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Old 12-19-2019, 07:06 PM   #21
percy_sutherland
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April 8th, 1929: From the Desk of Percy Sutherland

Next week at this time, the clubs will be leaving their southern locales, heading back north, ready for the 1929 season to begin. So it's time for me to give you my predictions on the order of finish in each league. I'll group the clubs that I think will finish close to one another, starting with the Federal Association.


Federal Association


1. Philadelphia Keystones

I'm not sure what happened to the Keystones last season, but for my money the lineup they can field puts them in a class by themselves. If they get any kind of pitching--and I believe they will--they will be difficult for anyone to catch in the Federal.

2. Detroit Dynamos
3. Pittsburgh Miners


The two clubs that are the best positioned in case the Keystones stumble. Detroit made some moves over the winter that should strengthen the club. Pittsburgh will really feel the loss of Jim Renfroe for the first part of the season, but they have some help on the farm that may be able to come to the rescue.

4. New York Gothams

The Gothams are a team in transition. They won the championship in 1926 but have had consecutive losing seasons since. Led by Bud Jameson, they are strong enough to stay out of the 2nd division, but too many questions surround an aging pitching staff to catch the top teams.

5. Chicago Chiefs
6. St. Louis Pioneers
7. Washington Eagles
8. Boston Minutemen


The Chiefs took advantage of a down year by Philadelphia and historic seasons from Masters and Hampton to catch some lightening in a bottle in 1928. I think they'll be hard-pressed to duplicate their success. St. Louis, Washington, and Boston are all in various stages of rebuilding.


Continental Association


1. Philadelphia Sailors
2. New York Stars
3. Cleveland Foresters


With good young talent in the majors, and a deep farm, the Sailors will be tough to supplant in the Continental. The Stars are the closest match to the Sailors. And while Cleveland has one of the better lineups in the game, there are too many questions about the pitching for the club to rise to the top.

4. Brooklyn Kings

Brooklyn, too, has one of the better lineups in the game. And that should be enough to keep them out of the 2nd division, but let's just say that the pitching staff is "in transition."

5. Montreal Saints
6. Baltimore Cannons


Montreal has a good, young pitching staff that keeps getting better and a young lineup that is on the verge of coming of age. They are a club to watch. Baltimore just doesn't have enough in the lineup after Joe Welch and Lou Kelly to break out of the 2nd division, even with a strong pitching staff.

7. Chicago Cougars
8. Toronto Wolves


Chicago has some good young talent--Bill Asbaugh, Mack Deal, and Fred Barrell--to go with the ageless wonder John Dibblee. It's the pitching that will hold them back. Toronto is another club that may be transitioning toward a rebuild.
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Old 12-20-2019, 11:05 AM   #22
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1929 Predictions

JIGGS McGEE's 1929 PREDICTIONS




FEDERAL ASSOCIATION

I am thinking we are in for an outstanding battle between the top three teams in the Federal Association and I can easily see any of the three winning the title. It could quite likely come down to either a key injury or an unexpected breakout star. I need to pick a winner and I took the Philadelphia Keystones last year based on their dominating offense. I was wrong about the Keystones last season, but if I keep picking them I am sure I will be right eventually. My guess is I am right this time.

PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES - Prediction 1st

CHANGES - just rule V pickups Turkey Powell and Earl Farrar
A year ago when the then defending champion Philadelphia Keystones added outfielders Phil Sandman and Jimmy Endler from Montreal to an already dominating offense many, myself included, wanted to give the Keystones the pennant before the season even started. Well the offense did it's job but the pitching was awful. I am not sure the returning pitchers will be any better this year but I think highly touted prospect Ed Baker is ready for a breakout season at age 23 and there is a good chance 22 year old Art Myers also gets called up at some point in the season. If those two prospects come through and 24 year old Dick Miller can cut down on the walks as he follows up a 15-10 season the Keystones pitching might just be okay, and okay is plenty good enough with the offense they have.

PITTSBURGH MINERS - Prediction 2nd (edited to 3rd with late news of Bill Morrill's season ending injury

CHANGES - Traded 1B George Simpson to Cleveland for young SS Pete Asher and added P Luke Smith from the NY Stars.
Because of their cavernous ballpark the Miners play much differently then the rest of the Federal League. Righthanded power hitters hate playing here and the Miners, more than any other FA club rely on their pitching. It is the best in the FA and will keep them in contention. The Miners need a big year out of Hank Swenson, a 23 year old who replaces Simpson at first base. Swenson, a lefthanded bat, hit 20 homers in St Paul a year ago. I was close to picking Pittsburgh over Philadelphia (and Detroit is right there too) but the absence of Jim Renfroe for 2-3 months is the tipping point that drops the Miners to second. They could still win, especially if someone like Frank Lightbody, who had a nice stint in Pittsburgh late last year and a good camp, makes an impact but I think the Miners are still a year away.

DETROIT DYNAMOS - Prediction 3rd (edited to 2nd due to Pittsburgh injury to Morrill)

CHANGES - Added 2B Paul McLean from Boston and C Dave Armstrong from Brooklyn
The Dynamos are good and are going to be good for quite some time with a core group led by 26 year old Frank Vance and 21 year old Al Wheeler. They have finished second each of the past two years, including a playoff loss to the Keystones two years ago. Detroit's management was active in adding McLean and Armstrong to shore up two positions of need. The downside is they emptied the cupboard a bit in dealing 3 pitching prospects and a 2nd round pick to get them but with no everyday player over the age of 27 they should be okay while they restock. Roy Caffee won the Allen Award and heads a veteran staff that might be just a little short on depth but as long as the key arms stay healthy they will be okay. I certainly don't want to rule out the Dynamos breaking through and winning a pennant as any of the top three teams are capable. A key injury or surprising breakthrough performance will likely determine which of the 3 claims the crown.


CHICAGO CHIEFS - Prediction 4th

CHANGES - None
The Chiefs stood pat with their championship roster from a year ago. It was a great team but the Federal Association has had 5 different pennant winners in the past five seasons. Remember how high everyone was on the Keystones and their mighty offense to repeat last year and they slid all the way to 6th. I don't see Chicago dropping that far but I think Joe Masters and Jim Hampton will both be good this year, but not as dominating as they were a year ago. What scares me most is the pitching. Chicago had 4 starters win at least 19 games a year ago but there could be a big drop off here. I like Norm Austin but both he and Lou Felkel were the beneficiaries of incredible run support (6.0 per game tops in either league). Felkel is also 35 years old and Al Wood is 36. Ruben Reyes was a 30 year old in his first season as a big league starter and won 19 games but I think that was a career year for him. Even if I am wrong on just 2 of the 4 doom and gloom predictions about the Chiefs staff it will be enough to knock them out of first, and with improvements made by Detroit and Pittsburgh, plus a bounce back by Philadelphia I would say 4th is where the Chiefs will end up.


ST LOUIS PIONEERS - Prediction 5th

CHANGES - none unless you count Max Morris healthy to start the season
The Pioneers won 90 games in 1926 but dropped below .500 each of the past two seasons, spending a good chunk of each without an injured Max Morris. Morris is back and appears to be as good as ever at age 34 but the team suffered another devastating injury just a week ago when 36 year old pitcher Bill Hathaway suffered a season, and perhaps career ending injury. Hathaway is not the pitcher he was a few years ago but teamed with fellow veterans Jimmy Clinch and Rolla Puckett to give the Pioneers three solid starters. Challenging was difficult with Hathaway, now it is downright impossible. Fifth might be too high to rank the Pioneers but I am giving them the benefit of the doubt because of Morris. If he gets hurt then the Pioneers might be challenging Washington for the basement.


NEW YORK GOTHAMS - Prediction 6th

CHANGES - nothing other than the addition of rule V draft pick Chuck Calvert and pitcher Charlie Johnson is hurt again, but that's not really a change as he had a strong 1926 season but the 28 year old has been hit with 2 serious injuries since then.
Perhaps Jim Lonardo duplicates his strong rookie season on the mound. It's possible 33 year old John Reay and 34 year old Steve Castellini, both of whom missed significant time in the past couple of seasons, are injury free this year. Maybe Calvert or someone else in the system has a breakout year on the mound. A few too many questions and what if's for the Gothams, who had the worst ERA in the FA a year ago and will likely struggle again this season.

There are a lot of questions on offense as well with the big ones being how quickly will Bud Jameson get back to form when he returns in a couple of weeks from a serious knee injury that cost him half of last season but also was the 26 homers Carlos Cano hit a year ago while batting .342 something that will happen again. If Cano comes up big, Jameson returns to form and some of the pitching comes through the Gothams may challenge for the first division but anything beyond that seems out of reach.

BOSTON MINUTEMEN - Prediction 7th

CHANGES- 2B Paul McLain was traded to Detroit
Boston is looking to the future with the trade of the veteran McLain for a draft pick and a pair of minor league arms. The Minutemen are hoping Chuck Carr is ready to step in at 2B and the youngster has enjoyed a pretty good spring. A lack of offense was an issue last year and will likely continue to be so this season. They will need big seasons from veterans Charlie Berry (.359,15,95), Homer Krajewski (.276,10,82) and Jake Duke (.325,6,87) just to stay out of the basement. The Minutemen have a veteran offense aside from Carr and there are always fears of taking a step back due to that age. Likewise, the pitching staff that was strong a year ago has a couple of starters in their mid-thirties.

WASHINGTON EAGLES - Prediction 8th

CHANGES- dealt pitcher Skinny Foster to the Stars, added 3B Hank Bullock in same deal
The Eagles had a rough season last year and things won't get any easier this time around. Bullock is a nice piece for the future and they had a good draft this season as well as several decent prospects but the big league club will once again be looking up at the rest of the Federal Association.


CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION

It is hard to repeat. Everyone plays just a little harder when they meet the defending champs and many times a team wins the title because several players all have career years at the same time. No team in the Continental not named the New York Stars has won back-to-back pennants since 1914-15 when Baltimore, still known as the Clippers back then, accomplished it. The Philadelphia Sailors are good, scary good, but I love what Cleveland has done and think the Sailors will have just enough of a World Championship Series hangover to prevent them from repeating.

CLEVELAND FORESTERS - Prediction 1st

CHANGES - added Pitcher Max Wilder from Montreal, 1B George Simpson from Pittsburgh and P Jack Gunderson from Toronto. Lost OF Felix Bradfield to Montreal.
There is always a breakout star on a pennant winner. Look at Tom Taylor of the Keystones and Joe Masters big year with the Cougars last season as proof. This time around I believe that player will be Cleveland outfielder Moxie Pidgeon. The 22 year old outfielder hit .354 with 35 homers a year ago at three levels including a brief stint with the Foresters. He has had a great spring and will combine with Joe Perret and Bobby Allen to give the Foresters a terrific young outfield. George Simpson should see a bit of a production increase now that he is away from Pittsburgh's Fitzpatrick Park and will join SS Russ Combs at the top of the order as ideal table setters for the young slugging outfielders. I also really like the acquisition of Max Wilder from Toronto to add to an already strong pitching staff.

PHILADELPHIA SAILORS - Prediction 2nd

CHANGES - nothing other than addition of rule V pickup P Bill Knapp but they didn't need to change much.
Philadelphia seems like the safe pick to repeat. Tom Taylor and Johnny Davis both look like the real deal although both have struggled this spring, Jet Cleaves is a rising star and the pitching staff is strong. I might have had some questions about Denny Wren at 39 years of age but he has had a very strong spring. The Sailors will still be very good and right there at the end. I just think this is Cleveland's year.

NEW YORK STARS - Prediction 3rd

CHANGES - added P Skinny Foster in a trade with Washington but lost P Luke Smith to Pittsburgh. Also picked 4 guys in the rule V draft which really scares me if all stick on the team.
The Stars have proven in the past couple of seasons when they are hot they are a dominant team. They have had some huge streaks but they also seem to start slow. Infielders Pete Layton, John Loften and Dave Trowbridge carry the offense but a wildcard could be outfielder Bud Rodgers, acquired at the deadline last year from Brooklyn. Rodgers had a down year last season but enjoyed a strong spring and has a recent history of success. The Stars have 5 pitchers who won at least 11 games a year ago but several had a rough spring. They should be okay but their combination of offense and pitching leaves them just short of the big two in the Continental Association.

BALTIMORE CANNONS - Prediction 4th

CHANGES - None of note
The Cannons have Joe Welch, Lou Kelly and a pair of good young arms in Rabbit Day and Dutch Leverett. There is also more talent on the way led by recent draft pick Ken Curry and some good, but still very young pitchers. There are still some holes in the roster, most notably at second base, but this is a team on the rise. The Cannons have been a second division club for 4 straight years but that trend ends this season. I don't think they have the tools to stick with the top three teams, at least not yet, but they are improving.

MONTREAL SAINTS - Prediction 5th

CHANGES - dealt P Max Wilder to Cleveland for OF Felix Bradfield. Added pitcher Harvey Rodgers from Brooklyn and a pair of rule V arms.
There have been some lean years in Montreal since their 1921 pennant winning season but the Saints have been rewarded for their struggles with some high draft picks that netted them several young talents including outfielder Cliff Moss and Allan Allen. Much of their success this season pins on the health of Allen, who's rookie season was cut short by an arm injury. He looked good in spring but fellow starters Charlie Steadman and Jack Barnet looked even better. This is a good young club that like Baltimore still has some holes but is on the rise.

BROOKLYN KINGS - Prediction 6th

CHANGES - Most veterans were jettisoned at the deadline last year but also traded P's Harvey Rodgers and Jack Gunderson over the winter. Added free agent veteran Bob Schmid and rule V pickup Jim Langley.
Brooklyn has possibly the most explosive offense from top to bottom in either league. There is a ton of potential but it is also very young with OF Herb Smiddy the latest sensation. This club produces a ton of quality young outfielders like Doug Lightbody,Ab Thomas and the Powell's in addition to a number that are playing elsewhere now. However, the Brooklyn pitching staff is, and always has been a mess. The team added what it hopes is it's saviour on the mound in Liberty College legend Tommy Wilcox but he is still a year or so away. Wilcox heads a good group of young pitchers but none seem ready for the big leagues yet so the Kings will make do with a makeshift staff. Brooklyn could quite conceivably lead the CA in both runs scored and runs allowed this year. If a pitcher or two surprises perhaps they can stay in the race and finish in the upper division, but things could also go south very quickly as well.

CHICAGO COUGARS - Prediction 7th

CHANGES - just added 5 more rule V draft picks.
It seems like forever ago when the Cougars won he 1922 pennant and finished just a game out in 1923. Since then the Cougars have gone 333-436 and finished an average of 25 games out of first place including a disaster last year when they won just 59 games and trailed the Sailors by 43. Add to the suffering they felt watching their cross-town rivals win a pennant and these are sad times on the north side of Chicago. There is some hope for the future with rising star Bill Ashbaugh and highly touted rookies in catcher Fred Barrell and 3B Mack Deal but the Cougars still have a ways to go to be competitive.

TORONTO WOLVES - Prediction 8th

CHANGES - Nothing besides retirement of a backup infielder
The Wolves followed up very good 1926 and 1927 seasons with their worst winning percentage since 1896 a year ago when they went 60-94. The Wolves have a couple of good young pitchers in the system but neither are ready to contribute at the big league level and the same can be said for promising 20 year old shortstop Frank Huddleston. There is some hope for the future but Toronto may be in for a couple of more very lean years and this season could be as bad, or perhaps even worse than last year.
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Old 12-20-2019, 02:27 PM   #23
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TEN RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM JIGGS MCGEE

April 15, 1929 - Opening Day edition


In honor of opening day, which is just around the corner here are ten random thoughts to start your regular season.

1- The Brooklyn Kings made another deal today, sending veterans away for promising prospects and draft picks. The story being spun by the Kings brass is that after years of struggling on the mound they are looking to build a dominant rotation around young phenom Tommy Wilcox but methinks there is more to this. Word just got out that 88 year old club owner Malcolm Presley is very ill. I am hearing that he has been ill for many months and the Kings management team had been instructed as far back as last summer, to cut payroll in the expectation that the team will have to be sold by the Presley family. Presley's grandson Eugene Weston is a possible option to take over upon the elder Presley's demise but it is not a secret that Malcolm is not impressed with the 32 year old Weston's playboy ways and questions his maturity.

2- If you were going to try and pick a breakout star for 1929 similar to the outstanding debut of the Sailors Tom Taylor a year ago, you could do a lot worse in your choice than Moxie Pidgeon. I believe the 22 year old Cleveland Foresters outfielder is going to be a big star, and very soon. Despite being a 12th round pick in the 1925 draft, Pidgeon is throwing his hat in the already crowded ring as a name to debate when discussing the best players of what may well go down as the best draft class in history. Pidgeon had a breakout 1928 season in the minors, including a stop at AAA in Cincinnati, where he played his high school ball. In 107 games with the Steamers, Pidgeon hit .355 with 21 homers and earned a late season promotion to Cleveland where he hit 3 more homers in 12 games. He is also coming off a big spring, batting .356 with 5 homers in 59 at bats. Look for him to be a big reason why Cleveland challenges for, if not wins their first pennant since 1920.

3- Despite my high praise for the Foresters and Pidgeon, the trade with Brooklyn immediately made the Baltimore Cannons a serious threat to take the Continental Crown. Buzz Ham will fit very nicely in their rotation and John Wilder at 3B and Lou Garman at first provide some offensive depth behind stars Joe Welch and Lou Kelly. If prize prospect Ken Curry has a breakout year that comes anywhere close to approach what Tom Taylor brought the Sailors a year ago, Baltimore will be very dangerous.

4- It is great to see 42 year old Ed Ziehl is still going strong. The Gothams legend hit .300 in 18 spring appearances and looks like he might have a shot at joining Powell Slocum and another veteran still hanging around in the Cougars John Dibblee as the only players to record 3500 career hits. Ziehl is 45 shy of that mark.

5- On the topic of aging veterans, 37 year old catcher Paul Tattersall quietly had a nice camp for the Keystones. In 28 at bats, Tattersall hit .286 with 5 extra base hits including a pair of homers. He hit 7 a year ago in 32 games for Philadelphia to run his career home run total to 243, which is third all-time behind only Max Morris and the retired Hal Eason.

6- The Pittsburgh Miners seem to have received more than their share of bad luck. They are already without talented young outfielder Jim Renfroe, who is still recovering from a knee injury sustained last season. Now word out of Miners camp is 28 year old workhorse Bill Morrill will miss the season with arm troubles. Morrill, a winner of 13 games each of the past two seasons, will be badly missed. Pittsburgh is hoping the off-season acquisition of Luke Smith and an expected improvement from 23 year old former first round pick Walt Palmer can help fill the void.

7- Staying with the Miners. How concerned are they now with the poor spring Jim Smith had? Smith was 17-9 a year ago, led the Fed in ERA and finished second in Allen Award voting behind Detroit's Roy Calfee. However, he went 0-4 with a 13.17 era in 4 spring starts while allowing 29 hits in 13 and 2/3 innings.

8- Will Tom Barrell prove to be the greatest two way prospect ever? The bar is set incredibly high by the legendary Max Morris but Barrell has been nothing short of amazing for Georgia Baptist. He is already the AIAA career wins leader with 3/4 of a season still remaining in his college career- one in which he has gone 32-8 with a 2.66 era. Not only can he pitch - and he had a 21 strikeout game earlier in the season, but he can also hit. Barrell, who plays 1B on days he is not pitching, is batting .387 with 6 homers in 17 games this season. Personally, I think reaching Morris-like status is out of everyone's reach, not just Barrell's, but he is certainly a very interesting prospect and may turn out to be the best yet in a family full of top prospects.

9- Do spring training results mean much? The Washington Eagles certainly hope so. After finishing last a year ago the Eagles tied for the Federal Association lead in spring play with a 14-10 record. At the other end of the spectrum is defending FA champ Chicago. The Chiefs limped to a 9-15 mark, a futility record only surpassed by their Windy City brethren Cougars who were a dismal 6-18.

10- Opening day is almost here. In my predictions I call for the Keystones and Foresters to meet in October. I will go on record now as saying the Keystones and their incredible offense led by Rankin Kellogg will be hoisting the hardware come October.
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Old 12-21-2019, 10:37 AM   #24
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Thanks, Jiggs. I really look forward to your articles.
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Old 12-21-2019, 10:40 AM   #25
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April 15th, 1929: From the Desk of Percy Sutherland

Bill Craigen says the Stars are all ready to open the season. Does that mean the Stars have been fitted out with ice skates or boots? Somehow the opening of the baseball season in these parts recalls the ancient story of the fabled Aberdonian who, having partaken cheerfully and steadily in the hospitality of others in the gilded saloon--which proves that this is a very old story--finally advanced briskly to the bar, brought his hand down on the mahogany with a bang, and said: "Well, gentlemen, what'll we have--rain or snow?"

Of course, it may get warm. It usually does by July. And by July we'll have a much clearer idea which clubs are pennant contenders--a contrast to the optimism of the spring.

The Eagles won the Federal pennant in 1922 and 1923. Since then, we've had 5 winners without a repeat:
1924 - Miners
1925 - Eagles
1926 - Gothams
1927 - Keystones
1928 - Chiefs
That is getting close to a similar 7 year period in the Continental, which started after Montreal won consecutive pennants in 1915 and 1916:
1917 - Foresters
1918 - Cougars
1919 - Saints
1920 - Foresters
1921 - Saints
1922 - Cougars
1923 - Kings
These periods of parity sit in stark opposition to the beginning of the century in the Federal Association. Starting in 1898 and running through 1907, the Federal pennant was held by two clubs: Pittsburgh and Boston. The Miners won 4 pennants from 1898 through 1901. Not to be out done, the Minutemen--Boston had ditched the old Brahmins name after the 1901 season--won 5 pennants from 1902 through 1906. The Miners won 1 more for good measure in 1907.

It was game dominated by pitching back then, and the Miners had some good ones. In 1899, 20-year-old Ike Bell came out of the mountains of Tennessee to win 27 games for Pittsburgh. He won 34 games in each of the next two seasons. His 1901 season was particularly impressive: 34-8, 1.44. The 1901 season was also the season that Pittsburgh won the championship (the only championship victory of those 5 pennants). Bell pitched in 8 seasons for the Miners before disappearing back into the mists with a career record of 202-99, 2.02.

1901 was also the debut season of that great Boston hurler, Woody Trease. Trease was a 20-year-old plucked right out from under the nose of both the Miners and the Keystones--he was found playing on an amateur team in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Trease debuted with a record of 28-9, 2.36 in 1901. From 1903 through 1908 he would lead baseball in victories each season. In 1907 he had a falling out with the Boston club and that July was traded to the Detroit Dynamos. Not coincidentally, 1907 was also the season in which Pittsburgh reclaimed the pennant from Boston. In 1908, Trease won 30 games for Detroit, leading the Dynamos to their first Federal pennant.

Woody Trease retired after the 1912 season with 325 wins (against 185 losses) and with an ERA of 2.24. The 325 wins are good for 6th place on the all-time list. All in all, Trease pitched for 8 pennant winning clubs and won 3 championships. He is currently serving as the manager of the Peoria club in the Heartland League. A long-time pitching coach, Trease is in just his second season as manager. And perhaps not unexpectedly, his Pastimers won the Heartland League pennant in 1928.

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Old 12-22-2019, 11:07 PM   #26
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Looking ahead to 1929

KINGS HAVE A PLAN, BUT WILL IT WORK?

by Jiggs McGee


Many baseball fans, including much of the hometown faithful in Brooklyn, are left scratching their heads in puzzlement after seeing what unfolded with the Brooklyn Kings in the past year. The latest shoe dropped yesterday with the news the Kings had traded away the man who was penciled in as their opening day starter along with two other everyday position players. In return, Brooklyn received a couple of minor league prospects, including highly touted 20 year old Johnny Jacob, and a draft pick. When I say the other shoe dropped, you would have to be an octopus for that analogy to work as in all the Kings have made 8 deals since last July, trading away 12 players off their major league roster and not getting a single established FABL player in return.

Brooklyn has dealt away 5 starting pitchers that combined to go 110-82 over the past two seasons, an outfielder who won a batting title 3 years ago, their starting first baseman, shortstop and third baseman from opening day a year ago, as well as 2 relievers and a back-up catcher. In return for all the wheeling and dealing they got a load of potential, including Tommy Wilcox and Jacob, who are rated as the 2 best pitching prospects in the game today, and a boatload of draft picks. However, what they did not get in any of those deals was a player with any legitimate FABL playing experience.

SO the question on everyone's lips is Why? Yes, most of the players they traded were over 30 and some certainly appear to be on the downside of their careers, but they are all, for the most part, still at least league average players if not better. Kings management will not say it on record, but I get the feeling the perception in the club offices is that the Kings executives feel they are just a year or two away from a dominant run the likes of which have never been seen in the borough. Brooklyn, perhaps more than any other FABL club, has been a sad sack franchise: one of only two (along with Cleveland) to never win a FABL World Championship Series title and owners of the third-worst (ahead of Montreal and St Louis) all-time winning percentage. The club has never won back to back pennants and only has three in it's history. A year ago, fresh off that third pennant, but struggling early in the season, club owner Malcolm Presley, perhaps sensing another sustained downward trend like the Kings suffered after their two previous pennant wins in 1912 and 1923, urged his management team not to look for a quick fix but instead focus on trying to achieve sustained excellence citing the Boston Minutemen's run at the beginning of the century as an example.

Presley okayed a plan to build a team around the plethora of young offensive stars they had accumulated with a focus on trying to find some young pitching, which was at the time in dire shortage in Brooklyn, to go with them. It is a sad irony that now that the building blocks towards that goal have been acquired, that they are just moving on to the development phase as Presley has become gravely ill and may not live to see it come to it's fruition.

This year might be a bit of a struggle on the field for the Kings although publicly manager Wally Grant has stated that his club will finish over .500, the feeling around the league is that .500 is a best case scenario especially after that latest trade with Baltimore. However, what the Kings have done is very quickly built the best group of young arms in the entire FABL to go with a youthful lineup of very talented ballplayers. The potential is clearly there for Brooklyn to become a dominant team. The question is, will that talent have the skill and work ethic to meet the lofty expectations of success that have been placed on.


A CLOSER LOOK AT THE KINGS YOUNG TALENT

Let's take a look position by position at what the Kings will look like in the near future.

CATHCER - 22 year old Mike Taylor is drawing comparsion's to T.R.Goins and actually had a better rookie season then the Washington veteran did in his age 22 year. Kings veteran scouting director Rube Carter made a huge find with the 8th round selection of Taylor a year ago. He is already considered the third best catcher in the game qnd forced Brooklyn to find a new position (3B) for 28 year old Mickey Dowell. It is a position of great depth for the Kings with 22 year old Tom Aiello and 21 year old Jim Shaffer the best of a deep group in the system. It made it easy for Brooklyn to move backup Dave Armstrong to Detroit.

FIRST BASE - 29 year old Lou Garman was sent to Baltimore because there is so much 1B-OF depth in the organization. Catcher Taylor may play here a lot but the position is still very crowded with, among others, Charlie Powell, a 24 year old converted outfielder who hit 55 homers at 3 levels last year, including 3 in a 20 game audition with Brooklyn at the end of the season. Lynn Randall, another 24 year old who hit .279 as a backup a year ago after hitting 18 homers and batting .364 in AAA Houston the previous is season is in the mix as is 23 year old Gus Powell, who belted 21 homers in 87 games for the Kings last year.

SECOND BASE - The Kings might still be looking for an upgrade here but 26 year old Willie Jackson hit .292 and provided decent defense in his first full year on the job. That upgrade may just come in the form of Elmer Root, a highly touted 22 year old who hit .343 splitting last season between A and AA. Jackson is ranked the 4th best second baseman in FABL by BNN while Root is a top 100 prospect.

SHORTSTOP - Rabbit Mudd is the future of the organization at shortstop but may shift over to second base as he matures. The 1927 first round pick just turned 20 and is another top 100 prospect who will likely start the year in Class B Tampa. The present is 25 year old Arnold Bower, a 1922 second round pick who made his debut in Brooklyn last season, hitting .307 and played very good defense. If Bower continues to improve, that will likely be what forces Mudd to second base.

THIRD BASE - The Kings loved the recently traded John Wilder and young prospect Dave Bristol, who was sent to Washington in the deal that allowed them to draft Tommy Wilcox. Wilder hit 12 homers and batted .302 in his first full season in Brooklyn but was expendable in part because catcher turned third baseman Mickey Dowell needs a place to play and because the Kings are very high on three other prospects by the names of Phil Long, Tony King and Buck Sargent. The 24 year old Long hit .276 in a tryout last September and had a big spring which earned him a job in Brooklyn this year. The 21 year old King hit .313 in Knoxville after coming over in a deadline deal with the New York Stars while 20 year old Sargent still needs to develop but has plus power (18 homers at Class A a year ago) and has elite defensive skills.

OUTFIELD - An embarrassment of riches for the Kings, who have traded away some great prospects the past couple of years simply because they have developed so much outfield talent. Two spots are spoken for, and will be for quite some time, with 25 year old Doug Lightbody and centerfielder Ab Thomas. Lightbody won a Whitney Award two years ago and Thomas, already a 3 year veteran at 24, led the Continental in steals last year with 34 and is a .323 career hitter.

The third spot and backups will come from the crowd at first base in the Powell's and Lynn Randall as well as the latest young talent to make his way to the Brooklyn outfield in Herb Smiddy. The 23 year old hit .372 with 3 homers in 43 spring training at bats after batting .339 a year ago at AAA. There is also plenty of other candidates to be the next breakout young outfielder in the Kings organization including 23 year old Jim Gentry, 22 year olds Roy Meagher and Art Summers and 21 year old Sam Tyree.

PITCHING - In a little under a year the Kings cupboard of pitching prospects went from looking like it belonged in a nursery rhyme with Old Mother Hubbard to overflowing with riches. Tommy Wilcox, the first overall pick in the December draft and already named the top pitching prospect in the game is the prize of course. The 22 year old looked very good in spring action with Omaha and will begin the season at AA Knoxville. Brooklyn also recently added the #2 ranked pitching prospect in 20 year old Johnny Jacob from Baltimore. Recent deals also brought 21 year old George Johnson and 20 year old Larry Brown, both considered top 100 prospects by BNN. Add in homegrown picks Dave Rankin(#90) and Lyman Weigel (#102) and the Kings have 6 pitchers in what BNN considers the top 102 prospects in the game. Just 11 months ago Bill Dengler was the prize Brooklyn prospect, now he isn't in the top 6. That is not a knock on the 24 year old Dengler, who - a bad spring aside - looked very good last year with a 4-5 record and a 2.60 era between AAA and the majors, but rather a testament to just how strong the Kings collection of young arms is. The Kings have another rising star in 23 year old Del Lyons, who went 11-10, 3.99 at AA last year, plus several other prospects they are high on.

So it is clear there is plenty of potential there. If it all, or most of it, comes through the Kings might be a force in the Continental Association for the next decade. However, that is a big 'if' simply because of the fickle nature of young arms. The Kings have had great offensive potential for a while, and have delivered on it quite regularly. Pitching has been another story, but if even half these arms - especially Wilcox - pan out the Kings gamble and potential short term pain will have paid off.
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Old 12-23-2019, 12:52 AM   #27
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AIAA College Update

AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE

April 15, 1929

It is no secret as to how the Rainier College Majestic are putting together such a great season. The Majestic won 3 of 4 games last week including a 7-0 whitewashing of Golden Gate yesterday, to improve to 12-5 on the season, good for a first place overall tie with St. Patrick's and Chicago Poly. It is pitching and defense that is the key to the early success of the school that was runner-up a year ago in the Western Collegiate Division. Rainier, led by the pitching trio of senior Charlie Stout (4-0, 0.88), junior Karl Moore (2-2, 1.80) and freshman Walt Smith (2-1, 1.52) has allowed the fewest runs this season of any AIAA team and are also rated number one in defensive efficiency. The pitching totals are even more surprising when you consider senior lefthander Stan Merendino, who was 6-1, 0.81 a year ago and touted as a possible first round draft pick, had an awful start to the season. He has been moved to the pen, and his era is 7.84 but that is due to a pair of rough outings to start the season. Merendino has settled down a bit of late, but likely won't get an opportunity to start as long as the other 3 keep pitching the way they have.

Here is a quick look at the 5 college divisions.

WESTERN COLLEGIATE: Rainier College won 6 of their last 8 including a split of 2 games with second place Golden Gate over the weekend. The Grizzlies, at 10-7, are 2 games behind the first place Majestic and have a rookie pitching sensation of their own in Ken Bliss. The 18 year old lefthander is 4-0 with a 0.31 era, tops in the entire AIAA.

MIDWESTERN COLLEGIATE: Chicago Poly is 12-5 and has opened a 3 game lead on 3 teams atop the division with two others just half game behind those 3. The Panthers have scored more runs that any other AIAA team and are led by 6 seniors who may all hear their names called in next December's draft. The big one is pitcher Tom Blalock (4-0, 1.47), who is enjoying another great season, but infielders Ralph Napoli (.379,0,19) and Steve Clarke (.349,3,25) along with the outfield trio of Jim Behnke (.324,1,11), Earl Fischer (.311,1,12) and George Pumphrey (.304,3,11) have all been key contributors.

SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE: Opelika State has been in a free fall since starting the season with 8 straight victories and threatening to run away with the division. Since then, the Wildcats are 2-7 but only a game out of first in a tight Southern race. Maryland State leads the way with an 11-6 record, a half game out on Georgia Baptist and a game ahead of Cumberland and Opelika State. Georgia Baptist star Tom Barrell hit two more homers last week and drove in 8 runs (.387,6,24 on the year) but went 1-1 on the mound (4-2, 2.49 overall) and got beat up pretty good in a 9-6 loss to Opelika State on Saturday.

NORTHEAST COLLEGIATE: With 4 straight wins last week, St Patrick's College vaulted past Commonwealth Catholic and into top spot in the Northeast Division. The Shamrocks are 12-5 but the big story in the division remains the 3 dominant outfielders in Liberty's Joe Jones (.406,11,28) and a pair of Commonwealth Catholic sluggers in Vic Crawford (.362,9,28) and Dan Fowler (.358,9,25). St. Patrick's may lack the big hitter but they make up for it with a solid pitching staff led by freshman Horace Dill (3-0, 1.87). St Patrick's has won 5 of his 6 starts this season.

ACADEMIA ALLIANCE: The Brunswick Knights stumbled over the weekend, dropping a pair of games to Dickson and now find themselves at 11-6, and trailing first place Ellery by a half game. The Bruins have won 7 of their last 9 and the two clubs will have a 2-game showdown next weekend.


Here are the updated top 10 rankings:

Code:
TOP TEN RANKINGS		REC	LW
1- Rainier College Majestics 	12-5	 2
2- Chicago Poly Panthers        12-5     6
3- St Patrick's Shamrocks 	12-5	10
4- Commonwealth Cath. Knights   11-6     4
5- Maryland State Bengals	11-6     7
6- Ellery Bruins		12-6    NR
7- Brunswick College Knights	11-6     1
8- Georgia Baptist Gators	11-7     8
9- Golden Gate Grizzlies	10-7    NR
10-George Fox Reds		10-7    NR

DROPPING OUT OF TOP 10
Opelika State Wildcats 	       10-7	 3
Wisconsin State Brewers		9-8      5
College of San Diego	       10-8      8
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Old 12-25-2019, 01:28 PM   #28
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HOLIDAY WISHES FOR EACH OF THE 16 FABL TEAMS

With the regular season about to begin and the real life holiday season upon us here are 16 Christmas wishes - one for each of the Figment clubs. As you can read below, by far the biggest request for Santa to deliver this year is quality pitching. Here is the gift Jiggs McGee would give to each team this season.

BALTIMORE CANNONS - A quick start. The Cannons rebounded nicely over the summer a year ago but their pennant hopes were gone by the end of April after just an awful beginning to the 1928 season. A strong start this year coupled with contributions from some nice additions via trade may put Baltimore in contention for it's first pennant since 1914.

BOSTON MINUTEMEN - A bigger bulletin board. The Minutemen feel they have been wronged by virtually every prognosticator: picked 7th in the FA by BNN, Rufus Barrell and Jiggs McGee, and 8th by Percy Sutherland. Minutemen brass say it will be motivation for them all year. Unfortunately, by the looks of things they will need all the help they can get this year to prove the so-called experts wrong.

BROOKLYN KNIGS - For college pitching phenom Tommy Wilcox to become a legitimate number one starter in the FABL, something the Kings have sorely lacked since they traded away Danny Goff to the New York Gothams way back in the summer of 1916. Also, for ailing 88 year old owner Malcolm Presley to recover from his illness and live long enough to see the Kings rebuilding plans come to fruition. Presley is, by all accounts, one of the nicest men in baseball.

CHICAGO CHIEFS - For Joe Masters' incredible 1928 season not to be a one year wonder. Masters went from .293/15/77 in 1927 as a 27 year old to .388/56/195 in his record breaking season last year. The same is wished for 26 year old Jim Hampton who led the Federal Association in hitting with a .397 average after batting just .291 the year before.

CHICAGO COUGARS - For the 40 year old face of the franchise John Diblee (.324,1,33) to be fully recovered from the shoulder injury the cost him 3 months of the season a year ago. The Cougars are a team with some good young prospects, players who could learn to play the game the right way by observing the face of the Cougars franchise in action. Diblee has played 2,717 career games - all with the Cougars. Only 2 players have played more FABL games.

CLEVELAND FORESTERS - For Moxie Pidgeon to be this year's Tom Taylor. Taylor had a huge rookie year as a 23 year old outfielder, helping the Philadelphia Sailors and their great pitching staff win a pennant. Cleveland's is also blessed with stellar pitching and perhaps, if 22 year old outfielder Pidgeon has the year many expect of him, could lead Cleveland to their first pennant since 1920. Pidgeon looked great in spring action, batting .356 with 5 homers.

DETROIT DYNAOMOS - To no longer be the bridesmaid. With 2 straight second place finishes in the Federal Association, including a heartbreaking loss in a playoff tiebreaker 2 years ago, the Detroit Dynamos wish for nothing less than a pennant this time around. They are favoured by BNN and Rufus Barrell and picked to finish second by both Percy Sutherland and Jiggs McGee.

MONTREAL SAINTS - For Junior to even modestly approach his dad's career numbers. Al Allan Jr. showed brief flashes of the form his famous father displayed in winning 514 games over two decades, but Junior, after starting the season 4-0 with a 2.87 era, was done for the year in April with back troubles. The Saints resurgence hinges on Allen and 26 year old lefhander Charlie Stedman anchoring the Montreal pitching staff for the next decade and that resurgence starts with Allen proving the injury was just a one time thing and not a trend.

NEW YORK GOTHAMS - Pitching. Like most of the Federal Association the Gothams have some offensive talent but a shortage of pitching. The Gothams finished 6th each of the past two seasons because their hitting is not quite good enough, like some of the other teams in the Fed, to make up for the lack of arms. There is, fortunately, some real talent in the pipeline although the best of the bunch is not a pitcher, but rather outfielder Mahlon Strong. Strong is rated the number one prospect in the game but is very young - he just turned 20 two weeks ago - and likely won't be ready for a couple of years. The same can be said for the two top arms in the Gothams system, 19 year old Hank Spencer and 21 year old Jack Richardson. Perhaps 25 year old Chuck Calvert, a rule V pickup that Washington let get away, can be a key piece this season in New York. Calvert was 21-9, 2.45 in AA/AAA a year ago.

NEW YORK STARS - For their pitching to hold up. The Stars are not very far removed from the team that won 3 straight World Championship Series (1924-26) and certainly have the offense to challenge for another pennant this year. Heck, they won 93 games a year ago but had to settle for second place because of the Sailors. Their offense is possibly good enough win the Continental this season but they will need a pitcher or two to step up. Perhaps 33 year old Del Plummer, who came over from Brooklyn at the deadline last year, will step up.

PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES - Someone from their collection of good young pitching prospects to step up this year. The Keystones offense is among, if not the best in the game but their pitching can be dreadful at times. Maybe Dick Miner or Ed Baker, both of whom saw action with the Keystones a year ago, can have a big season and perhaps ace Bill Ross rebounds from a poor, by his standards, 1928 campaign. Even with all of the pitching questions the Keystones offense is so good that they are predicted to finish first by Jiggs McGee and Percy Sutherland, second by Rufus Barrell and third by BNN.

PHILADELPHIA SAILORS - Nothing. What else could you get for the team that has everything? The best pitching staff in the game? Check. The best young arm in baseball? Yup, they have that already in Johnny Davis (24-8, 2.73). How about some top flight hitters including one of the best young batters in the game? Nope, they have that already in the breakout season 24 year old Canadian import Tom Taylor (.342,44,126) gave them a year ago.

PITTSBURGH MINERS - Some respect from BNN, the league newspaper. BNN feels that Pittsburgh is going to be the worst team in the Fed this season despite the club owning the loop's top pitching staff. Yes the injury to Bill Morrill (13-16, 3.13 a year ago) will hurt as will playing the first couple of months without centerfielder Jim Renfroe, but this is not a last place team.

ST LOUIS PIONEERS - A healthy Max Morris for the entire year. That is actually a gift for the entire league because, despite there being a number of rising young stars in the game today, there is only one Max Morris and he makes the Pioneers a much different team when he is in the lineup.

TORONTO WOLVES
- A rebuild. To reverse the losing trend that saw the franchise, which hasn't won a pennant since 1911, go from 88 wins (a mark since that 1911 pennant) in 1926, to 82 in 1927 before bottoming out at 60 a year ago the Wolves need to do a lot of work. A full scale rebuild is likely needed with their most marketable veteran asset likely being 35 year old Don Cannaday (15-19, 4.21). The farm system is thin right now as well so it might take a few years for things to be looking up in Toronto.

WASHINGTON EAGLES - For new ownership to get the club back on track. The Eagles have some talent, but have also done a poor job in the past with recognizing which assets should be protected and developed. New management made some key first steps in adding talent with a solid draft but there is still a lot of work to be done to return the Eagles to their glory days at the start of the decade.


Merry Chistmas everyone!
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Old 12-26-2019, 06:58 PM   #29
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TEN RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM JIGGS MCGEE
April 22, 1929

The new season is underway, everybody has won at least one game, although in Pittsburgh that is all they have won so far, and the season is still full of promise and excitement for every team in the Federally Aligned Leagues. Here are ten takeaways from the opening week.

1- My preseason favourite Moxie Pidgeon is certainly off to a great start for the 4-2 Foresters. The 22 year old rookie outfielder homered in his first at bat of the season and after 6 games is hitting .545 with 8 rbi's and is one of the reasons Cleveland is tied for first place (starting the season with a series against Toronto also helps.)

2- A pair of teams tabbed for the second division of their respective leagues - the Gothams and the Kings - are tearing it up at the dish. New York leads either league with 47 runs scored in 6 games, 1 ahead of what Brooklyn accomplished in 7 games. Each team started the opening week with 3 wins, but in both cases while the bats seem to be working early, the pitching is a big concern. But that is also par for the course for both of these clubs.

3- All of sudden OSA considers the Washington Eagles to have the best minor league system in the game. I said it before but the Eagles had a real strong draft led by outfielder Wally Flowers (1st round) and SS Ollie Page (5th round), both of whom are ranked in the top 40 prospects. The gem of the Washington system is 23 year old second baseman Andy Carter, who was ranked 17th a year ago just after being taken in the first round out of St. Blane College. Carter hit .316 in 80 games of A ball and has shot up the list to presently sit at #3. At this point the Eagles still have him assigned to their Class A affiliate Trenton of the Middle Atlantic League but I would not be surprised to see him in AAA, if not the big leagues, by September.

4- It's certainly too early to push the panic button but you have to think there are some nervous hands in Pittsburgh after the Miners stumbled to a 1-5 start, dropping two of 3 in Washington and then being swept on the weekend in Philadelphia. Injuries have taken their toll on the club with Bill Morrill and Jim Renfroe out. Morrill's absence was felt this week as the starting pitching was awful, especially newcomer Luke Smith who got chased very early in his Federal Association debut after 13 years and 198 wins in the Continental with the New York Stars.

5- While the road was hard on Pittsburgh, the Boston Minutemen didn't seem to mind it. After dropping the season opener, Boston reeled off 5 straight wins in Philadelphia and Washington. Rookie 2B Carl Carr is showing Minutemen brass they were right to put their faith in him and trade away incumbent second sacker Paul McClain to Detroit. Carr had a pair of hits in his big league debut and finished the week going 11-for-28 (.393). His defense was pretty good as well. Although, it should be added McLain had a pretty good week for himself with the Dynamos, batting .429.

6- Everyone knew that Brooklyn Kings 1B-OF Gus Powell had plenty of power in his bat. The knock on Powell, who hit 21 homers in 87 games as a rookie last year, was he couldn't make enough contact to be effective. He made some adjustments in spring training and while it is very earlier, they are paying off so far. Powell leads the majors with 11 rbi's and is tied for the homerun lead with 3 after 7 games but the Kings are more impressed with his .310 average to start the season.

7- The Keystones chances at getting back to the series hinge on getting at least average pitching out of their rotation. Blessed with possibly the best offense in either league, Philadelphia hitters don't need a lot of help from their pitchers but results in the first week are very mixed. Bill Ross is 2-0 and had a pair of decent starts while Dick Miller and Red Adwell provided solid outings as well, but youngster Ed Baker and the usually dependable Rube Frazier were just awful. Baker, who has been a highly touted prospect ever since he was drafted in the second round out of high school in 1923, looked overmatched in a stint with the 'Stones a year ago and was even worse in his debut this season, allowing 7 earned runs on 11 hits over 6 innings of an 8-6 loss to Boston. The 29 year old Frazier won't be mistook as a top prospect, but he has been a dependable bottom of the rotation guy for Philadelphia the last 4 seasons. His opening start to this season was a struggle to say the least. The offense staked him to a 6-1 lead after two innings against Pittsburgh but he was pulled in the 6th trailing 8-6. The Keystones mighty offense did comeback and win the game 12-11 but you can't expect even the Keystones to post double-digit run totals every game.

8- Still with the Keystones, how about the start for reliever Marcel Besson. Besson appeared in 3 games last week and earned the save in each of them, allowing just 1 earned run. The 24 year old pitched almost exclusively out of the pen last season and spent most of the year in Philadelphia with a brief stint in AAA. Perhaps if the Keystones rotation problems persist, they should consider starting the 1925 10th round draft pick as Besson was 16-14 4.14 in AA as a 22 year old two years ago.

9- Panic in Chicago yet? Joe Masters had one of the biggest one year improvements ever seen when he dominated the Federal Association last season and set a new RBI record. Through six games this season the 29 year old third baseman is hitting just .167 with 1 rbi and no homers. Meanwhile, teammate Jim Hampton, who had a nearly as impressive increase in his numbers and hit .397 to win the batting title, does not seem to have slowed. The 27 year old Hampton hit .407 with a homer and 4 rbi's in the opening week. Overall, the Chiefs offense, so dangerous a year ago, seems to have overslept their wake-up call to start the season.

10- Do you think Buzz Ham had a little extra motivation in his season debut for the Baltimore Cannons. Traded away from Brooklyn just before the season began, Ham drew his old club in his debut for his new team. The result was a masterful 2-hit shutout victory over the Kings. He did not have the same emotion in his second start however, as Ham gave up 8 earned runs and 15 hits in a 7-1 loss to Montreal.
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Old 12-26-2019, 08:02 PM   #30
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AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE

April 22, 1929

PANTHERS ON THE PROWL

The hottest team in College Baseball as the season approaches the midway point is the Chicago Poly Panthers. The Midwestern Collegiate Division leading Panthers have reeled off 8 straight victories and won 11 of their last 13 which allowed them to open up a 4-game lead atop their division on both Central Ohio and Whitney College. At 16-5, the Panthers share the best record in the entire AIAA with Western Division leading Rainier College.

While Rainier's game revolves around it's dominant pitching staff, Chicago Poly leads the college ranks in runs scored and has a potent offense that is strong from top to bottom. Draft eligible infielders Steve Clarke (.362,3,29), a shortstop, and 3B Ralph Napoli (.369,0,21) along with junior 1B Jim Wright (.333,9,23) have been the leaders so far. Chicago Poly also has a senior pitching ace who is making his case to be a high draft pick. Tom Blalock has not lost a college game in 2 years (14-0 over that span) and is 5-0 with a 1.24 era this season. Blalock and Chuck Stout (5-0, 1.12) of Rainier College are two of just 3 pitchers to start the season 5-0 (Liberty Freshman Jim Trippe 5-0, 2.63) is the other one).

Here is a quick look at the 5 college divisions.

WESTERN COLLEGIATE: Division leading Rainier College is just as hot as Chicago Poly in the Midwest. The Majestic won all 4 of their games this week and lead both Golden Gate and Lubbock State by 3 games. Lubbock State, with a powerful offense, is on a 4-game winning streak but received bad news when catcher Jack Flint, a first team all-american a year ago, suffered a sprained ankle. It is unknown how much time Flint (.320,2,17) might miss.

MIDWESTERN COLLEGIATE: Chicago Poly is making a bid to run away with the division but Central Ohio and Whitney College are desperately trying to keep pace. The Aviators have an offense that almost rivals Chicago Poly, led by senior centerfielder Joe Johnson (.396,7,41) and Whitney College can also score a lot of runs with outfielder Bobby Many (.429,8,37). Both teams lack a dominant pitcher so staying with Poly all season might be tough.

SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE: Opelika State got back on track with 4 straight victories before losing at Mississippi A&M Saturday. It has been an up and down season for the Wildcats, who started 8-0 but then dropped 7 of their next 8. One player who has been the model of consistency on a very inconsistent Opelika State squad has been senior shortstop Joe Foy. Foy is leading college baseball with a .511 batting average through 21 games and has been held without at least one hit just once. He has also enjoyed 19 multi-hit games. Maryland State is 1 game back of the Wildcats, with both Georgia Baptist and North Carolina Tech just a game and a half of the pace.


NORTHEAST COLLEGIATE: This one is shaping up to be quite a race as right now we have a 3-way tie for first place with a 4th team just a game back. Garden State is trailing co-leaders Commonwealth Catholic, St Patrick's and Liberty College. The Bells are the hottest team in the Northeast as they are riding a 7 game winning streak including a recent 2-game sweep of St Patrick's. Liberty may have found it's new ace to replace graduated star Tommy Wilcox. Freshman Jim Trippe is 5-0, notching the victory in each of his 5 starts since be moved to the rotation in the third week of the season.


ACADEMIA ALLIANCE: Brunswick won just 15 games all of last season but they equaled that total in game 21 this year as they rode a 4 game winning streak into first place in the Alliance. Back to back wins over the second place Ellery Bruins did the trick and moved the Knights a game and a half ahead of Ellery. It also cooled off the Bruins, who entered the season having won 9 of their previous 11 contests.

Here are the updated top 10 rankings:

Code:
TOP TEN RANKINGS		REC	LW
1- Rainier College Majestic	16-5	 1
2- Chicago Poly Panthers        16-5     2
3- Brunswick College Knights	15-6     7
4- Liberty College Bells	13-8    NR
5- Commonwealth Cath. Knights   13-8     4
6- Ellery Bruins		14-8     6
7- Opelika State Wildcats	13-8    NR
8- Golden Gate Grizzlies	13-8     9
9- Lubbock State Hawks		13-8    NR
10-George Fox Reds		13-8    10

DROPPING OUT OF TOP 10
St Patrick's Shamrocks 		13-8	 3
Maryland State Bengals		12-9     5
Georgia Baptist Gators		12-10     8
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Old 12-27-2019, 11:30 AM   #31
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AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE
April 29, 1929
TRULY MAJECSTIC PITCHING

For the third week in a row the top team in the nation remains the Rainier College Majestics. With a pair of three game sweeps over Boulder State and Travis College last week, the Majestics ran their win streak to 11 games and at 22-5 own the best record in college baseball. They are a little off the pace of the all-time mark of 44-6 set by College of San Diego 3 years ago but the Majestics season has been one for the ages so far.

Rainier College has allowed just 73 runs in 27 games, 46 less than any other team in the nation. The dominant season Chick Stout (7-0, 0.95) is putting together is the big reason but from top to bottom their pitching staff has been very good and more than made up for one of the weaker offenses in the league. The Majestics are on pace to allow just 135 runs this season. How does that rank historical? Well, only 2 teams have ever allowed less then 135 in an AIAA season.

Number one is the 1914 Indiana A&M squad which surrendered just 117 runs. That team was led by a dominant season from current Baltimore Cannon Oscar Jefferson as well as Del Plummer and Jerry Taylor, who are both with the New York Stars now. The 1921 Northern California Miners allowed 131 runs with current Boston Minuteman Dick Alexander and Baltimore Cannon Leo Reynolds leading the way.

So just how dominant is the Rainier College pitching this season compared to the rest of the league. Their team era is 2.22. The league average is 4.80 and only 4 other teams are under 4.00 with the lowest being 3.54. Rainier College is clearly in a class by themselves this season and have to be early favourites to win their first Western Collegiate Division title since 1910. The Majestics history has been anything but, with just 2 College World Series appearances to their credit and they have never won a postseason series.


Here is a quick look at the 5 college divisions.

WESTERN COLLEGIATE: It is beginning to look like no one will catch the Majestics but defending National Champion Lubbock State, at 17-10 and 5 games off the pace, is doing it's best to keep up. Senior outfielder Al Couch is leading the Hawks with a .421 average to go with 10 homers and 30 rbi's.

MIDWESTERN COLLEGIATE: It was a rough week for Chicago Poly as the division leading Panthers went 1-5 including being swept by lowly Lincoln College in a 3 game series. Tom Blalock, who it was mentioned here last week hadn't lost a game in 2 years did just that, suffering his first defeat and snapping a personal 16 game winning streak. No one was able to take advantage of the Panthers slump as Central Ohio could only play .500 ball this week and remains second, two and a half games back of Chicago Poly. St Blane is also tied for second.

SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE: Joe Foy's batting average slipped below .500 (.496,3,27) as he had just his second hitless game of the season but that did not slow down his Opelika State Wildcats, who have won 6 in a row and 10 of their last 11. At 19-8 on the season, the Wildcats are 2.5 games ahead of Georgia Baptist with everyone else dropping quickly out of contention. The Wildcats continue to rely on the right arm of freshman Chalie Bingham. The 18 year old threw a 1-hitter in a complete game 1-0 shutout of North Carolina Tech earlier in the week. On the season Bingham is 7-1 with a 1.75 era. Georgia Baptist won 5 of 6 last week and, while receiving a little less publicity than in past years because of all of the great pitching performances, Gators star Tom Barrell continues to quietly go about his business. The potential first overall draft pick is 5-2 with a 2.11 era on the mound while hitting .364 with 6 homers and 26 rbi's playing first base when he is not pitching. Also, missed in an earlier write-up Barrell tossed a perfect game in a 5-0 win over North Carolina Tech recently. It was just the second perfect game in AIAA history.


ACADEMIA ALLIANCE: While the races in the Continental Region are starting to sort themselves out the two divisions in the Northeast Region remain highly contested. Just one game separates the top four clubs in the Academia Alliance with hard charging Pierpont making it's presence felt. The Purple have been to more College World Series playoffs (10) than any other team but have yet to win a title and have missed the tournament each of the past two years - which is the longest they have ever gone between tournament berths. They started very slow this season but have won their last 8 in a row including a 3 game sweep of first place Brunswick to get in the race. Freshman Sam Brown, an 18 year old outfielder from San Francisco, is leading the charge. Brown, who is batting .382 with 9 homers and 25 rbi's on the season, was named player of the week.

NORTHEAST COLLEGIATE: Liberty College's powerful offense has led the Bells to 11 wins in their last 12 games and they are now alone atop the NE Collegiate Division with an 18-9 record, one game better than St Patrick's. Senior outfielders Joe Jones (.417,13,36) and John Collins (.345,9,36) along with senior 2B Jake Shadoan (.412,9,16) continue to lead the way for the Bells. Commonwealth Catholic was tied for first place a week ago, but the Knights dropped 3 games over the week, including 2 of 3 to Liberty, and now sit 2.5 off the pace.


Here are the updated top 10 rankings:

Code:
TOP TEN RANKINGS		REC	LW
1- Rainier College Majestics 	22-5	 1
2- Liberty College Bells	18-9     4
3- Opelika State Wildcats	19-8     7
4- Lubbock State Hawks		17-10    9
5- Chicago Poly Panthers        17-9     2
6- Brunswick College Knights	17-10    3
7- Georgia Baptist Gators	17-11    NR
8- Pierpont Purple		16-11    NR
9- Ellery Bruins		17-11     6
10-St Patrick's Shamrocks 	17-10   NR

DROPPING OUT OF TOP 10
Commonwealth Cath. Knights      15-11     5
Golden Gate Grizzlies		16-11     8
George Fox Reds		        16-11    10
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Old 12-27-2019, 02:19 PM   #32
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April 29, 1929 : Boston leads the league

JUST ENJOY THE MINUTE, MEN. NO ONE KNOWS HOW LONG IT WILL LAST.

by Figment Sporting Journal columnist Jiggs McGee

I wouldn't have bet a wooden nickel that two weeks into the season the Boston Minutemen would have the best record in baseball, but lo and behold there they are, sitting atop the Federal Association with a 10-3 record and looking down on everyone, not just in the Fed but also the Continental Association. Pitching, and to a lesser degree defense, is the early story in Beantown but my immediate reaction would be to say things will balance out and Boston will come crashing back down to earth. However, seeing that 5 of those 6 wins came over the powerful Philadelphia Keystones cause me to pause and think about it a little more.

The Philadelphia Keystones - tied for third most runs scored in either league with 80 - dropped 5 of 6 games to Boston. The Keystones just destroyed Pittsburgh pitching, scoring 46 runs in 6 games against the Miners, but were held to 26 in 6 games with Boston. Now that may say more about Pittsburgh's lack of pitching than Boston's success but the Minutemen arms certainly seem to be doing the job early. Add in what in the early going is the best defense (best zone rating and efficiency and 4th fewest errors in either league) in the game and you have a recipe, admittedly one that is not used often in the homer happy Federal Association, but a recipe nonetheless that can lead to success in any league.

The question surrounding Boston is can they keep it up? In the preseason predictions three of the four prognosticators including yours truly tabbed Boston to finish 7th in the Fed while the fourth, Percy Sutherland, had them dead last. A lack of offense was the most often cited reason but clearly no one expected their pitching to be this good. It is early, but the Minutemen appear to be channeling their inner Philadelphia Sailors right now.

Let's look at the 5 starters, where they came from, what they are doing now and perhaps we can extrapolate what the rest of the season might hold.

VERDO BURT

The 30 year old had two very strong outings and one average one. The average one came on opening day when he went the distance in a 5-4 loss to Philadelphia. He would also pitch a complete game in his second start, with better results, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits to beat Washington 4-3. While the Minutemen lost his third start in 12 innings, Burt was equally impressive as in his previous meeting with the Eagles, throwing 11 innings of 8 hit ball and allowing 3 earned runs.

Not bad for a pitcher who was exiled to the Boston bullpen a year ago after losing 20 games each of his 2 previous seasons with the Minutemen. He is 101-140 over his career and the expectation, with a career WHIP of 1.47 and ERA+ below 100 each of the past three seasons, is that Burt will come back down to earth. His WHIP in 3 starts is an impressive 1.14 but you have to think that won't last.

JACK HOLLAND

Holland has been a dependable 10-15 win guy for the Minutemen for a decade but suddenly he is pitching like old Double Al. The 34 year old lefthander is 2-0 with a 1.88 era and a 246 ERA+ in his three starts this season. It is hard to believe, but not completely out of the realm of possibility that Holland is taking a giant step forward this season after a terrific 1928 campaign.

Holland has had an interesting career arc the past few seasons. He enjoyed a career year at age 29 in 1924, going 18-7 with a 3.65 era but followed that up with perhaps his worst season in 1925. He was only marginally better in 1926 and 1927 but caught fire a year ago with career bests in ERA and ERA+ and very close to the best WHIP of his career. At 35, you would expect a pitcher to be trending in the other direction but perhaps Holland is the exception rather than the rule.

BILL JENKINS

After missing a good chunk of last season with injuries someone must have convinced the 26 year old that he is the second coming of Johnny Davis. Two starts. Two complete game victories allowing just 1 run in each including a masterful 6-1 win over Philadelphia when he held Sandman, Endler, Kellogg, Ames and Castaneda - the heart of the Keystones order - to a combined 2-for-19 with 2 measly singles and a walk. Now Jenkins had enjoyed some success against Ames and Sandman in the past but Kellogg and Endler entered the game a combined 22-for-50 in previous seasons against Jenkins.

Jenkins was 8-8 with a 4.63 era last year for Boston but, as mentioned above was injured twice and missed over 2 months of the season. He did lead the Federal Association with a 3.35 era in 1927 - his rookie season, and is a former second round pick who topped out at #56 in the prospect rankings so it is possible he is just hitting his prime with this great start.

AL CARROLL

Another 26 year old, Carroll made just one start so far. It was his FABL debut after going 5-17, 3.87 for AAA Denver last year. Carroll went the distance, allowing 12 hits in a 5-4 victory over the Keystones. A fourth round pick in 1923 out of Georgia Baptist, the jury is still out on whether Carroll, who was ranked #80 on the prospect list in 1925, has what it takes to be a FABL regular.

DICK ALEXANDER

The 28 year old had a solid season for the Minutemen a year ago, going 14-7 with a 3.82 era in 22 starts plus 10 relief appearances. This season he is 2-1 with a 3.52 era and had 1 outstanding start to go along with a pair of mediocre ones. He got plenty of run support early in his first start of the season and went the distance despite allowing 6 runs in an 8-6 win over Philadelphia in the opening series. He followed that up with a strong 8 inning, 4 hit performance at Washington, getting a 5-1 win in a game the Minutemen broke open with 3 in the top of the ninth. However, in the rematch with the Eagles last week, he got knocked out after 6 innings, allowing 5 runs - but just 3 earned in a 6-2 loss.


SUMMARY

The Boston defense has been good and defense rarely goes into a slump. It is the offense and pitching that concerns me.

While the Boston offense is off to a decent start it really is not that strong to begin with with only star 3B Charlie Berry (.476,2,12) considered a top player, and to his credit Berry is playing like a top player right now. Highly touted rookie 2B Carl Carr (.357,1,5) is off to a good start and might have a big year but some of the other Minutemen that are off to strong starts do not seem as likely to maintain the pace. I am thinking specifically of 32 year old catcher Joe Richards (.333,1,10) and 29 year old centerfielder Jack Copeland (.326,2,13). Both are playing well above past seasons stats, so, barring a Joe Masters like breakout, it is likely both will drop back to their career norms as the year progresses. If, or perhaps it is better stated to say when that happens there will be even more pressure on the Boston rotation.

The pitching, judging from above, likely will come back down to earth as you have to think Burt is going to level out while Alexander and Carroll are bottom of the rotation options at best. I suppose Boston has a chance at having 2 very good starters this season in Jack Holland and Bill Jenkins, but it is a stretch to believe they both can fashion dominant seasons, which is what it will require for Boston to win with their offense in the Federal Association.

The opinion of this writer is, while it is a great story for Minutemen fans who have suffered through some lean years of late, they should enjoy it while they can, as while the Minutemen perhaps are better than the preseason predictions gave then credit for, Boston is simply still not good enough to win the Federal Association this season.
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Old 12-30-2019, 02:41 PM   #33
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AIAA College Update

AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE
May 6, 1929
STOUT OR BARRELL?

There is little doubt that the top team this season in the AIAA is the Rainier College Majectics. The Majestics are 26-6 on the season and have opened up a 5 game lead on defending AIAA champion Lubbock State in the Western Collegiate Division. Those 26 wins are four better than the next highest squad in the entire college ranks.

The Majestics offense is barely average and lacks star power with only senior 1B Ed Jordan (.312,4,20) hitting above .300 and the majority of the everyday lineup hitting under .250. However, it is on the mound where they truly are majestical. Rainier College has allowed just 93 runs in 32 games. The next best team in college baseball has surrendered 139 runs.

A huge reason for that frugality has been the pitching of Chick Stout. The Southwick, Massachusetts native had a decent season a year ago, posting a 4-3 record with a 2.44 era and 1.00 WHIP in 11 starts but what he has done this season, in his draft year, has been nothing short of dominating. Stout is 8-0 with a 1.09 era and a league leading 0.70 WHIP, which if the season ended today would be the 4th lowest WHIP of all time. Interestingly enough, the record is a 0.64 WHIP set a year ago by Stout's teammate Stan Merendino.

The Majestics do play half their games in a fairly pitcher friendly park but the numbers being posted by Stout on the road are nearly as strong as what he has done at Majestics Field.

The question for big league scouts is has Stout shown enough that perhaps he, and not highly touted Georgia Baptist two-way star Tom Barrell, should be the first selection in next December's draft. I am sure the two will be compared plenty of times between now and draft day but let's break down the body of work for each of them.

Stout is a 5'11" righthander who has been pretty consistent in his 3 years at Rainier College. He went 8-1, 2.01 as an 18 year old rookie with a 1.05 WHIP and a 254 era+. His numbers were off slightly a year ago, going 4-3, 2.44 with 167 ERA+ but a little better WHIP at 1.00, primarily because he cut down on his walks but with that his strikeouts also dropped slightly. This year he has taken over as the Majestics ace and been dominant. Looking at the image below, one thing that jumps out at me is Stout has pitched 219 innings of college ball without allowing a single homerun.

Barrell is also a 5'11" righthander who has grown up in the spotlight as part of the famous Barrell clan. Born in Brooklyn but raised in Georgia he followed his older brother Fred's to Georgia Baptist. Both Fred and a younger brother, Bobby, were first round draft picks and Tom is sure to join them in that regard. Due to his February birthdate, Tom is one of the few players who had 4 years of college before he would become eligible for the FABL draft.

Looking below you can see his pitching numbers are quite comparable to Stout's career line. What does set Barrell apart is his talent at the plate and has caused some scouts to consider that he could become a dominant power hitting 1B-OF in addition to his prowess on the mound.



Either way, it is hard to imagine a team going wrong by choosing either of the two first overall. It is a credit to the effort this season of Stout, a performance which has made Barrell going first overall not the foregone conclusion it seemed to be prior to the season starting.

Here is a quick look at the 5 college divisions.

WESTERN COLLEGIATE: With a 5 game lead and an seemingly unbeatable pitching staff, Rainier College is running away with the division. Lubbock State is trying to keep pace, winning 7 straight including a shutout of Rainier College on Saturday before falling 6-3 to the Majestics yesterday. The two schools still have 3 games head-to-head remaining.

MIDWESTERN COLLEGIATE: Chicago Poly rebounded from a recent 4 game losing skid by taking 3 of 4 to end the week including a pair over Whitney College. Central Ohio is a game and a half back with the Aviators invading the Windy City for two with the Panthers this week. Freshman 2B Freddie Jones is leading the AIAA with a .508 batting average for Central Ohio but that may suffer a bit as he is currently battling a nagging shoulder injury.

SOUTHERN COLLEGIATE: A big showdown this week as first place Opelika State hosts second place Georgia Baptist in a 2 game series. Both schools have been hot of late with the Wildcats winning 9 of their last 11 and the Gators 8 of 10. Tom Barrell pitched a 4-hit shutout yesterday so likely won't get a start in the series.


ACADEMIA ALLIANCE: The most crowded race in the AIAA with four teams separated by just 2 games and two others within 4.5 of first place George Fox. Senior CF Amos Leblanc is quietly making scouts take notice. After two average seasons, the 20 year old from Clinton, Michigan is having a breakout 1929. He leads the NE Conference in batting with a .466 average and stolen bases with 15.

NORTHEAST COLLEGIATE: Vic Crawford (..366,21,56) had himself a week for Commonwealth Catholic. The senior outfielder hit 5 homers last week and now leads the AIAA in that category. His club could only win 3 of 5 games during the week and remains in third in the NE Collegiate Division, trailing co-leaders St Patrick's and Liberty College by 2.5 games.


Here are the updated top 10 rankings:

Code:
TOP TEN RANKINGS		REC	LW
1- Rainier College Majestics 	26-6	 1
2- Opelika State Wildcats	22-10    3
3- Liberty College Bells	21-11    2
4- Georgia Baptist Gators	20-12    7
5- Lubbock State Hawks		21-11    4
6- St Patrick's Shamrocks 	21-11   10
7- George Fox Reds	        20-12   NR
8- Chicago Poly Panthers        20-11    5
9- Central Ohio Aviators        19-13   NR
10-Henry Hudson Explorers       18-13   NR

DROPPING OUT OF TOP 10
Brunswick College Knights	18-14    6
Pierpont Purple			17-15    8
Ellery Bruins			18-14    9
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Old 12-30-2019, 04:53 PM   #34
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1929 Amateur Draft Coverage

Over the next few months of the season I will provde a number of commentaries, mock drafts and player analysis of the upcoming draft class. Let's start with a look at pitcher performance this year and I would suggest perhaps Tom Barrell and Chick Stout have company when discussing the top pitcher.


A 1929 DRAFT PREVIEW ARTICLE


GM'S SHOULD LOOK BEYOND BARRELL AND STOUT

In an effort to help determine who the top pitchers are in this draft I took a look at the production so far this season from every draft eligible pitcher. I then highlighted guys who fit the following criteria:

Anyone with a WHIP below 1.0 had that category highlighted.
The same for an ERA+ over 200
Opponent's batting average below .200,
K/9 ratio above 9.0, a K/BB ration above 4.0
anyone in the top 15 in this draft class of pitchers WAR so far this season.


It is no surprise that both Tom Barrell and Chick Stout made the cut. They were two of 4 pitchers to make the grade in each of those categories with the other two being high school pitchers. One is Ben Bernard out of Mobile, who you might recall I placed second in my preseason mock draft. The other is Roy Byrd, who plays for Omaha High School and has had a drastic improvement this year over his two previous season totals.

One other pitcher just barely missed the mark. Chicago Poly ace Tom Blalock was right there on four of the five categories but fell just short in K/BB ratio due to his pedestrian strikeout totals.

Here is a look at the 5 along with the other pitchers to come close.




Interesting to note when I create the same chart but look at career stats instead of just this season neither Stout nor Barrell quality. Both come extremely close but just fall short.. For Stout his career K/BB ratio is just shy at 3.9 while Barrell's career ERA+ falls 16 points short of the 200 mark and his opposing batting average is .011 too high. Also worth noting is Tom Blalock comes incredibly close to qualifying (.003 off on BAvg) this time

The only player to make both this year's list and the career list is high school ace Ben Bernard.

The other player to qualify along with Bernard on the career list is Milwaukee High Schooler John Howard. However, Howard is a player trending the wrong way with a great first season of high school ball, an average second season and struggling this year.

Interesting also is a teammate of each Barrell and Stout make this list. Stan Merendino of Rainier College has struggled this season but made my first round mock draft list prior to the start of the year after two very good seasons with the Majestics. Georgia Baptist's Jackie Shaw has a larger sample for his career as he also played high school ball, where he was very good, prior to joining the Gators.





I tried to see what FABL pitchers (using last season's stats) would make the grade. None of them come close at all because of the nature of the game (much higher opponent's batting averages and strikeouts are much lower in FABL than the college and high school ranks.)

I tweaked my categories to highlight the top 15 pitchers (min 100 innings in 1928) in each of the 5 categories listed above instead of using the minimum thresholds. Johnny Davis comes close but low strikeout rates doom him as well as several other Sailor pitchers to falling just short. The Federal Association, aside from Pittsburgh, is not represented at all here because of the increased offensive production in the loop. So it is I guess a flawed comparison but interesting nonetheless to see who is included.

Rabbit Day of Baltimore and Jim Smith of Pittsburgh are the only pitchers to make the top 15 in each of those categories with some other players coming close as you can see below.






SUMAMRY

Now that last chart was really just there because I found it interesting and in no way does it suggest this draft class belongs with those FABL stars, at least not yet.

The big takeaway I get from here is perhaps we should not just be discussing if Barrell or Stout should be the first pitcher selected in the draft. It might be wise to widen your possibilities and consider that high schooler Ben Bernard should get some serious consideration, as possibly should Tom Blalock.

I would like to refer you back to a comment I made in my Way To Early Mock DRAFT about Bernard.

Quote:
2-BEN BERNARD RHP - Mobile HS: If there is a pitcher that can replace Barrell at the top of the draft it is the 17 year old from Warren, Pennsylvania. In 132 college innings he is 11-3 with a 1.09 era and an almost unbelievable 480 ERA+. His career WHIP is 0.83. The upside appears limitless for Bernard. However, he is a high school arm and certainly much less refined then Barrell. Bernard is nicknamed the Warden because he always seems to be in control of the situation but if there is a knock on him it's that he knows how good is and sometimes becomes complacent. Mobile was a sub .500 team last season and will be starting 3 or 4 rookies on a team that already lacked offense. If Bernard can lift them into contention it will certainly help prove his dominance.
If anything now that we are well into the high school season I am even more convinced that Bernard warrants serious discussion for the first overall pick. Would I take him first? I don't think so, at least not yet, but only because of the greater uncertainty high school arms have. But the more I see him pitch, the more Ben Bernard is making me rethink that decision. In a few game weeks I will have an updated mock draft and we will see exactly where Bernard places in my mid-season mock draft.

Until next time, happy scouting.
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Old 01-02-2020, 12:46 PM   #35
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Ten Random Thoughts - May 13, 1929

TEN RANDOM THOUGHTS - May 13, 1929


1- What happened to the Pittsburgh Miners? The Chicago Cougars got off to a historically bad start a year ago but the Pittsburgh Miners 6-20 start to the 1929 campaign is so much worse when you consider the high expectations many, myself included, had for the Miners this season. The pitching, formerly a staple of this franchise, has just been awful and the hitting has been no better. Yes, the absence of Bill Morrill on the mound hurts and while natural 2B Jack Shelton (.333,1,7) gave it a go in centerfield he was clearly no Jim Renfroe. The Miners played the first 20% of the season not only without Renfroe but they were also missing another CF in Tony Henderson, who has been bothered by a wonky back.

Pittsburgh has a unique challenge in the Federal Association. They play in a park that is murder on hitters, especially right handed bats so they do need to build around pitching, but they play in a league that is filled with bandbox parks that rewarded a lineup full of power. So the challenge in Pittsburgh is do you focus on your pitching and hope you can survive on the road or do you follow the rest of the Fed and stock up on big bats?

2- While the hole they dug is very deep there is some hope the Miners will be able to at least claw there way back to respectability. They have played 20 of their first 26 games away from Fitzpatrick Park and while they are just 2-4 at home, Pittsburgh is 4-16 on the road. They also have not had the luxury of playing the other struggling team in the Fed, the New York Gothams, yet. That changes this week with a 3 game trip to New York and once they get through next week then 32 of their next 42 games will be at home, a park that helps level the playing field for the Miners against the big hitters of the Fed.

3- If the Miners do not recover and finish the season at the bottom of the pack they will have a tougher decision then most teams on what to do with the first overall draft pick. In all of the hype surrounding Chick Stout, Tom Barrell and even high schooler Ben Bernard, Commonwealth Catholic outfielder Vic Crawford is on fire and having a record breaking year. Crawford has hit 8 homers in 9 May games and has 25 on the year. With 14 games remaining he has a shot at the AIAA single season record of 32 homers set in 1913. He has already drove in 68 runs, tying that record and if the season ended today would have set new records for slugging percentage and on-base percentage in a single season. So Crawford's name has suddenly joined the conversation about who should go first overall. Pitching is needed by every team outside of perhaps the Philadelphia Sailors, but no team needs a power hitting bat more than the Miners. Crawford alas, hits righthanded, and the question is how many of his would-be home runs would die on the warning track at cavernous Fitzpatrick Park?

4- If the Miners finish last overall does this perhaps ensure Tom Barrell of being picked first overall? Unlike Chick Stout or Chicago Poly's Tom Blalock, Barrell is accomplished at the plate as well so perhaps he could be both the ace pitcher and the power hitter the Miners desire. In case you were wondering Barrell also bats righthanded, unfortunately for the Miners.

5- Which is the bigger story in the incredible rise of the Boston Minutemen this season? Charlie Berry or Bill Jenkins? Berry, a 30 year old third baseman is batting .478, yes .478 through 25 games. He did not become an everyday player until 2 years ago but he proved then that he could hit so his rise is not as surprising as that of the Chiefs Jim Hampton a year ago. Jenkins, on the other hand, is a completely different pitcher so far this season. Last year Jenkins was a slightly below average pitcher going 8-8 with a 4.63 era. This season the 26 year old started 5-0 with a 1.47 era. His run support in the two seasons was almost identical at 3.90 runs per game a year ago and 4.0 so far this year.

6- Frank Vance of Detroit is another breakout star this season. Perhaps I should drop the 'breakout' from the equation and just call him a star' after the third baseman hit .388 with 24 homers as a rookie a year ago, but through 27 games this season he leads FABL with 11 homers and 31 rbi's while batting .373. He is on pace for 63 homers and 177 rbi's.

7- When was the last time the Philadelphia Sailors were swept by the Montreal Saints? It happened last week as the Saints pitching staff out-Sailor'ed Philadelphia in winning 3 one-run games. At 15-11 the Saints are one of two surprise teams in the Continental Association, along with Toronto. Certainly neither is at the Minutemen level of surprise but I don't think any expected the two Canadian clubs to be within a game of first place once the calendar turned from April.

8- Reigning CA Allan Award winner Johnny Davis is off to a slow start. Davis was beaten 4-3 in extra innings by Montreal the other day to drop to 2-4, 3.73 on the season. I don't think there is a lot of cause for concern as Davis had a couple of rough starts in April but did a pretty decent job in his last two outings including the loss to the Saints. The Sailors hitters have not been helping him out like they did a year ago either. Last season, they provided Davis with 5.4 runs per game as opposed to just 3.8 so far this season. Conversely, Dan Waldman and William Jones - who are a combined 9-2 have benefited from 6.2 and 5.8 runs per game respectively from their teammates.

9- I have brought him up before but Moxie Pidgeon is my favourite young player in the big leagues today. The 22 year old rookie is ripping the cover off the ball for the Cleveland Foresters, batting .436 with 8 homers and 29 rbi's. What also impresses me is Pidgeon is 2-for-4 with 2 homers against Rabbit Day and 3-for-9 with a homerun against Johnny Davis in his career. If he can own those two, what chance do merely average pitchers have against him.

10- Should someone at some point have given Chuck Smith a shot at the big leagues? The 32 year old career minor leaguer is batting .493 with 6 homers and 22 rbi's for Sacramento in the Great West League. Originally a 12th round pick by Detroit out of Henry Hudson University in 1917, the outfielder was also in the Pioneers and Kings systems at various points but has been with the independent Governors for the past 6 seasons. He has hit 70 homers at the AAA level and is a career .300 hitter but just another one of those guys who was never in the right place at the right time.
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Old 01-02-2020, 06:58 PM   #36
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As far as the Miners and their draft pick go. I think it is the CA's turn to have the #1 pick, I believe it alternates league to league. Washington had it last year before trading it to Brooklyn.

I (I'm the GM for Pittsburgh...) am nearly positive on who I'd take if I do get the #1 pick, although I'm very enamored by freshman Freddie Jones at Central Ohio, who is at .496/.608/.698 on the year. 38 walks to 2 strikeouts and plays a strong second base. The strikeout rates in college ball are really high relative to the pros, so to strikeout that few times in nearly 200 at bats is either extremely impressive or some crazy OOTP luck for that player. It'll be interesting to see Jones' next two years.
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Old 01-03-2020, 01:57 PM   #37
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WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE KINGS AS BASEBALL WORLD MOURNS LOSS OF PRESLEY

By Jiggs McGee

It certainly was not unexpected to hear of the death of Brooklyn Kings owner Malcolm Presley. Word had leaked out during spring training that he had been battling a serious illness but the death this past week of Presley still came as a shock to those in Brooklyn and the entire baseball community. Presley was 88 years old and along with his brother Reginald, who passed away in 1920, had owned the Kings franchise since 1898.

"I don't think there was a person in baseball who had anything bad to say about Mr. Presley" said former Brooklyn manager Powell Slocum. "Heck, he fired me and I still loved the man."

That sentiment was shared by many across the league as much of the baseball world was represented Saturday at his funeral, despite a bone-chillingly cold rain. The funeral may yet cost baseball another great emissary as Washington's 86 year old Thomas Brennan took ill during the event and his condition is said to be 'grave'.

The absence of the steady hand of Presley now puts the future direction of the Kings under a microscope. Presley's grandson Eugene Weston has been overseeing operations since Presley took ill, but many have privately and several publicly questioned the 32 year old's maturity and suitability to run the organization. There are rumours swirling that perhaps Presley's grand-nephew Thomas Potentas, of the Omni Scouting Association, may assume control of the club.

If that happens, many expect Potentas would provide a steady approach similar to what Malcolm Presley has given the organization but the expectation is that perhaps Potentas would become much more involved in the day to day operations than the hands-off Presley. Potentas refused to comment on the rumours saying he needed "time to mourn the great man that was (his) uncle."

I can't help but feel that this could be a key turning point for the franchise. All indications are Brooklyn is off to a good start in it's rebuild but it will be a slow process. The question is will a new man at the top keep that direction or send the team scurrying in a new one. I can see Potentas, with the wealth of experience and connections he has established through his time at the head of OSA, continuing in the same direction and perhaps even expanding his investment into the organization.

On the other hand, all indications are things could go completely off the rails if Eugene Watson takes over and acts as impulsively with his new toy as he has lived the rest of his life. Watson, a former golfing buddy of the Barrell boys, has a reputation for being very impulsive and easily distracted. Perhaps, if he does ultimately take control of the club, he will leave it to the baseball men to run and be more concerned with his other dalliances. However, owning a baseball team is like getting a shiny new plaything for young men like Watson and that could be cause for concern. It is far too early to speculate on the future of the Brooklyn Kings, but it is clearly much less certain than it was just a couple of months ago.

Malcolm Presley will be missed for so many reasons, not the least of which will be the stability and professionalism he brought to the Brooklyn Kings organization. He may not have won a World Championship, but he was certainly a world class person.
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Old 01-03-2020, 05:05 PM   #38
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AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE
May 20, 1929
PLAYOFF RACES HEATING UP

With 9 games remaining for each team the playoff races, especially the wild card battles, are wide open. Here is a division by division look at where they stand as the club battle for the 8 playoff berths.

NORTHEAST
The Liberty College Bells are the hottest team this side of Puyallup, Washington. The Bells, led by draft eligible 1B Jake Shadoan (.469,14,27), have won 8 in a row and at 29-12, have the best record in the group. Shadoan has scored 70 runs this season, which is a new single season AIAA mark. The Bells are 4 games ahead of Commonwealth Catholic for top spot in the Northeast Division. The Knights have won 8 of their last 9 thanks in no small part to a record-setting year from outfielder Vic Crawford (.361,28,74). Crawford has perhaps gained some consideration for being the number one overall draft pick after setting a new AIAA record for RBI's and is just 4 homers shy from tying that mark. The division title may well be decided in 2 weeks time when the top two teams meet for a pair of games in Boston.

The St. Patrick's Shamrocks were in the thick of things until they lost 5 in a row last week. St Patrick's still has an outside shot at catching Liberty, or perhaps earning a wildcard berth, but they will need to come up big this week when they host the Bells for 3 games.

ACADEMIA ALLIANCE
Five teams are separated by 4 games at the top of the Alliance, led by George Fox at 26-15. The Reds have the leading hitter in the East in outfielder Amos Leblanc (.484,6,32) and enjoy a 2-game lead on second place Henry Hudson. A couple of underclassmen pitchers in Rip Curry (8-1, 3.56) and Johnny Biggs (8-3, 3.87) have been key to George Fox's success this year. Pierpont and Ellery are each 3 games back while Brunswick is 4 off the pace.

MIDWESTERN
Chicago Poly (27-14) has led the division for most of the season but the Panthers are being pushed by Central Ohio (26-15). Pitcher Tom Blalock (6-1, 1.73) remains the key to the Panthers success although Ernie Scott (7-2, 3.15) has given them a dependable second starter. Phil Newcom (7-1, 1.76) is the Avaitors leader on the mound and their offense, led by league batting leader Freddie Jones (.523,5,38) and slugging first baseman Will Bryant (.418,13,62) is among the most dangerous in the AIAA. There could be plenty at stake on the final weekend of the season when the two schools meet in Columbus.

SOUTHERN
Opelika State (28-13) has opened a 4 game lead on Georgia Baptist atop the division. The Wildcats have great pitching led by by Charlie Bingham (9-3, 1.71) and Claude Bradbury (5-1, 1.77) plus plenty of offense with Joy Foy (.456,4,39) and Roy Zingle (.326,14,46) leading the way in that regard.

Two way player Tom Barrell (6-2, 2.03, .347,10,42) leads Georgia Baptist in most key pitching and hitting categories but he may not be able to lead them to the playoffs. With only one wildcard spot available in the Continental the Gators will need a big finish. They still have a shot at the division as well since they finish the season with 2 games against the Wildcats.

WESTERN
While not officially over, the Western race really has been long since decided. Rainier College is 33-8 on the year and is in another league pitching-wise. The Majestics have allowed 112 runs this season. The next lowest total in the entire AIAA is the 179 surrendered by Opelika State. Chick Stout (10-1, 1.19) has a chance to become the first college pitcher ever to win 12 games in a regular season.

Lubbock State is 7 games back and Northern California 9 off the pace but both have a shot at claiming the wildcard berth. If the season ended tosay the Hawks and Central Ohio would be tied for the wildcard spot with the Miners and Georgia Baptist both two games back.

Here are the updated top 10 rankings:

Code:
TOP TEN RANKINGS		REC	LW
1- Rainier College Majestics 	33-8	 1
2- Liberty College Bells	29-12    3
3- Opelika State Wildcats	28-13    2
4- George Fox Reds	        26-15    7
5- Chicago Poly Panthers        27-14    8
6- Central Ohio Aviators        26-15    9
7- Commonwealth Cath. Knights   25-16   NR
8 -Henry Hudson Explorers       24-17   10
9- Lubbock State Hawks		26-15    5
10-Georgia Baptist Gators	24-17    4

DROPPING OUT OF TOP 10
St Patrick's Shamrocks  	24-17    6
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Old 01-06-2020, 02:01 PM   #39
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AIAA College Update

1929 AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE
May 27, 1929
QUITE A FINAL WEEK AHEAD IN COLLEGE RANKS

With one week remaining in the college season there is still plenty that is undecided as only one of the 8 berths in the College World Championship Series have been spoken for. That spot belongs to the Rainier College Majestics, who made official what has been long expected by clinching the Western Collegiate Division title early in the week..

Opelika State should join the Majestics as the Wildcats magic number for winning the Southern Collegiate Division is down to 1 as they enjoy a 4 game lead on Tom Barrell and the Georgia Baptist Gators with 4 to play. On the off chance the Gators take 2 from Maryland State and the Wildcats lose both of their games at North Carolina Tech to start the week we could have a great weekend series in Athens where the Gators and Wildcats finish their season. That is the only hope of a playoff berth for the Gators as the wildcard is now out of their reach.

Central Ohio has won 14 of it's last 17 games to pull even with Chicago Poly in the Midwest Collegiate Division. The schedule makers did a terrific job of heightening the drama as those two teams will close out the season with a 2 game series in Columbus.

At 30-16 with 4 to play the loser of that division battle between the Aviators and the Panthers may still have a shot at the wildcard, which they currently trail Lubbock State by 1 game for. The Hawks have won 5 straight and look to be in good shape for a postseason berth.

So in the Continental we know Rainier College is in, we expect Opelika State will qualify and the field will be rounded out by two of the following three teams: Chicago Poly, Central Ohio and Lubbock State. Northern California and Georgia Baptist are still technically alive but realistically they are out.

Tne Northeast Conference on the other hand is a mess. Liberty College, at 30-16 and 2 games up on Commonwealth Catholic in the NE Division, should do no worst then earn one of the two wildcard spots and are likely going to win their division for the second consecutive year. Commonwealth Catholic is certainly not out of the race though, as the Knights host the Bells for two games beginning tomorrow and a sweep would leave the two schools tied for first place. Garden State and St. Patrick's are long shots for the division at 3 games back but are both still certainly in the wildcard mix.

The Academia Alliance is even tighter with George Fox holding a 1 game lead on Henry Hudson, with Ellery two games back and Brunswick 3 games off the pace. Even Dickson and Pierpont, at 4 games out, are not officially eliminated yet.

George Fox has 2 games left with both Ellery and Pierpont while Henry Hudson appears to be in the best shape, despite trailing the Reds by a game. The Explorers finish their season off with games against the bottom two teams in the division - Sadler and Grafton.

With two wildcard spots available all of the above mentioned teams still have a shot to play in the AIAA World Series.

STAT WATCHING

Vic Crawford hit 2 homers in 5 games last week giving the Commonwealth Catholic outfielder 30 on the season. Crawford needs two homers in his final four games to tie Calvin Dybas' 1913 single-season AIAA record of 32 round trippers. With 66 for his career, Crawford is also just 2 shy of Dybas' career homerun record as well. Crawford has already shattered the AIAA career and single season RBI marks and has 183 total including 81 on the season. The old record was 68 and it has also be topped by two other players this season. Will Bryant of Central Ohio has 72 rbi's so far while Whitney College's Bobby Many has 71.

The single season batting average of .531 set by Elmer Lambert of George Fox College in 1915 will not be broken but Central Ohio freshman 2B Freddie Jones (.506,5,38) is bidding to become just the second player in AIAA history to hit .500 or better in a season.

Here are the updated top 10 rankings:

Code:
TOP TEN RANKINGS		REC	LW
1- Rainier College Majestics 	37-9	 1
2- Liberty College Bells	30-16    2
3- Opelika State Wildcats	30-16    3
4- Central Ohio Aviators        30-16    6
5- Chicago Poly Panthers        30-16    5
6- Commonwealth Cath. Knights   28-18    7
7- Lubbock State Hawks		31-15    9
8- George Fox Reds	        28-18    4
9 -Henry Hudson Explorers       27-19    8
10-Commonwealth Cath. Knights   28-18   NR

DROPPING OUT OF TOP 10
Georgia Baptist Gators	26-20    10
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Old 01-07-2020, 03:24 PM   #40
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1929 AIAA COLLEGE BASEBALL UPDATE
JUNE 3, 1929
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES FIELD SET

There is still the matter of a division title to settle but the 8 schools that will advance to the AIAA College World Championship Series have been decided. While both Commonwealth Catholic and Liberty College are in, the two schools will need to play a playoff tiebreaker today in order to determine their division champion. The loser of the tie-breaker game will get one of the two wildcard spots in the Northeast Conference.

The Knights forced the tie in the NE Division by winning three of their last four including a pair at Liberty College, while the Bells dropped 3 in a row but recovered with a win yesterday to force the tiebreaker as both teams finish the regular season at 31-19.

The other big story at Commonwealth Catholic also gets an extra day to be written. Outfielder Vic Crawford, who already has set a single season and career rbi mark with his 85 runs driven in this year, will get one more chance to tie or perhaps break the AIAA single season and career homerun marks as the tie-breaker counts as a regular season game. Right now Crawford has 31 homers this season and 67 for his three year career. Both of those totals are 1 shy of the marks established by Calvin Dybas (1912-15).

The other two playoff participants on the Northeast side will come from the Academia Alliance as the George Fox Reds won the division with a 31-19 record, one game better than the Henry Hudson Explorers, who will claim the second wildcard.

In the Continental Conference the three division winners are the Chicago Poly Panthers, Opelika State Wildcats and Rainier College Majestics. Defending AIAA champion Lubbock State rounds out the field as the Hawks claim the wildcard with 34 victories, more than any other team except their division leading Majestics.

The other big individual pursuit we had been following was Freddie Jones' flirtation with a .500 batting average. The Central Ohio freshman was hitting over .500 for almost the entire month of May before finishing the season going 5-for-23 to drop below .500. Jones finished with a .486 average, which is still the second highest single season total ever recorded. The first was a .531 campaign by Elmer Lambert in 1915. Lambert, from George Fox, would go on to play several seasons with the Philadelphia Keystones and is still in the Keystones system.

Finally, this past weekend marks the end of Tom Barrell's college career. The senior will surely enter the draft this season but there is question whether or not he has lost the stranglehold he seemed to have entering the season on being the number one pick. Barrell did help Georgia Baptist to a pair of playoff appearances but the school is still looking for it's first National title. Barrell can't be faulted for that, as he leaves the college game having won more games (34) and pitched more innings than any other college player. Barrell also hit .263 with 26 homers and was a two-way player this season (.335,11,50) leading the Gators in pitching wins and strikeouts as well as finishing second on the team in batting average and first in homers and rbi's. Could his future in FABL be as a hitter instead of a pitcher? Only time will tell but for now the focus turns from Barrell and towards the AIAA College World Series.
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