HOB4 Our Story Begins

[Tiger Fan]

HOB stands for History of Baseball which is what I called the first historical replay league I ran with OOTP2.

[Le Grande Orange]

Not sure about the HTML codes; I always use the standard (code) and (/code) with no extra variables to post in the fixed width Courier font. I find that default size is the easiest to read as well.

All I can suggest is that you should be able to copy your standings (or any other info for that matter) from an HTML page and paste it into Notepad. From there it's a relatively simple matter of addings spaces where necessary to line everything up. Using search & replace helps speed this up.

After that it's a simple matter of copying the text from the Notepad file and pasting it into your post, and adding the (code) and (/code) commands at the right place.

I find using Notepad this way is quite helpful, since you can see before you insert the text into your post whether it lines up or not. I did my 1945 NL schedule study post this way; I copied the numbers right out of Excel and pasted them into Notepad and then lined up as necessary. Didn't take long at all.

[Tiger Fan]

As requested the 1940 standings, awards and leader boards.


AMERICAN LEAGUE
Team W L PCT GB
New York (A) 93 61 .604 -
Washington 83 71 .539 10.0
Chicago (A) 81 73 .526 12.0
Boston (A) 79 75 .513 14.0
Cleveland 79 75 .513 14.0
Detroit 75 79 .487 18.0
St. Louis (A) 70 84 .455 23.0
Philadelphia (A) 56 98 .364 37.0

MVP - Jeff Heath Cleveland
Cy Young - Don Brennan NY Yankees
Rookie of the Year - Tiny Bonham Chicago White Sox

TOP 3 AVERAGE
1- D Hurst Bos .345
2- C Keller NYY .344
3- J Ripple Cle .333

TOP 3 HR
1- J Heath Cle 48
2- R Decarneillon Wsh 39
3- J Gordon NYY 38

TOP 3 RBI
1- J Heath Cle 126
2- R Decarneillon Wsh 109
3- D Cooke Bos 98

TOP 3 WINS
1- D Brennan NYY 25
2- S Vicars Cle 22
3- E Fulmer Cle 20

TOP 3 K's
1- D Brennan NYY 326
2- E Fulmer Cle 294
3- V Mungo Bos 286


NATIONAL LEAGUE
Team W L PCT GB
Pittsburgh 92 62 .597 -
Cincinnati 87 67 .565 5.0
New YorkN 86 68 .558 6.0
St. Louis (N) 84 70 .545 8.0
Boston (N) 72 82 .468 20.0
Chicago (N) 72 82 .468 20.0
Philadelphia 68 86 .442 24.0
Brooklyn 55 99 .357 37.0

MVP - Andy Webbe Cincinnati
Cy Young - Dizzy Dean St Louis
Rookie of the Year - Johnny Gorsica Chicago Cubs


TOP 3 AVERAGE
1- J Medwick Pit .345
2- C Klein Bsn .341
3- N Sickafus Cin .328

TOP 3 HR
1- A Webbe Cin 60
2- J Foxx Cin 52
3- J Mize StL 44

TOP 3 RBI
1- A Webbe Cin 156
2- J Foxx Cin 130
2- J Mize StL 130

TOP 3 WINS
1- D Dean StL 23
2- S Rowe Cin 22
2- B Swift Pit 22
2- C Blanton Pit 22

TOP 3 K's
1- M Pearson NYG 293
2- J Mooney NYG 290
3- B Weiland ChN 257


PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE
Team W L PCT GB
Hollywood 86 69 .555 -
Oakland 85 70 .548 1.0
San Diego 83 71 .539 2.5
Vancouver 82 72 .532 3.5
Seattle 73 81 .474 12.5
Portland 71 83 .461 14.5
Los Angeles 70 84 .455 15.5
San Francisco 67 87 .435 18.5

MVP - Don Barrett Los Angeles
Cy Young - Jerome Sigurdson Los Angeles
Rookie of the Year - Joe Devereaux San Francisco

TOP 3 AVERAGE
1- Don Barrett Los Angeles .380
2- Ted Williams San Diego .370
2- Thomas Fugazzi San Diego .333

TOP 3 HR
1- Don Barrett Los Angeles 57
2- Ed June Vancouver 45
3- Tyler Sick Oakland 43

TOP 3 RBI
1- Don Barrett Los Angeles 160
2- Thomas Fugazzi San Diego 136
3- Pat Wildblood Portland 121

TOP 3 WINS
1- Jerome Sigurdson Los Angeles 27
2- Brian Sloby Oakland 25
2- Franklin Fermin Seattle 25

TOP 3 K's
1- Brian Sloby Oakland 555
2- Elmer Scully Hollywood 497
3- Brett Snow Portland 394


MOUNTAIN LEAGUE
Team W L PCT GB
Phoenix 98 56 .636 -
Salt Lake City 86 68 .558 12.0
Kansas City 81 73 .526 17.0
Denver 78 76 .506 20.0
Houston 73 81 .474 25.0
Alburquerque 70 84 .455 28.0
Dallas 67 87 .435 31.0
New Orleans 63 91 .409 35.0

MVP - Vince Sutera Phoenix
Cy Young - Josh Setwright Phoenix
Rookie of the Year - Dennis Lei New Orleans

TOP 3 AVERAGE
1- Vince Sutera Phoenix .349
2- Henry Gonatas Houston .343
3- Daniel Sible Albuquerque .324

TOP 3 HR
1- Vince Sutera Phoenix 60
2- Mitchell Senft Phoenix 57
3- Al Snicker Kansas City 55

TOP 3 RBI
1- Vince Sutera Phoenix 134
2- Lewis Cremins Salt Lake 132
3- Mitchell Senft Phoenix 120

TOP 3 WINS
1- Josh Setwright Phoenix 29
2- Ira Hutchinson Denver 22
3- Andy Bonner Denver 20

TOP 3 K's
1- Chris O'Hanlon New Orleans 384
1- Ira Hutchinson Denver 384
3- Jamie Shellington Phoenix 350





That was not a misprint in PCL strikeouts column. Brian Selby of Oakland actually fanned 555 batters and Elmer Scully of Hollywood nearly reached the 500 mark. Before I get to the World Series I will provide a bio on each.


EDIT - I have tried everything I can think of but can still not get the standings to line up. If someone gets a chance could they post the exact steps I should take.

[NYJuggalo45]

great read, really in depth....like a previous poster, only problem sometimes with fictional players is remembering what team they are on, but your doing a great job going in depth so it's easier to remember

your best bet, type up everything you plan to post (ie standings/stats) in Notepad...then do

(CODE)
cut/paste from notepad
(/CODE)
but use [ ] instead of ( )

for some reason, when you type it in notepad and used CODE it lines up but not in WORD...thats how I do my HOF ballots

[Le Grande Orange]

Thanks Tiger Fan!

Like NY said, use Notepad to line everything up with spaces. Never had a problem doing it that way myself. Just make sure you line up with spaces and not tabs though.

[Tiger Fan]

I tried that but it still does not work. I never had a problem before but not that I have Windows XP my txt program seems to be quite different. Everything looks fine until I paste it in this forum.

[Tiger Fan]

1940 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : THE FIRST MEETING
For the first time a major league baseball club is set to face a team from the Western Alliance as the New YorkYankees and Phoenix Roadrunners meet to determine the 1940 World Champion. Experts from the east feel the Yankees should blow through the so-called weaker league club, but this Phoenix squad is no ordinary WBA team. The Roadrunners have loads of offense and 2 outstanding pitchers. Despite a healthy advantage in most stat categories, Phoenix is still a decided underdog. The big thing to keep in mind according to one
veteran New York scribe is that the Roadrunners offensive numbers were piled up against inferior opponentswhile the Yankees were playing against the best players in the world.

Both clubs have dominated their respective leagues of late. The Yankees have won 5 straight AL pennants while the Roadrunners have been the class of the Mountain League for each of the past 5 years.

GAME 1 - The series will open in Roadrunner Park, a bandbox of a stadium (capacity 31,750) that is a power
hitter's paradise. Vito Tamulis, fresh off two great starts in the Major League series against Pittsburgh, will get the start for New York against Phoenix's number 2 man Jamie Shellington.

Before we get started here is a brief look at the lineups for each club. First up the visitors

1- Harland Clift 3B - Clift signed with the Yankees this past offseason after spending 6 years with the Browns.
He made the all-star team in 1939 but had a dissappointing season in New York, batting just .222. However,
Clift had a strong MLB series against Pittsburgh.

2- Bill Dickey C - Been the Yankees regular catcher for over a decade, batted .268 with 11 homers this year.

3- Joe Dimaggio LF - Made his 4th straight allstar team this year. The 25 year old batted .308 with 32 homers
and 95 rbi's this season. AL MVP in 1939 and rookie of the year in 1936.

4- Michael Opie CF - the 33 year old was acquired from Albuquerque at the trade deadline. Hit .282 with 31
homers and 82 rbi's.

5- Charlie Keller RF - 24 year old had a monster MLB series, driving in 8 runs in the 4 games. second in the AL
with a .344 average this season after being named AL rookie of the year in 1939.

6- Joe Gordon 2B - the 1938 AL rookie of the year batted .269 with 38 homers and 98 rbi's, all 3 being career
highs for the 25 year old.

7- Lou Gehrig 1B - at 37 winding down a hall of fame career. Gehrig belted 25 homers this season to raise his
career total to 540, 3rd best alltime.

8- Travis Jackson SS - Like Gehrig, the 36 year old Jackson is winding down a solid career. He joined the Yanks
prior to 1939 as a free agent and made his first World Series appearance that year. Hit .269 and provided
steady defense up the middle.

9 - Vito Tamulis P - Discussed in detail during the series with Pittsburgh write-up. Tamulis went 15-16 in his first
chance to pitch regularly with the Yanks. He was outstanding in the series against the Pirates.

Now the hometown Roadrunners.

1- Clifton Bergman 2B - Just 21, the Castro Valley, California native is in his third pro season. He was given the
starting nod when Ted Shelpman went down with a career ending injury in August. Shelpman was a 10 time
gold glove winner. Bergman hit .281 in 57 games this season.

2- Joe Brandon 1B - The 25 year old Pomona, California native hit .261 with 21 homers and 65 rbi's in his first
season as a starter. The 3rd round pick in 1935 spent most of the last 5 seasons in AAA but got the starting
nod this year because of the retirement of Dave Saburomura.

3 - Vince Sutera LF - All he did was hit 60 homers and win the triple crown this season. The 29 year old from
Riverside, California has hit 189 homers in the past 3 years. Did not become an everyday player until
1938. Was a late second round draft pick. Won his second career Mountain League MVP this year.

4- Joe Selleck RF - 29 year old from Tuxedo, New York had a career high 51 homers and batted .351. Another
of the late picks (third round) to pan out big time for the Roadrunners.

5- John Snell C - 31 year old from Rochester, New York blasted 36 homers to make his second allstar team. 2nd
round pick in 1929 was named Mountain League MVP in 1937.

6- Mitchell Senft CF - 25 year old from Briggs, Texas became an everyday player last year and hit 37 homers. He
upped his total to 57 this year and drove in 120 runs. Was taken with the final pick of the first round in the 1934
draft.

7- James Cain 3B - 31 year old from Knoxville, Tenn, has been the Roadrunners everyday third baseman for nearly
a decade. Missed 7 weeks this season with a knee injury, but still managed 23 homers and a .273 average. He
was another of the third round picks to pan out for the Roadrunners.

8 - John Vandermar SS - 26 year old from Shelbiana, Kentucky. A second round pick in 1933, Vandermar became
the Roadrunners everyday shortstop 2 years later. Hit .294 with 24 homers this season.

9 - Jamie Shellington P - 28 year old from Buffalo was a 5th round pick in the 1932 draft. Slow to develop but had a
breakout year in 1937, going 20-8 and making his first of 3 allstar teams. This season, Shellington was 24-9
with a very good (for the park he pitches in) 3.78 era.


On to the game 1 recap.

Michael Opie's 2 run homer in the 6th snapped a 1-1 tie and propelled the Yankees to a 3-1 victory in the series opener. Vito Tamulis was again outstanding, allowing 1 run on just 6 hits. He also fanned a career high 12 Phoenix batters. Bill Dickey had a 4 hit game for the Yanks and Joe Dimaggio chipped in 3 of his own. Shellington gave up 12 hits in 8
innings of work to take the loss.

GAME 2 -
Pitching matchup
Clark Shunkwiler NYY - The 32 year old from Amsterdam, NY spent the first 11 years of his career in the Mountain League, pitching for Houston and Albuquerque. Aquired at the trade deadline, he was 14-18 on the year. Allowed just 1 run and 6 hits in 18 innings of work against Pittsburgh in the first round.

Josh Setwright Pho - The 30 year old Brooklyn native has 5 Mountain League pitcher of the year awards to his name. He
is returning from a shoulder injury that forced him to miss a start in the Western Series. Possibly the greatest pitcher in WBA history - has a 216-89 career record.

One new player is in the starting lineup for Phoenix

Frederick Wheare RF - 24 year old from Bridgeview, Illinois, Wheare is replacing Joe Selleck who is bothered by a slight
knee strain. First round pick of the Roadrunners in 1935, Wheare has settled into the 4th outfielder role but the Roadrunners
won't be able to keep him there much longer. He hit 42 homers in 310 at bats this season.

Now for the game recap:
Michael Opie homered for the second straight game to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead thru 5 but the Phoenix bats erupted for 7
unanswered runs. Wheare homered twice and drove in 5 runs. Catcher John Snell also hit a pair of homers and Vince Sutera added one of his own. Setwright went the distance allowing 8 hits in earning the win. Shunkwiler was chased in the 8th
after giving up the 5 homers.

GAME 3 - An extra days rest with the long train ride to New York meant that the game 1 starters would be ready to take
the hill again. Opie homered for the 3rd straight game and Joe Gordon had a pair of rbi's in a 6-3 Yankee win before a sellout
crowd of 55,564. Awed at the size of the capacity Yankee Stadium crowd , young Clifton Bergman of the Roadrunners said
he doubted there were this many people in all of Phoenix. Tamulis allowed just 4 hits to run his postseason record to 4-0.

GAME 4 Mitchell Senft and John Snell homered to lead the Roadrunners past the Yankees 8-1 as game 2 starter Clark
Skunkwiler got shelled for the second straight time. Charlie Keller had 3 of the Yankees 8 hits off of winning pitcher Josh Setwright.

GAME 5 Tied at 2 games apiece the final contest at Yankee Stadium will have a new pitching matchup.

Bob Muncrief Pho - The 24 year old from Madill, Oklahoma was dealt by Brooklyn to the Roadrunners at the trade deadline.
It was the third trade of his young career as he also spent time in the Cardinals and Pirates farm system. Muncrief made his big league debut in September of 1938 and spent all of last season with the Dodgers. He was 16-10 a year ago and followed it up with a 13-12 season this year. He won both of his starts against Hollywood in the Western Series.

Dick Coffman NYY - 33 year old from Veto Alabama was 11-2 with the Yankees this season. He will be making his first appearance in the postseason this year. He started his career with Cleveland but signed with New York 3 years ago.

Coffman spun a 6-hit gem and Michael Opie tripled in two runs as the Yankees took the series lead with a 3-0 victory. Muncrief pitched a 4-hitter but had the misfortune of giving up 3 of those hits in one inning.

GAME 6 Even if they went down fighting today, the Phoenix Roadrunners can say they gave it a great shot. Few, if any, expected them to win one, let alone two games against the great New York Yankees. The Roadrunners refused to give up and, with their ace Josh Setwright on the hill against Vito Tamulis, beat the Yankees 4-1. Mitchell Senft's 5th homerun of the postseason provided the game winning run. James Cain also homered for Phoenix.

GAME 7 Clark Shunkwiler had been beaten up badly in two previous starts against Phoenix but the Yankees chose him to start the deciding game. His opponent would be Phoenix's number 2 man, Jamie Shellington. A Joe Gordon homer helped the Yankees build a 4-0 lead after 3 innings but the Roadrunners would answer with a pair of runs on John Snell's 8th homer of the postseason. Charlie Keller's sac fly in 7th gave New York a 5-3 lead and before you knew it the Roadrunners were down to their final 3 outs trailing by a pair.

Shunkwiler walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth inning. Pinch-hitter Dick Sellar sacrificed both runners into scoring position and a long fly ball would cut the defeciet to 1 run but the Roadrunners were down to their final out. New York went to the pen and summoned 15 year veteran Guy Cantrell to get the final out. His opponent -none other than Mountain League triple crown winner Vince Sutera. Cantrell fired the 3-1 pitch and Sutera ripped a 1 hopper up the middle.....Joe Gordon made a diving stab and the next sound was horsehide hitting leather. Gordon righted himself and had plenty of time to get the slow moving Sutera at first. The game was over. 5-3 Yankees....
and New York was now World Champion.

Despite being on the losing side, Phoenix catcher John Snell was named playoff MVP. Snell had 8 homers and 14 rbi's while batting .360. New York's Vito Tamulis, who was 4-1 with a 1.61 era also received consideration.

[NYJuggalo45]

it might be the XP then, since that seems like the only difference in what I posted and what you're doing. Even with notepad it doesn't work?

[Plutoro]

damn those yankees

[Tiger Fan]

THE KING OF K - BRIAN SLOBY
No pitcher has ever been more dominant than Oakland Oaks righthander Brian Sloby was for much of the 1940 campaign. Sloby fanned an amazing 555 PCL hitters this past season. More than half of the 1021 batters he retired during the year were k'd. So what happened? Why did Sloby, a decent but not overpowering pitcher all of sudden more than double his previous best for strikeouts in a season?

I think a part of it was the different league settings as the Western players were merged into the major league baseball league file. 13 of the 15 highest single season strikeout totals in league history (1922 on) were record by PCL pitchers this year. However, league settings are not the only explaination as a pitcher by the name of Ira Hutchinson fanned 384. Hutchinson, who bolted to the PCL from the New York Yankees, had never fanned more than 217 prior to this season. If league settings can not be blamed for the increase than it has to be due to the lack of offensive talent in the Pacific Coast League. Rival Mountain League numbers were far more in line with the major league totals as well which lends more ammunition to the arguement the PCL hitters are just collectively far inferior to the other 3 leagues. Right from its beginning in 1922, the Mountain League had always been known as the hitters league and the PCL was a pitcher's paradise.

Here is a look at the careers of Brian Sloby and Seattle hurler Elmer Scully who finished with 497 strikeouts.

BRIAN SLOBY
Born in West Leyden, NY in 1906, Sloby was drafted 3rd overall by the Oakland Oaks in the 1926 WBA draft. He went 12-9 at AAA Winnipeg that season and made the major leagues for good the following year. He has made 3 allstar teams so far in his career and has won 20 games on four occassions. At the age of 34 he had his best year this past season, going 25-11 with a 3.66 era. Prior to the 555 strikeout season, he had never fanned more than 219 hitters in a year. Sloby pitched 1 inning of the 1940 allstar game but failed to strikeout a major league hitter. He was a member of the Oaks Western Series winning club in 1929, going 1-0 in his two postseason starts.

ELMER SCULLY
On August 16, 1940 Hollywood pitcher Elmer Scully fanned a pro baseball record 23 hitters in a single game against Seattle. Scully would finish his stellar season with 497 strikeouts, a 19-16 record with a 3.33 era. Born in Kingston, NY in 1908, the righthander had an explosive fastball and a knee-buckling curve. Had his family not moved to California when he was a young child, Scully would like have started his career with the New York Giants. As it was, a Giant scout tried to sign Elmer in 1927 but the then 18 year old Scully wanted to stay closer to home. He had been selected by the Hollywood Stars in the third round of the Western Alliance draft so the PCL was where he would start his career.

Scully became one of the youngest players in PCL history when he made his first start for Hollywood at the age of 18. He was clearly overmatched at that young age, going 0-2 with a 9.53 era in 3 starts following which he was farmed out to AA Little Rock. He would spend the next 3 seasons in the Tex-Ark League and then would bouce back and forth between Hollywood and AAA Las Vegas for the next two seasons.

In 1932 he was traded to Vancouver and would make his first allstar team 2 years later, going 17-14 for the Mounties. However, Scully longed to return to Southern California, and was granted his wish in 1935 when the Mounties shipped him back to the Stars. He has been a fixture in the Hollywood rotation ever since, going 16-19, 18-10, 18-17 and 17-16 over the from 1936 to 1939. He also tossed his first career no-hitter in 1938 and the opponent was his old club, Vancouver.

He won a Western Series with Hollywood in 1937, winning his only start of the series despite allowing 7 earned runs. In the 1940 Western Series against Phoenix, Scully was 0-2 in 3 starts with a 5.79 era. Scully will turn 32 prior to next season and will likely find himself in a new uniform as he is now a free agent. It will be interesting to see if he happens to switch leagues what will happen to his strikeout numbers in 1941.

Below, is Oakland Oaks pitcher Brian Sloby.

[Tiger Fan]

1941 offseason - PLENTY OF FREE AGENT TALENT AVAILABLE
This is the year to be shopping the free agent market for a pitcher as there are a number of superstars available. Need a great starting pitcher, how about NL Cy Young winner Dizzy Dean, Yankee ace Don Brennan, Phoenix's Josh Setwright or Jerome Sigurdson of Los Angeles.. Phoenix also stands to lose centerfielder Mitchell Senft, who hit 57 homers a year ago.

Here is a position-by-position look at the top free agents

CATCHER - Very weak. Ex-Giant backup Gilly Campbell who hit .289 in 72 games is the only player with any skill at all.

FIRST BASE - Phil Caverretta could be had cheap. He never got a fair shake with the Cubs and at 24 still has the time to mature into a top hitter. 33 year old Gary Tombaugh, who hit 25 homers a year ago for Vancouver may draw some interest.

SECOND BASE - Al Wright, who hit .312 in spot duty with the Red Sox and Braves a year ago, is the only player worth looking at here.

THIRD BASE - Some nice talent available at the hot corner. Ex- Padres infielder Thomas Fugazzi (.333,37,136) and 35 year old Johnny Hopp (.310,31,96) will be the main attractions. Hopp filed for free agency after 16 seasons with the Cleveland Indians. For those on a budget perhaps Jose Uprichard (.304,10,40), who split last year between Dallas and the Phillies, could fit the bill.

SHORTSTOP - Journeyman Billy Myers (.255,1,34) is all that is available at SS.

LEFTFIELD - ex-Vancouver Mountie Sean Jolivet (.280,39,92) is rumoured to want to try his hand in either the American or National League and you can bet a few teams will be after him. Hollywood's George Dupee (.255,29,99), ex-Houston Buffalo Joe Greene (.285,22,75), former Cardinal Joe Vosmik (.268,14,67) and aging veteran John Stone (.267,11,54) are also available.

CENTERFIELD - Mitchell Senft, the ex-Phoenix slugger will be the most sought after position player The Texas native has hinted he wants to play in his home state but the smart money says either LA or one of the rich eastern teams will get the player who belted 57 homers and drove in 120 runs last year at the age of 25. The consolation prize in CF bidding will be former Kansas City slugger Matt Tierney (.299,27,71). Tierney has had a real drop off the last two years after winning a couple of batting titles early in his career.

RIGHTFIELD - A pair of 31 year olds in ex-Rainier Russell Veronese (.210,30,70) or Darren Attenborough (.304,20,60) who split last season between Portland and Detroit are the best of a weak group.

PITCHING - A total of 6 20-game winners from last season are available with Dizzy Dean (23-12, 2.12) likely ending up the richest at the end of the signing period.

BIG SPENDERS - The New York Yankees, Giants, Brooklyn, Cincinnati, the Cardinals and Detroit all appear ready to do some big spending. Out West, only Los Angeles and San Francisco appear to have the revenue to fork much out for free agents.

BIG LOSER - Definately the Phoenix Roadrunners who are losing their number one pitchers plus a 57-homer man in centerfield. Most of the Western clubs will lack the funds to be able to compete in free agent bidding with the eastern teams.

[Tiger Fan]

BREAKING NEWS - FREE AGENT UPDATE
Early in the signing period the Reds are making the most noise - having inked 3B Johnny Hodapp and making a serious run at slugger Mitchell Senft. Imagine what they will be like with Andy Webbe, Jimmie Foxx and Senft in the middle of the order.

Meanwhile Dizzy Dean has told the Yankees 'I simply do not like your organzation." The Yanks have turned their attention on ex-Roadrunner Josh Setwright while his former teammate Jerome Sigurdson is close to signing with Houston. Former Yankee Don Brennan is leaning towards signing with the Phillies.

[Tiger Fan]

TRIBE GET SLUGGER SENFT, DIZZY'S A BUC
Midway through the free agent signing period the two biggest names have agreed to monster deals. Slugger Mitchell Senft will see if he can hit the longball in the American League. The 25 year old signed a 7 year/ 11 million dollar deal with the Cleveland Indians. He hit 57 homers for the Phoenix Roadrunners a year ago. The Cincinnati Reds had been the frontrunner in the Senft sweepstakes before Cleveland came in with a late offer.

Meanwhile, NL Cy Young Award winner Dizzy Dean has signed with Pittsburgh. The 31 year old Dean, who has won 3 of the last 4 NL Cy Young's said Pittsburgh was his destination of choice all along. Dean will get $10.8 million for 4 years. To fill the void Dean left in their rotation, the Cardinals spent $7 million on Lon Warneke, who won 14 games for Detroit a year ago.

Other pitchers to change locations included ex-Yankee Don Brennan going to the Phillies, Gene Schott leaving Vancouver to resign with his original club, Cincinnati and Mountain League Cy Young winner Josh Setwright going from Phoenix to the Boston Braves. The Giants lured 20 game winner Bob Simpkinson from San Diego

A couple of players did stay in the west. Strikeout master Elmer Scully went from Hollywood to Vancouver and PCL Cy Young winner Jerome Sigurdson left LA for Houston.

The free-spending Yankees shelled out $7.5 million for firstbaseman Arthur Goodliff. The 35 year old, who hit .317 with Dallas and the White Sox last year will likely replace the failing Lou Gehrig in the Yankee infield.

Most of the big names are now gone. 25 game winner Franklin Fermin, formerly of Seattle and ex-Yankee hurler Vito Tamulis are the only marquee pitchers remaining.

There were a number of trades made over the past two weeks with the most notable being the Giants sending Mel Ott to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for OF Babe Phelps and minor league pitcher Woody Rich. Ott, 32, missed the last two months of the season with an elbow injury and batted just .264. He has not lived up to his real life reputation and likely never will. Phelps was just signed by the Red Sox after spending the last half dozen years as Cleveland's 4th outfielder. Rich has just 1 inning of major league experience and likely will not get much more.

The Browns dealt Tommy Henrich, 28, to the Cubs in exchange for 1B Dolph Camilli and minor league pitcher Steve Larkin. Henrich hit 25 homers a year ago while the 33 year old Camilli batted .311 for the Cubs.

[Tiger Fan]

BROOKLYN SHELLS OUT $13 MILLION FOR TIERNEY
The Brooklyn Dodgers signed OF Matt Tierney to a 5 year deal worth $13.5 million per season. Tierney, 31, had won 7 batting titles while with Kansas City of the Mountain League but the Camp Hill, Alabama native batted just .299 a year ago and had been bothered by a knee injury.


Next the first pick of the Amateur draft which also belongs to Brooklyn. Here are the top 5 prospects available:

1- Stan Musial 1B-OF
2- Mackenzie 'Golden' *Dolnick SS
3- Johnny Schmitz P
4- Hank Sauer LF
5- Howie Pollet P

[Tiger Fan]

1941 Draft Results

Round 1:

Brooklyn pick: P Howie Pollet
Philadelphia (A) pick: RF Stan Musial
New Orleans pick: LF Hank Sauer
San Francisco pick: P Tex Hughson
Dallas pick: SS Mackenzie *Dolnick
Philadelphia (N) pick: P Dick Mulligan
St. Louis (A) pick: P Dave Koslo
Alburquerque pick: P Paul Erickson
Los Angeles pick: P Russ Meers
Portland pick: RF Hoot Evers
Chicago (N) pick: P Johnny Beazley
Boston (N) pick: P Johnny Schmitz
Seattle pick: P Roger Wolff
Houston pick: P Fred Caligiuri
Detroit pick: P Harry Feldman
Denver pick: 1B Johnny Lindell
Cleveland pick: P Bob Lemon
Boston (A) pick: 2B Jerry Priddy
Kansas City pick: 3B Sid Gordon
Chicago (A) pick: P Maury *Baum
Vancouver pick: P Bill Brandt
San Diego pick: 2B John Dudra
Washington pick: P Red Embree
St. Louis (N) pick: CF Tommy Tatum
Oakland pick: P Gene Lambert
Hollywood pick: 1B Vyron *Nights
New York (N) pick: P Rube Fischer
Salt Lake City pick: 3B Billy Cox
Cincinnati pick: 3B Whitey Kurowski
Pittsburgh pick: P Walt Lanfranconi
New York (A) pick: P Steve Peek
Phoenix pick: LF Culley Rikard


Round 2 :

Brooklyn pick: P James *McDonald
Philadelphia (A) pick: CF Woody *Woodworth
New Orleans pick: SS Vern Stephens
San Francisco pick: RF Dick Wakefield
Dallas pick: CF Barney Olsen
Philadelphia (N) pick: RF Aaron *Wolfson
St. Louis (A) pick: LF Ned Harris
Alburquerque pick: P Emil Kush
Los Angeles pick: P Dick Fowler
Portland pick: C Ray Lamanno
Chicago (N) pick: P Ambrose Palica
Boston (N) pick: P Tom Ferrick
Seattle pick: 2B Erv Dusak
Houston pick: SS Phil Rizzuto
Detroit pick: RF Bud Stewart
Denver pick: P Ed Albosta
Cleveland pick: P Tommy Hughes
Boston (A) pick: P Virgil Trucks
Kansas City pick: LF Bob Patrick
Chicago (A) pick: LF Buck Frierson
Vancouver pick: 1B Dave Philley
San Diego pick: P Steve Gromek
Washington pick: P Wimpy Quinn
St. Louis (N) pick: 2B Pete Suder
Oakland pick: 3B Steve *McCarthy
Hollywood pick: P Alex Palica
New York (N) pick: P Hugh East
Salt Lake City pick: 1B Eddie Waitkus
Cincinnati pick: RF Hank Edwards
Pittsburgh pick: 2B Danny Murtaugh
New York (A) pick: RF Felix Mackiewicz
Phoenix pick: P Les Mueller


Round 3 :

Brooklyn pick: P Ronnie Miller
Philadelphia (A) pick: SS Moe Franklin
New Orleans pick: 2B Lou Stringer
San Francisco pick: P Hal White
Dallas pick: 1B Chuck Stevens
Philadelphia (N) pick: C Bob Scheffing
St. Louis (A) pick: 1B Jake Jones
Alburquerque pick: P Dale Jones
Los Angeles pick: 2B Lee *Bierman
Portland pick: CF Paul Busby
Chicago (N) pick: P Bob Chipman
Boston (N) pick: C Jim Hegan
Seattle pick: P Hal Manders
Houston pick: P Lefty Wilkie
Detroit pick: 1B Paul Campbell
Denver pick: LF Lou Novikoff
Cleveland pick: C Billy Joe *Mays
Boston (A) pick: P Hersh Lyons
Kansas City pick: P Norm Branch
Chicago (A) pick: C John Leovich
Vancouver pick: RF Roberto Ortiz
San Diego pick: P Ace Adams
Washington pick: 2B Benny Zientara
St. Louis (N) pick: P Rankin Johnson
Oakland pick: C Vinnie Smith
Hollywood pick: 3B Hillis Layne
New York (N) pick: P Johnny Grodzicki
Salt Lake City pick: SS Sherwood Pierce *Davis
Cincinnati pick: 3B Don Richmond
Pittsburgh pick: P George Washburn
New York (A) pick: RF Jim Carlin
Phoenix pick: P Tex Shirley


Round 4 :

Brooklyn pick: P Rube Melton
Philadelphia (A) pick: P Hank Gornicki
New Orleans pick: 3B John Davis
San Francisco pick: P Lum Harris
Dallas pick: C Al Montgomery
Philadelphia (N) pick: RF Eddie Lukon
St. Louis (A) pick: 3B Chuck Aleno
Alburquerque pick: P Harry Dean
Los Angeles pick: P Bill Harman
Portland pick: P Dick Newsome
Chicago (N) pick: 1B Al Flair
Boston (N) pick: 1B Johnny Sturm
Seattle pick: P Charley Stanceu
Houston pick: SS Boyd Perry
Detroit pick: P Hooks Iott
Denver pick: 3B Skippy Roberge
Cleveland pick: 3B Stan Goletz
Boston (A) pick: P Eddie Carnett
Kansas City pick: RF Ray Poole
Chicago (A) pick: SS Eddie Shokes
Vancouver pick: SS Lennie Merullo
San Diego pick: LF Frank Jelincich
Washington pick: CF Chet Hajduk
St. Louis (N) pick: 2B Red Howell
Oakland pick: CF Buster Bray
Hollywood pick: C Rae Blaemire
New York (N) pick: 2B Jack Conway
Salt Lake City pick: RF Walter Sessi
Cincinnati pick: P Earl Cook
Pittsburgh pick: SS Alf Anderson
New York (A) pick: C George Pfister
Phoenix pick: P Oscar Judd


Round 5 :

Brooklyn pick: P Pat Tobin
Philadelphia (A) pick: P Jack Aragon
New Orleans pick: C Charlie Marshall
San Francisco pick: 1B Vern Freiburger

* OOTP board named fictional players.

[NYJuggalo45]

what was brooklyn thinking passing on musial! dopes

[Plutoro]

poor detroit didnt get any FA

[Tavarin]

pssh, Dolnick will make Brooklyn, Philadelphia(A), New Orleans and San Francisco pay for not taking him

[Tiger Fan]

1941 - THE FINAL YEAR OF NORMALCY
It was now quite obvious it would be just a matter of time before the United States was drawn into the war that was raging in Europe and increasing it's force in Asia. Little did we know then but this would be the final season for some time that had all of the game's greatest players on the ballfield rather than the battlefield.

The Yankees run of 5 straight American League Pennants would come to an end as both Cleveland and Boston finished ahead of the Pinstripers. Cleveland moved to the forefront thanks to a pair of prominent free agents: ex-Yankee Vito Tamulis (21-16, 3.11) and ex-Roadrunner Michael Senft (.268,41,122). Other key contributers to the Indians first pennant since the HOB4 began in 1922 were 1B Gary Tombaugh (.272,25,90), SS Woody English (.305,12,60) and outfielder Jeff Heath (.305,24,105).

Second place Boston has still never won an HOB4 pennant despite the best efforts of Van Mungo (19-7, 3.51) and Snipe Hansen (17-13, 4.05). The Boston offense was balanced, with 5 players surpassing 20 homers but the Red Sox lacked that one superstar who could deliver when it was needed most.

The Yankees had the one superstar in league batting champ and MVP Joe Dimaggio (.351,34,130) but even he was not enough to overcome the loss of pitchers Tamulis and Don Brennan to free agency. Veteran Spud Chandler won 23 games and Lefty Gomez went 17-17 but the staff lacked depth. 38 year old Lou Gehrig made what likely was a farewell tour, hitting 4 homers in 54 games to run his career total to 544, third alltime behind only Babe Ruth (633) and Jimmie Foxx (586).

The future looks bright for the 4th place Athletics who improved from last a year ago. The A's have a deep farm system led by Stan Musial (hit .350 in AAA) and pair of major league rookies: Catcher Nick Gray (.252,22,63) who was named rookie of the year) and shortstop Pee Wee Reese (.296,1,14). 30 year old Roy Weir (21-15, 4.02) was their only effective pitcher.

As usual the Browns finished in the middle of the pack. Second year man Bob Carpenter went 20-16 after losing 22 games a year ago. Most of the offense came from the outfield which consisted of former Cardinal Terry Moore and a pair of ex-Western Alliance stars in Gregory McRory and Russell Veronese

An early injury to Tiny Bonham that cost him his season derailed the White Sox hopes and they slid quickly to the second division. First baseman Kyle Werdman (.262,44,103) was the one bright spot, leading the American League in homers.

With the second lowest payroll in all of baseball and dwindling fan support the Tigers finished right about where they were expected to. Unless Detroit makes a splash in the free agent pool, Tiger fans could be in for some lean times as, aside from rookie Hal Newhouser (2-7) there is little young talent in the system. Second year outfielder Rob Sully (.313,40,133) now 28 after playing 7 seasons in the minors is a potential star.

After a team best 2nd place finish a year ago the Senators fell back to familiar territory in 1941 - Washington has finished 6th or worse in 13 of the past 19 seasons. Orville Armbrust (22-13, 2.98) had the best season of his 7 year career and ex-SF Seal Ronnie Decarneillon (.244,31,117) led the offense almost singlehandedly. Armbrust's performance earned him the Cy Young Award.





1941 AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS

Team.......... W L ...PCT GB
Cleveland.... 98 56 .636 -
Boston (A)... 88 66 .571 10.0
New York (A). 87 67 .565 11.0
Philadelphia. 75 79 .487 23.0
St. Louis (A) 71 83 .461 27.0
Chicago (A).. 68 86 .442 30.0
Detroit ..... 65 89 .422 33.0
Washington... 64 90 .416 34.0

MVP - Joe Dimagio NYY
Cy Young - Orville Armbrust Wash
Rookie of the Year - Nick Gray C Philadelphia

TOP 3 AVG
1- Joe Dimaggio NYY .351
2- Jack Burns Phi .344
3- Cecil Travis Chi .332

TOP 3 HR
1- Kyle Werdman Chi 44
2- Mitchell Senft Cle 41
3- Rob Sully Det 40

TOP 3 RBI
1- Joe Dimaggio NYY 130
2- Mitchell Senft Cle 122
3- Ronnie Decarneillon Wsh 117

TOP 3 WINS
1- Spud Chandler NYY 23-10
2- Orville Armbrust Wsh 22-13
3- Roy Weir Phi 21-15

TOP 3 K's
1- Vito Tamulis Cle 244
2- Van Mungo Bos 195
3- Elmer Lawn Bos 171



Next up the 1941 NL regular season recap.

[Tiger Fan]

FREE AGENT PICKUPS LEAD GIANTS TO NL CROWN
Bob Simpkinson had the type of season most pitchers only dream of. The New York Giants righthander won his first Cy Young Award and led his club to the top of the National League by going 29-8. The 32 year old Toledo native had spent the past decade with the San Diego Padres before signing with the Giants prior to this season.

A couple of other New York free agent pickups also played a big role in the Giants success - Thomas Fugazzi (.328,36,116) and George Dupee (.299,33,93) each bolted the Pacific Coast League for New York.

Defending champion Pittsburgh finished 10 games back despite substantially increasing payroll. Dizzy Dean and Ken Heintzelman each won 22 games for the Bucs but their offense was hurt with the departure of Joe Medwick to Oakland.

The Reds dropped one spot from a year ago to third place. Jimmie Foxx (.291,33,102) and Andy Webbe (.285,32,102) again provided the bulk of the offense with Roman Goodwyn (23-9, 3.73) still anchoring the rotation. Ex-Phoenix hurler Josh Setwright (22-11, 3.01) was the pride of the Braves squad while Brooklyn could boast the NL batting champ in former Kansas City outfielder Matt Tierney (.354,29,95). The Phillies got a 22-win season out of fomer Yankee Don Brennan while outfielders Tommy Henrich (.275,18,90) and Eric Steck (.258,25,75) led the 7th place Cubs. St Louis finished in the basement despite a monster season from Johnny Mize (.320,42,128) who won his third MVP in 4 seasons.

FROM THE SCRAP HEAP TO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The rookie of the year was Philadelphia 3B Leon Whitelogg (.347,13,66) and his story is one of the most interesting this season. Not your typical rookie of the year, Whitelogg was released by the Kansas City Blues in spring training after 7 minor league seasons. Perhaps it was the change of scenery that did him good but from the momemt Whitelogg put on a Phillies uniform everything went right for the 25 year old Campbellsville, Kentucky native. He tripled in his first major league at bat and was named Player of the Week a month into his rookie campaign.

Drafted in the 6th round of the 1935 draft, Whitelogg hit .383 for the Class A Durango Blazers that season. He would hit .323 for the AA Pierre Pilots the next season and appeared to be on the fast track to the major leagues. However, injuries and some real depth at 3B limited Whitelogg's playing time the next 2 seasons and he so sporadic action with AAA Las Vegas. The Blues had used a first round pick on a prospect by the name of
Bruce Socha and because he was a number 1 the Blues felt compelled to start him ahead of Whitelogg, even though Whitelogg was posting the better numbers. He did hit .413 in 1939 with the Gamblers but had just 143 at bats. That performance was good enough to earn him a starting spot at AAA the next season, after Socha was called up to Kansas City, and he responded with a .302 aveage.

Come 1941 Whitelogg felt ready to challenge Socha for the starting 3B job. However he wsa never given a chance. Faced with the 5th highest payroll in the league, the Blues cut a number of older veterans including Whitelogg. It would turn out to be the best thing that could happen to him in his career as he took the National League by storm.

By the way, Socha hit just ,263 for the Blues and lost his job to longtime minor leaguer Mike Shunk by midseason.



1941 NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS

Team........ .. W L PCT GB
New York (N).. 96 58 .623 -
Pittsburgh.... 86 68 .558 10.0
Cincinnati.... 81 73 .526 15.0
Boston (N).... 74 80 .481 22.0
Brooklyn...... 74 80 .481 22.0
Philadelphia.. 72 82 .468 24.0
Chicago (N)... 67 87 .435 29.0
St. Louis (N). 66 88 .42 9 30.0


MVP - Johnny Mize StL
Cy Young - Bob Simpkinson NYG
Rookie of the Year - Leon Whitelogg Philadelphia

TOP 3 AVG
1- Matt Tierney Bkn .354
2- Leon Whitelogg Phi .347
3- Thomas Fugazzi NYG .328

TOP 3 HR
1- Johnny Mize StL 42
2- Thomas Fuggazi NYG 36
3-Jimmie Foxx Cin 33

TOP 3 RBI
1- Johnny Mize StL 130
2- Thomas Fugazzi NYG 116
3- Bid Sifers Pit 106

TOP 3 WINS
1- Bob Simpkinson NYG 29-8
2- RW Pischetreider Bkn 23-13
3- Dean Pit/Setwright Bsn/Heintzelman Pit/Brennan Phi tied 22 wins

TOP 3 K's
1- Jim Mooney NYG 208
2- Bob Weiland ChC 207
3- Ken Heintzelman Pit 201



Next up the 1941 PCL regular season recap.