FABL - Detroit Dynamo's - Rise from the Ashes

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Wednesday July 14th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Dynamo Top Prospect List
Is the Future Looking Brighter?

After the disappointing 1934 season, the Detroit Dynamo's minor league system was in shambles. There was only 1 top 100 prospect and just a couple of more in the top 200. There were no coaches or managers and things appeared pretty bleak. We just didn't know then just how bleak things would be. Since that season the big league team has compiled a record of 120-266 for just a 310 winning percentage. Of course this year we might be doing cartwheels for a 310 winning percentage, as the Dynamo's are currently at 282.

Despite the current horrific slide of the big league team, there is hope on the horizon. Currently CF Sal Pestilli, who was #1 on the prospect list in all of baseball before having played enough games this year to "graduate" is one of the top up and coming stars all around. 1B Red Johnson,19 (#2 overall) is hearing it up in the minor leagues and has begun the chatter for his arrival probably sometime next year.



As you can see from the chart above, the Dynamo's are currently rated the #2 team in the official OSA Prospect Rankings. That feels good thing and feels even better knowing that the club was #1 prior to the "graduation" of Sal Pestilli.



Of this group you can expect to see SS Frank Davis, SP Ray McCarthy, 1B Red Johnson, SP Karl Wallace, SP Stumpy Beaman all in Detroit next year at some point. A few might even get a September call up when the rosters expand.

Of the clubs top 15 prospects (all in the top 175 on the league board), thankfully 10 of them are pitchers. You have to give GM Martin a little credit for building a solid core and adding the pitching need. The key position players that are 1-4 years away also address key weaknesses that are not previously being addressed on the big league roster (SS, C, 1B).

Overall the minor league teams are having fairly successful seasons. Only Chattanooga which has been a revolving door of talent has failed to post a 500 record during the first half.

For his mid-season grade on just building the farm system, GM DD Martin gets a solid B+ for his efforts. Too bad for him that building up a minor league system when the big league team is on a 3 year odyssey of extremely poor baseball, is only 10% of the grade.

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Thursday July 15th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

First Half Pitching Staff Grades

The half way season Dynamo Grades - Pitchers

Pitching Staff

Pitching Coach Sam Miles 1st Quarter Grade F
2nd quarter Grade F----

How this guy still has a job right now is beyond words. He needs to be shown the door....now!

Player stats will show where they were in the first quarter of the season and where they are at the halfway point in the season.

SP Hardin Bates - 1st Quarter Grade C- (3-4 5.15 ERA 9 G 8GS 1.64 WHIP 0.7 WAR
2nd Quarter Grade C (5-9 4.60 ERA 18G 16GS 1.58 WHIP 1.0 WAR
It doesn’t show in the won/loss record (2-5 2nd quarter) but Bates has actually pitched better. I don’t think he will ever be a frontrunner for the Allen Award again, but he could be a very serviceable mid to back of the rotation guy for a club.

SP “Ace” Hank Spencer 1st Qtr Grade C+ (2-2 2.88 ERA 5GS 1.48 WHIP 0.5 WAR
2nd Qtr Grade C (4-6 3.58 ERA 13GS 1.58 WHIP 0.9 WAR
Spencer is one of those rare guys that seems to be more than the sum of his parts. While not quite as sharp as his 1st quarter, he has gone out and given the team a chance to win most times he has taken the mound.

SP “SuperStar” Chuck Murphy 1st Qtr Grade C+ (3-5 3.98 ERA 8G 6GS 1.46 WHIP 0.5 WAR
2nd Qtr Grade C+ (5-10 3.97 ERA 16G 14GS 1.41 WHIP 0.8 WAR
If they give out pitching MVP awards on select teams, very seldom would a guy with a 5-10 record get a mention. But Murphy probably has been the steadiest of this bunch. Nobody ever wants him but he is surprisingly steady while not spectacular.

With the first 3 guys in the rotation, this team doesn’t seem as bad as its record indicates. While not great, they certainly haven’t been horrible.

SP Jack Wood 1st Qtr Grade D+ (2-4 5.59 ERA 8G 7GS 1.73 WHIP -0.3 WAR
2nd quarter Grade D (4-8 6.03 ERA 15G 14GS 1.71 WHIP -0.3 WAR
Wood was sent down to AAA Newark to work on his control. He has simply been walking too many base runners to succeed in the big leagues. Once the 24 year-old lefty figures out his control issues, he should be a fairly solid middle of the order SP.

P Chuck Calvert 1st Qtr Grade RP-B SP-F (0-3 6.18 ERA 3GS 10G 1.81 WHIP -0.3 WAR
2nd Qtr Grade C (0-5 1 save 6.04 ERA 19G 4GS 1.78 WHIP -0.4 WAR
Calvert snuck his way into another start and it was another loss. In starts this year he is 0-4 with a 6.57 ERA. Detroit should not start him again...ever. His bullpen work has been better but his ERA blew up with one bad relief outing last week. We won’t kill him for that.

RP Jim Spencer 1st Qtr Grade D- (0-3 1 save 7.36 ERA 1.91 WHIP -0.8 WAR
2nd Qtr Grade D- (2-7 2 saves 6.25 ERA 20G 3GS 1.91 WHIP -1.3 WAR
The numbers say he is slightly better this quarter, but only slightly. It's time to cut bait, this half of the kayfabe Spencer Brothers should go find other work, maybe in San Antonio.

RP Ben Curtin 1st Qtr Grade - Incomplete (0-0 8.31 ERA 2G 8IP 2.31 WHIP 0.0 WAR
2nd Qtr Grade C (0-1 3.86 ERA 12G 1.40 WHIP 0.3 WAR
Curtin has been alright in relief during the 2nd quarter of the season. He isn’t the stopper he was for several years in St. Louis but he is serviceable and a good presence in the clubhouse.

RP Jim Cavendar 1st Qtr Grade B 1-1 3.64 ERA 11G 2GS 1.50 WHIP 0.1 WAR
2nd Qtr Grade C (1-1 4.01 ERA 17G 2GS 1.62 WHIP -0.1 WAR
Still wildly popular but he is just an arm you use when needed

P Roy Lynch who received an F Grade in his brief tryout during the 1st Qtr was mercifully DFA in June. He was picked up by the Philadelphia Sailors who have only allowed him to appear in 1 game for 1 inning in relief. Maybe that is his calling, but I doubt it.

SP Ray McCarthy 1st Qtr Grade -Pending (0-4 7.49 ERA 5GS 1.84 WHIP -0.4 WAR
2nd Qtr - Spent in AA trying to work out control issues
Ray is a big part of the Dynamo’s future plans, so instead of letting him struggle with rust, confidence etc in the big leagues he was sent down. In Newark 3-2 3.52 ERA in 9GS. His control is looking much better and is only issuing 2.9 BB/9 as opposed to the 7.8 BB/9 he was allowed in Detroit. The club is taking their time letting him get it right because with this season completely out the window, there is no point in not letting him get it right. Expect a call up in September

P Donie Scheuermann 2nd Qtr Grade - Pass (1G 1IP 0.00 ERA
Scheuermann came up for a brief stint in June and just appeared in 1 game. At Newark this season he is 1-2 4 saves with a 3.77 ERA. He could be a part of the club's bullpen in the future.

P Eddie Bloom was injured in the first part of the year and has come back and been very underwhelming with an 0-2 1save record and a 7.02 ERA. Looks like the bloom is of this one. 2nd Qtr Grade F

Summary - For what it is worth and that isn’t much, the team’s bullpen ERA is 5th in the FA and was 3rd prior to a wicked couple of outings last week. The bigger concern is the SP and their last in the FA 5.06 ERA. Aside from Murphy, Spencer and Bates, everyone else has been horrible and it shows up in the team ERA. The good thing is that there are promising arms down in the minors and as pointed out 10 of the clubs top 15 prospects are pitchers. Some will be back (McCarthy and Wood) while others are expected up perhaps as early as September (Wallace and Beaman). I expect to see a very different pitching staff next season with maybe only Murphy and Bates as holdovers. Hank Spencer is extremely unhappy with the losing so he will likely be dealt before the trade deadline or in the off-season.

Overall Pitching Staff Grade - D at best

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Friday July 16th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

First Half Position Player Grades and Management

Detroit Dynamo’s Position Player Grades - 2nd Quarter

Hitting Coach Charlie Protheroe was fired at the end of June. It was a good thing because he would have been ripped to shreds here in this column. He was a contact hitting coach and sadly this team did very little of that.





While the team leads the league in home runs, its is just about last everywhere else. The most glaring issue is with the added bats of Pestilli and Drake, the offense is scoring only 3.93 runs per game which is less than last year. Obviously something had to change, so enter new hitting coach Jack Johncox. Good Jack, we are all pulling for you.

Position Players - Catcher

C Bill Smith 1st Qtr Grade B- (276/311/739 1HR 7 RBI 0.4 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade C- (248/290/677 2HR 10 RBI 0.4 WAR)
Bill has seen his playing time lessen as his bat continues to cool off. It was a nice story to give him a chance to be an everyday player, it just seems like it has come too late in his career. At 33 he isn’t a big part of the teams future plans so maybe it is time for something different.

C Ben Richardson 1st Qtr Grade B- (431/473/1.041 0HR 3RBI 0.7 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade B (333/381\864 2HR 17 RBI 1.3 WAR)
Richardson’s grade probably should have been a B in the first quarter but he was penalized for not playing much. While no one expected him to maintain a 400+ average he has been surprisingly solid so far this year. In fact it is his best year hitting in his career so far.

Overall Catcher Summary - Grade B-
Smith has disappointed during this most recent stretch so expect to see more and more playing time given to Richardson. It will be interesting to watch if Richardson getting that extra playing time can continue to succeed.

Position Players - Infield

1B Max Morris 1st Qtr Grade C- (231/318/694 5HR 16 RBI WAR )-0.1)
2nd Qtr Grade D- (212/291/615 5HR 21RBI -0.6 WAR)
Most people feel that I should have been kinder to the Hall of Fame Legend with my commentary last week. The comments weren’t made to be hurtful, but it is just stating the obvious. His playing time was considerably less, partially due to missing 2+ weeks and part by the manager part of Morris seeing he wasn’t helping the team.
2B Claude Merrill - 1st Qtr Grade D (234/317/655 4HR 13 RBI 0.0 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade D+ (207/292/656 12HR 34 RBI -0.1 WAR)
Everyone was pulling for Merrill to prove that he could be the man at 2B. Unfortunately while his power numbers were up in the 2nd quarter of the season, he is struggling to make contact. His failure was part of the reason the team was forced to go out and acquire 2B Jack Shadoan from Brooklyn. As for Merrill he isn’t going down to Newark, but he won’t be starting everyday unless there is an injury (or Morris just throws his hands in the air on playing).

3B Buck Sargent 1st Qtr Grade D (234/284/606 3HR 8 RBI 0.3 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade D (241/286/607 3HR 8RBI 0.2 WAR)
Carry over grade since he spent almost the entire 2nd Qtr of games on the injured list and then on a rehab assignment. Elder statesman Don Ward seems to have taken over the full time job at 3rd.

SS Harry Woodruff 1Qtr Grade D- (175/239/533 3HR 14RBI -0.3 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade D (196/259/579 6 HR 28 RBI -0.2 WAR)
Well if anything Woodruff appears to be a consistently poor hitter. He has shown a very small improvement in the 2nd quarter so who knows maybe he will get his season average above 200 before SS Frank Davis comes to take his job later this season.

IF Slim Bloom 1st Qtr Grade D (222/265/582 0HR 6RBI -0.3 WAR
2nd Qtr Grade - DFA
Bloom was designated for assignment after the end of the first half trade for Jack Shadoan.

IF/OF Juan Sarmiento 1st Qtr Grade D- (158/200/358 -0.1 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade - DFA
Sarmiento, who was also a team captain, was DFA at the end of June after the trade with Brooklyn brought Jack Shadoan and Elmer Nodle to Detroit. He was also a casualty of 1B/Manager Max Morris coming back off the DL

1B/OF Henry Reid 1st Qtr Grade C(273298/730 0HR 3RBI Grade C 0.0 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade C (269/333/703 0HR 10 RBI 0.2 WAR)
The rule 5 pick hasn’t had a lot of time to do much, but has played well when given the chance. Expect more of the same for the rest of the season.

3B Don Ward - Not with team 1st Qtr
2nd Qtr Grade A- (317/360/812 2 HR 10 RBI 102 AB 1.1 WAR)
Ward has been a very nice free agent pickup for the Dynamo’s. If he can continue to hit for a high average and play solid defense then maybe the team has someone who can plug the hole at 3B this year and maybe even next while they wait for Hank Koblenz to get ready.

IF Russ Combs Not with team 1st Qtr
2nd Qtr Grade - TBD (350/409/859 20AB 5G 0HR 3RBI 0.1 WAR)
Combs hasn’t been around much but was kept on the team at the expense of Juan Sarmiento. Combs has always been a solid hitter when healthy although he is no gold glove defensively. He is versatile though and could play most infield positions.

2B Jack Shadoan - 1st Qtr on Brooklyn bench
2nd Qtr - Just arrived
Expected to be the everyday starter at 2B

Infield Grade - D
Not much has changed from the first quarter as the root of most of the team’s offensive woes come from this group. The grade likely would have been a D- but the signing of free agent 3B Don Ward moved it backup to D level. Now in our next evaluation it will be interesting to see what a full quarter of games with Ward, Combs and Shadoan can do to help this club. But much more help is greatly needed.

Position Players - Outfield

CF Sal Pestelli 1st Qtr Grade A- (318/376/917 6HR 26 RBI 2.3 WAR
2nd Qtr Grade A- (293/343/900 18HR 52 RBI 4.3 WAR)
I took some grief giving Pestilli an A- in the 1st quarter. That said even though his home runs are up considerably with 12 this quarter, his batting average has fallen below 300 and his OBP has fallen similarly. What is it that I want from Pestilli to get an A, greatness. He is on the cusp of it, but as the All-Star voters spoke with their votes. Pestilli is not quite there yet, but he is very, very close.

LF Leon Drake - 1st Qtr Grade C- (227/319/759 5HR 23 RBI 0.8 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade B- (256/321/812 12 HR 41 RBI 1.8 WAR)
Drake is slowly but surely heating up a bit and bringing up his average. The main problem is for this RBI machine, not enough base runners on infront of him. He also leads the team with 12 Triples but hasn’t found his doubles stroke yet (7).

RF Elmer Nodle -1st Qtr on Brooklyn Bench
2nd Qtr - Just arrived
Expected to be the upper end of the platoon in RF with Sid Williams

RF Sid Williams 1st Qtr Grade B (291/387/843 3HR 10 RBI 0.7 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade B (284/363/813 5 HR 15 RBI 0.9 WAR)
Williams hasn’t gotten as many at-bats but still has been a very big and pleasant surprise for the Dynamo’s. With Elmer Nodle now in, he will likely just be starting against lefties as the left-handed Nodle will go against righties.

LF Irv Brady 1st Qtr Grade D- (176/268/562 0 HR 4 RBI -0.2 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade D- (119/225/412 0HR 6 RBI -0.4 WAR)
The only reason this isn’t an F is he is the last remaining team captain, so that has to be worth something.

Henry Jones 1st Qtr Grade B (362/405/971 4 HR 8 RBI 0.8 WAR)
2nd Qtr Grade D+ (275/346/771 6 HR 12 RBI 0.3 WAR)
The veteran Jones was rewarded for his solid 1st quarter play with more starts and playing time in the 2nd quarter. Sadly Jones has disappointed in the expanded role so he was about to be DFA when Pittsburgh came calling and the Dynamo’s got a 9th round pick for him. How the mighty have fallen as he was worth a 3rd in early 35 but Dynamo's GM Martin was stubborn and it came back to bite him here.

Outfield Grade B
The strength of the team is now solidly its outfield. The top 4 OF’s of Drake, Pestilli, Nodle and Williams isn’t bad. The veterans left will probably not be around for next season as Pete Thomas, Jay Buckingham and Wayne Morgan are all vying for spots on the big league team.

Management

Manager Max Morris - 1st Qtr Grade was incomplete
2nd Qtr Grade - D
As we stated before the only way to help the manager Max Morris (besides getting better players) is that the player Max Morris retires. Morris needs to put all of his efforts now in this new venture to see if he can be a good big league manager. But as long as he is continuing to have to put time in to see if he can regain some of his form with the bat, he is hurting his concentration and development as a manager.

GM DD Martin 1st Qtr Grade D
2nd Qtr Grade D
Another area where I received complaints that I was too hard on the GM. A GM is graded on several things and while the mess he inherited was bad, he has not helped the big league club to greater success. So yes he gets high marks in building the farm system and the prospect chain, but prospects are no sure thing when it comes to big league success. Right now he needs to do something, and I believe he is trying with the signing of 3B Ward, IF Combs and the trade with Brooklyn for Nodle and Shadoan but is it enough? Team owner Freddie Thompson who has been absent most of the year is on record as being displeased and upset with the product on the field. Martin waved a magic wand during the off-season with the publicity stunt of Max Morris and it sold tickets. But the luster is wearing off quickly, the attendance is not as high as it was during the 1st quarter and fan interest is sliding back. These things and most importantly the won/loss record since he has arrived 120-266 can’t be ignored. If things don’t get better then I think for the sake of the organization there should be a new voice in town next spring.

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Monday July 19th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Trudging Along in a Lost Season

The Dynamo's must have been somewhat inspired by my comments, they managed to win a couple of games against the free-falling Washington Eagles this week going 2-5.

The week began with a couple of games in Chicago against the Chiefs. SP Hank Spencer who says he doesn't handle losing well looked just fine with it as he pitched one of his worst games of the season to go to 4-7. The familiar bugaboo of the Dynamo's staff this season has been walks. Well Spencer gave up 6 walks along with 6 hits and wound up with 10 earn runs charged against him before Max Morris had seen enough after 4.2 innings of futile pitching. Spencer was considered to be on the trade block and actually a few people thought about him until they saw this game. The phones have been quiet in the Dynamo's office ever since. Newcomer 2B Jack Shadoan was about the only positive in this game for Detroit going 3-5 as Detroit lost 12-5

Game 2 of the Chicago series saw former Dynamo SP Jack Beach continue to torment his old team as he moved to 3-0 on the season with a save vs Detroit as the Chiefs won 7-3. Both teams got 8 hits on the day, but again the difference was walks as the Dynamo pitchers gave up 6 and Beach gave up 1. CF Sal Pestilli hit his 19th home run on the season, but unfortunately as if often the case, nobody was on base for a free ride home. The Dynamo's are now 0-11 on the season against Chicago and have 11 more beatings scheduled.

Washington Eagles (34-44) came to Detroit for a 3-game series looking to right their ship as so many teams have. Things started out looking pretty good for the Eagles too. Eagles SP Eddie Quinn continued a very up and down season with a rough 7.2 IP (11H 8R 7ER 5BB 2K 2HRA), but Dynamo SP Hardin Bates was just as ineffective in his 5.2 IP outing (11H 9R 7ER 1BB). 1B Red Combs and 3B Buck Sargent each homered for the Dynamo's in the losing effort.

In game 2 of the series, Detroit survived an hour rain delay in the 6th to hang onto a rare victory 7-3. SP Jim Cavender who is normally a RP, gave Detroit a solid 6.2 IP for the win and Ben Curtin earned his 1st save as a Dynamo. The offense was supplied by LF Leon Drake and CF Sal Pestilli both hitting home runs as Detroit survived by out hit 11 to 7 in the game.

In the series finale, the Dynamo's rode a strong performance from "SuperStar" Chuck Murphy (6-10 3.90) went the distance to pick up the 5-3 win. But with Detroit nothing is ever that easy as the game was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 9th. With 1 out Max Morris pinch hit and singled and then an unlikely hero emerged from the dugout. Team Captain Irv Brady stepped up as he had pinch hit for Leon Drake earlier in the game. Brady then took a 2-2 pitch Washington P Ike Zuckerman and blasted a 2-run game winning home run. The Dynamo's have now won 2 straight games and took this series 2-1. Don't get too excited though as the Philadelphia Keystones are coming to town and Sal Pestilli was injured running down a fly ball in the 7th (sprained knee).

Game 1 of this series was once again the showcasing display for SP Hank Spencer. And once again he was shelled giving up 12 hits and 7 runs in just 6 innings. What little interest in Spencer before this week has completely disappeared. Following his success yesterday LF Irv Brady got a start in LF and went 2-3 with a triple and has raised his batting average to a mind-blowing 154 on the season. The Keystone batters were happy to be coming into town as they rapped out 15 hits in a 9-4 win. The only player in their starting lineup not to get a hit, 1B Rankin Kellogg who is having a very un-Kellogg like season hitting just 262 with just 9 home runs on the season.

Final game of the week, but don't worry Phily is staying in town through Monday so they can keep trying to get their bats healthy. Detroit SP Harlin Bates had a miserable Sunday afternoon at the ballpark. Not only was he lousy giving up 9 hits in 3.2 innings, but the defense behind him was also horrible committing 4 errors. That combination of things lead to 10 runs being scored by Phily in the first 4 innings played. Detroit hitters tried to rally the team scoring 3 in the bottom of the 4th and one each in the 6th and 9th but couldn't overcome horrific starting pitching and poor fielding in falling 10-9.

Weekly Record 2-5
Season Record 24-61

Roster Moves
The Dynamo's and Keystones finally closed the draft day trade that sent draft picks SP Al Duster and C Val Smith to Detroit for C Glen Sexton, CF Jose Serna and draft pick Jeff Cochran to the Keystones. The deal had been hung up because greedy scrub draft pick Jeff Cochran had an extremely over-inflated opinion of his value and robbed the Dynamo's of $23,100 to sign. There had been an agreement between the Dynamo's and Keystones to clean up the money portion of the deal but the league office apparently wants to further anger Dynamo Owner Fred Thompson and did not require the money exchange.

The team DFA RP Jim Spencer (good riddance) and brought up SP Ben Watkins who had gone 10-6 with a 4.22 ERA at AAA Newark.

CF Sal Pestilli was placed on the DL as a pre-cautionary measure to insure his sprained knee doesn't become something worse. In his place the team brought up CF Pete Thomas who will likely see some playing time while up, but it will be Leon Drake sliding into the CF role.

SS Slim Bloom who was furious over his DFA last week has indicated that he will not accept an assignment to Newark so he will likely become a free agent once his time in limbo land ends.

Trade
The Dynamo's traded popular veteran OF Henry Jones to the Pittsburgh Miners for a 9th round pick. He was slated to be DFA so the club received something, but it is a sad ending to Jone's run with Detroit. For his career Jones played in 1326 games in a Detroit uniform with 1575 hits. His career batting line is 303/358/845 with 206 HR and 892 RBI's. His 1326 games ranks 5th all-time in Dynamo's history, where he is 2nd also in runs scored with 812 (just 16 shy of tying Al Wheelers team best 828), 4th in hits with 1575, 1st with 314 doubles, and had just passed Wheeler for the teams all-time home run king with 206. He was also #1 in RBI's with 890 passing Danny James last year.

Whoever the Dynamo's pick in the 9th round next year will likely never approach Jones career marks.

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Monday July 26th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Morris to Retire at Season's End

Some say I was too harsh, others say I was just too disrespectful and still other saps in NY say I'm a drunk idiot. Maybe parts of the first 2 were correct, but in the end that isn't what matters. What matters is Detroit's player/manager, 1B Hall-of-Famer Max Morris (42) has announced that he intends to retire as a player at the end of the season.

While Morris has struggled this year hitting just 220/298/637 with 6 homers and 25 RBI's. He is the game's all-time greatest power hitter. Here are a list of his accomplishments.

4 FA Whitney Awards
4 CA Whitney Awards
1920 & 1934 World Series Champion
3 Time All-Star (1933-35, first 3 all star games ever played)
54 time Player of the Week
31 times Batter of the Month
World Series MVP
Led Association in Home Runs 11 times during his career
Led Association in RBI's 8 times
Won 3 Batting Crowns
Led Association in Slugging 9 times
Career Marks
#1 All-time Runs Scored 2,235
#1 All-Time Total Bases 6,482
#1 All-Time Home Runs 708
#1 All-Time RBI's 2,297
#1 All-Time Walks 1,750
#3 All-Time Hits 3,605
#11-T All-time Batting Average .3422
#4 All-Time On-Base % .4341
#2 All-Time Slugging % .6153
#3 All-Time Games Played 2,898
#2 All-Time OPS% 1.0494
#4 All-Time At-Bats 10,535
#8 All-Time Singles 2,304
#11 All-Time Doubles 450

Some may have thought this day would never come, but Father Time stops for nobody, not even a Legend. Morris will continue to play through the season and will try and add a few more numbers to his career achievements. Baseball will miss seeing him hit his majestic home runs, but he will likely always be around the game in some capacity.

(picks up a glass of beer-Toasting) Here's to you Max, thanks for the memories.

Further Follow up On Morris 37 Season

So I’m doing a little digging into my hitting stats (depressing yes) and noticed something about Max Morris this year. While he is not having the type of year he has had most of his career, his struggles have really come away from Thompson Field.

At home 284/368/790 5 HR 17 RBI 108 AB
On the Road 130/193/414 1HR 8 RBI’s 77 AB

Unfortunately for Max 39 of the last 62 Dynamo games (and games in his playing career) are on the road. He needs 7 to get to 715 but with his diminishing skills and a daunting road schedule in front of him, the odds look long

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Monday July 26th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Signs of Life?

Even without Sal Pestilli in the lineup this week the Dynamo's showed signs of life winning 3 out of 7 games. While that doesn't sound like much, but when 14-51 over the last 2+ months, its improvement.

Weekly Record 3-4
Season Record 27-65 (8th place 29.5 games back)

Monday July 19th 1937
Philadelphia Sailors 3 @ Detroit Dynamo's 2
Keystones Top Dynamos, 3-2, Behind Myers

Despite SP Chuck Murphy continuing to show everyone that he is a better pitcher than his record, his effort Monday was wasted. Murphy (6-11 3.84) pitched a complete game 6-hitter giving up 3 runs but was outdone by Keystone SP Art Myers (10-6 4.37).
A- 9,371

Tuesday July 20, 1937
Pittsburgh Miners 2 @ Detroit Dynamo's 3
Dynamos Sneak Past Miners, 3-2
The Detroit Dynamos picked up a win at Thompson Field, knocking off the Pittsburgh Miners, 3-2. Starting pitcher Ben Watkins played a key role in the triumph. In 9 innings, Watkins surrendered 8 hits, while striking out 4 and walking 5. He allowed 2 runs. The win has Detroit at 25-62.

Detroit took a 3-2 lead on Sid Williams's 6th double of the season. The run-scoring double, which Williams hit in the bottom of the eighth, left Pittsburgh pitcher Lefty Allen shaking his head.

After the game Watkins (1-0 2.00) stated that outdueling Lefty Allen (12-6 3.22) in his return to the big leagues was quite a thrill. It was a rare win for the Dynamo's against Pittsburgh this season as the Miners have dominated the season series 10-2
A-7,144

Wednesday July 21, 1937
Pittsburgh Miners 5 @ Detroit Dynamo's 4
Lockwood Hits 2 home runs in Miners Win
The Pittsburgh Miners turned back the Detroit Dynamos, 5-4, at Thompson Field. Elmer Lockwood, in particular, had a fine performance. He went 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and a walk. The win gives Pittsburgh a season record of 50-37.

Dynamo SP Jim Cavender (2-2 3.94) pitched a decent game outside the 2 home runs by Lockwood. Besides Lockwood's heroics, Pittsburgh SP Charlie Stedman (10-10 3.51) was sharp in his own right. His only blemish on the day was C Ben Richardson's 3 run home in the 6th.
A-9,077

Thursday July 22, 1937
Pittsburgh Miners 5 @ Detroit Dynamo's 6
Dynamo's Rally to Surprise Miners and Win Series

The Dynamo's trailing 5-3 entering the bottom of the 7th scored twice in the inning to tie the game. Then 2B Jake Shadoan hit a clutch 2-out game winning RBI single in the 8th to win the game. The good fortune with the bats benefitted SP Hank Spencer who was again less than stellar as he wins his 5th game (5-8). RP Ben Curtin worked a scoreless 9th giving up a hit and striking out 2 to earn his 2nd save.
A-8,095

Friday July 23, 1937
Boston Minutemen 1 @ Detroit Dynamo's 5
Dynamos Top Minutemen, 5-1, Behind Murphy
The Juggernaut Detroit Dynamo's won their 3rd straight game behind SP "SuperStar" Chuck Murphy who had a strong outing against the Boston Minutemen at Thompson Field. The right-hander was a big part of his team's 5-1 win. The triumph makes Detroit 27-63.

Murphy's performance can only be described as masterful. He notched 5 strikeouts in 9 innings while allowing 6 hits. Murphy, who is tied for 5th in the FA with a 1.29 WHIP, goes to 7-11 on the year with 49 strikeouts. Murphy is making a strong case for him to retain his role of "SuperStar" and SP for the Dynamo's next season.
A-11,738

Saturday July 24, 1937
Boston Minutemen 9 @ Detroit Dynamo's 7
Minutemen Wear Down Dynamos, 9-7 in 10 Innings
After 5 innings the Dynamos were looking like they might win their 4th in a row with a 7-1 lead. But as good as SP Harlin Bates was in the first 5 innings, it quickly fell apart for him and the bullpen over the last 5 innings in a tough loss.

3B Ken Mayhugh is proving why so many thought he was a great young hitter. He went 4-6 with a home run, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI's in leading Boston's comeback win. In the loss 3B Buck Sargent who is fighting to keep his roster spot homered for the 2nd straight day, and on the Day Max Morris announced his retirement he hit a home run, his 6th on the year.
A- 11,429

Sunday July 25, 1937
Boston Minutemen 7 @ Detroit Dynamo's 1
Minutemen Top Dynamos, 7-1, Behind Nelson
For a minute some thought Nelson was Chicago SP Rabbit Day the way he was throwing and everyone realized the hopes for a winning week at home were over. Nelson (11-8) gave up 5 hits and struck out 6 only giving up LF Leon Drake solo home run in the 8th inning.

For Drake the home run was bitter sweet as he has been complaining about his back for the last few days. He will be evaluated but might join Sal Pestilli on the DL which would really cripple the Dynamo's already bad offense.

SP Ben Watkins (1-1) struggled in his 2nd start since coming up. Giving up 10 hits and 7 earned runs while walking 5.
A-11,102

GM Thoughts -
Our best week since early July when we went 4-4. Right now our pitching is just so inconsistent. The hitting has been awful for most of the season so nothing new there.

Roster Moves -
We decide to no DL Drake who is d-t-d with the sore back, but we will limit him next week to pinch hitting duties.

We also assigned 2B Juan Sarmiento to class AAA Newark, moving 2B/3B Harry Fuller to class A Terre Haute for a few weeks.

So far this year throughout the organization we have been blessed with pretty good health. A credit to our medical and training team led by Dr. Ted Booth.

As our record has sagged so has our attendance. We are now down to averaging 12,846. That number is still up 72% over last years numbers but it shows that this fan base really wants to see a winner as the numbers have continued to fall since early in the year. Even with the attendance numbers sliding the club still projects to make a $450,000 profit, which is a 177% increase. But I still know what our ownership wants and that is a lot more wins.

Minor Leagues
Exciting news for our organization and fans as we have promoted 1B Red Johnson to play the last 2 months of the season with AAA Newark. Johnson turned around his bb:k numbers at AA after it being 1:3 in his first 2 weeks. He ends his 3 week stint with AA Akron hitting 310/463/1130 with 5 home runs, 13 RBI's 11 walks and 4 K's. Johnson will still be just 19 at the start of next season, but he could be starting in Detroit if he handles AAA well and has a solid spring.

C Clem Bliss (AAA Newark) after a lousy spring and an equally slow start to the season in Newark is finally starting to heat up the bat. He was acquired because of his batting average and ability to draw walks to help shore up an offense that struggled in both. Last week he hit 368 with 3 walks and scored 4 runs. He is now up to 253 on the season and will likely get a shot in September to show what he can (or can't) do.

RF Wayne Morgan (AAA Newark) had 11 hits and 4 walks scoring 11 runs for the week in 26 AB's. He is solidly in the mix for a backup OF role next season. Morgan will likely need to be protected in the off-season so I can see him getting a potential September call up.

SS Tip Harrison who at one time was a highly rated prospect, reminded everyone he is not done and still capable of being a big league player. Last week he drove in 10 RBI's with a double, triple and 2 home runs. Harrison is hitting 277 at AA and would like to be in the mix next spring for at least a bench role with the big league club.

3B Hank Koblenz while not tearing the cover off the ball did drive in 8 RBI's with a homer for Class A Terre Haute. He is not on the same time table as 1B Red Johnson, but he is likely the future 3B for the Dynamo's in a couple of years. If he can cut down on his strikeout, he could start next season at AA.

[DD Martin]

Short update with the holiday but I’m behind. As we wind down the disappointing 1937 season we go 3-9 the last two weeks bringing our record to 30-74. We can’t even see 7th place let alone 3rd. The good news is Sal Pestilli and Leon Drake are both back to full strength. We will play out the string but we are really looking forward to the September call up period which this year is September 6th (due to sim schedule).

(Here are who we are considering bringing up to the big league club…..)

Detroit is al looking at who to bring up. With Newark fighting for the Union League crown I’ll have a decision to make. Most likely we will see SP Jack Wood return to the big leagues after 10 fairly successful starts for Newark (4-1 3.26). He went down to figure out his control issues and while not great they are better 4.06 bb/9.

Also getting the call will be C Clem Bliss who struggled in spring training he lost his spot on the big league roster. After a terrible start in Newark he has rebounded of late hitting close to 300 since June 1st in a shared catcher role.

SP Ray McCarthy will come up for a couple of starts towards the end of the season. McCarthy has started 17 games since his demotion in May after going 0-4 with an ERA of 7.49. His main problem was his walks per 9 innings was higher than his bloated ERA at almost 8bb/9.

Others under consideration are SP Karl Wallace (5-2 3.11) and Stumpy Beaman (6-6 3.10) who both came over in a trade from the Chicago Cougars during the draft. Both have pitched very well and are likely to join Wood and McCarthy in a very young starting rotation which might be anchored by “SuperStar” Chuck Murphy.

LF Jay Buckingham will also likely get promoted. His future is likely a 4th/5th OF with good speed and base running skills. He also keeps the clubhouse loose. He is hitting 300 +/- and has done all he can at AAA.

Finally there are 2 more that are under consideration but neither are on the 40-man (neither are SP Wallace and SP Beaman). Right now there are 38 guys on the 40-man (39 if I keep P Alex Vaughn who was waiver claimed). RF Wayne Morgan is one candidate. I wish he was hitting closer to 300 (currently 259 but up from earlier in the season). Decent power and speed and could join Buckingham as a reserve in next years OF. He could also be a platoon candidate for Nodle in one of the corners.

The other guy under consideration is 1B Red Johnson. Red is proving himself well in AAA hitting 327 with 8 home runs and 21 RBI’s in just 98 AB. His walk to strike out ratio is strong at 20:2 so he doesn’t seem overmatched. The only thing holding him back is my fondness for Max Morris and giving Mighty Mo all the opportunities to get a few more stats. If our games were in a pennant race, I’d probably just do it, but they aren't. I have the weekend to think about it.

[DD Martin]

Dynamo's August 1937 Report

Since I am woefully behind I have decided to catch up quickly in one big post. Surprisingly it was a really good month, even by good team standards.

Month of August Record 17-10
Month of August Run Differential 149-121 +28

We haven't had a run like this since I have arrived in Detroit (and the year before I arrived they hadn't either). The offense averaged 5.51 RPG for the month of August which was a substantial improvement over the year to date numbers. Prior to August we were scoring 4.03 RPG and with the August production we are now up to a more respectable 4.50 RPG number. Season to date is not good enough, but maybe the return of CF Sal Pestilli and the continued improved offense from LF/RF Leon Drake is making a big difference. Also the acquired bats of 3B Don Ward (346 in August), 2B Jake Shadoan (307), OF Elmer Nodle (313) and rookie SS Frank Davis (276) are all improvements over the players that were playing in those spots earlier in the season.

It has really been Leon Drake who fought through a minor injury, hit (326/375/1091 8 HR and 29 RBI's that has really led the way. For his efforts in the last week of August, Drake was named the FA's Best Player Award Winner. He hit 4 home runs and drove in 10 RBI's while hitting

CF Sal Pestilli came back from a short 3-week stint on the DL to hit 291 with 6 HR and 17 RBI's. Pestilli is leading the majors with home runs at 26 home runs on the season.



On the pitching side of the team, August was also a solid month there as well. The team Pitching ERA in August was 4.01 and lowered the teams numbers to 4.85 on the season (6th in the FA). SP "Superstar" Chuck Murphy who was offered at the trade deadline and generated a little discussion (but no move was made). He had a month that would make those contenders wish they had pulled the trigger on a deal. He was 5-1 for the Dynamo's in August with a 2.55 ERA and won the FA's Pitcher of the Month award. On the season the Superstar is 12-13 with a 3.57 ERA.

Another name that was out there on the trading board was "Ace" Hank Spencer who pitched horribly in the weeks leading up to the deadline causing all interested parties to run off scared. Spencer rebounded in August with a 5-2 4.11 stat line. He won't be a #1 or #2 guy for anyone who is contending but he can be a solid lower of the rotation guy who doesn't get hurt and keep a team in the game. Both of these guys are 28 and with the young arms coming up whether they are back in Detroit next season remains to be seen.

In 5 starts since coming over in a trade with Cleveland, SP Roger Perry has been really good on some days and just ok on others. He has been solid overall though going 3-2 with a 4.46 ERA. Perry will be in the mix next season for a rotation spot if any of the kids don't look to be ready.



In the minor leagues, August saw some impressive performances throughout the organization. In the Eastern Association (AA) Akron's RP Eddie Sequin won pitcher of the month honors. The Wheels RP had 6 saves and pitched 32.2 innings during the month and a 3-3 record with a 1.93 ERA. On the season to date, Sequin (22) has 14 saves in 70.1 IP with a 1.54 ERA and appears headed to AAA Newark next spring.

Class A Terre Haute has had the benefit of 1B Ralph Conner (26) moving down with the rise of 1B Red Johnson. Conner who is obviously too talented to continue in the class A Heartland League will be moving up next week most likely back to AAA Newark. But for August he destroyed HL pitching hitting 412 with 7 home runs and 28 RBI's.

Speaking of Johnson (19) he is hitting 308 with 11 home runs and 26 RBI's at AAA Newark. The fans in Detroit are clamoring for him to make his debut, but they also want to see Max Morris finish out his playing career on an up note. We will see what we decide to do with Johnson next week when call ups will start. Johnson won the player of the month honors at AAA Newark for August hitting 356 with 10 home runs and 21 RBI's. It certainly looks like he is ready.

Biloxi's 7th round draft pick in last December's draft RF Ellison Sterner 19 won the Gulf States League Batter of the Month Award hitting 394 with 3 homers and 23 RBI's while scoring 13 runs. On the season Sterner is beginning to get noticed as he has improved his average to 289 with 6 home runs and 70 RBI's. Sterner is the Dynamo's #22 rated prospect and his is #260 overall in the FABL rankings.

While not winning any awards this month, the Dynamo's second half of its 1936 draft class tandem of Red Johnson and Hank Koblenz is really picking up steam. 3B Koblenz (now 21) started his career last year struggling but has really picked things up this year. He was promoted to class A Terre Haute in June and in 68 games at the Class A level has hit 302/337/881 with 13 Home runs and 51 RBI's. He is working hard to cut down on his strike out rate and is making more solid contact. He will never be a huge walk guy but he should be a very good fielding RBI 3B for Detroit by 1939. He will move up when rosters are expanded and will get a month of work at AA and he is expected to likely open the season at AA next year with a planned promotion (if all goes well) to AAA by June.

Summary - While we are still in last place we are at least within striking distance of the Gotham's who struggled and fell back to us a bit in August. I don't expect us to keep winning at this clip (we were 16-3 towards the end of the month) taking 5 out of 6 games against both the St. Louis Pioneers and the defending Champs the Chicago Chiefs.

With next week beginning the September call up period we will definitely be bringing up some players. Their will likely have to be some 40-man roster decisions and we will not bring everyone back up on the first week. Expect 5-6 call ups for next week with likely half of them in the pitching arena. We have been going with a 4-man rotation but it has been heavily used in August and we have a double-header on Labor Day against the Chiefs. Someone from Newark will be coming up to help out for sure that day.

[DD Martin]

September 1937

It has been a long season where we played baseball much like the 1935 team that lost 111 games. Through August 8th we had a record of 30-74 (288) and we’re on pace to lose a league record tying 112 games. We relieved both our hitting and pitching coaches of their duties and dealt we the frustration of our top 2 HC’s and PC’s declining the opportunity to join the big league staff (this is a serious flaw in OOTP 22 new and underwhelming coaching changes). While I will not fire those coaches as finding good coaches that fit what I want has been tough to find. That said they will never get the opportunity in Detroit to be asked on the big league staff again.

Needless to say things look dark and very bad and once again I had job security concerns. The fact is if principal team owner Eddie Thompson hadn’t taken ill in the off-season, I don’t know if I would still be employed. I had issues with the Detroit World’s head baseball writer Freddie Farhat. Fans were becoming disillusioned and everything I was trying to build was in serious question. I looked back on why I left the job in Cleveland. My best friend was the owner and his meddling Dad was now completely out of the picture. Elmer Marshall (former Cleveland owner) was the root of the issue in Cleveland. The Detroit job intrigued me because it was a total rebuild, from the ground up, even the foundation of the franchise had to be redone. But had it been too much to take on?

Eddie Thompson said he could be patient as I laid out my plan 2 and 1/2 years ago about what needed to be done. But the team was so bad that 35 season that his patience had greatly waned. There were thoughts of resigning, that I had failed and set the franchise even further back than it was prior.

Since August 7th the team has gone 29-17 (630) and played some of the best baseball in the Federal Association. We followed August’s 17-10 record with a 13-12 mark so far in September. The offense has come around and for the most part the pitching has improved with the addition of SP Roger Perry off the junk heap in Cleveland. There is promise obviously in CF Sal Pestilli who leads all of baseball with 31 home runs. OF Leon Drake after a slow start is over 100 RBI’s and for the 2nd straight year has hit 20+ doubles, triple and home runs in a season (20D, 23 T and 25 HR). We made a deal that brought 2B Jake Shadoan and OF Elmer Nodle that have improved those positions from earlier in the year. Then SS Frank Davis came up and at the end of the season 1B Red Johnson has played well and is being handed the torch from hall of fame home run king Max Morris at 1st.

There are others that are working their way up the system. We have lined up a solid group of pitching prospects (10 of our top 15 are pitchers and most are in the top 100 list). Most of the minor league teams are playing well as the system had a record of 378-322 (540) with the AA Akron Wheels winning their first Eastern Association title since 1912.

We have 5 games on the road to end the season. Manager Max Morris has loaded his teams 3 games against the contending Chicago Chiefs and stated if Chicago is going to beat us, they will beat our best. Morris wasn’t going to start anymore games but a request from the New York Gotham’s to let him to in the final 2 games seems like a fitting end.

With our success of late we are 58-91 and have a shot at 60+ wins which was what I was hoping to see (well I was hoping for 65 to avoid 90 losses). We have secured 7th place in the very competitive FA that has 6 teams over 500 and will likely not see a champion reach 90 wins. Moving into 7th will cost us the #1 pick in the draft (in our new format the draft doesn’t have the top 32 as that is done under a different pod/lottery system aka random chance. Since the OSA doesn’t particularly like pitchers in our league and era, that means a pretty good arm will be available). But not losing 100+ games and again showing improvement is worth the loss of the draft position (to #3 slot).

Finally, next year we expect another jump and hopefully this will be a big jump to around 500. A tall order perhaps and we will be relying on a young pitching staff. Questions will need to be answered about who is staying and who isn’t. I had floated the idea of trading our best starting pitcher (Chuck Murphy 28) in the off-season. While most position player slots are filled for next year, there still could be improvement at a couple of spots on the infield. Without the draft in the off-season this year we will be focusing on the Rule 5, Minor League Draft (1pick) and the Indy Draft (1pick). There are question about our front office team with AST GM Ben Hathaway and especially scout Fred Davis. And of course we will look at trades that will improve us more for next season instead of just the future down the road.

There will be a meeting with the owners after the season and my return I suppose is not guaranteed. The fact is that in the last 3 seasons we have lost more game than any team in FABL history over a 3-year stretch (currently 300 losses against only 157 wins). But I truly believe year 4 will be a fun year with lots of continued building for what I hope will be a serious contending season in 1939 (year 5). My plan was to get us back to respectable baseball by year 4 and I feel the pieces are in place, now we just have to do it on the field.

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Monday October 4th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Dynamo’s End Season with a BANG!

By winning their last 8 games of the season. The Dynamo’s capped off a 33-17 finish over their last 50 to provide the faithful fans that maybe there is hope around the corner. Although 5 of the last 8 wins were against a Gotham’s team in complete free fall, there is still the road sweep against the defending champion Chiefs. The Chiefs were still in the race when Detroit manager Max Morris stated “If the Chiefs are going to beat us, they will have to beat our best 2 starting pitchers and our top pitching prospect.” Three devastating 1-run wins by the Dynamo’s and the Chiefs were effectively eliminated from FA Pennant consideration. Detroit who lost their first 11 games against Chicago won 9 of their last 11 between the 2 teams which had a huge impact on the final standings in the FA.

On August 8th the Dynamo’s record stood at 30-74 and they were on pace to tied the FABL record for losses in a season at 112. A record they almost set in 1935 when they set a club record for losses with 111. Fortunately for GM DD Martin, his deals to bring in LF Elmer Nodle, 2B Jake Shadoan, SP Roger Perry and the call up of rookie SS Frank Davis seemed to turn around the season. The offense over the last 50 games improved from scoring an FABL worst 4.2 rpg to 5.6 which lead in big part to the turn sound of the club.

Also the changes in hitting coach hiring Al Murphy and pitching coach Jack Johncox seemed to improve things not only on the field but in the dugout. So while 63-91 doesn’t sound great, it is the second straight year of improvement in the won/loss record for the team. Although it couldn’t have gotten much worse than the 43-111 in 1935.

There will be a lot of questions though still going forward for this team. We know the 3-4-5 part of the lineup next season will be CF Sal Pestilli, Ozf Leon Drake and 1B Red Johnson (in some order). SS Frank Davis is likely pencilled in at short. The club is waiting anxiously for 3B Hank Koblenz to progress up the minor league ladder but that is likely sometime during the 1939 season.

We will go over all the projections for the lineup and rotation next year, but first up is a playoff game to determine the CA between the Brooklyn King and Philadelphia Sailors. The winner of that gets the injury-riddled Pittsburgh Miners who somehow through guts and determination won the FA.

Still lots to go over here but can 1938 be the season that we see the Dynamo’s finally emerge and get back in the upper division of the FA? It will be a very tough task as the FA is loaded and this year had 6 teams that finished above 500. The Dynamo’s want to enter into that group, but they are going to be extremely young and we all know young people make young (dumb) mistakes.

The Detroit World
Monday October 4th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Max Morris Ends Legendary Playing Career in Style

In the final game of his career, Hall of Famer Max Morris went 3-5, driving in a run and scoring one as the Dynamo’s beat the Gotham’s in New York. For the season the 42-year-old veteran raised his average up to 251/331/681 with 9 home runs and 52 RBI’s. After the game Morris stated “It’s a young mans game and my time as a player has come to an end. I can’t be more pleased though than to pass the mantle to Red Johnson (20). If Red can stay healthy throughout his career, I see great things ahead for him.”

Morris was quite gracious in wanting to let the youngster get as much time this month as he could. But with last weekends farewell series at home (Max Morris Weekend) and the Gotham’s requesting to give the fans one more chance to see him play. Morris reluctantly filled out his name on the lineup card for those games. While seeing Red Johnson get as much time as he could, it was the right thing to do.

Here are Morris’s career numbers which ended with a FABL best 711 home runs, 2324 RBI's and 2257 runs scored



Now Morris moves into his new occupation full time. As manager of the Dynamo’s he will be in charge trying to bring this team back to its former glory. His troops showed promise down the stretch, can they get off to a good start next April and stay the course?

It will be the start of GM DD Martin’s 4th year in this rebuilding project, if team ownership lets him continue on. There is a great deal of uncertainty with the Dynamo’s ownership, but there has been acknowledgment that Eddie Thompson will be meeting in person with the GM after the series. While the club has kept Thompson’s health under wraps all year after a heart related illness in the off-season, it is said he is “doing better”.

We will see if the last 1/3 of the season surge saves Martin’s job. There has been talk that there have been some meetings with another gentleman regarding the position over the summer. But are they just rumors, or is there truth to them?

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Wednesday October 13th, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

King's End Curse beat Miners in 5 for World Series Title!

I don't know if anyone really believes in "curses" but many King's fan (and management did). Well all that nonsense came to an end as Brooklyn finally added a World Series Pennant and joined all the other current FABL clubs in having won it at least once.

The King's dispatched a rugged and gritty Pittsburgh Miners team that was looking for only its 2nd World Series title and first since 1901 in 5 games. The fact the Miner's even made it to the World Series is a testament to their players and coaches as the team has been besieged by injuries all season to their position players.

For those that believe in curses and superstition, this just goes to show you that C Jim Kyle who has now won 4 World Series titles with 4 different teams every 3rd year, is more powerful than an late 19th century pitcher who swore vengeance on the King's for releasing him before the turn of the century.

Congrats to the Kings for getting the monkey off their back and to former Dynamo players Al Wheeler and Frank Vance for winning their 2nd championships. Now all Detroit has to do is secure the services of Jim Kyle for the 1940 team and we will be celebrating another title in Detroit.

[DD Martin]

Team Meeting with Owners Preparation

Prior to Eddie Thompson and George Theobald arriving in his office, GM DD Martin is going through his notes. He hasn’t seen much of Mr Thompson who has been away from the stadium all season. There have just been phone calls them and they have not always been good. The club has done a good job of keeping the fans and media away from Thompson and the nature of his health issues. I’m not even sure what to expect when he arrives.

I have the final financial figures in hand. We ended up being 9th in the league in both attendance and revenue. The attendance numbers for the year had us averaging 12,365 fans which was over a 60% improvement over last season. The 1935 season saw an average of less than 4,400, so we’re are up 181%. We also made over $430,000 in profit which compare to 1935’s $65,000 which is well over 500% better.

But Mr. Thompson doesn’t necessarily worry about the bottom line. He would trade money for wins and a championship. His goal is to see the team where Brooklyn is sitting right now, sipping champagne and having parades.

For me, with our late season rallying that some say likely saved my job, we are about where I thought we be. The franchise was a total mess when I arrived in May 1935. In less than 3 years we have taken the minor league system from basically dead last to having the #1 or #2 system in the game. We were #1 but with CF Sal Pestilli losing his rookie status in July, we fell behind the Gotham’s. 1B Red Johnson is now the #1 prospect in baseball and he arrived to the majors at the tender age of 19. He just turned 20 during the last week of the season and hit over 300 with a couple of home runs. He will fall off the list before the all-star game next year.

But we have more young talent getting closer and closer to being here in Detroit. SP Ray McCarthy (top 20) and SS Frank Davis (top 40) are both up and likely to stay in the big leagues. So our ranking will take a hit next year, but we have high school catcher Pete Casstevens rated #5 and some talent behind him as well, so the drop won’t be too bad. The affiliated teams are much happier having full staffs and competitive teams. This season AA Akron won its first Eastern Association title since 1912. Newark (AAA), Terre Haute (A) and Biloxi ( C ) had upper division winning seasons as well. The minor league teams playing .540 baseball with a 378-322 combined record.

But what Thompson will want to know is when we will compete and win the FA again. Detroit last won the FA and World Series in 1929. While I have 1939 (year 5) where we should be serious contenders I believe that 1940 would be the first year of hopefully being in the hunt for the pennant. Not sure that is quick enough for Mr. Thompson given his health conditions.

Well it’s about showtime……but before I expect the owners there is a knock at the door. It’s Max Morris……

[DD Martin]

Conversation with Max Morris - An unexpected turn of events

As I let Max into my office, I could see something was on his mind.

Martin - Max come on in, take a seat.

Morris - Thanks boss

Martin - So I can see something is clearly on your mind, is it Oysters retiring? I know you talked to him a lot and he was a great resource for you this season, but don't worry we will find someone......(I could see this was not the issue).

Morris - No its not Ossie retiring. It's just, I've been in baseball my whole life. I owe everything I have to the game of baseball. But I have been talking to my wife and family back home and....well I am thinking of leaving the game for awhile.

Martin - (Stunned) Leaving the game? You mean stepping down as the manager here in Detroit? You want to manage somewhere else? I mean I know it was rough early this season but the club really turned it around and in talking with Ossie he said you were making great strides as a young manager. Is it the losing?

Morris - No I just want to be home more often and I want to give something back to my community. I have been talking with some folks and they think that I should run for Congress. If I am going to take it seriously I can't be on the road managing and split time at home and in DC.

Martin - But baseball has been your life Max. Are you sure this is what you want to do? I mean big league manager jobs, there are only 16 of them and I think you have a great opportunity here.

Morris - DD, you have been on my side ever since you brought me back to Cleveland in 32. You gave me the opportunity to win another World Series, and let me patch things up in Cleveland. When the Foresters were looking to move forward last year, you came in and offered me this opportunity to finish out my playing career and become a manager. Its been a great experience and I am forever in your debt. Its just, I feel like at this time, maybe doing something for my hometown of Youngstown and giving back. Maybe by getting elected, I can help out more people. I've had such a great career, Its....I just want to give something back to all these people who have supported me throughout my career.

Martin (clearly taken back by this new development, his mind wanders into the upcoming meeting with the owners.) I understand Max, if this is what you really want to do. Maybe you should take a week and really make sure. I mean politics, some of those guys are crazy.

Morris - I've been thinking about it, and I have been thinking about what kind of a spot this will leave you in. I know you went out on a limb for me with this opportunity, but it is really what I think I want and is best for me and my family. Who knows I might want to get back into baseball someday, but I really think I want to do this.

Martin - Max, the baseball world is going to miss you. You are the games greatest player in my opinion. I know it will be a blow to the fans here, but if this is really what you want. I won't stand in your way.

Morris - Thank you DD, thanks for everything these last 5+ years. (starts to get up and we shake hands).

Martin - Max, if there is anything I can do to help you in this new venture, just call me. I will do everything I can.

Morris - I might do that, especially if you can get Forester Owner Rick Marshall to perhaps publicly back me.

Martin - I will call Ricky later today and ask him to give you a hand. I am sure he wouldn't mind supporting your efforts. Take care Max, I hope we cross paths again and if you ever decide to get back into the game, just call me.

With that my manager and the game's all-time leader in home runs, RBI's and runs scored left my office. Now I have something else to talk with Mr. Thompson about. Not only did I have to replace our bench coach, but I need to hire a new manager. It was only 9 AM and I was looking for a drink, and the day was about to get rougher most likely

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Saturday October 23rd, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

It's Awards Time!

With both leagues Whitney and Allen Award winners announced, it is time for the first ever All-FABL Team and FABL MVP's for both hitting and pitching. We will also announce the FABL's top rookie Hitter and Pitcher.

Detroit World FABL Player Awards
By "Fast" Freddie Farhat

This is my first official Annual Awards for the FABL. We will announce the players that I see are truly baseball’s MVP for both hitters and pitchers. Also we will announce the Rookie of the Year Awards for both hitters and pitchers in the FABL. After that we will announce the All-FABL team with 10 players (8 position players, starting pitcher and relief pitcher).

FABL Player of the Year - 3B Mel Carroll Washington Eagles (409/452/1048 26HR 130 RBI 9.0 WAR)

Carrol has done something that has become extremely rare in baseball over the last decade, he hit over 400 on the season. Not on that but he led all of baseball in RBI’s and hits (256). With Carrol’s bat he led the Washington Eagles to a resurgent 2nd half that had them finish 81-73 and within 6 games of the FA Crown. In my mind the Washington 3B had no real close competition this year for the award.

FABL Pitcher of the Year - SP Joe Shaffner Brooklyn Kings (20-4 2.32 ERA 31 GS)

This will be a controversial choice in many circles. Many would have selected Pittsburgh Miners SP Lefty Allen (22-13 3.27 ERA 230K’s) for this award. But I look at things like who is the most valuable player/pitcher on a team, and while I can certainly make the argument that Allen was a major part of the Miner’s winning the FA, I can absolutely say that Joe Shaffner ended the curse for the Brooklyn Kings. Schaffer lead baseball by over ¾ of a run in ERA this year and he was practically unstoppable during the Kings late season run. He came back from injury mid-season to go down the stretch with a miniscule 0.78 ERA. The King’s won 9 of those last 10 starts and only a horrific fielding day cost them the other game in extra innings against the Cougars.

FABL Rookie Hitter of the Year - CF Sal Pestilli Detroit Dynamos (306/365/937 33HR 94 RBI’s 7.4 WAR)

Just like with Carrol, Pestilli had no real competition for the Rookie Batter of the Year. He led all of baseball with 33 home runs, leading all rookies in WAR and was 2nd overall with 103 runs scored behind Toronto’s Levi Redding (109). Pestilli also only struck out 14 times while walking 50. A remarkable season for the 21-year-old and you have to wonder what he can do when he is 25.

FABL Rookie PItcher of the Year - Bobo White Washington Eagles (12-14 5.24 ERA 36GS 121K’s)

While no one had a truly standout year, Bobo White didn’t exactly overwhelm with his ERA but with his 3.8 WAR he led all of the rookie pitchers by almost double in that statistic. White edged out Baltimore John Edwards and Chicago Cougars Pug Bryan in a close decision.

The All-FABL Team

Some difficult choices in some of the categories here. Now before anyone claims that I am a homer for Sal Pestilli, I scrutinized that position several times before arriving at the choice. The close battles were at SS where I value defense at a premium so Dawson edged out Washington James Beard who had a fantastic season with the bat. Also surprisingly RF was a tougher choice than I thought with Boston’s Pete Day giving CA Whitney Winner Al Wheeler a run.

C - Tom Bird Chicago Chiefs (337/458/1010 24 HR 92 RBI’s 114 runs 8.3WAR)
1B - Fred McCormick St. Louis Pioneers (373/474/1066 20 HR 97 RBI’s 140 Runs 50 Doubles 9.1 WAR)
2B - John Langille Brooklyn Kings (278/369/802 11HR 80 RBI’s 81 Runs 5.1 WAR)
3B - Mel Carroll Washington Eagles (409/452/1048 26HR 130 RBI 9.0 WAR)
SS - George Dawson Cleveland Foresters (301/345/732 6HR 72 RBI’s 76 Runs 6.2 WAR)
LF - Moxie Pidgeon Washington Eagles (344/395/923 26HR 118 RBI’s 109 Runs 6.1 WAR)
CF - Sal Pestilli Detroit Dynamos (306/365/937 33HR 94 RBI’s 7.4 WAR)
RF - Al Wheeler Brooklyn Kings (303/401/936 30HR 122 RBI’s 107 runs 4.9 WAR)
SP - Joe Schaffer Brooklyn Kings (20-4 2.32 ERA 31 GS 5.3 WAR)
RP - Bobby Montefusco Boston Minutemen (12-4 10 saves 1.44 ERA 62.1 IP 1.1 WAR)

Manager of the Year - Dan Andrew Pittsburgh Miners

[DD Martin]

Owner's Meeting and Hiring a New Manager

30 minutes before my meeting with principal owner “Big Money” Eddie Thompson and his partner George Theobald, Max Morris walked into my office and dropped a bombshell that he was leaving the dugout for Congress. It was not something that I had anticipated and it is not often that I am caught off-guard, but this did. I had my presentation ready going over

• Team performance and concentrating on the last ⅓ of the season.
• Team Attendance and Income
• The minor league Affiliates and the Top Prospects and where they are

I knew Thompson though was going to be interested in how do we contend (win) next year and who am I going to get to manage this club. It was something that I was thinking about the whole time after Max left my office. I had some discussions with a minor league manager to become our new bench coach, but I wasn’t prepared to offer him the managing job, at least not yet. The time fly by when of all people our team doctor (trainer) Ted Booth came into my office. Ted wanted me to know that whatever I do, I should try not to excite Mr. Thompson all that much. He was not in the condition to be overly excited and he seemed worked up already when he checked him out in his office.

Dr. Booth left and then came in Big Money Eddie Thompson, in a wheelchair pushed by George Theobald. Thompson, who was a very large man (6’4 over 270 pounds) looked noticeably thinner and much more frail than he was just a year ago. Theobald wheeled him in and then positioned a chair next to Thompson, who bellowed “Let’s get Started”.

I handed both men copies of my season in review discussing how the team had performed and especially at the season's end. I discussed how my purpose during the draft was to address the future pitching needs. Then talked extensively about 1B Red Johnson replacing Mighty Mo at 1B and the rookie of the year CF Sal Pestilli. We went over team rankings by position and the whole run down on the minor leagues.

Finally we talked about attendance, and how we beat the 9,000+ goal by over 33% and the increased profits. Thompson listened, nodded and looked thoroughly tired or maybe he was just bored. Finally he spoke up

Mr. Thompson - What about Morris as manager and the coaching staff? How do you think they did and are they improving?

(Obviously Max’s news hadn’t gotten out of our office discussion as he was likely down in the locker room cleaning out his locker)

Martin - I think Max learned a great deal about managing this year. It is not an easy job and definitely not an easy one while still playing. It’s..well I just talked to Max this morning 30 minutes ago. He is stepping down as manager and going to run for Congress.

Thompson (bellowing) He did what? How could you let him do such a stupid move? You told me that with his background as a power hitter and all the young power hitters you have been acquiring that he was a huge key to success. I knew that you should have hired a real manager last year, but no you wanted to drive up ticket sales with this publicity stunt. You should know by now that I am more concerned with winning than I am turning a larger profit!

Martin - Having more fans in the ballpark gives the team a big advantage at home. All the top teams have significant home field advantages. I wanted to create that excitement here as well, but I didn’t just hire Max Morris for the attendance boost. Yes I believed that his background as the greatest power hitter in this game would rub off on the younger players. I believe it did in spring training and even in September when we called Johnson and others up. But Max is a good man, he is very committed to helping his hometown in Youngstown out so I didn’t stand in his way.

Thompson (even louder) At the expense of MY CLUB!

George - Now Ed, let’s settle down and we can figure this out. Max Morris was a great player and he did have a good influence with the hitters, but remember he was just a rookie manager. While he did a good job learning this year, he wasn’t an experienced skipper by any means yet. That takes years to achieve.

Thompson (stands up) I want a full report Martin ASAP on who you might consider hiring as a manager. But you are not to offer any jobs without getting my approval. I want to see this team win and win now…..(Thompson collapses back into his wheelchair and whispers something to Theobald)

George - DD, this meeting is over for now as I need to get Ed back home and I want Dr. Booth to look at him again. But I will be back and we can discuss potential managerial replacements then.

With that both George Theobald and Eddie Thompson leave the room.

Later that day George Theobald comes back into my office and shuts the door.

George - Obviously as you can see Ed’s health is not in the best of condition. He suffered a stroke last year that has been kept very quiet and while he has made somewhat of a recovery, he is not the same. Right now all he is thinking about is winning the World Series one more time. He doesn’t know how much time he has left, even the doctors don’t know.

Martin - I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset him.

George - It is not your fault. But we do need to make some changes and I have an idea I want to run past you.

Martin - Sure fire away

George - I’d like to throw my hat into the new manager discussion.

Martin - Sure I could use some input from someone with your experience in the job.

George - You don’t understand, I’d like to be on the list of candidates to be the next Detroit Manager and return to the dugout.

Martin - You want to return to the dugout? I mean

George - At my age? Yes DD, I will be 75 in December, but I feel that I am in perfect health for an old man, probably as good as any 50 year old. I have lived a very clean and healthy lifestyle my whole life. So while I might be turning 75, I do not feel it and as you can see pushing around Eddie Thompson is not necessarily easy. Besides I could give some on the job training to that bench coach you are considering bringing in from Seattle. What’s his name, Dud?

Martin - Yes Dud Joerger who has an overall winning record as a minor league manager.

George - But has struggled the last few years in Seattle. Don’t get me wrong, I know the Seattle leadership hasn’t given him a team worth anything, but I doubt Thompson will allow you to hire him as the manager.

Martin - The thing with Max this morning and him resigning, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to the manager position to be honest. Especially after our earlier meeting. I mean I feel like Mr. Thompson wants to fire me.

George - He is upset, but it is because of his health more than anything else. He loves this team and it has been hard on him to see it struggle. But you also have a friend in the owner's office (smiles), and I think you are doing a very good job rebuilding this club.

Martin - Well thank you Mr. Theobald and if you want to come back into the dugout we can certainly work that out.

George - Remember it's just George, and I only want to do it if it can help the team. Oh I will admit I was disappointed when Ossie passed me on the all-time list, but records are made to be broken. But (with a twinkle in his eyes) I wouldn’t mind taking it back, at least for a little while.

Martin stands up with his hand outstretched to shake Theobald’s hand

Martin - Welcome back to the dugout George, now let’s get down to make this team a contender again. I had some changes in the coaches in mind for your staff.

With that George Theobald has returned to managing at the young age of 75 next season.

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Saturday October 23rd, 1937
Sports News
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Detroit Manager Morris Steps Down after One Season
Familiar Face Returns to Dugout

In an announcement that surprised absolutely no one manager, and the game's all-time leader home run hitter Max Morris made it official today by stepping down as the club's field manager. His recent decision to seek a seat in the House of Representatives as the Congressman for his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, made this an all but certain outcome.

The biggest surprise comes in the naming of his successor. Morris had been shepherded through his first season as a field general by the game's all-time winningest (and losingest) skipper, Ossie Julious, who owns a 2276-2418 record in a whopping 4694 games as a manager. But Julious, perhaps seeing what was in the wind, has headed home to Oyster Bay to "enjoy some fishing."

Stepping in will be another managing legend. With a lifetime mark of 2237 and 1955 and four World Championships on his resume, Dynamos minority owner George Theobald is returning to the dugout more than a full decade after retiring in 1925. Theobald has 4192 games to his credit in a managing career stretching back to the early 1890s. He served as the skipper for the New York Stars, the Boston Brahmins/Minutemen and the Dynamos, winning two titles in both Boston and Detroit.

Conspicuously absent from the press conference was club owner Eddie Thompson, whose health is the subject of much speculation. Although from sources we have uncovered that Thompson suffered a stroke last year and was seen being wheeled into the stadium offices for what some called "A Heated Meeting" with GM DD Martin. Theobald and Thompson left after about 45 minutes and then later that day Theobald returned and this is when the deal for him to return to the dugout was struck.

Now is this deal something that Theobald really wanted as he will turn 75 in December? Is it him wanting to retake the all-time wins lead as a manager? Surely the greatness of his managerial career didn't need that boost, but maybe he did. Or was this Thompson's way of making sure he has a man on the inside because he doesn't trust GM Martin? It will be interesting to see how this works out and how long the veteran Theobald wants to stay in the dugout.

Also being announced was the hiring of a new bench coach to replace Ossie Julious who retired as noted above. Former Seattle Thunderbirds skipper Dud Joerger left his post in Seattle to join the Dynamo's as the bench coach. It is assumed that Joerger was hired to be Max Morris's bench coach but now with the change in manager, he will be working with George Theobald.

Also making a change in hitting coaches once again, Detroit brought in a coach with more of a power background in Jim Webb, but also a lack of experience. Webb said he was excited to work with Detroit stars Pestilli, Drake, and Johnson and to help make Detroit one of the scarier lineups in the FA. Al Murphy was let go after he took over for Charlie Protheroe.

Are the Dynamo's done with this coaching shakeup or is there more to come?

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Sunday October 31st, 1937
Sunday Sports Final
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Chaos in MO-Town
Dynamo's Make Series of Rash Moves

So in the two weeks since the World Series Championship ended, the Dynamo’s said goodbye to Max Morris the player. Then Morris does the unthinkable and leaves to run for Congress in Ohio (Idiot). After that team Owner Eddie Thompson who rumor has it is on beds bed after a meeting with the GM. Minority owner George Theobald then comes back to meet with Martin and shortly after is named the new Manager. 12 years after he retired in 1925 as Dynamos Manager and returning at age 75.

So after that flurry of moves the club announced a new bench coach, a new hitting coach with very little experience. Little did we know the craziness had just begun.

Two days later the Dynamo’s and the defending Federal Association Champion Pittsburgh Miners announced a deal. The Miners were sending star 3B Ed Stewart (29) and a 2nd round rookie pod choice to the Dynamos for SP Ray McCarthy (23). McCarthy was the #18 prospect in baseball at the end of the season but struggled with his control and went 1-4 with an ERA over 6.



Now on the surface this deal is clear that the Dynamo’s want another strong bat for next season. While Don Ward did an admirable job filling in at 3B, it’s clear that Stewart is an offensive upgrade.

24 hours later, the Dynamo’s announced another deal with the Montreal Saints. The Saints are sending 3B Hank Barnett (28) to Detroit for next years 1st round pick (#3 overall after the 2 pod negotiation rounds), SP Karl Wallace and SS Frank Davis (top 50 prospect). So while the Stewart trade was lauded by many, the head-scratching acquisition of Barnett led to a lot of what’s going on here. Not that Barnett is a bad player, he’s not he is at or near the caliber of Stewart. The issue is they are both 3B, and the club has a heck of a prospect coming along (some say by 1939 season) in Hank Koblenz. Not only that the trading of Wallace who was thought to be in next years rotation and SS Frank Davis who showed well late in the season, a lot of people are wondering why?



The Dynamos have come out and stated that both Barnett and Stewart can play 2B, so it’s not as duplicative a move as it seems on paper. But they also said that they are likely not done dealing. I can’t wait to see what 3B they acquire next!

Right now I’m wondering if GM Martin is really calling the shots or if it’s a death request (mandate) from owner Ed Thompson. While the offense 1-6 will be very formidable with Pestilli, Drake, Johnson, Nodle, Stewart and Barnett will be powerful, the defensive has been weakened with the trading of Frank Davis (21), not to mention an already shaky pitching staff.

Then yesterday, the Dynamos announced another trade. This time they traded C Pete Casstevens (18) who was the #2 player in the June draft and the #5 overall prospect. In return Detroit added a young SP Charlie Wheeler (23) and veteran SS Erv Smith (30). Now why the team gave up on Casstevens after just ½ season after drafting him is a mystery. Did they think maybe he wasn’t worth all the hype after hitting only 169 at class C. Maybe they really are trying to push up the timetable of contention and decided they didn’t want wait 4-5 years for him to develop.

Wheeler is a good young prospect who was in the top 50 in July (#43) as he went 7-10 4.58 ERA. The scouts feel he could be a front end starter in time and will go a long ways towards replacing McCarthy in the rotation. While the scouts like him they also don’t think his ceiling is quite as high as McCarthy, if McCarthy reaches it.

Note - The league office is still processing the Wheeler/Smith Trade

GM DD Martin came out after these 3 moves and appeared happy although some have said the trading of his several years of prospects is altering his long term plan. Martin said they will not shy away from further moves if they can strengthen the team. He sidestepped questions about the acquisition of both Stewart and Barnett together. Some have said Martin acquired both of the players with an eye towards acquiring Baltimore SP John Edwards. Unfortunately Boston acquired Edwards before both the Pittsburgh and Montreal deals were finalized.

Will all this work out for the Dynamos for the 38 season? They have a lot of ground to cover to reach the upper echelons of the Fed. While the offense should be greatly improved, the pitching staff is still not top caliber and will take SP’s Chuck Murphy, Roger Perry and Hank Spencer duplicate their seasons last year, but call on Wheeler to be very good and Jack Wood and Stumpy Beaman to improve greatly from last season. If the team makes another move you have to believe it will be for a SP. But who knows maybe it will be another 3B and they will corner the market.

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Sunday November 21st, 1937
Sunday Sports Final
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

The Dynamo's Off-Season of Activity Continues

Here at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Miami, Florida, the Detroit Dynamo's have continued to make some off-season moves. The deal to acquire SP Charlie Wheeler (23) and SS Erv Smith (30) from the Gotham's has been completed.


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The Dynamo's have also changed out their Assistant GM. Former AGM Ben Hathaway has decided to go help Max Morris on Morris's bid to be a Congressman in Youngstown, Ohio. With Hathaway leaving for that the team needed to find another AGM. Here right before the start of the Winter Meetings, GM Martin and Manager George Theobald met with veteran baseball man Rankin Trull (61). Trull had last worked with the GWL Indy League Portland Green Sox who have the ugliest baseball socks ever seen. After a dinner meeting the parties shook hands and Trull was announced as the clubs new AGM.

Last week the club continued to mix around with its coaching staff that has seen a lot of change in the last few months. This time John Michaels was brought in to be the 3rd base and base running coach. There was no real explanation given for letting go former coach Jim Horrocks. When we asked George Theobald about it, he stated it was simply a better fit for his coaching staff and wished Horrocks the best as he is sure he will land with another club. I do know that last year the young and turbulent coaching staff was seen arguing a lot. You had a lot of very strong will personalities in that group with Max Morris, Ossie Julious and some others. The hope is this group will be better suited to have a better feeling in the clubhouse, although of course winning does tend to cure that as we saw last season when the club won 34 of its last 51 games.

We briefly had an opportunity to discuss these Winter Meetings with GM DD Martin. He was of course all smiles and said that he, Rankin and Theobald were working closely together to continue to improve the team. Reports out of Chicago have the Chiefs aggressively looking for some pop in their lineup but who they are talking to remains to be seen Could the Dynamo's still be talking about moving players?

One name that has been up for discussion was 3B Don "Donnie Baseball" Ward who is coming off an outstanding season after spending the first 2 months of last year looking for a job. The Dynamo's do suddenly have a glut of 3B with Stewart, Barnett and Ward so while anyone of them can play 2B, there will still someone playing off the bench. While it is never bad to have options and spare parts, it can be an issue, especially when you still have some pitching staff issues to deal with.

The Winter Meetings Start for real tonight

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Monday November 22nd, 1937
Sunday Sports Final
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Baseball’s Winter Meetings

The FABL announced a cooperative effort in bringing the workforce back as part of the WPA in building 3 new ballparks in New York, Chicago and Washington DC (figures). For Detroit fans, no Thompson Field renovations have been discussed.

Then the President of the FABL, as much a figurehead as I have ever seen, gave a really boring speech about how great the game is at this point in time. It looked obvious that some members of the Great Western League were unimpressed and left in the middle of the speech. I myself went to the bar while this was going on. What this means about the GWL, hard to say but there have been rumors all is not well on that front.

After the boring start to the meeting there was some interesting news on a pretty slow news day. Yes and once again the Detroit Dynamo’s were at the center of attention. This time their trading partner was Fed rival, the Chicago Chiefs. On the surface it didn’t appear as if anything material was going to happen. But then for a dinner party when neither the Chiefs GM or Detroit GM DD Martin were present, it gave an indication that something was brewing.

Later in the evening a press release was issued stating that a trade had been agreed to by the two clubs. Detroit would send newly acquired 3B Hank “we hardly knew you” Barnett to the Chiefs. In return the Chiefs would send SP Bob Walls (25) and also SP Ron Coles (28). While Walls is a nice young pitcher who has some potential to flourish, it is Coles who Martin has been after for years. First in Cleveland he attempted several times with two different GM’s to obtain Coles. Finally he has succeeded and while his first plan of netting Baltimore SP John Edwards didn’t pan out, Coles is a top end talent.

There is some risk in the deal however as Coles is coming off his first real serious injury in his career. He had some significant elbow issues that kept him on the sidelines since early July. The Dynamo’s are banking on reports that he should return just fine before Thanksgiving. When healthy Coles is a top of the rotation SP who was 8-6 last season with a 3.75 ERA. For his career he’s 54-39 with a 3.80 ERA after spending the first 4 seasons in the big leagues as a lights out RP.

How does the recent moves shake up the Dynamo’s pitching staff? You are likely looking at a rotation if they go 5 deep in it if Chuck Murphy, Roger Perry, Ron Coles, Charlie Weaver and Hank Spencer. That rotation looks much better than the Chuck Calvert, Hardin Bates, Jack Wood, Jim Spencer, Ray McCarthy rotation that started last year.

It does take the newly acquired bat of Hank Barnett out of the lineup. He was likely looking at starting at 3B with Ed Stewart moving over to 2B and forcing both Don Ward and Jake Shadoan to the bench. Now you have Ward and Shadoan fighting for a starting spot likely at 2B with Stewart at 3B. There is some thought to Stewart starting at 2B and having Ward, who is a very good defensive 3B the transitional role at 3B one more season. Everyone in Detroit expects 3B Hank Koblenz will be ready by the start of the 3B season to play everyday.

While I can’t say the Dynamo’s are done here at the meetings wheeling and dealing. It feels like they don’t have a lot more they can do here without gutting the minor league system further. Although there have been some rumors of them looking at another veteran SP. When asked GM Martin just stated “ You Never Know Freddie, you never know.”

Stay tuned Dynamo fans.

[DD Martin]

The Detroit World
Tuesday November 23rd, 1937
Sunday Sports Final
From the Desk of "Fast" Freddie Farhat

Baseball’s Winter Meetings Continue

The league has been off for a week for a commissioner vacation. So the winter meetings are dragging on until Thursday

The meetings this year have been long this year. While there has been some interesting developments, there hasn’t been a ton of moves. With no off-season amateur draft this season, it feels like there is a hole in the off-season events.

There have been some rumors that St Louis who has avoided a lot of big deals other the years, are putting the name of the top 1B in the FABL on the trade discussion table. Fred McCormick (28) has been a hitting machine for multi-seasons and is coming off a 373/474/1.066 in 153 games. He hit 50 doubles which led the league with 20 home runs, 97 RBI’s and 140 runs scored. He has never missed any significant time in his 7 seasons hitting 352/432/980 with 106 home runs, 751 RBI’s with 811 runs scored. McCormick would be a premium bat and for the Pioneers it is unfortunate that they didn’t get in the John Edwards (Former Baltimore now Boston SP) discussions who was traded this off-season. The Pioneers have indicated that they are not interested in dealing the slugging 1B to another team in the FA and are only going to talk with CA teams. Of course a scheming FA GM could work around that but I do not expect Detroit with 1B Red Johnson (20) coming on to be in those discussions. My guess is that the Chicago Cougars will be the most likely landing place.

While those discussions took over the gossip at the Winter meetings, the Detroit Dynamo’s struck again in one of the franchise busiest off-season in years. It’s being reported that the Dynamo’s will trade away last season #1 SP “Superstar” Chuck Murphy (14-16 3.78) to the Philadelphia Sailors, for #66 SS prospect Gil London (23). Some might wonder why the Dynamo’s who are always looking for pitching are trading away what was their best pitcher. Some believe the team wasn’t sold that Murphy was really up in the Superstar category that his nickname suggests. Also with the trading of SS Frank Davis (21), the club was lacking a true future SS. Whether London breaks spring training with the big league club or the Dynamo’s will give him another year of seasoning and let SS Erv Smith or SS Harry Woodruff man the position in 38.

Once these winter meetings finally are over, we will move onto the Rule 5 draft, the 1 round Minor League draft and finally the 1 round Indy League draft. With the 40-man roster at 39 following all the trades I don’t expect the Dynamo’s to be overly active in the Rule 5 draft. But if there is someone they really like, they might roll the dice on a player.