Trapped in the Basement: The Philadelphia Phillies (1942 - )

MARCH 1942
PART I

In 1883, Al Reach and John Rogers entered a drawing. Not just any old drawing, however. This drawing would determine the newest member of the National League. Reach was a former outfielder himself, and a key member of the 1871 Philadelphia Athletics, the first champions of any professional baseball league. By now he owned a sporting goods store, and with his good friend and lawyer (Rogers), he submitted an application for a new team in the fledgling National League. The two men emerged victorious, winning an expansion franchise for the upcoming season. However, as so often the case has been throughout Philadelphia’s illustrious sports history, the bad news came: the team would be made up of the remnants of the recently disbanded Worcester (MA) Brown Stockings, who had just finished 1882 with a record of 18-66 (.214). As if it couldn’t get any worse, it did. The expansion Quakers went 17-81 (.173), establishing a record for ineptitude that has only been surpassed by the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (20-134, .130)

After that dreadful first season, the team managed some success over the next decade under Harry Wright. Yes, the same Harry Wright that founded the first professional team in Cincinnati back in 1869. The Quakers/Phillies (they changed their name in 1890) notched 7 seasons of .500 ball or better, and 2 seasons with a .496 winning percentage, finishing in the first division for all but 1 season. When Wright stepped down, however, so did the Phillies.

The Phillies remained a borderline team from 1895 until 1914. The border they constantly flirted with was the border between first and second division, occasionally rising from the pack to take second place (1901 and 1913). However, 1915 was different. Led by Triple Crown winner Grover Cleveland Alexander (31-10, 1.22 ERA, 241 K) and Gavvy Cravath (new single-season record 24 HR), the Phillies clinched their first pennant in team history, falling to the Red Sox in the World Series (4-1). The good times, though, were to be short lived, as tight-fisted owner William Baker traded Alexander for two prospects and $55,000. There is was fortunately some logic behind trading a 30-year-old with 190 victories under his belt, as Alexander was going to serve in the Great War, and Baker was hedging his bets in case his prize commodity was unable to continue his career after his tour of duty. 3 seasons after winning the pennant, the team was back in the cellar.

And there they would stay, continuing through last season. With only 1 foray into 4th place, the team has been mired in losing for 23 consecutive years. When Baker died in 1930, his nephew Gerald Nugent became the owner. Nugent was looser with money than his uncle, but there just wasn’t enough to go around. The team moved from the Baker Bowl to Shibe Park in 1938, but the team seemed to fare even worse. Now, with 4 consecutive 100 loss seasons looming behind them, and a forecast calling for more losing ahead, the Phillies are in desperate need of salvation.

Spring Training 1942 arrived, with the nation freshly embroiled in conflict on two fronts. The Phillies were scheduled to headquarter in Miami Beach, only there was one problem: they had no money. Nugent went to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis asking for an advance in cash to get them through the spring. Landis, sensing that the league could crumble if the Phillies were cash-strapped for much longer, denied the request, and forced Nugent to sell the team to the league. Landis then began the search for a buyer who could afford to build a competitive team out of these perennial losers.

That’s were I come in. I’m Andrew Walsh. I heard about the Phillies’ financial problems and immediately offered my services and my check book to the Commissioner. I’ve been known for making some pretty risky investments, but there isn’t a better stock broker in the world today. However, my colleagues tell me that this may be my riskiest move to date. Only time will tell if that’s true, but one thing is for certain: I won’t be leaving Philadelphia without a World Series ring, no matter how long it takes.

MARCH 1942
PART II

Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is not a big man, but he carries with him a large personality. The man had been the commissioner of baseball since the office was created back in 1920, and had ruled for the last 22 years with an unflinching eye. He once fined the great Babe Ruth $5000, because “in this [commissioner’s] office, he’s just another ballplayer.” The other owners despised the man personally, but there was nothing they could do. Being a former federal judge, Landis insisted that his appointment be for life, and from the looks of things, the end may be coming soon. Landis was old (75), and looking extraordinarily frail for a man with such influence. As I waited in his office in downtown New York, I couldn’t help but pace back and forth. Meeting a man so influential was nothing new for me, but I was meeting the Commissioner to make my purchase official. There were butterflies the size of automobiles in my stomach.

The door swung open. The venerable Judge entered and readied himself to speak.
“All right, I don’t have all day. Let’s get down to business.”
I tried getting a word in edgewise, but he just kept talking.
“You are now the official owner of the Philadelphia Phillies. Nick Stephens is the sole minority owner. Who will be your general manager?”
“I...uh...I will.”
“Okay. As majority owner, you are hereby prohibited from engaging in illegal gambling on the outcome of professional baseball, and are prohibited from tampering with players from other teams. Do you accept these restrictions?”
“Yes.”
“All right, sign here.”
I scribbled my signature on the contract and handed it back to him. He scratched his on the line below mine.
“Congratulations, Mr. Walsh. You are the new owner of the Philadelphia Phillies. I assume you have business to take care of down there, so I’ll keep you no longer. Good day.”
With that he left, and I was left sitting there with a puzzled look on my face. 5 minutes had passed. I guess he had something else on his mind...

MARCH 1942
PART III

After the world’s shortest meeting, I arranged to meet Nick Stephens in Newark. Nick and I go way back. We met each other growing up on the streets of Albany back in 1919. We became fast friends, attending Yale together, and even starting our own brokerage firm together after we graduated. We had agreed that I would live in Philadelphia while Nick ran the firm here in Newark. After a short lunch with Nick, I continued my drive until I reached Shibe Park at about 4:30pm. I was surprised, however, and a large contingent of fans was there to greet me. As I got out of the car, a cheer went up, and I found myself in the middle of a 50-man mob. Soon, the crowd was urging me to give a little speech, and, not wanting to disappoint the faithful, I obliged.
“Good evening to all of you. I’m so glad to be here in Philadelphia and I look forward to a successful season for our boys.”
“Good luck, Walsh, you need it”, a heckler shouted.
“Thank you. I hope to see all of you at Opening Day, this Sunday at 1:05 when we take on the Giants.”
The crowd cheered and left en masse, and I was finally able to locate my new office. Sitting on my desk when I got there was a file labeled “Caution: Volatile Contents”, with a note from my predecessor, Gerald Nugent. I opened the file slowly, and gasped as I saw the first page: it was my roster!

Very good opening! I like how you portrayed Landis - no nonsense, to the point, and could care less what the owners thought of him. :)

One nit: Assuming you're right about the 1883 Quakers (17-81 .173) they are not the worst team of all time. That 'honor' belongs to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (20-134 .130)

Good luck!

CatKnight: I completely forgot about the Spiders! Thanks for the reminder, and the post has been corrected. Thanks for reading!

HOUSE RULES

1. Do not talk about fight club.

Sorry, all kidding aside...

I will be simulating all games or watching from GM Mode of PbP.

These are my personal rules for trying to keep myself from beating up on the computer. Usually I play as a 1901 team, and with my cutthroat style, I usually end up winning pennant after pennant after pennant. I devised these rules (and borrowed a few others), and the parity has returned to some of my games. We’ll see if the same holds true for the 1942 Phillies.

I. FREE AGENCY AND TRADES
I get a maximum of 5 external roster moves per calendar year (starting April 1). This can be any combination trades and free agent signings (3-2, 4-1, 5-0, etc.), but if I exceed 5, there will be a heavy penalty levied against me.
FIRST OFFENSE: $50,000.
SECOND OFFENSE: 2 prospects (OVR < 80)
THIRD OFFENSE: 2 prospects (OVR > 85)
FOURTH OFFENSE: 3 prospects (1 OVR < 80, 2 OVR > 85)
FIFTH OFFENSE: Banishment from baseball for life.

There will be no modification of trade offers, excluding balancing cash. All user-proposed deals must come from the Trading Block.

I will not negotiate with free agents unless their compatibility with me is a “B-” or higher”.

II. RENEWING EXPIRING CONTRACTS
Starting in April, I can only renegotiate with players once every calendar month. Also, I can only make 2 offers per negotiating session. Finally, I will be able to negotiate with only 1 player per day.

III. THE AMATEUR DRAFT
There will be no restrictions on my first selection. However, every subsequent selection that I make will have to abide by the following rules:

1. The selection must be compatible with the team. (B- or better)
2. The selection must be worse than my first pick. (Explained below)
a. If selecting a player with a projected overall rating of 90+, the following picks must have projected overall ratings of at least 10 points lower.
b. If selecting a player with a projected overall rating less than 90, the following picks must have projected overall ratings of at least 8 points lower.
3. There has to be at least 2 pitchers and position players in each draft class. The remaining 2 selections are uncommitted.

As for Rule III.2, it was designed as a check so that I don’t build a dominating dynasty through out-drafting the AI. It puts added emphasis on the importance of first rounders, rather than the class as a whole.

Let’s take a hypothetical 1942 draft. If I had the first pick (which I do, by the way), I would take Gil Hodges (58/91). This would mean that in the second round, I would have to take a player the caliber of Clyde King (46/81), a solid pick, but not the Sherm Lollar (60/84) that I could have selected. Now, if I have the 10th pick of the same draft and decide on Ted Kluszewski (57/84), then my next pick has to be someone like John Simmons (50/76).

IV. MISCELLANEOUS
I will be customizing the universe, similar to a lot of the other dynasty writers in this forum. Therefore, I reserve the right to change some details and pull some strings to get certain events to unfold. Suggestions are more than welcome, but are subject to my approval (odds are that if I like it, it’ll happen).

I’ll also spend a lot of time fooling around with the simulation settings, so there might be some extraordinary numbers popping up every now and then. If anyone has suggestions for creating a realistic 1940’s engine, my door is always open.

If any other issues come up during game play (such as the continued dominance of the Yankees), I will address them when they arise.

1942 ROSTER

1942 Philadelphia Phillies (* denotes STARTER)

Code:

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##        POS        NAME (OVR)                1941 STATS (AVG, HR, RBI, SB)
5        C*        Bennie Warren (74)        .214, 9, 35, 0
  Decent power, tremendous arm strength (52% CS), short-term solution.
6        C  Mickey Livingston (68/70)        .203, 0, 18, 2
  Basically just keeping the spot warm for prospect Andy Seminick.

1ST
22        1B*        Nick Etten (74)                .311, 14, 79, 9
  Best overall hitter for the Phillies last season. Looks to repeat.
33        1B        Ed Murphy (71/80)        ROOKIE
  Little guy put up solid numbers in limited minor league action.

27        2B*        Danny Murtaugh (68/73)        .219, 0, 11, 18
  Reigning SB champ looks to repeat this season. Only 24 years old.
26        3B*        Pinky May (75)                .267, 0, 39, 2
  Needs to get the ball in the air more often (18 GIDP in 1941).
7        SS*        Harry Marnie (74/78)        .241, 0, 11, 0
  Converted to SS to get more playing time. Needs to prove his talent.
21        IF        Bobby Bragan (71)        .251, 4, 69, 7
  Middle infielder with solid bat will be the first off the bench.
24        IF        Al Glossop (66/71)        DNP (1940: .236, 3, 14, 1)
  Returns to the big leagues after a 1-year hiatus.

31        LF*        Danny Litwhiler (80/84)        .305, 18, 66, 1
  Leading power hitter on team also terrific in the field. Age 25.
30        CF*        Ed Freed (71/86)        ROOKIE
  Promising rookie to lead off this season. Never played above R.
3        RF*        Chuck Klein (84)        .123, 1, 3, 0
  The 1932 MVP moves back into the starting lineup. 300 career HR.
23        OF        Stan Benjamin (67/68)        .235, 3, 27, 17
  Speedster will spell regulars if they need a rest.
34        OF        Lloyd Waner (78)        .292, 0, 11, 1
  Former All-Star will be first of the bench should someone falter.

##        POS        NAME (OVR)                1941 STATS (W-L, ERA, K, SV)
11        SP*        Cy Blanton (81)                6-13, 4.51, 64, 0
  The closest thing we have to an ‘ace’. Two time All-Star (’37, ’41).
16        SP        Si Johnson (77)                5-12, 4.52, 80, 2
  Elder statesman of the rotation (35). Should have positive effect.
15        SP        Tommy Hughes (73/89)        9-14, 4.45, 59, 0
  ‘Ace of the Future’ put up respectable numbers on an awful team.
17        SP        Rube Melton (76/81)        1-5, 4.73, 57, 0
  22-year-old returns for second season. Hopes to improve numbers.
20        SP        Johnny Podgajny (67/81)        9-12, 4.62, 53, 0
  Solid young pitcher with lots of potential. Will see some action.

19        CL        Ike Pearson (73/79)        4-14, 3.57, 38, 6
  Only pitcher with closing experience must fix career record (9-41).
18        SU        Sam Nahem (72/76)        5-2, 2.98, 31, 1
  The most promising pitching line returns in a key role this season.
14        SR        Lefty Hoerst (74/79)        3-10, 5.20, 33, 0
  Lefty control specialist looks to improve on last season.
8        SR        Paul Masterson (65/74)        ROOKIE (1941: 1-0, 4.76, 8, 0)
  Lefty power pitcher looks to make a splash during rookie year.
25        MR  George Hennessey (63/65)        ROOKIE (1937: 0-1, 10.29, 4, 0)
  He’s a body.
10        LR        Boom-Boom Beck (71)        1-9, 4.63, 34, 0
  Ex-starter trying to regain confidence.

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1942 Promising Youngsters (Minor Leaguers with high projections)
AAA – N/A

AA – Trenton Packers
C Andy Seminick (66/90) - 21
OF Ron Northey (70/88) - 21
OF Johnny Blatnik (61/87) - 21

A – Rome Colonels
SS Ralph LaPointe (60/85) – 20

R – Miami Beach Phillies
SP Charlie Ripple (55/88) - 21

1942 SEASON PREVIEW

NATIONAL LEAGUE (projected record)

1. Brooklyn Dodgers (94-60)
2. New York Giants (88-66)
3. St. Louis Cardinals (80-74)
4. Cincinnati Reds (79-75)
5. Chicago Cubs (75-79)
6. Pittsburgh Pirates (72-82)
7. Boston Braves (69-85)
8. Philadelphia Phillies (60-94)

AMERICAN LEAGUE (projected record)

1. New York Yankees (96-58)
2. Boston Red Sox (88-56)
3. Detroit Tigers (81-73)
4. Cleveland Indians (77-77)
5. St. Louis Browns (75-79)
6. Chicago White Sox (72-82)
7. Washington Senators (71-83)
8. Philadelphia A’s (56-98)

And I thought we were bad. Well, we still are, but we may be the best team in Philadelphia...

1942 WORLD SERIES PREDICTION

Yankees over Dodgers, 4 games to 2
The winners of 8 of the last 15 and 5 of the last 6 win another World Series, leaving the Dodgers still trophy-less.

APRIL 1942
OPENING DAY

Is there anything as breathtaking as Opening Day? The smell of fresh outfield grass, the picture perfect blue sky, and the sun’s rays beating down; I don’t think that there is anything like it in the world. Another relative newcomer to the city, Mayor Bernard Samuel was on hand to throw the first pitch. The Phillies were lined up along the third base line, their home whites crisply shining in the midday sun before a capacity crowd of 33,000 fans at Shibe Park. The Giants were in town, and Carl Hubbell would toe the rubber against Cy Blanton.

In the first, both teams went down in order. The Giants managed a single in the second, but stranded the runner. The Phillies drew first blood in their half with two walks, a double-play grounder, and an RBI single by Bobby Bragan: Phillies 1, Giants 0. Both teams went down in order again in the third.

As the fourth inning started, Blanton was twirling a gem: 1 hit through 3 innings. However, with one out, the dangerous Mel Ott stepped into the box. After 3 consecutive balls, everyone in Shibe Park knew that Blanton had to throw a strike. My only regret was that he threw it right in Ott’s wheelhouse. In the blink of an eye, the ball soared over the Spite Wall in right field and knotted the game at 1. It wouldn’t stay that way, as three pitches later, Johnny Mize blasted a hanging screwball into the centerfield bleachers: Giants 2, Phillies 1. Only 1 hit, a double by Danny Litwhiler, would be recorded through the 6th inning, and the score remained in the Giants favor heading into the seventh.

The Giants increased their lead with a Harry Danning 2-run blast in the top of the seventh: Giants 4, Phillies 1. In the bottom half, the Phillies loaded the bases with 2 singles and a walk, bringing up Harry Marnie. Marnie slashed a single to center, scoring a run. A sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Lloyd Waner resulted in another run, and a wild pitch by Hubbell moved the runners to second and third. Rookie Ed Freed notched his first big league hit, and the two-run go-ahead double couldn’t have come at a better time. He was stranded at second, but the Phillies regained the lead: Phillies 5, Giants 4.

This is fantastic, I thought to myself. We have a one-run lead, and the only person I trust in our bullpen (Nahem) is our setup man! All 66,000 eyes at the game turned toward the Phillies bullpen, and from behind the gate strode...George Hennessey.

I got up and left immediately, making a mental note to meet with manager Hans Lobert after the Giants won the game. I didn’t even need to stay to know the outcome. A three-run home run in the eighth won the game for the Giants. The Phillies would get one in their half of the eighth, but were unable to rally in the ninth. Giants 7, Phillies 6.
WP: Larry Jansen (1-0) LP: George Hennessey (0-1)
HR: NYG – Mel Ott, Johnny Mize, Harry Danning, Hank Leiber

Owie. Looking at that lineup.... I think 60 wins might be generous.

CatKnight: And with my weak farm system, it could be several years before I contend. Curse my affinity for worst-to-first stories!!!

APRIL 1942
PART I

Before I go any further, I’d just like to take a moment to congratulate Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby, for becoming the first African-Americans to play in the Major Leagues. Robinson started at third base yesterday afternoon, going 1 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored, while Doby pinch-hit late in the game, drawing a walk. I’ll have more on this as the month progresses.

April 2 – Another 8th inning run kills the Phillies chances today, as they can’t come back from that deep a hole. Guess who allowed it? (Hint: his last name rhymes with ‘Fennessey’.)
Giants 5, Phillies 4
WP: Hal Schumacher (1-0) LP: Si Johnson (0-1) SV: Hoyt Wilhelm (1)

April 3 – 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth, and two more in the tenth save both the starter Hughes and closer Pearson from defeat and give the Phillies their first win of the season.
Phillies 4, Giants 3 (10)
WP: Ike Pearson (1-0) LP: Ace Adams (0-1)

April 4 – Interesting starting pitcher match-up as cousins Rube and Cliff Melton square off. Younger cousin Rube, however, allows 6 hits over 7 2/3 innings, and outduels cousin Cliff, splitting the series with the Giants.
Phillies 9, Giants 5.
WP: Rube Melton (1-0) LP: Cliff Melton (0-1) SV: George Hennessey (1)

April 5-8: Philadelphia (2-2) at Pittsburgh (0-4)
5 – The Pirates back starter Rip Sewell with 12 runs, spoiling the Phillies’ first home run of the season, hit by Danny Litwhiler, and putting the game out of reach early.
Pirates 12, Phillies 7
WP: Rip Sewell (1-0) LP: Cy Blanton (0-1)
HR: Danny Litwhiler (1)

6 – A two-out, two-run, 10th-inning home run by Danny Litwhiler rescues the Phillies from the prospect of defeat, and allows Ike Pearson to notch his first save of the year.
Phillies 4, Pirates 3 (10)
WP: Sam Nahem (1-0) LP: Diomedes Olivo (0-1) SV: Ike Pearson (1)
HR: Danny Litwhiler (2)

7 – Poor Tommy Hughes. He goes 7 strong innings, giving up only 4 hits and 1 run, and Luke Hamlin tops him with a complete game 1-hitter!
Pirates 2, Phillies 1
WP: Luke Hamlin (1-1) LP: Tommy Hughes (0-1)

8 – The Phillies ground into 4 double plays and 2 Pirate runs in the 8th inning give the home team the win and the series.
Pirates 8, Phillies 6
WP: Bob Klinger (1-1) LP: Lefty Hoerst (0-1) SV: Diomedes Olivo (1)
HR: Danny Litwhiler (3), Chuck Klein (1)

Chuck Klein’s homerun was his 301st career, moving him into a tie for 6th place all time with Rogers Hornsby.

April 9-11: Pittsburgh (3-5) at Philadelphia (3-5)
9 – Guess who? Hennessey costs us his third game of the season, this time in extra innings, extending our losing skid to 3 games.
Pirates 5, Phillies 4 (10)
WP: Dutch Dietz (1-1) LP: George Hennessey (0-2)
HR: Nick Etten (1)

10 – Chuck Klein’s 302nd career homerun, a 3-run shot, gives him 6th all-time, only four behind Al Simmons for fifth, and gives the Phillies the victory. Si Johnson goes the distance, giving up 1 run on 7 hits.
Phillies 4, Pirates 1
WP: Si Johnson (1-1) LP: Max Butcher (0-2)
HR: Chuck Klein (2)

11 – Tommy Hughes pitches a complete game, and the offense supports him to the tune of 14 hits, giving the Phillies the game and the series.
Phillies 8, Pirates 3
WP: Tommy Hughes (1-1) LP: Bob Klinger (1-2)
HR: Bennie Warren (1)

April 12-15: Philadelphia (5-6) at New York (5-6)
12 – Cousins Cliff and Rube faced off again, but they were both long gone by the time this ended. A Chuck Klein grand slam and a two-run double in the top of the ninth by Danny Litwhiler keeps the Phillies on the winning track.
Phillies 11, Giants 10.
WP: Lefty Hoerst (1-1) LP: Ace Adams (0-2) SV: Ike Pearson (2)
HR: Chuck Klein

13 – Danny Litwhiler did his part. The young leftfielder hit 2 home runs, but a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth drives home the winning run and the Giants escape with a win.
Giants 11, Phillies 10
WP: Hoyt Wilhelm (1-1) LP: George Hennessey (0-3)
HR: Danny Litwhiler 2 (5)

Before the game, I sat down with Ike Pearson, and we hammered out an agreement for a contract extension through 1946, worth $2,100 a year. This leaves Chuck Klein, Cy Blanton, Lloyd Waner, Si Johnson, and Pinky May as the only Phillies unsigned for next season.

14 – What a pitcher’s duel! Si Johnson and Hal Schumacher shut down the offenses, allowing no runs combined for the first 7 innings. The 8th inning saw Sam Nahem enter the game, and one swing of Mel Ott’s bat proved to be the difference.
Giants 2, Phillies 1
WP: Hal Schumacher (2-2) LP: Sam Nahem (1-1) SV: Hoyt Wilhelm (3)

15 – Tommy Hughes just didn’t have his stuff today. He gave up 3 in the first, 3 more in the fifth and 2 in the sixth to unofficially close out the game.
Giants 9, Phillies 3
WP: Van Mungo (2-0) LP: Tommy Hughes (1-2)

Code:

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NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
TEAM                W-L        GB
Brooklyn        11-4        -
St. Louis        10-5        1
New York        8-7        3
Chicago                7-8        4
Cincinnati        7-8        4
Pittsburgh        6-9        5
Philadelphia        6-9        5
Boston                5-10        6

AMERICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS
TEAM                W-L        GB
Boston                13-2        -
Cleveland        13-2        -
New York        11-4        2
St. Louis        8-7        5
Philadelphia        6-9        7
Washington        5-10        8
Chicago                4-11        9
Detroit                0-15        13

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Code:

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1942 Batting            Team    G  AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR  BB    K  SB  CS    R  RBI  SLG  OBP
Benjamin, Stan            PHI    5  .500    2    1  0  1  0    0    0    0  0    1    0 1.500  .500
Melton, Rube              PHI    3  .500    6    3  0  0  0    1    0    0  1    1    3  .500  .571
Litwhiler, Danny          PHI  15  .344    61  21  5  2  5    9    7    0  0  13  17  .738  .429
Glossop, Al              PHI    4  .333    6    2  1  0  0    3    0    0  0    2    0  .500  .556
Murphy, Ed                PHI    4  .333    3    1  1  0  0    1    0    0  0    1    1  .667  .500
Marnie, Harry            PHI  15  .306    49  15  3  1  0    5    4    2  0  11    4  .408  .370
Bragan, Bobby            PHI  10  .300    20    6  2  0  0    2    3    0  0    6    2  .400  .364
Waner, Lloyd              PHI  13  .300    10    3  1  0  0    2    1    1  0    1    3  .400  .385
Freed, Ed                PHI  15  .277    65  18  7  1  0    7  14    2  0  11    8  .415  .365
Hughes, Tommy            PHI    4  .273    11    3  0  0  0    0    3    0  0    1    2  .273  .273
Etten, Nick              PHI  15  .271    59  16  4  0  1    6    3    0  1    6    7  .390  .333
Murtaugh, Danny          PHI  10  .267    30    8  3  0  0    3    6    1  0    3    8  .367  .333
May, Pinky                PHI  15  .234    64  15  3  0  0    7    8    0  0  10    5  .281  .306
Johnson, Si              PHI    4  .222    9    2  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .222  .222
Klein, Chuck              PHI  15  .211    57  12  3  0  3    8    7    0  0    8  15  .421  .324
Warren, Bennie            PHI  15  .189    53  10  1  0  1  12    5    0  1    7    4  .264  .338
Livingston, Mickey        PHI    6  .167    6    1  0  0  0    0    2    0  0    0    0  .167  .167
Blanton, Cy              PHI    4  .100    10    1  0  0  0    0    4    0  0    0    1  .100  .100
Hennessey, George        PHI    6  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Masterson, Paul          PHI    2  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000

---

Code:

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1942 Pitching            Team    IP  ERA    G  GS  W  L  SV    K  BB  R/9
Johnson, Si              PHI  30.0  1.80    4  4  1  1  0  16    6  9.60
Hoerst, Lefty            PHI    8.0  2.25    4  0  1  1  0    5    4 10.13
Hughes, Tommy            PHI  31.0  4.06    4  4  1  2  0  13  16 14.23
Podgajny, Johnny          PHI    2.0  4.50    1  0  0  0  0    1    0 18.00
Pearson, Ike              PHI    3.0  6.00    3  0  1  0  2    0    3 15.00
Hennessey, George        PHI    9.0  8.00    6  0  0  3  1    5    6 19.00
Masterson, Paul          PHI    3.1  8.10    2  0  0  0  0    1    1 24.30
Melton, Rube              PHI  16.2  8.64    3  3  1  0  0    6  13 18.90
Nahem, Sam                PHI    4.0  9.00    3  0  1  1  0    1    4 15.75
Blanton, Cy              PHI  25.2  9.47    4  4  0  1  0  14  10 17.88

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Code:

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NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG - Joe Medwick (BRO)                .418
HR - Joe Medwick (BRO)                7
RBI - Johnny Mize (NYG)                21
SB - Lonny Frey (CIN)                4
W - Freddie Fitzsimmons (BRO)        4
ERA - Si Johnson (PHI)                1.80
K - Van Mungo (NYG)                26
SV - Hoyt Wilhelm (NYG)                3

AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG - Lou Finney (BOS)                .525
HR - Jimmie Foxx (BOS)                11
RBI - Jimmie Foxx (BOS)                27
SB - 2 tied with                4
W - Mel Harder (CLE)                4
ERA - Spud Chandler (NYY)        1.88
K - 2 tied with                        19
SV - John Burrows (PHA)                3

---

You could have at least started in the late 40's with Ennis and Roberts and Ashburn on the farm? Or would that make it too easy?

Good luck though, the beginning was quite auspicious of good things to come!

I thought about that, perhaps trying to repeat the 1950 Whiz Kids, but the challenge was just too much for me to overlook. Thanks for reading!

The Whiz Kids are one of my favorite teams. Richie Ashburn and Robin Roberts just seemed like such badasses.

I also just got the Trapped in the Basement reference

broocks: I was hoping that someone would get it. Congrats. And the Whiz Kids give me something to shoot for: if I don't win a pennant by the end of the decade, then it'll have to go down as a mild disappointment.

MID APRIL 1942
Well, at least it was better than expected. There were some columnists at the [Philadelphia] Inquirer that said we’d lose all 15 of our games, but we showed them. At least were not as bad as the Tigers, who are still winless as we hit the halfway point of April and turn for May. However, one thing has been stuck in my craw for the past few weeks: Commissioner Landis has ordered the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cleveland Indians not to start Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby, respectively. The players in question can still play; they just can’t be in the starting lineups. The most interesting thing about this is that both teams are in the top 2 of their league. As expected, Lou Boudreau of Cleveland and Leo Durocher of Brooklyn are not at all happy with this decision. They’ve requested a meeting of team owners and GM’s to meet in New York at the end of the month. The primary topic will be race in baseball, and apparently, Phillip Wrigley has a novel new idea that he says “will change the course of history.” Let’s hope he’s right.

APRIL 1942
PART II

April 17-19: Chicago (7-8, 4 GB) at Philadelphia (6-9, 5 GB)
17 – Claude Passeau twirls a dandy, giving up only one run on seven hits, extending the Phillies losing streak to 4 games.
Cubs 6, Phillies 1
WP: Claude Passeau (2-1) LP: Cy Blanton (0-2)

18 – The Cubs offense explodes, scoring 4 in the first and piling on, beating the Phillies, who are suddenly unable to pitch well.
Cubs 13, Phillies 4
WP: Bill Lee (3-2) LP: Si Johnson (1-2)

19 – This time, the Phillies offense dominates, and Tommy Hughes allows only 3 runs over 8 innings to pick up his team-leading 2nd victory.
Phillies 11, Cubs 3
WP: Tommy Hughes (2-2) LP: Joey Lothian (0-3)
HR: Danny Litwhiler (6)

April 20-22: Cincinnati (7-11, 7 GB) at Philadelphia (7-11, 7 GB)
20 – The Phillies bats go suddenly cold and are shut out for 8 innings by Elmer Riddle.
Reds 8, Phillies 3
WP: Elmer Riddle (2-0) LP: Rube Melton (1-1)
HR: Ed Murphy (1)

21 – A five-run outburst in the 6th inning is enough for “ace” Cy Blanton to pick up his first win of the year, a complete game 6-hitter.
Phillies 5, Reds 3
WP: Cy Blanton (1-2) LP: Bucky Walters (3-1)

22 – Whoever is fooling with the switch, can you set it to on please? The bats go cold again as Cincinnati wins the series.
Reds 4, Phillies 2
WP: Paul Derringer (2-2) LP: Si Johnson (1-3) SV: Frank Fanovich (3)

April 23-26: Boston (5-16, 10 GB) at Philadelphia (8-13, 7 GB)
23 – The top 5 in the lineup go a combined 9-18 with 5 runs and 5 RBI, and Tommy Hughes keeps the Braves offense at bay for 8 innings.
Phillies 5, Braves 3
WP: Tommy Hughes (3-2) LP: Manny Salvo (0-5) SV: Ike Pearson (3)

24 – Rube Melton is fantastic allowing one run on four hits over 8 innings, out dueling Warren Spahn. Danny Litwhiler adds his 7th home run of the year.
Phillies 2, Braves 1
WP: Rube Melton (2-1) LP: Warren Spahn (1-3) SV: Ike Pearson (4)
HR: Danny Litwhiler (7)

25 – The Braves end their 9-game losing streak by plastering Cy Blanton for 10 runs over 3 innings. Enough said.
Braves 13, Phillies 4
WP: Dick Errickson (1-3) LP: Cy Blanton (1-3)
HR: Nick Etten (2)

26 – A slugfest. The Braves put up 13 for the second consecutive game, thanks to a 5-run eighth that put the result on ice.
Braves 13, Phillies 9.
WP: Elmer Singleton (1-0) LP: Lefty Hoerst (1-2)

April 27-29: Philadelphia (10-15, 8 GB) at Cincinnati (11-14, 7 GB)
27 – Enough with the shootouts! Although I don’t mind them if I win them. Funny how that works out.
Phillies 12, Reds 9
WP: Sam Nahem (2-1) LP: Tommy de la Cruz (0-1)
HR: Chuck Klein (4), Bennie Warren (2)

28 – The Phillies strike early, and manage to hang on late.
Phillies 6, Reds 5
WP: Rube Melton (3-1) LP: Elmer Riddle (2-1) SV: Sam Nahem (1)

29 – It took over 5 hours to play all 16 innings, but the Reds prevail thanks to a heads-up play in the bottom of the 16th.
Reds 7, Phillies 6
WP: Joe Beggs (2-2) LP: Johnny Podgajny (0-1)
HR: Bobby Bragan 2 (2)

Code:

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NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis        20-8        -
Brooklyn        18-10        2
Pittsburgh        17-11        3
New York        15-13        5
Philadelphia        12-16        8
Cincinnati        12-16        8
Chicago                11-17        9
Boston                7-21        13

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston                20-8        -
Cleveland        19-9        1
New York        17-11        3
St. Louis        16-12        4
Washington        14-14        6
Philadelphia        11-17        9
Chicago                8-20        12
Detroit                7-21        13

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Code:

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1942 Batting            Team    G  AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR  BB    K  SB  CS    R  RBI  SLG  OBP
Benjamin, Stan            PHI  11  .462    13    6  0  1  0    0    0    1  0    2    1  .615  .462
Murphy, Ed                PHI    8  .417    12    5  3  0  1    1    1    0  0    3    5  .917  .462
Waner, Lloyd              PHI  24  .393    28  11  1  0  0    3    2    1  0    2    6  .429  .438
Murtaugh, Danny          PHI  22  .316    79  25  8  0  0    7  14    2  1  11  16  .418  .372
Bragan, Bobby            PHI  17  .306    36  11  3  0  2    5    5    0  0    8    5  .556  .390
May, Pinky                PHI  28  .293  116  34  8  1  0  14  11    0  0  20    8  .379  .371
Litwhiler, Danny          PHI  28  .292  106  31  10  3  7  13  10    0  0  22  26  .642  .367
Etten, Nick              PHI  28  .286  105  30  7  1  2  11    7    0  1  12  17  .429  .347
Marnie, Harry            PHI  25  .284    81  23  4  1  0    8    7    3  1  14    6  .358  .348
Freed, Ed                PHI  28  .276  116  32  12  2  0  13  21    2  0  19  13  .414  .364
Klein, Chuck              PHI  28  .257  105  27  7  0  4  15    9    0  0  19  25  .438  .360
Glossop, Al              PHI    6  .250    8    2  1  0  0    3    1    0  0    2    0  .375  .455
Melton, Rube              PHI    6  .214    14    3  0  0  0    1    1    0  1    1    3  .214  .267
Warren, Bennie            PHI  25  .198    91  18  1  1  2  16    9    0  1  13    9  .297  .318
Livingston, Mickey        PHI  13  .174    23    4  2  0  0    0    5    0  0    1    2  .261  .174
Hughes, Tommy            PHI    7  .167    18    3  0  0  0    2    6    0  0    2    3  .167  .250
Johnson, Si              PHI    7  .154    13    2  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .154  .154
Blanton, Cy              PHI    8  .111    18    2  0  0  0    0    5    0  0    1    1  .111  .111
Hennessey, George        PHI    6  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Nahem, Sam                PHI    9  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Masterson, Paul          PHI    6  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Podgajny, Johnny          PHI    6  .000    2    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Beck, Boom-Boom          PHI    1  .000    2    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .000

---

Code:

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1942 Pitching            Team    IP  ERA    G  GS  W  L  SV    K  BB  R/9
Beck, Boom-Boom          PHI    5.0  0.00    1  0  0  0  0    0    1  7.20
Pearson, Ike              PHI    7.0  3.86    6  0  1  0  4    1    4 11.57
Podgajny, Johnny          PHI  12.2  4.26    6  0  0  1  0    5    8 18.47
Hughes, Tommy            PHI  52.0  4.50    7  7  3  2  0  27  26 14.54
Johnson, Si              PHI  47.0  4.79    7  7  1  3  0  24  13 13.40
Melton, Rube              PHI  39.1  5.26    6  6  3  1  0  20  21 13.73
Nahem, Sam                PHI  10.2  5.91    9  0  2  1  1    7  12 16.03
Hoerst, Lefty            PHI  13.2  6.59    7  0  1  2  0    7    9 14.49
Hennessey, George        PHI    9.0  8.00    6  0  0  3  1    5    6 19.00
Blanton, Cy              PHI  52.2  8.37    8  8  1  3  0  28  19 17.43
Masterson, Paul          PHI    7.1  9.82    6  0  0  0  0    4    4 27.00

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Code:

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NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG - Stan Musial (STL)                .397
HR - Johnny Mize (NYG)                9
RBI - Johnny Mize (NYG)                34
SB - 2 tied with                6
W - Freddie Fitzsimmons (BRO)        6
ERA - Mort Cooper (STL)                2.17
K - Van Mungo (NYG)                37
SV - Diomedes Olivo (PIT)        6

AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG - Stan Spence (WSH)                .443       
HR - Jimmie Foxx (BOS)                16
RBI - 2 tied with                40
SB - 5 tied with                4
W - 2 tied with                5               
ERA - Spud Chandler (NYY)        3.20
K - Denny Galehouse (SLB)        33
SV - 2 tied with                4

---

MILESTONES
4/3: 3B Dick Bartell (NYG): 2000th Hit
4/15: 1B Jimmie Foxx (BOS): Hit for the Cycle
4/26: 1B Jimmie Foxx (BOS): 4 HR in a Game

MAJOR INJURIES
4/5: C Billy Sullivan (BRO) out for the season with a broken wrist (Final Stats: 3 H/13 AB, 2 RBI)
4/14: P Lefty Gomez (NYY) out 3 weeks with a spiked achilles tendon
4/24: P Bobo Newsom (WSH) out 2 weeks with a sprained finger
4/26: 3B Harlond Clift (SLB) out 5 weeks with a broken cheek bone
4/26: RF Bruce Campbell (WSH) out 3 weeks with ruptured knee ligaments

Wow! An amazing beginning, can't wait to see what happens next, good luck!:)

Overbay17: Thanks for reading, and thanks for the kind words. Hope to have you keep coming back!

APRIL 30
OWNER’S MEETING
PART I

A veritable who’s who of upper level baseball management was sitting in the conference room adjacent to Commissioner Landis’ office. Branch Rickey, Larry MacPhail, Tom Yawkey, Ed Barrow, Connie Mack, and Judge Landis, at the head of the table, all confined to sitting around a little table. The table was a prototypical conference table, with 8 men to a side, the Commissioner at the head, and his personal assistant at the other end. The meeting promptly started at noon, with the Commissioner starting the conversation.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m sure you all know why you are here: the subject of race in baseball. As you are probably aware, there is at least 1 player in each league that is a person of color. Now, I have enacted a temporary rule stating that these players cannot start until the league and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball has given it’s approval. Alright, let’s begin with you, Mr. Bradley.”
Alva Bradley was the president and owner of the Cleveland Indians, Larry Doby’s team. “Gentlemen”, Bradley said, “it’s no secret that I may not see eye to eye with you on certain matters, but this should be a no-brainer. If you vote against these men and the countless others that share their skin color, you’re alienating a large portion of your fan bases.”
I perked up immediately. Fan bases? That was all this was about? A publicity stunt? “Mr. Bradley, if you don’t mind me interjecting, but I feel that something needs to be said. I am on the same side of the fence as you, Mr. Bradley, but for some different reasons. I may not be as experienced or knowledgeable as some of you, but every man is entitled to an opinion. This isn’t just about gate receipts or fan support. We are playing with men’s livelihood here! Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby have spent their whole lives working for this moment. Countless others have toiled to obscurity in the Negro Leagues and in other countries. Robinson and Doby have had a chance to do something that no other black man has ever done before: play in the Major Leagues. Who are we to deny them of that right? Do they have the talent to play with our boys? Absolutely. There is no doubt in my mind that these two men have the potential to be among the greatest players of this era. However, if we turn our backs now, never again will the black man play this game. And if we turn our backs now, what will happen when the Mexican wants to play? How about the Russian, the Frenchman, the Brit? Will we turn our backs on them too? Gentlemen, you’ve had an incredible run, but baseball is America’s Pastime. How can we continue to call ourselves that if we exclude 1/3 of America’s people?”
Immediately, Branch Rickey of the Cardinals motioned for a vote, and it was quickly seconded by Larry MacPhail of the Dodgers. Judge Landis looked like someone had just punched him in the stomach, but he still forced the words out: “alright, we are voting on the permanent inclusion of African-Americans in Major League Baseball. A ‘yes’ vote means you are in favor in including African-Americans with no restrictions. A ‘no’ vote means you are in favor of barring African-Americans from the game. There can be no more than 7 ‘no’ votes, otherwise the motion fails. We’ll start to my right in the American League and Mr. Yawkey.”

OWNER’S MEETING
PART II

“No.” Tom Yawkey emphatically announced his vote.
“Mr. Griffith.”
“No.” Clark Griffith of Washington said. This was starting to look bad.
“Mr. Mack.”
“Yes.” Finally, a man with common sense. I owe Connie for this.
“Mr. Barrow.”
“No.” Ed Barrow of the Yankees continued the bad news. We could only afford 4 more ‘no’ votes or else it would be history.
“Mr. Bradley.”
“Yes.” No surprise from Cleveland.
“Mr. Briggs [Detroit].”
“No.”
“Mr. Grabiner [White Sox].”
“No.”
Uh oh.
“Mr. Barnes [Browns].”
“Yes.”
The Judge turned to the National League and said: “thus concludes the American League vote. The tally stands at 3 yes, and 5 no. The National League will vote now starting with...Mr. Walsh.
I stood and delivered a defiant “yes!”
“Mr. Benswanger [Pittsburgh].”
“No.”
“Mr. MacPhail.”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Rickey.”
“Yes.”
Just like that, the vote was knotted at 6 apiece. The final four teams to vote would be the Cubs, the Reds, the Giants, and the Braves. We needed three ‘yes’ votes for the motion to carry.
“Mr. Wrigley.”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Crosley.”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Stoneham.”
“No.”
“Mr. Quinn.”
All of the men in the room started at Robert Quinn. This poor man was the president of the Boston Braves, and on his shoulders rested a decision that could change the game as we know it. He nervously played with his tie and wiped sweat off his brow, as he stuttered trying to find the right words. “Well...um...I...er...uh...”
“TODAY!” screamed Judge Landis.
Quinn took a swig of whiskey, put his glass down, cleared his throat, and in a deep confident voice, he said...

OWNER’S MEETING
PART III

“Yes.”
YES!!! HE SAID YES!!! It was nearly impossible to keep the grin off my face. The next few seconds would take care of that however.
“And the Commissioner votes no. Final tally: 9 yes, 8 no. This motion FAILS.”
I was frozen, with my mouth hanging open like it was nailed to the floor. In fact the only person who didn’t seem shocked was Landis, who had wiped the grin off my face and crudely pasted it onto his.
“Oh, I forgot to mention that I had a vote too. My mistake. Any how, moving on...”
“That’s it? That’s the end of it?” asked a bewildered Branch Rickey.
“I’m afraid so, Mr. Rickey. Any how, moving on...”
Right about this point I started shaking with rage. “Hold on, Mr. Commissioner. I would like to make a formal announcement before we continue. The Philadelphia Phillies organization understands that rules are rules, however, I feel that the last ballot was unfairly carried out and fixed in order to obtain a predetermined outcome. Therefore, The Philadelphia Phillies organization wishes to disassociate itself from the National League.”
This was the biggest bluff I had ever made. It was the equivalent of going all-in before the flop with 7-2 off suit, the worst starting hand in poker. I had no intention of leaving the NL, but I was willing to do anything in order to keep the game pure, and out of the hands of madmen like this Commissioner. The other owners looked at me like I had suddenly grown 2 heads and started speaking in tongues.
The Judge was taken aback. “Wh-what!? Y-you wish to leave the National League?” This was the first time I’d ever heard him stutter. I had him between my crosshairs, right where I wanted him. Now, if only I had some backup. I looked over the faces of my peers, and my eyes met Branch Rickey’s. I don’t know exactly what he saw, but he seemed transfixed on my face, almost looking past it, as if it were offering him guidance...
Finally he spoke: “The St. Louis Cardinals also wish to disassociate themselves from the National League.”
Now Landis was about to implode. His mind must be racing at 1000 miles a second, but he was too dumbfounded to say anything. Branch and I were almost in the clear, we just needed one more push...
“The Brooklyn Dodgers wish to disassociate as well.” Larry MacPhail announced. Immediately, Cleveland, Cincinnati and the Cubs made similar announcements.
Sensing that the Major Leagues would fall apart unless he gave into the demands, Judge Landis had no choice. “Fine, by the results of a majority 9 to 8 vote, African-Americans are allowed to play in the Major Leagues. Will you please stay and cut out this withdrawal nonsense?”
All six teams reneged on their threats, and the only serious damage done was to Judge Landis’ pride.

As for Wrigley’s big announcement, he said it was running behind schedule, but he would inform all the owners of it when the time was right.

Powerful bluff.....but you've also made a mortal enemy, and Judge Landis is not someone to be taken lightly.

Yeah, but I needed to somehow justify the fact that Robinson and Doby were major league ready five years ahead of reality. IRL, Landis never would've allowed this to happen, as he had way too much power and was firmly anti-integration. But by 1942, all the owners were sick of him, so the vote idea seemed more feasible. And it certainly doesn't hurt to have a villain about...

MAY 1942
PART I

With the first meeting out of the way, it was time to give out some hardware: the Phillies end of the month awards!

Phillies Batter of the Month: LF Danny Litwhiler (.292, 7 HR, 26 RBI)
Phillies Pitcher of the Month: P Ike Pearson (1-0, 3.86 ERA, 4 SV, 7 IP)
Danny has really carried the offense, continuing to get big hits when the team needs them. As for pitching, Ike simply had the best raw numbers of the bunch.

Minor League Batter of the Month: OF Johnny Blatnik – AA Trenton (.396, 5 HR, 23 RBI)
Minor League Pitcher of the Month: P Dick Mauney – AA Trenton (3-1, 1.51 ERA, 35 IP)
My AA team is loaded with all sorts of talent, all of which may see time here in Philly before the year ends.

George Hennessey has been moved from his active role in the bullpen to the spot starter position, and Johnny Podgajny moves into the middle relief role.

I also met with Chuck Klein before my meeting. His contract is up at the end of the year, and I wanted to get a deal done before he left us. My predecessor, Gerald Nugent made this mistake, and it cost the team dearly. The fans never forgave Nugent, not even after reacquiring Chuck a few seasons later. Anyhow, Chuck was demanding over $16K until 1944. I told him that he was insane, and that the most I was willing to pay him was $12,500. He countered with “I just need a little more money”, and he was happy to take $13K a year. Chuck Klein will remain a Phillie.

Anyways, it’s back to baseball for the Phillies, as the first place Cardinals come to town.

May 1-3: St. Louis (1st, 20-8, 2 GA) at Philadelphia (6th, 12-16, 8 GB)
1 – Tommy Hughes avoided NL Batting leader Stan Musial (0-1, 3 BB) en route to the team’s first shutout of the season.
Phillies 5, Cardinals 0
W: Tommy Hughes (4-2) L: Johnny Beazley (1-1)
HR: Nick Etten (3)

A trade was announced today, the first of the season.
Pittsburgh receives:
C Frankie Hayes (81)
Philadelphia (AL) receives:
RF Jimmy Wasdell (73)
1B Elbie Fletcher (60/63)
CF Tom Saffell (65/67)
Pittsburgh makes off like kings, while the A’s are left dazed and confused.

Also, Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Oscar Judd retired today. He had suffered a back injury that was continuing to nag him, and at the age of 34, didn’t want to deal with it. He pitched 2 partial seasons with the Red Sox, recording a win and a save this season.
CAREER NUMBERS: 1-0, 6.75 ERA, 20 IP, 2 SV

Finally, I finally caved and promoted Ron Northey (70/86) to an independent AAA team. Ron was terrorizing AA pitching, hitting a league-leading .412 with 21 RBI.

2 – Scary moment late it this one. A fly ball towards left center spells disaster as Ed Freed and Danny Litwhiler collide. The runner is stranded, but both players will miss a few days. However, Nick Etten’s two doubles help power the Phillies to a come-from-behind victory.
Phillies 4, Cardinals 3
W: Sam Nahem (3-1) L: Howie Krist (1-3) SV: Ike Pearson (5)

3 – Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial (back-to-back HR) victimize Cy Blanton, as the Cards score 4 in the ninth to avoid the sweep.
Cardinals 8, Phillies 4
W: Bill Lohrman (3-1) L: Cy Blanton (1-4) SV: Max Lanier (3)

May 4-7: Brooklyn (4th, 18-13, 3 GB) at Philadelphia (5th, 14-17, 7 GB)
4 – Freddie Fitzsimmons just dominated the Phillies, allowing an unearned run on 2 hits over 7 innings of magnificent pitching.
Dodgers 2, Phillies 1
W: Freddie Fitzsimmons (7-1) L: Si Johnson (1-4) SV: Johnny Allen (3)

5 – Tommy Hughes and Curt Davis duel to a 1-1 after 8 innings, then the bullpens decide the game as Sam Nahem allows 1 run and Johnny Allen doesn’t.
Dodgers 2, Phillies 1
W: Johnny Allen (1-1) L: Sam Nahem (3-2)

6 – Larry French tosses a 4-hit shutout, extending the Phillies losing streak to 4 games, and moving the Dodgers to within one game of the NL lead.
Dodgers 5, Phillies 0
W: Larry French (3-3) L: Rube Melton (3-2)

7 - Cy Blanton made one mistake: allowing a Dolph Camilli home run. Aside from that, he was masterful, shutting down the Dodgers for 8 other innings, preventing the sweep and snapping the losing streak.
Phillies 3, Dodgers 1
W: Cy Blanton (2-4) L: Whit Wyatt (4-3)

May 8-11: Philadelphia (5th, 15-20, 8 GB) at Chicago (5th, 15-20, 8 GB)
8 – A late run off of an error breaks a 3-3 tie, putting the Phillies in the wrong column.
Cubs 4, Phillies 3
W: Claude Passeau (4-1) L: Lefty Hoerst (1-3)
HR: Chuck Klein (5)

9 – Tommy Hughes allows only one run over 7, but the Phillies hit into 6 double plays, and can only muster 3 hits against Bill Lee, giving the hard luck loss to Hughes.
Cubs 1, Phillies 0
W: Bill Lee (7-3) L: Tommy Hughes (4-3)

10 – The last ditch comeback effort falls 90 feet short as the tying run is stranded on third base. The Phils have lost 3 straight and 7 of 8.
Cubs 5, Phillies 4
W: Shaun Hale (2-4) L: Rube Melton (3-3)

11 - The Phillies’ bats come alive (finally) and put this game out of reach after 3 innings. Chuck Klein’s HR was the 306th of his career, tying him for 5th on the all-time home run list with Al Simmons.
Phillies 9, Cubs 3
W: Cy Blanton (3-4) L: Joey Lothian (0-8)
HR: Chuck Klein (6), Mickey Livingston (1)

May 12-15: Pittsburgh (4th, 22-17, 5 GB) at Philadelphia (6th, 16-23, 11 GB)
12 – Si Johnson allows a first inning run, then shuts down the Pirate offense for 7 more innings, and the Phillies provide some insurance runs late in the game to win their second straight.
Phillies 4, Pirates 1
W: Si Johnson (2-4) L: Lefty Wilkie (2-1) SV: Ike Pearson (6)

13 – Tommy Hughes lives up to his reputation as one of the best young pitchers in the game, and his reputation continues to grow. He twirls 8 innings of 4-hit ball as the Phillies extend their win streak to 3 games.
Phillies 6, Pirates 1
W: Tommy Hughes (5-3) L: Luke Hamlin (3-3)

14 – Nick Strincevich and his Eephus pitch baffled the Phillies for 8 innings, and a 5-run ninth puts the game away for good.
Pirates 10, Phillies 3
W: Nick Strincevich (1-1) L: Rube Melton (3-4)

15 – An eighth inning Ed Murphy double breaks a tie, and gives the Phillies the win, and leads them into an off day on a high note.
Phillies 4, Pirates 3
W: Cy Blanton (4-4) L: Rip Sewell (5-1) SV: Ike Pearson (7)


STANDINGS AS OF MAY 16

Code:

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NATIONAL LEAGUE
New York        27-16        -
St. Louis        27-16        -
Brooklyn        25-18        2
Pittsburgh        23-20        4
Chicago                21-22        6
Cincinnati        19-24        8
Philadelphia        19-24        8
Boston                11-32        16

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston                31-12        -
Cleveland        28-15        3
New York        25-18        6
Washington        21-22        10
St. Louis        20-23        11
Chicago                19-24        12
Philadelphia        18-25        13
Detroit                10-33        21

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MID MAY 1942
Remember back in April, when I spoke about Phillip Wrigley’s new idea? Well, he finalized all the details and sent each owner a proposal. He’s seen the potential success of the NFL’s draft, and wants the Major Leagues to adopt a similar event. The National League passed the measure easily, and the American League passed it with only the Yankees against it. As an added bonus, Wrigley had an independent firm scout all the eligible players and rank them according to their potential. Our scouting staff is looking into these reports to see if they correlate with our own. With us having the first pick this season (the order determined by last season’s records), this could determine the success of our franchise for years to come. We’ve narrowed the search down to 5 players.

Cal Howe, RP: an electric fastball, but why spend a #1 pick on a bit part?
Herb Gorman, 1B: great batsman, but a bit of a liability in the field.
Bobby Avila, 2B: outstanding potential, but struggles against righties.
Gil Hodges, 1B: incredibly strong, but defense is an issue.
Lou Brissie, SP: 2 great pitches, but walks will be a big red flag.

The Draft will be held on June 5, so there are still 2 weeks remaining for us to make a decision.

MAY 1942
PART II

Aside from a few promotions and demotions in the minor leagues, there were no major roster changes. We continue to be around 8 games back. Perhaps we could make a run at the pennant? We’ll need to make some deals to get some pitching, because there’s no chance that the current team could win the pennant.

May 17-20: Philadelphia (6th, 19-24, 8 GB) at Brooklyn (3rd, 25-18, 2 GB)
17 – Si Johnson finally threw a great game, allowing only 2 runs over 6 innings, but left with the score tied at 2. Both team added a run, and in the ninth inning, Ed Murphy took a Johnny Allen fastball deep to right-field for the go-ahead home run, and Lefty Hoerst straned the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom half. Chuck Klein also hit a home run, becoming the sole holder of 5th place all time. The only players with more homers than Klein’s 307 are Met Ott (422), Lou Gehrig (493), Jimmie Foxx (538), and the great Babe Ruth (714).
Phillies 4, Dodgers 3
W: Lefty Hoerst (2-3) L: Johnny Allen (2-3)
HR: Chuck Klein (7), Ed Murphy (2)

18 – The teams combine to hit into 11 double plays, but the Dodger couple theirs with 10 runs, while the Phillies can only manage one.
Dodgers 10, Phillies
W: Curt Davis (6-1) L: Tommy Hughes (5-4)

19 – Two different relievers combine to blow two different leads, the second in extra innings, as the Phillies lose another one-run game.
Dodgers 6, Phillies 5 (10)
W: Johnny Allen (3-3) L: Paul Masterson (0-1)
HR: Ed Freed (1)

20 – Whit Wyatt shuts down the Phillies offense, allowing two runs on 6 hits in a complete game victory.
Dodgers 5, Phillies 2
W: Whit Wyatt (5-3) L: Cy Blanton (4-5)
HR: Chuck Klein (8)

May 21-23: Philadelphia (6th, 20-27, 10 GB) at Boston (8th, 14-33, 16 GB)
21 – The top 4 batters in the lineup go 6-16. The remaining 5 spots go 0 for 15. Si Johnson pitches another great game, but for the second straight start leaves without a win.
Braves 3, Phillies 2
W: Jim Tobin (4-7) L: Si Johnson (2-5)

A trade was announced.
Cleveland receives:
C Ernie Lombardi (86)
RF Frank Demaree (79)
Boston (NL) receives:
P Bob Kuzava (65/84)
P Ralph McCabe (56/76)
P Ray Flanigan (57/71)
Edge to Cleveland. If the prospects develop well, that’s a different story, but the Indians win this trade for now.

22 – Two of the games’ best young pitchers faced off today. Tommy Hughes allowed 2 runs in a complete game effort, but Warren Spahn only surrendered 1 run in his own complete game. The Phillies have now lost 5 straight.
Braves 2, Phillies 1
W: Warren Spahn (2-8) L: Tommy Hughes (5-5)

23 – The bullpen collapses, ruining another great outing by the Phillies starters. The Phillies’ recent 6-game losing streak has effectively eliminated them from pennant contention, at least for now.
Braves 5, Phillies 4
W: Johnny Hutchings (3-3) L: Lefty Hoerst (2-4)

May 24-27: Philadelphia (7th, 20-30, 12 GB) at Pittsburgh (4th, 27-23, 5 GB)
24 – With Cy Blanton complaining of a sore foot, Johnny Podgajny gets the spot start, and allows 2 runs over 7 innings. However, the Phillies only manage 4 hits against Rip Sewell, and another fantastic start is lost, as the losing streak hits 7 games.
Pirates 2, Phillies 1
W: Rip Sewell (7-1) L: Johnny Podgajny (0-2)

The news on Cy Blanton is much worse than anticipated: a stress fracture in his foot. He’ll be out for 2 ½ weeks. Johnny Podgajny has pitched well this season, and despite the hard luck, he’ll get the chance to start, with Boom-Boom Beck as the backup plan. Al Gerheauser (4-2, 3.72 ERA at AAA) is brought up to fill the roster spot.

25 – Si Johnson twirls a gem, four-hit shutout, snapping the long losing skid and boosting the team’s confidence.
Phillies 2, Pirates 0
W: Si Johnson (3-5) L: Bob Klinger (3-5)

26 – 2 consecutive errors by Bobby Bragan certainly don’t help as the Pirates do all their scoring in 1 inning and win handily.
Pirates 6, Phillies 4
W: Max Butcher (3-5) L: Tommy Hughes (5-6) SV: Jack Hallett (2)

27 – Rube Melton can’t seem to find the strike zone (7 BB) as the Phillies have now lost 9 of their last 10 games.
Pirates 7, Phillies 3
W: Luke Hamlin (5-4) LP: Rube Melton (3-5)

28 – DAY OFF
I sat down with Pinky May, who’s due for arbitration at the end of the season. He says he’d stick around until 1943 for $7000, but I said I wouldn’t budge more than $5200. We decided to meet in the middle, and Pinky May is signed through 1943 for $6100. This leaves Cy Blanton, Si Johnson, and Lloyd Waner as the only Phillies not signed for next season.

Also of note, Boom-Boom Beck retired from baseball at the age of 37. My long reliever for this season, he played in 1 game, pitching 5 scoreless innings. He also played for the Browns (1924, 1927-28) and the Dodgers (1933-34) before joining the Phillies (1939-1942).
CAREER STATS: 29-61, 4.41 ERA

Izzy Leon (53/59), a 31-year-old yet to make his big league debut, is called up from AAA to replace Beck.

May 29 – June 1: Philadelphia (7th, 21-33, 14 GB) at St. Louis (1st, 35-19, 3 GA)
29 – The bullpen collapses (again) and this time, Podgajny is the victim. A run in the bottom of the eighth breaks the tie, and gives the Cardinals the win.
Cardinals 4, Phillies 3
W: Howie Krist (3-3) L: Sam Nahem (3-3)

30 – The Phillies rally to tie the game at 5 in the top of the ninth, but in the bottom half, Nahem blows his second consecutive game, extending the losing streak to 4 games.
Cardinals 6, Phillies 5
W: Clyde Shoun (3-1) L: Sam Nahem (3-4)

31 – It took a superhuman performance from Chuck Klein (2-2, 2 solo HR), but the Phillies end the month with a win.
Phillies 4, Cardinals 3
W: Tommy Hughes (6-6) L: Howie Pollet (0-3) SV: Ike Pearson (8)
HR: Chuck Klein 2 (11)

END OF MAY RECAP

STANDINGS

Code:

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NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis        37-20        -
Pittsburgh        33-24        4
New York        33-24        4
Brooklyn        33-24        4
Chicago                27-30        10
Cincinnati        22-35        15
Philadelphia        22-35        15
Boston                21-36        16

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston                39-18        -
New York        35-22        4
Cleveland        34-23        5
St. Louis        26-31        13
Philadelphia        26-31        13
Washington        25-32        14
Chicago                24-33        15
Detroit                19-38        20

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BATTING STATISTICS
Red denotes League Leader

Code:

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1942 Batting            Team    G  AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR  BB    K  SB  CS    R  RBI  SLG  OBP
Waner, Lloyd              PHI  49  .338    74  25  2  1  0    5    6    1  0    7  14  .392  .375
Klein, Chuck              PHI  56  .332  187  62  16  2  11  20  19    0  0  38  48  .615  .398
Murphy, Ed                PHI  23  .286    56  16  7  0  2    7    7    1  0    7  10  .518  .365
Etten, Nick              PHI  49  .282  163  46  12  1  3  20  13    1  1  19  31  .423  .353
Murtaugh, Danny          PHI  50  .269  167  45  12  0  0  17  21    3  1  16  21  .341  .337
Bragan, Bobby            PHI  31  .266    64  17  4  0  2    6    8    0  0    8    6  .422  .329
Litwhiler, Danny          PHI  53  .262  195  51  16  3  7  21  19    0  0  28  31  .482  .333
May, Pinky                PHI  57  .261  230  60  15  2  0  21  22    0  0  30  12  .343  .325
Freed, Ed                PHI  54  .260  219  57  18  3  1  23  32    4  0  38  18  .384  .339
Benjamin, Stan            PHI  30  .255    51  13  2  1  0    2    5    2  1    6    4  .333  .283
Livingston, Mickey        PHI  26  .250    52  13  4  0  1    1    6    0  0    4    6  .385  .264
Marnie, Harry            PHI  51  .236  161  38  6  1  0  10  14    3  1  19  10  .286  .281
Glossop, Al              PHI  10  .200    10    2  1  0  0    3    1    0  0    2    0  .300  .385
Warren, Bennie            PHI  49  .195  169  33  5  1  2  19  10    0  1  15  14  .272  .279
Hughes, Tommy            PHI  15  .179    39    7  0  0  0    3    8    0  0    3    3  .179  .238
Melton, Rube              PHI  13  .161    31    5  1  0  0    1    8    0  1    2    3  .194  .188
Johnson, Si              PHI  14  .111    27    3  0  0  0    1    3    0  0    1    0  .111  .143
Blanton, Cy              PHI  13  .088    34    3  0  0  0    0  11    0  0    1    1  .088  .088
Podgajny, Johnny          PHI  10  .000    7    0  0  0  0    0    2    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Nahem, Sam                PHI  20  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Masterson, Paul          PHI  12  .000    2    0  0  0  0    0    2    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Hennessey, George        PHI    6  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .000

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PITCHING STATISTICS

Code:

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1942 Pitching            Team    IP  ERA    G  GS  W  L  SV    K  BB  R/9
Pearson, Ike              PHI  11.0  2.45  10  0  1  0  8    3    4  8.18
Johnson, Si              PHI  96.0  3.47  14  14  3  5  0  38  17 11.16
Podgajny, Johnny          PHI  28.1  3.49  10  2  0  2  0  11  12 14.61
Hughes, Tommy            PHI  112.2  3.75  15  15  6  6  0  57  53 13.42
Melton, Rube              PHI  88.1  4.69  13  13  3  5  0  43  57 15.28
Hoerst, Lefty            PHI  24.0  5.63  13  0  2  4  0    9  14 14.25
Blanton, Cy              PHI  95.0  6.54  13  13  4  5  0  53  26 14.87
Nahem, Sam                PHI  21.1  6.75  20  0  3  4  1  14  22 17.30
Masterson, Paul          PHI  15.0  7.80  12  0  0  1  0  10    9 21.00
Hennessey, George        PHI    9.0  8.00    6  0  0  3  1    5    6 19.00

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LEAGUE LEADERS

Code:

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NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG - Paul Waner (BSN)                .386
HR - Johnny Mize (NYG)                12
RBI - Johnny Mize (NYG)                56
SB - Dick Bartell (NYG)                8
W - Freddie Fitzsimmons (BRO)        9
ERA - Bucky Walters (CIN)        2.51
K - 3 tied with                        57
SV - Diomedes Olivo (PIT)        9

AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG - Ted Williams (BOS)        .403
HR - Jimmie Foxx (BOS)                21
RBI - Jimmie Foxx (BOS)                61
SB - Mike Kreevich (PHA)        8
W - Spud Chandler (NYY)                9
ERA - Joe Dobson (BOS)                2.76
K - Eddie Smith (CHW)                60
SV - Mace Brown (BOS)                8

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MILESTONES

5/8: RF Paul Waner (BSN): 3000th Hit

MAJOR INJURIES

5/3: 1B George McQuinn (SLB) out 2 weeks with a stretched ankle ligament.
5/6: RF Wally Moses (CHW) out 5 weeks with a broken wrist.
5/7: P Schoolboy Rowe (DET) out 1 month with a broken wrist.
5/9: 3B Pinky Higgins (DET) out for the season with severed knee ligaments. (Final Stats: .323, 5 HR, 32 RBI)
5/10: P Thornton Lee (CHW) out 3 weeks with a broken foot.
5/14: P Bucky Walters (CIN) out 2 weeks with elbow tendonitis.
5/22: P Tommy Bridges (DET) out 2 weeks with a stretched ankle ligament.
5/22: CF Wally Judnich (SLB) out 3 weeks with a chipped kneecap.
5/23: P Bill Tobin (BSN) out 2 weeks with a separated shoulder.
5/24: P Jim Bagby (CLE) out 2 weeks with a chipped kneecap.
5/26: 1B George McQuinn (SLB) out for the season with a severed knee ligament. (Final Stats: .308, 8 HR, 34 RBI)
5/27: 1B Les Flemin (CLE) out 2 weeks with a strained neck.
5/27: 1B Dolph Camilli (BRO) out 2 weeks with a foot stress fracture.
5/29: CF Sid Gordon (NYG) out 2 weeks with a pulled groin.

NOTABLE RETIREMENTS

5/13: C Luke Sewell
Cleveland Indians 1920-1932, 1939
Washington Senators 1933-1934
Chicago White Sox 1935-1938
1937 AL All-Star

5/17: CF Sam West
Washington Senators 1927-1932, 1938-1941
St. Louis Browns 1933-1938
Chicago White Sox 1942
4-time AL All-Star (1933, 1934, 1935, 1937)

Well...at least the starting pitching's been strong. That last stretch was pretty horrid though. Hopefully the offense can start putting up some runs, and the bullpen stop blowing every game.:eek:

Overbay: It's starting to get a little ridiculous. I had almost written off taking a reliever with the first pick, but now I'm starting to have second thoughts.

I should have the first half of June up by midnight, along with draft results and a few other surprises...

Alright, I feel like an idiot.

I foolishly forgot to save the game after I put up the June recap, and it crashed on me. So now, I have to start over from June 1. Sorry about this. It won't happen again. Unless I have another bad month, in which case... :D

JUNE 1942
PART I

MAY MONTHLY AWARDS
Batter of the Month: OF Chuck Klein
Pitcher of the Month: P Si Johnson
Chuck has emerged as a potential Triple Crown candidate again, and while Si’s record might not be impressive, he took massive stride in lowering his ERA.

Minor League Batter of the Month: OF Johnny Blatnik
Minor League Pitcher of the Month: P Charlie Ripple
Johnny wins his second consecutive award, after hitting .420 after being promoted to AAA. Charlie remains undefeated in his professional career, and recorded a 1.61 ERA over the month of May in 2 locations (R Miami Beach, A Rome).

June 1: Philadelphia at St. Louis
1 – Rube Melton complained to manager Hans Lobert that he had a sore arm, so Al Gerheauser gets to make his big league debut as our starter. Predictably, he gets rocked for 8 runs over 7 innings.
Cardinals 9, Phillies 1
W: Lon Warneke (7-4) L: Al Gerheauser (0-1)

June 2-5: Chicago (5th, 27-31, 11 GB) at Philadelphia (7th, 22-36, 16 GB)
2 – Despite scoring the most runs since May 11, the Phillies continue to be unable to stop the opponents’ bats, thanks in large part to 3 foolish errors.
Cubs 9, Phillies 7
W: Shaun Hale (4-5) L: Johnny Podgajny (0-3) SV: Tot Pressnell (1)

3 – Si Johnson throws a complete game, allowing only one run on seven hits, to get the Phillies back on the winning track.
Phillies 7, Cubs 1
W: Si Johnson (4-5) L: Joey Lothian (1-11)
HR: Ed Freed (2)

4 – Tommy Hughes follows Johnson’s lead with another complete game, his of the two run, seven hit variety. Thank goodness that I now have two steady starting pitchers.
Phillies 3, Cubs 2
W: Tommy Hughes (7-6) L: Claude Passeau (7-2)

5 – Big Bill Lee just dominates us again, allowing a run on five hits in his complete game victory. 3 errors on our part don’t help either.
Cubs 3, Phillies 1
W: Bill Lee (8-4) LP: Rube Melton (3-6)

TO BE CONTINUED... (after the draft recap)

1942 AMATEUR DRAFT
All the clubs were here in Chicago for the first ever draft. The air was rife with electricity, as the scouts from each organization went over strategies and last-minute information. We had the first pick, and we were stumped. The scouts (all three of them) wanted to take a pitcher. Nick Stephens (remember him?) came along, and he wanted 1B Gil Hodges. I was undecided. I had wanted Gil Hodges from the get-go, but a late injury and a pressing need for relief pitchers made me reevaluate my stance, and three months of scouting and preparation came down to this. With 5 minutes to go before the draft started, I looked around the table and said, “Ok, give me one last argument on who I should take. Jerry, Dick, Ross: you first.”
Jerry rose first, followed quickly by Dick and Ross. If there ever were three men who resembled the Three Stooges more, I haven’t seen them. Jerry is the Moe of the group: the leader, the alpha male. Dick is bald, and a little on the heavy side, just like Curly Joe. Ross has a full head of hair that can’t seem to stay close to his head. In fact, we call them the Three Stooges behind their backs, because they always seem to travel together. Getting back on track, however, they all stood up and proceeded to argue their case. They pointed out that: a) we needed pitching badly, especially with the disastrous results the bullpen has been recording, and b) drafting a pitcher will ultimately be cheaper in the long run. I still wasn’t convinced, so I turned to Nick and he gave me his reasons. “Andy, I have seen this Hodges kid play, and let me tell you, I haven’t seen the ball jump off of someone’s bat like that since we went to Yankee Stadium to see Babe Ruth. This kid is the best hitter in his class, and could be producing for the big club. My argument is this: how long is Chuck [Klein] going to be able to keep this up? You need someone to hit home runs, sell tickets, and become the face of the franchise after he retires. Andy, the Phillies haven’t sniffed a pennant in 10 years, and haven’t won one in 27 years. How can you afford not to take the best d*** ballplayer in the draft? You keep talking about how you want to find a cornerstone, a rock that you can build around. I think this is our man. I think this is your rock.”
I thanked everyone, and excused myself. As I paced through the hallways, I kept asking myself the same question: would I rather have Babe Ruth or Pitchy McReliever? The choice became clear, and I walked to the podium at the front of the room and announced:

“With the first pick, the Philadelphia Phillies select 1B Gil Hodges.”

DRAFT RESULTS

If this draft were to have a name, it would probably be the Year of the First Basemen. With 5 terrific options out there (Gil Hodges, Herb Gorman, Ted Kluszewski, Dee Fondy, Earl Torgeson), there should be plenty of great consolation prizes for teams that need a first baseman.

Code:

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#  TEAM                        PLAYER (PEAK)
1. Philadelphia (NL)        1B Gil Hodges (89)
2. Boston (NL)                1B Earl Torgeson (86)
3. Philadelphia (AL)        SP Lou Brissie (87)
4. Chicago (NL)                SP Hal Brown (90)
5. St. Louis (AL)        SP Travis Robbins (82)
6. Washington                C Sherm Lollar (84)
7. New York (NL)        SP Rex Barney (82)
8. Cleveland                2B Bobby Avila (91)
9. Detroit                SP Ted Gray (79)
10. Chicago (AL)        CF Irv Noren (85)
11. Pittsburgh                CF Dino Restelli (78)
12. Boston (AL)                RP Tom Hurd (83)
13. Cincinnati                1B Ted Kluszewski (84)
14. St. Louis (NL)        RP Jim Davis (85)
15. Brooklyn                RP Joe Black (83)
16. New York (AL)        SP Derick Neufeld (82)

17. Philadelphia (NL)        RP Phil Haugstad (78)
33. Philadelphia (NL)        CF Hal Jeffcoat (80)
49. Philadelphia (NL)        RP Vern Fear (77)
65. Philadelphia (NL)        SP Eric Whelan (76)
81. Philadelphia (NL)        RP John Hall (76)

20. Chicago (NL)        1B Herb Gorman (93)
24. Cleveland                3B Al Rosen (78)
28. Boston (AL)                RP Cal Howe (90)
48. New York (AL)        1B Dee Fondy (88)

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It is said that you can't really judge a draft class until several years have passed. With that in mind. I'm going to try something new.

DRAFT UP!

OOC: Has anyone ever heard of "Seven Up"? It was a film by a British documentarian that chronicled the lives of people from age 7 onward, revisiting their subjects every 7 years (hence the films title). It really is pretty interesting and I recommend it, but I'm going to try and revisit draft classes every 5 years down the road just to check in and see how the players are progressing. Just to add a little in-depth analysis for you, the reader.

STILL OOC: Also, how am I doing so far? Please feel free to leave comments. As this is my first attempt at a dynasty, I am more than willing to accept advice or tips on how to run it more efficiently or how to make things easier to read etc.

And if you have any creative ideas (storylines, subplots, etc.), please feel free to submit them. I'll give credit where it is due, and you get the satisfaction of seeing your ideas in action!

Thanks for reading!

JUNE 1942
PART II

On the off day, I made my way up to Rome, NY to see the debut of the first ever #1 pick, Gil Hodges. He went 1 for 4 with a double, but didn’t have any trouble in the field and made some great plays. I also got the chance to speak with Charlie Ripple. The kid seems to have a good head on his shoulders, and he hadn’t lost a game in his professional career until earlier this month. He just seems to be developing slowly. Hopefully our talk will get him back on track for the big leagues.

June 7-10: St. Louis (1st, 42-20, 5 GA) at Philadelphia (6th, 24-38, 18 GB)
7 – Johnny Podgajny notches his first win of the season, a complete-game six hitter, where, thanks to 2 Pinky May errors, he allowed 0 earned runs.
Phillies 7, Cardinals 2
W: Johnny Podgajny (1-3) L: Mort Cooper (9-3)

8 – In what was by far the longest game of the Phillies season, the pitching staff really stepped up their collective effort. 4 pitchers combined to allow 0 earned runs, and the bullpen went 5 innings of 1 hit baseball. Even *gulp* George Hennessey got into the act, going 1 perfect inning to pick up the win.
Phillies 2, Cardinals 1 (14)
W: George Hennessey (1-3) L: Murry Dickson (0-1)
HR: Bennie Warren (3)

9 – In an extraordinarily sloppy game (8 errors combined: chalk that up the fatigue factor after a 14-inning marathon), Tommy Hughes goes 8 strong innings, and Sam Nahem hangs on, barely, to close the door.
Phillies 7, Cardinals 6
W: Tommy Hughes (8-6) L: Howie Pollet (0-4)

10 – With a chance to sweep a four-game set from the NL-leading Cardinals, Rube Melton was sent to the mound. Through 7 innings, things were looking fantastic. Rube had a 2 run lead, and then everything collapsed. 4 runs against Rube in the 8th, and 3 more against Sam Nahem in the 9th give the Cardinals an improbable comeback win to avoid an embarrassing sweep.
Cardinals 8, Phillies 4
W: Lon Warneke (9-4) L: Rube Melton (3-7) SV: Clyde Shoun (3)
HR: Danny Litwhiler (8)

The good news is that Cy Blanton is healthy and ready to return to the rotation. We line him up to start tomorrow in Chicago, and demote Izzy Leon to AAA.

The bad news is that Sam Nahem has not been the effective setup man that I thought he could be. His 7.57 ERA is unacceptable for someone in that critical a role, so I’ll put some calls out and see what I can get for a 26-year-old reliever.

June 11-13: Philadelphia (6th, 27-39, 16 GB) at Chicago (5th, 32-34, 11 GB)
11 – Welcome back, Cy! 1 run on four hits over 8 innings, however, wasn’t enough today, as the bullpen (this time it was closer Ike Pearson), allows 3 runs in the ninth inning, making it two come-from-behind victories in as many days for Phillie opponents.
Cubs 4, Phillies 3
W: Vallie Eaves (2-0) L: Ike Pearson (1-1)

12 – I’m just going to tell you that Johnny Podgajny was not ready for his transition to the bullpen, and show you the score, because I quite frankly don’t want to talk about it. (9 ER in 1.1 IP)
Cubs 14, Phillies 1
W: Shaun Hale (6-5) L: Si Johnson (4-6)

13 – I’ll say it right now: the cure for stopping a losing streak is simple: Tommy Hughes shutouts, and facing Joey Lothian.
Phillies 3, Cubs 0
W: Tommy Hughes (9-6) L: Joey Lothian (1-13)

June 14-17: Philadelphia (6th, 28-41, 17 GB) at Boston (8th, 24-45, 21 GB)
14 – Rube Melton pitched magnificently as he tried to get back on track with a win. However, a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth quickly turned into another bullpen loss, as Sam Nahem is the culprit yet again.
Braves 3, Phillies 2
W: Manny Salvo (2-9) L: Sam Nahem (3-5)
HR: Danny Litwhiler (9), Nick Etten (4)

There weren’t many good offers for Sam Nahem when I put him on the block. I may have to lower my standards...

15 – Cy Blanton pitching masterfully (0 runs in 8 innings) + 8 starters getting a hit (2B Harry Marnie the exception) = blowout: a formula proven today by the Phillies. Isn’t math fun?
Phillies 13, Braves 0
W: Cy Blanton (5-5) L: Al Javery (3-5)
HR: Nick Etten (5)

16 – The only thing that I can say about the 1942 Phillies so far is that they’re consistently inconsistent. Exhibit A: yesterday to today.
Braves 4, Phillies 2
W: Jim Tobin (6-8) L: Si Johnson (4-7) SV: Jim Hickey (3)

17 – Ok, two things: they’re consistently inconsistent, and they infuriate me to no end. Warren Spahn two-hits the Phillies and Tommy Hughes is lit up like a Christmas tree.
Braves 14, Phillies 3
W: Warren Spahn (4-11) L: Tommy Hughes (9-7)

June 18-21: Cincinnati (6th, 29-44, 19 GB) at Philadelphia (6th, 29-44, 19 GB)
18 – Chuck Klein breaks out his mini-slump with two home runs: one to start the scoring and the other to finish it. Rube Melton goes the distance to collect his first win since April 28.
Phillies 3, Reds 2
W: Rube Melton (4-7) L: Paul Derringer (4-8)
HR: Chuck Klein 2 (13)

19 – If I were to tell you we lost this game in the usual fashion, what would you say? Yep, the bullpen blew a tie game by giving up 2 in the ninth.
Reds 5, Phillies 3
W: Johnny Vander Meer (7-4) L: Lefty Hoerst (2-5) SV: Walter Cress (3)

20 – Si Johnson rebounds after a rough outing with a great 8-inning performance and Ike Pearson also bounces back to pick up his 9th save.
Phillies 3, Reds 1
W: Si Johnson (5-7) L: Elmer Riddle (3-7) SV: Ike Pearson (9)
HR: Ed Freed (3)

Unfortunately, Cy Blanton’s hand was badly hurt after he tried to stab a line drive with his bare hand. Preliminary tests showed a broken finger, and x-rays would confirm that. He’ll be out over 2 weeks. Johnny Podgajny will take his rotation spot, and Izzy Leon is recalled from AAA to take his roster spot.

21 – Tommy Hughes was great for 6 innings, but fell apart when no one (Hans Lobert) would pull him from the game despite his obvious fatigue. Consider the series split, meaning we couldn’t separate ourselves from the Reds. Oh, and Bucky Walters shut us out.
Reds 5, Phillies 0
W: Bucky Walters (9-3) L: Tommy Hughes (9-8)

I’ve been receiving a lot of trade offers for Nick Etten (.270, 5 HR, 39 RBI) lately. I haven’t been fielding them too seriously, but with the progress that Gil Hodges is showing at Rome (A: .429, 1 HR, 11 RBI in 49 AB), I’ll have to consider it more thoughtfully next time.

June 22-24: Philadelphia (6th, 31-46, 19 GB) at Brooklyn (2nd, 46-31, 4 GB)
22 – Not a lot was done by the offense as our scoreless inning streak was extended to 20, thanks to a shutout by Whit Wyatt.
Dodgers 4, Phillies 0
W: Whit Wyatt (10-4) L: Rube Melton (4-8)

23 – Freddie Fitzsimmons one-ups his teammate, allowing one fewer hit (5) in a shutout of his own. Our scoreless inning streak is extended to 29.
Dodgers 7, Phillies 0
W: Freddie Fitzsimmons (11-6) L: Johnny Podgajny (1-4)

24 – The game was scoreless entering the ninth inning, but the Phillies were the ones to victimize the other team’s bullpen. Bennie Warren’s RBI single broke the 37 inning scoreless streak, and also gave the Phillies a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, sending the team to the All-Star break on a high note.
Phillies 1, Dodgers 0
W: Lefty Hoerst (3-5) L: Les Webber (0-1)

FIRST HALF RECAP COMING SOON

FIRST HALF RECAP

STANDINGS

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NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis        53-27        -
Brooklyn        48-32        5
New York        46-34        7
Pittsburgh        42-38        11
Chicago                37-43        16
Philadelphia        32-48        21
Cincinnati        31-49        22
Boston                31-49        22

AMERICAN LEAGUE
New York        53-27        -
Boston                48-32        5
Cleveland        43-37        10
Washington        41-39        12
Philadelphia        37-43        16
Chicago                36-44        17
Detroit                31-49        22
St. Louis        31-49        22

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SEASON STATISTICS
Red denotes League Leader

BATTING STATISTICS

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1942 Batting            Team    G  AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR  BB    K  SB  CS    R  RBI  SLG  OBP
Waner, Lloyd              PHI  68  .321  109  35  3  1  0    9  10    1  1  11  19  .367  .370
Klein, Chuck              PHI  78  .310  255  79  20  2  13  23  26    1  1  44  52  .557  .369
Murphy, Ed                PHI  25  .281    57  16  7  0  2    8    7    1  0    7  10  .509  .369
Freed, Ed                PHI  75  .272  294  80  22  3  3  29  38    5  1  51  26  .398  .346
Litwhiler, Danny          PHI  76  .265  264  70  20  4  9  25  23    1  0  36  41  .473  .329
Murtaugh, Danny          PHI  68  .259  232  60  15  0  0  20  25    4  4  23  22  .323  .317
Etten, Nick              PHI  72  .256  242  62  17  1  5  35  20    2  3  28  39  .397  .343
May, Pinky                PHI  80  .254  319  81  22  2  0  26  33    1  0  39  20  .335  .313
Bragan, Bobby            PHI  51  .254  126  32  5  0  2    6  14    3  0  10  15  .341  .286
Benjamin, Stan            PHI  47  .227    97  22  5  2  0    4    9    3  1  12    8  .320  .255
Marnie, Harry            PHI  68  .219  196  43  7  1  0  13  15    3  1  23  12  .265  .267
Livingston, Mickey        PHI  30  .213    61  13  4  0  1    1    8    0  0    5    6  .328  .226
Warren, Bennie            PHI  71  .212  236  50  9  1  3  29  19    1  1  20  19  .297  .302
Glossop, Al              PHI  13  .167    12    2  1  0  0    3    1    0  0    2    0  .250  .333
Hughes, Tommy            PHI  20  .154    52    8  0  0  0    3  11    0  0    3    3  .154  .200
Johnson, Si              PHI  20  .143    42    6  0  0  0    1    7    0  0    2    2  .143  .163
Blanton, Cy              PHI  16  .143    42    6  0  0  0    1  12    0  0    2    1  .143  .163
Melton, Rube              PHI  18  .119    42    5  1  0  0    1  13    0  1    2    4  .143  .140
Podgajny, Johnny          PHI  14  .067    15    1  0  1  0    0    3    0  0    0    1  .200  .067
Gerheauser, Al            PHI    1  .000    2    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Hoerst, Lefty            PHI  16  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Nahem, Sam                PHI  28  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    1    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Masterson, Paul          PHI  14  .000    2    0  0  0  0    0    2    0  0    0    0  .000  .000
Hennessey, George        PHI  11  .000    1    0  0  0  0    0    0    0  0    0    0  .000  .000

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PITCHING STATISTICS

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1942 Pitching            Team    IP  ERA    G  GS  W  L  SV    K  BB  R/9
Johnson, Si              PHI  141.0  3.06  20  20  5  7  0  57  27 10.98
Pearson, Ike              PHI  14.1  3.77  13  0  1  1  9    4    5  8.79
Hughes, Tommy            PHI  152.1  3.78  20  20  9  8  0  71  64 12.76
Melton, Rube              PHI  125.1  4.24  18  18  4  8  0  68  83 14.36
Podgajny, Johnny          PHI  51.2  4.70  14  5  1  4  0  25  20 14.98
Hoerst, Lefty            PHI  31.0  4.94  16  0  3  5  0  13  16 13.65
Blanton, Cy              PHI  118.0  5.42  16  16  5  5  0  64  33 14.19
Masterson, Paul          PHI  16.2  7.02  14  0  0  1  0  10    9 19.98
Hennessey, George        PHI  15.0  7.20  11  0  1  3  1    9  10 18.00
Nahem, Sam                PHI  33.1  7.56  28  0  3  5  1  19  28 18.09
Gerheauser, Al            PHI    7.0 10.29    1  1  0  1  0    1    7 25.71

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LEAGUE LEADERS

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NATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG - Pete Reiser (BRO)                .363
HR - Johnny Mize (NYG)                15
RBI - Johnny Mize (NYG)                68
SB - Gee Walker (CIN)                11
W - 3 tied with                        11
ERA - Bucky Walters (CIN)        2.66
K - Whit Wyatt (BRO)                85
SV - Diomedes Olivo (PIT)        12

AMERICAN LEAGUE LEADERS
AVG - Rudy York (DET)                .373
HR - Jimmie Foxx (BOS)                21
RBI - Bill Dickey (NYY)                69
SB - Walt Chipple (WAS)                11
W - Mel Harder (CLE)                10
ERA - Roger Wolff (PHA)                2.63
K - Hal Newhouser (DET)                83
SV - Mace Brown (BOS)                12

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MILESTONES

6/12: LF Bob Johnson (WSH): 1000th RBI
6/18: LF Joe Medwick (BRO): 1000th Run

MAJOR INJURIES

6/4: P Tex Hughson (BOS) out 2 weeks with a spiked achilles tendon.
6/8: P Bill Lee (CHC) out for the season with broken back vertebra. (Final Stats: 8-4, 3.37 ERA, 5 CG)
6/10: P Spud Chandler (NYY) out 3 months with a broken elbow.
6/13: P Joe Dobson (BOS) out 2 weeks with a separated shoulder.
6/15: P Tommy Bridges (DET) out 2 weeks with a dislocated shoulder.
6/15: P Harry Gumbert (STL) out 2 weeks with a spiked achilles tendon.
6/16: P Van Mungo (NYG) out 2 weeks with a broken wrist.
6/17: 1B Jimmie Foxx (BOS) out for the regular season with a broken ankle. (Final Stats: .359, 21 HR, 65 RBI) (will return in time for World Series)
6/19: P Larry French (BRO) out 2 weeks with a sprained finger.
6/20: CF Dom DiMaggio (BOS) out 1 month with a torn hamstring.
6/20: P Hal Newhouser (DET) out 2 weeks with a dislocated shoulder.
6/20: P Cy Blanton (PHI) out 2 weeks with a broken finger.
6/20: RF Chet Laabs (SLB) out 3 weeks with a sprained back.

NOTABLE RETIREMENTS

None

1942 ALL-STAR BREAK

As the first half of the season comes to a close, we must look back at the good times we had, and what we accomplished.

32 wins – on pace for 62-92: avoid 100 losses for the first time since 1937.
Chuck Klein finding the fountain of youth (.310, 13 HR, 52 RBI)
Development of young players (Hughes, Freed, Northey, Blatnik, Seminick, Ripple, and Hodges, to name a few)

However, while there was good, there was also bad.

The bullpen – or lack thereof: 6.20 ERA (worst in the NL)
Offensive inconsistency: longest win streak is 3 games.

After looking backwards, we must now look ahead.

Financially, everything is fine. We spend the 7th-most in the farm system and scouting, and 5th-most in medical staff. I pride myself in providing affordable commodities, especially during wartime. Therefore, I lowered ticket prices 20%, so the average ticket now costs 8 cents, the cheapest in the majors.

I set my schedule for the rest of the month. I’m leaving this afternoon to go to the All-Star festivities, including the new Home Run Showdown. I’ll be staying in New York for the game on Tuesday, and drive down through Newark to meet with Nick and discuss the second half on Wednesday. I should get back to Philly early on Thursday, but the game doesn’t start here until 7 PM.

There was some more housekeeping business to attend to. Despite a worse record, we continue to outdraw the Athletics by an average 1,300 fans per game. This is great news for us. I’ve had big plans stowed away about building the Phillies their own separate stadium right here in downtown Philadelphia. Heck, maybe the NFL’s Eagles could get one of their own too...

Finally, some minor league promotions and demotions and it’s off to New York for the All-Star Game!

1942 HOME RUN SHOWDOWN

Before the actual game, another innovation came to life. Tom Yawkey was bragging to Ed Barrow about how terrific his power hitters were, and Ed challenged him to put up or shut up. Eventually it was expanded to a league wide event, to be held the day before the All-Star Game. The top 5 sluggers in each league would compete, gunning for the fences.

Up first for the AL was Charlie Keller. “King Kong” was spearheading the Yankees, and leading their charge into first place. Charlie set the mark to beat at 6, setting himself up in good position to finish in the top 4, and advance to the semifinal round. The NL sent up Dixie Walker, who could only manage 2 homers: same with Roy Cullenbine, Joe Medwick, and Tommy Henrich. As Mel Ott strode to the plate, the home crowd showed it’s appreciation for its beloved right fielder. Ott stroked 6 home runs, tying Keller for the lead. Ted Williams came up next, but could only manage 4. Chuck Klein was up next, with only 2 to go after him. Chuck did his best, knocking 5 out of the park, and setting himself in third place. A cheer went up as Jimmie Foxx stepped in wearing a plaster cast. Jimmie had broken his ankle just over a week ago, but he was the leading home run hitter in the majors. As he said before the contest, “I don’t need my ankle to hit home runs with.” Double X could only manage 4, setting the stage for Johnny Mize, the NL leader. Mize did his part to thrill the hometown fans, smashing 6 home runs, and finalizing the semifinal round: it would be Klein (PHI), Keller (NYY), Ott (NYG), and Mize (NYG)

Chuck led off the semifinal round. Unfortunately, he could only get 1 home run. So too, did Charlie Keller. This left easy pickings for the two Giants, as Mize and Ott both hit multiple home runs to advance to the final in their home stadium.

Mel Ott managed to knock two home runs out to start the final, but had to wait anxiously to see if Mize’s long fly ball to right-center would stay in the yard. It did, and Mel Ott won the 1942 Home Run Showdown.

ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS

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FIRST ROUND (10 Outs)
PLAYER                          HOMERS
Charlie Keller (NYY)                6
Johnny Mize (NYG)                    6
Mel Ott (NYG)                        6
Chuck Klein (PHI)                    5
Jimmie Foxx (BOS)                    4
Ted Williams (BOS)                  4
Tommy Henrich (NYY)                  2
Roy Cullenbine (SLB)                2
Dixie Walker (BRO)                  2
Joe Medwick (BRO)                    2

SECOND ROUND (5 Outs)
PLAYER                          HOMERS
Mel Ott (NYG)                        3
Johnny Mize (NYG)                    2
Charlie Keller (NYY)                1
Chuck Klein (PHI)                    1

FINAL ROUND (5 Outs)
PLAYER                          HOMERS
MEL OTT (NYG)                        2
Johnny Mize (NYG)                    1

    WINNER: Mel Ott

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Well, I have to say, through the first half, I'm really enjoying this dynasty. In fact, I'd have to say it's one of the better ones out there, and you obviously pay great attention to detail, and enjoy writing it, and it shows. :)

Klein and Litweiler (or whatever:o) are looking really good on offense, and your starting pitching staff seems to be doing a pretty solid job.

Good job picking Hodges in the first round of the draft, I agree with the philosophy of not picking a reliever over Gil Hodges in the first round of the draft...quite sound.

Here's hoping less than 100 losses are in your future!:)

1942 ALL-STAR GAME

The Brooklyn Dodgers are the host team, though the game will be played at the Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants. Since all proceeds are going to the war effort, Dodgers President Larry MacPhail wanted to maximize the gate, so he moved to a stadium with a larger capacity than Ebbets Field. And by the looks of it, it was a good move, as a capacity crowd of 56,000 packed the Polo Grounds to see the 11th annual All-Star Game.

AL ALL-STARS

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STARTERS                # ALL STAR GAMES
C  Bill Dickey (NYY)        9 (7 consecutive)
1B Jimmie Foxx (BOS)*        10 (consecutive)
2B Joe Gordon (NYY)        4 (consecutive)
3B Red Rolfe (NYY)        5
SS Lou Boudreau (CLE)        3 (consecutive)
LF Ted Williams (BOS)        3 (consecutive)
CF Joe DiMaggio (NYY)        7 (consecutive)
RF Tommy Henrich (NYY)        1
SP Dutch Leonard (WSH)        2
                       
C  Rick Ferrell (SLB)        7
1B Rudy York (DET)*        3 (2 consecutive)
1B Elbie Fletcher (PHA)        1
SS Luke Appling (CHW)        5 (4 consecutive)
OF Charlie Keller (NYY)        3 (consecutive)
OF Roy Cullenbine (SLB)        2 (consecutive)
                       
P  Al Milnar (CLE)        2
P  Red Ruffing (NYY)        6 (5 consecutive)
P  Joe Dobson (BOS)**        1
P  Roger Wolff (PHA)        1
P  Early Wynn (WSH)        1
P  Mel Harder (CLE)        5
P  Al Carrasquel (WSH)        1
P  Pete Center (CLE)        1
P  Johnny Murphy (NYY)        4
P  Andy Karl (BOS)        1

First-Timers: 8
Team Breakdown:
8 - Yankees
4 - Red Sox, Indians
3 - Senators
2 - Athletics, Browns
1 - Tigers, White Sox

* - Jimmie Foxx will not play due to injury.
Rudy York will take his place.

** - Joe Dobson will not play due to injury.

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NL ALL-STARS

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STARTERS
C  Harry Danning (NYG)        5 (consecutive)
1B Johnny Mize (NYG)        5 (4 consecutive)
2B Billy Herman (BRO)        9 (consecutive)
3B Stan Hack (CHC)        4 (2 consecutive)
SS Arky Vaughan (BRO)        9 (consecutive)
LF Chuck Klein (PHI)        3
CF Pete Reiser (BRO)        2 (consecutive)
RF Mel Ott (NYG)        9 (consecutive)
SP Bucky Walters (CIN)        5 (4 consecutive)
                       
C  Walker Cooper (STL)        1
OF Stan Musial (STL)        1
OF Paul Waner (BSN)        5
OF Dixie Walker (BRO)        1
OF Joe Medwick (BRO)        9 (consecutive)
OF P. Cavarretta (CHC)        1
                       
P  Rip Sewell (PIT)*        1
P  Lon Warneke (STL)        6 (2 consecutive)
P  Whit Wyatt (BRO)        4 (consecutive)
P  F. Fitzsimmons (BRO)        1
P  Claude Passeau (CHC)        2 (consecutive)
P  Carl Hubbell (NYG)        9 (3 consecutive)
P  Johnny Allen (BRO)        2
P  Max Lanier (STL)        1
P  John Hutchings (BSN)        1
P  Jack Hallett (PIT)        1

First-Timers: 9
Team Breakdown:
8 - Dodgers
4 - Cardinals, Giants
3 - Cubs
2 - Pirates, Braves
1 - Phillies, Reds

* - Rip Sewell will not play due to injury.

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The game started plainly enough. With Bucky Waters on the hill, the AL sent three straight Yankees to the plate. After retiring Red Rolfe, Tommy Henrich singled, and Joe DiMaggio hit a towering home run, putting the AL on top. AL 2, NL 0.
The game was really uneventful until the bottom of the seventh. Johnny Mize led off with a walk against Red Ruffing. One batter later, Chuck Klein and Paul Waner walked back to back. The NL had loaded the bases with only 1 out. But Ruffing reared back, and got Billy Herman to pop out to second, and forced Johnny Allen to ground out to end the threat.
As the bottom of the ninth approached, the score was still 2-0 in favor of the Americans. Alex Carrasquel was on for his second inning of work, looking for the 6-out save. He got Phil Cavarretta and Chuck Klein to ground out, but then walked Paul Waner, who immediately stole second base. Billy Herman followed with an RBI double, and Johnny Allen capped the comeback with a dribbler just past the second baseman. AL 2, NL 2.
The Americans went quietly in the 10th, but the Nationals would make some noise. Stan Hack slapped a high-bouncer that couldn’t be fielded in time. With the winning run on third, and two Giants upcoming, the crowd started to roar. Mel Ott slashed the 3-1 pitch down the third base line, but a great diving catch robbed him of potential extra bases. Johnny Mize hit one just as hard, except he got a single. Phil Cavarreta worked a full count before flying out to center field. With two outs now, and two men on, Philadelphia’s Chuck Klein strode to the plate. Chuck was our only representative at the All-Star Game this season, so I told him before the game to make us proud. Chuck worked the count 2-0, then started looking for a fastball, after a curve caught the corner, Cleveland pitcher Pete Center tried to blow a fastball by Klein. Chuck slashed it over the head of the leaping second baseman, and into the gap for the game-winning double. Stan Hack raced around third and touched home, where he was mobbed by his NL teammates. Final Score: NL 3, AL 2 (10)
Max Lanier got the win for his 1/3 of an inning of work in the top of the 10th. Pete Center got the loss.
The MVP Trophy went to Johnny Allen (BRO), for his 3.2 innings of 1-hit relief, and his 9th-inning game-tying single. I thought it should’ve gone to one Chuck Klein, for obviously selfish reasons.

For all you record buffs out there, the AL now leads the overall series 6-4.

Have you considered moving Pearson to a spot in the bullpen where he'd get more innings? I often put my best RP at setup or short relief, and a lesser pitcher in to close. The closer tends to get lots of rest, which seems to enable the lesser pitcher to get results above his ratings.

Maybe closer is where Nahem would thrive?

Overbay17: Thanks as always for the kind words. It's been my goal all along to avoid 100 losses at all costs, then build from there. Hopefully these standings hold for me, and I can stay out of 8th altogether!

3RunHomer: Well, I put Pearson at closer because he was the only one with multiple saves, and he's done a more than admirable job not only in save situations (9/11 saves/opps) but in regular duty as well. I would've thought Nahem to do better because of the numbers he put up last season (5-2, 2.98 ERA), although I probably should've expected a drop off from someone rated 72/76. Anyways, I recently dropped him down to short relief, and bumped Lefty Hoerst to the setup position, and haven't had many problems in the week or so since then. If this doesn't work, then I may have to move Pearson.

The start of the second half should be up tonight. Thanks for reading, everyone!

JUNE 27

“That was some game, huh? I mean, the way it ended with Chuck getting that double. Probably the most exciting All-Star Game of all-time!”
“Easy there, Nick,” I said. “So what did you want me to come here for? You made it sound like an emergency.”
“It’s not really an emergency, just a surprise. I know you’ve been running the team almost single-handedly, but I thought you might like some help down there. So I got you a secretary.”
“A secretary?” my eyes lit up at the thought. “Very interesting, indeed. Is she here today?”
“You’re darn right! Andy, may I present your new secretary!”
I looked into the office. The face looked awfully familiar. She started to speak and I recognized the voice immediately.
“Andy Boy! How are you? It’s been so long since I saw you last!”
“Hi Mrs. Stephens. I’ll be right with you, I just need to talk to Nick for a minute. Nick: outside.”
Nick closed the door behind him, and I really leaned into him.
“Your mother? Are you kidding me?”
“Well, honestly, I just wanted to get her off my back. You know she’s been after me for not being married yet.”
“She’s not coming down to Philadelphia with me. You can’t just ship your problems down to me. Listen, you live 30 minutes from New York City. You ought to go in there on some Friday night with some of the guys, or go down to Atlantic City for a weekend. Who knows what’ll happen?”
“Thanks. Oh, and I got you another surprise. I told him to meet you tomorrow around 10 AM at your office.”
I paused for a second, before asking my last question.
“It’s not your dad, is it?”