the Tigers' "leader", but willing to personally shoulder the heat and pressure long aimed at the Tigers.

Not really as happy go lucky as Mickey Mantle. More a Stan Musial type. High on the "most admired" and "most respected" list among the players around the game because he's a magical player but isn't aloof from players on other teams, doesn't trash talk, and like the quote above goes out of his way to say good things about other players.

I saw Dodge Lee that way as well.


John

Oh, no, not Dodge Lee. Have you seen his picture? The guy always struck me as a Dizzy Dean type, though not to that extreme. Maybe a combination of Dizzy Dean and Pete Alexander, if that makes any sense.

[jdw]

Nah, Dodge was too good for too long and too consistent to be as flakey as Dizzy or have the issues of Alexander.

That doesn't mean that when pitching that Dodge wouldn't throw one high and tight if you were crowding *his* plate.


John

[DamnYankees]

Originally Posted by jdw

Nah, Dodge was too good for too long and too consistent to be as flakey as Dizzy or have the issues of Alexander.

That doesn't mean that when pitching that Dodge wouldn't throw one high and tight if you were crowding *his* plate.


John

Well, considering Pete won 373 and played for 20 years, I don't think those issues really shorten careers. Not for the great ones, anyway.

[Matt from TN]

Originally Posted by DamnYankees

Oh, no, not Dodge Lee. Have you seen his picture? The guy always struck me as a Dizzy Dean type, though not to that extreme. Maybe a combination of Dizzy Dean and Pete Alexander, if that makes any sense.

I agree here... Dodge looks like a crazy SOB to me... Someone who intimidated you when you stepped to the plater, a la Randy Johnson.

[jdw]

> Well, considering Pete won 373 and played
> for 20 years, I don't think those issues really
> shorten careers. Not for the great ones,
> anyway.

Through the age of 30, Grover was 190-88. That was just 7 seasons. In the balance of his career, he was 183-120.

I don't know... looks like some impact.

Through 30:

198-88 Grover
158-74 Dodge

Rest of career:

183-120 Grover
240-126 Dodge

Grover:
190-88 (Through 30)
98-64 (31-36 years old)
85-56 (37+)

Dodge:
158-74 (Through 30)
130-70 (31-36 years old)
110-56 (37+)

It's not like Dodge pitched longer - he walked away at the end of 1944 despite going 22-11 and having a Top 10 ERA. He was 41.

Grover stuck around two seasons longer.

I can't help but look at the "record" of each player and see that Dodge took better care of himself.

And unlike Dean, he bounced back strongly from the few serious injuries he had.


John

[jdw]

I don't disagree that he was intimidating on the field. No doubt about that. 12 strikeout titles speaks to that.

But I don't think he was a nutjob *in the clubhouse* or in the press that Randy Johnson always has been. He strikes me more as Walter Johnson than Lefty Grove - intimidating on the field, but not a prick off.


John

[Matt from TN]

Originally Posted by jdw

I don't disagree that he was intimidating on the field. No doubt about that. 12 strikeout titles speaks to that.

But I don't think he was a nutjob *in the clubhouse* or in the press that Randy Johnson always has been. He strikes me more as Walter Johnson than Lefty Grove - intimidating on the field, but not a prick off.

Well to his credit, he was a big spokesman for the war effort along w/ Washington teammate Sam Kass. Both the most loved players in DC history. Well, and Will Miller.

[Matt from TN]

WEB PAGES UPDATED... INCLUDING PLAYER PAGES


August 1953

The Tigers went 20-9 in August. Along the way they won 6 of 7 games against the Yankees, almost sealing the AL pennant. The two teams play each other for the final time from September 9th-11th and Detroit could possibly clinch before then. Detroit's Hal Andrew, who will be limited the rest of the regular season with a strained back muscle, hinted that the Tigers would enjoy clinching the pennant during that series at Yankee Stadium.

The Pirates went 18-12 this month, but they lost a little ground to the Cubs, who went 18-10, gaining back 2 of the 3 games they trailed Pittsburgh in the loss column. Meanwhile, the Cardinals went 21-8 and it seems like everyone on that team has gotten hot. They are now just 3.5-games back, making the NL a three horse race. September is shaping up to be a battle royal. Over the final 25 days of the season, the Cubs and Pirates play 6 times, the Cubs and Cardinals play 3 times and the Pirates and Cardinals play 6 times. That definitely means the Pirates have the tougher schedule, playing 12 games in an 18-game stretch against the Cards and Cubs.

Detroit's Ray Kress and Pittsburgh's Ben Giordano are both making runs at the Triple Crown. Kress trails St. Louis' Dale Thompson by percentage points in the batting race, and he is 1 RBI and 3 HR behind teammate Matt Perly. Giordano may be making an even stronger run, leading the NL in batting and RBI while trailing New York's Joe "Roadhouse" Rodabaugh by 4 HR.

Also worth noting, the Washington Senators are making a run at the worst record in baseball history. They are on pace to lose 105 games which would be two more losses than the 1928 Pirates. The AL record is 101 losses by the 1945 Indians. Meanwhile, after back-to-back 97-loss seasons which were both franchise records, the Dodgers are on their way to finishing higher than 8th for the first time since 1949.

In The News

Aug 8: Dan Troge was back in a Cubs uniform after military duty in Korea. Manager Lloyd Johnson made Troge an honorary bench coach. The Cubs went out and won the game 8-3 over the Reds but dropped their next two. Johnson asked Troge to stay on in his coaching role, and the Cubs went on to win 14 of their next 19 games, putting them a single game behind league-leading Pittsburgh.

Aug 21: Major League player reps Chuck Rauch (NL) and Dennis Kitterman (AL) hired labor leader John Norman Lewis at $15,000 per year to give legal advice to players in their negotiations with the owners.

Aug 22: Boston CF Ben Hargey was hit in the 7th inning by a pitch from former teammate James Basford now of the Yankees, sparking a brawl that later earned Hargey a two-game suspension. At the time, New York led 9-7 and Hargey faced a 2-out situation with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Pinch hitter Joe Kreitenberg followed Hargey but grounded out to end the enning as Boston fell to New York. After the game, an obviously frustrated Hargey made it clear that Basford was no friend of his even while playing on the same team. Later that evening, Basford got into another brawl, this one in a Boston cafe after being taunted by some unforgiving fans. The Yankees fined him $600 for his actions.


American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Bud Ulrich (DET)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.71.

American League-Batter of the Month:
Ray Kress (DET)!
He batted .363 in 80 AB, with 6 homers and 20 RBI.

National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Cotton Simson (PIT)!
He had a record of 6-0 in 7 games started, with an ERA of 1.14 and 1 shutouts.

National League-Batter of the Month:
Ben Giordano (PIT)!
He batted .369 in 103 AB, with 7 homers and 21 RBI.

A perfect sweep by the two league leaders, DET and PIT.

American League Standings 
  
Detroit          90 42 .682 -
New York (A)     78 54 .591 12.0
Cleveland        72 60 .545 18.0
Philadelphia (A) 71 61 .538 19.0
Boston           68 64 .515 22.0
Chicago (A)      59 73 .447 31.0 
St. Louis (A)    48 84 .364 42.0 
Washington       42 90 .318 48.0
 
National League Standings 
 
Pittsburgh       82 50 .621 - 
Chicago (N)      81 51 .614 1.0
St. Louis (N)    79 54 .594 3.5
Cincinnati       64 68 .485 18.0
Philadelphia (N) 62 69 .473 19.5
Brooklyn         59 73 .447 23.0 
New York (N)     53 80 .398 29.5
Milwaukee        48 83 .366 33.5

AL AVG
.368 Dale Thompson, SLA
.368 Ray Kress, DET
.347 Morris Lutske, BOS

NL AVG
.358 Ben Giordano, PIT
.354 Ogden Wing, STL
.336 Mark Silcox, BKN

AL HOMERUNS
36 Matt Perly, DET
33 Ray Kress, DET
32 Arnie Stewart, NYA

NL HOMERUNS
35 Joe Rodabaugh, NYG
31 Ben Giordano, PIT
27 Ken Chaucer, MLN

AL RBI
112 Matt Perly, DET
111 Ray Kress, DET
105 Charlton Brown, PHA

NL RBI
118 Ben Giordano, PIT
110 Joe Rodabaugh, NYG
99 Herman Dunkel, STL

AL STEALS
26 Francis Gilmartin, BOS
22 Hans Habermehl, PHA
22 Edwin Keesaer, WSH
22 John Young, NYA

NL STEALS
58 Ben Cook, STL
46 Cognac Allen, MLN
24 Branimir Gljivica, PHI

AL ERA
2.45 Bourbon Allen Jr., CHA
2.47 Bob Stevens, PHA
2.50 Adam Sardina, CHA

NL ERA
2.26 Martin Gwaltney, PIT
2.88 Randy Liebermann, CHN
2.95 Grady Ingram, STL

AL WINS
21 Corky Stell, DET
18 Maury Baum, NYA
18 Bud Ulrich, DET
18 Hal Andrew, DET
18 Adam Sardina, CHA

NL WINS
23 Cotton Simson, PIT
23 Martin Gwaltney, PIT
22 Grady Ingram, STL
21 Randy Liebermann, CHN

AL STRIKEOUTS
182 Hal Andrew, DET
179 Don Allen, SLA
171 Carpenter Erickson, NYA

NL STRIKEOUTS
213 Randy Liebermann, CHN
201 Martin Gwaltney, PIT
184 Grady Ingram, STL

AL SAVES
20 Len Banty, CLE
19 Oscar Villalpando, NYA
18 Cal Granger, PHA

NL SAVES
23 Johnny Gundich, CHN
21 James Bajofer, CIN
19 Loren Cost, STL

[rudel.dietrich]

Originally Posted by Matt from TN

Also worth noting, the Washington Senators are making a run at the worst record in baseball history. They are on pace to lose 105 games which would be two more losses than the 1928 Pirates. The AL record is 101 losses by the 1945 Indians. Meanwhile, after back-to-back 97-loss seasons which were both franchise records, the Dodgers are on their way to finishing higher than 8th for the first time since 1949.

Thanks for that

[Ankhiel]

Originally Posted by Matt from TN

Meanwhile, after back-to-back 97-loss seasons which were both franchise records, the Dodgers are on their way to finishing higher than 8th for the first time since 1949.

and thats only the beginning...

i was aiming for a winning team by '55 , and i should have it

[jdw]

Matt from TN wrote:

> August 1953
>
> Aug 22: Boston CF Ben Hargey was
> hit in the 7th inning by a pitch from former
> teammate James Basford now of
> the Yankees, sparking a brawl that later
> earned Hargey a two-game suspension.

Oh crap... they're at it again!


> At the time, New York led 9-7 and
> Hargey faced a 2-out situation with
> runners on 2nd and 3rd. Pinch hitter
> Joe Kreitenberg followed Hargey
> but grounded out to end the enning
> as Boston fell to New York. After the
> game, an obviously frustrated Hargey
> made it clear that Basford was no friend
> of his even while playing on the same
> team. Later that evening, Basford
> got into another brawl, this one in a
> Boston cafe after being taunted by
> some unforgiving fans. The Yankees
> fined him $600 for his actions.

Okay... everyone expects this, so I'll deliver:


"That's the type of city Boston is:
You can't go out to dinner
without being assualted by
crazy people. It's not like
getting a quiet table at Patsy's
with Frank and Mrs. Ditty.
The fine citizens of this city
let you eat your veal chops
siciliano in peace."
-Yankees GM Jimmy Ditty




John